Sun Kissed

by Anna Samuels

  ‘Wow,’ I breathed. ‘It’s all happening!’ I exclaimed.

  ‘Yeah,’ he responded, sounding awed. ‘It would be so incredible if I got it. I could stay up here, where I love, and with my friends and also start a decent job!’ he said, enthusiastically.

  ‘You could, yeah! It’s amazing, Ethan,’ I told him, concealing my own disappointment about not seeing him. ‘I’m so happy for you?’

  ‘You are? But I thought you wanted me home for the summer?’ he questioned.

  ‘Well, I do! Of course I do, honey. But this is more important. You’re starting out in the first stages of your career! I’m happy for you-and if London is the place you want to me, I’m not going to stand in your way. I’ll keep everything crossed for you about the job,’ I told him.

  ‘Thanks Mum. I’m feeling really hopeful,’ he said, happily.

  ‘They’d be lucky to have you,’ I told him, smiling.

  ‘So, anyway, how are you Mum? Ella’s been in touch a bit and I know she’s worried about you,’ he said then, breaking my happy moment.

  ‘Oh, I’m fine,’ I told him, shaking it off. ‘I really am.’

  ‘You’re on holiday at the moment, right?’ he asked. ‘I think that’s what Ella said!’

  ‘Yes, I am,’ I told him, nodding. ‘I’m down in South Devon, in this little bay in the middle of nowhere. It’s absolutely gorgeous, Ethan. You’d love it. There’s golden, sandy beaches and beautiful seas. I’ve seen people canoeing, paddle boarding and swimming. It’s gorgeous down here.’

  ‘It sounds amazing. Send me some pictures?’ he requested.

  ‘I will, of course.’

  ‘And how are you feeling? After everything that happened…’

  ‘Really, I’m fine, Ethan,’ I told him, hoping to reassure him. I mean, before I came away on holiday, I wasn’t. I think I was in something of a depression. This has pushed me back up and I feel happy again.’

  ‘Well that’s good! We were so worried about you when you collapsed!’

  I sighed. Ethan had driven down from London to visit me in the hospital after I had fallen ill and stayed for a few days while I was getting back on my feet at home afterwards. He had always been an extremely caring boy and was becoming a wonderfully, supportive man as well. ‘I know you were-but I’m fine now. I was telling Ella; I’m thinking of taking a step back from work.’

  He paused and the phone line went quiet. ‘You are?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I murmured softly. ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’ I questioned.

  ‘I think that’s a great idea!’ he exclaimed. ‘Mum, you’ve been doing too much for years. It’s been making you ill!’

  I sighed. ‘I know…it’s taken me a while to realise that.’

  ‘Will you keep the business going?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t know at the moment. I’m feeling more and more like closing it down-starting something new.’

  ‘Would you have enough money behind you to make that decision?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I’d be fine,’ I told him. ‘I mean, I’d want to do something else…but it would be nice to do something which doesn’t make me so stressed-and something I actually enjoy.’

  ‘Like graphic design and me,’ he commented. ‘I love it, so it doesn’t feel like work.’

  ‘Exactly,’ I murmured. ‘You know, I helped out around the hotel today,’ I told him, chuckling.

  ‘What? How on earth…?’

  ‘I’ve made a new friend,’ I told him candidly. ‘Her name’s Seren and she owns the hotel…well, her parents do. Her father’s just died and her mother’s struggling so Seren’s going to move back and take over. She’s a wonderful woman, Ethan. Such an interesting and thoughtful person who has given me great advice already.’

  ‘About what?’ he wondered.

  ‘Work…relaxing…being okay with what happened,’ I told him.

  ‘Oh right. And this advice is good?’

  ‘Well, it’s got me reconsidering how hard I work and thinking about doing something else. That’s got to be good, right?’ I asked.

  ‘It is, yes,’ he replied. ‘Just be cautious…’ he murmured.

  ‘Cautious of what?’

  ‘Of…getting involved…you know, too soon,’ he told me, quietly. ‘I don’t want you getting hurt again.’

  ‘Oh, Ethan. Thank you…but it’s alright. I’m on holiday and I’ve met a lovely new friend. The thing about holiday’s though-you always go home at the end of them. I doubt I’ll be able to keep seeing her, even if I wanted to.’

  ‘Well…just see how it goes. But like I said, be cautious, okay Mum?’

  ‘I will be,’ I assured him. ‘By the way, how’s your love life?’ I wondered. ‘With all this talk of mine, you haven’t mentioned yours…’

  He went quiet for a moment at the end of the line.

  ‘Ethan?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, softly. ‘I’ve uh…well, I’ve also kind of met someone recently, Mum.’

  ‘You have! No way!’ I exclaimed. Ethan had only had one girlfriend that I had known about throughout his teenage years, and she just happened to be his best friend-who had become more serious as time went on.

  ‘Yeah…’ he murmured. ‘It’s uh…it’s actually going pretty great…and one of the reasons I want to stay up here…’

  ‘Well, of course! What’s her name?’ I asked, pleased he had finally met someone. It seemed like ages since he had told me he was interested in anyone. It was nice to hear that he had finally met someone worth sticking around for.

  ‘Uh…’ he chuckled. ‘Rich,’ he told me, eventually.

  I almost dropped the phone. ‘Rich? You’re dating a guy?’ I asked, laughing with happiness.

  ‘Yeah,’ he chuckled. ‘I’ve finally figured it all out,’ he said, clearly smiling.

  ‘Oh honey…’ I said, happily. I had suspected from early on in Ethan’s childhood that one day he would be gay. I had talked to him about being able to make decisions about who he loved and explained to him about my own feelings and being a lesbian. He had always listened diligently but never said much. I had figured that one day, he would figure it out by himself. ‘I’m so pleased for you! Tell me all about him!’

  ‘Ah, Mum, he’s great. He’s on my course with me and lives in the dorm one floor below. We never really got to know each other until last month when we met at a party. Cut a long story short, he pursued me and I eventually gave in. After one date, I knew,’ he laughed. ‘He’s amazing, Mum. Kind, fun and caring. I’m completely in love with him.’

  ‘Ah Ethan! I’m so happy for you,’ I gushed, meaning every word. ‘Will you send me a picture? I’d love to meet him someone too.’

  ‘Yeah of course. And even if I get the job, we can still come home at a weekend for a visit. It’d be nice to see you, Mum.’

  ‘Yes, you too, honey. I miss you so much.’

  ‘I miss you too, sweetie.’

  ‘Oh and Mum?’ he added.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Maybe talk to Ella. She messaged me this morning sounding really upset. Will you call her?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I’ll do it now,’ I promised. ‘Thanks for the heads up.’

  ‘Okay. Well I better finish my work. It was good to talk to you Mum.’

  ‘It was,’ I murmured. ‘And I’m so, so happy to hear your news, honey. I love you so much. You know that right?’

  ‘Yeah, of course,’ he said, warmly. ‘I love you too, Mum.’

  ‘Okay…well, bye for now. Talk soon.’

  ‘Bye Mum.’

  I hung up the phone and smiled down at the handset feeling very pleased. I was so glad Ethan had found himself and the happiness he so deserved. It made me feel so wonderful to know that he was in a relationship which was making him content.

  Dialling Ella’s number, I wondered why she was upset. I also wondered why she had messaged Ethan rather than me.

  ‘Hello?’ she answered, tentatively.

  ‘Oh, hey Mum,’ El
la replied, sounding very uncharacteristically quiet. Normally, she spoke loudly and was always bubbly on the phone.

  ‘Ella, what’s wrong?’ I asked, without preamble. ‘What’s happened?’

  The end of the phone line went quiet and then I heard her break as she started to cry.

  ‘Oh Ella! What’s happened?’ I exclaimed, aghast.

  She sniffed, trying to control the tears. ‘Oh Mum…I’m so…sad…’ she managed, brokenly.

  ‘Ella? Ella, what’s happened?’ I asked, desperate to know now.

  ‘Mum…it’s…he…’

  ‘Is that about Lee?’ I questioned.

  She sniffed, sadly. ‘Yes,’ she managed. ‘He…he’s…’

  ‘What?’ I exclaimed.

  ‘He…I found out…he’s…cheating…’ she finally said, and began to cry in earnest.

  ‘Oh, Ella, I’m so sorry, honey,’ I told her, knowing she’d be inconsolable. ‘Where are you now? Are you at home?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, sadly.

  ‘I can leave now. I’ll be back in three hours, sweetheart. Okay? Shall I come?’ I asked her.

  ‘You don’t have to do that, Mum,’ she said, crying. ‘I’ll…be…okay…’ she sniffed, gasping in breathes.

  I resigned myself then and there. I would have to leave. Even though it was a shame to leave my holiday early and return home, I knew there was no choice. My daughter needed me, and that came first. My children had always come first, ever since they were born. ‘No, it’s fine. Sweetheart, hang in there, and I’ll be home in about three or four hours. I’ll leave now, okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ she murmured.

  I nodded, knowing this was the right decision. If she was fine she would already be telling me not to bother and that she’d be fine. The fact she had said okay told me a lot. ‘Alright, well sit tight. I’ll be there by tea time. Okay?’

  ‘Yes…thanks Mum,’ she sniffed.

  I said goodbye and then hung up, quickly getting to my feet to start packing. It took me all of five minutes to shove me belongings into my bag. I then pulled shoes on, used the bathroom and then grabbed my stuff. Leaving the hotel room quickly, I headed off down to reception.

  When I reached reception, I looked desperately around for Seren, hoping she’d be there. She wasn’t. I sighed in frustration.

  ‘Excuse me? Can I help you?’ another young woman asked, who was wearing uniform. She clearly worked in the hotel.

  ‘Uh, yes. I was looking for Seren. Do you know where she is?’

  ‘I…no. I mean, I know she’s not in. She went out about half an hour ago…’ she told me, shaking her head. ‘I don’t know where she went.’

  ‘Okay…okay. Can I leave her a message?’ I asked, frustrated that I couldn’t see her face to face before I left.

  ‘Oh, yeah sure. What do you want me to say?’ she asked.

  ‘Can you just say that Abby had to leave, please? I have to go home to my daughter. Tell her I’ll phone her as soon as I can.’

  ‘Okay,’ the girl nodded. ‘Yeah, sure. I’ll leave her a note on her desk now.’

  ‘Thanks very much,’ I said, smiling at her kindly. ‘I’ve already paid too so can I return my key card to you?’

  ‘Just put it in the hatch,’ she said, indicating the little box with a lid.

  ‘Oh, yes. Thanks,’ I told her. After leaving my card, I turned and left. When I made it to my car, I loaded my bags in the boot, climbed into the driving seat and started up the car. I eased the car out of the car park slowly and looked back at the hotel with regret. With a deep sense of sadness coursing through my stomach, I drove away from the village. The sense of calm I had experienced being in Sunset Bay slowly dissipated as the roads widened and civilisation beckoned. As I passed through bigger cities and drove out to the motorway, I found my focus and put her first. Ella was my concern now, and I was heading home to help my daughter.

  It took three and a half hours to make it all the way home. When I finally got to my house, the skies were beginning to darken and I felt very, very tired. Hurrying to the door, without bothering about luggage, I let myself in.

  ‘I’m home!’ I called. ‘Ella! Where are you?’ I yelled.

  She emerged from the lounge, with swollen, red eyes and new tears forming as she saw me. ‘Oh Mum,’ she cried, and flew into my arms.

  ‘Sweetheart,’ I murmured, stroking her hair. ‘It’s going to be okay…it’ll be okay,’ assured her.

  She dissolved into huge, gulping sobs. She cried for a long time while I held her, and in that moment I knew I had done the right thing. No matter how tired I was, and how stressful the past four hours had been, I knew I had done the right thing. Being here for my daughter was more important than anything. I led her into the lounge by putting my arm around her shoulders and leading her into the room. We sat down together and I held her as she cried.

  Sometime later, Ella finally started talking to me.

  ‘You ready to tell me what happened?’ I asked, softly.

  ‘Mmm hmm,’ she murmured, wiping her eyes. ‘It was last night,’ she told me, drawing in a shaky breath. ‘I went out with Lainie because Lee messaged to say that yet again, he was busy!’

  ‘Oh right…so what happened?’

  ‘So, we went to a party at Jack’s place. Everyone was there and we had a great time,’ she told me.

  I frowned. ‘Okay. So when did the bad part happen?’

  ‘After Jack’s party, there was a little break off party at Emelia’s summer house. Anyway, in the back there’s this pool house and we went to change,’ she told me, and then stopped, sniffing. ‘We saw…they were…’ she couldn’t finish her sentence.

  ‘Lee?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she cried. ‘He was having sex with another girl,’ she told me, distraught.

  ‘Oh no! I’m so sorry, Ella,’ I told her, rubbing her arm with my hand. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I lost it!’ she told me. ‘I started screaming and yelling and went for him. The girl ran off and I was punching him and attacking him madly. Some other guys pulled me off him and then took me to the house. They all looked after me. I was out of it. Raging!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘Oh honey…’

  ‘You know how mad I can get, Mum. It was bad…in front of all my friends as well. I’m so embarrassed! How will I ever face them again? I feel like such a fool! And he’s humiliated me as well! The girl…she’s in a younger year than us…it’s just gutted me,’ she finished.

  I sighed, and took in her melancholy demeanour. ‘Well, I’ll say only this, sweetheart. He’s not good enough for you. You’re way better than that and do not deserve to be treated like that-just as I didn’t. I know it seems devastating right now, honey, but you’ll recover…’

  ‘But I just want to hide,’ she cried. ‘I feel so humiliated,’ she told me, sadly.

  I nodded. ‘I think that feeling comes with the territory. I know that’s something I felt for a very long time…’

  She dropped her eyes and looked at her hands. ‘I hate him,’ she said, bitterly. ‘How dare he treat me like this,’ she muttered.

  I pursed my lips and took her hands. ‘Hold onto the anger. Instead of being devastated.’

  ‘I just…oh Mum…what am I going to do?’ she said pitifully, beginning to cry again.

  ‘Oh sweetie…you’re going to spend some time getting over this and then move on. He’s not worth it. You know that, deep down. You’re better than this. You don’t deserve to be treated like this…’

  She sniffed and then wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. ‘I don’t!’ she responded.

  I could see the Ella I knew and loved coming back as her strength returned. ‘No matter how it feels right now, honey, just know that it gets better. I’m here. We’ll get through this together.’

  ‘Thanks Mum,’ she murmured, emotionally, and moved into my arms so I could hold her close.

  Chapter 10

  A couple of hours later, I finally got Ella to bed and left
her sleeping soundly. We had talked, gone over everything and then rested before sitting next to her while she went to sleep. She hadn’t wanted to be alone, and I could understand that after having been through the same thing myself.

  Once she was sleeping, I hurried to my room to make a phone call to Seren. I was desperate to talk to her and felt great sadness that our time together had been cut short.

  Sitting down on my bed, I dialled the number for the hotel and waited. The ringing peeled again and again, and I was beginning to give up hope of getting an answer.

  Eventually, after a long time, it was picked up.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Seren?’ I gasped, so glad to be talking to her at last.

  ‘Abby? Is that you?’ she asked, sounding shocked.

  ‘Yes. It’s me…I’m so sorry about today,’ I told her, sadly.

  ‘What do you mean? Where are you? I’ve been so worried about you all day? Where are you?’ she repeated.

  ‘You didn’t get the message I left?’ I questioned. ‘I left a message for you with one of the girls working the bar.’

  She sighed. ‘I didn’t get it…’

  ‘Oh no!’ I exclaimed. ‘I’m sorry, Seren. I’ve had to come home.’

  ‘Home?’ she replied, clearly shocked. ‘As in Bournemouth?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I told her. ‘My daughter called, distraught, and I had to go to her. Her boyfriend’s been cheating on her and she’s understandably upset. I couldn’t leave her on her own.’

  ‘No of course you couldn’t,’ she replied. ‘I just wish I’d known.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Seren. I left in something of a rush. I was really worried about Ella.’

  ‘I would be too if it was my son,’ she told me.

  ‘Have you been worried then?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said, softly. ‘I thought you’d had a change of heart.’

  ‘A change of…what?’ I questioned.

  ‘Us,’ she replied. ‘I thought you might have had second thoughts about doing this with me. I worried we’d pushed it all way too fast and that you were bothered by that.’