Chapter 32
32
F leur Champion was panicking, big time. Patrick had gone off to sort out a problem at work, and once she was alone in her studio binding a book and reflecting on what she’d done, she’d realised that she hadn’t really planned anything properly. She hadn’t even told her own daughter that she’d asked Patrick to marry her. Ditto her mum and even her sister. She realised and panicked that she’d acted in haste, and now it was done and very much dusted.
Now she had to present it as a fait accompli rather than as something she was thinking about. This wasn’t a problem, of course, she could do whatever she liked, and where her mum and Wendy were concerned, she didn’t really care, but where Lucy was concerned, she now wished she’d run it past her first.
As she mulled it over, she walked down the stairs and decided to go for a walk on the beach to get a bit of fresh air and think it through. She wondered if sometimes she gave Lucy too much. Lucy was an adult; she was not a child. Fleur did not need to run things past her. On the other hand, Lucy had had an emotional year; her dad had just had a baby with somebody else, and now her mum was going to tell her that she was getting married. And not only that, but it was going to be soon and on the other side of the world. Ouch.
Fleur suddenly went cold, realising that she’d probably made a mistake in wanting to do everything quickly and that other people might not be quite as happy as her about, well, pretty much any of it. As she closed the front door behind her and walked down Lovely Pott Lane towards the beach, just as she was turning out of the end of the road, Birdie drove around the corner, pulled over, rolled down her window, and smiled. The Shipping Forecast played from inside the car, and Birdie raised her eyebrows. ‘Hello! How are you? You’re looking well, I have to say.’
‘Thanks. Yes, I’m feeling well.’
‘What’s been going on with you, then?’ Birdie asked as she reached over and turned down the Shipping Forecast.
Oh, you know, asked Patrick to marry me , Fleur thought in her head but didn’t say. ‘Not much, you know, same old, same old.’
‘How’s the notebook business going?’
Fleur smiled. ‘Ticking along. I was just doing some orders then but thought I’d pop out for some fresh air.’
‘Any more wholesale orders to keep you up at night?’ Birdie chuckled.
‘Well, actually, no. I have had a couple of enquiries, and another one from the people in Dublin, but to be honest, I pushed back on it. I’ve realised I’m no entrepreneur, it seems, and I feel as if I just need to play my own game with it. I’ll stick to the markets and let it grow organically, you know? I’m not cut out to be the next dragon…’
‘Well, there’s a lot to be said for that, I think. Wholesale isn’t great for everybody.’
‘Yes, so true.’ Fleur nodded in the direction of the cottage. ‘I’ve actually spent most of the day in the studio, working on a new range of notebooks with a ruffle on them. It was my friend Cassy who found the fabric, and I just love doing things like that. I think I’ll stick with that for now.’
Birdie nodded. ‘So, you’ve not been up to much then? No, err, things happening in your life? How’s Patrick?’
Fleur laughed. Birdie clearly already knew about the proposal, but Fleur wasn’t going to be broadcasting it before she’d told her own daughter. ‘Oh, you know. Same old.’
Birdie shifted her car into neutral, and rested her arm on the open window as she smiled at Fleur. The sun had dipped low in the sky and pretty golden light shimmered over Lovely Pott Lane. ‘So, what else have you been up to apart from getting lost in ruffles and vintage paper?’
Fleur hesitated for half a second, tempted to spill everything, but before she could say anything, a car approached from the other direction, creeping past at a near standstill. It was an old green Mini belonging to Margaret, one of the local B dog walkers, a couple of teenagers paddled in the shallows, an older man stood with his hands in his pockets, staring out at the horizon as if waiting for something. Fleur wandered slowly, letting the waves lull even though her thoughts were tangled.
Just as she got to the other end of the beach near the breakers, her phone buzzed in her pocket, dragging her back to reality. She pulled it out, frowning slightly when she saw Lucy’s name on the screen as if Lucy had heard her thoughts.
‘Hey, you.’ Fleur pressed the phone to her ear.
‘Hey, Mum.’ Lucy’s voice was light, but Fleur could tell she was preoccupied with something.
‘Everything alright?’
‘Yeah, yeah. Just thought I’d check-in. What are you up to?’
‘Getting a spot of fresh air and wandering the beach. I needed to clear my mind.’
‘What’s on your mind?’
Fleur hesitated for a fraction of a second before deciding that there was no time like the present. ‘Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about.’
‘Okaaay.’ Lucy dragged the word out. ‘Should I be worried?’
‘No, not at all. I’ll just get straight to the point; I asked Patrick to marry me.’
Silence.
‘Luce?’ Fleur suddenly felt like she’d made a mistake by blurting it out.
‘Sorry, I, what, wait. You proposed? What like to Patrick?’
‘Err, yeah, who else would I propose to?’
‘Mum!’ Lucy’s voice was animated, half laughing, half incredulous. ‘What? How? When?’
‘On the riverboat. It wasn’t exactly planned, if I’m honest…’
‘Clearly!’
‘I know.’
‘I mean, that’s huge news. Congratulations!’
Fleur exhaled, relief washing over her. ‘Yeah. It is.’
‘And? What did he say? I presume yes or you wouldn’t be telling me.’
‘Yep, he said yes.’
‘Ahhhh! So exciting!’ Lucy squealed.
‘I had a bit of a moment.’
‘What kind of moment?’
Fleur sighed. ‘The kind where I may have panicked and then laughed and, yeah, I forgot to actually give him the ring.’
‘You forgot to give him the ring?’
‘Yep.’
‘I love this for you. This is the most you thing I’ve ever heard.’
‘Thank you.’
‘So, what happens now?’
Fleur hesitated. ‘Well, it’s going to be soon. Hopefully when we’re away…’
Silence again. Fleur held her breath.
‘Mum, what?’
‘I know, I know, it’s a lot…’
‘Away? Hawaii? As in actual Hawaii?’
‘Yes, well Maui.’
‘As in, the other side of the planet?’
‘That’s the one.’
Lucy made a strangled noise. ‘Wow. You really don’t do things by halves, do you?’
‘I suppose not.’
‘Okay, let me get this straight. You propose to Patrick, forget to give him the ring, and now you’re telling me that you’re getting married in Maui? All this since the last time I spoke to you?’
‘That’s about the long and the short of it.’
‘So, it looks like I’m coming to Maui.’
Fleur felt relieved. ‘You are and hopefully Cassy and Aunty Wendy and Grandma too.’
‘Gosh. Wow, you sound so happy, Mum. This is fabulous! What good news! First, I get a baby brother and now this.’
Fleur felt something in her chest shift. ‘I really am happy.’
‘That’s all that matters.’
Fleur closed her eyes briefly and felt very grateful for Lucy’s reaction. ‘Thanks, Luce.’
‘Look, I was only quickly calling you. I’m just getting to work. I’ll speak to you later. This is so exciting! Love you, Mum. See you later.’
‘Love you, Luce.’
Fleur stood and looked at the horizon for a bit. Lucy’s attitude had done all sorts of things for her, including restoring her faith in the fact that she had done a good job bringing her up. One down, two to go. It was going to be interesting to see what Valerie was going to say. Valerie Champion, not that she knew it, was facing a test. She had better pass the test, that Fleur knew for free.