‘Yes, well, he’s a nice guy. Easy to talk to. I’m enjoying getting to know him,’ Suzy said, giving little away. ‘It’s shown me that I can talk to and enjoy men’s company, which is something of a revelation. Until recently, the only men in my life were my dad, the boys and my old work colleagues. Meeting Michael has shown me that there is a raft of opportunity out there,’ she said, her eyes shining.
‘Exactly, and we only need to look at Tess to see that love can come along when you’re least expecting it. It gives hope to us all, and it’s why I’m going to leave it to chance now, instead of trying to make it happen. Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling me it’s not right for me at the moment.’ Gina looked as though she’d given some serious thought to the subject.
‘But you guys! I would be really happy if you all hooked up with gorgeous men and found your happy ever afters, as long as you promise me that it won’t impact on our friendship and our plans. We can’t have men trying to infiltrate the Four Musketeers. We’ll still have our regular supper evenings and our breaks away. It’s good for our state of mind and for my sanity. Agreed?’
‘Agreed,’ everyone said in unison, knowing sometimes, there was absolutely no arguing with Gina.
25
The following morning, as soon as they were all awake, they ventured out onto the decking of the lodge to breathe in the wonderful sea air. It was just as wild and woolly as it had been the day before, but now they could take in the whole panoramic view, spot the ships and boats, large and small, sailing on the sea in the distance and hear the gulls squawking around them.
‘Happy birthday, Gina!’ Dilly raised her mug of coffee to the air and the others all followed suit, exclaiming their best wishes to their friend.
‘I love this,’ said Gina, embracing the elements. ‘What a special place to spend my birthday. Do you think we should all sell up and come and live by the seaside?’
‘I could be tempted,’ said Dilly with a grin, ‘although, I’m not sure about Tess. She’s a proper home bird. I can’t imagine you ever wanting to leave Lower Leaping.’
‘No, you’re right. I can appreciate how wonderful this is, obviously, and it’s so beneficial to have a change of scene, but really, there’s no place like home, is there? I have all my friends in Lower Leaping, great neighbours, and it will be at the heart of my new business too. Hollyhocks holds too many ties and too many happy memories for me to ever want to leave it behind. Besides, everyone knows my secrets there,’ she said with a knowing look towards Gina. ‘You know, Charles and I always used to call it our Forever Cottage. Ha! Perhaps we were tempting fate by naming it that.’ She gave a rueful shrug. ‘After all the time and work we put into restoring Hollyhocks, we agreed that we would never want to move away. So, it might not have turned out to be Charles’s Forever Cottage, but I really hope it will stay mine.’
‘Right,’ said Gina, holding her face up to the sky, relishing the sensation of the sea spray on her face. ‘Well, I couldn’t possibly move without you lot so that’s just another valid reason for us to schedule in more trips away in the future and to make the most of the time we have here. Where to first?’
They headed out of the lodge and down the hill, spreading out onto the narrow road to walk four abreast, the seagulls their constant companions. The centre of the little seaside town was already abuzz with activity with shopkeepers putting their stands of windcheaters and, perhaps optimistically, beach accessories outside. Tourists, like them, out and about, exploring the quaint cobble streets and mooching about the specialist shops. The numerous cafés were already doing a roaring breakfast trade and the aromas of the coffee tempted them towards a large seafront restaurant with outside seating down by the harbour. It was brisk and blowy but they were well wrapped up in their waterproof jackets and hiking boots and they relished their prime position at a table where they could watch fishing boats unloading their catches, the young children with their parents crabbing over the harbour wall and the many dogs padding up and down, enjoying the scents of the sea air.
‘Oh I miss Barney. He would absolutely love it here, although he would be an absolute pain with all these new smells, so I’m really rather glad he’s being safely looked after at home by Hannah.’
After a hearty breakfast of juices, coffees and hot bacon rolls, perfect sustenance for their planned coastal walk, they made tracks and headed towards the path that offered far-reaching clifftop views. It was a seven-mile walk, but they were in no hurry to reach the end; they were happy to take their time, to stop and admire the scenery, to appreciate the flora and in particular the pink, yellow and white plants that grew in clumps alongside their route.
‘They look so delicate and fragile,’ Dilly remarked, ‘but they must be pretty hardy to withstand these elements.’
‘Just like us then,’ said Gina. ‘Delicate on the outside but as strong as those rocks over there on the inside.’
‘I’m not sure anyone would describe me as delicate,’ Dilly said, laughing, ‘but I like the sentiment.’
They had been walking for about an hour when they realised that Suzy had fallen behind. They turned around to see her standing, a lone figure, holding onto the back of a bench, looking out to sea, completely lost in her own thoughts. Going back to collect her, Tess asked, ‘Are you okay, Suzy?’ She placed a hand on her shoulder as Dilly and Gina joined them.
‘Yes,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m just having a moment. Being here, experiencing nature at its rawest, feeling the wind against my skin, I can almost imagine that Martin is out there somewhere, within touching distance.’ She reached her hand out in front of her. ‘You probably think I’m completely mad.’
‘Not at all,’ said Tess, wrapping an arm around her friend.
‘Sometimes, it hits me: the unfairness of it all. That he was taken away before his time, that he didn’t get a chance to see his boys grow up and that we were denied all those happy years together.’
‘I know,’ agreed Tess. ‘Totally unfair, although he’d be incredibly proud at how you’ve managed without him and the amazing job you’ve done in bringing up your boys. They are his legacy.’
‘Yes, you’re right,’ said Suzy, her face lighting up in a smile. ‘I can see his personality and mannerisms in them both, much more so now that they’re older. I suppose it is bittersweet knowing that they are doing so well, happy, living their own lives, which is all you want for your children, but this should really be our time together and it makes me so sad that he’s missed out on all of this.’
‘What do you think Martin would be saying to you today if he was here, standing alongside you?’ Dilly piped up.
Suzy pondered on that for a moment, her gaze still scanning the horizon as if in search of him.
‘Oh, he’d be entirely fed up with me. I’m fed up with myself at times. He’d be telling me to stop harking on about the past and to get on with living in the present.’
‘And what do you think about that advice?’ Dilly probed. ‘What would you say to him?’
Suzy nodded, looking around at her friends, the invigorating conditions making her eyes water. Or at least, she thought it was the wind. Her friends were all struggling with the elements in the same way.
‘It’s probably good advice, isn’t it?’ she said, asking around their faces for confirmation, which they duly gave, nodding at her intently. ‘What would I say to him? That I loved him, and that I understood, and I would do my utmost to live my life as he would want me to. To not waste another day.’
Tess wrapped her arms around Suzy, with Gina and Dilly getting in on the act for a group hug. Eventually, Gina, who seemed to have taken on the role of group leader, said, ‘Come on, let’s get a couple more miles in. Then we can have birthday cake!’
