Epilogue
Pulling open the church hall door, Effie slipped out into the cooling evening air.
It was the last Saturday in May and Lola and Tristan’s wedding reception was in full swing.
The whole village had been involved in the wedding in some shape or form.
The village committee had decorated the church with gorgeous red and white summer flowers to match Lola’s bouquet and set up the hall for the reception.
Effie and Freya had been honoured to be bridesmaids and taken the organisation of catering upon themselves.
However, Lola had still insisted that she made the cake, after all, no one else’s baking was quite up to scratch.
Lola and Tristan hadn’t wanted anything too formal, just a celebration of their love, and of the happiness they had found in Polcarrow.
The wedding had been beautiful, Lola and Tristan’s families had been bundled into a friendly embrace by the locals.
In fact, the whole day had felt like a celebration of Polcarrow’s future and Effie had loved being swept up in being part of the village she now considered home.
However, needing a few moments to herself, she had snuck outside.
From her vantage point by the village hall door, Polcarrow was laid out before her, sweeping like a letter S towards the sea, which glittered in the evening sunlight.
She recalled the day she’d arrived, trundling down the streets with her dad, the car stuffed to the brim with books, balls of wool and all her dreams. Opening the bookshop had been hard, the biggest challenge she had ever taken on, other than giving Zach a piece of her mind, but she was immensely proud of her achievement.
Every morning when she pulled up the blind, she couldn’t quite believe that, with Clive’s help, she’d made her childhood dream come true. Her own bookshop. Well, almost.
Then there was Jake. A smile spread across her face to think of him, her own happy-ever-after.
Kind, funny, gorgeous Jake. They were taking things slowly, building their relationship in Polcarrow, finding pieces of themselves to fit together in harmony, like a jigsaw of their lives.
Effie was enjoying constructing it, even the wrong fits had somehow turned out all right.
From early-morning swims, to hiking the coast path and tentative plans to travel to Scotland, it was all coming together beautifully.
They’d been officially together for a month, and Effie was enjoying the beginning of their story.
Just as she was about to turn and head back inside, the door opened and there he was, her Jake, taking her breath away in a dark-blue suit that highlighted the colour of his eyes. His tie had long been discarded, along with the jacket, but he still looked divine enough to make her catch her breath.
‘You OK?’ he asked, concern furrowing his brow as he joined her.
Effie nodded and snuggled against him. ‘Yes, I just needed some air. Some time to reflect.’
Jake kissed her forehead. ‘I understand. It’s been full on.’
‘More so for you with all the photography.’
‘But I’m loving it, Eff, this is definitely what I want to do.
’ He switched on his camera and skimmed through some of the shots he’d taken of the speeches.
‘Look at this, capturing all those private moments that passed so quickly, that Lola and Tristan can now have forever.’ He turned the camera off and focused on Effie.
‘They’re gearing up for the first dance. Are you ready?’
‘Of course! I’ve heard they’ve been practising for weeks to get it right. We can’t miss that!’ She shooed him back towards the hall door.
Back inside, Effie glanced around. The whole of Polcarrow was waiting for Lola and Tristan’s first dance.
Even Scruff was sitting patiently by Alf’s feet, a bow around his neck.
Effie joined them whilst Jake got his camera equipment ready.
Steve dimmed the lights from where he was running the music decks, and an excited, expectant hush went through the hall.
‘Give a round of applause for Lola and Tristan for their first dance as husband and wife.’
The applause, accompanied by cheers and whoops, was wild as Lola and Tristan emerged from where they had been waiting, hands clasped, true love plastered across their faces.
Lola beamed at everyone as they took their place in the middle of the hall, before focusing her gaze on Tristan, who looked slightly more worried about being centre of attention.
The opening bars of Elvis’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’ filled the hall.
Effie swayed along as she watched Lola and Tristan’s tentative dance steps grow in confidence.
Jake was not the only person capturing the special moment.
As the song ended, other couples joined them on the dance floor.
Angelo dragged up by an enthusiastic Freya, Sue and her husband, until the dance floor was almost full.
Effie was bobbing along happily on the sidelines when Jake appeared in front of her. Holding out his hand like a Regency gentleman, he asked, ‘May I have this dance?’
Meeting his eyes, Effie bowed her head. ‘Of course.’
Jake pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles before leading her out onto the dance floor, their gazes never breaking.
As they swayed around the room, locked in their own private moment, happiness filled Effie. Jake kissed her slowly, gently, leaving a lingering promise of the future on her lips. Effie snuggled into him. Their perfect moment, existing only in that instant and only for them.
Jake glanced around as the whole of Polcarrow swayed and danced together. Leaning down, he kissed Effie before whispering, ‘And we all lived happily ever after.’
Kissing him back, Effie smiled. She truly believed that Polcarrow, a tiny forgotten little fishing village tucked away on the Cornish coast, was a place full of magic where fairy tales and dreams really did come true. After all, it had brought her everything her heart desired.