New Horizons

She'd provided a haven for her granddaughter - but once she left for uni, when would she see her again?

- BETH MCKAY

Pam opened the kitchen door, cradling her mug of coffee. Crisp leaves rustled underfoot as she ventured further along the path. She was glad of her warm cardigan. The sky above was pale, a cobweb of fine white trails traced lightly across it.

Pam nodded to herself. It was going to be a lovely autumn day when the sun warmed the chill morning air. She could feel it in her bones. She might even be able to hang the sheets out.

A startled blackbird darted back into the hedgerow, its cheerful song chiming with her optimistic thoughts.

Her granddaughter, Lilly, would be driving to Cardiff University later and Pam was determined to give her a good send-off. She had baked Lilly's favourite chocolate cake and packed it carefully in a brand new turquoise tin. Her daughter, Sue, had suggested that a cake would be the best housewarming present.

"It'll break the ice and help her make friends when she arrives," Sue had assured her. "Everyone loves chocolate, don't they?"

Pam's husband, Neville, would have been the first to agree. She wished he were here to see Lilly off with her. He would have been proud to know that his eldest granddaughter had reaped the rewards for two years of hard work, and made the grades for university.