Mikayla bounced out of the house. “Billy’s not happy with your present. He wants to get you something else. Alright if I take him down the street?”
Juniper sighed. “Sure. That’s lovely. Thank you.”
Mikayla came over and took the streamer from Juniper, reaching up with her extra height and winding it around a branch. “Bit of a shit birthday, hey.”
“Yeah, a bit.”
Mikayla gave her arm a sympathetic rub. “I wish it hadn’t turned out that way.”
“Me too. Right now, I wish I could get to feeling better about it all.”
“It’s only been a month.”
“True.”
A subdued Billy came out of the house with his sandals on and walked down the steps. “I’m ready, Mikky.”
Juniper sighed again as Mikayla and Billy left. It wasn’t getting better. She wasn’t getting better. The pain was as sharp now as it had been on the day William had left. She wondered if they’d made a mistake, been too hasty. Could there be a compromise to be had somewhere that would give her a little bit of happiness? She wondered whether they had really explored all the options. They’d never allowed themselves to talk about the future in any depth, before they’d recognized that they didn’t have one. Her thoughts traveled down a very worn track. The first stop - the ultimate fantasy of William somehow living in Blessed Inlet. The second stop – some half-life where they snatched visits where they could. The third stop – her moving to Sydney. Seeing as there was no way William could leave his family in the lurch, and a half measure would almost be worse than nothing, that left the third option. Maybe she could see a therapist. Or maybe there was some drug she could take. Anti-anxiety medication was a thing. She felt her heartbeat fluttering uncomfortably at her throat at the very idea. She drifted over to the box of paper decorations she’d made with Billy, pressing her hand to her heart, trying to alleviate the ache. She was dimly aware of the sound of a car pulling up out the front and a frown of annoyance creased her brows. She’d shut the shop for her birthday, and she really didn’t feel up to explaining to some demanding customer whyshe couldn’t serve them today. Maybe it would be easier just to serve them. Then knowing her luck, they’d want to browse, or ask ridiculous questions. She heard a car door open and close, then silence as she waited for the sound of the knock at the shop door.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and she turned to the gate. Her heart squeezed painfully as she gasped and let the streamers drop from her nerveless fingers. “William,” she whispered. She watched him move towards her as though in a dream until he was standing in front of her, his eyes alight as they roved over her face.
“Hey.”
Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She just stood there staring at him. He reached out and stroked a finger lightly down her cheek and she blinked as her eyes blurred with tears.
“It’s your birthday.”
She nodded.
“I made you something.” He held out a gift-wrapped box, smiling at her with such tenderness she felt a little sliver of nervous hope sneak into her heart.
She took it from him and sat on the edge of the deck, staring at him as he moved to sit beside her. She couldn’t stop staring at him, drinking him in hungrily. Still smiling, he gestured at the box. “Open it.”
She dragged her eyes away from his beautiful face and, looking down at the gift, weighed it experimentally in her hands. Heavy. Solid. With shaking fingers, she peeled back the wrapping paper and, scrunching it up, dropped it next to her. Then she laid the box in her lap and seeing a tab along the edge, ran her finger under it andlifted it.
“Ooooh,” she gasped, raising brimming eyes to his face. “Oh, god. It’s beautiful.” She looked down at the box in her lap, running a finger gently over the exquisitely carved statue, reaching under to lift it from the box. Tears sliding down her face she gazed at it in wonder. It was her, holding Billy in her arms, his head resting on her shoulder. He had one arm around her neck, his other hand resting on her cheek. Her feet wear bare. It was so exquisitely carved you could almost imagine the skirt of her dress moving in the breeze. Her eyes were closed, and a gentle smile curved her lips.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” she said, turning to look at him. She wanted desperately to reach out and touch him but felt unsure. If this was a flying visit to acknowledge her birthday, she wasn’t sure how to respond. It was sweet and wonderful, of course, but also heart breaking. There would be no way she could let Billy see him if he was here just for the day; it would confuse and upset him too much. But there was that look in his eyes, the way he was watching her. Cradling the statue close, she wiped her hand across her cheeks.
“What are you doing here, William?”
“Well, now, there’s a story.” He took her hand, linking his fingers through hers. She let him, because it felt so lovely, and she’d been craving it. “I’ve been a bit of a mess, Juniper.”
“Me too,” she said quietly, causing him to tighten his hold on her fingers.
“I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding it, but apparently not. I hadn’t told anyone what happened between us, I just said it didn’t work out. One night, Mum came over. She saw what I was making.” He gestured to the figurine in her arms. “It wasn’t your gift, at that stage, because I didn’t think I was going to see you again. It was for me.” He let out a shuddering breath and sheshifted a little closer, watching his face intently. “Of course, she knew straight away that I was still in love with you, so then she asked me if the problem was you.” He reached up and tucked a curl behind her ear. “I got a bit defensive, so that gave the game away. She figured out pretty quickly what had happened, but she just left me to it.” He smiled at her. “Behind my back, however, she called a family meeting. A whole lot of action happened that is too boring to go into right now, but the end result might interest you.”
Juniper let out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. “What was the end result?”
“They fired me.”
She gasped. “William! No!”
His smile widened, the glow in his eyes shooting straight through her. “Yes.”
“Are you okay with it?” She reached a tentative hand up to touch his face and he turned his head, pressing his lips to her palm.
