Page 5 of Finding Love in Micklewick Bay

FOUR

Alice had fulfilled the promise she’d made to her newborn daughter thirty-three years earlier.I’m going to take good care of you and make sure you have the best life possible. Her words had regularly revisited her over the years, and she’d marvelled at just how far they’d come, the two of them.

Not long after leaving hospital, Alice had packed up the few belongings she had in her bedsit in York and quietly slipped away to the small, cheap flat she’d found in Micklewick Bay. She hadn’t bothered to tell her parents where she was going. The hurt had still been too raw from their cold-hearted refusal to meet their little granddaughter, after telling Alice they’d washed their hands of her. Disowned her. As far as they were concerned, she’d thrown her life away by getting herself pregnant and keeping her baby.

Alice had been stunned by their reaction. Despite the fact she’d told herself she didn’t need them, she’d talked herself into giving it one last try. She’d clung onto the hope that her parents would soften once their grandchild had been born, that Stella’s arrival would override their initial shock of Alice’s unplanned pregnancy and their hearts would melt as they’d cradled the baby in their arms. Instead, their cruel rejection had set a mix ofhurt and anger swirling around inside her. They’d left Alice in no doubt they weren’t going to change their opinion any time soon.

Their words had hurt more than she could ever have imagined, but as she’d made her way back to her bedsit, her sadness morphed into a burning determination to prove them wrong. She hadn’t thrown her life away! She hadn’t ruined things! Her life was simply following a different plan to the one they’d had so meticulously mapped out for her for as far back as she could remember. And she wasn’t sorry about it. Not one little bit.

Her parents had both been doctors – her father a GP, her mother a consultant neurologist – and they’d been so efficient at drumming into Alice that she wanted to follow in their footsteps as she’d grown up she’d actually begun to believe it herself. It was only when she’d taken her GCSEs that doubts had started to creep in, but she’d been too afraid to rock the boat by telling her parents that medicine was the last path she wanted to head down. Instead, she’d had aspirations to work towards a business degree, and had harboured a desire to set up her own company, which, if the passion it inspired within her was anything to go by, she’d felt sure she could make a success. Alice wanted to be her own boss, wanted to be in charge of her own destiny, instead of being told what she should do and having very little say in any decision-making that involved her.

By the time it came to enrolling on a university course, she’d grasped the nettle and told her parents of her wishes. She’d been disappointed – though not at all surprised – to find her ideas met with outrage. Didn’t she realise she’d be the fourth-generation medic in her family? Did she want to be the one responsible for breaking that pattern? What would the rest of the family think? Didn’t she realise they’d be ridiculed? In the end, after having been thoroughly browbeaten, Alice applied to med school, her hopes and dreams trickling away before they’deven got started. Her parents had been overjoyed when her applications had been accepted and she’d been offered several places. Alice had felt weighed down by their expectations, her heart heavy with dread.

It was halfway through her first year when she’d fallen pregnant, shattering her parents’ dreams so spectacularly. They’d gone so far as to accuse her of doing it on purpose, so she didn’t have to complete her degree. Even though she’d anticipated an explosive reaction, Alice hadn’t expected it to trigger such a cavernous divide between them and her.

At a time when she’d needed them the most, they’d withdrawn their support and turned their back on her.

Once in Micklewick Bay, it hadn’t taken Alice long to realise that her parents’ cold-hearted rejection of their granddaughter had given her the perfect excuse to follow her heart. So she’d dried her tears and set her plans for a new life in motion. Onwards and upwards! There’d be no looking back, she’d told herself, a new-found determination coursing through her veins. After placing cards advertising her laundry services in the local shops and on the town’s noticeboard, her phone was soon ringing with enquiries.

Taking in other people’s washing and ironing had proved the perfect solution to her earning some much-needed cash, especially since she hadn’t been able afford the childcare she’d need to go out to work. Alice had been thrilled when word of her high standards and efficiency spread so quickly. Before long, she’d gained a regular list of clients, with crisply starched shirts and fresh-smelling bedding being her speciality. It had been hard work, juggling a baby and copious amounts of laundry, ironing into the early hours, but it had been worth it. She’d squirrelled small amounts of money away at the end of each week, feeling a sense of satisfaction as her savings slowly grew.

When Stella started at the local playgroup, Alice had taken on a couple of cleaning jobs – in addition to her laundry services – increasing her days once her daughter had started school. This extra cash had meant they’d been able to move to a small, terraced house with a postage-stamp of a garden where Stella had loved to play.

The day Alice had walked away from her parents’ home, her heart aching and their hurtful words ringing in her ears, had seemed a lifetime ago.

By the time Stella had reached the age of eight, Alice had completed an online business degree which had armed her with the skills required to set up Spick ‘n’ Sparkle Cleaning Services in which she used the eco-friendly, essential oil-based cleaning products she’d developed herself. A year later, her services had been in such demand, the company had expanded and Alice had two members of staff on her payroll.

Fast forward five years, and Spick ‘n’ Sparkle’s glowing reputation had sky-rocketed. It now boasted ten employees – all carefully selected by Alice for their high standards – with its award-winning cleaning products standing proudly on the shelves of all the big supermarkets. Alice soon discovered she no longer had the time to go out and clean houses or take in laundry herself. Instead, she’d found she needed to focus her attention on the business and admin side of things, though it didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to roll up her sleeves and help out if they were a member of staff down.

Her early dreams of setting up a business had come to fruition. And she’d proved her parents wrong.

In quiet moments, Alice had often found herself reflecting on how, though she’d become a mum at a young age, it had, hands down, been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Which made it even harder to comprehend how easily her parents had turned their back on her, their only child. She’d made asilent vow to herself that she wasn’t going to let history repeat itself. She’d never put her daughter under the pressure she’d faced growing up. Instead, Alice would encourage Stella, give her every opportunity to follow her own dreams, while offering gentle support whenever it was needed. She’d also encourage her daughter to be self-sufficient; after her own experience with Stella’s father, she didn’t want her daughter to rely on a man. It was fair to say, Alice had been a good role model, instilling a strong work ethic in Stella, without being overbearing. But most importantly, she’d make sure Stella knew she was loved, and that her thoughts and feelings were valued and important.

Which is exactly what Alice had done. Though she’d be the first to admit it hadn’t all been plain sailing, and she hadn’t got it right all of the time, particularly when Stella had hit the teenage years head-on. To say there’d been fireworks would be an understatement! With their personalities being so similar, it had resulted in some spectacular clashes! But Alice had done her best, and had made sure the pair had never gone to sleep on an argument and that a bad atmosphere hadn’t dragged out for days. Talking, and sharing thoughts and feelings had been encouraged – Alice hadn’t always appreciated what had come out of these talks, but she’d bitten her tongue as best she could and tried her hardest to see things from her daughter’s point of view. As a consequence, the pair enjoyed a close relationship, without it being stifling. Alice had taken great pride in watching her daughter grow into a kind and thoughtful young woman who’d carved out a successful career at the bar, with no pushing at all from her corner.

It wasn’t until recently that she’d begun to wonder whether being such a strong proponent of staying single, and advising her daughter to keep romantic relationships at arm’s length had been the best idea.

FIVE

After a quick shower, and a spritz of her favourite crisp perfume, Stella threw on a sleek maxi-dress in a shade of ice-blue that emphasised the colour of her eyes – as with her work attire, she favoured unfussy, clean lines. She added a simple silver necklace and fixed her hair in a loose chignon. That done, she pushed her feet into her white leather trainers, hooked her designer cross-body bag over her shoulder and grabbed her cardigan before setting off for The Jolly Sailors pub.

The walk to the Jolly in Old Micklewick, which was the oldest part of town, took a little longer from her new apartment, but tonight she was glad of it after a day spent cooped up in a stuffy courtroom. The air was still balmy and warm, the sky above a clear, bright blue, seagulls cawing in the distance. She crossed the road and made her way along the top promenade, a spring in her step as she savoured the generous vista of the beach. At just gone seven o’clock, it was still busy, folk squeezing every last bit out of the day’s sunshine, enjoying a stroll or walking their dogs; this late in the summer, you never knew when autumn was going to come calling. Stella continued along the path, swerving round a loved-up couple who were ambling along at a leisurely pace. Her attention was drawn to a car that was crawling by, itswindows down, music bouncing. It appeared to be jam-packed with teenage boys who were in high spirits if the laughter and ebullient conversation was anything to go by. She caught the eye of the youth in the front passenger seat, he turned to his friends and in the next moment a chorus of wolf-whistles and leering calls broke out. ‘Really?’ Stella shot them her best icy glare, the one she usually reserved for the courtroom. Hadn’t they heard that sort of behaviour wasn’t acceptable? Her look appeared to have silenced them and a moment later, the driver revved the engine and shot off. She rolled her eyes in disgust.

The annoying interlude aside, Stella was enjoying her walk along the prom, delighting in the light breeze that brushed over her skin, lifting the loose tendrils of her hair, the stresses of her day in court loosening its grip. Her mind went to the handsome stranger she’d seen earlier, wondering if he was a visitor to the town or if he was a local – if the latter were the case, she hadn’t seen him before, but then again, though Micklewick Bay wasn’t the biggest of towns, new people moved in all the time, especially since the housing estate had been built on the edge of town. She found herself hoping she’d bump into him again, the thought making her heart flip.What’s going on there?She felt suddenly disconcerted by this unexpected reaction.

Deliberately marshalling her thoughts in a different direction, she glanced up at the tall, five-storey Victorian houses that lined the promenade, affording it an exclusive air. All had well-tended window boxes or oversized pots by their doors, filled with artfully arranged plants. And all were immaculately kept, a sense of neighbours trying to out-do one another pervading the haughty terrace. Stella often wondered what the houses were like behind the perfectly painted, huge front doors. This area, situated high on the cliffs, was considered the “new” part of town, with the grand houses starting life as the holiday homes of the wealthy who’d fallen in love with the beautifulbeach and the sea-bathing that was fashionable at the time. All of the properties had since been spliced-up into smaller, more affordable, apartments and sold off. What hadn’t changed though, was the glorious view of the beach and the imposing line of cliffs, the mighty Thorncliffe taking centre stage.

Tearing her gaze away from Thorncliffe, Stella’s eyes landed on a tall, dark-haired man walking towards her. In his hand was a dog lead attached to a young Labrador with huge paws who was trotting along jauntily. Her heart leapt and butterflies took flight in her stomach. It was the handsome stranger who only moments ago had filled her mind! Their eyes locked as he drew nearer, making her stomach loop-the-loop.

‘Hi – again,’ he said in that deliciously rich voice, his smile lighting up his bright-blue eyes that momentarily fell to her mouth. The waggy-tailed Labrador pulled towards her but was given a gentle tug of his lead accompanied by a quick, ‘Fred! No!’

‘Hi again.’ Stella’s heart was now jumping wildly about her chest, her eyes fixed on the handsome stranger. Using her well-honed courtroom techniques, she did all she could to steady herself as he walked by, a lazy smile tugging at his mouth.What is wrong with you, woman? Get yourself under control!She felt utterly wrong-footed by the strength of the emotions rushing around inside her. She’d never experienced such an overwhelming attraction to anyone before and it took every ounce of her strength not to look back, the urge seemingly impossible to resist. It wasn’t like her at all, she usually oozed confidence with the opposite sex, kept her cool, especially with those to whom she was attracted, but this felt different.Way,waydifferent. And she wasn’t completely sure she liked it. But the temptation not to snatch a look behind her was proving to be too great, and before she knew it, she’d turned, her gaze meeting that of the handsome stranger’s. He flashed her a cocksure smile and a flick of his eyebrow then continued on his way.

Annoyed at herself, Stella marched on, determined to push him out of her mind. Tonight was all about switching off and having a laugh with her friends. It most certainly was not about letting a man dominate her thoughts, even if he was drop-dead gorgeous in a broad-shouldered, smouldering kind of way and, in fact, just her type.

With that, she switched her mind to her new apartment and the large black and white photo she’d seen in Lark’s Vintage Bazaar – a shop in town, owned and run by her friend Lark. It stocked an array of vintage clothing and accessories along with other intriguing finds Lark hadn’t been able to resist on her searches and travels. The photo would be perfect for hanging above the state-of-the-art electric faux fire that was set into the chimney breast of the lounge. But it wasn’t long before she found her mind wandering again.If I’ve seen him twice in a short space of time, Mr Hot is very probably living or staying nearby. Which means, there’s a good chance I’ll bump into him again…That thought made her feel inordinately happy.

The narrow steps that led down to the bottom prom and the beach were busy with people making their way back up to town, so Stella continued along to Skitey Bank, instead taking the path that edged the steep, twisty-turny road. She was still doing all she could to keep her thoughts from straying onto Mr Hot, but it was proving easier said than done when his handsome face insisted on appearing in her mind.

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