Page 43 of A Secret Cornish Wish
‘Four Weddings and a Funeral,’ I say, getting the meringue reference. ‘Yes, you are very Fi-like from that movie.’
Mandy thinks about this. ‘I suppose, and you would be . . . ’
‘Scarlett!’ We both say this at the same time, thinking of the bohemian flatmate of Hugh Grant’s character.
‘I do dress a bit like her, I have to admit,’ I say, shrugging. ‘But when you’re an art student, I feel you’re obliged to dress a little quirky.’
‘And you do it very well!’ Mandy says. ‘I didn’t think I’d like that movie, but I did. It was really good.’
‘Me too. I saw it at the cinema last week. It made me think of Claire while I was watching it. I wonder if the wedding tomorrow will be anything like those weddings?’
‘Hopefully a bit less drama!’
‘And a little less comedy!’ I grin. ‘I’m sure Claire doesn’t want anyone forgetting the rings or the vicar messing up the ceremony. She’s very excited about the whole thing.’
‘So she should be. I only saw her very quickly this morning. I didn’t arrive until late yesterday after I got the last train down from London, so I haven’t had much time to catch up with anyone properly yet. The bonus is my sister is here for a few days too, so I get to catch up with her as well as my parents.’
‘How is little Hetty?’
‘Not so little any more. She’s actually fallen for some local guy, so she’s always back here now. His name is David and he was in the year above us at school, so you might not remember him. My parents are over the moon – at least they get to see one of their offspring regularly.’
‘It’s hard to keep coming back, isn’t it? I mean, I love it here; it’s still so beautiful. But Cornwall is such a long way from Glasgow, it’s a really long journey for me to do regularly.’
‘It’s not too bad from London on the train, but it’s not just the distance, we’re all moving on with our lives. St Felix is our past, not our future. It feels like going backwards every time I’m here. Do you get that?’
‘Not really. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have plans for my future – lots of them. But I don’t think I’ll ever stop returning to St Felix. Even if my parents moved away, I think I’d still visit. It sort of resets me when I spend time here. I feel energised, like I’m ready to tackle whatever comes next.’
‘Nice. I wish I felt like that. It just makes me feel glad I left when I did.’
‘Really?’
Mandy nods. ‘ ’Fraid so. When I look around here, I have lots of memories – some good, some bad. But I also have regrets too.’
‘Like what?’
Mandy shrugs. ‘It doesn’t matter. Like I said, that’s in the past. My life now is in London.’
We’ve reached the top of the close where Mandy’s parents live. ‘I guess I’ll see you later, then,’ I say, pausing.
‘Sure will, I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone again. It will be like the old days.’
I nod and smile, then I carry on up the hill.
Why does everyone keep saying, ‘It will be like the old days.’ Will it? How can it be when we’ve all moved on with our lives? We may only be a few years older, but so much has changed.
Can it really ever be the same as it once was?
It turns out it can.
As close as is possible, anyway.
When we all meet up in the bar of the Merry Mermaid that night, to begin with the conversation is polite, and sometimes a tad stilted, as we all enquire how each other is and catch up on everyone’s news.
It’s just the four of us to begin with: me, Claire, Eddie and Mandy. But around eight o’clock, Suzy surprises us by arriving early.
‘My gig was cancelled due to a flooded toilet,’ she explains. ‘Sadly for the pub, the water escaped into the bar, so they had to close. After the call, I jumped straight in my car and drove as fast as I could get away with, all the way down here.’
Suzy looks so different now. She really has blossomed. Not only is she a taller, slimmer version of the Suzy I used to know, but now she simply oozes both elegance and confidence. Her dark curly hair is smoothed tightly back into a chic ponytail, and she wears a plain and simple outfit of a cream T-shirt, caramel-coloured jeans, and long brown suede boots. She immediately turned a few heads when she walked through the door, and I can imagine she has that same effect wherever she goes. But Suzy being Suzy, she doesn’t appear to notice anything unusual, and even if she does, she doesn’t show it.
