Sunny Days and Sea Breezes

by Carole Matthews

  So while we both keep an eye on Skye, Ned listens while I let it all pour out. I tell him about the loss of my baby and how I struggled to come to terms with it, how the pain drove me to the edge of madness. I tell him about the difficulties between me and Chris and how we could never heal the rift. Then I talk about Chris’s affair with my best friend and how that made me know that it was definitely over between us.

  Ned listens to it all without speaking, just nodding in the right places.

  Finally, I take a deep breath and say, ‘I think I’m falling in love with you and the last thing in the world I intended to do was to cause hurt. Our night together at the festival was the best thing to happen to me in a long time and I’m so sad that it ended like it did. If possible, I wish you could find it in your heart to forgive me.’ I let the breath out. There, I’ve said it. There can be no mistaking how I feel. ‘And that’s about it, really.’

  When I eventually dry up and stop speaking, Ned reaches across the table and takes my hands in his. ‘Let’s start again,’ is all he says.

  Tears fill my eyes when I answer, ‘I’d very much like that.’

  Then Skye shouts, ‘Come on, Daddy! Come on, Jodie! We have to build the princess castle!’

  ‘We do,’ Ned says. ‘Though maybe we should call this one the diva castle.’

  While we’ve been talking, the beach has filled up and so have the tables at the café. Ida is bustling about and Ned goes to pay her. She holds him a little too tightly when he kisses her goodbye and my heart hurts for her. Sometimes, we can’t help who we love.

  ‘Everything OK?’ I ask.

  ‘Yeah.’ Ned presses his warm lips against mine. ‘Everything’s perfect.’

  As we step onto the sand, Skye slips her hand into mine. It feels so tiny, so trusting, that it almost has me undone. I think of the other small hand that never made it into mine and my footstep falters, my heart tightens. Then Ned takes my other hand and squeezes it. His touch is so strong, so reliable that I know, in time, it will all work out just fine.

  * * *

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you so much to Ian freemantle, award-winning artist and wood sculptor, who inspired me with my hero's work in the book and was so generous with his time and knowledge. He is an amazing talent. Have a look at his artworks at www.ian-freemantle.co.uk.

  Apologies to the good peope of the Isle of Wight for shamelessly messing with your geography. I was so spoilt for choice with super locations, that i thought I'd use a bit of them all. The houseboats we stayed on were both in Bembridge Harbour. Unfortunately, Cockleshell Bay doesn't exist but is a mash-up of Bembridge, Steep Hill Cove and Seaview with a few other bits and bobs thrown in for good measure. The forest where Ned works is based on the area around Newtown National Nature Reserve. My advice is to go to the Isle of Wight and check it out. Don't forget your bucket and spade.