They were turning left at the roundabout, heading away from St. Tredock, and Nova frowned.
“Why are we going this way? I need to get back to the community center, Lauren’s going to be having a nightmare on her own.”
“The center’s closed. Lauren texted me earlier and said the council have shut it down until further notice.”
“What? They can’t do that!”
“Sandy’s in hospital and you’ve been suspended; Lauren can hardly run the place on her own.”
“Oh my God,” Nova said, putting her hands over her face. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not, babe. The fate of the community center doesn’t sit on your shoulders. It was struggling long before you moved here.”
“But still, if I hadn’t been stupid enough to get suspended then we could have kept it going until Sandy was well enough to return. What’s going to happen to the food bank tomorrow? And where are people like Phyllis and Arthur going to go?”
Next to her, she heard Craig sigh. “Is that seriously your biggest worry right now?”
She turned to look at him sharply. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve just spent hours at the police station being questioned about an assault, and yet you’re more concerned about a couple of pensioners not being able to go to their coffee mornings.”
“The community center is there for a lot more than just hosting coffee mornings, Craig. There are people in this town who can’t afford to heat their homes and come to keep warm; people who are lonely and isolated and have literally nowhere else to go.”
“There are plenty of cafes in St. Tredock.”
Nova glared at him, not quite believing she had to explain this to her own fiancé, of all people. “Cafes cost money; money lots of people don’t have. The community center is free.”
Craig must have heard the anger in her voice, as he shrugged. “Sure, and obviously I don’t want it to close. All I’m saying is that right now, we have more pressing things to think about, like the fact we’re getting married in less than forty-eight hours. Assuming you still want to get married, that is?”
His question hung in the air for a moment before Nova answered. “Of course I do.”
“Are you sure? Because you’ve been completely distracted for the past few weeks.”
“I’m just stressed, Craig. If you hadn’t noticed, there’s been a lot going on for me at work.”
“Is that all it is? Because Mum said when you went to your final dress fitting last weekend, you looked like you were about to burst into tears. Please, tell me, are you having second thoughts?”
Nova remembered that moment in the wedding dress shop: standing in front of the mirror in that huge white blancmange and feeling like she couldn’t breathe. Then she remembered what Lauren had said the other day about being more honest with Craig about her feelings.
“I’m not having second thoughts. But, if I’m being completely honest, there are moments when it feels like this wedding is more about what your mum wants than whatwewant.”
“Is this about the church thing?” Craig said. “I told you, I’m sorry we had to give in on that, but it means a lot to my parents; they got married in St Piran’s and so did my grandparents. I thought you said you were okay with it?”
“It’s not just the church: it’s also the reception and the flowers and my dress, and even my hen do, for God’s sake. Your mum has made so many of the decisions for us and—”
“She’s only made decisions because you wouldn’t,” Craig snapped. “My mum’s worked her arse off to give us a once-in-a-lifetime wedding.”
“But a wedding of whose lifetime? Because it’s certainly not the big day I dreamed of.”
“Well, then you should have been more proactive in organizing it, shouldn’t you? Because I think it’s a bit rich you complaining now, given the only thing you’ve done is mess up the photographer and get yourself arrested right before the wedding.”
Nova felt the words like a slap. “Is that really what you think?”
Craig groaned. “No, of course not. Sorry, I’m just stressed too; I had a shit ton of work today and could have done without spending my afternoon sitting in the police station.”
Nova didn’t reply, and they drove the last mile in silence. She was relieved to see neither Pamela’s nor David’s car in the driveway when they pulled up at the house. Nova opened her door, but Craig kept the engine running.
“Are you coming in?”
