Chapter 35
A week passed with no sign of Veronica. My concern for her was eased a little by the knowledge that Laughlin and Lancelot visited every day.
At my suggestion, Milly, Paulette, Laughlin and I had clubbed in for a bunch of bright, cheerful flowers and had signed a thinking of you card which Laughlin had taken round on the Tuesday.
She’d sent us all a lovely message that afternoon.
From Veronica
Thank you all for the gorgeous flowers and card.
That’s so kind of you. Thank you also for your kindness in giving me space to come to terms with that shocking and unexpected revelation.
Your friendship means the world to me and I’d hate you to think I’m pushing you away.
I’m just not strong enough to talk about it at the moment.
I’m giving all my clubs and activities a miss this week but I hope to be back next week. Much love to you all x
To Veronica
I’m so sorry for what happened and completely understand the need for some time and space to process things. Thinking of you and here for you whenever you’re ready – even if that’s just for some mindless chatter about the weather over a slice of cake x
On Thursday, we had an update about the shop.
From Veronica
In the midst of a dark week, I have some exciting news!
Ava says we can have the keys on Monday.
The builders have finished and she sees no reason for us to wait another week before we get in.
If we open on 28 March as discussed, we have five weeks to get organised which should be more than enough time.
Created With Love will soon be open for business!
When Monday morning came round, we’d hoped Veronica would meet us for the key handover but Laughlin arrived shaking his head and making a zipping motion across his mouth which I took to indicate that he’d tell us more later.
Saffy had joined us for a quick tour before her shift at The White Willow and she wasn’t aware of what was going on.
‘No Veronica today?’ Ava asked.
‘She’s feeling under the weather this morning,’ Laughlin said. ‘Sends her apologies.’
‘That’s a shame. Well, here’s two sets of keys but feel free to cut a set each. See how you get on with the cleaning and decorating. If you want to open earlier than planned, that’s fine, but your rent would start from that point. Just keep me posted.’
We thanked her for being so accommodating and she wished us luck before leaving us to it. Ava had given the keys to Milly so she did the honours and opened the door to our shop. We were really doing this!
Even though the unit still needed a deep clean, the treatment of the damp patch and the replacement of the window had already made a huge difference.
That musty smell wasn’t nearly as strong and, if we kept the windows open while we worked and spread a few air fresheners around, it would soon clear.
Saffy snapped photos on her phone. She’d asked if she could design a display concept and, as none of us had a clear vision, we were happy for her to give it a go.
‘If you’re free for a drink in The White Willow afterwards, I’ll give you an update on Veronica,’ Laughlin said in a hushed voice while Saffy was exploring upstairs. ‘She’s given her permission.’
There wasn’t much we could do in the shop today. Milly needed to work this afternoon and Paulette had a dental appointment so we’d agreed to start on the cleaning tomorrow. We therefore locked up once Saffy had finished investigating and wandered over to The White Willow with her.
‘Veronica’s not quite ready to see anyone but she wanted me to give you an update,’ Laughlin said after Saffy started her shift and we’d placed our order.
‘She’s humiliated about the affair. She knows nobody’s judging her but she can’t help feeling like a fraud for talking so positively about Carson when it seems their marriage wasn’t as strong as she believed.
She’s angry that he isn’t here to answer all the questions like why, who, how long?
On top of that, she’s devastated about the affect this secret’s had on her daughters and their relationship with each other and with her.
She feels like she gave up everything to support Carson and his career and, while she chose that life and loved what she did, this feels like a slap in the face and she’s reeling from it.
You know Vee. You know what a proud and proper woman she is. ’
We all expressed our understanding but nobody mentioned that Laughlin had just affectionately referred to Veronica as Vee. Was I the only one who’d noticed?
‘You’re probably wondering why she’s talking to me and not the rest of you. The thing is…’
Saffy brought our drinks and cakes over at that point so we paused the conversation while they were distributed.
‘You were saying…?’ Paulette prompted after Saffy left.
Laughlin picked up his teaspoon and stirred his latte, staring into the mug. ‘The reason Vee’s talking to me is that I know what she’s going through because I’ve been through it myself. Well, part of it.’
Beside me, Paulette gasped. ‘Surely not Noreen?’
Laughlin finally looked up and nodded. ‘Noreen and I met later in life. I was forty-two and she was forty-six. Neither of us had been married before, neither of us had children – we’d both been unlucky in love and had thrown ourselves into our careers instead.
A mutual friend introduced us, we clicked immediately and, for the first twelve years, our marriage was great.
But then Noreen lost her job. She was fifty-eight and far from being ready to retire, but she had no success job-hunting.
She was convinced it was because of her age but I kept telling her something would turn up and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t appreciate how much each rejection broke her.
‘We’d always planned to travel when we eventually retired so she proposed I retire early and we do that.
I loved my job so I refused and unhelpfully suggested that the reason she was struggling to find a job was because she was being too fussy, wanting to be the same level as before, and she should consider more junior positions. ’
He grimaced, evidently ashamed of the approach he’d taken. ‘She bumped into an ex at a job club who was struggling with unexpected redundancy and…’ He broke off with a sigh and stared out of the window for a moment, as though searching for the words on the wind.
‘It was Veronica who spotted them together in a pub one day. When Noreen saw Vee, she knew the game was up. She asked her not to say anything and Vee said she wouldn’t but encouraged Noreen to tell me herself, so she did.
We went for marriage guidance and I learned a lot about myself.
I thought I’d been supportive but all I’d done was throw platitudes at Noreen.
I hadn’t listened to her or understood her pain.
In fact, I hadn’t even realised she was in pain. ’
‘But that surely didn’t justify her having an affair?’ Milly said when Laughlin paused once more to sip his drink.
‘No, it didn’t, but it’s not like she sought him out deliberately.
They just happened to be in the same job club and she turned to someone she knew who gave her the support and understanding that she wasn’t getting from me.
She felt invisible in the workplace but she also felt invisible at home and the ex saw her.
And even though I was heartbroken that she’d turned to another man, I saw her at that point too.
I saw the woman I still loved and I wanted to try and rescue our marriage but there was no way I could do that if I was still working.
So I did take early retirement and we started our travels around Europe.
It was hard at first. There was a lot of resentment between us.
I’d failed her but she’d failed me too. We made a decision to stop sniping at each other and enjoy our surroundings and properly talk when we felt calmer.
Our European travels saved our marriage because we got to know each other again and, fortunately, fell in love all over again. ’
Paulette placed her hand over Laughlin’s. ‘I’m so sorry. I had no idea.’
‘We’d moved on and were in a good place by the time she joined Cake & Craft Club. There was no need to talk about it and stir up difficult memories.’
‘I’m sorry you went through that,’ I said. ‘I can see why it makes you the ideal person for Veronica to talk to.’
I’d finished Laughlin’s cross stitch last week and had it framed.
It was currently in my car but I wasn’t sure whether it was appropriate to give it to him now after what he’d just revealed, although he had said that their travels had got their marriage back on track and he’d originally shared that photo with me as a happy memory.
Paulette and Milly hadn’t yet finished their drinks but Laughlin and I had so I saw an opportunity to steal him away momentarily.
‘You know a bit about cars, don’t you?’ I said. ‘Can I borrow you for a moment to look at a warning light on mine?’
Laughlin followed me to where my car was parked outside.
‘There’s nothing wrong with my car,’ I admitted as I opened the boot. ‘I made something for you but, after what you just told us, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable if I gave you it in front of the others. I won’t be offended if you don’t want it.’
I peeled back the bubble wrap protecting the cross stitch and tilted the frame towards him, watching his face carefully for his initial reaction. Thankfully, it was a positive one.
‘That’s never a cross stitch?’ he said, his eyes wide.
‘It is. I found this company who turn photos into patterns.’
‘It’s incredible! Thank you so much.’ He couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from it.
‘I can understand why you’d be worried about giving me it but I love it, Yvonne.
That particular moment right there in the acqua alta was extra special because it was the moment we both knew everything was back on track.
I can’t tell you how much this means to me. ’
He turned to face me. ‘You’re so kind, you know. Vee and I were talking about you yesterday and how glad we both were that you’d joined our club.’
Tears rushed to my eyes and I couldn’t speak for fear I’d start sobbing. That meant the world to me so I hugged Laughlin and whispered, ‘Thank you,’ into his chest.
He patted my back. ‘No. Thank you.’