‘Eugh, I forgot my earplugs,’ she said loudly, causing the trio to stop dead. ‘We Are Family’ was playing on the radio, and Cillian was half mounting the back of the sofa, an inflatable guitar from the gift shop in his hands. Orla was mid bum wiggle, and April was doing what looked like a bad version of the robot. ‘What on earth are you lot doing?’
She gently let go of George’s arm and then stomped over to the radio, clicking the CD player on and shoving a CD in. Her face was set like thunder, but then the music started and suddenly she was moving.
Beyoncé was playing and Martha sang along, dipping her hands and moving her legs to the music. Everyone was staring at her open-mouthed. She laughed, her face dropping her old rather dour expression, and she beckoned with her hand before flashing her ring hand from side to side to the music of the Queen. ‘Come on, girls, we have two engagements to celebrate!’
The room erupted, the lot of them doing their best dance moves. Cillian had Orla in his arms, and she was doing her best not to laugh as he danced like the biggest idiot in the room. April, dancing along with them, reached for Martha and hugged her tight.
‘We did it,’ she said. ‘We survived another season.’
She felt Martha’s body move as she chuckled.
‘We sure did. Ready to do it all again next year?’ The two women looked at each other and grinned.
‘Bring it on!’ They both whooped, and they joined back in with the dancing. They had a lot to celebrate, the ladies of Lizard Point, and they couldn’t wait to get started. They knew what waiting for life to begin felt like now, and they wouldn’t waste a moment.
***
Clutching candles wrapped in card collars, Judith and Henry, the O’Leary to-be-three, Martha and George all walked silently down the beach path to the point where the shore met the sand. The sun was just setting, and it was still quite warm. April looked out at the sea, feeling her bare feet sink into the sand, and she knew. This was it. It was perfect. Her mother would always be with her, and now she would always be here, at Lizard Point. At the place where years and near lifetimes apart, the women’s lives had changed forever. It wasn’t lost on each and every one of them how precious this place was. How they would always treasure being a part of it.
They all gathered in a semi-circle of light, one candle being much lower, Orla carrying a battery-powered lamp of her dad’s. Ever the cautious parent. It made April love him all the more, seeing how he cared for the women in his life. He was truly good, and she counted her lucky stars that Duncan had led her here. Looking back, she knew it wasn’t real love. It couldn’t be, because she had that now and it was a world apart. Duncan was happy now it seemed, the last time she had heard. She wished them well.
‘You okay, darling?’ Cillian nudged her gently, his side staying close to hers. ‘You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.’
She smiled, giving him a kiss and touching her forehead to his.
‘I’m fine. Will you take my candle? It’s perfect to do this now.’
He nodded, trusting her but obviously not enjoying seeing her in pain.
‘I love you,’ she told him, and he relaxed, as she knew he would. She turned to the small crowd, grateful for each and every person there. ‘My mother loved this place, and she brought me here as a girl to start a new life. When I grew up, I always felt connected, and it was here I found my new life too, with you all.’
They all looked at each other, smiling as they let the moment wash over them.
‘So, Mum, I made it. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I have family, and you will always be a part of this place. You can rest now.’
In her hands sat an urn shell. Cillian had researched for hours once he’d heard that April wanted to set her mother to rest on that beach. It contained her ashes, with some placed into a necklace that April now wore around her neck. The shell sat on the surface of the sea, April’s tanned hands around it tight.
‘I love you, Mum. Goodbye.’
She released the shell, and it slowly starting to float further from the shore. They watched till the candles burned down, and the shell was out of sight. April waited for the sense of panic or regret to sink in, but it never came. Her mother was a free woman when she died, full of life till illness struck. She deserved to be out there, in the world. It comforted April to think of her that way. The sea seemed to sparkle all the more.
Turning to her new husband to be and growing stepdaughter, she opened her arms, and they came together.
‘Family hug!’ Orla yelled. ‘Everybody in!’
The others laughed, and they all held each other tight while Orla giggled in the middle.
‘So,’ Cillian said when the others started to head back, Orla chattering away to them all the way. ‘Happy?’ He was still concerned, a telltale furrow in his brow that gave him away. He didn’t have a great poker face either, which she loved.
‘Happy,’ she breathed, looking one last time out to sea and blowing a kiss to the waves. ‘Now let’s get indoors and get tea sorted. When Orla’s asleep we can test out that new hot tub we got sent. We should check they’re up to muster before we commit to one for each chalet.’
Cillian’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline, and he growled at her, pretending to bite at her neck.
‘Mrs O’Leary, did anyone ever tell you that you
