Lucy's Book Club for the Lost and Found: A heartwarming feel good romance novel(4)

Lucy nodded and looked at the woman to Hattie’s left.

‘I’m Lia,’ she supplied. ‘And reading is virtually all I do too – when I can, that is. I’m a full-time carer, you see. My mum has Alzheimer’s, so this is my little bit of sanity.’ She gave Hattie a sympathetic smile.

The rest of the introductions were over quickly and Lucy picked up the plate of biscuits, offering them directly to Hattie. She could tell she wanted one and was just being polite. Perhaps if she took one the others would follow suit.

‘So, did you all manage to read Precious Time?’ she asked, waiting for the answering nods. ‘I’m sorry Hattie, you’re at a bit of a disadvantage this time, but we’ll pick the next read before we finish and then you’ll soon be up and running.’ She looked around the group. ‘What did you all think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?’

Lia was the first to respond. ‘Oh, thumbs up,’ she sighed. ‘It was beautiful,’ she added, ‘and I cried… again.’

The young lad next to her nodded vigorously. ‘Me too,’ he agreed. ‘Well, not the crying part, but I thought the characters were brilliant. I couldn’t pick a favourite, they were all so different, but so good – even the nasty one!’

‘I think that’s what I love about Erica’s writing, Callum,’ said Lucy. ‘Her characters don’t just introduce themselves so much as walk off the page to meet you. What about you Oscar? Perhaps not quite your cup of tea, but what did you think?’

Oscar was in his early seventies and always made Lucy smile; she never failed to be cheered up in the presence of one of his colourful bow ties. He was a regular at the library, and she had never seen him read anything that wasn’t a thriller.

‘It’s true, I prefer my fiction a bit more masculine, but all things considered I did enjoy it. Like Lia, I could see it was a very emotional read. The start struck me as quite…’ He trailed off, clearing his throat. ‘Very poignant, I thought.’

‘I knew I recognised the title,’ said Hattie suddenly. ‘Is it by Erica James? The one where the main character gives up her job and goes off with her little boy in a camper van?’

There were nods all round, and Hattie beamed.

‘It has an element of pure wish-fulfilment, doesn’t it?’ said Lia. ‘That’s why I enjoyed it so much. Imagine simply taking off without any consequences and seeing where the wind takes you. And of course they all live happily ever after – that’s what makes it so perfect. Isn’t that what we’d all like to do?’

Lucy loved it when the discussions seemed to flow of their own accord. It didn’t always happen, but she was pleased when it did. It showed the group was beginning to get to know one another better, and say what they felt rather than be polite or shy.

‘I know I would,’ groaned Callum, pushing his slightly too long black curls off his face. ‘I’ve had enough of my brothers teasing me and making my life a misery. I’d take off to a remote Scottish island – provided it had an internet connection, of course – find a nice girl to settle down with, and live out my days never having to listen to them again.’

‘What about you, Lia? What would you do if you could?’ asked Oscar.

Lia clearly didn’t need to think about it. She sat up straight, and leaned forward. ‘Dance,’ she whispered urgently. ‘I’d want to dance.’





Chapter Three





‘There’d be a dark space lit with a thousand twinkling points of lights,’ continued Lia. ‘Music rising and falling, silken material swishing against my legs, and I’d be twirling faster and faster, lost in the sensations that filled my head. Like a bubble of happiness rising up, a lightness of being, as if I’m on air…’

And suddenly Lucy could see just how it would be for Lia. How she must feel chained by the confinement of her life, yet lit up by her love for her mother. She could almost sense the weight of her familial duty, how worn she must feel by her endless need to be patient and longing to be released. Lucy could think of no better cure than the exquisite pleasure of a soul finding freedom as it danced.

‘My mum was a professional ballroom dancer,’ Lia continued. ‘Years ago, mind, before I was even born; it’s how she met my dad. They used to tour in the 1960s, even dancing at the Empress Ballroom in Brighton a few times. That’s why I’d love to dance: for the romance of it all, the glamour, the old-fashioned elegance, and the dresses of course, all those sequins…’ She gave a self-conscious laugh.

‘But you must dance, surely?’ asked Hattie. ‘Having a mum who was a professional, I bet your house was filled with music as a child.’

Lia looked down at her shoes. ‘It was for a little while, but mostly when I was very small, almost too small to remember. Then my dad left, and Mum… well, she never really danced again. She wouldn’t let me either – even though I begged her to have lessons, she flatly refused. I never learned, not to this day.’

Hattie raised a hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, that’s so sad,’ she empathised. ‘But you must learn – it’s never too late you know.’

Lucy saw Lia give a shrug, almost imperceptible, and she felt the wave of longing again, the sadness of an unattainable dream. Lia looked up and caught her eye.