‘It would be our honour,’ they replied at the same time, then laughed.
Martha was in her element, working the room and reminiscing with all her friends, until Gianni the chef came out and spoke to Flynn, who sounded the gong in the corner of the room.
‘Dinner will be served in fifteen minutes.’
When everyone was seated, Isla stood at a microphone and the room fell silent.
‘Thank you all for coming this afternoon to help celebrate my beautiful grandmother’s special birthday. Apparently, I am banned from saying her age.’
The room laughed.
‘Just before we devour the delicious delights of the three-course meal prepared by award-winning Michelin star chef Gianni, I thought it was only fair that we suitably embarrass my granny with a trip down memory lane. The Heartcross community began many years ago and, as the saying goes, once you arrive in Heartcross, you never want to leave.’
Bea dared to take a sideward glance at Nolan, who was looking in Isla’s direction. She could have sworn he had tears in his eyes.
‘It’s an absolute privilege that I get to call you my granny, my family and my best friend. Family is everything to me and us. Not only will my granny be suitably embarrassed but there is a long list of wonderful folks who are taking one for the team this afternoon.’
There was a ripple of laughter around the room.
‘If you look over towards this screen, you’ll see that we have photographs going back to Granny’s childhood, showcasing every step of her life. So, sit back and enjoy the journey … the long journey,’ she joked, giving a tearful Martha a cheeky wink.
The whole restaurant turned towards the screen as Martha’s life began to play out to the soundtrack of her favourite song.
‘Look, there’s The Little Blue Boathouse.’ Bea grabbed Nolan’s knee. ‘And a very young Martha.’ She was posing against the door with her leg kicked back and her hands on her hips. ‘You look like a right handful there, Granny,’ whispered Isla.
Nolan stared at the screen as images of his grandfather and Martha were projected before his eyes. There they were paddling in the water at Castaway Bay, sitting on the deck of The Hemingway and dancing in front of the bandstand at Primrose Park. Nolan felt sad, knowing that if his grandfather had known about Gwen, everything would have been different. The way he and Martha looked at each other, they oozed true love and admiration. He glanced at Bea out of the corner of his eye. A lonely tear ran down her face and she discreetly brushed it away with the back of her hand, her eyes transfixed on the photographs in front of her.
Slipping out of his seat, Nolan took a breather outside and walked back down the jetty. His mind and heart were in turmoil. He never thought when he came on the hunt for Patsy that he would end up with distant relatives and a girl that he knew he was falling in love with. Looking up at the sky, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Deep down he knew Hannah would want him to be happy but he was so frightened by the prospect of experiencing such grief again.
He walked back towards The Hemingway and into his room. Locked in the bottom drawer of his bedside cabinet was an album full of photos of Hannah. He sat on the bed and turned the pages slowly, weeping as he looked over every photo.
* * *
When the slideshow came to an end, a ripple of applause coursed around the room. Martha, who had held on to Gwen’s hand throughout, was full of happy emotion. It was at that moment that Bea turned towards Nolan and found his chair empty. Her heart began to pound as she looked around the room but couldn’t see him anywhere. Martha was up on her feet giving a short speech and thanking her family and life-long friends for coming. The waiters then began to bring the food out, but all Bea could think about was that she’d told Nolan to slip away without saying goodbye.
‘Are you okay?’ whispered Isla, noticing Bea had paled.
‘He’s gone.’ Bea took a deep breath and held out her hand. ‘Look, I’m shaking. I’d hoped he’d wouldn’t go.’ Feeling the pain in her heart she pressed a tissue to her eyes. She needed to hold it together somehow. After all, this was Martha’s moment.
‘He hasn’t gone anywhere, he’s here.’
Bea’s head swung in the direction of the door and relief flooded her veins at the sight of Nolan. He held a huge bouquet of beautiful blooms. Her heart pounding, she couldn’t take her eyes off him as he made his way to the microphone. He looked across at Isla, who gave him a nod of encouragement.
‘What’s going on?’ whispered Bea.
Isla shrugged but gave Bea a warm smile. ‘Everything is going to be okay.’
Nolan looked nervous as he took to the microphone and all eyes were on him. ‘I won’t keep you long as I can see a magnificent feast being brought to your tables. My name is Nolan Hemingway and I live on the houseboat The Hemingway, which once belonged to my grandfather, Morgan Hemingway. Many moons ago, my grandfather sailed into Heartcross and his boat paraded in the very first River Festival.
‘My grandfather recorded all his travels in a log book, and I’ve been retracing his voyages since he passed away.’ Nolan’s voice cracked. His emotions were still very raw when he spoke about his grandfather and he pressed his fingers against his eyes. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to get upset, this is a joyous occasion.’
Martha stood up and walked over to Nolan, taking his hand. She nodded at him. ‘You’ve got this,’ she whispered.
‘As a young boy my grandfather used to tell me stories of a place called Heartcross, with its towering mountain and the castle on the hill. It was the place where he met his Heartcross Princess, Patsy, at The Little Blue Boathouse. I didn’t realise this place was actually real until a few years ago when I saw it on the news, and it took me by surprise. After I renovated the boat, I knew the place I had to visit most of all was right here, and what I stumbled across was a wonderful place filled with an amazing community, which has begun to help me heal after my own tragedy a few years ago. Heartcross is a special place that helps to mend broken hearts.’ Nolan looked over towards Bea, who was on the verge of more tears. ‘Even though I’ve not known Martha very long, I feel like I’ve known her all my life, and I can see exactly why she is so special to your community. I know that my grandfather would have loved to be here today, but unfortunately you’ve got me…’
Martha laughed and gave him a quick squeeze.
‘And so, on behalf of myself and my grandfather, these flowers are for you, Martha, and I hope I got them right because in his stories he always talked about Princess Patsy’s favourite blooms.’
