One Last Summer (2007) Read Online Free PDF Page A

gift.’
    ‘Acceptable!’ Carolyn reached across the table and grasped Charlotte’s hand. ‘I’m overwhelmed. They’re going to look wonderful in the nursery. How can we ever thank you?’
    ‘Great,’ Claus broke in with mock indignation. ‘Now my son will grow up surrounded by politically-incorrect depictions of aristocratic castles and princesses, and scary, psychologically-damaging images of wicked witches and hobgoblins. Not to mention the heartless, icicle-firing Snow Queen.’
    ‘Have I got news for you, sweetheart, the world is politically incorrect.’ Carolyn rose from her chair and poured hot water on to herbal teabags.
    ‘And the sooner he or she learns to cope with it, the better,’ Charlotte agreed.
    ‘She,’ Carolyn divulged, savouring the effect her revelation had on her husband and Charlotte. ‘I know I said I didn’t want to know the baby’s sex but I was looking at a baby catalogue and there were the sweetest little blue romper suits and pink dresses, and I couldn’t make up my mind between them, so I telephoned the doctor.’
     ‘Then we’ll call her Charlotte.’ Claus put his arm around his wife and dropped a kiss on her bump.
    ‘Don’t you think she deserves her own name?’ Charlotte asked. ‘Carolyn and I like Charlotte,’ Claus smiled. ‘We agreed on it months ago.’
    ‘If you must use it, shorten it to Charlie,’ Charlotte suggested. ‘It’s more suitable for an American girl.’
    ‘Charlie,’ Carolyn mused. ‘Sounds like a tomboy’s name.’
    ‘I don’t want a tomboy for a daughter,’ Claus protested.
    ‘Only a man could say that. Tomboys have much more fun than prim little girls in lace dresses. More tea?’ Carolyn asked, as Charlotte left the table.
    ‘No, thank you, dear. I need a good night’s sleep before travelling.’
    ‘Is Uncle Jeremy meeting you in London?’ Claus fetched Charlotte’s wrap.
    ‘Samuel Goldberg. We have agent-client things to discuss and he offered to drive me to Jeremy’s.’
    ‘We’ll take you to the airport,’ Carolyn said decisively.
    ‘Oh no you won’t, I’ll order a taxi,’ Charlotte contradicted.
    ‘I need to do some shopping. Baby things,’ Carolyn protested gleefully, ‘and it’s not often I can persuade this one to leave his workshop to drive into the city.’
    Charlotte looked at both of them. ‘You really do need to shop?’
    ‘You heard the boss.’ Claus draped the wrap around his grandmother’s shoulders. ‘I’ll walk you home.’
    ‘You’d intrude on my thoughts, and your girls need you.’ Charlotte kissed her grandson on the cheek and hugged Carolyn before leaving.
    ‘Is she all right?’ Carolyn asked, as Claus closed the door.
    ‘I hope so. I think she’s just preoccupied with the past now that she’s finally decided to make this trip.’
    ‘She must have loved your grandfather very much.’
    ‘I’m not so sure. You’ve met my father and brother. They must have inherited their personalities from someone, and it sure as hell wasn’t Charlotte.’
    She patted her bulge. ‘What will we do if this one turns out like them?’
    ‘There’s no chance of my daughter turning out anything other than perfect with you for a mother.’ He pulled her down on to his lap and began to tickle her.
    Charlotte heard Claus and Carolyn’s laughter as she walked along the shore path that led from Claus’s house to her own. Kicking off her shoes, she stepped into the lake and splashed through the sandy shallows, revelling in the feel of cold water on her stockinged feet.
    The moon hung low, a huge, golden orb in an indigo night sky, the same moon that was shining down on her childhood home. A few more days and she’d be there. Everything was ready, the tickets waiting to be picked up at the departure desk, her cases packed, her papers stacked neatly in her safe. She’d redrafted her will when Claus had left Germany to join her six years before. The decisions she had made then still held. Would this