Surprisingly, Summer didn’t change the subject, but flushing from something more than the early afternoon sun, she talked whilst bedding impatiens.
‘Nate is incredible. The way he is with animals would melt anyone’s heart, but I’ve known him since I was thirteen years old and he’s almost like a brother to me.’
‘Mm-hmm.’ There was something there, floating so close to the surface; it was like Summer wanted to talk to someone about it. ‘Almost?’
She laughed and shrugged coyly. ‘Well, he’s not my brother. He was adopted; I was in the foster system for a long time. He gets what that does to your psyche; not everyone does.’
‘No, I’m sure they don’t, and I can see why that would give you a strong bond.’ Cherry saw the irony of her trying to read someone else’s love life when her own was barely legible. But reading people was fun; she liked Summer, and it was a nice diversion.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, the two women dug and planted and talked, until their skin was burning.Cherry was settling plants in the flowerbeds while Summer, guiding honeysuckle up a bamboo trellis, asked if she wanted some ginger wine. This was another thing Cherry wasn’t putting up a fight about.
‘The Butlers are an amazing family, aren’t they?’ Cherry said, leaning back on her elbows on the grass, emboldened by half a glass of the alcoholic drink.
‘They are,’ Summer agreed.‘I love them so much.’
‘Yeah.’ Cherry noticed how truly potent the buzz from this wine was. ‘I know they’ve had their problems – bigones. Jimmy dying, for one, but sometimes I feel I’m short-changing Sean.’ She glanced at Summer, who was listening with interest, giving her encouragement to continue. ‘He’s bringing warmth and love and this amazing clan to the table. I’ve come from a rollercoaster life playing poker that my mum, the tarot reader, likes to remind me is no good for anyone.’
Summer turned on her side to face Cherry, strategically bringing her wine with her and not spilling a drop. Her expression was warm but serious.
‘I don’t have a vast amount of successful experience to draw from, but don’t we bring different things to a relationship? You don’t need to give Sean exactly the same thing he gives you. He has a big, strong family, and that’s there for you. And you, gorgeous Cherry, are bringing him all this vibrancy and grab-life energy and this beautiful soul of yours. I don’t know if he’s ever had that.’
Vibrancy and grab-life energy and a beautiful soul?These words were so kind that Cherry wanted to weep and hug Summer. This was exactly what she needed to hear – that she was more than what she was not. It was so simple, thinking of what she did bring to Sean’s life, yet she had become fixated on what she might not give him.
‘Thank you, Summer. That’s so incredibly kind of you to say.’
‘It’s true. I can easily see why he married you.’ Summer sipped her wine, pacing herself better than Cherry was. ‘And listen, Sean might come from small-town Scotland, but he’s got a worldly head on his shoulders. This amazing mix of stability and insight. He has so much love to give, and he’ll be your rock. I hope I’m not overstepping the mark in saying that.’
Cherry wiped at her eyes with semi-muddy fingers, then pulled up the hem of her vest to wipe away the dirt. It stung, hearing what Sean had tried to tell her about himself. ‘You’re not overstepping the mark at all,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much, Summer.’
‘Oh, and one very important thing about him that you ought to know…’
This sounded ominous, but the excitement in Summer’s voice suggested otherwise.
‘He can do the lift fromDirty Dancing. Well, his part. If you’ve got good core muscles then he’ll have you up there. In the water… But not many Scottish men can say that.’
Cherry laughed and inwardly thanked Summer for breaking the tension. ‘Ah, didn’t he just keep that one a secret? I’ll need to speak to him about that.’
‘You definitely should. Now, would you like a top-up?’
‘Absolutely, I would.’
And as they were going for the bottle, a streak of different ginger weaved through the flowerbeds. Long-haired, sleek and curious, sniffing at the new array of plants.
‘Oh! A kitty!’ Summer shimmied on her stomach towards the cat, hand outstretched. Immediately, it came to her. ‘I wonder where it’s from. It’s skinny and so matted. Have you seen it here before?’
‘No, never.’ Cherry remembered her dad chasing away several strays from his allotment, despite her protestations to adopt them. ‘Could it have been dumped?’
‘Possibly.’ Summer scratched at the cat’s chin, and it took the affection with ease. ‘People tend not to drive down here to dump their cats, although I wouldn’t put it past some arseholes.’
‘I’ll text Sean and ask if he’s seen it before.’ Cherrypicked up her phone, attaching a picture of the cat to the message.
CHERRY: There’s a stray cat here. Big ginger floofster. You know it?
A few minutes later, Sean replied.
SEAN: Aye, Meowchel J Fluff. He stops by sometimes.
She relayed the message back to Summer, who laughed.
