Where Old Ghosts Meet - Kate Evans [36]
The woman beside her tensed slightly. When she spoke, the words came slowly and guardedly. “Yes, I loved him.” There was a brief pause and then she added, “In my own way.” She was picking her way carefully along a difficult path. “To this day, Nora, I’m not sure that I know rightly what love is. What me and Matt had wasn’t like what I had with Johnny, or again, not like what my mother and father had.” She stopped to consider the latter. “The way they were, you knew there was something special, something about the way they looked out for each other and for me. But Matt …” She stopped to consider for a moment. “He was all the world to me. That’s all I can tell you and nothing can ever change that.”
Peg had found the little groove in the table again and was rubbing gently, staring at her busy finger with unseeing eyes.
Love. Nora followed the movement. How often in the past few months had she pondered this same question, looking for a simple answer when in fact there was none.
“To begin with, being around him was enough. I just wanted him to stay, but after the racket with Father when he said I should look at marrying the Murray fella, I knew I had to do something. Matt and me were spending a nice bit of time together in and around the house but never outside. Whenever there was a dance or a time to someone’s house, I’d always go on my own; he had no interest in that kind of thing. I was content just the same. But with Father’s talk about ‘getting clear of Buddy’ that was enough to get me thinkin’. I decided I had to try and talk to Matt and see what he had to say. So I made a plan. It was simple enough, but the best I could think of at the time.”
She sipped her drink, replacing the glass carefully and precisely on the table. “It was getting towards the end of summer, berry-pickin’ time. Matt liked to roam the hills so I suggested maybe we’d go together Sunday evenin’ and get a few berries to set down for winter.”
“We’ll go this way.” She didn’t look back to see if he’d heard but took the path to the left that led to a rocky outcrop and a grove of alders. Her pace was quick and resolute as she led the way up over the grassy slope at the back of the house.
It was warm and close amongst the tall bushes. The sunlight, filtering through the leafy branches, made dappled shadows on the path. Peg knew this spot very well, this little corridor of peace and tranquility with its tiny windows on the sky. To be able to hear the soft crunch of their footsteps on the dry grass thrilled her. Farther along the trail to the left, a robin had nested. She had watched for hours one day in late spring as the little creature busied herself with mud and straw and twigs, crafting the age-old, cup-shaped design of her nest. She had raised two broods during the summer and now it lay deserted. She turned and touched Matt’s shoulder lightly, pointing to the nest hidden deep amongst the greenery. He crouched slightly, his face drawing close to hers, his head dodging this way and that as he searched. There was a light rustle of leaves, the robin arrived and perched tense and alert on a nearby branch. She heard Matt’s quick intake of breath. Her finger came to her lips in a silent shhh! They stood together, motionless, watching, waiting. Her hair brushed his cheek and he tensed, abruptly pulling back. The robin’s head swivelled, beady eyes watchful, her feathery throat thrust forward as she called out. In a frenzied flutter she took off and disappeared. The moment was gone.
They walked on through the alders and emerged into the fading sunlight. “This way.” She pointed to the right. “The path will take us to the top of the hill and down over the other side to the partridgeberries.”
The climb was steep and rough, pocked with grooves and gullies. They grabbed at roots and scrubby undergrowth, pulling themselves upward. Halfway up they stopped to rest against a huge boulder.
“It’s the finest kind of place here when we get a bit of good weather.” She looked at him sideways.
“Yes,” he said and began to move on.
He took the