by Sue Welfare
Inside the box was a white gold engagement ring set with a solitaire diamond that caught and reflected the light in the marquee.
‘Oh Frank, I love it,’ she whispered. ‘It’s absolutely beautiful.’
He smiled. ‘I was hoping you’d say that. Here, let’s see if it fits—’
She held out her hand and very gently he slipped the ring onto her finger. It fitted perfectly. Fleur wriggled her fingers. ‘It fits like it was made for me. How on earth did you manage that?’ she asked in amazement.
‘You remember when Lola the head waitress at your place got engaged last year and you told me you tried on her ring?’
‘That’s right. It was a tiny bit too big, but that girl was determined that I try on the damn thing. I was worried it would slip off down the cracks in the deck.’
‘Uh-huh, and you said that you’d read somewhere that statistically women over forty had more chance of being murdered than married?’
She laughed. ‘That’d be me.’
‘Well, I took Lola down to Lake Street before I left Cairns and we got her finger measured up and I bought a half size smaller.’
Fleur stared at him. ‘Seriously?’
He nodded.
‘So all the staff know about this as well?’
‘Oh Christ, yes,’ said Frank. ‘The staff and all your regulars and your neighbours, and that weird little guy with the dodgy moustache who runs the crystal healing place next door – it’s them that sent you the flowers.’
And with that Frank leant forward and kissed her and she never wanted that feeling, welling up like champagne bubbles in a glass, to ever end.
Finally, breathless and weak-kneed, Fleur pulled away and grinned. ‘Oh Frank,’ she said, through tears of joy. ‘Come and meet my family.’
*
If Fleur had looked up at that particular moment she would have seen the look of shock and amazement on Peter Hudson’s face as Mary, fresh from the dance floor and breathing hard, leant in close to tell him that she was sick to death of him, had met someone else and wanted a divorce. ASAP.
*
Out in the back garden, Suzie was beside herself with worry. As she moved between the groups of partygoers it was getting harder and harder to keep up the appearance that there was nothing wrong. Despite searching high and low, ringing home, and ringing their mobiles, there was still no sign of the girls or Sam. This was crazy. They had to be somewhere. Suzie was beginning to panic.
She had looked everywhere she could think of, and was just taking another look around the back of the summerhouse before walking home to check on the house, when she heard the back gate creak open and swing shut. As she turned she saw Sam heading across the grass. He looked like a man on a mission.
‘Sam!’ His name came out in a rush of relief and tears.
‘Suzie?’ He looked up at the sound of her voice. ‘What are you doing round here?
‘God, I’m so glad I’ve found you. I’ve been looking for you everywhere – you and the girls. I can’t find them anywhere.’ She stopped. ‘Oh Sam, I was really worried about you, are you okay?’
‘Me? I’m fine,’ he said, sheepishly. She couldn’t remember him looking so ill at ease. ‘We really need to talk, Suzie.’
‘I know. I heard about you and Matt,’ she said. ‘He said you tried to punch him and I wanted to tell you—’
But Sam held up his finger to her lips. ‘No, I want to talk. I’ve been a complete idiot, Suzie, I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry—’
‘No, most of this feels like it’s my fault,’ Suzie said. ‘I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you about me and Matt for weeks but I just didn’t know where to start.’
Even before she had finished speaking Suzie saw Sam’s face fall as surely as if she had slapped him and an instant later realised what she had just said and how it must sound.
‘Oh God,’ Sam said. ‘So it’s true then. You’re leaving me, aren’t you?’
Something tightened like a fist in her chest. ‘No, of course not, God, no Sam. No, I’m not leaving you. No, it’s that Matt and I have been offered this fabulous opportunity; a production company want to make a TV programme about his restaurant and the walled garden. We’re going to talk to them next week to sort out the details and go through the contract.’
‘We?’
‘Matt and I, He’s worked with them before.’
‘So it’s a done deal?’
‘Well, more or less.’ Sam stared at her. ‘Bloody hell, a TV show? Really? That’s amazing.’
Suzie nodded. ‘It is, isn’t it? And it’s such a brilliant opportunity, and the money’s good and it’ll mean we can do loads of the things we’d planned down there. The greenhouse, the big cold frames, sort out the sheds and maybe do something to the old gardener’s cottage – there’s so much we could do if we had the money. And it’ll be good for us too – you and me and the girls. I wanted to talk to you about it and discuss it and I wanted you to be pleased about it, but . . .’ Suzie stopped and stared at Sam anxiously, not quite sure how to go on.
‘But you weren’t sure that I would be pleased?’
Suzie nodded. ‘No, or how you’d feel about it. We don’t seem to have had much time for each other recently. And I know a lot of it’s been my fault, I’ve been so busy. I should have found the time. But . . .’ She stopped and looked up at him. ‘Sam, I hate this. What on earth happened to us? We’ve always been so good together and now we just seem so far apart. Is it my fault?’
Sam looked into her eyes, his own bright with tears. ‘God, no, Suzie. It’s not you at all, I think it’s me. I’ve been a complete waste of space the last couple of years. Life just seems to have been changing so fast, what with the girls growing up and you out at work.’ He stopped, voice crackling with emotion. ‘It’s crazy but even saying this aloud I feel like some kind of nineteen-thirties throwback. I don’t know how else to explain it really – I suppose I’ve been feeling left out and neglected.’ He laughed grimly. ‘I mean how grown up does that sound? Great big grown-up man that I am, I’ve been sulking.’ He smiled at her. ‘And I know I’ve been grumpy. I’m so sorry, so very sorry. Can you forgive me? I’ve been an idiot.’
‘Oh Sam,’ she murmured. The man smiling down at her was the man she knew, the man she had loved since she was barely out of her teens. ‘I’ve missed you,’ she whispered.
He leant close. ‘Suzie,’ he said softly. ‘I’ve missed you too. I’ve been so worried. We just stopped noticing and talking and we’ve both been letting things slide. I think we’ve been in this relationship so long that we’ve taken us for granted.’
She was about to take his hand when Sam said, ‘So where exactly does Matt fit into all this?’
‘I’m not sure what you mean, what about Matt?’
‘You and him.’
Suzie shook her head and laughed. ‘There is no me and him in the way you mean it. He’s helping to set up the TV deal, or at least the initial contacts – and we’ll be working together to plan the planting so that next year we’ll be growing things that he can cook. And there’s a book planned for the series that they’ve asked me to write. It’s one of the reasons why we need to introduce some animals and look at other farmers and growers in the area. Matt’s partner, Rory, is going to help us source ingredients. He’s got this fantastic organic farm over at Fallham Bulbeck – besides meat, they’re making butter, cheese and yoghurt over there.’
‘His partner? You mean business partner?’
Suzie shook her head. ‘No, Rory and Matt are a couple, they’ve been together for years.’ Suzie glanced up at him, watching the penny drop.
‘So you’re not . . .’ The words faltered and stalled. ‘You and him,’ Sam continued lamely. ‘I thought that you were—’
‘You thought we were having an affair.’
He ran his hand back through his hair. ‘I hadn’t really given it that much thought until tonight.’ He stared at her. ‘I don’t know why but all of a su
dden it seemed so obvious when I thought about it and then the thought just wouldn’t go away. You and Matt have been spending so much time together and you seem so comfortable in his company.’ He paused. ‘And I’ve been such a pig.’
‘We’ve been really busy. There has been so much to talk about.’
‘I know – I didn’t want to believe that you and him were having an affair, but then I started to think about how things have been between us, how I’ve been treating you, and there was a part of me that would have almost understood if you had been seeing someone else.’ He looked at her. ‘Part of me thought I deserved it.’ He stopped and took hold of her hands. ‘I thought I’d lost you, Suzie – I really did, and I realised that
I couldn’t bear to live without you. You’re my life.’ His voice cracked and broke.
Suzie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Oh Sam. I’ve only been spending so much time with Matt because there has just been so much to do, and to be honest, I’ve needed someone to talk it all through with – all this is new territory to me.’
‘And you couldn’t talk to me?’ Sam sounded deflated.
‘You didn’t seem interested; you’ve been so distant recently. I thought there was something wrong at work. Or that maybe . . .’ She paused, reluctant to say the words aloud. ‘I was worried that maybe you didn’t want to talk to me any more. That you’d gone off me.’ It sounded childish when she said it out loud but it was the thing that Suzie had feared the most. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘We can put it right though, can’t we?’ he said in low even voice. ‘Or are you telling me that it’s over; is this it?’
‘Oh Sam, of course it isn’t it. It never occurred to me in a million years that this was the end – more like a new beginning. But you are right. We can’t go on like this, not all moody and silent and distant or there’s no point. I just wish we talked about it earlier; it’s kind of crept up, this not talking to each other thing. We used to talk all the time.’ She paused. ‘And at least half the fault is mine.’
‘Okay, how about we talk about how we’re going to put it right tomorrow?’
‘You mean it?’
He nodded. ‘Uh-huh – practical ways to sort it out. How about we go out to lunch, just you and me and talk about us?’
Suzie was about to protest that there was just too much to do and so many things that needed sorting out, but the words died in her mouth; wasn’t that exactly how they had got to this point in the first place?
‘I’d love to,’ she said.
Gently he bent down and kissed her, slipping his arms around her, and for a second the music from the marquee seemed to bubble up and catch them like a tide and Sam slowly began to dance with her. She giggled, forgetting everything except how good it felt to be with him and to be in his arms, and how good it had always felt. He pulled her close up against his chest and they began to dance around the lawn.
‘You’re drunk,’ she teased.
He kissed her neck. ‘I know, but I’d do this whether I was drunk or not. We should do more of it. A lot more of it. You know I love you with all my heart, Suzie, don’t you? I thought for one awful moment that I’d lost you. It’s so good to be back.’
‘What about the girls?’
He pulled her closer. ‘They’re bound to be here somewhere. We’ll look for them together.’
And all the tension and the fear she had been feeling over the last few days and weeks and months ebbed away as his arms closed tight around her, and she let the music lead them through the shadows, into the soft warm darkness behind the marquee.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Inside the marquee Rose needed a breather from all the dancing. She hadn’t danced so much in years, and the long, long day was beginning to take its toll. While Jack went off to fetch them both a drink she sat down and took the time to catch her breath and look around the faces of the people gathered to help celebrate all the years they had spent together.
When it came down to it, just exactly how many years wasn’t the point, surely? They had loved each other through thick and thin, bad times and good. Love could have so many faces and be so many things in a lifetime. Being in love was different from loving someone, and both were very different from falling in love. She and Jack had done all these and more over the years they had been together.
Out on the dance floor, in the garden, gathered around the tables were their friends, neighbours, relatives, work colleagues, and as Rose put names to faces, she smiled to herself and thought how lucky they had been to get this far surrounded by so many good people.
‘Penny for them,’ said a woman standing beside her.
Rose looked up. ‘Oh Janet, how lovely to see you,’ she said, getting up to give her a hug. ‘We were looking for you earlier to come and have your photo taken with the rest of the crew.’ Rose laughed. ‘The girls were desperate for us to re-do the original wedding photos. You’re looking good.’
Janet slipped into the seat alongside her. ‘I’m sorry I missed it, I’ve only just arrived. I hope you don’t mind me showing up late, but Tony and I have been over in the States to stay with his sister for the last two weeks and we only got back last night.’
‘Is he here?’ said Rose glancing around.
‘No, he’s exhausted. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it either. I’ve booked into a little B&B just up the road. I’m hoping I can get a cab later.’
‘You can always stay at ours if you get stuck. There’s plenty of room.’
Janet smiled. ‘Still the same old Rose, I see. You know, it’s really good to see you again. I was trying to think how many years it’s been since I’ve seen you – anyway, you look fantastic too.’
Rose smiled. ‘Thank you. I don’t feel it, I’m absolutely shattered, but it’s lovely of you to say so . . . Obviously life up north suits you.’ She looked over towards the bar. ‘Jack will be back in a minute; he’s just gone to get a drink. Would you like something to eat? I’m sure we can rustle you something up if you’re hungry?’
‘No, I’ve already eaten, thank you,’ said Janet, holding up her hands to decline the offer.
There was a tiny but weighty and rather uncomfortable silence between them, and then both women began to talk at once. ‘The girls don’t know, we didn’t tell them—’ Rose began, just as Janet said, ‘I was a bit surprised to be invited to be honest—’
And then they looked at each other, woman to woman, and Rose smiled and said, ‘I’m glad they did ask you, it really is good to see you, Janet, but I have to tell you that Suzie and Liz, they have no idea who you are.’ Rose was aware that she sounded defensive. ‘Peter Hudson told them about Jack and me being divorced tonight – just before the party.’
Janet stared at her. ‘Really? Oh my God. Trust Peter.’
‘I know, I wish it hadn’t come out like that, and before you say anything I know we should have said something before.’
‘Did he say anything about me?’
Rose shook her head. ‘No – he didn’t get that far.’
‘Well, that certainly explains why they invited me.’
‘We just never got around to telling them.’
‘What, none of it?’ Janet asked incredulously. She laughed. ‘Oh God, that is just so like you, Rose—’
‘Stop saying that,’ said Rose. ‘Jack’s as bad.’
‘No, he’s worse. Anything for a quiet life.’
‘You make him sound weak,’ protested Rose.
Janet smiled gently. ‘Well, we both know he isn’t weak, don’t we? Just too kind sometimes, that’s all. He was always a good man, Rose, trouble is he just doesn’t know when it’s better to be cruel.’ She paused. ‘I hadn’t realised that Suzie and Liz didn’t know. I wanted to say thank you for letting me be here tonight. It really is nice to see you again. Even after all these years and all the things that have happened there are times when I still think about the good old days and what good friends we were. I miss you . . .’
Rose fe
lt her eyes prickle with tears. ‘Me too, although I’m not sure it would have worked out any other way.’
‘No, me neither. I know Tony couldn’t have dealt with it if we had stayed around here. It’s one of the reasons he didn’t want to be here tonight.’
‘He didn’t mind you coming?’
‘I don’t think he was that keen but he’s another good man, Rose.’
Rose nodded. ‘The girls didn’t have any idea when they invited the two of you.’
And then Jack was there with their drinks. There was a moment when Rose could see that he was totally wrong-footed, and then finally he said, ‘Janet, glad you could make it. How are you?’ He leant in to peck her on the cheek. ‘You’re looking well.’
‘You too, and what a great turn out,’ she said, looking around the room. ‘Congratulations. Forty years give or take is no mean feat.’
Rose and Jack exchanged glances, and then Rose said. ‘The party was a complete surprise, we had no idea, you know.’ And they talked about the food and the marquee and going to the gardens with Fleur and somewhere in among the pleasantries the tension between them gradually eased.
‘Let me go and get you a drink, Janet,’ said Jack. ‘What would you like?’
Janet grinned. ‘I’m very tempted to say the usual but I’m not sure how good your memory is after all these years, so how about we settle on a glass of white wine and call it quits?’
Jack nodded. ‘Right you are,’ he said. ‘Tell you what, why don’t you take mine? I’ll just go and get another,’ and with that he headed back towards the bar.
Janet laughed at his retreating back. ‘Running away.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Rose. ‘I’m sure he was as surprised as I was to see you. Let’s sit down, shall we?’ said Rose, indicating the seats.
‘Don’t mind if I do for a few minutes and then I really ought to go and find the girls,’ said Janet. ‘You know of course that technically I was married to Jack for almost twice as long as you were.’
Rose smiled grimly. ‘I know, but no one else here does.’