Chapter 1 #2
Focus on the positives , she told herself.
Tomorrow she’d be in the sunshine, and that could only be a good thing.
Working in Copper Curls this last couple of months since the clocks went back, meant going into the salon in the dark, and leaving in the dark.
She was pretty sure there wasn’t an ounce of vitamin D left in her body.
Winter was only beautiful when it snowed, and there had been no sign of…
Jessie’s chin dropped, as a flurry of thick white snowflakes dropped down the window, as if someone in the heavens agreed with her.
Snow. It had come out of nowhere, but it was the kind of thick curtain of flakes that would lie if it kept coming down like this.
She hadn’t even thought to check the weather forecast, but it felt like Scotland was giving her something extra special to remember it by.
‘Good morning, gorgeous.’ Stan’s voice made her jump, but her heart rate was immediately soothed when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, careful not to spill the coffee in her hands.
He kissed her neck, then rested his chin on her shoulder. ‘I ordered the snow for your birthday.’
‘Diamonds would probably have been easier to wrap,’ she joked, making him smile, before he gently turned her around and kissed her on the lips this time.
‘Happy birthday, Jessie. Our last one freezing our bits off in this weather. This time tomorrow, we’ll be on our way and I can’t bloody wait.’ He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice or the glee on his face and it made her heart swell to see him so happy.
Like every couple, they’d had their ups and their downs over the last forty-odd years, but his happiness mattered to her.
Yes, he could be infuriating. A bit thoughtless.
Getting him off the golf course would take a bomb threat and a United Nations task force.
Over the years, their pool of joint interests had got smaller, as they’d both become set in their ways.
And well, all that bendy stuff was about as regular as a full moon these days.
But he’d worked hard all his days as a self-employed electrician, and he deserved all the time off that he’d had since he hung up his tool belt last year.
Besides, he probably found many of her ways irritating too, but he never criticised, never complained, and if they had a disagreement, he just took himself off to the golf club and came back a couple of hours later like nothing had happened.
That low-key, accepting guy was just who he was now, and sure, sometimes a bit of excitement would be great, or even just for him to show an interest in the things she enjoyed, but she knew better than to even think about trying to change him.
For better or worse, until… yada-yada and all that.
If she wanted to have a bit of fun, a good gossip or a weekend theatre break, that’s what her pals and her adult children were for.
She just hoped that they’d all make frequent visits to see her after she moved.
That thought made the coffee in her stomach swirl, so she shook it away and refused to think about it right now.
From behind his back, Stan produced a small, gift-wrapped box that she immediately guessed was a piece of jewellery. ‘I knew it was pointless getting you flowers or chocolates today, and I thought this birthday deserved something special, so here you go, love…’
As he handed it over, Jessie felt a wave of gratitude.
Maybe she hadn’t been wrong about the diamonds being easy to wrap.
Not that they ever bought each other gifts like that.
They’d always had enough to live a comfortable life, with a few extra luxuries – Stan’s golf club fees, a dinner out at the weekends and a couple of trips to the Tenerife house every year – but they’d never been ones for expensive gifts or flash brands.
Although, if there was ever going to be a time to make a big gesture, it would be today.
‘Love, you shouldn’t have…’ she said before she’d even opened it. It took her a moment to untie the ribbon and unwrap the gold foil paper.
‘Georgie helped me with the wrapping. And the present too,’ he admitted, telling her something she’d already assumed.
Last year, he’d got her a Dyson vacuum cleaner (which, in fairness, she had said she wanted), and the year before that had been an air fryer, so he didn’t have a track record of elaborately wrapped tokens of romantic sentimentality.
As she flipped up the lid on the box, she saw that she was wrong about the diamonds, but right about the sentimental stuff. Nestled on the blue velvet pad was a silver chain bracelet, with five little charms dropping from the centre. A pair of scissors. A heart. And three coloured gems.
As she gently touched the deep-hued jewels, Stan said, ‘That’s our lot’s…’
‘Birthstones,’ she interjected, before he got there. She’d spotted the significance right away – the charms represented Georgie, their son, Grant, and their granddaughter, Kayleigh.
‘The scissors are for your salon. And the heart is for us. Not that I’m taking credit, because, like I said, Georgie helped me.’
Jessie curled her arms around him. ‘It’s perfect, Stan. I love it.’
So here she was. One more day of her life here in Weirbridge. Her birthday. Her retirement from the salon she’d founded and worked in for decades. Her party. Her goodbyes to the people she loved.
Today was the day that Jessie’s life was about to change forever.
And tomorrow she’d start a whole new chapter, just her and the man who’d been by her side through it all. It should be the perfect happy ending.
So why did she feel like she didn’t want to turn the page?