Merry pats him on the shoulder. “A little TMI there, son, but thanks for sharing. That’s one mental image we could have lived without on your wedding night.”
I’d like to give Merry a striptease of my own. After her stiff posture in the car today, she looks like she could do with loosening up.
“Are you ready to order?” the server says.
I’ll have my ex-wife served up on a plate. I shake my head, trying to remove the intrusive thoughts, unsure what’s got into me.
After ordering, Marley rubs his back.
“Is it your back, dear?” Celeste asks.
“Just a twinge, that’s all.” He rubs the bottom of his back again.
“I know all about that. Is it an old injury?”
Celeste leans over the table. “The silly sausage got himself wrapped around a lamppost while we were cycling in Amsterdam. He’s had a problem with his coccyx ever since.”
“Ah. I slipped a disc at the gym recently. I have a good chiropractor if you need one.” Pulling out my wallet, I rifle through the compartments for my chiropractor’s business card. “Here, tell him I sent you. He’ll give you a discount.” I hand the card over to Marley and make a mental note to tell my practitioner that I’ll pay for any treatment he needs.
From what Finn’s told me about his future in-laws, they don’t exactly have any spare cash floating around. Their blog funded the tour around Europe as they documented their travels and helped with various conservation efforts around the globe. Hence why Finn’s paid for the wedding with me and his mum chipping in where he allowed.
“Thank you. I will.” He reaches into his linen trouser pocket and pulls out a small tin. He slides it to me under the table. “Keep this for the next time you need some pain relief.”
“Oh, it’s all right. I haven’t had any problems for a while.” It occurs to me that the pain subsided around the same time Cordelia left. The irony.
“Please, it’s the least I can do after you’ve given our daughter so much already. She told us about how you cancelled the beach development and signed the land over to them.”
“Well, I?—”
“We’re really pleased that Shelly’s able to continue her work with the turtles. She’s dedicated her life to that beach.”
I take the tin and shove it in my pocket, not wanting to be rude. “Talking of beaches.” Standing, I clink the spoon against my glass of water to get everyone’s attention. The table falls silent as all eyes focus on me.
I reach into my jacket and pull out a folded piece of paper. “It’s an early wedding gift for the two of you.”
Shelly and Finn exchange smiles, then glance back at me.
“Dad, you’ve already paid for enough.”
“We’ll call this an early Christmas gift, then. I took the liberty of changing the plans for the development of luxury apartments on the beach to a turtle hospital and sanctuary.” I hand him the folded drawing. “The actual plans are back at the office. If you want to change anything, just let my architect know and we can get that sorted.” I lean over and point to the drawings. “It’s set far enough away from the beach that it shouldn’t impact on any nesting areas.”
Shelly’s eyes widen as Finn gazes down at the open paper. My heart swells. It feels good to create something useful. Maybe I need to go into developing land for the greater good instead of always wanting to turn over a profit.
Merry looks up at me from her seat, her smile reaching her eyes as they twinkle under the glow of fairy lights.
“What’s this area here?” Finn outlines a section of the architectural drawing.
“Ah, that’s a lecture hall and museum. There’s an art gallery next to the gift shop. Figured the turtle sanctuary could double up as a tourist attraction and get people to visit and pay a donation to learn about the turtles.”
“This is wonderful,” Celeste says as she peers over Shelly’s shoulder.
“The building to the left is a home for the two of you with enough space for an art studio.” I hope the gesture will prove to Finn how I take his art seriously now. I’m a proud man, but I can admit when I’m wrong.
Finn stands, his chair scraping against the wooden floor. “Thanks, Dad.” He walks around Merry and wraps an arm around me.
I pat him on the back in a manly embrace. “No worries. I’ll get the construction team on it in the New Year before thenesting season starts again. No point having a father with a development business if I can’t help my son and daughter-in-law out, is there?”
Merry’s eyes glisten with happy tears as she gazes up at me, silently telling me how proud she is with a nod of her head.
