‘I do think they will be nice things, yes.’ Juliette replied, a funny little smile on her face.
Chapter 35
Since the visit from her friends and taking care of herself a bit more rather than worrying about Maggie and Bella, and Bella having turned a distinct corner Juliette felt like her old energy had slowly started to come back.
It was a beautiful day and Juliette had planned to get some fresh air and have a stroll around Pretty Beach. Luke had stuck a flyer for the Pretty Beach Farmers Market on the front of the fridge a few days before, and Juliette had decided that she would put on a pretty dress, put her basket on the front of her bike, and enjoy strolling through the stalls.
When she’d mentioned it to Daisy, Daisy had added to the attractiveness of the market by saying that Pretty Lavender Farm was going to be there with a stall.
Juliette’s friend Lottie had also sent a text saying that she was going to go to the market and was going to finish off, weather dependent, with a flask of tea, a batch of homemade biscuits and the afternoon on the beach. So, Juliette had replied to Lottie’s text and had arranged to meet Lottie and Daisy at the market, and Luke was going to join them later on the beach.
Juliette hung her blue tea dress on the outside of the wardrobe and went and turned on the taps on the wonky old bath. She looked out the window to the sea as she listened to the water cranking all the way through the house and poured in a long stream of bubble bath as the water gushed into the tub.
In the past months, even a bath hadn’t really recharged her. She stood by the bath and watched as it slowly filled up and then stepped in, sinking down into the warm water. She let out a long, deep sigh. As she let the warm water wash over it felt like months’ worth of stress seeped out into the bath. It was as if her body was a stuck coil unable to unwind, but the warm bubbly water did just enough to make her close her eyes and lean her head back on the edge of the old clawfoot tub.
She could hear Maggie downstairs with Luke opening the front door to Jeremy, and she sank back further, sloshing up the water over the back of her neck. She opened her eyes and looked down at the vintage taps at the end and reminded herself of all the wonderful things she had to be grateful for and most of all that Bella was going to be okay.
***
Juliette pulled her hair into a side ponytail, curled the ends with her tongs and sprayed the whole lot with fixing spray. She put on a layer of foundation, mascara, and blusher, and looked at herself in the mirror. Just the simple act of putting on her makeup had somehow magically made her feel more energetic.
She stepped into the powder blue dress, did all the little white buttons up down the front and rummaging around in the bottom of her wardrobe pulled out her white plimsolls.
She walked out of the bedroom, down the stairs, lifted her French market basket from the hooks in the hallway, opened the huge old front door, looked up at the sky, and decided to throw in her denim jacket.
She closed and locked the front door from the inside, and walked all the way through the ground floor, out the back door, through the garden, and pulled her bike out of the pink shed. As she unlocked and opened the gate at the back to the laneway Lottie was approaching on her bike.
‘Perfect timing!’ Lottie said as she got off her bike and kissed Juliette on the cheek. ‘How are you feeling? Any brighter?’ Lottie asked.
‘I am, actually, thanks.’
‘You’re looking a million times better than when I last saw you, has to be said.’
‘Because I’ve got some makeup on!’ Juliette said with a small smile. ‘I think I was beginning to look like a walking corpse.’
‘Never. I know what you mean, though. I can barely step outside without a bit of help in the face department these days. Not wanting to frighten the locals and all that,’ Lottie joked. ‘Do you feel better?’
‘I feel a bit better. I just have to get on with it now. Stop wallowing in having little energy. I’m forcing myself to get on with it. It’s not doing anyone any favours me sitting around like a wet blanket complaining that I'm shattered. Least of all Maggie.’
‘Correct. Sometimes you just need to wallow though, I think. Wallowing is highly underrated. People want to cart you off when languishing around on your own is what you need to do sometimes.’
‘Yeah. After that, I didn’t want to do anything.’
‘I’m not surprised. Talk about traumatic. You’re doing well, Jools, and don’t let yourself forget it.’
‘Thank you, Lottie.’
‘Trust me, I had people offering me all sorts of things after Charlie passed away - and I don’t just mean advice. What I needed was to just mope and fester for a while.’
‘That's exactly how I’ve felt. Luke kept mentioning counselling. Maybe it’s in the future, but the last thing I want to do is go over it again. Relive the accident and talk about it even more than I was already going through it in my head. I was just ridiculously tired.’
‘It’s there if you need it. I ended up going, actually, once I did feel ready to face the world again, and it really helped to talk it through.’
‘Yes, I’ll keep it in mind. I might try it at some point.’
‘Okay, ready for the Pretty Beach Farmers Market? If there’s one thing that will cheer you up it’s strolling through Pretty Beach on a beautiful day in the sunshine.’
‘You know what? I’m so
