Page 12 of The Little Island Flower Stall
‘It wouldn’t be like I hadn’t earned it. I expect they will, and I expect I’ll take their advice, but if you think for one minute that this decision has anything to do with money, you’re a bigger pig than I ever gave you credit for. Don’t you understand how you hurt me? How humiliated I feel? How used? How stupid and gullible? Even you, a man with a stone where his heart should be, must be able to see that.’
‘Perhaps. I am sorry for the way it ended, you know.’
Not for one second did Bella think he actually meant it. She had to wonder if this phone call was simply about trying to soften her up so that she wouldn’t push for a divorce payout. The truth of the matter was, she’d barely given the potential settlement a thought, but if he was trying to make her feel guilty about taking anything from him, he was currently achieving quite the opposite effect. She hadn’t wanted his money, but she was beginning to see that getting it would hurt him more than anything else she could do. The way she felt right now, that prospect alone was more appealing than she could say.
‘I’m sure you are,’ she said, unable and unwilling to keep the bitterness from her voice. ‘I’m not. I only wish it hadn’t taken quite so long for me to see sense. Life’s going to be great without you. I pity Anita or whoever is next. For their sakes, I hope they’re not stupid enough to marry you like I was.’
It was then that Bella realised Dolly had left and Celestine was waiting patiently on her scooter, her gaze off out to sea. Had she overheard Bella’s conversation? It seemed a reasonable assumption, considering that Bella had been able to follow the one Celestine had just had with Dolly.
‘I have to go,’ she said, ending the call before she caught Sean’s reply. Whether she’d been listening or not, Celestine turned on cue to look at her.
‘I’m sorry about that.’
‘About what?’ Bella asked, coming out from the stall.
‘Oh, Dolly. She can be such a gossip. She means well and she does get so lonely she can’t help herself when she sees someone she knows.’
‘If it makes her happy then…’ Bella shrugged. ‘We all love a bit of gossip sometimes, don’t we?’
Celestine regarded her with unnerving shrewdness. ‘Are you quite all right?’
‘Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?’ Bella swept a hand to indicate the vista: a broad sweep of golden sand flanked by grass-woven dunes, the sun high in the sky, the sea a sparkling aquamarine. ‘Look where I am! It has to be against the law to be unhappy standing in a spot like this, doesn’t it?’
‘I won’t pry, but I understand things are difficult for you at the moment, and I hope you feel able to confide in me if you need to. That’s all I’m going to say on it, unless you want to…’
Bella shook her head. ‘Thank you, but I don’t. I’d hate to taint this view by connecting it to thoughts of people I’d rather not think of. I’m only going to be here for six weeks, but I’m hopingthose six weeks will kickstart a new life. God knows I need one because the old one is rotten.’
‘You were very unhappy in your marriage?’
‘I didn’t think so at the time. I didn’t even notice how bad it was until…Well, now that there’s distance I can finally see it clearly. It was an awful marriage. I don’t know what I was thinking for all those years. I only know that I should have got out a long time ago.’
‘You’re out now. Better late than never, eh?’
‘Exactly.’ Bella forced a smile for her aunt. ‘Better late than never.’
CHAPTER FIVE
A mist hung over the bay the following morning as Bella arrived to open up for her aunt. The stall was even cuter than she remembered from the day before, and despite her trepidation for her first day running it, there was a kick of excitement too. No sooner had she got the keys from her bag than a delivery van arrived. Bella watched as a young woman hopped from the driver’s seat.
‘This is a nice surprise,’ she said cheerily. ‘I didn’t expect you to be open for ages. So you’re Celestine’s good Samaritan?’
‘I’m trying to be,’ Bella said. ‘Need a hand getting the delivery off the van?’
‘I can manage. Celestine hasn’t put a huge order in so it shouldn’t take long.’
‘Hasn’t she?’
The woman shook her head vaguely before going to the back and opening up. ‘How is Celestine?’ she asked, coming back from the van with a crate of roses.
‘She’s doing well.’
‘Still off her feet?’
‘She’s getting round a bit. She’s got a mobility scooter and walking aids. She’s coming over later to teach me some basicfloral arranging. Nothing fancy, but enough that I can put some bouquets together.’
‘You’ve not done this before?’ The driver sounded surprised, and Bella supposed she would be.
‘No. I’m sure I can pick it up with some lessons from my aunt, though.’
