‘George? Where are you, dear?’
Martha’s wifely tones came from the now-open front door, the party seemingly still quite lively behind her.
‘Read the letters,’ April said, urgently, half whispering in the dark. ‘You should read the letters. I’ll bring them over tomorrow. If Martha agrees, of course.’
George frowned for a moment, unsure of her meaning but then he patted her shoulder, turning towards Judith’s.
‘The answer to that question, Martha dear, from this day forth, is always—’ he sidled up to the side of her, linking her arm through this and dropping a kiss onto her lips ‘—right by your side.’
The two of them walked back inside, George obviously filling her in about the night’s events. The sounds of the evening surrounded her once more.
‘Well, Elvis,’ April said, hauling herself up and heading for home, the odd misstep occurring as the night air mixed with the champagne in her system. ‘April has left the building. Peace out.’
Chapter 19
Cillian looked at the text message on his screen, gutted that it wasn’t the person he wanted to hear from. It was Tina. He braced himself, but the anger and hurt didn’t raise its head as before. He just felt tired now, and sad about how things had turned out. They were never right for each other, but hindsight was a wonderful thing that bit you in the bottom weeks, months, years later.
I’m glad things are working out. For you and for me. I’m sorry, Cillian. Look after Orla. Both of you. Tina. It was the old Tina, a glimpse of the generous and caring friend he’d once had. Trying to make it more hadn’t worked because it wasn’t meant to.
As he tidied up the dinner things from the table, he tried to apply the same logic to April. Maybe they just weren’t meant to be either. Perhaps this was why they hadn’t taken things further than they had. Had he been trying to force something that wasn’t there? Everything in him told him that this wasn’t the case. He was hooked. Line, sinker – all his eggs in one big basket of April-filled love. He didn’t care that it was fast this time; it felt so different. They both had a lot to lose still, but he’d been willing to try. Orla’s approval had sealed it for him. He had wanted that. He still did. He’d frozen at the party when he saw her. She looked beautiful, standing there talking to everyone. Luke loved her already and they’d only met a couple of times. Fresh from his father-daughter heart to heart, he’d been happy. Till he’d seen her and realised that it didn’t matter what Orla wanted. April didn’t want this at all.
He typed back, We will, at first, but it was a lie, and sounded a little cruel even. They had made peace, and Orla came first over grudges any day of the week. Thanks, am glad too. He added a photo to his response, a snap of Orla in her big girl uniform. He didn’t expect a reply, and he didn’t get one. That would be enough, for now.
Looking round the neat chalet, he glanced across at the television, the bookshelf. Nothing interested him, and he had hours to kill before he could go to bed. His phone beeped in his hand.
Can we talk? April. Thank God. He went to start typing, but he saw the three dots on the bottom of the screen and waited. Maybe it wasn’t good news. He waited, and waited. He heard a faint scraping sound from under the front door, and turned just in time to see a flash of white disappear under the doormat. As he picked it up, a text came through again. Read it before you open the door.
His hand was already on the door handle, but he didn’t turn the key. Instead, he took a bottle of beer out of his fridge and sat on the sofa. The envelope was cream, pretty. The lettering unmistakably April’s, her spider-like scrawls webbing across the paper.
Dear Cillian
I decided to take a tip from one of Shady Pines’ finest resident letter writers for this one, so please excuse my ramblings. The truth is, I struggle to get my words out sometimes, even around you, and I didn’t want to mess this up. When I came here, I was hiding from my old life, because it had outgrown me, or I thought it had. I came here to start again, but I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. You, and everyone here, helped me in so many ways to hang in there.
When you asked me to go on a day trip with Orla today, as more than just the weird lady who runs the place and draws on trolls, I panicked. I don’t want to cause Orla any upset, but I know now it’s not what scared me. All my life I have felt a bit like an outsider, the kids at school not understanding my family life, being the new kid. When I married Duncan, I thought that was it, but it wasn’t right either. Now, I finally feel like I am starting to have a life, and that includes you.
The truth is, I do want to come to the beach. I’m just scared of what comes after. I want you to really think about what us taking the next step means. We can’t get this wrong, Cillian, but with me, you just get me. That’s it. With you and Orla, it’s a no-brainer. Like Tina said, you are a package deal, and I want both. I just don’t know what that will look like, but for once I want to stay and try. I’ll try not to drop her like I did my first pet rabbit, Mr Frisky the Third (he lived another two years after that, and he was fine).
Meet me out the back.
April
***
April was halfway down the path to the moonlit
