The Sunflower Cottage Breakfast Club (16 page)

*

An hour later, we found ourselves in a large department store in York, wandering around the womenswear department. I was pretty aimless and had no idea what I was looking for, while Lucy whizzed around the aisles picking up dresses, skirts and floaty chiffon tops. She looked like a woman possessed as her brown curls bobbed up and down with excitement.

‘Come on, there's loads of nice stuff in here!' She came over to find me, arms laden with piles of clothes. ‘What sort of thing are you looking for?'

I shrugged and puffed my cheeks out. ‘This is the one area in my life where I have no idea what I'm doing. Well, apart from relationships. And emotions in general. Would you mind giving me a hand?'

A huge, beaming smile spread across Lucy's face. ‘Emily, you've just made my day!'

Before I knew it, I'd been shoehorned into a dressing room with a variety of summery dresses, tops and skirts to try on. There were spaghetti straps, racer backs, A-lines and a variety of other terms I didn't understand, but that Lucy used like it was a second language to her.

I picked up my first item of clothing, a jersey teal maxi dress. It looked gorgeous on the hanger, but I didn't see how it would suit my awkward, curvy frame. In fact, I thought as I sifted through the huge pile, none of these things would look good on me. On anyone else, they'd be fantastic, but definitely not on me.

I was just about to tell Lucy that I wanted to go back out for another look, when her voice stopped me. ‘How are you getting on?'

‘Um… I'm not sure about these,' I admitted. ‘Are you sure they'll look OK?'

‘Positive! Now hurry up; I can't wait to see what you look like!'

I admitted defeat and pulled on the teal maxi dress. It felt so alien to not be wearing my work clothes, but quite refreshing at the same time. There was a full-length mirror outside the cubicle, so I stepped out from behind the curtain to look in it. Lucy's nose scrunched up and she tilted her head from side to side.

‘OK, so maybe I was wrong about that one,' she said. ‘It doesn't do your figure any justice. Go back in and try another one on.'

I did as she asked but, five dresses later, we were still no closer to finding The One. We found ones that were too short, too long, too baggy and too clingy, but none that made either of us go ‘wow, this is it!'

Until the final dress, that is.

I knew as soon as I pulled it on that I was in love with it. It was a white chiffon sundress with multicoloured butterflies printed all over it, sitting just above my knees and cinching in at the waist. When I first put it on, it felt like the moment in
Harry Potter
where he finds his perfect wand. There was no great rush of air, though; just a feeling that this dress was pretty bloody fantastic.

I stepped out of the cubicle, hoping against hope that my suspicions were correct. Lucy turned round to look at me, and her jaw visibly dropped. Her bright-green eyes became dinner plates and her mouth worked wordlessly, producing words that didn't quite reach the air.

‘Oh… my… God,' she managed eventually. ‘Emily, you look amazing. Please tell me you're buying that dress!'

I shifted round to look at myself properly in the full-length mirror and was struck by what I saw. For the first time in forever, I had an actual
figure
. It wasn't hidden under swathes of grey or black fabric; instead it was clad in a flattering dress that showed off my hips and legs. I hadn't even known I
had
hips and legs to show off! I was overcome by a strange emotion that I couldn't quite define, and felt a swell of tears at the back of my throat. I couldn't remember ever feeling so happy about what I saw in the mirror.

‘I think I'll take it,' I choked out. ‘It's quite nice really, isn't it?'

*

After deciding on The Dress, it became quite easy to find other things I liked. By the time Lucy and I had made another tour of the shop, I'd ended up with a black playsuit dotted with cream and red flowers, a selection of tube skirts in various colourful patterns and several summery tops.

Next stop was a local café for something to eat and to take the weight off our aching feet. We collapsed into wicker chairs on the café's outside terrace, putting our groaning carrier bags on the ground and letting out contented sighs. A waiter brought over the two tall glasses of lemonade we'd ordered and we each took long sips from them.

‘Well, I'd say that was a success!' Lucy glanced down at the pile of bags containing our spoils ‘You were like a bloody demon once you found that dress!'

‘I think I just needed to hit my stride,' I said with a grin. ‘I'm really happy with what I bought, though; bye-bye trouser suits! It was nice knowing you!'

Lucy looked at me as she languidly sipped her lemonade. ‘And I suppose this has
nothing
to do with the fact that you have a hot date with Luna Bay's most eligible bachelor tomorrow?'

I stuck my chin in the air. ‘Nope, none whatsoever! It's purely coincidental.'

She gave me a whatever-you-say look then tapped the table. ‘Oh, I meant to ask you how the first breakfast club went! It was today, wasn't it?'

I nodded. ‘Yup. We didn't
quite
get the turnout we thought, but the people who did come seemed lovely. Do you know a woman called Alice, by the way? Small, brown hair, used to perform on Broadway?'

Lucy paused for a moment, contorting her face into a thoughtful pout. I waited in anticipation for her answer; I'd thought about Alice all day, wondering about the sadness behind her eyes.

‘Oh yeah! Alice Woods; she's from the village originally, but she spent a few years in New York while she was on Broadway. I'm not sure why she came back, though; I don't think she ever really talks about it.'

Damn. I was no further forward with finding out more about her.

‘Anyway,' I said, changing the subject, ‘I'm freaking out about this date with Noah. I don't know if you know this, but I don't exactly have the best romantic track record in the world. Don't really
do
romance or relationships, to be honest. Plus, I'm here to land a promotion, not get attached to anyone. It was such a shock when he asked me out as well; one minute we're yelling at each other and he's trying to get rid of me, the next he's inviting me out to dinner! I'm not sure how I feel about him, really. God it's like being back at school!'

Lucy made a little pyramid with her fingers and rested her chin on it. ‘When I came back to Luna Bay, I'd had next to no romantic history for eight years. Then I met Jake and everything just sort of fell into place. Took a while, mind you, but it happened. I dunno, maybe it's because I've lived here all my life, but Luna Bay has a way of opening you up to possibilities you hadn't even considered before. Are you saying it's totally impossible for you to have started to feel something for Noah?'

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. ‘Not
totally
impossible, no. But I think it's just because we've been getting on so well lately. I've probably just got carried away, that's all. It's not exactly practical for me to develop feelings for a guy who lives two hundred miles away, is it?'

Lucy gave a wistful smile and fiddled with the straw in her lemonade.

‘That's exactly what I thought too. I came home for my nana's funeral and found out I'd inherited a cottage and a book club for broken hearts! Not exactly your typical inheritance, but my nana wasn't a typical person! I'd lost my job in events, but just when I'd decided to stay, my boss rang to say I could have it back. It was all there for me; I could've had a company car, a pay rise and everything. In the end, though, it wasn't what I wanted. Jake was. So here I am, running the Purple Partridge with him and chairing the book club every Wednesday night! It's a million miles away from the life I thought I'd be living, but I've never been happier.'

The dreamy look in her eyes gave away just how contented she was with the life she'd chosen. I felt a little pang of envy; I'd never felt so settled and happy anywhere before. I'd always been too driven and career-focused to notice if I was really happy or not.

‘I guess what I'm trying to say,' she continued, ‘is that you have to let yourself be open to things happening. How does that saying go? Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans?'

I nodded. ‘That sounds pretty familiar.'

Lucy sighed and drained the last of her lemonade. A playful smile danced at the corners of her mouth, like she was struggling to hold some really exciting news in.

‘Got something to tell me, have you?' I said with a wink.

She paused for a second, looking like she was about to burst with happiness. ‘Oh God, I have to tell someone! I found a
gorgeous
engagement ring rolled up in Jake's socks the other night. Unless I'm very much mistaken, which I hope I'm not,
he's going to propose
!'

We squealed and hugged, attracting the attention of our fellow diners.

‘That's amazing,' I said, flicking some honey-blonde strands away from my face. ‘Were you expecting it?'

Lucy shook her head. ‘No, not at all. He's mentioned it a couple of times and we've talked about getting married
one day
, but I didn't think he was going to propose so soon. I'm proper excited now, can't wait for him to do it! The only trouble now will be holding it in until he does; knowing me, I'll blurt something out before then. I'm the one who sang ‘Big Yellow Taxi' at my nana's funeral, after all.'

As the sun shone down on us, bathing us in golden light, my thoughts turned to the elephant that followed me wherever I went: Derek. I wondered whether to confide in Lucy or not. I didn't know her very well and we were having such a lovely day; I didn't want to spoil it by dumping my secret on her. Yet there was something about her that told me I could trust her. She might even be able to offer a fresh perspective on the situation.

‘Listen…' I began, ‘I know we're having a really good day and I'm really happy for you and Jake, but I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?'

‘Sure,' she said with a grin. ‘Is everything OK?'

‘The thing is… I'm not just in Luna Bay to buy over Sunflower Cottage. Before I got here, I found out something about my family that completely changed everything and… Well, it's connected to this village.'

Lucy stopped fiddling with her straw and focused her attention on me. ‘Emily, what is it? If it's something bad, then I'm sure we can sort it out.'

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, as if screwing them shut would make everything go away. The only other person I'd told had been Frankie – she was removed from the situation because she didn't know anybody in Luna Bay – but telling Lucy was quite different. It was highly likely she knew Derek, with Luna Bay being such a small, close-knit community, and now I was about to blow her opinion of him sky high.

‘My mum… She visited Luna Bay twenty-five years ago and had a brief relationship with a man named Derek. When she got back to Glasgow, she found out she was pregnant… and that Derek was the father. Eight and a half months later, I was born.'

Lucy let out a strangled gasp. ‘Oh, my God. You're Emily. You're
the
Emily. Last year, not long after I came back to Luna Bay, Diane got a letter from you saying you wanted to meet up and find out more about Derek. I didn't think you'd actually come here!'

It was my turn to gasp. ‘Lucy, I… I didn't send Diane any letters. The first I found out about Derek being my dad was when I opened an envelope my mum gave me with letters inside. I swear I've never written to her before.'

‘No, I remember her saying she'd had a letter from you and you said you wanted to meet her and find out more about your biological dad! If you didn't write it, then who did?'

Only one answer sprung to mind. ‘Mum,' I said, throwing my head into my hands. ‘She's bloody done it again!'

‘You mean she—?'

‘Wrote back pretending to be me? Yup. I'm going to bloody kill her when I see her!'

Lucy patted my back to comfort me, but she was obviously struggling to find the right words to say. I didn't blame her; even the most empathetic of listeners would struggle in this situation.

‘I'm sure she did it for the right reasons. I know she should've passed the letter onto you and let you deal with it yourself, but maybe she was just trying to protect you. You know what mums can be like.'

Fat, wet tears began to spill down my face. ‘Oh, I know what
mine
can be like all right! What an awkward bloody reunion this'll be when I finally meet him. “Hi Derek, I'm the daughter you've chosen to have nothing to do with for twenty-five years. Your wife wrote to me to ask if I'd like to meet you and my mum wrote back to say yes on my behalf. I've no idea what to say to you. Fancy a cup of tea?” I can see that going down well!'

Lucy's hand moved away and I looked up at her. Her face was the colour of vanilla ice cream and she swallowed hard.

‘You don't know, do you?' she whispered. ‘I mean, you really don't know?'

‘Know what?'

She paused for a second, pursing her lips as she prepared to tell me. Tears swam in her eyes, her mouth opened and words came out. Words I didn't want to hear and that smashed my heart smash to smithereens.

‘Emily… Derek passed away a few years ago.'

Chapter 17

I'd always been what you'd call ‘good in a crisis'. When everyone else around me was flapping and letting panic cloud their brains, I was able to take a step back, analyse the situation and find a way around the problem.

Not this time, though.

I got back to Sunflower Cottage in a flood of tears, my body shaking as I let out great heaving sobs. I'd only known about my biological dad for a week and now he'd been cruelly snatched away from me. I'd never get the chance to know him or find out why he'd cut me completely out of his life.