Aunt Bessie Decides (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Diana Xarissa

  Doona dashed into the restaurant once they arrived back in Laxey and she was quickly back with several steaming pizza boxes.

  “Oh, that smells amazing,” Candy gasped as Doona set the boxes on the backseat next to her.

  “Hang in there,” Bessie laughed. “We’re only a few minutes from home.”

  Back at Bessie’s cottage, Doona carried in the pizza while Bessie and Candy brought in the bags from Shopfast. Bessie pulled plates and napkins out while Doona opened the first bottle of wine and poured generous helpings into glasses.

  “I didn’t know white wine went with pizza,” Candy laughed.

  “It probably doesn’t,” Doona told her. “But it’s what sounded the best to me. You can have red if you prefer.”

  “It’s all the same to me,” Candy assured her. “Even when I had loads of money and bought the expensive stuff, it all tasted pretty much the same. At home I buy the big cardboard cartons of it, and that’s pretty darn tasty when you need a drink, I can tell you.”

  The trio ate in relative silence for a while. Candy downed three glasses of wine with her pizza, while Bessie stuck to just the one. Doona drank faster than Bessie, but nowhere near as quickly as Candy. When the pizzas were just about finished, Doona grinned.

  “Andy threw in a bonus,” she told the others. “He said he’s been trying new things and he was hoping we could taste-test this one and give him our thoughts.” She opened the last pizza box. Inside was what looked like a huge chocolate chip cookie.

  “That looks amazing,” Candy groaned as she topped up her empty glass. “I wish I hadn’t already eaten so much.”

  “It’s a cookie pizza,” Bessie said, staring at the surprise.

  “Yep,” Doona laughed. “Andy said that if people like them he might try decorating them for birthdays and special occasions. I gather it’s an American thing that he’s thinking might catch on over here.”

  “Well, it’s worth trying,” Bessie said, her mouth watering as she caught a whiff of warm melted chocolate, butter and vanilla.

  Doona cut the cookie into slices like pizza and they each took one.

  “This is wonderful,” Candy sighed.

  “It is really good,” Bessie agreed. “I must call Andy tomorrow and tell him I think the cookie pizza is a great idea.”

  Doona nodded. “I love it and it’s exactly what I want for my next birthday. Unless I decide not to have birthdays anymore, that is.”

  Candy laughed heartily. “I say celebrate,” she told Doona. “You can’t stop yourself getting older, so you may as well have cake and make people buy you stuff.”

  Doona grinned. “That’s great advice. Or maybe it just feels that way after two glasses of wine.”

  “Only two?” Candy shook her head. “You’re falling behind already.”

  Doona drained her glass and then quickly refilled it. “Bessie,” she said, slurring her words a bit. “I’m crashing on your couch tonight.”

  Bessie grinned. “You two can fight over the couch and the spare room,” she told the pair. “Neither of you is going to be fit to go anywhere in another half hour.”

  “So how’d you end up here all alone?” Candy asked Bessie. “I mean, you never married? Why not?”

  Bessie flushed and poured herself a second glass of wine. The first bottle was just about empty, but Doona was quick to jump up and open a second.

  “I fell madly in love when I was sixteen,” Bessie told Candy. “We were living in Ohio in those days. Then my parents decided to move back to the island, and they made me come with them and leave Matthew behind.”

  “That’s horrible,” Candy said angrily. “I wouldn’t have stood for that.”

  “The times were very different then,” Bessie told her. “Unmarried girls didn’t argue with their parents. They did as they were told.”

  Candy laughed. “I never did what my parents told me to do,” she said. “Maybe that’s why I’ve ended up in such a mess. Although my parents weren’t exactly….” she trailed off.

  “Your parents weren’t what?” Doona asked.

  “Let’s just say I didn’t have a happy childhood and leave it at that, okay?” Candy asked. “There isn’t enough wine on this island to get me talk about the things that I went through as a child.”

  Doona and Bessie both nodded. “Anyway,” Bessie said, dragging the conversation back to her own unhappy story. “Matthew decided to follow me back here, but he didn’t survive the crossing.”

  “Plane crash?” Candy asked.

  Bessie smiled gently. “He was coming by boat,” she told the other woman. “There weren’t commercial trans-Atlantic flights in those days.”

  Candy gave her a strange look. “Just how old are you?” she demanded.

  Doona drew a deep breath. “Maybe you don’t want to ask that,” she warned Candy.

  Bessie laughed. “It’s okay,” she said to Doona. “I’m old enough to tell you to mind your own business,” she told Candy.

  Candy blushed. “Sorry, I wasn’t really trying to be rude,” she said. “Please continue with your story.”

  Bessie nodded. “That’s pretty much it. Matthew died just before his boat docked in Liverpool. He left me the small legacy that allowed me to buy this cottage, and I’ve been here ever since.”

  “Imagine losing your one true love at seventeen,” Doona sighed. “To never look at another man again. It’s so romantic.”

  “And not true,” Bessie told her.

  “What do you mean it isn’t true?” Doona demanded, as Candy laughed.

  Bessie chuckled. “We’ve never talked about this part of my past, have we?” Bessie asked her friend. “In fact, I looked at quite a few men after Matthew died. Oh, I never forgot him, but I think that’s true for many people with their first loves. It took me a few years to begin to feel like I might try dating again, and I even went out with a few men from around Laxey, but there were never any sparks.”

  “I hear that,” Candy said. “Nothing worse that kissing a guy and feeling nothing. So you never found a suitable replacement for Matthew?”

  “I nearly did,” Bessie admitted. She took a big gulp of her wine. She’d never really talked about this period in her past, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about it, even now.

  “Go on, spill,” Candy demanded, draining her own glass. “Then Doona and I will tell you all of our secrets. They’re bound to be juicier than yours.”

  Bessie laughed heartily. “You’re absolutely right about that,” she said. She took a deep breath. “There was a man. His name was Peter Quayle, and he was my advocate’s younger brother. It was maybe ten years after Matthew died, and the Second World War was just getting started. He was living in Australia, working in some capacity for their government or ours; I was never sure exactly which it was. Anyway, he came to visit his brother and started courting me.”

  “Courting you? What a lovely romantic word,” Doona said with a sigh.

  “What does it mean?” Candy asked.

  “A woman living on her own had to be very careful,” Bessie told her. “It wouldn’t have done for me to be seen out and about with a young single man. I had dinner at my advocate’s house regularly and was able to talk with Peter there. Occasionally we’d ‘accidentally’ meet up on walks around the village. That sort of thing.”

  “And then what happened?” Doona demanded.

  “He proposed,” Bessie answered, smiling to herself as Doona’s jaw dropped.

  “Don’t tell me he died, too,” Candy moaned. “That would be just too sad.”

  Bessie shook her head. “He went back to Australia eventually and I decided that I wanted to stay here. I loved my little cottage even then. I’d already been on my own for ten years and I wasn’t sure I was ready to be a wife and mother. I figured if I loved him enough to spend forever with him, I’d have felt sure.”

  “Do you know what happened to him?” Candy asked.

  “He married someone else eventually and they had a
couple of children. He never came back to the island, not even to visit. I understand he died a few years ago.”

  “No regrets?” Doona asked her friend.

  “You know,” Bessie said, “I can honestly say that I don’t have any regrets. I have such a wonderful life here.”

  “Where’s my bag?” Candy demanded suddenly.

  “What bag?” Bessie asked.

  Candy shook her head. “I brought a bag with me this morning. I must have left it by your back door when I went down to the beach.”

  Bessie opened her back door and spotted the large bag. She wasn’t sure how she’d missed it when she’d gone out earlier. Candy walked carefully over to the door and picked up the case.

  “I forgot all about it,” she said. “Anyway, it’s makeover time.”

  Bessie raised her eyebrows. “Makeover time?”

  “Yeah, why not?” Candy demanded. “I did my own makeup for years when I was in the movies. Let me fix you both up.”

  Bessie shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not interested,” she told the woman. “I rarely wear makeup and I don’t really like the way it feels.”

  Candy nodded. “Doona, you’ll let me do you, though, won’t you?” she asked plaintively.

  “Why not?” Doona asked, throwing back the rest of her glass of wine. “Maybe I’ll learn a thing or two and that’ll help me find a new man.”

  “If I were you, I’d be looking no further than down the hall,” Candy told her.

  “What do you mean?” Doona asked.

  “Here, wash your face,” Candy told her, handing her a tube of facial cleanser. Doona headed into the small bathroom that opened off of Bessie’s kitchen. When she returned, her face was clean and shiny.

  Candy, in the meantime, had spread an amazing array of tubes, bottles and other containers across Bessie’s table.

  “I mean that inspector of yours,” Candy picked up the conversation as if Doona had never left. “John Rockwell is one fine-looking man.”

  Doona turned scarlet. “John’s married,” she said shortly.

  Candy grinned. “Happily?” she asked. She didn’t wait for a reply. “Because he doesn’t act like a happily married man. He acts like a man who’s more or less single and not quite sure what to make of it. If I were you, I’d be working on him now. Once that marriage is officially over, the women are going to be all over him.”

  Doona shook her head. “I’ve no reason to believe that his marriage is in trouble,” she said. “And besides, he isn’t my type.”

  Candy hooted with laughter. “Okay, if you say so,” she said, clearly not believing Doona. “Sit down.”

  Doona sat across the table from Candy and Candy began to open various bottles and tubes. “So tell me all about the loves of your life,” she invited Doona, as she began to slather lotion on Doona’s face.

  “I’ve been married twice,” Doona told her. “But neither of them stuck.”

  Candy laughed. “Sticking is the hard part,” she agreed. “Go on then, which one was the love of your life?”

  “Number two,” Doona said with a frown. “Too bad I wasn’t the love of his.”

  Candy laughed. “Wine break,” she told Doona. “Take a quick sip before I start on the foundation.”

  Doona took a large drink from her glass. When she put it down, Bessie refilled it for her while Candy combined several different liquids in the palm of her hand. After a few moments, she rubbed a bit across Doona’s forehead and then grinned.

  “That’s about right,” she said. “Okay, tell me about number one first.”

  Doona grinned. “Matt was my childhood sweetheart,” she told Candy. “We started dating when I was thirteen and after school we figured it was time to get married. After about five years, though, we both were just going through the motions. We were like brother and sister, so we just agreed one day to split up.”

  “That happens,” Candy said. “It never happened to me, but I know lots of other people that have the same sort of story.”

  Doona shrugged. “I never said my life was exciting,” she said, sounding slightly hurt.

  Candy laughed. “Now don’t mind me,” she said. “I’m pretty well drunk.”

  Doona laughed. “Anyway, we’re still friends and I still have lunch with his mum at least once a month. He got remarried about a year after we split, and he and his wife have three kids, none of whom I would cheerfully spend more than ten minutes alone with.”

  Candy laughed until she began to cough. Bessie got her a glass of water and both women sat and watched a bit anxiously until she managed to stop.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I should never have smoked. It wasn’t good for me. But anyway, time for husband number two, please, while I work on your eyes.”

  A dark look passed over Doona’s face.

  “You don’t have to talk about this,” Bessie told her friend.

  Doona shrugged. “I really should,” she said. “If I can’t talk about him, I can’t move on. I thought I was making progress, but the fact that I don’t want to talk about him makes me think I’m not. Anyway, I’m among friends and at least half-drunk.”

  Candy grinned. “We can take another wine break,” she told Doona. “Just let me get your other eye done or you’ll be lopsided.”

  When Candy had finished whatever she was doing, Doona took a large swallow of wine. “Okay, so it was only a few years after my divorce when I met him. His name was Charles,” she giggled, “well, his name is still Charles, I guess.”

  “Unless he broke your heart by becoming a woman,” Candy suggested.

  Doona giggled again. “No, he broke my heart by being a womaniser. And I would bet that hasn’t changed a bit.”

  Candy frowned. “Why are men like that?” she demanded. “Go on then, tell me the whole sorry tale.” Candy took a small sip of wine and then pulled out a few more makeup containers. She shifted through them, trying different colours on the back of Doona’s hand until she was satisfied.

  “We met at a party,” Doona said with a sigh. “I didn’t even want to go the stupid party, but one of my friends persuaded me that it would be fun. She was wrong. It was unbelievably dull and I was just escaping when Charles walked in. I was lost as soon as I looked at him, I really was. He was gorgeous and so much more sophisticated and worldly than I was. He totally swept me off my feet.”

  “Close your lips,” Candy told her. Her eyes narrowed as she focussed intently on Doona’s lips for a few moments, slathering them in layer after layer of gooey stuff. “Okay, you can continue,” Candy said, sitting back and staring hard at Doona. “We’re nearly finished with your face.”

  “I don’t know what else to say anyway,” Doona told her. “He was charming and totally different to my ex-husband. Charles was the regional manager for a big hotel chain that had just opened a new hotel on the island. He’d come over for the grand opening, and before I knew it, I was invited to the party. I met the Governor and a whole bunch of minor celebrities who had been invited to the opening weekend. By the end of that weekend, I was madly in love.”

  Candy shook her head. “It’s hard when you fall so quickly,” she said. “Take it from me, nothing good ever comes of falling in love fast.”

  “It’s your turn next,” Doona reminded her. “Anyway, Charles went back to the UK and we talked on the phone every night for weeks before he was able to come back. When he did come back, he brought an engagement ring with him.”

  “Ooooooohhhh no,” Candy said laughing. “That should have stopped you in your tracks, girl.”

  Doona laughed as well. “Yeah, but I was too stupid to realise that at the time. I was flattered and amazed and I said ‘yes’ about a million times. We were married about two weeks later and had a glorious month-long honeymoon visiting various properties all across Europe that were in the group he worked for. No matter how bad things were later, I do have to admit that he was wonderful for that month.”

  “So when did it all go wrong?” C
andy asked.

  Bessie drew a sharp breath. “Perhaps we should find another topic of conversation,” she suggested, anxious to protect her friend from the very difficult topic.

  “It’s okay, Bessie,” Doona insisted. “It’s therapeutic talking it all through. Besides, I’ve drunk enough to simply not care.”

  Candy laughed. “Good girl,” she said. “So what happened after your glorious month?”

  Doona sighed. “When we got back to the island, he told me that he thought it would be best if I stayed here while he travelled back and forth. He couldn’t see any point in dragging me over to the UK to live since he was on the road at least five or six days a week. I was dumb enough to agree to that, of course.”

  “It sounds logical enough,” Candy shrugged.

  “Yeah, but you’re saying that after a bottle of wine,” Doona pointed out.

  Candy began to laugh and then took another sip of wine to stop herself. “That’s a great point,” she told Doona. She started putting the various pots and tubs back into her bag, pausing occasionally to dab a bit more onto Doona’s face.

  “So he was cheating?” Candy asked.

  “Not only was he cheating, but he only married me to hide the fact that he was already involved with a married woman,” Doona announced.

  “Don’t cry,” Candy told her. “I’ve finished and you look amazing. Don’t ruin it. What do you think?” Candy asked Bessie.

  Bessie looked at her friend and then blinked hard. “You look beautiful,” she told Doona. Somehow, after all the layers and layers of makeup that Candy had piled on, Doona looked as if she were wearing very little makeup at all. But her cheekbones were suddenly pronounced, her eyes looked huge and sparkly, and her lips looked larger, but entirely natural. Doona looked well-rested and about ten years younger.

  “Do I?” Doona demanded. She got up from the table and walked very slowly and carefully to the loo. “I look wonderful,” she said in an awed tone. “Candy, you’re a magician.”

  Candy flushed. “It’s all you,” she said. “I just enhanced what’s already there.”

  “It isn’t all me,” Doona snorted. “I’ve never looked this good before.”