Chapter 52 #2
After spending some time circulating among the guests upstairs, I made my way back down to the ground floor and paused on the stairs to take it all in.
Bethany was talking to Charlee, rubbing her hands over her swollen stomach.
Her baby was due next week and I knew she was more than ready for its arrival.
Charlee had recently announced that she and her husband Matt were expecting their first baby too, due in December.
The news that another friend was expecting a baby delighted me but didn’t make me doubt the decision Jed and I had made not to try for a baby of our own.
I was certain I was on the right path in a supporting role instead – being there for Erin and Lucy, for Aaron, Piper and Savannah, for Zoe, my students and anyone else who needed my guidance and encouragement.
My gaze shifted to Carly who was chatting to Anastasia and my heart melted as Colin walked past them, brushing his hand against Anastasia’s.
They’d been such a perfect match and I was delighted with myself for spotting it and bringing them together through The Friendship Pod.
It would be Colin’s birthday at the end of the month and Anastasia had been quizzing Jed and me about gift ideas for him.
Little did she know that he was already planning the ultimate gift – her hand in marriage.
He’d sought my advice about engagement rings and had sworn me to secrecy and, much as I hated secrets, this was one I didn’t mind keeping.
Emilia – one of the students from Whitsborough Bay TEC who I’d mentored through Project Hercules – wanted to set up her own cake decorating business.
I’d put her in touch with Carly for some advice, which had resulted in Carly taking her on to cover Bethany’s maternity leave.
Bethany managed the marketing of the business and stayed clear of the cakes so Carly and Emilia were going to split the responsibilities between them and, if things worked out, that meant a potential succession plan in place for Carly’s Cupcakes when Carly and Liam started a family.
They now had the family home ready for it.
The house they’d viewed near the Sea Rescue Sanctuary had turned out to be their dream home and they’d moved in at the end of June.
‘Are you okay?’ Mum asked, joining me on the stairs.
I smiled at her. ‘Just looking round everyone and thinking how lucky I am to have so many people who care about this place.’
‘It’s not just The Chocolate Pot,’ she said. ‘It’s you they care about. You heard what Maria said. Everyone in this room feels the same. There’s magic in you, Tara. Everyone can see it and I hope you can too.’
She drew me into a hug before continuing up the stairs, her words reminding me of the phrase Jed had shared with me: ‘To see a person – to really see them – is to notice all of their magic. To love a person – to really love them – is to remind them of their magic when they’ve forgotten it’s there.’
I could see it now and I’d be forever grateful to Jed, Carly, Maria, Mum and Dad for making that possible because seeing my own magic had helped me recognise it in others like Zoe.
At that moment, I heard Zoe’s loud belly laugh and spotted her with Molly and Nathan.
She’d had the occasional wobble over the past few months but her ongoing counselling sessions had given her the tools to cope with them rather than turning to self-harming.
At the start of June, Zoe had written to her sister, Jacey, care of her boyfriend’s address.
She had no idea whether they’d still be together but I’d agreed that it was a great place to try.
Unfortunately the letter was returned with a note scribbled on the back of the envelope saying that family had moved out three years ago and the current tenants had no forwarding address.
It hit Zoe really hard and I was so concerned about her that I insisted on her staying with me for a few days rather than being on her own above the gallery.
An emergency counselling session helped stabilise her and she was full of apologies for reacting badly to the disappointment but I assured her that there was no judgement from me, especially when I’d been derailed myself this year by bad news.
Conscious that I’d never told her the story about why I’d fled from London, it had felt like an appropriate moment to share what I’d been through and how difficult I’d found Leanne’s return.
Sharing my own challenges with Zoe brought us even closer together and it also had a profound effect on her future plans.
She’d thought about how much I helped others despite not having accessed the help I probably needed myself and how much of a lifeline her own counsellor was and she decided she wanted to be like us and train as a counsellor herself.
She was now enrolled with an online learning provider called My Study Hub to complete her GCSEs and would be moving into Lighthouse Retreat with us to make it easier to balance studying with part-time hours in the café and the gallery.
She remained passionate about books but, after running a book discussion for The Friendship Pod, she’d established a monthly book club which she said fulfilled her bookish needs.
The dream to work in a bookshop had been replaced and I couldn’t help thinking that the experiences she’d been through would help make her an exceptional counsellor.
I’d been thinking about a return to education myself for a while and, after much research, had found a degree in community work and youth counselling run through a UK university but which I could complete via distance learning. I’d be starting that in late September.
As for the reason behind my own derailment this year, Mum and Dad hadn’t heard a peep out of Leanne since the discovery that she wasn’t pregnant.
We’d had several heart-to-heart discussions about everything and I’d even shared the little voice in my head which had occasionally whispered second best. I assured them they’d never made me feel that way and it was my own insecurities fuelled by Leanne seemingly getting away with murder.
Even though I knew they’d never thought of me that way, it did feel good to hear them say out loud that, from the moment they met me, they’d thought of me as their daughter.
During one of our deep discussions, we’d explored whether I should report Leanne and Garth to the police.
We agreed that I wouldn’t but they visited me a few days later and told me they thought I should.
After reflecting on the conversation, they’d both concluded that I seemed more concerned about the impact on them for having their daughter reported to the police than the effect it would have on me reliving it all and they insisted I remove them from the equation.
Leanne had already caused them no end of hurt, this had to be about what was best for me and they both firmly believed that I needed to do this to get closure.
I hadn’t done it yet but a visit to the police would be my number one priority for September after I’d fully handed over the reins to Maria and before I started my degree.
My words to Zoe when I’d found out what her mother and Sol had done to her – It’s never too late.
Why should they get away with it? – and Zoe’s courage in facing her past were my driving force for justice.
‘You’re still here!’ Mum exclaimed, coming back down the stairs. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’
‘I’m better than I’ve ever been. Just needed some breathing space but I’m ready to rejoin the party now.’
I linked my arm through hers and we walked down the stairs together.
‘That couldn’t have gone better,’ I said to Jed as we settled on the sofa with Hercules later that evening, the final guests gone and the café cleaned and ready for tomorrow. ‘I can’t believe how many people came.’
‘I can. They came for you because you’re outstanding, although I’ll be having words with Maria later for stealing my line.’
I laughed. ‘She probably did it deliberately to wind you up.’
‘And how are you feeling about what happens next now that the news about you stepping down is out there?’
‘Excited. A little bit nervous too. The Chocolate Pot has been my whole life for so long but I’m ready to start working towards a new set of hopes and dreams including spending more time with my fiancé and my family – words that this time last year I never thought I’d be saying.’
‘There’s a wedding to look forward to,’ Jed said, running his fingers over the stunning diamond ring we’d chosen together.
We’d set a date for next summer figuring that, if we didn’t get something secured, it could easily slip down the list of priorities with so many other things going on.
I couldn’t wait to say I do to a man who loved me as much as I loved him and to have the type of wedding we both agreed on.
‘And our new home to design,’ he added.
‘Pretty big to-do list,’ I said, ‘but for now I just want to enjoy some quiet time with you.’
I snuggled up closer to him and let my gaze rest on the piece of art Jed had given me the night we first kissed.
I couldn’t read the caption from here but I knew it off by heart: If you’ve lost your way, I will be your lighthouse.
I had lost my way and several lighthouses had guided me, Jed being one of them.
I’d been Zoe’s lighthouse and Jed had been Aaron’s and we’d guided each other through the storms created by Ingrid and Leanne.
We’d continue to do that for each other and for our family, for the growing membership of The Friendship Pod and, behind the scenes, for my precious business.
And somewhere down the line, we’d do it for teenagers like Zoe who’d lost their way and needed a guiding light to help reignite their hopes and dreams and somebody to remind them of their magic when they’d forgotten it was there.