‘I wish it was just gossip but it isn’t,’ said Faye. ‘Dad and I have cross-checked quite a few news articles and when my mum eventually picked up the phone to answer one of our many calls, she confirmed it.’ She shook her head. ‘Online there’s video footage of my sister and the politician cosy and very much together. His wife has come forward to make a further statement and requested privacy for the rest of her family.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Margot asked. ‘I’m close by – you didn’t need to cope with that news on your own.’
Faye seemed so young to be dealing with all of this. Bonnie had had a sister, older than her by seven years, and they’d got on until Mindy passed away five years ago. She couldn’t imagine what it must be to have an out-of-control sibling you felt responsible for.
‘To be honest I’ve just been working hard,’ said Faye. ‘At least I’ve been able to take my frustration out on bathroom floors and kitchen sinks.’
‘You have a good work ethic,’ said Bonnie. ‘But Margot is right. You should turn to others for help.’ The irony wasn’t lost on her when she was struggling but not reaching out to anyone to tell them that she might now own the bookshop but she couldn’t bear the thought of going inside ever again. ‘Margot is a friend, and so am I, for that matter. You should’ve come to one of us.’
Faye began to smile. ‘We’re friends?’ She was looking at Bonnie rather than Margot.
Bonnie fidgeted. Her mouth felt a little dry. ‘I do believe we are, yes.’
‘I’m glad,’ said Faye.
‘Me too,’ Margot chipped in before asking Faye, ‘Have you heard anything from Brad?’
‘I haven’t. But in one article the journalist had thought it was important to let everyone know that the politician’s son was dating some socialite twelve years his junior.’
Margot groaned and Bonnie asked, ‘Your fiancé – ex fiancé – is dating again?’
‘It seems like it. And someone much younger, just like his dad,’ said Faye.
‘And how do you feel about that?’ Bonnie asked. ‘Not about the age gap but about Brad being with someone else.’
After a hesitation Faye answered, ‘Oddly, I feel very much okay.’
Margot put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. ‘Good.’
‘He doesn’t sound like he was right for you,’ Bonnie added for moral support.
Margot hesitated before she said to Faye, ‘Is it too soon to tease you about a certain local dog owner?’
The remark at least roused a smile from Faye.
And Bonnie wanted to know more. ‘Don’t keep me on tenterhooks; what’s this about a dog owner?’
Margot leaned forwards and conspiratorially, as if Faye wasn’t even there, confided in Bonnie that Faye and Midas’s owner seemed to be interested in each other whenever they crossed paths.
Bonnie approved. Theo was a lovely young man. ‘He’s a wonderful person, Faye. He’s kind, warm-hearted. I’m surprised he’s even single.’ She added, ‘If there’s any more gossip on that front, be sure to fill me in. That’s the kind of gossip I like.’
Talk briefly turned to the scandal again and Faye told them both that her dad had come to a decision. ‘He’s going to sell the business in Queensland.’
Bonnie took away the empty mugs and set them by the sink. ‘Did the scandal drive him to give it up?’
‘Actually, no. He said he’s been thinking about it for a while, and with his brother needing help here and being on his own, and with Dad falling in love with Dorset all over again, he says the timing is right.’ Faye shrugged. ‘I think avoiding the drama back in Australia is simply the icing on the cake.’
‘And you’re okay if he stays here and doesn’t go back to Australia?’ Bonnie felt for the girl. She’d had her parents living fairly close by until she was well into her fifties; she couldn’t imagine being separated from them by quite such a distance when she was Faye’s age.
‘It’s a long way,’ Margot added. ‘I struggle with how far away Sebastian is sometimes.’
As Margot talked a bit more about her sons, Bonnie watched her. She looked really pretty today. It was as though the sea air was finally managing to take away the stresses of a marriage that sounded challenging and so unlike the partnership Bonnie had had with Howard and was forever grateful she’d got to experience. It was funny, on some days she saw all the positives – that she’d had a happy marriage with Howard, that Howard had reached a reasonably good age before he died, that they had retired and gone travelling. But at other times she felt the unfairness, the pain, and the overwhelming feeling that some sort of blanket was still suffocating her and stopping her from moving forwards.
Faye set her empty mug down on the table. ‘I’m thinking of staying on a while longer in England myself.’
‘You are?’ Bonnie was all ears. ‘At the caravan park?’
‘Yes. Uncle Frank says I can use the caravan for as long as I like. It’s got heating; I’ll be fine when winter eventually comes. He has offered a room at his house if I prefer although I quite like my independence.’
