Page 86 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
‘It’s not optional.’ She shoved them towards me again with a little more force this time. ‘You’ve barely eaten a thing since you turned up on Monday and I’m not having you driving an hour back to Whitsborough Bay on an empty stomach. Choose a bun and get it and your soup down your neck because you’re not leaving until you do.’
‘Do you talk to all your patients like that?’ I asked, feeling both intimidated and impressed by my sister’s authoritative tone.
‘Only the ones who won’t do what’s good for them.’ She pushed the butter dish in my direction too. ‘You wouldn’t want to do battle with a pregnant woman, would you?’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake! If I eat the bread and the soup, will you stop your nagging?’
‘Absolutely, because my work here will be done.’
I picked up a bun and buttered it. Admittedly, it did smell delicious and my stomach was feeling empty. I dipped one half in my soup and bit into it, unable to resist an appreciative, ‘Mmmm.’
‘Good, isn’t it? You keep doing that until there’s nothing left.’
I took another bite.
‘So, what are you going to do about Lars?’
‘Kadence! You said you weren’t going to nag me.’
‘Not about food, but Iamgoing to nag you about this. I don’t get you.’ She shook her head. ‘That’s unfair. I get why you’re here and why you’re upset and I even understand your logic around not confronting him about what you heard. What I don’t get is this… Even if he does have plans in place for some epic Nordic adventure, why would you even think of jumping ship? I haveneverseen you as happy as you are with Lars. We’ve all noticed it. You two are made for each other. So what if he wants to explore his roots? Let him go on his travels, get it out of his system or whatever, and then he can settle down and live happily ever after with you.’
‘Let him travel? Let him get it out of his system? Just like Mum did with Justin? Cos that worked out well.’
Kadence clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. ‘No, Lily! Is that what this is really about?’
I lowered my eyes, stirring my soup. ‘It’s not just that but, yes, the travel thing scares me. Justin promised Mum he’d come back and he never did.’
‘Which turned out to be the best thing that he could ever have done. Remember what Mum always says –the unexpected things in life are often the best. Yes, he broke her heart and he’s been an absolute dick towards you, but him abandoning Mum took her to Whitsborough Bay where she met Dad and our family became complete.’
‘I hear you and I agree it was ultimately for the best. But what if Lars gets the travel bug too and he never returns?’
‘And what if he never goes? What if he just goes for a week? What if he takes you with him and you do Nordia together?’
I couldn’t help smiling at that. ‘There’s no such place as Nordia.’
‘Well, excuse me, geography police, but you’re missing the point. Lars isnothinglike Justin and, for the record, he’s nothing like Ewan or Wes either. He’s on a whole different level.’
I knitted my eyebrows at her. ‘I thought you liked them.’
‘Liked, yeah. Never loved them, never missed them when they were gone, never believed they were perfect for you.’
‘But you think Lars is?’
‘I know he is and it’s a two-way thing. Talk to him, Lily. Don’t walk away without letting him explain because it might be nothing. And if it’s something big like three, six, twelve months away, then you have a decision to make but don’t make it before you know his intentions. Promise me?’
‘I promise.’
‘Do you want to know what I think?’
I smiled again. ‘Haven’t you just told me?’
‘Ha, ha! I think that, even if he does want to travel, you’ll wait for him because, deep down, you know how deeply he loves you and that he will come back for you. And you also know how deeply you love him too. Deeply enough to let him do whatever he needs to do to reconnect with his family and follow in the footsteps of Vikings. Now stop yakking and get that soup eaten.’
* * *
I did finish my lunch so Kadence gave me permission to finish packing and return home. As she hugged me goodbye, she told me to think about what she’d said and, all the way back to Whitsborough Bay, I’d done nothing but think about it. She might be six years younger than me but my sister had a very wise head on her shoulders.
I felt a bit silly for fleeing now. I stood by my need for time and distance while I wrangled with my emotions, but I could have handled things better with Lars. Alotbetter. I’d been spectacularly unfair to him by ignoring him and he hadn’t deserved it. I could have at least sent him a message to say I was dealing with a few things right now and we’d talk soon. As for not keeping him in the loop about the work rota, that was downright unprofessional. What must he have thought, turning up at the bookshop and finding Alec instead of me there? If he chose to ignore me now, I certainly couldn’t blame him.
