Page 104 of The Shape of Your Heart
‘No worries.’ As Robin and Max wander off, Sasha waves at me. Coming over, she kisses me on the cheek.
I glance at her leg. ‘You’re out of plaster!’
‘At last. I still have to be careful though.’ She sounds relieved. ‘I can’t believe how incredible this looks. Does Callie have any idea?’
I shake my head. ‘Not so far as I know.’
‘She’ll be blown away.’ Sasha’s eyes are bright as her sister joins us. ‘This is Rita. Alice sends her apologies. She would have been here if she could, but she has a shift tonight.’
‘Hi.’ Rita looks slightly stunned. ‘You’ve done all this for Callie?’
I feel slightly awkward. ‘To be honest, it started out as an opening party. I didn’t know exactly when she was coming back. But as it turns out, the timing has worked perfectly.’
‘I’m rather impressed, Nathan.’ Joining us, Diana looks at the board outside the cafe. ‘Not sure how vegan will go down, but the rest…’
I let it go. ‘Thank you.’ A plant-based menu is a calculated risk. But it’s an important one.
‘Very good.’ Stewart shakes my hand. ‘Thank you for inviting us.’
‘Thanks for coming.’ I look past them just as Tanith’s car pauses in the entrance before pulling in and parking. As Emily comes over with a tray of drinks for Callie’s family, I make my excuses. ‘I’ll be right back.’
As I walk towards the cars, through the small crowd, I register Callie’s look of astonishment as she gets out of the car. Then as our eyes meet, I’m rocked by a surge of emotion.
I stand there as she comes towards me. She’s wearing a flowery dress, her hair lighter, her skin more tanned than when I last saw her. Then there she is, standing in front of me.
‘I can’t believe this.’ Her eyes are wide. ‘It’s everything we talked about. But I don’t understand. When I left, you didn’t even have planning permission…’
‘Quite a lot has happened since you went away. How are you?’ I gaze into her eyes. ‘How was your trip?’
‘It was amazing,’ she says quietly, her eyes darting around. ‘This is too much to take in.’
‘I’ve had a lot of help.’ I watch her eyes glance around again before latching on to mine. ‘With planning… and I found some brilliant suppliers. Once we got started, everything seemed to fall into place.’
She looks at me incredulously. ‘You’ve planted fruit trees and built a café – in just a few weeks. You even have a sign – and the letters are made of tiny seashells. Something like this doesn’t just fall into place…’ Her voice tails off.
‘Ah. That depends on who’s helping you,’ I say wryly. ‘When there’s a powerhouse behind the scenes…’
Joining us, Tanith is beaming as she kisses my cheek. ‘You have to admit it looks pretty fucking awesome, doesn’t it?’
A look of confusion crosses Callie’s face. ‘You’ve been helping?’
Tanith flashes a smile. ‘I have. There’s so much to catch up on, Cal. I don’t know where to start, except to say if it wasn’t for Nathan—’
Before she can finish, Sasha comes over and flings her arms around Callie. ‘I’ve missed you! I can’t wait to hear about it all. Sorry,’ She glances at Nathan and Tanith. ‘Do you mind if I steal her?’
Callie turns to me. ‘I’ll see you in a bit?’
‘Is she pleased?’ Tanith looks excited.
‘I think so. But it must be quite an adjustment after being away.’ This isn’t turning out to be the romantic reunion I’ve been hoping for. I’ve been hoping she’d come back ready to move on. Plus I thought when she saw what we’d done here, she would be thrilled; excited, even. But the evening is still young. There’s time.
I turn my attention back to the party. Many more people have turned up than I’ve dared to dream. Not just local contacts and friends, but the press and most of my suppliers. I catch Emily as she passes.
‘We’re not going to run out of anything are we?’
‘Not a chance.’ She winks at me. ‘Quit worrying. Go and enjoy yourself.’
After talking to the journalist, in between chatting to guests, now and then I catch a glimpse of Callie, surrounded by her family, her face animated as she speaks, no doubt regaling them with tales of her trip. When I hoped she’d be more than a little pleased to see me; I can’t help feeling disappointed. But with everything else going on here tonight, maybe it isn’t the time.
