She waited a while and then said, ‘I know you think I’m trying to find explanations that may not be there, solve a heartache that may never be mended. But something about the dress, the Wedding Dress Ball, it all niggles me. And I think that whatever it is that Barney doesn’t talk about has affected him without any of us realising and I think it’s affecting him now, making him want to give up.’
‘I get where you’re coming from but we’re doing all we can by running the event this year. And Barney said he’ll be there watching from the sidelines.’
‘Are you going?’
‘To the ball? Of course. I’ve been every year since I turned eighteen.’
‘Even after…’
‘Even after you left,’ he finished for her.
‘Life goes on, eh?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Remember one year we climbed up to those beams and shuffled along until we broke a part of the wood?’ There was that smile of hers again.
‘We didn’t break it, it was rotten.’
‘It might have been rotten, but we were the reason it fell down.’
‘You know, I think it’s the first time I’d really seen Barney angry. I ran off and hid.’
‘And it took him two hours to find you,’ she reminded him. ‘He was frantic.’
‘My dad used to get angry like that, no way was I hanging around for Barney to do the same.’
‘He talked to me about it, you know.’
‘About my dad?’
‘About the night you ran away from him. He was in pieces thinking you were worried he might hit you.’
‘I don’t think I ever really believed it, I just freaked out I suppose.’
She gave Winnie one last fuss before she stood up. ‘I’d better get back to the inn. I just wanted to talk to you and let you know about the letter.’
‘Were you waiting for me for long?’
‘No, not at all, and it was probably more torturous for Winnie than me, I could hear her on the other side of the door, desperate to find out who was here.’
‘Sounds about right.’ He stood up too. ‘Let me walk you back.’
‘Harvey, it’s not far, and this is the Cove, I’m safe.’
‘No arguments.’ He grabbed Winnie’s lead and the dog was well up for an unexpected late-night walk as he locked up and they set off down the lane.
He put out his hand and pulled Melissa to a stop outside. ‘Do you hear that?’
Her eyes sparkled beneath the moonlight. ‘Crickets,’ she beamed. ‘I love that sound. It makes me feel as though I’m on holiday.’
Her comment sent a weird feeling cascading through his body. She was technically on holiday, but would she ever see that Heritage Cove was still the same place she’d once loved? Talk returned to the Wedding Dress Ball and the organisation they’d done so far.
‘It’s all coming together,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a fair few extra ticket sales from the flyers I had made up.’
She crossed her fingers on both hands. ‘Almost there. It sounds as though everyone is getting really excited – Tracy and Sandy don’t stop talking about it, Jade too whenever I see her. Celeste can’t wait to dance. Mum always said it was the only place she got to dance after she was married, I used to love watching them get ready, her and dad setting off together as though they were newlyweds and not a couple who’d been together for years.’ She looked across at him. ‘You and I always reminded ourselves when we were younger that one day we would go, we’d drink champagne from those tall skinny glasses that wouldn’t let your nose in the top and we’d be the last ones dancing at the end of an evening.’
Heritage Cove was quiet at this time of night and Winnie’s paws gently tapped their way along in a constant rhythm as they walked down The Street talking about the dances they remembered, people in the village who’d loved an occasion to dress up, until they rounded the corner and came to the inn.
Melissa bent down to give Winnie one last bit of her love and attention. Lucky dog. ‘Do you know what I think we should do?’
‘Something tells me you have a plan,’ he smiled.
‘I don’t think we should wait until the date of the ball to show Barney what it’s all about. We need to get him in the mood, remind him, get him excited for the evening before it’s upon him. It might just make him want to get up out of that chair and move.’
‘What do you have in mind?’
‘Pick me up from the inn when you finish work tomorrow and you’ll find out
It almost sounded like they were arranging a date. And whatever might happen between him and Melissa from now on, the one thing he knew for sure was that her being back in the Cove couldn’t have come at a better time for Barney. If anyone could work their magic on him, it would be her.
Chapter Nine
Two days later, after a ridiculously early start to pull off this surprise, Melissa had expected Barney to be sitting in his chair by the time she knocked on the back door. Thank goodness for the set of keys he’d passed her the other day or she’d have been running to Harvey to grab his set when she’d got no answer.
‘I’m through here, in the bedroom,’ the voice called out and she dashed through, hoping he hadn’t fallen or hurt himself. But she needn’t have worried, he was lying in bed looking perfectly fine.
‘I did knock at the door,’ she explained.
‘Don’t look so worried about me, nothing wrong with a sleep-in once in a while.’
‘Fair enough, but it’s not like you, that’s all.’
‘Things have changed, Melissa, you know that.’
She did but she wasn’t going to humour him. ‘How about I make your favourite breakfast?’ She didn’t wait for an answer before heading to the kitchen to do just that. She and Harvey had shared bacon butties this morning at first light before they quietly arrived at Barney’s property and put their plan into action. Yesterday after Harvey picked her up from the inn, they’d dashed about collecting supplies to decorate the barn, and after a good four hours of hard work this morning there was only one thing left to do. Show Barney.
Thirty minutes later and Barney was seated at the farmhouse table he’d had ever since she was a little girl, back when it had been him cooking the eggy bread.
‘So to what do I owe this pleasure?’ he asked when he was almost done with the surprise breakfast. She’d squeezed some fresh apple juice using the press too and he took a thirsty sip. ‘Are you so bored over there at the inn that you have to come and see an old man this early?’
‘I’m in Heritage Cove to see you, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. And it’s nine o’clock, hardly early.’
‘In all the years I’ve known you, Melissa, you were never a morning person. And you’re worse in the winter.’
‘True fact. But I’ve grown up, got a job, you know, responsibilities as an adult.’
‘I still like to remember you and Harvey as kids, more fun that way.’ He’d only just picked up the final piece before she whipped away his plate and plunged it into the soapy suds in the sink. ‘What’s the urgency?’ He observed her looking at her watch for the umpteenth time.
‘You’ll see,’ Harvey grinned, coming in through the back door before Melissa could answer the question. ‘Now go and get dressed.’
Barney rolled his eyes and with the help of his walking frame shuffled off to do as he’d been asked.
When he came back to join them Melissa decided to take charge and do without the frame, instead linking her arm through his before heading outside, through the gap in the trees, over to the barn.
Harvey waited in front of the wooden doors. ‘Are you ready?’
‘What is all this?’ Barney had never liked being kept in the dark.
Melissa still had a hold of his arm in hers. ‘You know you mean the world to the both of us and this year we are honoured that you trust us to organise the ball. I know you were hesitant to let it happen here, but we want to show you how special it’s going to be.’
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When Harvey opened up the doors Melissa watched Barney’s reaction. It was clear he hadn’t expected to see anything all that different to the usual empty wooden beams up above, the odd hay bale lying on its side here and there, straw strewn across the floor, the apple press in the corner with the side table, a basket of apples waiting to be dealt with. Eyes wide, he took in the scene that looked set for the annual ball already. Instead of bare wood everywhere, white linen had been wound around the rafters hanging low enough to create a makeshift ceiling with the effect of clouds billowing, the gaps between like a vast sky of possibility. Harvey’s mum had helped them out with sourcing the material, she had a contact who’d jumped at the chance to help the local community. Hay bales were piled more strategically than usual, the stage had been cleared of detritus – empty apple trays, a few tools, an empty wicker basket or two – and instead had three music stands as well as a chair, and it was easy to envisage a band playing first the songs that got everyone up and moving, then those that spoke of the love in the room as they slowed the tempo right down.
Melissa had sourced white bunting, which looped along the walls, as well as fairy lights, running across horizontal beams and wrapped around those that were vertical. On top of tables Melissa had arranged vases of delicate lisianthus that wouldn’t last until the day of the ball but she’d replace them, it was worth a bit of added expense to have the floral decorations here now. The chairs had big white bows tied around their backs, Benjamin from the pub had donated two old wooden barrels that he and Harvey had brought down here earlier than anyone else in the Cove would’ve been up this morning while Melissa kept watch to make sure they weren’t sprung by Barney. Now, the wooden barrels had tealights in mason jars on top and one would, on the day of the event, also have a collection box for any further donations to White Clover. A couple of days ago at Melissa’s request Tracy had donated a big photo album that had never been used, and now it was sitting on the second barrel by the doors to the barn, along with a pen pushed into a wooden holder ready for guests to sign in and leave a message marking the occasion.
Melissa began to walk backwards, hand outstretched. ‘It won’t be long before this barn is once again filled with people from Heritage Cove, everyone you know and love, Barney.’ She went over to him. ‘This year while you recover you can be as involved as you like. We won’t force it, but I’d really like to follow tradition. You always dance with me. I don’t care if you need holding up, I want that dance.’
‘Well…’ he cleared his throat. ‘I suppose I can’t argue with that.’
Harvey was letting her take the lead but was watching the exchange the whole time and she smiled over to him. Had their efforts paid off?
She turned back to Barney. ‘Would you try, for me? Maybe go through the exercises some more, make an effort?’
‘I can do that for you.’
She smiled. ‘Some of my fondest memories are of this barn and the ball, I’m only sorry I missed out on so many years before coming back to see it again for myself.’
‘You’re here now,’ Barney replied, taking her hand in his, ‘that’s all that matters.’
*
Seeing Barney’s reaction this morning had justified this visit even more strongly for Melissa. Barney and Heritage Cove were very much a part of her, she’d just shut them away for a little while, a bit like hiding under the bed covers when you were scared. She’d been frightened to confront a place that held not only special memories but painful ones she wanted to run away from. But being back here, she realised she couldn’t do that any longer.
She left the inn after having lunch out in the garden – a ploughman’s Sandy had piled with cheese, ham, pickles and chunky wedges of bread. She’d had her lunch with sunglasses on, the newspaper laid out in front of her as though she was reading, but her mind had been on what was coming next.
She walked down the gravelled path leading to the chapel itself, the grass too long on one side and swaying in the wind, begging for a cut. She continued on the same path alongside the chapel and to the back and didn’t stop until she reached the very end of the grassy area where the single headstone stood solidly. Crouching down, she laid an arrangement she’d bought at the florist tucked away in a side street beyond the pub. She placed it down as delicately as if the stone beneath were able to feel her movements, arranging the ivy that surrounded white carnations and large-headed yellow roses so it nestled perfectly.
She sat on the grass for a while, nothing but silence and the odd cry of a gull to keep her company. When an ant ran across her skin she got up, brushed the strands of grass clinging to her dress and stood next to the headstone again. She put a hand against the surface, she reached out and ran her fingers across the epitaph, the simple words, the goodbye that would never be enough, that would never let her have another moment with her mum or her dad, the centre of her world.
She thought about all the times as a kid they’d run along the adjacent track to head down to the cove, her mum fretting she’d fall she took the track so fast, her dad laughing and encouraging her to keep being a kid and never worry about a little bit of dirt.
When had life got so hard? When had being an adult eclipsed everything else, all that was fun, all the freedom you had when you were young without really realising?
‘I miss you,’ she said quietly, her hand still on the headstone. And it was only when she spoke that she realised the tears had snuck up on her. She couldn’t stop them. She looked upwards to try her best at halting them in their tracks, but they were adamant.
A bird swooped across the sky as though it hadn’t a care in the world and she looked back at the place her parents were buried again. ‘Why did you have to leave me? It’s not fair…it’s not fair…it’s not fair…’ She no longer cared about the tears, they’d been collecting for years, trying to find their way out.
She hadn’t realised anyone else was nearby until a hand rested on her shoulder. The person hadn’t even scared her, she’d been lost in the moment, still was. ‘It’s so unfair,’ she repeated as the visitor folded her into her arms.
Tilly let her cry against her until there were no more tears left.
‘Better?’ Tilly asked when the sobs subsided at last.
She looked up. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve cried all over you.’
‘Don’t worry, although if there’d been snot I’m not sure I could forgive you.’ She sat down on the grass cross-legged and slipped off her beaded flip flops in the summer heat.
Melissa followed suit and sat down next to her.
‘Is this the first time you’ve been here since you left?’ Her hair was wound up in a high bun, she had on a floaty paisley dress, a typical uniform she wore at the shop and one that suited her for its informality and comfort.
‘First time since the funeral. I didn’t even come here the day I left.’
‘You say it like you’re apologising.’
‘You don’t think it’s terrible?’
‘Why do you care what I think?’
‘I know you’re not happy with me for what I did to Barney.’
Tilly took a deep breath. ‘I may have been a little rash going off at you like that when I first bumped into you. It wasn’t nice.’
‘Don’t pity me because you’ve seen me cry.’
Tilly smiled. ‘It’s more than that. Barney has been there for me a lot over the last year. I’m not sure why he was so much easier to confide in than anyone else, but he was, and in turn I look out for him. I know how much Barney misses you, he never hid the fact, and I guess when you came back all I could think was that you were going to leave again. Not that you can’t – it’s more that I know it’ll be hard for Barney all over again.’
‘I know I hurt him, but I think he understands why.’ Especially if Lois had done the same thing to him.
‘Sounds about right. He’s always been fair, understanding too.’
‘You know, my parents would be so mad if they knew I’d done a runner from th
e Cove. They were as hooked into this village as Barney is.’
‘I bet they’d be proud you came back when you were needed.’
‘You think so?’
‘I know so.’ She groaned and pushed herself to standing. ‘Now, I’ve got a numb bum sitting on the ground for so long, fancy an iced bun from the bakery and then a browse in my shop? I’ve got a lot of new things since you last came in.’
‘You’re on. Just give me one more minute here.’
Tilly nodded and left her to it.
Melissa sat there a while in quiet contemplation, and when a breeze disrupted the flower arrangement she left the cemetery knowing she wouldn’t ever leave it so long before she came to visit again.
*
Melissa saw far too many things she liked in the candle shop – a pair of beautiful teardrop ivory candles set in glass stands, burgundy and corn-yellow floating candles to put in elegant glass bowls, scented candles in orange pomander and thyme and mint, and the most gorgeous earthenware to hold tealights. She came away with the earthenware to take back to her flat in Windsor and suspected she’d be back in the shop before long, giving her credit card a good workout.
After her tears earlier Melissa felt a strange sense of relief. She hadn’t expected to cry, she hadn’t expected to bump into Tilly, never mind to call a truce with her. She’d expected to go to the cemetery, feel incredibly sad, and to want to run. But she hadn’t. She’d happily gone to Tilly’s shop after the bakery, they’d talked more about inconsequential things – her flat, the trendy shops in her local area, Tilly’s new stock – and then Tilly had taken charge by telling her she couldn’t avoid people any longer. They would all see her at the ball, it was time for both her and those who judged her to get over themselves. She’d taken control and made her go to the tea rooms, where they’d seen Etna who ran the show and Patricia who worked there. Both had acted as though Melissa had only been in there last week, asking no questions apart from whether they wanted tea or scones, both of which they’d declined for now. Then it had been heads held high and a walk along the length of The Street, anyone they knew nodding a hello in passing, everyone else going about their business just as they were.
Coming Home to Heritage Cove Page 17
