‘That’s an idea. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to wait? I won’t be more than a few minutes.’
‘No! Ireallyneed the walk.’
‘Okay. I’ll see you soon.’
Lara had not asked where Bonnie’s Diner was, in her hurry to get away. But Bluewater Bay was a village. It couldn’t be that hard to find the diner. Besides, she could ask someone in the pet shop if necessary.
She really did need to sort herself out. For someone who wasn’t a people person and who wasn’t particularly interested in relationships, she was behaving like a school girl with a crush. She was twenty-nine for goodness’ sake. Why was she suddenly having all these erotic thoughts involving her neighbour’s grandson?
Should she phone Jenny and ask for her advice?
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Lara!’ She shook her head and tutted as loudly as she had chastised herself.
Jenny was at work. The last thing the woman needed was her best friend calling her for advice about a crush.
Lara took several deep breaths as she walked down Old Oak Lane into the valley. If memory served her correctly, another lane crossed this one at the foot of this sloping cliff. Yes. There it was. Bluewater Lane. The lane that she and her parents had driven along fourteen years ago.
Bluewater Lane led to the main part of the sweeping bay. At the end, there was a car park, and next to that, a rental shop where people could hire boats, and boards, and various other sports and leisure equipment for an hour, a day, or longer.
It was from that rental shop her parents had hired a boat on which the three of them had spent the most perfect day at sea. They had packed a picnic, and each of them had sketched or painted, talking and laughing or simply sitting quietly and concentrating on their various projects.
Was that the day her mum had painted the picture that Tom had purchased for his wife, Bonnie? It must have been.
Lara’s heart was close to breaking all over again as she reached the valley floor and stood at that crossroads and looked down Bluewater Lane. The sea was just visible in the distance but she couldn’t see the car park nor the rental shop from where she stood. If only she had known then what would happen just a mere nine weeks later.
But she couldn’t change the past.
The future, on the other hand, she could. Or at the very least, she could change the way she faced whatever the future had in store for her.
Why did she get the feeling that she had reached another crossroads in her life?
A sea mist was rolling in and with it came more memories. More regrets. More sadness.
She took a deep breath and crossed Bluewater Lane, stepping back on to Old Oak Lane on the other side of the valley. From here it was all uphill to the village. She hoped that wasn’t a sign of things to come.
Could she ever put the past behind her and really embrace the future with the whole of her heart? Her parents and her memories would always be with her, and she wouldn’t want it any other way, but did she need to cling on to the sadness and regrets? Did she need to blame herself for everything that happened the day her parents had died?
The accident was not her fault, she was well aware of that. And they would be glad that she had not gone with them on that fateful journey. Glad that she was alive. Glad that she had a future.
Yet what was the point of a future if you clung so tightly to the past that the present and the future passed you by?
Was this why she had felt as if her dad had been instrumental in her making a bid on the cottage in Old Oak Lane? And if so, why now? Was it because her thirtieth birthday was in a few weeks? Was this the time to start afresh and grab everything life had to offer?
Was this the reason she had felt so drawn to Bluewater Bay?
