Chapter 45
The morning of the first of the predicted meteor shower dawned with yet more rain.
It did nothing to soothe Beth’s troubled soul. Since Christmas, everything had changed and she had no idea what to do about any of it.
The good news was that her blog continued to grow and grow.
Ella’s help with the marketing clicks had meant that Beth finally had a steady income week on week.
In addition, the magazine wanted to extend her column into a double-page spread which also meant a pay increase.
Finally, the stargazing nights were already sold out and proving to be hugely popular.
She had done it. She was finally successful in her own right.
So successful, in fact, that she had been offered the job in Antarctica on the cruise ships and they wanted a reply by the end of the week.
The offer was incredible and yet she longed to stay at Maple Tree Lodge.
But Noah was there permanently now and everything between them was stilted and awkward, ever since he had rejected her, in fact.
It was all a muddle and she had no idea what to do about any of it.
‘It’ll clear,’ said Walter, with an assured nod as he looked out of the window at the rain.
Beth sincerely hoped so. Especially when she saw the line of people checking into the hotel for the weekend.
‘We’re full,’ Lily told her with a wide smile. ‘And there’s a waiting list as well. Everybody wants to view the meteor shower.’
‘Let’s hope this weather clears up,’ said Beth, biting her lip.
‘Walter’s always right about these things,’ Faye told her, with a soft smile.
But although Walter was right and the rain did stop, the thick heavy cloud continued to linger over the lake and trees for the remainder of the day.
‘This is a disaster,’ muttered Beth, late in the afternoon as she stood in the kitchen staring out of the window. ‘We’ve only got these two nights, perhaps even Sunday night as well to view the meteor shower. What am I going to do with all these people with a cloudy sky?’
She turned to look at her best friends.
‘Play Uno?’ replied Ella, with a shrug.
‘Maybe it’ll clear,’ said Hannah, trying and failing to sound optimistic.
‘Come on,’ urged Lily, looking more serious. ‘Keep the faith, eh? It’ll turn out okay.’
But after the dinner service that evening, the sky still hadn’t cleared. Everyone was gathered in the lounge and expectantly looking at Beth as she went in.
She felt nervous and gulped at the attention, despite wearing her favourite red velvet minidress which had always made her feel fabulous.
‘Well, good evening,’ she said to her audience.
‘Good evening,’ they all chorused back to her. Some people were even wearing their coats in anticipation of heading outside.
‘As I’m sure you can’t have failed to notice, the weather is not on our side tonight,’ she told them.
‘So we have two choices. We can head outside anyway although it’s completely clouded over.
Or we can stay here in the warmth and enjoy all the hospitality that Maple Tree Lodge has to offer.
Perhaps we can head into the snug and I can answer any questions you may have about stargazing and astronomy. ’
There was a general murmuring of assent and a small time later, everyone had a drink and was either standing or sitting around the bar.
Beth hesitated to speak up once more but then saw Noah standing at the back of the room watching her.
She had missed him the past couple of weeks.
It had been a deliberate choice on her part to step away from the closeness that they had begun to enjoy but all the same, her heart ached for him.
Perhaps they would just have to remain friends but she knew that she would always wonder what could have happened between them.
She knew that he didn’t trust romantic love and completely understood why that was. He had been deeply hurt and that had influenced his whole outlook on life. He might have let the Jackson family into his heart but it would probably always be closed off to her or anyone else romantically.
But right at that moment, she was grateful that his ever-steady presence gave her the strength to carry on speaking to the large crowd.
‘Welcome to Maple Tree Lodge,’ she began.
‘And, for many of you, I understand that this weekend will be your first step into astronomy as well. You’re going to receive a lot of information but please don’t worry.
Stargazing can be done at your own pace.
There’s no timetable, no deadline for you to appreciate the wonders of the universe.
It’s a personal journey and one which I hope you’ll enjoy going on. ’
She took a breath and glanced at Noah once more; he was nodding for her to carry on.
‘Now, I’m going to chat a little bit about the equipment that you need, such as binoculars and telescopes,’ she continued.
‘But in all honesty, there really is only one thing that you need to do and that is to go outside on a clear night and look up at the sky. The stars are waiting up there to become your friends and believe me, I’m sure it’ll become a lifelong friendship. ’
Beth then talked about types of telescopes and binoculars, as well as various apps for people’s mobile phones. She then happily chatted away about the various constellations, planets and galaxies as well as her favourite myths and legends regarding the skies.
When she had finished and was almost hoarse from talking so much, she received a large round of applause and then spent a good while answering the many varied questions.
She realised as she spoke how much she was growing stronger.
She finally felt as if she was sharing her love of stargazing with so many more people and it made her happy.
Her smile was genuine and she found herself wondering whether the career path of an academic that she had been so intent on pursuing wasn’t actually for her.
There were so many other opportunities for her to use her knowledge and sharing the amazing wonder of space made her far happier than she had ever felt.
After she had finally exhausted every question, Beth received a large round of applause before heading to the bar to take the drink that Frankie had already made for her.
‘I’m absolutely parched,’ she murmured. ‘I needed this.’
‘Gave it an extra shot as well,’ Frankie told her with a wink. ‘Thought you’d need pepping up after all that talking.’
Beth swallowed the cocktail and coughed a little at how strong it was. ‘Thanks,’ she spluttered.
‘By the way, that was fantastic,’ said Frankie, smiling.
‘I agree,’ said Noah, coming to stand next to the bar.
‘Thank you,’ said Beth.
She looked up at him for a long time and was pleased to see him smiling down at her.
‘It was perhaps a little long on the fairy-tale stuff though.’
Beth spun around to see who had spoken, hoping she hadn’t mistaken the all-too-familiar voice. But her hopes were dashed when she found Jeremy standing in front of her.