Chapter 42
42
The next day, Mum was busy at work but said that she’d pop in for post when she’d finished, and Dan and I were so tired we decided we wouldn’t go to the shop that night. When Mum phoned to say she couldn’t get round because her car had broken down, Dan and I had both drunk the contents of a bottle and a half of wine so there was no way either of us could drive.
Mum came round early the next morning instead and this time there were two gold envelopes, both of which I practically snatched out of her hands. I opened the first one immediately, sloping off to my bedroom where I sat on the edge of my bed and read it.
Nancy,
It’s time for the final part of the story. But before you read that, there is something else I want you to know.
I’m not one for showing my vulnerability. I’ve kept it buried for years to protect myself. But with you it was different. Once I held you in my arms, and kissed your lips, I felt like it was the start of something huge. It was like you’d claimed the missing piece of my heart and made it complete once more. I pictured a future that we could have together. I clung on and didn’t ever want to let go. I saw us together for years to come, growing old together, being an old couple sat in bed, discussing our children and our grandchildren. Reminiscing over our life and how fabulous it had been. Me still watching you like I watched you that morning when I stayed over at yours. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from you. You were so beautiful that day, the light so bright in your eyes with everything that lay ahead. I hoped that we would love each other forever. When you were in my arms that night , it was everything to me. You were everything to me, Nancy. You gave me hope.
I will be eternally sorry that I messed that up.
The Final Chapter
When the company was sold a few months later, Craig was promoted over Dennis’s head and it soon came to light that the person who bought the company was Craig’s uncle. And so he’d had to hand the reins over to Craig. Dennis had always dreamed of being made a director and now he felt that it was never going to happen.
One day, Dennis came to visit his nan in Driftwood Bay. He’d been many times before but this time was different. When he collided with another body in the harbour, his eyes fell upon the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen and he couldn’t drag his eyes away from her. He’d never been a huge reader, but his nan had invited him to go along to the launch of the girl’s new bookshop that was opening up. He was desperate to see this girl again and when he walked through her shop door and she turned and smiled at him, he felt like he’d known her all his life. This feeling was new to him and if he was honest, it scared the crap out of him, but he spent a little time with her and they got on like a house on fire. He tried really hard not to show off, but the experience he’d gained over the years told him that he could help her have a much more successful business than she currently had.
They couldn’t have been more opposite. He was fact and evidence based, and she left everything to the universe to decide. He was into designer gear because it was his way of showing people how successful he was, whereas she wore vintage clothes and those she’d found in charity shops, wanting to save the world with her strong values on recycling. He was guarded and closed off. She wore her heart on her sleeve. He had to be financially stable; it was his only way to feel safe and protected. She already felt safe and protected by the people and the environment that she lived in. He wanted to make money. She wanted to make the world a better place.
When they finally worked out that opposites could indeed attract, they began to bond. They learned from each other and they began to fall in love.
Dennis returned to London to sort things out for work. His feelings for the bookshop owner were stronger than anything he’d ever experienced before. He knew that their worlds were very different and that she could never work in London, but he knew that if he did things right, he could work from Driftwood Bay, travelling back to the city if and when he was needed. It was a perfect solution. But first he had to get Craig to agree to his plan.
Dennis channelled his inner Nancy and put his vulnerability on the line and told Craig the truth. That he’d fallen in love and wanted to give it a chance to bloom and flourish. Craig agreed that it was definitely a solution but the only way that he would agree for him to have the time off was if Dennis and he had a wager. That Dennis couldn’t turn around the little bookshop in the little seaside town into a booming business. If Dennis refused to take the bet, then Craig would refuse to let his plan come to fruition and would send him all over the country on assignments just to make his life as awkward as he could. Craig really was an arsehole.
But sadly, Dennis needed Craig to agree, for him and Nancy to stand a chance of being together. He wanted this more than anything else in the world, and so he accepted the bet, hoping and praying that Nancy would never find out.
Epilogue
Unbeknown to Dennis, Craig’s uncle who had previously owned the business had told Craig when a deal had turned sour that he wished he was more like Dennis. That he wished he’d made Dennis the CEO instead of Craig because he would have been a better choice. Craig obviously saw red, jumped on the first train to Truro, got in a cab to Driftwood Bay with a bottle of whisky and blurted out the whole story.
Dennis loves Nancy. Nancy doesn’t like Dennis any more.
The End
I’d been trying to fight my feelings since I met you, Nancy. But it was hard. My feelings for you grew by the day until you became my everything. The person I looked forward to seeing each day. The person who made – makes – my heart happy.
Thank you for letting me feel that. I shall be forever grateful.
Right now, there’s a Nancy-shaped hole in my life. And my heart hurts. Like hell!
I miss you, Nancy, and I love you.
Dennie
xxx
I knew now. What I needed to do was to go back to Driftwood Bay. Dennis would be waiting for me, and while I wouldn’t make it easy for him, I would in time forgive him and we could move on with our lives. Together.
Like Dennis, I had also made myself vulnerable. I’d let my mind run away with me to a future with him. Maybe even a family and there were times when my daydreams would show me the two of us strolling hand in hand along the beach, our children running ahead, splashing in the waves and squealing with joy. When Craig smashed into our lives, he also smashed my hopes and dreams, but now I’d had some time to think, and I’d realised that maybe they could still come true.
I started to frantically throw things into my case. I needed to go back to Driftwood Bay. I would find Dennis and tell him I loved him. Tell him that we did have a future together.
‘Dan!’ I yelled. ‘Dan! We have to go. Now!’
There was no response. He must have gone out.
I was mumbling away to myself. ‘Why didn’t I just hang around and listen to what he had to say? You’re a fool, Nancy. Come on, get yourself sorted out and get back out there and go get your man!’
As I shoved everything into my case, the other gold envelope somehow flipped off the bedside table and landed right in my eyeline. It felt like someone was telling me I had to read it right then. The universe was sending me a message for sure.
I ripped open the envelope and my heart sank as I read it.
Nancy,
I’ve tried to get you to speak to me. God knows I’ve tried. With you being such a lover of words, I hoped that these letters would be enough to bring you back to me but sadly it seems that I was wrong. I’ve tracked down a beautiful edition of Romeo and Juliet and I’ve left it at Nan’s house for you to collect as soon as you are ready to return. I hope you like it. I hope that one day you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me but that every time you look at this book, you might think of me and a little bit of your heart will remind you of what we had, which, to me, was very special.
I’m going back to London tomorrow. I wanted you to know. At least this way, you can return to the bay and get on with your life, which you clearly don’t want to do while I’m still around. I hope that if I return at some point to see Nan, and we bump into each other, that you will speak to me. That we can eventually be friends. I can’t imagine being here without you and being here with you ignoring me is even worse. This week has been awful. I’m constantly looking for you, around every corner, in every shop. I’ve sat on the doorstep of the bookshop every morning, for hours on end, in the hope that you’ll come back, but sadly, as your mum keeps on telling me, you have chosen to stay away.
It’s not fair of me to keep you away so I’m going to go instead. Take myself out of the equation. And let you be free to return.
I’m truly sorry that things have worked out this way. I’ve never regretted anything more in my life.
Please know, Nancy, that you have meant more to me than anyone else ever in my life. I’ve never found it easy to love, but you made it easy for me. You took me with all my flaws and accepted me for who I am. You allowed me to be just me and I finally worked out that I was enough for someone. You never wanted me to be anything more. And for the first time in my life, I liked who I was. And I felt free from the past.
You showed me the things that had been missing from my life that I didn’t even know were missing. You showed me how it feels to be truly loved.
I have loved being with you here in Driftwood Bay. You’ve taught me more about life and about myself in the last few weeks than I ever thought possible and for that I am truly grateful.
My life will never be the same.
I hope that in time, the memories you have of our time together are not awful. I hope that eventually you remember them as I do. Amazing. Fabulous. Enjoyable. Fun. Joyful. Funny. Hilarious. Sexy. Incredible. Beautiful. Special. Memorable. There are some more words for you. I know you love them but they clearly just weren’t enough for me to find the way back into your heart.
I will never forget you, Nancy. You are the most special person I’ve ever met. I was never looking for love yet I found it.
A huge, massive, incredible love that made anything seem possible.
But then I was a massive fuckwit and threw it all away.
I’m sorry.
I LOVE YOU!
It’s time for you to go home now.
Yours forever, Dennie xxx
I ran into the lounge. There was a note on the coffee table to say that Mum and Dan had gone for a walk in the woods. I was still in my pyjamas but stuck my coat and wellies on and headed out to try to find them. They could be anywhere. I shouted their names as loud as I could, and my heart soared when I heard their voices shouting back.
‘Mum, when did you pick these letters up?’
‘Erm, let me think. Well, I was at work all day and I’d been to Driftwood Manor and got chatting to lovely Samantha…’
‘Mum, quick! When?’
‘All right, Nancy. There’s no need to shout. I picked them up late last night. Your dad fixed the car this morning because it wouldn’t start. Bloody flat battery. You can tell winter is here.’
‘So this last one’s only a day old then?’
‘Yep, only a day!’
‘Shit! Bollocks! Bugger!’
‘Language, Nancy!’ Mum and Dan answered me in unison.
I plonked myself directly downwards in the pile of wet leaves at my feet and burst into snivelling tears.
‘What one earth is the matter?’ Mum crouched down next to me, wise enough not to get her own backside wet.
Through my sobs and hiccups, I managed to croak the words.
‘He’s gone!’