Chapter 23
Carrie waited until half past two the following afternoon before calling Tony to find out where he was and why he hadn’t picked up his daughter.
Thankfully she’d had the foresight not to tell Poppy what time she’d be seeing her father.
She supposed she’d learned something from all her years dealing with Tony.
What was she doing, exhausted from driving for hours last night, leaving behind her friends and family, a job she loved .
. . and Michael? And all just so that Tony could see Poppy in the brief window of time he had available, which, let’s face it, he probably hadn’t actually been planning to tell Carrie about before she’d phoned him.
And then he couldn’t even be bothered to spend a few hours with his daughter after he’d requested it. The man was a disgrace.
As usual, Tony didn’t pick up on the first try but persistence paid off and he finally answered in a sleepy voice.
“Carrie?”
“You were supposed to be here half an hour ago.”
“Oh shit. Yeah. That was today. I was out last night and didn’t get back until God only knows . . .”
“You knew I was coming back especially.”
“Right, yeah. I should have set an alarm or something.”
The final tiny shred of patience that Carrie had for her ex evaporated.
“Tony, I’ve driven for hours so that you could see Poppy and spend some time with her,” she snapped.
“I know, I know. I’ll be there as soon as I can, all right? An hour max. Or maybe tomorrow would be better. I’ve got a few things I need to sort out today. Could you lend me some petrol money? Things are a bit tight?”
“You have a car? I thought you couldn’t afford one?”
“Well, I’ve been working, haven’t I? I thought it would be useful. For taking Poppy out and stuff.”
“I can count how many times you’ve taken Poppy out by yourself on one hand.
And each and every time has been a disaster and I’ve ended up coming to the rescue.
” Carrie took a deep breath. She could do this.
“No, Tony. I cannot lend you money for petrol. And I need you to repay what you’ve already borrowed from me.
I don’t have a lot of spare cash. It’s expensive bringing up a child and you don’t contribute anything. ”
“You know I’d pay more if I could,” he whined.
“You don’t contribute anything,” she repeated. “And it looks like you’re going to have to sell that new car of yours if you can’t afford petrol for it,” she said, calmly.
“You’re being ridiculous. This isn’t you, Carrie. Have you been talking to your crazy aunt about me?”
“She’s not crazy. And you’d know that if you’d ever taken the chance to get to know her,” Carrie said firmly. “We’ll be in London until lunchtime tomorrow if you want to see Poppy. Then we’ll be returning to Cornwall.”
“You’re only staying one night?”
“Yes, so that you can see Poppy and I can sort out some things I need to here. I’ve got things to get back to at the shop. Message me when you know if you’ll be coming.” And she put down the phone.
Carrie couldn’t believe what she’d just said. She’d been so angry with Tony that she’d told him exactly what she was feeling and made the decision about what she needed to do almost without thinking. Of course she and Poppy needed to return to Cornwall.
Carrie’s heart was thumping wildly in her chest, but she was proud of herself.
Poppy deserved so much better than the way she was treated by her father and it was time he realised it.
Carrie was done tiptoeing around Tony, doing her best to make up for his shortcomings and hoping he’d finally decide to step up for his daughter.
* * *
As resolved as she was to remain strong, Carrie was definitely nervous about what would transpire.
She kept her phone by her, checking it constantly to the point that Poppy asked her why she was looking at it all the time.
She wished she could talk things through with Davinia, but her friend was still in Florida.
Poppy was happy to see the toys she’d left behind but talked non-stop about the bookshop and the kittens and holiday club and, basically, the life she loved in Castle Cove.
Carrie began to question whether she should have returned to London at all.
But no, she felt like she’d had to come back to properly see what had actually been right in front of her.
She’d needed that final idiotic move by Tony as the impetus to do what she needed to do.
They stayed in just in case Tony turned up or called to say he’d be there soon, but he didn’t.
Carrie was tired from her long drive the night before and angry with herself for every single one of the choices she’d made regarding Tony.
At least those after she became pregnant.
She could never regret what led to Poppy, not for a second.
She debated calling her mother but knew she felt exactly the same about Tony as her aunt did, although she was usually slightly more subtle about it, and Carrie wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.
Even though deep down she knew the women were right and she’d have done well to have listened to them. And to Michael.
Spending the day in her flat without the distractions of the bookshop and kittens and, well, everything from Castle Cove, had given Carrie time to clear her mind.
She wasn’t under the impression that a life in Cornwall would be perfect — there was the little issue of her feelings for Michael for a start.
They couldn’t be together but being friends with him had to be so much better than not having him at all.
Why did he have to be so lovely? So easy to fall in love with?
Because yep, that’s what had happened. She would continue to ignore it as much as possible but it didn’t change the fact, or make it any easier to accept that it seemed the perfect man really was out there for her, but life was complicated and happy ever afters didn’t happen nearly as often as they did in the books in her aunt’s shop.
Finally, hours after Poppy had gone to bed asking when she was going to see her daddy, a WhatsApp message came through on Carrie’s phone from Tony. I’ll be around tomorrow morning at nine, if that’s OK.
See you then, Carrie replied. Then she went to bed.
* * *
As soon as Poppy wandered into her bedroom at seven the following morning, Carrie told her that her dad would be coming to see her in a couple of hours.
She was done covering for him. She didn’t want Poppy to be hurt, but she couldn’t protect her from everything and part of her felt that the little girl might need a little time to prepare before seeing him.
“Cool,” Poppy said. “Did he say where we’re going?”
“No, he hasn’t told me,” said Carrie. “But I bet he’s thought of something awesome.”
“And you’re definitely not coming?” asked Poppy.
“Not this time. I’m going to get on with some boring stuff here while you and your daddy have a lovely time together.”
Carrie took a deep breath. “Poppy, how would you feel about going back to the bookshop?”
“When?” asked Poppy excitedly, her face lighting up.
“When you come back from seeing Daddy,” said Carrie. “It’s really important that you get to spend time with your daddy, but I think we both really liked living in Castle Cove.”
“I did. I love the beach and the shop and Monty and Tabitha and the kittens and Michael and Layla and Auntie Mary,” said Poppy.
“I know you do. And Granny would like to move near Auntie Mary as well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Auntie Mary has actually offered me a proper job in the bookshop and says we can stay living in the flat above it. She also says there’s space for you at the school, which is supposed to be really good.
I know it’s a long way away from Daddy, but we can travel to see him regularly.
What do you think?” Carrie asked, nervously.
It turned out that Poppy didn’t need any time at all to consider the idea.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I want to be there. Daddy can come to visit and when I’m bigger, I can take the train to see Daddy.”
“That’s very true,” said Carrie, feeling like she was going to cry. “And you’re absolutely sure?”
“Definitely. And Granny’s even going to be near us!” Poppy’s smile couldn’t have become any wider. “Oh, and guess what?”
“What?”
“This means that my birthday wish has come true!”
“Oh my goodness. In that case, I’ll get us all packed and we’ll head back to the bookshop after you’ve seen Daddy. How does that sound?”
“We’ll be back at the bookshop tonight?” asked Poppy excitedly.
“We will. Hopefully early enough to go to Layla’s party.”
At this news, Poppy began dancing around the bedroom.
“And I’ll be able to see the kittens,” she sang. “I wonder how much bigger they’ve got?”
“It’s only been a couple of days,” laughed Carrie, pulling her daughter in for a hug. “But they’re going to be very happy to see you.”
“And Seren said she was going to show me how to pack up books to post to people all over the world, but we didn’t have time. Now we will.”
If Carrie had needed any confirmation that she was making the right decision, Poppy’s reaction was it.
“Can we get McDonald’s on the drive, please, Mummy?”
“We can definitely manage that,” Carrie said. “Are you going to have a Happy Meal?”
“Definitely,” said Poppy with a nod. “I’ve got to get all my toys ready to go!”
Poppy hopped off the bed and raced back into her room to start preparing to return to what it was apparent she now considered, home.
* * *
Carrie’s stomach was in knots when the doorbell to her flat finally rang at just gone half nine. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Tony’s silhouette through the frosted glass on the door, pleased that he hadn’t let Poppy down.