Page 100 of The Cosy Croissant Café
He calls across the cobbles to the group in front of the open shop door. ‘Bring out the carrot cake, Mother, the guest of honour is arriving!’
Jackie and Zofia rush towards us with their arms outstretched and pull us into a big hug. ‘We’re very happy to see you holding hands again.’
Miles looks at the clouds. ‘I’m with you on that.’
Then Fudge launches himself at Jackie and as Pumpkin gives Zofia’s hip a nudge she scolds him. ‘Sorry, boy, I don’t have your home-grown carrot in my pocket today, but there’s a bucket of your favourite herbs waiting by the tables.’
Miles laughs. ‘A promise like that, Pumpkin, what are we waiting for? Let’s pop those corks!’
When Miles saideveryonein St Aidan, he wasn’t exaggerating. We reach the Net Loft and find the whole of this end of the harbourside filled with people I recognise from the beach and the town, all here to join in the party. Clemmie’s there, with Bud and Arnie; Plum and Nell are there; Sophie’s kids and their friends are darting between the crowds, handing out crisps and veggie sausage rolls; Edie and Aunty Jo have big platters of cupcakes to give out. Lots of the makers are here waving their glasses, and the baking team have brought most of the over-sixties along too.
Aunty Jo has made Pumpkin a special strand of pink and orange gingham bunting which she drapes over him, and everyone is coming up to ruffle his mane and wish him ‘happy birthday’.
A few glasses of fizz later Zofia comes across and pulls me into another hug. ‘All thanks to you, Betsy Beth, my summer projects are going very well.’ She grins. ‘First my plant sales, now my matchmaking.’
I’m talking through a mouthful of buttercream. ‘You were right when you said, “never say never”.’ I hug her back hard. ‘Thank you for helping.’
I smile at Clemmie, who’s holding Bud up to pat Pumpkin. ‘We couldn’t have done it without you and your friends at the barnyard.’
She beams back. ‘You’re very welcome. And it’s the best news about you and Milo. Now you’ve put your fruit bowl issues behind you, there’ll be no stopping you!’
Malcolm wanders over, waving a muffin. ‘Any time you want to extend the lease on the studio, just let me know.’
Miles is standing with his arm draped over my shoulder. ‘Betsy’s more comfortable living in the moment, so it might be best to ask again later.’
I’m shaking my head. ‘Actually, I’m good. Once I wouldn’t have been, now I am. However long you want, Malcolm, this is us– Betsy and Milo are here to stay.’
When I look up at Miles, I know the reason there isn’t any doubt. ‘Are you okay with forever too?’
‘I am.’ He grins. ‘Forever will be perfect.’ His eyes are shining as he looks down at me. ‘I promise we’re going have the best adventures.’
Then he pulls me into another kiss and we only stop when Pumpkin lunges to take a bite of geraniums out of the window box he’s been eyeing up since the day we arrived.
PS
I’ve often heard people say that life is full of surprises, but until this summer I was the kind of person who preferred things to be easy and consistent. Calm and uneventful. Then one day in May, Pumpkin and I drove into St Aidan, and since then nothing has ever been quiet again.
For the rest of the summer Miles and I have ‘his place’ and ‘her place’, and move freely between the Net Loft and the cottage spending nights in both places. Then, as winter draws in and the wind howls through the lobster pots on the quayside, we spend more time in the cottage, which is sheltered from the westerly gales. When the Boathouse Cottage conveyance finally goes through in December, we have a proper housewarming with all our friends clustered around the long deal table, which also quietly marks that Miles and I are properly living together too.
When Tate and Scarlett come back in autumn, they have a shortlist of properties to visit. They settle on a faded Customs House at the back of St Aidan harbour. Tate and Aleksy are busy making plans for that, and it definitely won’t be faded when they’ve finished with it.
With Scarlett and I she had always been in charge; our whole life she was the strong one, while I was happy to lean on her. The way things panned out this summer flipped that relationship and shook up those lifelong habits, and we’re both better for that.
Scarlett and Tate’s astonishing news is that she is expecting a baby in June, which is going to mean big changes for them, but with their newly shaped partnership I’m sure they’ll cope. And Miles and I can’t wait to do the ‘uncle and aunty’ thing.
And what about Betsy & Milo? With Miles, it was never going to stand still. We now have Betsy & Milo postcards, and cards with all Milo’s croissant flavours. By the end of summer we’ve added two more shops, three beach huts and a handful of those vintage vans he’d promised. Our mission statement always begins with me saying ‘Small is amazing…’ and Miles’s inevitably adds ‘…and bigger is even better.’ We’ll always find something to argue about, but we’ll find our own way forward that’s comfortable for both of us.
At Malcolm and Aunty Jo’s suggestion, I got in touch with all the local gardening clubs in the area, so in future when there are gluts of produce, we can sell that on from our shops to the visitors. Miles has set up the new business to include an element of profit sharing for all the helpers. For now he’s agreed to stay in the southwest, but everyone knows he’s looking further away too, and we’re all excited about that.
Sometimes the way to slay your dragons is to talk about them and that’s certainly proved true for me. Two years on, bringing my worst night ever out into the open has helped me face up to it. As long as I kept it buried, the shame, and the guilt, and the fear it could happen again defined my life. Sharing has helped me to understand that it wasn’t my fault, and Miles has given me confidence and the will to try again.
Miles has also come clean about the cottage. He said he could easily have stayed somewhere else when I first turned up, but he liked me too much– and as things have turned out, I’m grateful he made that call. We couldn’t be any more in love. Below the whoosh of excitement there’s a solid and reassuring certainty that this is going to work for us.
As for how much the world has opened up for me since Pumpkin and I arrived in St Aidan– a wise woman once said, life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage. Don’t get the wrong impression– I haven’t grown up entirely. I still dance on the beach, and I’ll always enjoy looking like a jumble sale, but I’m strong enough to make my own choices and have the confidence to know that I’m good at what I do. If this is what being brave does, I’m very happy I tried it.
