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I don’t need anyone else. I’m going to build my own dream, chase it, and when I find it, I’m never going to let it go.
Like Molly.
Build my own business. Be my own boss.
Yes.
As the New Year approaches, I promise myself I’ll do everything I can to leave. Explore the world and find what possibilities there are beyond the borders of this small town.
It becomes my mantra—the pledge that keeps me striving—keeps me standing.
On New Year’s Eve, while everyone gathers to celebrate the new year, I slip away from The King’s Port and climb up the headland that once felt like the best place on earth.
It’s a calm evening—one of the only dry nights since Christmas—but the weather wouldn’t have stopped me. The clunky torch casts a watery light along the worn path, but I know the way. Silver moonlight cuts through the inky blackness, and when I reach the spot, I breathe in the peace and tranquillity.
It’s been over five months since I’ve been to this spot.
A complete contrast—then, bright and sunny, now, dark and cold, but I suppose that’s fitting.
Setting my bag down, I unpack the items I brought. First, the fold-up spade, and I put the torch on the ground to light a spot to dig. I don’t need to do much. There isn’t much to bury.
I slice into the earth under a craggy ledge. The wiry grass breaks easily and doesn’t hold much soil before it dissolves into sand, but that’s okay. I scrape away and dig down some more, satisfied that there’s space to hide everything in the bag. First, I pull out his baseball cap. I loved that cap, and I bawled my eyes out when I saw it waiting for me on my doorstep when he left. The cap holds the torn-up pieces of the postcards I still haven’t read. And at the bottom, the leather bracelet that Jayce gave me. The last thing is the paperwork from the hospital records, also torn into pieces.
I put them all into the ground and sprinkle soil over them. Then, when I’ve covered it over, I pat the soil and place the top layer of grass and stones over the top. I take the small bottle of water from my backpack and pour water over, helping the soil to settle. I even stand on it for good measure.
It might be a foolish and silly notion of a young, broken-hearted girl, but I need to mark an end. I had to do something to put this mess behind me and keep it where it couldn’t hurt me.
And now, I can move on in the New Year and work on my dream.
CHAPTER16
JAYCE
Now
Regardless of Zennor, I came back here for a reason, and I can’t lose sight of that.
I stare out at the ocean as the waves crash down and watch the tide drag clumps of seaweed onto the sand. My morning walks and plastic collections have been as therapeutic as they have been purposeful. Unfortunately, surfing around the world, I’ve seen firsthand the damage we’ve done to our oceans, and it’s time we all play our part to stop it. If that means I comb the beach each morning, then it’s a start.
I spear another plastic bottle and deposit it into the bag along with the rest of today’s collection. The surf shop also fronts as the local plastic recycling depot. Waste streams and recycling collections aren’t as easy to put into place as they should be in these rural locations, and some smaller businesses can’t afford the services. The wrong people saw a profit where there shouldn’t be one when it comes to protecting our planet.
Sustainable brands, clothing, the recycling depot, and the surf school ready for the summer—hopefully, will be enough to keep my feet on the ground and my head away from the nightmares and the pull of the waves beyond Tregethworth.
And now, of course, Zennor Williams.
The lure to stop in to grab a coffee on the circle back is appealing, but I’m not up for another verbal attack from Zennor if we do cross paths. Although, if she thinks I’m going to let her speak to me that way and be done, she’s got another think coming. There’s a story there. Questions need to be answered, even if she doesn’t want to answer them. I’ve been patient, hell, I’ve practised it my whole fucking life, so I can wait a little longer to find out what she’s hiding and why she’s acting that way.
We might not have spoken to one another for the best part of twenty years, but that wasn’t the girl I knew.
I skip the coffee and head to the shop, unload the plastic and check in with Rob.
We didn’t have a formal re-opening even though half the town treated it that way. Keeping Rob on helped as he’s worked at the shop since he was a kid and knows everyone. I’m an outsider and probably will have to live the rest of my life here and still not be considered a local, but we’ve had support, and that’s what counts.
“Jayce, we’ve had a delivery. Your name’s on it, but I ain’t got a clue, man. Sorry.” He points to a pallet of stuff, all shrink-wrapped up.
“I’ve got it. It’s a bunch of my things from storage. Thought some of it could go up in the shop, some is for the apartment. There should be a second delivery with a bunch of boards?”
“Delivery yard.” He nods towards the back.
