Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 8

With her mind set, Daisy just had a few housekeeping issues to deal with before she could focus on the journey ahead. And the first thing on the list was telling Bex and Claire.

After her retreat – which was entirely teetotal – Bex was happy to meet at a nearby pub on Monday evening. While Claire couldn’t join them in person, she was there on Daisy’s screen, looking more than a little sun-kissed, sitting on a lounger by the pool with a margarita in her hand.

‘That’s insane.’ Bex made no attempt to mince her words about the upcoming adventure. ‘Wicked, but completely insane.’

‘Are you sure it’s safe?’ Claire asked, straight in there with the practicalities.

‘I think “safe” is probably the wrong word. We just have to be cautious, that’s all,’ Daisy said. ‘And the September Rose is capable of the journey. She did it with my mum and dad.’

‘When she was brand new?’ Claire said, though thankfully, before Daisy had time to respond, Bex was asking her next question.

‘So you’re going to be living with Yvonne in your boat? For how long? How long will it take you to get there?’

Daisy blew out a long puff of air as she picked up her drink and took a sip.

‘Well, this is the thing. It’s a bit hit and miss, really. To start with, we have to rely on the tides. We can only go out when it’s high tide, so that’ll put some restrictions on us. And I’ll also need to make some money, so we can’t travel all the time, but assuming we’re travelling for most of the daylight hours, then I reckon we can make it in three weeks.’

‘Three weeks? That’s ridiculous. Just get a bus. Or a car.’ Claire said.

Yet once again, before Daisy could reply, Bex was talking.

‘Wait, hold on a minute. You’re saying you’re going to drive the September Rose and keep the coffee shop going? I thought the whole point of you buying the licence was because you were only going to run the coffee shop here, at Wildflower Lock?’

‘I know.’ Daisy let out a slightly exasperated sigh, aimed more at herself than anyone else. ‘But I had to get the licence for Wildflower Lock, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get the propeller fixed, which means I couldn’t move. It was a catch-22. Besides, it’s not like I’m not going away for that long, really. It’s just going to be a few weeks. Six at most. So I’d still need the licence for the rest of that time.’

Bex and Claire exchanged a look, or rather, Bex raised her eyebrows while looking at Claire on the phone screen, and Claire crinkled her nose in response. It was even less subtle than when they did things like that in real life.

‘I don’t know why you guys are being so strange about it. I just thought you’d be happy. Theo and I are a proper couple. In love.’

Bex rested her chin on her hands as she dropped her head. ‘Well, I suppose if that’s what you want to do, that’s what you’re gonna do. But six weeks? How the hell are we going to cope without you for that long?’

‘I’m sure you’ll find a way.’

Surprisingly, the girls didn’t say any more to dissuade her. Instead, they simply asked more questions about her plans and, if anything, they made her more certain she was doing the right thing.

‘This isn’t just about seeing Theo,’ Daisy told them. ‘Since I’ve had the September Rose, the furthest I’ve been is to Heybridge. That’s not what my dad wanted a boat for. It’s not why my grandad gave her to me. She was meant to travel. She was meant to go around the country. I need to do this, almost… almost…’

She didn’t manage to finish her sentence, but she didn’t need to as Bex reached across the table to take her hands.

‘It’s for your dad,’ she said.

‘An apology, you know. I thought he abandoned me. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me. Doing this. Spending this time on the water… It’s going to be my apology to him.’

She looked at her friends, awaiting their reply.

‘Well, there’s no way we could not support that, is there?’ Bex said with a smirk. ‘But you need to stay in touch, okay? Every place, we want photographs and videos. And you need to make sure you’ve got lifejackets.’

Daisy rolled her eyes. ‘You know I’ve already got a mother, right?’

‘That’s true,’ Claire said. ‘An overprotective one, if I’m not mistaken. What’s she said about it?’

Daisy picked up her glass and took a long sip of wine. The girls might have been all on board for this adventure, but somehow, she didn’t think that her mother was going to feel the same way.