Chapter 40
CLARK
‘This test and my chat with Mum has made me realise a few things too,’ Florence says as we’re walking back, hand in hand.
‘Oh?’
She takes a deep breath. ‘I haven’t been a nice person lately.
I hold my hands up.’ I watch as her shoulders drop a little.
‘Mum has been trying to tell me about her loneliness for some time, and I’ve been wrapped up in myself…
and you, Clark. Losing my dad and then the miscarriage last year has turned me into someone I don’t recognise. ’
‘Hey,’ I say, squeezing her hand. ‘You’ve been through some horrible things. Give yourself a break.’
She nods. ‘I want to stop being so distracted and not having time for the people I love.’ Pulling us to a stop, she plants a kiss on my cheek.
‘Clark, I think I’ve been in love with you all my life too.
When you kissed me for the first time the other day, I realised I’d been waiting for you to do that for years. ’
I kiss the back of her hand. ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’
‘Yes,’ she says and laughs as I lift her up into the air.
After I gently put her down, I kiss her like it’s our last day on earth. Which it might be.
When we get back to her house, we lie on her sofa. She rests her head on my chest and I stroke her hair.
‘We won’t have passed today,’ she murmurs as I twirl a strand of her golden hair around my finger.
‘No. In terms of the test it’s probably been our worst yet, after Pearl didn’t want to meet Rodney. However, for me it’s been one of the best days of my life.’
She lifts her head and smiles. ‘Really?’
I nod and glance across her room. ‘The big question is whether I buy my own whiteboard.’
She giggles. ‘You can use mine.’
As she leans in to kiss me there’s a knock at the door. Florence casts me a worried look. ‘Oh no,’ she mutters, climbing off me.
I go with her to see who it is. We both gasp at the sight of Iris and Hilda.
They smile and wave their clipboards. ‘Just your friendly neighbourhood angels,’ coos Iris as they troop past us and into the living room.
Florence and I sit on the sofa and hold hands.
Hilda flicks through the paper on her clipboard at speed. ‘Right, Florence and Clark, we’re here to tell you that your time is up.’
My heart grinds to a halt. ‘What?’
Iris casts us a sympathetic look. ‘Tough news. Sorry.’
‘Tomorrow will be your last day in the living world. At 11.59 tomorrow night there will be a terrible storm…’
Iris interrupts her and smiles at us. ‘If you were impressed by my animal and bird messengers, you will be amazed at what I have planned for the storm. I want you to know that I’m working hard to give you a spectacular send-off.’
Florence’s face has frozen in shock.
Hilda rolls her eyes at Iris. She then looks at Florence and me. ‘Any questions?’
‘So, that’s it?’ I croak as emotion builds inside me. ‘We’ve failed.’
Iris nods. ‘You spent far too long at the start bickering and not working together if you ask me. We always knew you two would be a tough assignment.’
‘Can we have more time?’ I ask.
Iris shakes her head. ‘We’re out of budget, sorry.’
Florence’s face flickers back to life. ‘We’re going to die,’ she murmurs.
Hilda looks at Iris. ‘Time to go.’
Iris smiles and clasps her hands together. ‘You’ve been a pleasure to work with, Florence and Clark. Enjoy your last day.’
As they make their way to the front door, I rise from the sofa, feeling desperate. ‘But is there no way we can change our fate?’
Hilda shakes her head. ‘As Iris said, we’re out of budget, and we need to wrap this assignment up. You both gave it your best shot so you should be proud.’
Before I can say any more, they open the door and leave.
I hear a sob come from Florence, which makes me rush back to the sofa.
She presses her head against my chest. ‘We’ve failed. All our efforts meant nothing.’
I hold her close and stroke her caramel-coloured hair. ‘Do they?’
She gazes up at me, and I’m lost in her beautiful, honey-dipped eyes.
‘I know we made a mess of helping Jane, but her podcast is now live. Through it she will help others.’
Florence nods. ‘She’s already helped my mum.’
‘Pearl knows that her true love is alive and well in Pixie Cove. She can take her time to decide whether she wants to meet him again.’
‘Yes, she can do that, and it doesn’t feel forced.’
‘Molly is in a better place as she knows her mum loves her.’
Florence grimaces. ‘I wish Laura would spend some time with her but we did our best.’
‘Mary’s crimes will soon be out in the open which means the families of her victims can finally get the answers they’ve been searching for.’
She nods. ‘I feel better about that. Making her book a bestseller didn’t feel right. Also, I know where I’ve seen that detective before. She was in my café the day we got run over.’
I take her hand. ‘We also found each other during all those tests.’
‘Yes.’ She smiles as I kiss her.
When we break, I stroke her cheek. ‘At least we will be together.’
A new feeling of calmness washes over me, and an idea unfolds in my mind. ‘Let’s enjoy what time we have left. Forget the test and what’s about to happen. Let’s have a brilliant last day.’ I plant a kiss on her lips. ‘Let’s go and enjoy ourselves.’
Her face lights up. ‘Really? Do you have any ideas?’
Harry’s face appears in my mind. ‘If your dad were here now, he’d say, “Get the barbecue out, Clark.”’