Page 44 of A Wedding at The Cornish Garden Café
‘Found it!’ The call came from further along the beach near the rocks, and they both looked over. One team had discovered the treasure, and they were walking towards the marquee carrying what looked like a treasure chest.
‘At least someone has found what they were looking for,’ Edith whispered. ‘I hope one day you will too.’ She gave his hand a small pat and then walked away from him.
Wyatt stayed where he was, watching her go.
He had known all along what a treasure Edith was, and he had let her go. Had pushed her away, in fact, but he had done so because he’d thought it was for the best. Sometimes in life, the hardest thing to do was to let go when all you wanted was to hold on tight.
31
EDITH
The treasure chest had been filled with sparklers and marshmallows, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, the guests gathered around a crackling fire on the beach. They lounged on deckchairs and blankets, laughter and conversation mingling with the rhythmic hush of the waves. An air of anticipation shimmered around them, wrapping the evening in a quiet magic. Edith could feel it too, even through the sadness that left her feeling adrift.
Children ran around the outside of the circle and drew letters and shapes in the air with the sparklers, closely watched by their parents and grandparents. Finn and Titus toasted marshmallows on sticks and then handed them out to their friends. The waiting staff from the bar carried around trays of spiced cider fragrant with cinnamon and cloves. Edith accepted one, then walked quietly away from the gathering and down to the water’s edge.
The tide caressed the shore, and the horizon was bruised lilac finely streaked with fiery orange as the light leached from the sky. Edith pulled her cardigan across her chest and sipped the warm cider as the salt-laced air cooled her cheeks and toyed withher hair. Laughter and bursts of applause from around the fire drifted over to her, and even though she wasn’t far away from everyone, in that moment she felt very alone.
‘You all right, Edith?’ Finn’s voice disturbed her reverie.
Turning, she found him standing nearby, his skin seeming to glow in the sunset, his hair windblown from the evening at the beach. ‘I’m fine.’ She attempted a smile. ‘Just thinking.’
‘Want to share your thoughts?’ he asked.
‘Nothing major, really,’ she said. ‘I was just musing about life and the passing of time. About love and how it can be the best thing in the world or…’ She pressed her lips together. Finn was happy right now, and he didn’t need her bringing him down.
‘The most painful,’ he said, coming closer.
She met his kind eyes. ‘Yeah.’
‘I know. I’ve been there. Different circumstances but the same feelings. When you love someone and yet it’s not the way you want it to be between you, it can be very hard.’
‘You mean Thora?’ she asked. ‘Sorry. That’s none of my business.’
Finn shrugged. ‘It’s fine. And yes. I loved and still love Thora, but it wasn’t the love a husband should feel for his wife. Thora is an amazing woman, and she deserves to be loved by someone who can give her fulfilment. I love her as a friend. She deserved honesty.’
‘And your honesty benefited both of you?’
Finn nodded. ‘Honesty isn’t always easy, but it’s usually the best route.’
‘Sometimes it hurts so bad.’ Edith hugged herself tighter as tears stung her eyes.
‘Is there no way forwards for you and Wyatt?’ Finn asked gently.
‘I don’t think so,’ she said. ‘He just doesn’t seem to want to be with me.’
Saying it out loud was painful and yet freeing. It wasn’t that the problem was halved by sharing it; instead, she found something helpful in hearing her own words. Itwasover with Wyatt. He had told her as much.
‘I find that so hard to believe, having seen you together. Having seen how he looks at you.’ Finn was shaking his head. ‘It doesn’t add up.’
‘I guess things don’t always make sense.’ Edith sipped her cider, savouring the sweet spiced drink.
‘My gran used to say that the sea can heal anything, given time.’ He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I’m not sure I believe that, but it helps to hope.’
‘Well then,’ Edith replied, taking a deep breath. ‘Perhaps I need to hand my worries over to the sea and let it carry them away. It’s got to be better than heaving them around all the time, especially when we have just one day left until your wedding. And I am so excited about seeing you marry the man you love, Finn.’
They stood there in silence, gazing at the water as the moon rose in the sky, turning the water to liquid silver.
When they walked back to the fire, Edith thought it was like a beacon on the shore, a promise that as one chapter of her life ended, another was about to begin. As Finn had said, there was always hope.
