Chapter 44
44
Monday morning arrived with mixed emotions for Tristan. It was his first day in the Portakabin office on the Observatory Field site, and he’d spent most of it getting his papers into the right places, setting up the wi-fi router, which, irritatingly, wouldn’t be connected until the following week, and making sure everything was in order for the commencement of the build. Charlotte wasn’t on site today, having chosen to work from Lorelai’s, but he felt relieved. It would have been difficult enough to concentrate as it was, knowing she was at the other end of the site, after yesterday.
He believed Charlotte when she’d told him that it was all over between her and Todd. Why wouldn’t he? She’d stated in no uncertain terms that there was nothing between them, and he had no reason to doubt her. That she’d neglected to mention Todd making a flying visit to Lower Brambleton nagged at him, but he trusted Charlotte and he knew he could take her at her word when she explained why she hadn’t said anything. They were still in the early days of their relationship, after all: she didn’t owe him an explanation about everything she did, and everyone she chose to see.
On the other hand, he’d seen that acquisitive look in someone’s eyes before, and he didn’t like what he saw in Todd’s gaze when he’d been wrapping up his conversation with Charlotte. She’d tried to reassure him that there was nothing to worry about, but his insecurities ran deep. He’d felt as though he might finally be allowing himself to take risks with his emotions, and it was a cruel twist of fate that the day after he’d come to this realisation, Charlotte’s ex had shown up. He might trust Charlotte, but he definitely didn’t like Todd one little bit. Something about his perma-smile and the confident way he’d approached them at their table rankled.
And then there was the information Charlotte had dropped about the potential binary star discovery made by his parents. While this wouldn’t be an earth-shattering discovery in the grand scheme of things, and the canon of astronomical revelations, it had been enough to set his world even more off-kilter. Tristan liked order, and his mantra was always to move forward. He didn’t want to be dragged back into a past he’d spent so much of his life trying to get away from.
So now here he was, about to sign off on the demolition of the observatory building and consign whatever it was his parents had discovered to the dusty annals of history. But what did it matter? He’d lived with the tragedy of their death for decades; why should he now start caring about the place that had, indirectly, been the cause of it? He remembered, as a young child, being almost jealous of the hold the observatory had over both of his parents: how he’d got bored just hanging around up there while they spent what felt like hours aligning instruments, making calculations and discussing their observations with each other and the rest of the Astronomical Society. With the imminent demolition of the observatory, he could finally lay all that to rest.
It was ironic, then, that out of the greatest tragedy of his life the greatest potential for happiness had sprung. He wasn’t enough of a romantic to think that he was head over heels in love with Charlotte yet, but she was clever, funny and seriously attractive. He wanted to spend more time with her, to get to know her. He was astute enough to realise that the potential was there for him to fall deeply in love, if the daft smile that he could feel creeping over his face whenever he thought back to this weekend with Charlotte was anything to go by. He’d even grown to like her dog.
The paperwork he had onscreen was enough to banish all further thoughts of romance from his mind and concentrate it on the future of the observatory site. A DocuSign copy of the agreement for the demolition of the building was staring him right in the face, confirming the date that had been set, which was a fortnight from today. After he’d signed off on this, the observatory would be closed to everyone and no one would be allowed on site until the demolition was complete.
He looked at the screen for a long, long time before he signed it. As the document updated, he felt a visceral sense of loss, of letting go of things, of ideas and thoughts that would now, truly be consigned to history. But it was for the best. This was going to be the start of a new phase for Lower Brambleton, and also for him and his family. He knew it would be a great start for Thea and her children, and many others who’d benefit from the new development.
As if she’d been aware he’d been thinking about her, Thea’s name flashed up on his phone. Swiping, he spoke.
‘Hi, Thea? Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?’
‘Can you come over later? I need to talk to you.’
Tristan wrinkled his brow. He had hoped he’d be able to see Charlotte tonight, if she wanted to see him. He felt uneasy about the way they’d left things after their walk, but not wanting to appear needy, he’d given her some space and not pestered her with texts or calls. She’d told him how busy she was going to be in the run-up to the demolition, and he didn’t want to be the cause of any distractions. He had, however, hoped that she might be free for a drink later.
‘All right,’ he said, when he realised that Thea was still waiting for an answer. ‘What do you need to talk to me about?’
‘I don’t really want to discuss it over the phone. Can you just come over? Please?’
It was rare for his sister to be so cagey, and Tristan’s alarm bells started to ring. He knew he didn’t really have any other choice but to agree.
‘Of course,’ he said gently. ‘I’ll be over as soon as I’ve finished up here. Do you want me to bring anything?’
Thea gave a short laugh. ‘No. Just yourself. And don’t worry about dinner – I’ll sort you something out.’
They said goodbye and ended the call. Tristan’s attention shifted back to the paperwork on his desk, and the inevitable arrival of new emails. After ten minutes, though, he found he was just staring at things, and not really taking anything in. His mind felt as though it was being unravelled in at least three different directions, and he couldn’t concentrate. Sighing, he shut down his computer and shoved the papers on his desk into the top drawer. There was no point trying to do anything else today. Locking the door behind him, he headed off to see Thea.