CHAPTER EIGHT
We’re the first set of guests to arrive at the party, although within an hour or so – by nine o’clock – the place is throbbing with music from the Nineties and buzzing with happy revellers.
Organising the party has kept Ellie busy for weeks, but it looks as if it’s all going to pay off. I know she wants to save as much money as possible for the bakery extension, so that she can keep the bank loan to a minimum. And it certainly seems as if she’s onto a winner tonight.
She’s hired a couple of students – Amy and Cara – to take orders for drinks and deliver them on little silver trays, and she’s wisely laid out a simple buffet of fresh bread and cheeses and mince pies, so that people have something to soak up the alcohol.
More tables and seating have been brought in, spilling out into the studio extension at the back, which has been given the same rosy-glow, low-lighting treatment as the main café.
Zak keeps appearing from the back with yet more bottles of spirits, and the wine is flowing like water. Ellie couldn’t have picked a better night to start making the most of her new licence to sell alcohol! And it suddenly hits me how astute she is when it comes to business opportunities.
Her new bakery is going to be a rip-roaring success, I’m certain of it.
Rob and I corral a couple of tables by the window for our crew, and Ellie slips over to join us. She’s flushed with adrenalin, her eyes sparkling happily. The perfect host.
‘It’s a shame you can’t totally relax when it’s your own party,’ I point out.
She beams at me. ‘I don’t care. I’m absolutely loving it. I keep looking around and seeing everyone enjoying themselves, and it gives me such a buzz to know that I made it all possible.’
I nod. ‘You’ve found what you’re supposed to do in life.’
‘You know, I think I have. Finally!’ She laughs at the thought because her journey hasn’t been an easy one.
‘Is your mum coming tonight?’ Rose is a lovely, sparky woman, although sadly, she’s going through the early stages of dementia.
Ellie shakes her head. ‘It would be just a bit too confusing for her. All these people.’ She glances around. ‘And actually, I think she’d much prefer to be entertained in the comfort of Honey Tree House, with the glorious Archie in faithful attendance!’
Ellie can’t quite get over the fact that at the age of sixty-three, Rose has found love again.
I laugh softly. ‘Rose gives hope to us all.’
‘Not that you have anything to worry about in that area,’ murmurs Ellie, leaning closer and indicating Rob who’s on his feet talking to Zak nearby. ‘Rob’s lovely. And the feeling seem to be mutual?’
‘I think so. I’m a lucky girl.’
Ellie frowns, picking up on my slight hesitation. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, yes, fine.’ I put on my smiley face. ‘Good.’
I glance over at Rob. He catches my eye and smiles, and my heart does a double flip. I push Alicia firmly from my mind. ‘Where’s Maisie and Summer?’
‘Summer’s grandma is here to take her back home tomorrow, so she’s staying over and babysitting the two girls upstairs.’ She glances at her watch. ‘Oh my God, look at the time. Ten-thirty. Hopefully they’ll be tucked up in bed by now.’
‘Bet they try to stay up till midnight,’ I grin. ‘I always used to when I was a kid but by eleven, I could barely keep my eyes open.’
Ellie laughs. ‘I’m like that even now. Right, I’d better think about getting the champagne organised for later. And get Zak onto the fireworks display.’
Smiling, I shoo her away. ‘Go, go, go.’
After she’s gone, I stand alone, sipping my drink and thinking about Alicia and Rob. I wanted to forget about it for tonight, but somehow, I can’t. I just feel really hurt that Rob kept it from me.
Swigging the last of my drink, I walk over to the servery and set my empty glass down. Then I go over to Rob.
He takes my hand. ‘Hey, you. I’ve hardly talked to you all night. Are you okay?’
I smile shyly up at him. ‘Can I talk to you?’
He looks surprised. ‘Of course. What is it?’
I indicate we should go outside so we move towards the door, slipping on our coats. Rob looks worried now.
Outside, I dig my hands deep in my coat pockets and we start walking down to the duck pond. ‘The thing is, Alicia came up to me in the toilets at The Swan and told me it was you who directed her to Brambleberry Manor that night to find Ethan. Is that true, Rob?’
His dismayed expression tells me everything I need to know.
He sighs, running both hands through his hair. His eyes when he finally looks at me hold the reflection of the full moon in them. ‘I didn’t want you to know it was me,’ he says slowly. ‘I didn’t want you to think badly of me – and you would have. You were so convinced that if Alicia hadn’t come looking for Ethan, disrupting everything, your dad wouldn’t have had his heart attack.’ He shrugs. ‘I wanted to help you, not make things worse by letting you find out it was me.’
‘But you must have realised it would ruin my night? I’d been so looking forward to being there with Ethan. Stupidly, as it turned out. But that’s beside the point. You knew it was a special night for me, and yet you sent Alicia to the Snow Ball anyway?’ I shake my head sadly. ‘I suppose I can’t understand why you would do that to . . . to a friend.’
He swallows. ‘Look, I really liked you, Fen, and I – well, I sensed all along that Ethan Fox didn’t deserve you.’
‘You were certainly right about that,’ I say bitterly.
‘So I told myself I was doing the right thing, helping Alicia find him. She was in such a state over the money he owed her. Cash that she desperately needed, what with being pregnant and everything.’ He looks at me, his eyes full of misery. ‘I realise I wasn’t being completely honest with myself. There was a bit of me – a part that I’m not very proud of, by the way – that saw Alicia’s problems as a way to break you two up. Selfish, I know. But I really hated what Ethan was doing to you – keeping you dangling on a string to feed his ego.’
We carry on walking in silence for a moment, stopping when we get to the village green. My flimsy shoes definitely wouldn’t survive a walk on the grass, especially now it’s thoroughly water-logged after the thaw.
‘So you got a taxi together – you and Alicia – from the hotel to Brambleberry Manor,’ I say slowly, trying to visualise how it all happened. ‘And Alicia tried to find Ethan but he gave her the slip and took a taxi back to the village.’
He nods. ‘I assume so. I joined Dad and Sylvia and I never saw either of them after that.’ He sighs. ‘Listen, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you, Fen.’
I gaze up into his troubled eyes and my heart clenches with affection. He didn’t tell me because he didn’t want to lose me. That much is very clear. And how could I not understand that?
‘The last thing I’d ever want to do is deliberately lie to you and hurt you,’ he says softly. ‘I’m not another Ethan Fox. I hope you know that.’
‘Of course I know that,’ I whisper.
‘So will you forgive me?’ He takes my hand.
I nod and he moves closer, tipping up my chin and kissing me softly on the lips. Then he pulls me into a hug and we cling to each other like that for a long time.
At one point, I pull slightly away. ‘No more lies.’
‘No more lies,’ he murmurs.
With a little sigh of relief, I fall against him and we kiss as though it’s the last kiss for a very long time.
At last, we break apart and I give a little shiver. Rob murmurs, ‘I’d quite happily stay here all night with you but I think you might be warmer in the café.’ He glances at his watch. ‘And anyway, it’s nearly midnight.’
‘Ooh, so it is!’ Excitement quivers through me at the thought of midnight fireworks, a brand new year about to begin – and knowing I have Rob by my side to begin it with.
We start walking back towards the café, our arms loosely round each other. It feels so good, I think my heart might explode with happiness at any moment.
‘It’s just as well Ellie asked me to stay at hers tonight. I’d never have got a taxi. Not on New Year’s Eve.’
He pulls me against his side and murmurs, ‘You could always have stayed at mine.’
I smile at him, thinking of our shared future, and a little ripple of joy runs through me. ‘You were lucky to get a taxi that night with Alicia,’ I reflect dreamily. ‘What with everyone on their Christmas nights out, needing transport.’
‘Yeah, there were none about. I had to phone from the flat.’
‘Right.’
We walk along a little further. ‘So you invited Alicia back to your flat, then?’
He stares at me blankly for a moment. Then he turns away and says casually, ‘She was upset. I offered her coffee and a chance to talk.’
My heart is beating faster. ‘But you said you got the taxi from the hotel. Why would you tell me that if it wasn’t true?’
He shrugs. ‘It was you who said that. I just didn’t contradict you because it didn’t seem relevant.’
I swallow hard. ‘So that’s another lie, then. I can’t believe this.’ I stare at him, feeling slightly sick, wanting him to give me a better reason why he’d choose to be economical with the truth once more.
But he just shrugs helplessly. ‘Sorry. I didn’t think it mattered. Alicia was in trouble. I was a friendly shoulder to cry on. I’d have done it for anyone, Fen.’
‘But it wasn’t anyone. It was Alicia,’ I mutter, illogically.
‘So?’ He looks genuinely perplexed.
‘Don’t you see, Rob? It’s not the fact that you helped Alicia and gave her coffee when she was upset that bothers me. It’s the fact that you deliberately concealed from me the fact that you invited her back to yours! Why would you do that unless you had something to hide?’
He gives a sharp laugh. ‘I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill here. I made coffee for Alicia. I’ve never seen her again since that night. I have no interest whatsoever in the girl, other than a certain sympathy for her predicament. You’re getting upset over absolutely nothing, Fen.’
‘You lied.’ I shrug and walk on ahead of him, as panic wells up inside and tears prick my lids. Have I really been a fool in love all over again?
There’s a shout from the direction of the café and Maisie runs past us, closely followed by Summer.
‘Want to slide on the duck pond,’ yells Maisie, scampering across the grass to the water’s edge.
‘Maisie! You can’t!’ shouts Summer, belting past us.
‘Why not?’
‘Because the pond has thawed. You’ll be swimming, not skating!’
The splash as Maisie hits the water sounds very loud in the still night.
‘Oh, hell,’ groans Rob. Breaking away from me, he runs back towards the duck pond and I follow behind.
I can hear Maisie shrieking now, presumably because the water is icy cold, and then Rob gets to her and tries to scoop her up, out of the pond. But she screams at the top of her lungs and he steps back.
‘Maisie? Have you hurt yourself?’ he asks.
‘It’s my arm. It’s sore.’ She screams again. ‘Don’t touch it!’
Rob lifts her carefully out of the water as Maisie continues to shout. ‘Fen, phone for an ambulance,’ he calls, looking back at me. ‘I think she might have broken it.’
‘Oh, God.’ I fumble for my phone and make the call. Then I try to soothe Maisie who’s now wriggling in Rob’s arms and growing quite hysterical. ‘It’ll be okay, darling. I’ll get your dad and Lellie.’
I try to run ahead, but Rob’s long strides get him there first with Maisie in his arms.
When we enter the café, everyone looks around in shock at Maisie’s shrieks, then the crowd parts to let us through.
I catch the shock registering on Ellie’s face. She runs over and Maisie reaches out her good arm towards her. ‘Lellie! I fell into the duck pond. And my arm really hurts.’ She starts wailing inconsolably, ‘I want my daddy.’
‘The paramedics are on their way,’ says Rob, handing his precious charge over to Zak with such care my heart expands with love. Then I remember the lies he told me and my throat clogs up with bitter emotion.
Two minutes later, the paramedics arrive and everyone stands back to let them through. After examining Maisie, they confirm the arm isn’t broken – just badly bruised – and the relief on Zak and Ellie’s faces is enormous.
‘Can we still have the fireworks?’ asks Summer, as everyone fusses over Maisie. Jaz flashes her a stern look but Ellie smiles and says, ‘I don’t see why not. Harry was going to set them off? Where’s Harry?’
‘Here.’ The man himself appears, looking a little sheepish.
Jaz frowns. ‘What’s wrong with you? You look as if you’ve just seen a ghost.’
He shakes his head. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘What’s nothing?’
He sighs. ‘I feel bad, that’s all. I spotted Maisie nipping outside with Summer and I just thought they were playing hide and seek or something, so I didn’t do anything about it. And now . . .’ He indicates poor Maisie with her sore arm.
Jaz looks aghast. ‘So you didn’t go after them? Harry, didn’t you think it was odd they’d be running about outside at this time of night?’
He shrugs miserably. ‘Everyone stays up late on New Year’s Eve. And they seemed to be enjoying themselves.’
‘Well, that’s hardly an excuse!’
I wince at her tone. Poor Harry looks gutted.
‘Never mind, all’s well that ends well,’ I say, trying to pour oil on troubled waters. ‘Maisie’s fine and that’s all that matters.’
But Jaz won’t be mollified. ‘You know what, I totally despair of you, Harry. I’m not sure you’re ever going to grow up. You tell me you want lots of kids but right now I’m having a very hard time imagining you as a responsible dad . . .’ She throws her arms in the air and marches off outside, presumably to cool off.
Ellie comes over. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Apparently not,’ murmurs Harry. ‘Sorry, Ellie, I haven’t forgotten I’m on fireworks duty.’ He grimaces at me. ‘Let’s hope I’m responsible enough not to burn the place down.’
He looks so miserable, my heart goes out to him.
Ellie, who’s missed the whole drama with Harry and Jaz, smiles and says, ‘If you and Rob set the fireworks off together, I’ll go upstairs with Maisie,’ She grins. ‘Apparently Summer’s grandma nodded off in front of the TV and those two little monkeys took their chance and nipped out.’
She signals to Zak, who’s comforting Maisie by the servery, that she’d like to go upstairs.
I murmur to Harry, ‘There, you’re not the only irresponsible one around here. Grandma has to take part of the blame.’ I grin to show him I’m joking and he twists his lips in a grateful smile.
‘But I don’t want to go upstairs. Can I stay at the party, Daddy?’ wails Maisie suddenly and everyone laughs.
‘We need to get you to bed, Maisie Moo,’ says Zak with a smile and carries her off towards the stairs.
‘Are you coming as well, Lellie?’ asks Maisie, looking back.
‘Yes, love. I’ll be right up.’ She heaves a massive sigh. ‘Kids, eh? They make you age like nothing else!’
‘At least she’s okay,’ I say, and Jaz, who’s come back int the café, mumurs her agreement.
‘Thank goodness! It looks as though we still have a party as well.’ Ellie glances around her. ‘Fen, could you do the honours with the champagne? It’s chilling in the fridge . . .’
‘I know, I know. Don’t worry. Jaz and I will make sure the party goes with a swing. Now go. I know you’re desperate to be with Maisie.’
Ellie gives us both a quick hug. ‘Happy New Year when it comes. Here’s hoping it brings you everything your hearts’ desire!’
‘And here’s to the birth of The Little Duck Pond Café Bakery,’ says Jaz, raising her glass. ‘It’s going to be a massive success, I’m certain of it. This is going to be your best year yet, Ells!’
A murmur of voices in the background becomes suddenly more urgent, and we all turn in their direction.
Ellie gasps.
Water is trickling down the wall in the corner by the main door, causing several people to move swiftly away. Someone yelps as a piece of the ceiling above them breaks away altogether and falls to the floor, the plaster shattering on contact.
Within seconds, as we all watch in horror, the trickle turns into a splashing cascade as water from the recent thaw finds the quickest way down from the roof . . .