31
‘Well,’ Evan said, raising his glass and clinking it against Mac’s, ‘here’s to new beginnings and happy endings. I couldn’t be more pleased for you.’
They were sitting in the light, spacious restaurant at Captain Taylor’s Hotel on the promenade at Millensea. Large bay windows ran the full length of the room, providing enviable views out to sea. On a day like today – the last day of March – where the sky was cloudless and the sun shone, even a slightly run-down little seaside town like this looked beautiful.
It was Tuesday lunchtime, and Evan had an hour before returning to work, so they’d taken the opportunity to meet up for a tasty meal of fish and chips, washed down with alcohol-free beer.
It had been Mac’s suggestion to meet. He wanted to tell Evan about his plans for the future and ask him what he thought of them. He’d had no intention of telling him how things had moved on with Alison, but somehow he couldn’t contain his happiness, and he’d given his new, but already dear friend a very discreet version of events.
‘It seems to me,’ Evan said, ‘that things are finally coming right for you. Your mother would be delighted. She always said that Kelsea Sands would be the place you’d find your happiness. She kept telling me so. “If I can just get him to come home, Evan,” she’d say, “I just know everything would be all right then.” Leaving Watersmeet to you was never just about the animals, you know. She wanted you to have a home where you could live the sort of life you deserved.’ He looked up at the ceiling and raised his glass again. ‘Well played, Sheila, my dear. Well played.’
Mac thought Evan was getting slightly carried away. ‘It’s not as cut and dried as all that, is it?’ he said.
‘I don’t see why not,’ Evan said comfortably. ‘Sounds to me like you’ve got great plans for Watersmeet, of which I heartily approve, and I’m sure your mother would, too. And you’ve clearly got the girl. What more do you need?’
‘My children, for a start,’ Mac reminded him. ‘I’ve written to them, care of Lynne and Terry’s address, but there’s no guarantee they’ll reply. Lynne and Terry might not even pass the letters on.’
‘What’s for you won’t go by you,’ Evan said. ‘You’ve told me you’ll be persistent, and persistence pays off. Water cuts through rock, not because it’s stronger but because it keeps on going, wearing the rock away through time. All those vast valleys and gorges cut out by water!’ He gave him a resigned look. ‘You only have to look at our vanishing shoreline to know that. Persistence, Mac. That’s what it takes.’
‘Maybe,’ Mac said doubtfully. ‘But then there’s Alison.’
Evan sighed. ‘You really know how to kill a mood, don’t you? What more do you want from her? Is it the L word?’ He nodded. ‘If you want my advice, you need to say it to her first. Women like that sort of thing. Once she’s sure you love her, she’ll be happy to say it back, you wait and see.’
‘How can I tell her I love her?’ Mac demanded. ‘Don’t you think there’s something more pressing I should tell her first?’
Evan looked confused. ‘There is? Like what?’
As Mac stared at him, his expression changed. ‘Oh! Yes, I see what you mean. Well, I suppose you have a point,’ he said, almost reluctantly. ‘I mean, she probably does have to know, doesn’t she? Well…’
‘Yes,’ Mac said firmly. ‘She does. I can’t build a future with Alison on anything less than complete honesty. There’s been way too much deceit and lying in my past, and I can’t start a new life without coming clean about my old one.’
‘Fair play,’ Evan said. He gulped some of his beer and pulled a face. ‘It’s not the same, is it? What I wouldn’t give for a pint of Guinness right now, but I have house calls later and I can’t exactly go on the bus. What can you do?’ He sighed regretfully. ‘So, when are you going to tell her?’
‘I don’t know,’ Mac admitted. ‘I’m terrified. I have no idea how she’s going to take it, and I can’t help thinking I should have come clean before we – you know.’
‘But if youhad, you might never have –you know.’
‘Thanks for that,’ Mac said, aghast. ‘So youdothink she’ll break up with me after she knows the truth?’
Evan threw up his hands. ‘It was a joke! Just a joke. If you’re honest with her and explain what was going on at the time, and how you felt, and why you did what you did, I’m sure she’ll understand. Your mother did.’
‘My mother adored me.’
‘Sounds to me like Alison adores you, too.’
‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ Mac said, his eyes widening. ‘It’s very early days. Fragile. It could so easily be broken.’
‘Then, maybe don’t tell her until it’s not so fragile?’ Evan suggested cautiously.
Mac shook his head. ‘It wouldn’t be fair. She deserves the truth. And like I said, I can’t start a new life with this hanging over me.’ He paused, thinking. ‘I’ll invite her round for tea tomorrow night. Tell her everything.’
‘Hmm. You do know tomorrow’s April Fool’s Day?’
‘That ends by lunchtime, doesn’t it? Anyway, it has nothing to do with anything. I need to get this off my chest and then, if she’ll still have me, Alison and I can begin our new life together.’
‘At Watersmeet?’
Mac smiled. He couldn’t help it. Just the thought of Alison sharing his home with him gave him a warm, happy feeling inside. He just had to hope that she understood what had happened. If he lost her now, he didn’t know how he’d ever get over it.
