Starry Skies Over the Chocolate Pot Cafe

by Jessica Redland

  I looked from one pained face to the other and really felt for them. If that was what Aaron really thought and felt about Jed, then Ingrid and Declan had very likely fed the poor kid a pack of lies and poisoned him against Jed. Very unfair to everyone.

  ‘I think you both know the answer, don’t you, and you just want a bit of reassurance that you’re doing the right thing?’

  Erin nodded. ‘We need to tell him. Dad will be so upset, though.’

  ‘About what Aaron has said? Yes, he probably will be, especially as it seems Aaron may have some inaccurate information. Who wouldn’t be upset at that?’ I had to bite my tongue as I really wanted to say something nasty about Ingrid but she was still their mum and I wasn’t going to stir. ‘But he won’t be upset about you being in contact with Aaron, especially when he’s your half-brother. I think your dad would encourage that contact, don’t you?’

  They both nodded. ‘You’re right,’ Erin said. ‘We’ll tell him on Tuesday after work.’

  ‘Tuesday? Wouldn’t you be better telling him tonight?’

  Erin shook her head. ‘We can’t. He’s seeing you and your parents tonight and it’s Gramps’s birthday meal tomorrow night. We don’t want to put a dampener on either of those things.’

  I bit my lip. Something like this was better out in the open. ‘Your dad and I could drive up to Whitby later than planned or I could even go on my own.’

  ‘That’s not fair on either of you,’ Lucy said. ‘I know he’s looking forward to it.’

  I looked at their earnest expressions. What difference would a couple more days make? ‘Promise me you will say something at the earliest opportunity on Tuesday?’

  ‘We promise,’ they both said.

  ‘Good, because secrets don’t always stay secret for long.’

  ‘At least Aaron’s not coming over for Christmas with Mum,’ Lucy said.

  ‘Your mum’s coming over?’ I asked, surprised. Jed hadn’t mentioned it.

  Erin nodded. ‘Tomorrow but we only found out this morning. Grandad – her dad – has started chemo so she’s coming alone. The doctors are hopeful he’ll make a full recovery but a mass family invasion would be too much for him right now.’

  ‘Your dad does know your mum’s coming over?’ I asked.

  Lucy screwed up her face. ‘Yes. That’s how we found out. She phoned him first thing today, demanding to see us on Christmas Day. Barely bothers with us for years and now she expects us to drop everything and fit round her with barely any warning.’

  I wasn’t sure how to respond but was saved from doing so by Hercules who head-butted Erin as though demanding attention again. Lucy exclaimed that she hadn’t shown me photos of Doris either. I had no idea who Doris was but smiled when she thrust her phone in front of me, scrolling through images of a gorgeous Dalmatian. ‘Nanna and Gramps reckon she’s theirs but Doris says she loves us the most, doesn’t she Erin?’

  Erin laughed and ruffled her sister’s hair. ‘I think you’ll find it’s me she loves the very most, though.’

  Roughly twenty laughter-filled minutes later, they headed back to the gallery, taking the rest of the brownies with them and suddenly I felt uneasy. Should I have insisted they tell Jed about Aaron tonight even if that messed up our evening plans? I’d been looking forward to an evening with him and my parents but was that really more important than the conversation Erin and Lucy needed to have with him? I shuddered. There was nothing I could do about it now. We hadn’t exchanged phone numbers so I had no way of getting in touch with either of them and it would arouse Jed’s suspicion if I asked for their numbers. I shook my head. We’d been together for less than a fortnight and I was already keeping something from him – absolutely not the sort of relationship I wanted.

  41

  Sunday dinner with my parents was lovely but I felt on edge and clearly it didn’t go unnoticed. Mum asked me to help her in the kitchen and questioned whether everything was okay. I hated lying to her but she seemed to accept the excuse of always being tired as Christmas approached, especially as she was familiar with that feeling of fatigue from Vanilla Pod.

  Jed wasn’t so easily assuaged. ‘Did something happen with the girls this afternoon?’ he asked as we travelled back down the coast towards Whitsborough Bay.

  I was relieved to be driving in darkness as he couldn’t therefore see my burning cheeks or the guilty expression in my eyes. ‘We had a great time together and Hercules has added another couple of groupies to his ever-growing list. Why do you ask?’

  ‘You seem a bit tense and I wondered if one of them – probably Loudmouth Lucy – had said something inappropriate.’

  ‘Nothing like that. I really like them and it was good to meet them before the big meal tomorrow. I haven’t got your dad a gift yet. What do you think he might like?’

  ‘He won’t be expecting a gift and don’t change the subject.’

  My hands tensed on the steering wheel.

  ‘Tara!’

  I hesitated. Should I tell him the girls had confided a secret in me, which they’d soon be telling him themselves? What if that caused more problems? They wouldn’t trust me anymore and that could lead to a conflict. But would Jed trust me if I kept a secret from him? I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and had to hope that Jed wasn’t annoyed with me when the girls told him about Aaron.

  ‘Are you worried about Ingrid flying over?’ he asked. He’d told me about her phone call on the journey to the cottage, saying how typical it was of Ingrid to be so eleventh hour in letting them know she was coming to Whitsborough Bay for Christmas, especially when she’d have booked her plane ticket ages ago.

  ‘Maybe a little bit.’ I hadn’t really given her presence a second thought but it was a good way of throwing Jed off the scent.

  ‘I probably won’t even see her while she’s here. My role will be to pick up the pieces when she lets the girls down again.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Jed. Will it be that bad?’

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘I’ll be here for you if you want a rant.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  I could feel his eyes on me but he didn’t say anything else. Roll on Tuesday when the girls would tell him about Aaron and everything would be out in the open.

  I arranged to meet Jed and his family at the restaurant on Monday night. Le Bistro was a cosy family-run restaurant a few streets back from South Bay and I could easily walk there.

  Wearing a khaki wrap-around dress and heeled boots, butterflies flitted in my stomach as I walked through the town. I couldn’t decide whether I was nervous about meeting Jed’s parents after all, worried about still keeping the secret under wraps, or excited about seeing Jed again. Probably all three. I’d never ‘met the parents’ before. Garth had severed ties with both of his so this was my first experience. Hopefully they’d like me.

  Jed was sitting on one of the metal seats outside the restaurant and my heart soared as soon as I spotted him. ‘What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.’

  ‘I thought you might feel awkward going in on your own when you haven’t met my parents before.’

  ‘That is so considerate. Thank you.’

  ‘I confess to an ulterior motive,’ he said, making my stomach lurch. He wasn’t going to pump me for information again, was he? Instead, he leaned in and gently kissed me. ‘Loitering outside meant I could do that without Lucy whistling or jeering. Are you ready to meet everyone?’

  ‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’

  As soon as we stepped inside the restaurant and made our way over to the table, the nerves dissipated. Jed’s mum, Janice, immediately stood up and hugged me. His dad, Richie, kissed me on each cheek and enthused about how he was more excited about meeting me than he was about celebrating his birthday. I got big smiles from the girls and a fist bump from Erin’s boyfriend, Zack, with a compliment that my brownies were ‘sick’.

  ‘We’ve ordered some red and white wine,’ Janice said, ‘but shout up if you want somethi
ng different.’

  ‘White wine’s perfect, thank you.’ I sat down beside Erin while Richie topped up my glass.

  ‘Thanks for not saying anything to Dad,’ Erin whispered. ‘Tomorrow’s the day.’

  ‘Good.’

  The food was delicious and the company fabulous. Jed’s parents were an absolute delight. His mum was exceptionally warm and bubbly and his dad was full of hilarious anecdotes. Watching them bounce off each other and engage the rest of the family in the conversation, I could imagine they’d been a force to be reckoned with when they ran Ferguson’s. Customers must have loved them and they’d no doubt had a thriving business. Richie and Zack had obviously hit it off immediately with banter playing back and forth. It looked to me as though he’d gained a grandson and, from the affectionate looks passing between Erin and Zack, I suspected he’d gained him for life.

  They made me feel part of the family and were keen to hear all about their former business.

  ‘We’ve been past and looked in the window so many times,’ Janice said. ‘Peter and Joyce have often asked us to join them for afternoon tea but we’ve always felt like we’d be spying if we came in. Does that sound silly?’

  I smiled. ‘No. I understand. I’d probably feel the same but you’d be really welcome any time.’

  Richie laughed. ‘Don’t say that, Tara. She’ll move in. You’ll never be rid of her. She loves a bit of cake.’

  By the time the plates were cleared away after the main course, my face and my sides were aching from laughing so much. Gazing round the restaurant at the twinkling fairy lights, the garlands hanging from the wall, and the large tree in one corner, then focusing back on the banter and laughter, I couldn’t stop smiling.

  ‘Enjoying yourself?’ Jed asked, slipping his hand into mine.

  ‘Loving it. This is the first time I’ve properly felt Christmassy outside of The Chocolate Pot since leaving London. Thank you.’

  He squeezed my hand. ‘My family love you.’

  ‘And mine love you too. Bodes well.’

  The lights dimmed and a line of waiting staff appeared clapping and singing Happy Birthday, the front one holding a large chocolate gateau with a sparkler on the top. We joined in the singing and the girls took photos on their phones as Richie jokingly attempted to blow out the sparkler.

  He raised his glass in the air. ‘I know it’s my birthday so it wouldn’t normally be me who proposes the toast but I wanted to thank you for the best birthday gift which I actually got last year – my brilliant son and beautiful, talented granddaughters settling back in Whitsborough Bay. It’s the best birthday, Christmas and Father’s Day gift I could ever hope for. And we also have two new family members. Welcome to Zack and Tara. We hope you stick around because we already adore you both. To family, old and new!’

  ‘To family, old and new,’ we echoed, clinking our glasses together.

  ‘To family? How very sweet and cosy and completely fake.’

  I twisted round in my chair to see who’d spoken. A young lad, maybe in his early teens, stood by the table. A long, thick, dark fringe tumbled from under his beanie hat and my stomach did a backflip. There was no way that could be…?

  ‘Aaron!’ Erin cried. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Aaron?’ Jed jumped to his feet; the colour drained from his cheeks. ‘Is that really you?’

  ‘Like you care,’ Aaron snapped.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t act all innocent. I know you ditched me as soon as you found out I wasn’t yours. Cheers for that.’

  Jed shook his head vigorously. ‘That’s not true.’

  Aaron looked round the table, lip curled up. ‘Enjoy your celebrations.’

  ‘Aaron!’ Jed cried.

  But Aaron had already legged it. Jed looked towards his parents, then me, then muttered an apology and ran after him.

  I released the shaky breath I’d been holding and stole a glance round the table. Richie’s mouth was open and he was still holding the cake knife in his hand, ready to make the first cut. Janice looked close to tears as she placed her hand on his forearm. Lucy’s head was lowered, her hair covering her face, and Erin had her elbows on the table, holding her head in her hands. There were whispers and murmurs from the other diners.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ Richie said, voice raised. ‘Families, eh? Please don’t let our little soap opera keep you from your delicious meals.’

  There were a few smiles and even some laughter and soon the volume of chatter increased again leaving only tension at our table.

  ‘Well, that was unexpected,’ Richie said.

  ‘It’s all my fault,’ Erin muttered.

  ‘How’s it your fault, sweetheart?’ he asked, gently. ‘Did you know Aaron was in Whitsborough Bay?’

  ‘No. I thought he was in Aus. Mum’s meant to be here alone.’

  Lucy pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up, her cheeks stained with tears. ‘She obviously lied. Wouldn’t be the first time. Cow.’

  ‘Lucy Ferguson!’ Janice said, her voice low but stern. ‘I don’t ever want to hear you talk about your mother in that way again. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, Nanna. Sorry.’

  ‘Why do you think it’s your fault, Erin?’ Richie persisted.

  ‘Because he connected with Lucy and me on social media. We were chatting to him on WhatsApp last week. He never said anything about coming to the UK but he was obviously planning to surprise us and I gave him the perfect chance by posting on Instagram when we arrived at the restaurant tonight. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I take it your dad didn’t know anything about it,’ Janice said.

  Lucy shook her head. ‘We were going to tell him tomorrow. Tara said we should tell him sooner but—’

  ‘You knew?’

  My stomach sank to the floor as I slowly turned to face Jed. With my back to the door, I hadn’t seen him return. ‘The girls told me on Sunday.’

  ‘That’s why you were on edge. You said it was nothing.’ He looked so hurt and who could blame him? Damn secrets and lies. I knew this would come back and bite me.

  ‘I’m sorry. It wasn’t—’

  ‘It’s not Tara’s fault,’ Lucy cried. ‘We made her swear not to say anything because it had to come from us.’

  ‘Sit down, son,’ Richie said. ‘I take it you didn’t catch him?’

  Jed didn’t respond. He continued to stare at me, his shoulders rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath from running. What could I say? What was there to say? He didn’t look angry with me – just confused and disappointed. So very disappointed.

  ‘Dad!’ Erin hissed. ‘Tara promised us.’

  ‘You know how much Aaron means to me,’ Jed said. ‘I was completely blindsided. Promise or not, you could have warned me he was in the country.’

  ‘I didn’t know he was.’

  ‘But you knew he was in touch with the girls.’

  ‘That’s not—’ I stopped. What was the point? How could he think I’d hide something from him as monumental as Aaron being in the country? I thought we trusted each other. I thought we understood each other. I had to get out of there before I said something I regretted.

  Taking a deep breath, I placed my serviette on the table and gave a weak smile as I cast my gaze around the table. ‘Thanks for a lovely evening, everyone. Happy birthday, Richie.’

  I turned to Jed. ‘I’d never have hidden something like that from you. Never.’

  Then I grabbed my bag and coat off the back of my chair and ran, just like Aaron had done less than ten minutes earlier. Cries from his family begging me to stay followed me out onto the street. I knew they’d be urging him to do so but I didn’t want Jed to follow me. I couldn’t face an argument, especially when I was so angry with myself. I should have insisted they tell Jed about Aaron on Sunday evening and gone for dinner with my parents without him if he’d needed time to get his head round it. I could have refused to keep their secret. Yet I hadn’t. I’d wanted to pla
y happy families with my parents and with Jed’s daughters and, as a result, I might have lost Jed’s trust. I might have lost Jed. First opportunity to demonstrate some parenting skills and I’d screwed up.

  42

  By the time I made it back to The Chocolate Pot, my side was burning with a stitch and my feet were throbbing. Running uphill in high-heeled boots after a huge meal and a few glasses of wine was not the way I’d expected the evening to end.

  Inside the café, I blew my hair out of my face as I stood with my back against the door, trying to steady my breathing. Was I wrong to run out? Had I made things worse? Would the mature approach have been to stay and plead my innocence? I made my way to the drinks machine, shoulders slumped. This was all unchartered territory for me. Age thirty-six and I had no idea how to behave in a relationship.

  Clutching onto my vanilla hot chocolate, I was about to open the internal door at the back of the café when a loud rap on the glass startled me. Heart thumping, I turned slowly. Jed with looking through the window with his hands cupped round his eyes, just like he’d done in January. Back then, I’d been full of hate for the man I thought had deceived me but now all I felt was love.

  ‘Tara!’ he called through the letterbox. ‘Are you in there?’

  Tempting as it was to stay in the shadows and ignore him, I placed my yellow mug on the nearest table and unlocked the door. I opened the door and stepped back to let him in, keeping my head down. He could be the first to speak.

  But he didn’t speak. He wrapped his arms round me and gently pulled me to his chest. I didn’t resist but I didn’t return the hug, standing rigid in his arms. He stroked my hair and tightened his hold. It was only when he whispered. ‘Please forgive me,’ that I relaxed against him.

  Time seemed to stand still as we clung onto each other, hearts thumping, our breathing rapid. I could feel the regret but also the pain with each tightening of his arms. Right now, he needed me and I could act hurt or be angry with him, or I could be his lighthouse.