“Of course. Let me take those for you,” she said, relieving Carrie of the dirty plates and cutlery and going into the kitchen.
“Have you got time to take a walk with me?” Michael asked.
Carrie nodded.
Chapter 25
They walked in silence through the house and out of the front door and began making their way down the hill to the beach.
“Just a second,” said Carrie. She ducked into an open off-licence and emerged a moment later with a bottle of red wine. “I owe you a drink from when you won our race,” she explained, making Michael smile.
The sun was beginning to set and the beach was quiet as they approached it, with just a few dog walkers and their hounds enjoying an evening stroll.
They sat down next to each other on the rock they’d sat on before and Carrie opened the screw cap on the wine and passed it to Michael who took a sip.
“Not bad,” he said. He let out a deep breath. “So, you’re back.”
“I am,” Carrie said. “I guess you could say I’ve seen sense.”
“How long are you planning to stay for?”
“We’re properly staying.” Carrie accepted the wine from him and took a swig before saying, “I accepted Auntie Mary’s job offer.”
Michael’ face burst into a grin which made Carrie’s stomach flip. “What made you change your mind?”
“A lot of things, mainly how miserable I was feeling and how sorry Poppy was to leave. I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing, but then Tony didn’t show up yesterday and it was like something clicked. I realised that you were right: I couldn’t keep trying to make him into something he wasn’t. I see how you are with Layla and with Poppy and I wanted him to be like that. But it’s time to accept that’s not who he is. I finally stood up to him, putting me and Poppy first.” She took another drink and passed Michael the bottle.
“Thank you for what you said,” she continued. “I know I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but you were right and I’m so, so sorry for the way I reacted.”
Michael held an arm out and Carrie moved in closer.
“And actually I think it’s better for Tony as well. He took Poppy out by himself for the first time today without me having to get involved when things went wrong.”
“He’d never successfully taken his daughter out by himself before? She’s seven!” said Michael incredulously.
“I know, I know.” Carrie put her head in her hands. “Not everyone can be a Super Dad like you, but I suspect I haven’t helped matters.”
“I’m not a Super Dad,” said Michael gently. “I’m just a guy doing his best to bring up a daughter he loves very much. It sounds like Tony is falling short by a massive margin.”
“He is, and I’ve made excuses for him to Poppy. He’s never had to deal with the repercussions of his actions.”
“Only because you wanted Poppy to have a relationship with her dad. It’s understandable.”
“But that didn’t need to be at the expense of my happiness. I’d put my life on hold in case he decided we were good enough for him. I just so wanted for Poppy to have a proper family.”
There was a pause before Michael asked quietly, “You want to get back together with him?”
“No!” said Carrie, shaking her head adamantly. “Absolutely not. But for a long time I thought that was what I wanted, for Poppy’s sake. It was coming here and... meeting you in particular that made me realise he would never make me happy even if he did want to be a family.”
“He’s an idiot to let you get away,” said Michael quietly.
They were both silent for a moment before Michael said, “Shall we walk?”
They got up and wandered further along, clambering over the rocks on to the next beach.
“Here’s the spot where you first attempted to entice me by showing me your bra,” Michael teased.
Carrie gave him a playful shove. “It was worth a try, right?”
