box then quickly got out of the car to ask him for directions to Lombard Street. Within minutes they were there. They parked the car then slowly walked up and down the road a couple of times before taking the plunge and going up to the front door of the house where Kevin may now be living and if not him then his parents. Rachel rang the bell, Emma stood back a little almost as if she was trying to hide and as the door opened she could barely bring herself to look. With a mixture of relief and disappointment they were not greeted by Kevin but by a lady in her mid fifties. Although she had aged considerably since Emma had last seen her, she instantly recognised her as Kevin’s mother but she didn’t recognise Emma. There were a few awkward moments on the doorstep as Rachel tried to explain who they both were and why they were there but once Kevin’s mother realised who Emma was she ushered them inside. They followed her along a dimly lit passageway towards what was a fairly large but cosy kitchen. On the way they passed by an open door to what would have been the front room of the house and they both noticed an elderly man asleep in a large armchair, he was snoring loudly. With the kitchen door shut behind them Kevin’s mother beckoned to the two girls to sit down at the table and asked them if they wanted tea or coffee. She carried on talking as she took the kettle off the range and made each of them a mug of coffee. She apologised to Emma for not recognising her sooner but, as she said, “It has been a long time and I wasn’t expecting you.”
After a few more pleasantries Emma and Rachel explained why, after all these years they had come knocking on her door. They talked about the diaries, letters and postcards, Emma explained in detail about her miscarriage and her desire to see Kevin again and Rachel talked frankly about the need for Emma to achieve closure on the events of the past if she is ever to move on. After listening intently for twenty minutes or more and only asking one or two questions to clarify matters in her own mind, Kevin’s mother began by saying that they were right about much of what had gone on at, “that bad time,” as she called it but there were other things they did not know. The first thing she told them was that she didn’t know where Kevin was and that she hadn’t seen him since her birthday nearly five years ago. Then, for the next half an hour she talked clearly and precisely about every aspect of “that bad time” and she answered all their questions as far as she could.
Talking almost exclusively to Emma, she explained that when Kevin went off to university he knew nothing of what had gone on. As far as he was concerned everything between the two of them was fine, he didn’t know about her pregnancy, he thought she would have started university as planned and assumed that within a week or two they would visit each other. About the only thing he did know, was that his parents had moved to St Albans. Kevin’s grandmother, had died earlier in the year leaving her house in St Albans to Kevin’s father and as it was lying empty they decided to live there instead. Finding out about Emma’s pregnancy when they did just brought the move forward. They intended to sell their house in the village but the way things worked out they never got round to it.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Kevin’s mother described what happened the day after Kevin left for university. “Your mother paid us a visit and was very angry and upset. She told us that you were pregnant and she wanted something done about it although she didn’t say what. Kevin’s father went berserk as the last thing he wanted was an unwanted pregnancy bringing shame on the family. He blamed you and your mother for putting temptation in Kevin’s way and giving him the opportunity to have sex with you. He called you some very unsavoury names and suggested that you had given Kevin the come on with an offer that