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‘That’s right. You’re a big girl now, aren’t you?’ Carmen smiled.
‘And me.’ Pippa, who was sitting opposite them, straightened her back.
‘Yes, and you.’
‘Me, me, me.’ Hudson stood up in his chair, standing on his tiptoes.
‘Yes, you’re almost a big boy. Now sit down again.’ Wendy laughed and helped him to sit back down before passing him his spoon.
As everyone began eating again, chatter and laughter filled the room. Carmen looked around. She’d definitely made the right decision by staying in Penworth Bay. Adele was happy for her too and had announced that she was coming to visit next week. She smiled.
The chinking of glass silenced the table, and Ian stood up and cleared his throat.
‘Daddy, can I...’
‘Shush, one minute and listen to Ian. He’s got something to say.’ Rob put his finger to his lips and pointed towards Ian.
‘Evening, everyone. Now, as you all know by now, I’m not one for public speaking, but I have something I want to tell you. I’ve decided to retire from my lighthouse keeper's position and come and help Elsie here in the bakery.’
A hushed silence filled the room before Ollie stood up and raised his glass. ‘To Ian, the best lighthouse keeper, uncle, grampy and honorary dad anyone could ask for.’
‘To Ian.’ A chorus of congratulations and the chinking of glasses spread across the table.
As Ian sat back down, Elsie took his hand and smiled.
Epilogue
‘That was great. Thankyou so much for such an amazing session.’ The woman clasped Carmen’s hand. ‘I feel ten years younger already.’
Carmen grinned. ‘Thank you so much for coming and trying out one of my yoga classes.’
‘I’ll be back next week, and I’ll be telling all my friends to come along too.’ The woman waved as she left the village hall.
‘Wow, that sounds promising.’ Rob began rolling up the yoga mats strewn around the hall.
‘Yes, it does, doesn’t it?’ Carmen grinned. ‘It was a great turnout too, wasn’t it? I wasn’t expecting that many people, especially not when I’ve been doing the yoga session on the beach each morning, too.’ She hadn’t been charging anything for the sessions on the beach, so she had worried that she wouldn’t entice anyone to any of her classes.
