Page 74 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
‘I’veneverhad a dad-shaped void in my life. You’re 100 per cent my dad and you’re brilliant at it. Justin was…’ I shrugged, wondering what the rest of that sentence was. ‘Justin was just someone I thought I should have a connection to.’ I squeezed his hands. ‘I’m sorry if me being in touch with him caused you any pain.’
‘You don’t need to apologise to me. The only one who has done anything wrong here is Justin. You and your mum deserve so much better than him.’
‘And we’ve got it. We’ve got you.’
38
LARS
Sergeant Haines stopped by just after lunch on Friday to say that Justin had been charged for vandalism and had been instructed to stay away from Lily and the bookshop.
Lily sagged against me when he left. ‘What a week!’
‘Is there always this much drama in your life?’ I asked.
‘No, thankfully. I like a quiet life and I usually get one. The only drama I like is contained within the pages of books.’
‘Same here.’
‘I’m so glad that’s over.’ Lily fiddled with her phone on the dock. ‘You know I told you my rule about no Christmas songs until December except when dressing the tree? I feel an exception is needed to celebrate.’
I laughed as Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus began playing and several customers paused browsing and looked in Lily’s direction, smiling at her music choice.
‘It makes me think of the happy parts of Sunday night,’ she said, squeezing my hand as we stood side by side behind the counter. ‘And the title says it all – “We All Stand Together”. That’s how this past week has been with you, Cassie, Mum and Dad supporting me through this.’
It had been the proverbial rollercoaster of a week with the highs being all the amazing moments with Lily and the big dips provided courtesy of Justin and I marvelled at how strong Lily had been, especially when telling her parents. Hopefully the drama was over now and the run-up to Christmas would be all about the highs.
* * *
The following week, Lily and I spent as many evenings together as we could – a production of Charles Dickens’sA Christmas Carolat the theatre, a meal with her parents and drinks after work in Minty’s followed by a meal at Salt & Pepper Lodge on Thursday evening.
Over our meal I told Lily how touched I’d been when she wroteyou’re my northern lights in the darkest of momentson the note she’d put in Jeeves because the aurora was another of my passions. I talked about the occasions I’d seen the lights including the special visit with Pia which Mum had captured with her camera.
‘My northern lights app tells me there might be some solar activity over Whitsborough Bay in the early hours,’ I said, ‘although it’s unlikely to be seen by the naked eye. I don’t suppose I can interest you?’
‘Seeing the northern lights is a bucket-list dream for me and it’s so tempting…’
‘But you’re shattered,’ I finished for her, smiling.
‘I’m sorry. It would be different if I was guaranteed to see them but, without that guarantee, I’m going to have to choose my sleep. Don’t let me stop you, though.’
I could either go back to The Lodge and spend the night on my own or I could stay at Green Gables with Lily. It wasn’t a difficult decision.
The following day was the last Friday of November and the launch event for Josephine Forrest’s latest novel. The shop had closed at the usual time and it had been a quick turnaround with the event starting at seven and Lily’s grandma expected at half six.
‘You look nervous,’ Lily said as we put the last few chairs in place.
‘I am. I’ve never met anyone famous before.’
‘Your mum’s famous!’
‘Yeah, but she’s my mum. This is different.’
‘As I told you earlier, she’s wonderfully eccentric and very needy. She responds well to hero-worship so just make sure you flatter her lots and you’ll be fine.’
She’d warned me to expect a brightly coloured kaftan, lots of jewellery, a bold hair colour, a posh accent, air kisses and everyone to be referred to asdarling.
The door opened and I looked up, expecting our guest of honour, but the elderly grey-haired woman who entered, shedding a smart black wool coat and handing it to the man beside her, couldn’t be Josephine. Wearing tailored grey trousers and a powder-blue jumper with a simple pearl necklace, she was nothing like Lily had described.
