‘It’s nice,’ she cut in. ‘I liked it when we viewed it. It’s very nice.’
And it was. It was roomy and airy and the living room window faced east for the morning sunshine to pour through. Their bedroom was east facing too. The spare room looked south, as did the kitchen and the small bathroom. The tiny rented shop below was to become a boutique of sorts when they were ready. From the lounge window Julia could just see Haggerston Park peeping between a gap in the shops and flats opposite.
As they stood looking out, Simon’s arm tightened about her shoulders. ‘We’re going to be all right,’ he encouraged.
‘Of course we are,’ she said simply, ‘more than all right.’
She heard him sigh and hoped he wasn’t doubtful.
But instead, he said, ‘I’m going to miss our old life though. We made such a lot of friends. But I don’t suppose we’ll ever see them again. They’ll have gone their different ways, forgotten us already.’
‘Friends like that aren’t worth a thought,’ she said evenly, remembering the so-called friends who had melted away when she and her family had been near destitute. ‘We don’t need any of them,’ she said aloud and meant it.
‘And our lovely apartment,’ he went on wistfully ‘I suppose if we worked hard we could have it all again, when times get better. You never know what’s around the corner, do you?’
‘No, you don’t,’ she answered. ‘And maybe that’s just as well. We might not like what we find.’
She smiled, still gazing across at the narrow vista of the park. At least she’d be able to breathe whenever she looked out at it. It could never compare, of course, to Victoria Park which she had once overlooked, so many years ago, in another life, it seemed. Yet, in a way, it rather felt as if she had come full circle.
‘I don’t think it’s always wise to go trying to find out what’s around the corner, darling,’ she said as she leaned against him and took in a deep breath, letting it trickle out in a sigh.
‘Maybe not,’ he agreed, and then brightened. ‘But maybe, when this country recovers, we’ll be able to get back to where we were.’
Julia smiled and nestled against him.
‘Don’t let’s start looking to aim big any more,’ she said slowly, ‘all that fretting and fighting and struggling. Let’s just settle for being contented.’
Suddenly she did feel contented.
‘You could go back to selling jewellery,’ she murmured, ‘nothing too posh in this area. And I could do a bit of designing, just ordinary garments.’
Fine silks were a thing of the past. ‘I’ll see if I can contact Betty.’ They still kept in touch and she knew Betty hadn’t found another job yet. ‘She might like to come back. I know my own limitations well enough. We could work together as we used to.’
Suddenly she raised her face to him, smiling up into his face.
‘I’ve a good feeling about this place,’ she stated and planted a gentle kiss upon his cheek.
As she did so she felt their baby kick, almost as if in agreement with her statement. Yes, this was going to be a very good place from which to start again.
About the Author
Maggie Ford was born in the East End of London but at the age of six she moved to Essex, where she has lived ever since. After the death of her first husband, when she was only twenty-six, she went to work as a legal secretary until she remarried in 1968. She has a son and two daughters, all married; her second husband died in 1984. She has been writing short stories since the early 1970s.
Also by Maggie Ford
A Brighter Tomorrow
A Fall from Grace
A New Dream
First published in Great Britain and the USA in 2009 by Severn House Publishers LTD
This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
31 Helen Road
Oxford OX2 0DF
United Kingdom
Copyright © The Estate of Elizabeth Lord, 2009
The moral right of the author to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781800324350
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Originally published as Julia’s Way by Elizabeth Lord
Look for more great books at www.canelo.co
