Page 83 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Pete looked at his big brother who was shuffling from foot to foot in embarrassment.

‘But if you make me say it again, I’ll push you in the river,’ said Josh.

Now it was Pete’s turn to laugh. ‘Dream on, bro. You know you’ll never be as strong as me.’

‘You want to find out?’ asked Josh.

Pete knew he was only joking. ‘Would love to prove you wrong as always, but I need to go and give Belle her coffee. She’s been stuck tidying up all morning whilst I’ve been wallowing in my own misery.’

‘Maybe she’ll be the one to push you in the river instead,’ said Josh hopefully before giving his brother a wink and walking off.

But for all their banter, Pete felt a little lighter in spirits suddenly. He felt closer to his brother than he had done for weeks, maybe even years. Slowly they were starting to become friends again. And perhaps all the pain would be worth it if they did.

Perhaps it was time to make amends with Belle and ask for her help. He just hoped she wanted to listen to him after everything that had happened.

45

Belle had waited until after lunchtime to call her aunt and uncle with the bad news.

‘The restaurant was a disaster,’ she told them, as she sat on her bed. ‘A total and utter failure.’

‘Oh, love,’ said Aunty Angie. ‘I’m so sorry. But it’ll work out fine, you’ll see.’

‘How?’ asked Belle.

‘Because it always does, doesn’t it?’ said Angie, looking at her husband. ‘And we should know.’

‘That’s right,’ said Uncle Mick, laughing. ‘We’ve had so many failures over the years. The beer that flooded the cellar due to that dodgy pipe.’

‘The rats in the early days,’ said Aunty Angie with a shudder.

‘The electricity shorting out and causing the whole village to go dark,’ added Uncle Mick.

‘I’d forgotten about that one,’ said Aunty Angie.

‘What we’re trying to tell you is that there’s always a second chance,’ said Uncle Mick. ‘I mean, look at where we are.’

The phone screen spun round to briefly show an endless ocean and blue sky before swinging back to show her aunt and uncle’s faces once more.

‘We’ve just crossed the international dateline,’ said Aunty Angie. ‘Do you know what that means?’

Belle shook her head.

‘It means that today’s date is the same as yesterday,’ Uncle Mick told her. ‘Tomorrow doesn’t arrive for another twenty-four hours.’

‘It means we’ve got a chance to rewind the last day and do it over,’ said Aunty Angie. ‘Do it even better.’

‘A restart,’ said Uncle Mick.

Belle watched as her aunt and uncle suddenly turned to look at each other.

‘Never thought we’d get another chance,’ said Uncle Mick.

‘Never thought we’d ever have a chance to do anything like this,’ said Aunty Angie.

‘Maybe a restart is what we all need,’ murmured Uncle Mick.

Belle watched them as something passed between the couple. Tenderness. Perhaps even love.