Epilogue
September, Bonnie Bay
The sun is shining, giving Bonnie Bay one of those most wonderful gifts – a last burst of summer before the leaves start to turn, and the autumn chill descends.
As is tradition at this time of year, many of the villagers have gathered to spend a final day swimming in the sea, and enjoying the fresh air. Saying their farewell to the summer. Children are building sandcastles, dogs are chasing each other around the beach, and all feels well with the world.
‘Today is perfect,’ Kate says, skirt hoisted up, her bare legs dangling off the edge of the jetty. ‘Still so warm.’
‘Aye, it is – but that’s just Bonnie Bay lulling you into a false sense of security, hen. No getting away from the fact that the winters here can be brutal. We get snowed in every year.’
Kate glances up at Moira, still using her wheelchair for distances but taking more steps every day. ‘I like the sound of that, actually,’ she says. ‘Getting snowed in.’
‘You would, love – you’ll be snowed in with Brody. I’ll be snowed in with Joanne!’
The two women laugh together, then Moira points out at the horizon.
‘Here they come,’ she announces. ‘The testosterone express!’
They look on as the men of the village start their return swim. They’ve been out as far as one of the little rocky islands, done a circuit, and now they’re heading back to the harbour. It’s not supposed to be a race – but that’s what it seems to have turned into.
Rosie joins Kate and Moira, presenting them both with an ice cream cone, standing and watching the churning in the water as arms and legs plough through the waves.
‘And here we are,’ she says, her voice a parody of a sports commentator, using her ice cream cone as a microphone, ‘at the annual Bonnie Bay Macho Man contest! In the lead it’s Xander Duncan, narrowly beating out Rory Callaghan into second place…
but wait, as they come around the final bend, we have a new contender!
It’s novice swimmer Brody Quinn, in his first ever appearance! ’
Kate laughs at her friend’s antics, squinting into the sun as she licks her ice cream and watches the race-that’s-not-a-race play out. Her hand goes to her belly, and she asks: ‘When do babies start kicking?’
‘It starts at about twenty weeks,’ Rosie replies. ‘And then doesn’t stop until they’ve left home! Look, your man is taking the lead…’
All three watch as the swimmers reach the jetty, a desperate last-minute flurry of effort as the front-runners all try and slap their palms on the stone of the harbour wall at the same time.
‘Och,’ Moira announces, shaking her head. ‘Photo finish.’
Brody and the other men make their way to the beach, grabbing up towels and dry robes and rubbing themselves down. Rosie looks on and sighs. ‘I love the last summer swim… for purely sporting reasons! Right. I’m off to the café. There’ll be a rush on now.’
Dried off, damp hair in tufts, Brody joins them on the jetty.
‘I think I won,’ he says confidently, giving them both a wink that says he’s joking.
‘I think you did,’ Moira replies, smiling kindly, her eyes gesturing towards Kate. ‘Now, if you’re not too exhausted, wheel an old lady back to the shop, will ye?’
They head back down the jetty, chatting to locals as they pass, Brody and Kate now as much part of the fabric of the place as Moira.
Brody eases Moira’s chair down onto the cobbles, just as a sudden rain shower comes from nowhere.
Kate laughs and turns her face up to the drops, dancing around in a happy jig.
Brody watches her, wet hair around her shoulders, muttering the word ‘selkie’ beneath his breath.
‘Look,’ Moira says, pointing out towards the sea. ‘A rainbow.’
The multi-coloured arch stretches over the horizon, its shimmering shades seeming to disappear into the sun-dappled waves. Brody takes Kate’s hand in his, and gives her a smile.
‘Just like the day we arrived,’ he says, pulling her in for a cuddle.
‘Not quite like the day we arrived,’ she replies, placing his hand on her stomach. They share a kiss, and Moira clears her throat like she’s on stage, reminding them she exists.
The rain dries up just as suddenly as it arrived, and Kate gazes out at the sea.
At the rainbow that still hovers there, blazing across a clear blue sky.
The three of them stay like that, still and silent, all seeing different things.
Moira notices the building swell of the waves, and knows it will be a wild one tonight.
Brody watches the gannets soaring from the cliff-sides.
Kate focuses on the rainbow. On the hope she felt the day she first came to this place, and the hope she still feels now.
‘How many cards did you send out, Moira?’ she asks, her voice thoughtful. ‘In the books?’
‘Ten in all, I think, all to different places. If you’d asked me about it a few months ago, I’d have said they’d all been lost, or read a million times, and nobody else wants to take us up on our invitation. But now? Well. Now, who knows?’
Kate nods, and looks thoughtful as they stroll back along the cobbles and head inside the shop. The scent of Ginny’s candles fills the air, and the dark wood of the shelves shines with polish. Brody heads automatically into the back room to brew up, and Moira goes to her stool behind the counter.
James Fraser is coming in for a meeting about the plans to transform the place, and there are also still plenty of tourists left in the village. It’s likely to be a busy day.
Kate finds her favourite spot, right by the window, smiling as Brody joins her with a steaming mug of tea. She looks from him to the sea, and the faint rainbow that still lingers there.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’ he asks, looking at her intense expression.
‘Oh, I was just thinking about what Moira said. That she sent out ten cards in ten books. So there could be eight more people out there right now, wondering if they should take their own leap of faith.’
He ponders it, eyebrows raised. ‘Yeah. I guess so. And what would you say to them, Kate?’
She smiles, eyes shining. She looks back at Moira, and gazes around at the bookshop. The bookshop that sits in the middle of a row of candy-floss-coloured buildings at the edge of the world. At the man who stole her heart. She slides her hand into his.
‘I’d say jump, my friends. Have a hopeful heart. Take a deep breath, and just jump…’
* * *