Chapter Nine
“Okay, people, let’s hit the road. Exeter here we come!” Lisa pulled out onto the roundabout at the top of Haytor Avenue and turned onto the dual carriageway.
“I think the best bet would be to use the Park-and-Ride instead of trying to find a parking space in town.”
Cassie was squished in the back seat of the car with Debbie and Kyra in her baby seat — Vicky was in the front.
Cassie hadn’t been keen to come — girlie shopping trips had never been her thing — but she needed something to wear for the two weddings, so it made sense to go along.
Debbie was going to collect her dress, Vicky for her last fitting.
In spite of her initial lack of enthusiasm, Cassie found the air of anticipation and excitement was catching.
“I’m going to need shoes too,” Debbie fretted.
“Don’t worry, we have the whole day.” Lisa changed lanes smoothly to overtake a large truck.
“This is going to be fun.”
The dual carriageway gave them a clear run to the outskirts of the city.
The car park wasn’t too crowded, and they only had to wait a few minutes for the bus.
Cassie helped Lisa lift Kyra’s baby buggy aboard.
“That’s a good omen,” Vicky declared as they settled in their seats.
The bus dropped them in the centre of town.
Cassie had always liked Exeter, with its bustling modern high street and its quaint cobbled alleyways where you could discover all sorts of quirky little independent shops selling hand-made jewellery, pieces of art and vintage clothes.
And lots of coffee shops to rest weary shopped-out feet and get a much-needed shot of caffeine.
Their target was just a short walk from the bus stop.
The ground floor was full of fabulous evening dresses in jewel-bright colours, glamourous shoes and tempting accessories.
The bridal shop was upstairs, a fairytale kingdom full of shimmering whites, ivories and creams, yards of tulle and lace, beading and sparkles.
“Oh, I love it!” Lisa spread her arms wide and spun around.
“I wish I was the one getting married.”
Cassie laughed.
“You had your turn.”
“I think I’ll make Ollie do it all over again. We could renew our vows on our tenth anniversary.”
The senior bridal consultant hurried out to meet them.
“Ah, Miss Marston, Miss Rowley. We’re ready for you. Come this way.”
While Vicky and Debbie were led off to the changing rooms, Lisa browsed happily among the accessories.
She picked up a long, lacy veil attached to a sparkling tiara and held it out to Cassie.
“This is pretty. Here, try it on.”
Cassie backed away, laughing unsteadily.
“Oh . . . no . . .”
“Don’t be silly. Here.” She perched it on Cassie’s head and fluffed out the veil.
“There — it looks fabulous.”
She stepped aside so that Cassie could see herself in the long mirror.
It was unnervingly like something out of one of those dreams she always tried to forget — the ones where she was walking down the aisle of a church, getting married, but the aisle kept getting longer and longer, her bridegroom up ahead disappearing into a white mist.
Impatiently she pushed those thoughts aside, forcing a laugh as she tugged the tiara from her head.
“I can’t see me togged up like that. If I ever get married it’ll be on the beach, in a bikini.”
Lisa shook her head.
“When the time comes, I’ll lay money you’ll go the full meringue.”
“By that time I’ll be walking down the aisle with a Zimmer frame.”
The bridal consultant had pulled back the curtain on one of the dressing rooms.
“Here you are!” she announced with a flourish.
Debbie stepped out, smiling shyly.
“What do you think?”
“Oh . . . It’s fabulous!”
Debbie hadn’t gone the full meringue either.
Her dress was a matt ivory satin in a very simple but beautifully cut style — sleeveless, a round neckline and a skirt that reached just an inch or two above her knees.
Over it, she wore a bolero embroidered with silver thread and glass beads, with bracelet-length sleeves and a stand-up collar.
“It’s perfect,” Cassie assured her warmly.
“And I love your shoes.”
“Do you think they’re all right?” She pointed one dainty foot in a strappy silver sandal, with a neat low heel.
“They’ll be comfortable enough to wear all day and I’ll be able to wear them again any time.”
“They’re lovely. Bill’s going to be over the moon when he sees you.”
Debbie’s eyes sparkled.
“I hope so. It’s all so different this time. Last time we just went to the Register Office, with Mum and Alan’s brother. And then went for a drink in the pub.”
“That was all?” Cassie protested, shocked.
“Uh-huh.” She smiled crookedly.
“I suppose it was an omen for how things turned out.”
“Well, if you need an omen this time, it should be a much better one,” Lisa declared.
“I don’t need an omen.” Debbie’s soft brown eyes were warm with happiness.
“This time is definitely going to be much better. The hotel have been wonderful.” She smiled at Lisa.
“Thank you so much. I never thought . . . Oh, now I’m being silly.” A tear was tracking down her cheek.
Lisa darted in with a tissue before it could drop onto her dress.
“It’s our pleasure,” she assured the happy bride.
“We haven’t had many weddings there these past few years, and all the staff are really looking forward to it. Anyway, what’s the point of having one of your best friends as the assistant manager of a hotel if you can’t have her pull out all the stops for you?”
Debbie laughed.
“You’ve certainly done that. And you’re supposed to still be on maternity leave.”
Lisa waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
“Oh, Vicky doesn’t mind me treading on her toes. Besides, if we left it to Mike, he’d probably faint!”
The consultant came forward again, smiling.
“Are you ready for number two?”
“Oh, yes!”
She pulled open the other curtain and Vicky stepped out, spreading her arms wide.
“Tah-dah!”
“Oh . . . !”
The dress was stunning — lace over layers of tulle, with an off-the-shoulder neckline edged with cut-out lace, and a full-length A-line skirt that swept back into a short train.
Her veil was tulle, edged with the same lace, held in place by a coronet of white silk flowers.
“That’s just beautiful,” Debbie breathed.
“Isn’t it?” Vicky’s eyes danced with delight.
“I love it.”
“Oh, this is all so romantic.” Lisa sighed.
“I want a job here.”
“Don’t be daft,” Cassie retorted.
“That’s like it being Christmas every day.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Lisa insisted.
“I’ll work in a bridal shop all summer, and a Christmas shop all winter!”
“You’re nuts!”
“Anyway, it’s our turn now,” Lisa declared.
“Party dresses!”
A couple of hours later they were sitting in the sunshine outside a smart little restaurant beside the Cathedral Green, surrounded by shopping bags, sipping wine and eating Mexican penne with avocado.
“Oh, wow — this is delicious.” Vicky’s eyes were bright.
“I’m having such a wonderful time. I never believed . . . !”
Lisa laughed, reaching over to gently rock Kyra’s buggy.
“Shopping with your besties, and the best excuse in the world. What’s not to like?”
Cassie sipped her wine, gazing around at the wide grassy space, the shady trees, the golden medieval facade of the Cathedral itself.
She was having a good time too.
Trying on one fabulous dress after another, picking out shoes and a pretty beaded evening bag, deciding at the last minute that she would buy that gorgeous floaty pink chiffon top with the handkerchief hem after all .
.
.
A girlie shopping trip — maybe the reason she had thought it wasn’t her thing was because she had never really had a group of girlfriends before, at least not since she had left school.
Working in water-sport centres and the safari resort and the dude ranch, she had mostly been working with men.
Which had been fine.
But now, with these women, she realised what she had been missing.
Something else to add to the scales when she was deciding on her future.
* * *
“Well hello, old boy. How are you doing?”
Cassie stopped dead in the doorway, startled to find Liam in the small animal surgery.
He scooped Barney up and settled him on the examination table.
“Oh . . . I thought . . . your mum would be here,” she protested, flustered.
He smiled easily.
“It’s her day off.” He nuzzled Barney as the little dog stretched up to sniff at his cheek.
“How has he been?”
“Not too bad.” She forced herself to focus, ignoring the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat.
“A little stiff in the mornings, but he still enjoys his run on the beach.”
“That’s good. Eating well?”
“Oh, yes!” Cassie laughed.
“Anything he can get hold of.”
“Good.” All businesslike, Liam had hooked his stethoscope into his ears and was listening to the little dog’s chest.
“That seems fine.”
Cassie managed a smile.
He was being perfectly professional — that was the problem.
He was behaving as if she was just another dog owner bringing their pet in for treatment.
Which was entirely appropriate, of course.
She really had no reason to object.
Barney had never appreciated the thermometer thing and tried to sit down to protect his rear end, but Liam lifted him deftly with an arm under his tummy and inserted it, laughing as the dog wriggled and tried to twist around to see what was going on back there.
“It’s okay, buddy. Nearly done.” He checked the thermometer and nodded.
“That’s fine. I just need to take a blood test to check his liver function.”
“Right . . . Yes . . .”
Barney didn’t object at all as Liam shaved a tiny patch of his front paw and drew a small phial of blood.
He was an experienced vet — of course he had a way with animals.
But Cassie couldn’t help but be impressed by the gentle way he handled the little dog.
Barney was a true terrier and could be quite assertive about having his own way.
“There. I’ll get that tested. It won’t take more than a few minutes.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He disappeared into the back room, leaving Cassie to have a few moments to regain her composure.
She hadn’t seen him since the funeral.
That conversation about Natalie had lingered in her mind.
It had been clear how much he had loved her — it would have completely eclipsed that brief summer of calf-love all those years ago.
But she wasn’t jealous — how could she be?
She was glad for him that he had known that happiness, even though it had been so cruelly snatched away.
Now .
.
.
Well, it probably wasn’t the right moment to try to discuss their past history.
He had a busy surgery to run, a French Bulldog and two cats out in the waiting room requiring his attention.
At least they could be friends.
It would be foolish to look for anything more.
“What do you think, Barney?” she murmured in the little dog’s ear, cuddling his warm body and stroking his rough fur.
“Friends is good, right? Though you’ll always be my bestest friend.”
The door opened and Liam came back in.
“Oh . . .” She caught her breath, feeling a stupid blush rise to her cheeks — hopefully he’d just think she was embarrassed at being caught whispering sweet nothings to her pet.
“That was quick.”
He smiled.
If he had noticed her reaction, he gave no sign of it.
“Modern technology — the results will come up on the computer in a few minutes.” He tickled the dog’s ear, earning himself a gaze of pure adoration.
“He’s doing pretty well for his age. You must have missed him while you were away.”
“Yes, I did,” she admitted with a wry smile.
“I was so happy to see him when I got back.”
“I bet. So how are you all now?”
“We’re fine. Trying to get used to Nanna not being there. She was such a big presence — she’s left a very big hole.”
“The whole town will miss her.”
“She was smiling, you know — as if she was happy to go. She’d enjoyed the cricket, and bickering with Arthur.”
He laughed.
“Of course. She always enjoyed that . . . Ah . . .” He glanced at the computer screen beside him.
“The results have come up. Everything’s looking fine, within the normal range. Right, young man, just one little injection for you and you’ll be running around like a puppy again. But not too much,” he added quickly to Cassie.
“Don’t let him tire himself.”
Cassie nodded, watching as Liam deftly filled a syringe and injected the contents into the loose skin at the back of Barney’s neck.
“There you go — all done, mate.” He rubbed the spot, and the little dog twisted his head to lick his hand.
“Thank you.” She clipped on Barney’s lead and lifted him down from the table.
“Well . . . um . . . Goodbye.”
“Will you be at Debbie and Bill’s wedding?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll see you there then.” He smiled with unexpected warmth.
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Cassie paid at the desk then stepped out into the bright sunshine, turning down Church Road, Barney trotting happily beside her.
She was still feeling unsettled by that unexpected encounter with Liam.
Of course, it was probably inevitable that in a small town like this she would run into him from time to time, sometimes when she least expected it, wasn’t ready for it.
If she stayed, it would be something she would have to deal with.
If she stayed .
.
.
Friends.
It was easy to say, not so easy to live with.
She didn’t want to fall in love with him again, but she wasn’t sure that she could help herself.
Shaking those thoughts from her head she glanced around.
There had been changes since she had been away.
Brenda’s shop was still there, but the hairdressers had changed hands.
The pharmacy had gone and so had the off-licence and the shoe shop, which had been taken over by a second-hand furniture shop.
More of the big houses on the other side of the road had been converted to bed-and-breakfast places.
She smiled to herself at the twee names: Bella Vista, Sunny Dene, Sandy Bay.
The Memorial Garden was looking very colourful, its neatly trimmed lawns and well-kept flowerbeds presided over by the old stone clock tower which had been built to commemorate the dead of the Boer War, and now carried the names of the dead in every war since.
She glanced down at the dog.
“Fancy a walk on the beach?” He responded with a look that suggested he had taken it as a rhetorical question.
“Okay, come on then.”
They strolled down the ramp and she let him off the leash.
The beach was busy again.
Barney spotted an unwary seagull and set off in hot pursuit, zooming around sun loungers and deckchairs, barking excitedly.
Inevitably the seagull got away, and Barney came trotting back, his pink tongue lolling out.
Cassie bent and tickled his ears.
“Never mind, poppet. Come on, look who’s here.”
Lisa was in her usual corner with the baby in her carrier.
Cassie waved as she strolled over, Barney loping along at her side.
Noah and Amy were playing catch with a beach ball, but they instantly stopped their game and came to make a fuss of the little dog, who rolled over to have his tummy tickled, wriggling in ecstasy.
“Hi. How did he get on at the vet’s?” Lisa asked.
“He’s doing fine. He aced his blood test and had his jab. He was very good — the needles didn’t bother him at all. Just the thermometer up his bum!”
Lisa laughed.
“I don’t blame him. You are a good boy, aren’t you?” She caught the little dog and held him off as he tried to lick her cheek.
Barney heaved a contented sigh and flopped down on the blanket, snuggled up against her, and promptly went to sleep.
“He’s exhausted. He was chasing a seagull.”
“Ah well, you’re getting on a bit, aren’t you, baby?” Lisa stroked a hand over the little dog’s head.
Cassie sat down on the blanket.
“Liam was there,” she remarked lightly.
“Oh, yes. He and Luke take it in turns to cover the surgery on their mum’s day off.”
Cassie slanted her a wry glance but didn’t answer.
It would have been nice to have been forewarned.
“So how did you get on with him?” Lisa enquired with an air of innocence that Cassie didn’t entirely trust.
“Liam? Fine.” Her tone was dismissive.
“Only I couldn’t help noticing how long you were chatting to him at Nanna’s funeral.”
“Oh, well, it’s been a long time. We had a lot of catching up to do. But don’t start getting carried away,” she added warningly.
“We’re just friends.”
“Of course.” Lisa looked far from convinced, but she let the subject drop.
Little Amy came over and squeezed onto the blanket, picking up Kyra’s fluffy yellow dragon and dangling it for the baby to bat at with her tiny fists.
“My mummy’s getting married on Saturday,” she announced proudly.
“And I’m going to be a bridesmaid. My nanna’s made me a dress. It’s pink.”
“That’s lovely.” Cassie smiled warmly at the child.
“I bet you’re looking forward to it.”
“And after they’re married we’ll be able to have a baby of our own. And a kitten. I wanted a puppy, but Mummy said we couldn’t have one because it would have to be left on its own while she’s working in the café and Uncle Bill is looking after the cows and I’m at school. But kittens don’t mind being left on their own so that will be better. I’m going to call her Elsa.”
Lisa and Cassie shared a glance of amusement.
Such a long speech — usually the child barely spoke a word, being as shy as her mother.
Bill seemed to have been good for both of them.
Cassie tucked up her feet and rested her chin on her knees, watching all the activity on the beach.
When she was a kid she had always felt a bit sorry for the holidaymakers from the caravan site and guest houses who could only come down here for a week or two.
Then they would have to go home again, to some dull grey town full of dull grey pavements and dull grey buildings.
While she and her friends could stay here all year round, enjoying the beach, playing in the empty amusement arcade along the Esplanade or the mini golf, watching the sea in all its moods from tranquil and still to wild fury.
It had been a happy childhood, with lots of friends and plenty of grown-ups you knew well, who would sometimes treat you discreetly to an ice-cream or a packet of crisps.
Maybe she hadn’t recognised at the time how special that was, dazzled as she had been by her dreams of the big wide world beyond the bay.
Maybe she had had to go away and come back again in order to appreciate it.