‘I was trying to say you’re lucky to have the guts, the strength to do something about it when your life took a wrong turn. Guts are something I seriously lack.’
‘But why?’ She looked across at him. ‘The business will run without you, and I might not know your family, but I can imagine if your mother was anything like mine she’d want you to follow your own dreams, whatever they were. You know, Mum and Dad lived the high life before the business went down the pan. They wanted for nothing. Dad in his expensive suits, Mum with pricey make-up, more clothes than Harvey Nicks.’ She laughed and then turned serious. ‘But I hated that. I didn’t want to wear delicate dresses, designer tops. I soon learned to make clothes and that was what made me an individual. It was part of me. It was never part of them, but Mum knew it wasmyway.
‘It’s hard, damn hard to start again, but it’s better than living your whole life running scared or in someone else’s vision, someone else’s map of what they want you to have, what they want you to be. From what I saw today, you should be proud, and that’s what would’ve made your mother proud, not staying in a business you have no interest or passion for. And I know I’m lucky in so many ways, but I will never forget where I once was. Just because you reinvent yourself and move forward doesn’t mean you ever forget where you once were. It’s what shapes you into the person you become. You had a different life once, but that doesn’t mean you have to pretend it never existed.’
‘Do you ever pretend your days on the streets didn’t exist?’
She gulped. ‘You know, I really don’t. I can’t. Those days were hellish and a lot of the time I was at rock bottom. But those days were a part of me and who I became.’
He smiled at her. ‘Come on, even my ass is freezing now. Let’s go home.’
And when they stood and walked back to the car, and the moon hung above them in the sky as though guiding them back towards their everyday lives, Evie felt more stable and settled than she ever had before. Not just because of how she was physically and what she’d achieved, but the way her heart was beginning to open out like a flower, taking in more friendships than she’d realised it was possible to have.
