Penny sighed. “I’d like to, but we’ve decided to leave the manager in place. Her contract isn’t finished, and besides, I’ll want to have maternity leave soon anyway. So, I’ll oversee things, but I won’t be on site every day or anything like that. And once the baby is a bit older, we can revisit it all and decide where to go from there.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” Taya replied. “But how long will Rowan work on the road?”
Penny’s smile faded. She swallowed. “Indefinitely. He doesn’t want to give up his career. We tried that, and it didn’t go well. He was so unhappy. I think there were a lot of factors involved, but he doesn’t agree. He knows that he’s feeling better now than he was before, and he doesn’t want that to change. It’s fine, though. I don’t mind. I want him to be happy. It means we’ll be apart sometimes, and he’ll fly home whenever he can. But I don’t want to live on the road.”
“You do whatever works for you,” Bea replied.
Taya took a bite of roast beef and chewed thoughtfully. Everything was changing, some things for the better. Life lately had been an emotional roller coaster ride. She was grateful for Penny’s pregnancy and that she was moving home. She worried that Penny and Rowan’s marriage might not survive their living apart, but they would deal with that when it happened—if it happened. If they could find a healthy balance for themselves, who was she to criticise?
“How are you coping with everything, Taya?” Evie asked as she took a sip of iced tea.
Taya’s stomach clenched. Whenever anyone wanted to talk about her dad, she felt nothing but dread and anguish. “I’m coping. Mum’s strangely serene. I’m worried she’s in denial. But we’re putting together a lovely public memorial service for Friday. I knew Dad had impacted a lot of lives, but I’m surprised every day by how many notes, letters, bunches of flowers and phone calls Mum gets from people all over the world. So many people want to pay their respects, so we thought this would be the best way. You’re invited, by the way. It’s at the chapel here in Blue Shoal.”
“We’ll be there,” Bea replied.
“Are you going with your mum or Andrew, Taya?” Penny asked.
Taya hesitated. “I’ll be with Mum. Andrew broke up with me.”
“What?” All three ladies exclaimed the word in unison.
Bea held a cup in the air, Evie sputtered around a mouthful of potato, and Penny set her fork down on her plate, her cheeks growing redder by the moment.
“He broke up with you?” Penny asked, her eyes narrow.
Taya pressed her lips into a thin line. “Yesterday.”
“Three weeks after your father’s death, and he breaks up with you?”
Taya nodded. “He says his parents are coming to stay with him to escape some kind of religious extremists who killed his wife years ago. And they’re traditionalists who won’t understand our relationship.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Penny huffed. “What’s to understand? You care for each other.”
“I thought we did,” Taya replied. “It turns out I was wrong, I guess.”
“That was cruel of him,” Bea said. “I never would’ve imagined he could do something like that.”
“C’est la vie,” Taya replied. “But I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve only just stopped crying, and we’ve got a delicious roast to eat. Let’s talk about something lively and fun. Like, whether we should have a theme for the reunion.”
“A theme?” Bea asked. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“We could doAlice in Wonderland,” Evie suggested.
“Or what about Sherlock Holmes?” Penny said.
Taya tipped her head to one side. “Sherlock Holmes? That might be interesting. People could dress up as him, a police officer, or a criminal.”
“It could be fun. But do people like going to dress-up parties these days?” Bea asked, her tone sceptical.
“I don’t know,” Taya replied. “But I think we should do it. We’re having a scavenger hunt—we can set it up to match the theme.”
“That’s a great idea."
“But how about something more applicable to the event, like nineties?” Evie suggested.
“I love it,” Taya replied.
“Grunge rock, plaid and torn jeans,” Bea said with a laugh.
