Chapter 50
Windflowers, St Aidan, Cornwall
Chasing the moon
Friday (a month later)
A month later we’re all at the beach hut, wrapped up against the wind, doing the last jobs for Tia and Thom’s wedding in the morning.
Poppy’s in Tia’s tiny attic kitchen, putting the finishing touches to the wedding cake of their dreams, which has jam and buttercream between the rainbow layers, and a buttercream outside rolled in brightly coloured hundreds and thousands, and Lily’s gathering late asters and zinnias from the walled garden at Bart’s house for the posies.
Tia tried on every dress in the shop and ended up choosing the one I was wearing the day I fell off the stepping stones, because she loves the way the skirt flutters in the wind and we’re sure there will be plenty of that.
That dress technically belongs to Lando, but he’s happy to let her have it.
To make it her own and keep out the autumn chill she’s adding in a pastel striped cashmere cardigan, which goes so well with the girl’s flowery dresses they decide those can have another outing too.
As a surprise she gets them each a denim jacket, with their name on the back in faux diamonds, and Mum and I buy them glittery Doc Martens because they’ve grown out of their Converse.
We’ve just finished stringing the pastel bunting across the inside of the beach hut when we hear the chimes of the ice cream van.
Lando raises an eyebrow. ‘Ninety-nines all round? Come and choose your toppings!’
As he and Thom set off across the sand, with the kids running beside them, I turn to Tia. ‘He’s started stocking doggy ice cream now too.’
It shows how many they have, because when they hear the words, Angel and Martha look up from where they’re lying on the deck.
And yes, it’s not just Lando who spends most of his time with us at Climbing Rose Cottage; Martha is also there too. It’s a tribute to Mum’s love of a full house that additions as large as Lando and Martha have been absorbed into the cottage with very little fuss.
As I watch them coming back towards us with their hands full of cones, and I look at Lando and remember yet again that he’s all mine, I get my usual tummy flip. As he hands me my ninety-nine and flops down beside me on the top step, another rush of happiness surges through me.
I give a little shiver, and he looks down at me. ‘Everything okay there, Maevey Waves?’
I smile. ‘I’m just feeling very lucky to be here with you all, and hoping you aren’t going to push my nose in my ice cream.’
He laughs. ‘As if I would.’
When he slips in for a kiss, Nemmie nudges Zara then grins at us.
Thom smiles too. ‘Tia and I feel very lucky to be your last wedding of the season.’
Tia laughs. ‘It would have been a long wait until spring.’
Lando takes a bite of his flake then looks up. ‘Salvador is taking down the Silver Meadows tipis this weekend too.’
I sit up straighter. ‘So how many weddings has he done?’
There’s a smile playing around Lando’s lips. ‘It’s hard to believe, because he had a head start … but after Tia and Thom, you’ve both done exactly the same number of ceremonies.’
‘Damn!’ I clench my fists. ‘That’s so frustrating!’
Tia gives a snort. ‘We’ll have to wait a whole year for the chance to beat him again.’
Lando narrows his eyes. ‘The beach hut’s still here. If we had one more wedding we’d win.’
Thom frowns. ‘Whose side are you on?’
Lando laughs. ‘This one, without a doubt!’
Tia winks at me. ‘He always has been.’
I give a sigh. ‘Who would want to get married in a beach hut in December?’
Lando looks thoughtful. ‘I’d like to … if you’re asking me.’
My mouth falls open. ‘You’re willing to get married, just to beat Sav?’
He wrinkles his nose. ‘That’s not the reason. It’s not the reason at all.’ He shakes his head. ‘I’ve always wanted to marry you, Maeve. You know that. And everyone’s heard me tell you, lots of times.’
Tia coughs. ‘That’s true. He’s always said, but you always insisted he was joking.’
I shake my head. ‘I’ve never wanted to get married to anyone.
But now I might.’ I stare at my half-eaten chocolate flake and consider.
‘The more I think about it, the better it sounds.’ I flop my hand over Lando’s shoulder.
‘I definitely want to be with you forever; I love you to the beach and back, and it’s not as if we’ve only just met. ’
Nemmie looks as if she’s bursting. ‘We kids should get a say in this too!’
I’m staring at them. ‘So what do you think?’
Nemmie leans her back against the railings, and narrows her eyes. ‘You all know that until we started the dating thing, I’d never wanted a dad. But if I have to choose one, I can’t think of a better one than Lando.’
There are tears running down my face, and I can’t stop them. Nemmie comes over and I pull her into a hug, and as Lando puts his arms around both of us he’s scraping away the tears too.
A long time later, as we pull out of the hug, Lando puts ice cream on both our noses, and we get him back twice as badly, then Martha and Angel jump up and join in, and Tia comes to the rescue with the box of emergency tissues from the registrars’ table.
Lando wipes the ice cream off his face then grins. ‘So that’s settled. We’ll have a December wedding, and we get the championship too!’
We all give each other high fives, then the kids run off to the sea, and Tia and Thom go off to get ready for tomorrow and leave Lando and me with our arms around each other on the verandah, feeling like the happiest couple in the world.