Page 33 of The Cornish Christmas Book Clu
‘Let’s go inside,’ Tamara said. ‘Before someone else spots us and you race to the top of Penworthal’s gossip list. You definitely don’t want that. Trust me. Been there, done that.’
‘Yeah, me too. It wasn’t pretty.’ Melissa grimaced.
Neither spoke for a moment, remembering the time when her friend’s financial problems, caused by her late husband’s recklessness with money, had become village news.
‘Come on.’
‘What about Gage? I can’t—’
‘He’s not here.’ Her swift explanation erased a couple of Melissa’s worry lines. ‘I’ll stick the kettle on. I’m ready to take a break anyway.’
‘Oh, wow isn’t this gorgeous?’ Melissa had followed her in and now gazed around with wide eyes. ‘I can’t believe how much you’ve achieved in such a short time, especially with Gage’s bad knee.’
‘We work well together.’
They’d developed a seamless system where she did the heavy lifting and stacked books on the higher shelves, while he sat on a rolling chair and wheeled himself around to do the lower ones.
‘It’s more than that, though, isn’t it? Your eyes sparkle talking about him.’
‘It’s early days.’ Sharing this newfound joy with even one of her best friends could be tempting fate. ‘This isn’t why we came in, is it?’ She gently eased Melissa away from the temptation of the books on the shelves and pushed open the swing door to the kitchen.
‘I’d no idea all this was here.’
The large rectangular room with its industrial-sized stainless-steel appliances had shocked her too when she’d first seen it. ‘The shop’s been a lot of things in its time, but the last was a café that closed shortly before you moved here.’
‘One day you’ll talk Gage around and we’ll see your famous cakes on sale. No one would make their own Christmas cakes or mince pies if they could buy yours instead.’
‘Maybe. Sit down while I stick the kettle on and tell me what’s got you all upset.’
After making their drinks, she raided the emergency stash for a packet of chocolate digestives.
‘It’s nothing really.’
‘Don’t talk rubbish.’ Tamara scoffed. ‘Out with it.’
‘My youngest brother, Bryan, called me late yesterday and he was over the moon with excitement. He and his wife, Sue Ann, are expecting their first baby next June. I’m happy for them of course and managed to say so, enough to fool them, I think, and hopefully Nathan too, but they’ve only been married five minutes.’ Melissa’s voice broke. ‘Last month I was five days late and hoped against hope that we might be in luck.’
Tamara covered her friend’s hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘I’m sorry. That’s tough.’
Pointing out that a smart man like Nathan would soon realise something was wrong, if he hadn’t already, wouldn’t help. Their book group was close, but some topics were too private even to lay in front of good friends. It’d been the case with Laura, whose numerous miscarriages had led her to desperatemeasures and almost destroyed her marriage in the process. Despite the promises they made to be more open with each other, they all kept secrets.
‘I won’t be offended if you tell me to mind my own business, but I assume you’ve both been to the doctor?’
‘Oh, yeah. Loads of them.’ Her cheeks pinkened. ‘We’ve had every godawful test you can imagine and there’s nothing officially wrong with either of us.’ She reduced her biscuit to crumbs with her fingers. ‘I try to be philosophical and accept it probably won’t happen now, but then I see little Josephine and...’ Melissa crumpled and her distress filled the room.
‘Have you thought about adoption or fostering? What about IVF?’
‘Yeah, of course I’ve thought about all those things, but I shut Nathan down when he dared raise the subject. To my mind, it’s admitting we’ve given up. Stupid, I suppose, but there it is.’
She could make a dozen different arguments to the contrary, but Melissa’s realisation needed to come at the right time for her and in the right way.
‘Do you know what I dread most?’ Melissa’s shoulders drooped. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say this to you of all people, because it’s horribly mean, but I worry how I’ll react if Chloe gets pregnant.’
Tamara almost choked on her coffee. ‘I’m not ready to be a grandmother so I hope that’s not anytime soon. They aren’t in a position yet to...’ Was this how her parents had felt all those years ago? And at least Chloe and Toby’s partnership was loving and equal, unlike her and Fred’s one-sided romance that had never stood a chance. ‘I don’t see Nathan as great-uncle material yet either. He’s too—’
‘Hot?’
‘Not the word I’d use unless I want you ripping my eyes out.’ Nathan’s title as Penworthal’s hottest and most confirmedbachelor had flown out of the window when he had been whisked, very willingly, down the aisle by Melissa. ‘But seriously, you’re too nice to be anything but lovely if that happens one day. It might hurt a bit, but you wouldn’t take it out on them or the baby.’
