Chapter 23 - Edith
EDITH
For the next three days, Wyatt was a star. He helped Edith explain to Finn and Titus what had happened and then to offer them an alternative. They had already checked with Pearl and Ellie whether holding the wedding there would be acceptable, and both had agreed enthusiastically.
Pearl told them she’d be delighted to help and that she would make sure that it was the best wedding ever.
And so Edith had felt some relief, especially when Finn and Titus had seemed happy with the new plan.
Titus had even admitted that he’d gone along with the big wedding at a fancy hotel idea because he’d thought it was what Finn wanted, and Finn had said the same.
They were both very easy going and happy to adapt, and they loved the idea of getting married at the café where they had spent so many joyful times.
And so Edith and Wyatt had spent the days at the café in a quiet corner, emailing and making phone calls, and soon they had everything in order for the following week. It had been a mad few days, but because Wyatt had helped, Edith had found it far less stressful than it could have been.
This evening they’d been invited to a private barbecue at the café with Finn, Titus, their family and close friends.
Edith had gone home to shower and change and then walked back to the café with Finn and Titus.
When they got there, they found Thora; her partner, Lucas; her chihuahua, Big Barry and the twins Rosie and Reggie already there.
‘Good evening!’ Thora greeted them all with a hug and a kiss and then Lucas served them drinks from a makeshift bar in the gardens.
It was a beautiful late June evening, and the sun still lingered over the horizon. Laughter drifted around the gardens, mingling with the aromas of roasting chicken and vegetables, along with the faint tang of salt from the sea.
‘Thank you,’ Edith said as she accepted a margarita from Lucas.
A handsome man in his early forties, with short blond hair and bright blue eyes, he looked good beside petite Thora, with her brown curly hair and big brown eyes.
Whenever Lucas and Thora’s eyes met, Edith was certain she could see sparks flying.
They took advantage of any opportunity to touch each other, and it was clear that they were very much in love.
Edith admired the strings of fairy lights wound through the fruit trees of the gardens and around the front of the café. The scent of honeysuckle lingered in the air near the pergola, and there was colour everywhere as summer painted the gardens with her beautiful palette.
‘I’m so excited about having the wedding here,’ Thora said when she caught up with Edith. ‘What a brilliant idea that was.’
‘I can’t take credit for it,’ Edith said, looking around for Wyatt, but she hadn’t spotted him yet. ‘It was Wyatt’s idea.’
‘When Finn told me that the hotel had to cancel, I was so worried, but then he said you and Wyatt had come up with a solution. To be honest, I think it will suit us all better. We love coming here, and it means that people don’t have to worry about transport.
We can just come here and celebrate the love shared by our dear friends and party into the night. ’
‘Oh god, hark at Mum!’ Rosie had appeared. She was positively glowing in a cerise sundress with her blonde hair down around her shoulders. She looked so much better than when Edith had spoken to her at the beach. ‘You do not want to see Mum drunk.’
‘Hey…’ Thora pulled a face. ‘Don’t be so rude about your old mum.’
Rosie wrapped a toned arm around Thora’s shoulders. ‘You’re not old, Mummy Dearest.’ She planted a kiss on Thora’s forehead.
Edith smiled. Thora and Rosie had a lovely relationship. ‘You both look beautiful,’ she said.
Thora’s floral maxi dress fell to her ankles. It was black and pink, and the pink was the same shade as Rosie’s dress, so it was like they’d coordinated.
‘What? In our dresses that Mum picked out accidentally on purpose because she thought it would be nice to match?’ Rosie giggled as she flounced out the skirt of her dress. ‘Yeah… I did notice that.’ She winked at Edith and then hugged Thora again.
Rosie wandered over to speak to her dad, and Thora moved closer to Edith. ‘So how are you?’
‘I’m good, thanks.’ Edith nodded.
‘I was wondering because… well… How are things with Wyatt?’
‘Oh… He’s been amazing. So helpful and kind.’
‘And…’ Thora left the question hanging in the air between them.
‘And…’ Edith shrugged. ‘Wyatt is a good man. But that’s all there is to it.’ She wasn’t sure exactly what Thora was asking — or didn’t want to accept that she did — but knew that right now, she didn’t have an answer.
Wyatt had been so kind and supportive that her heart had begun to thaw towards him.
A voice had whispered in her ear that he was older now and wiser, not that young man so focused on chasing a career that he had once been.
That perhaps things could be different for them this time around…
But then the icy fear had doused that flicker of hope like a candle flame and she’d been left wanting to cry and hide under the duvet.
Why did life have to be so damned scary? She was utterly terrified of getting hurt again, and yet she wanted to grab some joy out of life while she still could.
‘Look, Edith… I’ve seen the way you look at each other and it’s OK, you know?
Lucas and I found our way back to each other, and we’re happier than ever.
If anything, it’s so much better this time around because we’re both aware of how awful it was to be apart.
This time around we make the most of every moment together because we’re making up for lost time.
We know how important it is to treasure each other. ’
Thora’s eyes glistened, and Edith touched her arm.
‘Thank you. I’m glad things are good between you and Lucas. I can see how much you love each other. It gives me hope I could find love again.’
‘With Wyatt?’
Edith took a breath then sighed. ‘Maybe.’
‘If it’s meant to be, it will be.’ Thora gave Edith a hug. ‘OK then, time for a refill!’ She held up her empty glass, then went over to Lucas, and Edith watched his eyes light up as they settled on the woman he loved.
Edith wandered over to the café and peered through the window, picturing what it would be like there next week when the wedding buffet was spread out. Her stomach gave a flip of excitement. After feeling so much anxiety and sadness over the years, excitement was very welcome.
‘Hello there!’ She turned to find Wyatt standing behind her carrying an icebox.
‘Hi.’ She swallowed. ‘I didn’t hear you arrive.’
‘I was around the back of the café. I brought some wine and beers up for this evening. Pearl put some in the fridge and I’ve brought some out so people can help themselves.’
‘That’s very thoughtful of you,’ she said.
‘Would you like a beer? Or a glass of wine?’
‘I’ve got a margarita, thanks.’ She held up the glass before taking a sip. It was fresh and bitter, strong and salty, and it made her mouth water.
‘Ooh… That looks good.’ Wyatt smiled.
‘Want a taste?’ she asked, and his eyebrows rose.
‘Yes, please.’
She held the glass towards him, and he lowered his head, so his lips touched the glass. But he kept his eyes on hers, and her heart started thudding.
He sipped the margarita then nodded before licking his lips.
‘Wait,’ she said, reaching for him. ‘You have some salt…’ She touched her finger to the corner of his mouth just as he licked it with his tongue, and she gasped as his tongue flicked her fingertip. ‘Right there.’
She brought her hand to her mouth and licked the same finger he had, and something twinkled in his eyes.
‘Edith, are you flirting with me?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, am I?’ she asked, peering up at him flirtatiously from behind her lashes.
‘I think you are and I like it.’ He set the icebox down on a table. ‘Now let’s get you a refill, and I’ll have one of those too.’
He placed a hand on the small of her back, and they crossed the grass to the bar. Wyatt asked Lucas for two more margaritas.
While they waited, Edith finished her first drink and tried not to stare at Wyatt.
They’d always had incredible chemistry, but now it seemed to have ramped up, as if the time apart had created an electricity that had developed over the years.
She’d felt it that first time she’d seen him again back in London, but her negative emotions had made it hard to decipher what it was.
Now that he’d been so kind and helpful, she was seeing past the sadness and the grief and viewing him in a whole new light.
Not that the past had disappeared, not at all, but it was easier to put it to one side when he was being such a thoughtful human being.
Time had changed them both in some ways and it seemed it had changed Wyatt for the better.
He was still the Wyatt she had known and loved, but an improved version.
Fresh drinks in hand, they wandered over to the table where Finn and Titus were sitting with Rosie and Reggie.
They sat down, and Edith relaxed as Wyatt chatted to Titus.
She was sitting so close to him she could feel the warmth of his big muscular body and smell his crisp woody cologne.
It would have been so easy to rest her head on his shoulder and melt into him the way she used to do, but she restrained herself, knowing this was not the time or place.
But simply having the feeling, along with the gentle buzz from the margaritas, was pleasant, and she settled back to enjoy a lovely evening with friends.
The tables were set with glass jars filled with wildflowers, and citrus candles burned in small terracotta pots at the centres to ward off any biting insects.
Pearl wove around them all, placing bowls of homegrown salad, baby potatoes, and baskets of freshly baked bread on the tables.
She added jugs of water so cold that beads of condensation sat on the outside of the glass like diamonds, and slices of lemon floated in the water, imbuing it with their zest.
Pearl and Ellie served the cooked meat on platters with cheeses and chutneys, and everyone ate like they’d been ravenous for weeks. When Pearl and Ellie joined them, it felt like their party was complete.
As dusk fell over the café and the wine flowed, Edith allowed herself to move a bit closer to Wyatt.
When their arms brushed against one another, she didn’t move away and neither did he.
Instead, he reached for her hand beneath the table and laced his fingers with hers, and it felt like the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her.
Sitting next to her former lover, Edith felt a profound peace settle over her like a warm blanket. If moments in life could be perfect, then this was one of them.
Finn and Titus getting married had brought Edith and Wyatt together again and she felt giddy with the joy of it all. This was what a union should be about: love and friendship, companionship, and kindness, and the sense of belonging somewhere.
Right here in this moment, she was sitting next to the man she had loved.
Was he, she wondered, the man she loved still?