It was a whirlwind of chatter and introductions and laughter, and Abbie couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else in the world. She wasn’t sure she had ever felt quite so loved and she had Kyle to thank for making this happen. And her amazing sister and friends to thank for flying halfway round the world, albeit in first class.
When everyone was settled and the initial shock had died down, she went to the bathroom with Violet. She had noticed the small bump through her dress, and wanted a few minutes alone to hug her and appreciate the fact her very best friend was four and a half months away from becoming a mother.
As soon as the door was closed, Violet squealed. ‘Oh my god, he is fucking gorgeous. You hit the jackpot.’
Abbie laughed. ‘I want to talk about you. Can I touch it?’
‘Of course you can, you eejit. I’ve been saving something else to tell you as well. An extra birthday present really.’
‘What?’ Abbie exclaimed, grabbing Violet’s hand.
‘You’re the only person Michael and I agreed to tell. It’s going to be a surprise for everyone else. We’re having a little girl.’ Tears of happiness sprang to Violet’s eyes. She wasn’t normally emotional like this and it made Abbie feel incredibly moved.
‘Oh, stop crying or I won’t be able to finish telling you the rest of the surprise.’
Abbie dabbed her tears away before wiping away Violet’s from under her eyes with her thumbs.
‘We want you to be her godmother, Abbie. If you’ll have us?’
That was it. Abbie burst into happy tears, with Violet joining her. ‘Yes, yes and yes a million times. This is the best birthday present ever.’
‘Right, stop being so soft, I want more information on this hunk of a man out there. He’s gorgeous, he clearly adores you and he seems like he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He can’t possibly be all those things and not have any bad points. What is it? Does he snore like a pig? Leave his dirty pants on the floor?’
Their happy tears turned to laughter before Abbie’s face became serious.
‘He does seem too good to be true, Vi,’ she said. ‘He’s pretty much the perfect boyfriend and I’m waiting for something to go wrong because I know I don’t deserve this and I’m hiding this huge secret from him. But things are so good that I’m being selfish and I don’t want to ruin it.’
‘Absolute nonsense!’ Violet said loudly. ‘You deserve this more than you know and you have to stop thinking that way. What happened, you’ve got to stop punishing yourself for it, the blame doesn’t lay with you quite frankly. I know you’ve been putting this brave face on since you’ve been here, but I know you and I know it still bothers you and it just can’t go on forever. Also, you’re not being selfish. It’s incredibly personal and it’s your choice if you tell him or not.’
Abbie half smiled, not wanting to ruin the amazing evening after Violet had travelled so far.
‘Right, it’s your thirtieth birthday and there’s a room full of people out there waiting for the star of the show, so let’s get back out there.’ She grabbed Abbie’s hand. ‘You’re allowed to be happy you know. It’s insanity if you feel any kind of guilt for that. It’s completely misplaced.’
Abbie squeezed her hand and nodded, not sure if she really believed the sentiment, but with a determination to enjoy the evening.
They re-joined the group after touching up their make-up, Kyle looking at her quizzically as she beamed at him upon returning to the table. She would tell him the good news later, but for now, she wanted to savour every moment of this night. He had been right that morning. You only turned thirty once. And if this was what her thirties had in store, she couldn’t wait.
Polly, Rose and Stella seemed to be getting on famously. They were swapping stories about bands they liked, music they thought the others would like, tales of being in a band, their best tattoos and everything else in between. It was a true meeting of minds and Abbie knew now that she was right about what drew her to Rose. She was the perfect blend of Polly and Violet.
Kitty was seated between Violet and Lily. Abbie could hear her colleague asking lots of questions about London and Violet animatedly answering. Lily was getting in on the act too. She was shortly moving to the capital to study at university, so, as a typical teenager, that meant she was already the fount of all knowledge despite having spent the grand total of a week there in the past three years. Abbie giggled to herself. She really didn’t need to worry about Lily at all. She was going to be absolutely fine.
And it was so nice to see Kitty more relaxed. Abbie had imagined she’d be more on edge in a larger group, but it was like she’d come to life. She was smiling from ear to ear, and there didn’t seem to be any awkwardness over the Kyle situation. He had been right, she just needed to get it out in the open, and it hadn’t turned out to be a big deal after all.
Abbie herself had Violet to her left and Kyle to her right. She reached over to take his hand and noticed that he had been watching her watching everyone else. She hoped her face conveyed to him exactly how she was feeling right now. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Looking around the table, she had the best friends and family a girl could wish for. And a boyfriend to die for.
Two hours later they all sat, completely stuffed. The family-style restaurant had served a modern twist on all-American food and the courses kept coming and coming, filling the large table so there was no room for even one extra plate. They had, except Violet, consumed a lot of bottles of wine and now, with them all propping up the bar in the main restaurant, Abbie could see that the jet lag was starting to kick in fast on her visitors from England. She indicated to Kyle that they should get them home and they all started to say their goodbyes.
When she reached Rose and Kitty who were, likely due to the buckets of pinot noir, inconceivably chatting at the bar, she noticed they were talking to a guy. He was tall with angular features, around forty, and looked as if he were completely smitten with Kitty.
‘Abbie, this is Cody,’ Rose said. ‘We just met him, and he and Kitty have so much in common. Cody, this is Abbie, it’s her birthday so you really have to thank her or else you might never have met our wonderful Kitty.’
Abbie stifled a laugh. She knew exactly what Rose was up to. She hadn’t had the chance to tell her it wasn’t an issue anymore, and Kitty didn’t care about Kyle.
Leaving them to it she hugged everyone goodbye, promising to meet up with Rose later in the week before Stella left again on tour.
She hauled herself into the passenger seat of Kyle’s truck, looking in the back where her visitors were struggling to keep their eyes open.
‘Jet lag’s a killer right? In fifteen minutes, we’ll be home. And then you can all get to sleep so you’re fresh for a day of exploring tomorrow.’
Kyle had told her during dinner that they were all leaving on Tuesday evening, but he’d booked the next two days off work for her so they could spend time together. He also told her he wasn’t going to stay at her place, so the four of them could split themselves between the two bedrooms. He really had thought of everything.
She practically had to carry Lily up the stairs when they got to the house. She was on her last legs, and Abbie well remembered that feeling from her first few nights in the city. She put her sister with Polly in the guest bedroom and showed Polly where everything was. Lily fell unconscious on the bed within seconds still wearing her clothes.
Then she settled Violet in the bed in her own room. She fussed around, making sure she was comfortable until her friend swatted her like a fly, telling her to leave her alone. Abbie gave her one more huge hug before leaving her to sleep.
Heading downstairs, she joined Kyle, who was watching some generic sports programme on the TV. She snuggled in next to him, her head nestling perfectly into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her.
‘I don’t even know how to say thank you for what you’ve done for me today,’ she whispered quietly into his chest.
‘I can think
of a few ways.’ He picked her up and put her in his lap, his lips meeting hers in the most gentle of kisses, then tracing down her neck and across her collarbone. ‘Happy birthday, England.’
‘You can’t do this to me, we have house guests.’ She giggled.
He groaned. ‘I know. I don’t know why I did this. I should have put them in a hotel and kept you all to myself. How do you feel about the backseat of a truck?’
‘Get home and take a cold shower.’
He laughed, getting up to head home. ‘Sleep well, beautiful, and enjoy tomorrow. And again, happy birthday.’
After he kissed her goodbye, she lay on the sofa, wondering if it was too late to take him up on the offer of the backseat of the truck. Giggling, she prised herself off the comfy cushions and upstairs, where she watched Violet softly snoring, her heart full from the evening. Kyle had excelled himself.
CHAPTER 22
The next two days passed in a whirlwind of activity, chatting and laughter. Abbie, Violet, Lily and Polly toured around the city, with Abbie proudly showing them all the things she’d discovered when she first arrived.
They visited the site of the imposing Mormon church and Temple Square, they went for walks around Liberty Park, and they all got their credit cards out for a visit to the big mall. Abbie was happy to be in a position to hand over a wad of dollars to Lily and tell her to go wild and get new clothes for university. She took them to Park City and to The Live Joint, where they got to meet Rose again and see an up-and-coming band that were performing as part of a tour across the country.
They ate so much food. She took them for Mexican and Italian and pizza and burgers. They ate breakfast burritos as they sat looking at the mountains from the park, and they fell into bed exhausted.
Abbie wished more than anything she could have taken them to Arches, but there wasn’t enough time. They would have to visit again.
As she was taking her make-up off on Monday evening, she noticed Violet studying her intently in the mirror. She spun around, grinning. She still couldn’t believe her best friend was there, and it made her heart want to burst every time she looked at Violet’s neat little baby bump. She was so tiny and wearing the bump well, although Abbie still couldn’t imagine what she would look like as she got further along. She couldn’t imagine her petite friend carrying a full-size baby. It didn’t seem possible.
‘You look so happy, Abs. And you look well. Really well. Despite all the crap you obviously eat here. When was the last time you ate a vegetable?’
‘We ate salad for lunch, you idiot.’
‘America has twisted your mind quickly. It doesn’t count as salad if it’s plastered in five thousand calories of dressing.’
‘Don’t be a calorie bore, Vi, it doesn’t suit you. Or are you practicing your nagging skills ready for motherhood?’ Abbie turned back to the mirror to finish removing her mascara.
‘Do you miss it?’ Violet asked quietly.
‘Home?’
‘Yeah.’
Abbie paused, wanting to get her explanation right. ‘I miss you. And I miss Lily and Polly and Mum and Dad. And, this might sound odd, but I miss being able to walk around because you have to drive everywhere here. Weirdly, though, I don’t miss the actual place. If being here has taught me one thing, it’s that it’s about the people around you and not where you are. Kyle’s been really important for me learning that. Without him and Rose, I honestly don’t know how it would have gone. I might have come home already.’
Violet beckoned for Abbie to sit with her on the bed, then took her hand. ‘I’m very, very pleased it’s all going well here. And I’m over the bloody moon you’ve finally got back in the saddle. Especially on such a nice, quality thoroughbred.’
Abbie laughed. There was nothing like a British sense of humour.
‘Selfishly, though, I wonder how long you think you’ll stay here. We miss you so much. You are planning to come back at some point, right?’
Abbie paused, not sure whether to update Violet on something that had happened at the end of the previous week. She decided to tell her. She hadn’t told anyone else. She definitely hadn’t told Kyle.
‘It’s funny, Vi. I honestly haven’t been thinking long term. I got here, I’ve been making the most of it and things have been happening. I know it’s still pretty early days with Kyle, but he’s amazing. I’m loving my job. The city is cool and I’m discovering new places around here all the time, so it still feels really new.’
‘But?’ Violet always knew when Abbie was holding something back.
‘It’s not really a but, however, I got offered a job back in London on Friday. It was completely out of the blue and made me think a bit, that’s all. If it was something I wanted to consider.’
‘Wow, Abs, that’s mega. What was the job? Another football club trying to poach you?’
Abbie shook her head. ‘No, it’s crazy. You know I’ve been writing this blog with Rose here? I got contacted by a big music website and magazine publisher, and they wanted to hire me full-time as a gig reviewer and features writer.’
Violet’s eyes opened really wide. ‘The baby just kicked then. Quick, feel.’
Abbie rushed to put her hand where Violet was pointing, and there it was. The gentlest of little prods through Violet’s stomach into her hand. Tears sprang to her eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things that had ever happened to her.
‘Little one is excited, thinking that her Auntie Abs might be coming home,’ Violet whispered.
Taking her hand again, Abbie spoke carefully. ‘I turned it down.’
A sad smile found its way to Violet’s lips as she nodded. ‘It’s okay, Abs. You’re happy here. You’re thriving. I can see.’
‘It feels like this is where I’m meant to be right now. I’ve fallen in love with Kyle, not that I’ve told him that yet. I feel alive again.’
‘I know. And I’m so fucking happy for you I can’t explain. It just kind of sucks that it’s happened so far from home. I desperately miss you. I guess I’ll just have to take some more trips out here to visit when I’m on maternity leave, won’t I?’
They fell asleep that night hand in hand, Abbie feeling conflicted that the most important parts of her life were split by thousands of miles, but ultimately knowing where she needed to be at this point.
It was all over far too quickly. Violet, Lily and Polly had a flight just after lunchtime as they were connecting in New York on their way home. It meant that, after a quick breakfast and a final walk around Liberty Park, where there were stunning views of the Wasatch Mountains and the most beautiful blue sky for them to photograph, they had to leave for the airport. Violet had to get back to work, as she had nearly run out of holiday days for the year, and Lily had some preparation classes to take before her degree started. Polly’s band had two gigs later in the week and Damian was opening an exhibition of his paintings at a pop-up art fair in Shoreditch that she couldn’t miss, so she was excited about the week to come.
After checking in for their flight at the counter where, despite everyone’s protests and shouts and even an attempt at physical restraint, Polly once again withdrew her platinum credit card and upgraded everyone for the plane journey home, the four went to a café before security for one final drink together.
While they were in America, Lily had received the news that she was moving into student accommodation not too far from where Polly lived. Abbie felt a bit better about saying goodbye to her sister knowing that Polly had promised to keep an eye on her.
When they couldn’t leave it any longer to go to security, Abbie took it in turns hugging each of them. She knew she was gripping on for dear life, each hug lasting a lot longer than Violet, Lily or Polly were probably comfortable with, but she wanted to squeeze every last bit of them before they returned to England. All four of them had tears streaming down their faces by the time they eventually let go, and Abbie’s heart hurt as she finally waved them goodbye and headed back to her car to go home.
She probably would never have spent that kind of quality time with Polly back in London. They were always like ships passing in the night. She had learnt more about Polly’s unbelievable family history in the past three days than she had in two years living together. And she had seen new depths to her. A kindness, a protectiveness and a generosity that, now she thought about it, were always there, but had been a little bit masked by the multicoloured hair and nocturnal lifestyle that Polly led. That she could be so kind to be looking out for Lily made her feel like her sister would be just fine in the big, bright lights of England’s capital city.
Lily. She was just gorgeous. And getting feistier and more strong-willed by the day. Abbie couldn’t remember being as confident and fearless at that age as her little sister. Yet she still had that childlike excitement about everything. When Abbie drove them over to Park City to show them the cute little streets and explain it was where the famous film festival took place, Lily’s eyes remained on stalks the whole time they were there in case she managed to spot Tom Holland, who apparently had a new film out soon. No explaining that the film festival wasn’t happening for months would dull her hope. Abbie loved her even more after spending these days together, and her sister and Polly got on like a house on fire.
And Violet. What could she say? If it wasn’t for Violet she may very well still be sat crying in her old bedroom, clinging on to old sorrow and grief, hating her job and wearing some pretty terrible clothes. Violet had hauled her up, inspired her to make a change and supported her when she needed it. And Abbie was determined to return that support in the most important role she had been given in her life so far. She knew asking her to be godmother wasn’t something that Violet would have taken lightly – her strong Irish roots meant she was one of the only people Abbie knew who still went to church on a fairly regular basis. And Abbie wouldn’t let her down. She hadn’t figured out yet how she could be the best godmother possible with the distance between them, but she knew it was about more than just physical closeness.
Half the World Away Page 18