‘Come on, get a sausage while they’re hot,’ he said, taking her hand. ‘Elliott is also aDoctor Whofan. Seems like a top bloke to me.’
‘He’s making Darla happy so that’s all that matters.’
‘I hope I can do the same,’ he said.
Ros raised her eyebrows.
‘With you I mean. Not Darla,’ he clarified.
‘Well recovered.’ They joined the small queue for food behind Barry and Amanda. Ros had queried Darla’s suggestion to invite her mother, but Darla argued that there was safety in numbers and that Ros should make a bigger effort to spend time with Amanda. The tides were changing and Ros was starting to feel differently about her mother. Their chat on the yacht and Ros’s own dilemma over the job opportunity had helped her to at least understand a little better the situation her mother had been faced with. They were very different people but they were slowly getting to know each other.
‘I like your top,’ said Amanda.
‘Thank you. Cameron has a better eye for casual attire than I do,’ said Ros.
‘Should the dog not be on a lead?’ Amanda asked Barry.
‘No, he’s fine. He can’t get out of the garden,’ said Barry.
Gazza was busy patrolling the line. He barked when he reached Cameron, even though he’d already greeted him a number of times already. Unfortunately his bark was quite sharp and a lady who had just had a selection of barbecue food added to her plate jumped and lost her sausage. Gazza was on it like a seagull after a chip. Despite its temperature the sausage disappeared in a matter of seconds and Gazza was already looking around for the next one.
‘Whoops,’ said Barry quietly to Ros and Cameron as if trying not to out himself as Gazza’s owner. He spotted them holding hands. ‘Hey, look at you two back together.’
‘Well—’ began Ros but Barry waved her words away.
‘I know what you’re going to say. But you’ve always been great together in my book.’
‘Thanks, Dad.’ It meant the world to her that he was so happy that they were properly in a relationship now. It was early days but as a lot of the groundwork had been done it was all feeling pretty wonderful from her perspective, and the fact that no flip charts had been required was a revelation and also a slight disappointment but she’d get over that.
‘How are you, Barry?’ asked Cameron.
‘So far so good,’ he said. ‘I’m the model patient apparently. Everything is going well. And long may it last.’
Gazza barked at the same lady who promptly dropped her replacement sausage. ‘Not again,’ said Barry in hushed tones as Gazza wolfed down the ill-gotten gains.
Darla came out of the back door with her parents right behind her. Ros really wanted everything to be okay. She’d not expected it but setting things straight with her own mother had been a huge relief. It was going to take some time to build trust between them but they now had regular meet-ups in the diary. They had even been for a takeaway coffee together and made a stop at the bench at Sunset Shore.
‘Please just grab me a hot dog,’ said Ros to Cameron. ‘I need to check on Darla.’
‘Sure,’ said Cameron, giving her a brief kiss, as if he would miss her while she was away from him.
Ros walked over to her friend. ‘How’d it go?’
‘Okay. A little bumpy. They were a bit upset that I felt I couldn’t tell them the truth. And amazed that I made all those trips up.’ Darla pulled a face. ‘But they like The Brambles, they want to meet Elliott and they’re really supportive of my new business. And the best bit was I got loads of hugs.’ She wiped away a tear. ‘I’ve really missed them.’
‘I know you have. But it sounds like it went brilliantly. Well done.’ She gave her a hug. ‘Does it feel like a weight has been lifted?’
Darla took a deep breath. ‘More like all the little chickens that have been roosting in my mind have been let out into the run.’
Ros wasn’t sure what that meant. But rather than challenge her friend she said, ‘I’m glad they’ve gone.’
‘I guess they’ve made room for all the trials running my own business is going to throw at me.’
‘I know you’re going to be just fine on that front. Remember who did the risk assessment?’ she said with a smile. ‘Come on, let’s get some food.’ Ros linked her arm in Darla’s and they walked back to the barbecue.
Cameron turned around and smiled at them both. He was the happiest person Ros had ever met and it was infectious. He went to hand her a hot dog just as Gazza barked. Cameron tightened his grip and the sausage flew out the end of the bun.
‘Gazza!’ The little dog grabbed his prize and ran off at speed, making everyone laugh, even Amanda.
THE END
