‘Not yet.’ But she added, ‘If he ever shows his face again then I promise I will.’
‘Fair enough.’ In Bonnie’s days as a district nurse she had seen her fair share of women like Faye who were innocent victims but didn’t want to cause trouble by reporting anything to the authorities. It was wrong to be afraid to do so but she understood why it was so hard.
Margot took out her phone. ‘I’ll call a taxi. Let’s get you back to the caravan.’
‘Actually, I’ll need to go to my dad’s,’ said Faye. ‘I’ll stay with him tonight. Bonnie says it’s wise in case I have a concussion. I’ll pay for the taxi fares. The driver can drop me and then take you back to your accommodation. I just didn’t want to be in a taxi alone or have my dad panic and worry. This way I get to tell Dad about what happened face to face and he’ll see that I’m okay.’
‘Sounds like a good plan,’ said Margot before making the call.
Bonnie thought she might have asked why Bonnie herself couldn’t have gone in the taxi with Faye, but thankfully she didn’t.
With the taxi ten minutes away Margot got up and finished her tea while she perused the bookshelves at Bonnie’s suggestion. These women knew her husband; they shared his love of books.
‘I wish we could’ve met Howard in person,’ said Margot. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss, Bonnie.’
‘Thank you.’
‘He was so kind and always had time for everyone.’ Margot’s fondness was evident. ‘And his bookshop is beautiful. We’ve both spent time in there; it’s lovely.’
Bonnie stiffened at the mention of Driftwick Bay Books. ‘Howard loved that place.’
‘He did,’ said Faye. ‘I still remember when he was toying with the idea of buying it.’ She beamed a smile Bonnie’s way. ‘He was like a big kid discovering treasure when he picked up the keys.’
‘I remember,’ said Bonnie, basking in this particular memory rather than trying to push it away. ‘We thought he was done with work, and then he just got this new lease of life when he took on the shop.’
‘He never looked back, did he?’ said Margot.
‘No,’ said Bonnie almost to herself. ‘He never did.’ And now here she was with the developer’s contact details still in the letter rack. She’d picked up the phone that morning to call them, to get the ball rolling, but before she dialled the entire number she put the phone down again. Something stopped her; she just didn’t know what.
‘My Howard loved the Midnight Book Club. You both brought him a lot of happiness with that,’ she told the women who up until now she hadn’t had time for. She felt ashamed for ignoring the door, being so rude. She could see why Howard had gelled with them both. They seemed genuine, they weren’t over the top, there was a friendliness without being too intrusive.
‘He brought us plenty of happiness too,’ said Margot. ‘You know at one book club session Howard got into a real heated discussion about banned books.’
Faye’s eyes widened. ‘I remember that.’
‘My Howard had some very clear views on banned books.’ Bonnie could well imagine him participating in a fiery conversation on the topic. ‘He said that as soon as he heard a book was banned from libraries it sparked his curiosity and he had to get his hands on it.’
Faye recalled the argument with another member. ‘This other lady thought that booksshouldbe policed. She was adamant that parents should accompany their children to a library and heavily monitor what they chose.’
‘Well, where’s the fun in that?’ Bonnie asked, getting into the conversation. This was the most alive she’d felt in weeks.
‘Exactly!’ Faye laughed. ‘Howard said she had a funny idea about reading. The whole point, he said, was for your imagination to run wild, for you to experience a book your way, and part of that was choosing a book in the first place.’
It sounded so much like Howard that Bonnie felt a tug at her emotions all over again. Sitting here with these women as they talked about her husband was hard in some ways and in others she needed it.
And there was more. Margot asked, ‘Do you remember when someone choseFifty Shades of Greyas the read of the week?’
Faye looked at Bonnie. ‘Your Howard read it.’
‘I remember!’ Bonnie said. Howard had been shocked at a lot of it, but read it just the same. He’d told her he wouldn’t be trying to persuade her to read it either because it might give her very weird ideas. ‘He told me that Christian Grey should be locked up. He did!’ Bonnie could still remember his vehemence.
‘Oh, he was so entertaining, Bonnie.’ Faye’s cheeks were red from the laughter.
Margot noticed the time and picked up the two empty mugs. ‘The taxi will be here any minute. I’ll pop these in the kitchen.’
Faye put her hoodie back on and picked up her backpack and bicycle helmet as they made their way to the door.
Before they could even step over the threshold, Bonnie found herself asking, ‘Will you two come back?’
