A Wedding at Sandy Cove Read online

  ‘If it’s tightened here, it won’t gape at the front like it is now,’ explained Ella, holding the dress.

  The bride put her hand to her mouth as happy tears welled in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry for getting emotional. You are clever. I wouldn’t know where to start,’ said the bride.

  ‘Thanks, but I’m afraid it won’t be me who is altering your dress.’

  The woman looked confused but Ella felt she had to be honest. ‘I’m leaving in two weeks to set up my own business but whoever takes over will make the alterations and I’m sure they will do a good job.’

  ‘I’m guessing the new business is still dressmaking.’

  ‘Alterations.’ Ella smiled at the thought. The fear and the excitement were more evenly weighted now work was coming on in the garage. As Kit had had to slot her conversion into an already busy schedule, they’d agreed that it would be done in between other jobs. It seemed that if it rained he sent men to her house to work which was fine with her.

  The bride sighed. ‘That’s a relief. I’d rather you did the adjustments.’

  ‘Sorry but I can’t. You’re paying the shop for the package.’

  ‘Shame.’ The bride looked disappointed. ‘Can’t I just buy the dress and then ask you to alter it?’ She beamed a smile at Ella.

  This was extremely awkward. Ella poked her head out of the curtain to check they weren’t being overheard. Wanda was on the phone in her office which was a relief. ‘I’m sorry but it wouldn’t be ethical of me to suggest that you did that.’

  ‘I understand,’ said the bride. ‘What’s the name of your business?’

  ‘Oh Sew Special,’ said Ella, quite proudly as she unzipped the dress and helped the bride out of it.

  ‘Great name.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Ella left the bride and indicated through the glass panel in Wanda’s door that the bride was ready to pay before getting back to her sewing machine.

  She was finishing off a hem when Wanda marched in. ‘What’s going on?’

  Ella found she could deal with Wanda’s bad attitude a lot better now she was counting down the days. A little glance at her calendar and its series of big red crosses buoyed her resolve.

  ‘I don’t know, Wanda. What is going on?’

  ‘What did you tell that bride?’

  ‘That taking up the hem was standard and that the bodice could be altered to stop it gaping at the front.’

  ‘Then why has she not purchased the package to get those alterations completed?’

  Ella frowned. ‘I don’t know.’ Then realisation dawned. She’d given her the name of her new company. Was she going to wait until she’d left and get in touch? It was a definite possibility. That was what Ella would have done if she’d been in the bride’s situation. Her guilt probably showed on her face.

  Wanda leant closer. ‘If you are poaching my customers for another shop …’ she began.

  ‘How would I do that when I don’t currently have another job to go to?’

  It stopped Wanda instantly. She gave herself a little shake. ‘I’m not in the least bit surprised nobody else will employ you.’ She walked off and slammed her office door. However stressful being self-employed was it couldn’t be as bad as working for Wanda. Ella took her red pen and put a big cross through the date. Another day closer to working for herself rather than warped Wanda.

  When Ella pulled up at home there was an O’Leary’s van on her drive. It was a surprise because it hadn’t been a rainy day but she was pleased to see it. She parked on the road and walked back to the house. When she got there she did a little leap of joy. She now had a window and a door and under the window the grey blocks had been replaced by bricks that matched the rest of her house. It looked like it had always been like that. She peered in the new window, cupping her hands around her face to block out the sunshine to help her see better. There was nobody there.

  All of a sudden, Kit stood up right in front of her, making them both jump.

  ‘Argh!’ she yelped.

  Kit grinned back at her. ‘You can come in,’ he said, opening the new door. She could have skipped through it she was so excited. ‘Welcome to Ella’s Alterations,’ he said.

  ‘Ooh, that’s a good name but I’m calling it Oh Sew Special,’ she said, stepping inside and marvelling at how very different her garage looked.

  ‘Probably too many Ls in my suggestion anyway. Don’t want to get tongue-tied on the phone. Do you like it so far?’

  ‘It’s incredible.’ The builders had already put in the floor, wall insulation and drywall a few days earlier, making the inside already look more like an actual room. But now it had a good-sized window and a half-glass door to let in lots of natural light.

  ‘I was just checking a few things. I’m thinking a wall here,’ said Kit, standing two-thirds of the way down the room and splaying his arms out. ‘That way you can have this space for customers and the other side for your work area and storage.’

  ‘That’d be great. Feels weird that I’ll soon be working here.’ The sensation inside her was similar to aeroplane turbulence, but she had no seat belt to cling to.

  Kit checked his watch. ‘I’m finished but if you’ve got a couple of minutes maybe we could have a chat.’

  ‘Of course. Come through,’ said Ella, heading for the hallway.

  ‘Actually, I was thinking maybe a walk on the beach?’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘I’ve been in the office all day sorting out VAT. This is the first time I’ve been out.’

  ‘Beach it is then.’

  They locked up the garage. Although, she thought to herself, she would have to stop thinking of it as her garage. As if interrupting her thoughts, Kit pointed above the new window. ‘A big sign would look good there,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t think I want to be that bold. I was thinking just a plaque on the door.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  They took the short walk down a couple of lanes, past chocolate-box cottages and flint-studded walls until they popped out on the seafront. Trimley-next-the-Sea neighboured Happisburgh and was quite similar but differed in that, thanks to some concrete sea defences installed after the 1953 storms, it didn’t suffer the same devastating level of cliff erosion. Trimley somehow managed to escape the tourist invasion each year. Like a forgotten enclave it had no need for arcades or caravan sites and therefore wasn’t besieged at the first ray of summer sunshine, like many of the other towns along the Norfolk coast. The promenade, such as it was, remained deserted.

  ‘I’m sorry about Rufus,’ said Kit.

  ‘That’s okay.’ Kit had apologised profusely on the day and explained that he had no idea that Isaac had smuggled the rat out in the handbag.

  ‘Is he okay?’

  ‘Currently serving a life sentence in a new giant cage with wheel, house and fun climbing area.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound too bad. And has Isaac forgiven me?’ she asked.

  ‘I think you’re okay. Has Pirate?’

  ‘He’s stopped searching the bookshelf.’

  They went down onto the sand. The light breeze coming across the North Sea made Ella wrap her jacket around her, as her thin top wasn’t enough to keep her warm.

  ‘You okay? We can go back,’ offered Kit.

  ‘I’m fine. I’m not really cold and I like the smell of the sea on the wind, it’s refreshing.’

  As the plan to derail the lunch date between David and Jane had failed they had resorted to highlighting their parents’ flaws, although all they had come up with was that David played a lot of golf and Jane occasionally smoked.

  ‘How’s it going with drip-feeding subliminal messages to your mum?’

  Kit nodded. ‘I’ve been trying to bore her with golf. I figured if I went on and on about it she’d be so bored that David mentioning it might tip her over the edge.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Ella was pleased. ‘I made something up about someone smoking near me and how horrible it was, but I don’t think Dad picked up on it. It was a bit too
obscure.’

  ‘Yeah, thing is, the golf chat might have backfired. This morning Mum told me she’s thinking about having golf lessons.’

  ‘Nooooo!’ It surprised even Ella how vehement her response was. A nearby group of gulls took flight.

  ‘I know.’ Kit winced. ‘We need another plan.’

  Ella still wasn’t sure that her father was having an affair but she liked the chats she had with Kit. They’d brokered an odd sort of friendship over their shared cause. ‘Jane wouldn’t be as keen on golf or my dad if it messed up things she wanted to do. I could buy Dad some tickets for a golf event that clashes with something important in your mum’s diary. She’d think he was selfish which might work.’

  Kit pouted. ‘And by golf event you mean what exactly?’

  ‘No idea. Bugger it.’ Ella was amazed by how hard it was to split people up. ‘How come when I go out with someone, I do everything I can to make sure they’re happy – I worry about all the many little things that could put them off or spoil things and do all I can to ensure we stay together and we split up anyway – but when I’m actively trying to find a way to separate these two, there’s nothing?’

  When she looked across Kit was giving her a strange look. She’d said too much. The words had all come tumbling out like fish out of a trawler net. His wavy hair was ruffled by the wind, his dark eyes narrowed. ‘Do you think maybe you try a bit too hard?’

  Ella stopped dead. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Exactly what I said. If you are constantly trying to make someone else happy – offering the relationship equivalent of an all-inclusive service – where does that leave you and what you want?’

  ‘I take it you don’t go out of your way for a partner at all then?’

  ‘Not especially. What you see is what you get.’ Kit did an elaborate bow.

  ‘And how’s that approach working out for you?’ She tilted her head.

  ‘I’m single at the moment but that’s nothing to do with how I behave in a relationship.’

  Ella knew her eyebrows were dancing. How unaware was this guy? ‘You sure about that?’

  ‘Certain. My last girlfriend and I split up because she wanted to go travelling and I couldn’t leave Isaac. Nothing to do with me not pandering to her every whim.’ He shook his head. ‘Do you really do all that?’

  Ella turned away and started walking. ‘Sometimes.’

  ‘That must be exhausting.’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Then why do it?’ he asked.

  It was a good question and one she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to explore. Perhaps it was all about her trying to trigger a similar level of thoughtfulness in the other party. Or maybe she wanted to do something that would make them look at her the way her parents looked at each other. ‘I’m not doing it at the moment. I’m free and single and very much happier.’

  ‘That’s good. Me too,’ he said.

  They walked in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts. The sand was drying out further up and crumbled under their shoes making it harder going. When they reached some concrete steps Kit dusted the worst of the sand off and they sat down next to each other.

  Ella stared out at the calm ocean in front of her. Light ripples chasing across its surface. Cascades of white spiralling along the shore with each break of a wave. She loved it here. She felt she would always have to live near the sea. It was part of her.

  ‘Why did you and your last boyfriend split up? Did you forget to put a choccy on his pillow?’ Kit grinned cheekily to let her know he was joking.

  Ella shook her head at him but she was laughing. ‘I’m not that bad.’ She took a breath. ‘He could see that I was in it for the long haul and he wasn’t ready for that level of commitment.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Kit.

  ‘Don’t be. I’m over Todd. Probably my own fault for trying to make everything perfect. Life’s not like that.’

  Kit threw up his hands. ‘Bloody hell this guy is a genius.’

  She stared at him aghast. ‘Why?’

  ‘He dumps you and yet he’s got you thinking it was your fault. That’s quite something. For what it’s worth, he’s an idiot.’

  ‘Thank you.’ It was nice to hear someone who was unbiased tell her that, even if it was Kit.

  He nodded. ‘Ha! I’ve got an idea. How about we make our parents think the other one is cheating?’

  Ella laughed but a quick look in Kit’s direction made her see he wasn’t joking. ‘My dad is already with my mum and seeing yours. Blimey, how many women do you think he can have on the go?’

  ‘Fair point. How about we make it look like my mum has someone else?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Ella had hoped they would have found an easy solution before now because, on top of everything else, she was still worrying about her parents.

  ‘We could scatter some signs about to imply Mum is up to no good. Make them obvious to your dad until he has to challenge her and … kaboom!’

  ‘That could work. Kit O’Leary, you might just be a genius.’

  ‘One of my many attributes,’ Kit joked.

  ‘And the award for modesty goes to …’

  He gave her a friendly nudge. ‘No room for another award I’ve got too many already.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Over the next couple of days Ella and Kit exchanged a number of text messages as they concentrated their efforts on developing their latest plan. A few outrageous suggestions had been scrapped, like sending David exploding golf balls purportedly from Jane and signing Jane up to receive catalogues from a specialist bondage company, but, overall, they were happy with the ideas they were pursuing. The big problem they had was that it was virtually impossible to tell if their plan was working or not. In the meantime, they kept dreaming up schemes.

  Message from Kit: A receipt for a posh meal out for two left in her car might make David suspicious. Next time you go somewhere like that please can you keep the receipt?

  Ella: Great idea. But no plans to go somewhere posh anytime soon. How about you?

  Kit: Nope. Never mind it was just a thought.

  Kit: Had another thought. Shall you and I go out for a posh meal to get a receipt?

  Ella had had worse offers. She’d not had a nice meal out for a while. OK. Not too posh as I have a builder to pay ;-)

  Kit: It’s a deal. Let me know when you’re free. I’ll book something.

  She was probably more chuffed than she should have been about a meal out with her builder. Wanda tutted as she looked in on Ella and her phone pinged again. She did a lot of tutting these days. It was annoying but Ella wouldn’t have to put up with it for much longer. She was flat-out busy but in between dresses she was using her last few days at the shop to jot down notes of things that worked well and others that didn’t so she could make sure she had everything covered with her own set-up. It was all starting to feel a bit real.

  She had another fitting with the hastily squeezed-in theme wedding which had been a lot of work but Ella was pleased with the results, she hoped the bride liked it. She hung up the dress in the fitting room and had a little moment to herself – at least this was one bride’s reaction she would be able to see.

  ‘Hello again. How are you?’ asked Ella when Lianne came through the door.

  ‘Bit nervous.’ Lianne had her large bag with her again. Ella wondered if the lightsabre was having another outing.

  ‘Your wedding day is getting close now. Everything on track?’

  ‘Sort of. Thanks to you there’s been a bit of a change.’ Ella wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. ‘You thought my fiancé was going to be dressed as Han Solo.’

  Ella remembered the conversation. ‘But Chewie is iconic too and obviously loves Princess Leia,’ said Ella, trying hard to smooth things over.

  ‘You were right. I had thought the same thing, but I hadn’t wanted to upset my fiancé. After I left here we had a huge row.’

  Ella sucked her teeth. ‘I’m
sorry to hear that.’ If she didn’t want the dress after all the alterations she’d done Ella thought she might cry. There was no way Wanda was going to give a refund either – she never did.

  ‘It’s okay. The best man is going to be Chewie and I’m marrying Han Solo.’ The bride giggled. ‘Not the real one because he’s like seriously old now.’

  ‘That’s great news.’ Ella was relieved. ‘If you want to put the dress on I’ll take a look.’

  Ella waited with her fingers crossed. She heard a gasp and her heart leapt. It was hard to tell if it was a good gasp or a bad gasp. ‘Everything okay?’

  The bride pulled the curtain back a fraction and her teary face appeared. She sniffed. ‘I love it.’

  Thank heavens for that, thought Ella. ‘That’s good then. Pop it on and I’ll check the fit.’

  When she was ready Ella pulled back the curtain and Princess Leia was standing before her. Well, at least Leia’s dress was.

  ‘I can’t believe you made the sleeves.’ The bride held up her arms and swished the long draping swathes of material.

  ‘I knew you weren’t really happy with the wrap idea so I thought I would see how close I could get with the fabric, and it turns out this is a pretty close match but if you hated it, I’ve got the tuille wrap as a back-up.’

  Wanda cleared her throat behind Ella and waved her over. ‘What has that cost?’ she whispered. Ella opened her mouth to answer but Wanda was off again. ‘Why are you wasting company profits on two solutions for one dress?’ Again, no time for Ella to answer before Wanda was speaking. ‘I’m taking that out of your wages.’

  Princess Leia stepped out brandishing the glowing lightsabre and Wanda hastily stepped backwards. ‘Please don’t do that,’ said Lianne. ‘I’m over the moon with what Ella has done. I’ll be recommending your shop to everyone. I’m happy to pay the extra.’ She smiled, then the smile dropped. ‘As long as it’s not loads.’

  Ella beamed a smug grin in Wanda’s direction. ‘Fine,’ snapped Wanda and she marched away.

  ‘Thanks for that but you didn’t have to – I’m leaving anyway,’ said Ella.