The Happy Endings Book Club Read Free Page A

father is a fairy and lives in Cornwall.”
    Arley stared intently at Paige for what seemed like an eternity, his sea blue eyes searching deep into her own. Finally he said, “Why don’t you go back in and ask her more about it? The very fact that she’s even mentioned it, after all this time, means she wants to talk.” Arley stood and smiled reassuringly. “Then, afterward, drop by and see me. And if you’re still concerned, I’ll talk to her doctor.”
    “I appreciate that. She won’t let me speak to her doctor.”
    “Fair enough. She’s elderly, but wants to remain independent.”
    “Well, that won’t happen if she has dementia, will it?”
    “Go and talk to her, Paige. Ask questions. And be open to what she says.’
    Paige nodded. Arley was right. She needed to find out as much as possible while her mother was in the mood to talk. “Thanks for listening.”
    “No, thank you for sharing.” And with that he sauntered out in such a sexy way that it was impossible for Paige to not check out his butt. For a moment she almost felt young again. Then she remembered her own butt and the feeling passed.
    *
    Paige returned to her mother’s room to find Jean flicking through a copy of Vogue .
    “I thought you’d left.”
    “I was talking to Arley.”
    Jean’s face lit up. “He’s a sexy man.”
    Good lord, was this her mother or an impostor planted by aliens?
    “He’s about your age too,” Jean added. “And single … so I’m told.”
    “By who?”
    “By him, when I asked him.”
    Paige shook her head. How had her buttoned-up mother ever become relaxed enough to ask her physiotherapist such a question?
    “I think you two have an awful lot in common. Perhaps more than you realize.”
    “Well, unless he spends most nights alone eating Marks & Spencer dinners while flicking through book release catalogues, that’s unlikely.”
    “You could ask him out,” Jean suggested.
    “Pigs will fly first.”
    “There are stranger things out there than flying pigs, dear.”
    Paige decided to ignore her mother and take control of the conversation. “I need to know, Mum, what makes you think my father was—?”
    “A fairy?”
    “Well, yes, I guess … for want of a better term. I’m not sure that’s appropriate, but yes.”
    “He told me,” Jean said
    “He told you?”
    “Yes. I didn’t believe him at first. As you can imagine, I was shocked. But then he introduced me to all the other fairies. I went to some fairy parties with him. I had fun … everyone so happy and gay.”
    Paige yanked at her collar. The room was so stuffy. “So how long before you left him?”
    “Two years. Around the time you were born.”
    Paige looked at her mother in horror. “You stayed with him, and fell pregnant, despite what you knew about him?”
    “I know, but I was in love. The reality only hit home when I became pregnant. I knew having a little half-blood—”
    “Half what?”
    “Well, you’re half his, Paige, whether you like it or not.”
    “Yes, but that doesn’t make me half gay … or bisexual … or anything.”
    “What on earth are you talking about?” Jean was completely baffled.
    “Having a gay father doesn’t make me half homosexual.”
    “Who said your father was a homosexual?”
    “You did.”
    Jean looked at her daughter as though she was nuts. “I did not.”
    Paige began to panic. Her mother really was losing her marbles. “You did. All afternoon you’ve been saying that my father was a fairy.”
    Jean shook her head at her daughter’s stupidity. “Honestly, Paige, you’ve never listened to me, have you? I didn’t say your father was gay. I said he was a fairy. One of the little people that live under the hills in Cornwall.”
    *
    Paige’s hand shook as she knocked on Arley’s door. How cruel old age could be. Her mother had always been the most sensible woman she’d ever met. For her to be reduced to this babbling, delusional creature was almost more than Paige could