AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dani grinned. “It was fun.”
“You have a gift, honey.” Bea kissed Dani’s cheek and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she continued to admire the room.
“That’s what I told her as well,” Aidan said, hands on hips as he studied one of the pieces of art — an asymmetric mixture of colours that reminded Bea of the beach outside the cottage’s front door.
“And thank you for the coffee maker, Aidan — you didn’t have to do that, but I’m very grateful you did.”
He beamed. “I’m glad you like it. I wanted to do something to make your move-in day special.”
“Move-in day?” Bea spun to face Dani, her brow furrowed.
Dani laughed. “I’ve already packed up most of our things. We’re moving in!”
“What about furniture?”
“We don’t need furniture.” Dani linked an arm through Bea’s. “We’ll make do with air mattresses until our things arrive from Sydney.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Bea was breathless. This was so much better than anything she’d pictured in her head. It was perfect.
“Say yes! Let’s do it!” Dani grinned.
“Yes! Let’s do it!” Bea replied.
She threw her arms around her daughter again and hugged her tight. “Thank you, honey. You don’t know how much this whole thing means to me. It’s everything I could’ve hoped for, and I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you more.”
Dani waved her off. “You started the ball rolling, and I’m not sure I would’ve had the confidence to do that without you. I’ve loved the whole process. I wanted to tell you this in person, I’ve been keeping it to myself. But you’ll be living here alone — I’ve re-enrolled at university. I’m going to study interior design. No more social work for me.”
“Design? Are you sure?”
“I think so. This project helped me come alive. I didn’t realise how much I love managing a design project until now. This was fulfilling and exciting, and I can imagine myself doing it every day for a living.”
Knowing her daughter had found something that made her happy shifted an enormously heavy burden that’d rested on Bea’s shoulders for months. She sighed. “I’m thrilled, honey.”
“You’re not upset that I’ll be leaving?”
Bea cupped Dani’s cheek. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s time for you to fly off and live your life. Knowing that you’re happy, healthy and doing something you love will be all the company I need.”
“I’m glad to hear it because I leave in two weeks. I’ve already begun the course online, but I have to get back to Sydney to attend in-person classes.”
Bea tried not to show her shock. She’d wanted to live in the cottage with Dani for longer than that. It’d been a dream she’d allowed herself to foster over the past months since leaving Sydney. But returning to university was what Dani needed to do in order to find her place in the world, and Bea would never get in the way of that. In fact, she’d do anything to help either one of her children find their bliss. “I’ll miss you. But I’m excited for you as well.”
Dani left to get some bags from the car, and Bea wandered over to where Aidan was hanging another photograph. “These are so great. Thank you for all your hard work. I can’t believe how thoughtful you’ve been. It means a lot to me.”
He climbed down from the stepladder and met her gaze. “You’re welcome. Are you going to be okay living here on your own? I seem to remember a time when you were afraid of snakes and spiders and couldn’t bear the idea of being alone in a house at night.”
She laughed. “That was a long time ago. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
His eyes sparked. “No, you’re not. Have you seen the coffee maker yet?”
She clapped her hands together. “Oh, I forgot. Real coffee — I may never leave this cottage again in my life. It’s absolutely perfect.”
He followed her into the kitchen. “You’ll have to leave at some point if you intend to run a café. Are you still going to do that? I wasn’t sure what your plans were, or if you were even coming back for a while there.”
She turned the dials on the coffee machine in silence for a few moments, then faced him. “I’ll be honest—I wasn’t sure if I was coming back either. As you know, I wanted to work on my relationship with my husband, and he assured me that’s what he wanted as well. But it seems his efforts were less than genuine and that he wasn’t prepared to give up his fiancée the way he’d promised me he would.”
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard.”
She shrugged. “Not as hard as I thought it would be. It was actually a relief to get back here to the island and to my real life, as I’ve come to think of it.”
