Epilogue
Two weeks later…
To spare everyone’s blushes, they did most of their kissing at Zoe’s house. Though it had spilled out, on occasion, to a local pub or a lakeside vantage point, in his car, in her car…and even the fields where Alex was excavating.
While they’d been upfront and honest with Billie – whose pregnancy was now back on track, her scare becoming an unpleasant memory – about their new relationship, Zoe and Alex hadn’t wanted to announce it to the rest of Thimblebury until they’d been sure about it themselves.
Which was odd, when Zoe reflected on that decision, because if the amount of kissing was anything to go by, there had never been a more certain thing than their new relationship.
She’d felt like a teenager again, sneaking around and revelling in the mischief.
People had their own suspicions, of course, and it was hard for Zoe to hide her new joy in every morning.
Ottilie had worked it out, and Zoe had asked her to keep it quiet for the time being, and while Fliss and Lavender hadn’t come to such a solid conclusion, they’d dropped enough hints for Zoe to know they’d figure it out soon enough.
Simon, of course, was oblivious, caught up in plans for Fliss’s replacement and for the surgery as a whole once she left them.
They finally decided to let the secret out when their hand had been forced anyway.
In the end, Zoe hadn’t cared that Victor had seen them kissing at her gate one morning – the morning after the night Alex had first stayed over.
He’d only grinned and called a cheery greeting, but must have rushed off to tell Corrine because that night after work, Corrine was waiting at her front door with a tin full of cake and a head full of questions.
Zoe pretended not to suspect anything as she opened the gate. ‘I suppose this visit has nothing to do with Victor seeing me and Alex this morning?’
‘Whatever do you mean?’ Corrine asked with almost cartoon innocence. ‘I only came to chat. I can come back if you’re tired, of course…’
‘No, I’m not too tired.’ Zoe nodded at the floral tin in Corrine’s arms. ‘I take it that’s cake?’
‘Victoria sponge. Fresh cream, of course, home-made jam…’
‘As if I could say no to that, even if I was tired! Come on.’ Zoe unlocked the front door. ‘I’ll get the kettle on.’
Zoe filled the kettle and switched it on to boil, and then ran upstairs to quickly change out of her uniform, leaving Corrine in the kitchen to fetch cups and plates. And when she came back down, the table was already laid out and the tea was brewing and Corrine was waiting expectantly on a chair.
She was about to speak when there was a knock at the door. Zoe frowned slightly. She’d arranged to meet Alex but not until much later that evening. They’d met almost every evening since they’d got together, neither able to stay away for long.
‘I’m so sorry, love,’ Corrine said. ‘I should have realised you might be expecting company. You should have said; I’d have come back another time.’
‘I’m not,’ Zoe said. ‘Hang on. I’ll just go and…’
She went to get the door and found a sheepish-looking Victor on the doorstep.
‘All right there, flower? I thought I’d come and have a look at the hinges on your back door. Squeaking, aren’t they?’
‘Are they?’ Zoe asked with a wry smile. ‘I’m sure I haven’t noticed.’
‘I’d best come in and have a look, while I’m here…’
Zoe ushered him in, her smile spreading as she gestured for him to go into the kitchen and then heard the utter surprise in the exchange between him and Corrine.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked sharply.
‘I could ask you the same thing,’ Victor grumbled. ‘Didn’t we say…’ He glanced at Zoe and lowered his voice. ‘Didn’t we say we ought to leave it be?’
‘So what have you come over for?’ Corrine asked.
‘To look at the back door. Hinges are squeaking.’
‘I’ve never heard such a flimsy excuse in my life!’ Corrine exclaimed.
‘All right then,’ Victor fired back. ‘What have you come over for?’
‘Bringing a cake, aren’t I?’
Zoe burst out laughing as she followed him in. It was obvious now why they’d both come, and they’d clearly had a discussion where they’d both agreed to stay away. So much for love, honour and obey…it was more like love, honour and ignore.
‘Is this to do with what you saw this morning, Victor?’ she asked once she’d managed to stop laughing, the sight of them both staring at her in confusion almost enough to set her off again.
‘I didn’t see anything,’ Victor said, though what she could see of his face beneath his bushy beard and hair was bright red.
‘Yes,’ Zoe said. ‘You can stop denying it because I might as well come clean: Alex and I are seeing each other.’
Corrine clapped her hands to her chest and almost leaped from her chair. ‘How lovely! We said so, Victor, didn’t we? We said what a good match it would be! And then you saw them this morning and?—’
‘I thought you said you hadn’t seen anything this morning…’ Zoe said to Victor with mock suspicion, and if it was possible for him to get any redder, she was sure that he did.
‘I didn’t want to…well, I didn’t want you to be embarrassed.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m not.’ Zoe went to get another cup and plate from the cupboard. ‘Never mind the back door and your fictitious squeak for now,’ she said. ‘Come and join us for tea and cake.’
Victor took off his hat and shuffled to take a seat while Zoe poured the tea.
‘When did this all start?’ Corrine asked, all pretence at disinterest abandoned.
‘We’ve been dating for about two weeks.’
‘And it’s going well?’
‘I think so.’
‘He’s lovely,’ Corrine gushed. ‘I’m so happy for your both.’
‘Well,’ Zoe said as she handed some tea to Victor, ‘it’s early days yet, so…’
‘You can just tell with some people,’ Corrine insisted.
‘Can’t you, Victor? We said so, didn’t we?
We said what a good match from the minute we saw you talking to one another.
I always get a feeling for these things, you know.
Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret if you don’t want anyone in the village knowing about it. ’
‘I’ll see what Alex says, but I think we’ve both realised we’re not going to be able to keep it to ourselves for much longer.
And if I’m honest…’ She paused, her mind on Alex for a moment.
She thought about those soft brown eyes, that mop of hair that never seemed to behave itself, about his broad shoulders and dependable arms, where she felt safer than she’d ever felt.
About his gentle concern and his silly jokes, and she wondered why she’d felt the need to keep what they had secret at all.
It was early days, but she was beginning to see she’d never felt surer of anyone in her life.
Not only did she feel certain of what they had, but she was proud.
She was proud of him, of the man he was, and proud to be with him.
Why wouldn’t she want to shout that from the rooftops?
What was more amazing was that, instinctively, she knew he felt the same, a certainty she’d never had with any other man.
‘I really like him,’ she said, unable to stop the huge soppy smile from spreading across her face as if it might burst free. ‘He makes me feel like…’ She shook herself. ‘See, listen to me. You don’t need to know this.’
‘We do!’ Victor said, folding his arms and leaning forward with such eagerness that he looked more like Corrine waiting for a titbit of gossip than Corrine did.
‘No, we don’t!’ Corrine chastised him. ‘I’m sure we’ll hear all about it when Zoe and Alex are ready. Drink your tea, you great hairy idiot!’
Zoe started to laugh again. Until very recently, she’d never been quite convinced that the move to Kestrel Cottage had been the right one.
She’d loved the area and she’d settled in to her job, but there had always been something missing.
And even when she’d got together with Alex it still wasn’t quite clear.
But sitting here now, with the two loveliest neighbours a woman could have, with good strong tea in the pot and a mouth-watering cake, surrounded by the rolling hills and open fields of their land, knowing how they and everyone else was on her side, cheering her on, willing her happiness, she suddenly saw it.
Of course it had been the right move. It was almost as if everything in her life, the good, the bad, even the difficult and devastating moments, had led her here, to where she was meant to be.
The past year had been hard, but Zoe had high hopes that things were about to change for the better.