Chapter Forty-Three
Effie settled back into the familiarity of home more quickly than she had anticipated or liked.
It was like pulling on a comfy sweater and being embraced by its softness.
Working beside Maddie was always fun, and although Effie had enjoyed having free rein in the Polcarrow shop, it was nice to be able to bounce ideas around with her friend and colleague.
Over cups of tea and boxes of Zoey’s baking, they planned out pirate- and fairy-tale-themed events for the local children and reorganised the stockroom, filling up the bargain boxes with an eclectic mix of folklore and military history that had been gathering dust.
Her evenings were spent nestled back in the family home.
They took it in turns to cook depending on their schedules, sharing bottles of wine and after-dinner games of Scrabble.
Effie had never minded living at home but as she crawled into bed each night she couldn’t help but admit to herself that she had liked the freedom of having her own place.
She’d got used to it far more quickly than she’d expected.
Effie took some comfort in this. Perhaps she’d look for her own flat in Penzance. The thought no longer terrified her.
What she missed the most, though, was her morning swim.
Yes, she could pack a bag and traipse down to the seafront but it wasn’t as convenient as just crossing the road in her flip-flops and then warming up with a hot chocolate in Lola’s.
Effie’s heart ached when she thought of her friends in Polcarrow.
As they’d practically lived in each other’s pockets Effie didn’t have anyone’s number to check in with how things were going.
She sometimes brought up Freya’s social media and hovered, tempted to message, but Effie also didn’t know if she wanted to find out what Zach had been up to.
What if he was making a better job of the shop than she had?
The other issue with Polcarrow and social media was Jake.
Effie had really thought there was something growing between them, but the more she looked, all she saw were posts of him and Tara looking very much in love.
She was embarrassed to admit, even to herself, that when he’d said he wasn’t ready for a relationship, she’d hoped that in time he’d change his mind, and she’d finally get her fairy-tale happy-ever-after.
Effie typed out numerous messages to Jake but never sent them.
In the end, she blocked both his and Tara’s profiles to save her sanity, then deleted his number to remove the temptation to text.
Polcarrow had been wonderful, but Effie couldn’t help but think that chapter of her life was over.
It had allowed her to grow, given her a chance to realise just what she was capable of.
Now, she just had to make sure her roots didn’t take too strong a hold back home.
Home was comfort but now she knew there was a lot more out there, a host of adventures and possibilities over the horizon.
Effie wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she knew it was something different from the safe life she’d lived since graduating from university.