We clean up and then dress once again before reluctantly taking down our tent and collecting everything else together in the small trolley Archer and Cole had stashed behind the tent.
We have a leisurely day, meeting Nancy and Emma for lunch at Poppy’s, where Nancy is spoiled rotten once again with a pain au chocolat to bring home with her. Poppy waves at us, but she’s deep in conversation with a large man with a dark beard. He looks like a Viking with the small braids in his long hair, visible even though it’s tied up on top of his head, the way Aidan’s used to be.
That thought makes me chuckle, as Rain is still not over the loss of that bun, although he has now asked Aidan to keep his hair styled shorter until after the wedding.
“We can’t have you looking like Worzel Gummidge in the wedding photos, babe,” he’d said, and Aidan, as always, was more than happy to do whatever Rain asked of him.
The evening finds all of us in the White Horse with the whole family. We’re celebrating Mum and Dad’s return from their cruise, both tanned and relaxed and bearing bags fullof knick-knacks and souvenirs for Nancy, who won’t leave their side. I look forward to finding places to put them in the house, I think as I glare at my smirking father.
There’s a sudden bluster of activity when Poppy, Chris, and another man come into the pub. There are hugs and kisses of ‘welcome home’ for my parents, before Chris introduces us to their friend.
“Guys, this is Bear.” I recognise the Viking-looking chap I’d seen with Poppy earlier.
“No shit,” says Cole, with a suggestive wink in the bigger man’s direction. I mean, Cole isn’t wrong. Bear is about as tall as Aidan, maybe even a bit taller, and he’s built like a brick shithouse. He has thick dark brown hair piled on top of his head, those few small braids I’d noticed before still showing, and a thick dark beard. He’s wearing jeans and a white Henley shirt that is stretched almost obscenely across his thick barrel chest, and the chest hair that escapes at the collar is a delicious tease of what’s underneath.
“Do you need a napkin, little rabbit?” I whisper in Corey’s ear when I catch him staring open-mouthed at Bear. “You’re drooling.”
He smiles coyly and leans in to kiss me. “Nope… I’m all good here, thanks. But Cole might need more than a napkin.”
I look over at my brother, who is practically panting at the sight of this man. Meanwhile, Bear dismisses Cole’s suggestive comment with a single raised eyebrow and a quick up-and-down look before shaking his head and returning his gaze to Chris.
“Bear’s taking over the café.”
The whole table goes silent.
“What?” Aidan is the first to regain his equilibrium enough to clarify that bombshell.
“Well,” Poppy begins as she pulls a small stool over to the table and takes a seat. “Chris and I have been talking for a while about moving…” she hesitates, looking at Chris, who nods encouragingly, “to Canada.”
Uproar. That’s the only word for the reaction of all of us. We’ve been a close-knit group of friends since school. What do they mean they’re moving to Canada?
It takes a few minutes for everyone to settle down, during which time Bear makes his way to the bar to get drinks for himself, Chris, and Poppy. Cole’s eyes don’t leave the big man’s back as though he’s willing him to look over his shoulder. There’s a strange glint of challengein Cole’s eyes, but also… something else. I look away from him, deciding that that is a drama I am not ready to get involved in.
“Basically, guys, I can’t have children.” Poppy’s lip trembles as she speaks. “I know you know we’ve been struggling, and it turns out I have no viable eggs left. It’s been really hard but…” Poppy’s emotions get the better of her, and Chris takes over.
“But we’ve decided that rather than dwell on the hand we’ve been dealt, we’re going to do all the things we wanted to do but have been putting off. So, we’re taking over an outdoor adventure centre in Banff, and Poppy’s going to run the AirBnBs and the café that’s on the site while I lead the outdoor education. And then we’ll see how we feel about things in a few years and reassess our options. But… guys, we just need a break.” Chris sighs, and my heart aches for them. I know how much they’ve wanted kids.
“It’s been a lot. So, we’re going to have an adventure for now, and see where we end up.”
Poppy and Chris both love the outdoors. They practically live in Patagonia gear and have loads of pictures in the café of their adventures in Peru, the Pyrenees, and the Alps. This move is less of a surprise when you consider that Chrisis a qualified International Mountain Leader and, as it turns out, has been working on his certifications for working with young people in Canada in addition to that. This is a plan they’ve clearly been working on for a while, and while I can tell they’re sad to leave us behind, they both seem really excited about this. That’s more than enough for me.
“If nothing else, it’ll be great to come and visit you guys in Canada,” Archer says, with a congratulatory handshake to Chris and a hug for Poppy.
“Bear here” – Poppy indicates the big man sitting on the fringes of the group – “went to uni with me, and he just moved back to Norfolk after living in Denmark for several years, and he was looking for a space to open his bakery. The timing was just too perfect to pass up.”
Bear smiles but doesn’t say anything. I don’t think he’s said a single word since he arrived. All he has done is studiously avoid looking at Cole, despite Cole’s best efforts to the contrary. Every time Cole tries to get his attention, not that he’d ever admit that’s what he’s doing, with an inappropriate joke or comment, Bear just shakes his head and takes a sip of his Guinness.
The rest of the evening goes by withmany toasts to Poppy and Chris, who have reassured Aidan and Rain that they’re not leaving until after Christmas, so they’ll still be at the wedding in October.
This whole thing is making a lot more sense as to why Poppy had said the flat was only available until then. Clearly, when Bear takes over the café, he’ll be moving into the flat himself.
When Corey and I get home and get a very sleepy Nancy tucked up in bed, I find him in the kitchen pouring us each a glass of wine. I wrap him up in my arms and hug him to me.
Before long, a hug isn’t enough, and I pull back just enough to kiss him. He responds instantly, our kisses deep and full of words neither of us needs to say to be understood. Not between us. Corey could read my thoughts from a hundred miles away, I’m sure.
As I slow our kisses, I rub my hands up and down Corey’s back, my hands sneaking beneath his T-shirt and stroking his soft skin. This man, this wonderful man, who loves me and cares for me, challenges me, and who knows me better than I know myself. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him, but I know in every molecule of my being that I am the luckiest man in the world.
I found my sun, my moon, my stars, my everything. And as Nancy would say, he’s the very best thing in the whole entire university.
