Milly smiled at me. ‘You missed your calling in life. You should have been a counsellor or a life coach.’
‘I think I’ll stick to patchwork quilts but thank you. So what else do you have in your journal to look forward to? Let’s focus on the good things ahead. Tomorrow starts today, just like Paulette said.’
‘Absolutely that!’ she said, clinking her glass against mine. ‘This is a good day. Well, not for Veronica, but itisa good day for me. I should have done this a long time ago.’
‘But you’ve done it now and that’s the important thing,’ I assured her. It was never too late. I knew that now.
35
A week passed with no sign of Veronica. My concern for her was eased a little by the knowledge that Laughlin and Lancelot visited every day. At my suggestion, Milly, Paulette, Laughlin and I had clubbed in for a bunch of bright, cheerful flowers and had signed athinking of youcard which Laughlin had taken round on the Tuesday. She’d sent us all a lovely message that afternoon.
From Veronica
Thank you all for the gorgeous flowers and card. That’s so kind of you. Thank you also for your kindness in giving me space to come to terms with that shocking and unexpected revelation. Your friendship means the world to me and I’d hate you to think I’m pushing you away. I’m just not strong enough to talk about it at the moment. I’m giving all my clubs and activities a miss this week but I hope to be back next week. Much love to you all x
To Veronica
I’m so sorry for what happened and completely understand the need for some time and space to process things. Thinking of you and here for you whenever you’re ready – even if that’s just for some mindless chatter about the weather over a slice of cake x
On Thursday, we had an update about the shop.
From Veronica
In the midst of a dark week, I have some exciting news! Ava says we can have the keys on Monday. The builders have finished and she sees no reason for us to wait another week before we get in. If we open on 28 March as discussed, we have five weeks to get organised which should be more than enough time. Created With Love will soon be open for business!
When Monday morning came round, we’d hoped Veronica would meet us for the key handover but Laughlin arrived shaking his head and making a zipping motion across his mouth which I took to indicate that he’d tell us more later. Saffy had joined us for a quick tour before her shift at The White Willow and she wasn’t aware of what was going on.
‘No Veronica today?’ Ava asked.
‘She’s feeling under the weather this morning,’ Laughlin said. ‘Sends her apologies.’
‘That’s a shame. Well, here’s two sets of keys but feel free to cut a set each. See how you get on with the cleaning and decorating. If you want to open earlier than planned, that’s fine, but your rent would start from that point. Just keep me posted.’
We thanked her for being so accommodating and she wished us luck before leaving us to it. Ava had given the keys to Milly so she did the honours and opened the door toourshop. We were really doing this!
Even though the unit still needed a deep clean, the treatment of the damp patch and the replacement of the window had already made a huge difference. That musty smell wasn’t nearly as strong and, if we kept the windows open while we worked and spread a few air fresheners around, it would soon clear.
Saffy snapped photos on her phone. She’d asked if she could design a display concept and, as none of us had a clear vision, we were happy for her to give it a go.
‘If you’re free for a drink in The White Willow afterwards, I’ll give you an update on Veronica,’ Laughlin said in a hushed voice while Saffy was exploring upstairs. ‘She’s given her permission.’
There wasn’t much we could do in the shop today. Milly needed to work this afternoon and Paulette had a dental appointment so we’d agreed to start on the cleaning tomorrow. We therefore locked up once Saffy had finished investigating and wandered over to The White Willow with her.
‘Veronica’s not quite ready to see anyone but she wanted me to give you an update,’ Laughlin said after Saffy started her shift and we’d placed our order. ‘She’s humiliated about the affair. She knows nobody’s judging her but she can’t help feeling like a fraud for talking so positively about Carson when it seems their marriage wasn’t as strong as she believed. She’s angry that he isn’t here to answer all the questions like why, who, how long? On top of that, she’s devastated about the affect this secret’s had on her daughters and their relationship with each other and with her. She feels like she gave up everything to support Carson and his career and, while she chose that life and loved what she did, this feels like a slap in the face and she’s reeling from it. You know Vee. You know what a proud and proper woman she is.’
We all expressed our understanding but nobody mentioned that Laughlin had just affectionately referred to Veronica as Vee. Was I the only one who’d noticed?
‘You’re probably wondering why she’s talking to me and not the rest of you. The thing is…’
Saffy brought our drinks and cakes over at that point so we paused the conversation while they were distributed.
‘You were saying…?’ Paulette prompted after Saffy left.
Laughlin picked up his teaspoon and stirred his latte, staring into the mug. ‘The reason Vee’s talking to me is that I know what she’s going through because I’ve been through it myself. Well, part of it.’
Beside me, Paulette gasped. ‘Surely not Noreen?’
Laughlin finally looked up and nodded. ‘Noreen and I met later in life. I was forty-two and she was forty-six. Neither of us had been married before, neither of us had children – we’d both been unlucky in love and had thrown ourselves into our careers instead. A mutual friend introduced us, we clicked immediately and, for the first twelve years, our marriage was great. But then Noreen lost her job. She was fifty-eight and far from being ready to retire, but she had no success job-hunting. She was convinced it was because of her age but I kept telling her something would turn up and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t appreciate how much each rejection broke her.
