Page 76 of An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street
Everything he’s so ardently kept hidden for so many years.
Darcy O’Connell is standing in the middle of Ever After Street for all to see.
And no one reacts. No one stares. No one peers. No one makes him feel like a museum exhibit on display. No one acts like he’s an outsider.
And it’s the absolute best thing they could have done. Absolutely nothing to make him feel out of the ordinary in any way. Nothing to make him feel like the centre of attention. Nothing to suggest his scars somehow set him aside from everyone else.
‘Let me know when you feel up to a meal out; there’s one on the house for both of you in 1001 Nights.’ Ali comes over to give him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
‘And don’t worry about the castle gardens,’ Witt says. ‘It’s the end of the season and you’ll be back to fighting fit long before next spring.’
‘I was intending to give the lawns another mow before the year is out,’ Darcy jumps in, and that’s exactly why Witt said it. Just a normal, everyday conversation to show that Darcy uncovering his scars makes no difference whatsoever.
‘Well, I can do that. I might own a castle but I’m not completely inept with garden tools. You just concentrate on taking it easy. The only thing any of us want is for you to heal up fast, so we can get to know you as you are, not as you are while in a great deal of pain and clearly struggling to stay upright.’
It’s all the hint Darcy needs to sink back into the wheelchair, panting with the exertion, his grip on my hand painfully tight as the impact of being accepted catches up with him.
‘We’re not done yet.’ Sadie comes forward and pulls an envelope out of her back pocket. ‘Something for you too, Marnie.’
She’s welling up too. Why is everyone so emotional today?
‘What is this?’ My mouth is open in shock as I rifle through the envelope full of banknotes she’s given me. ‘There’sthousandsin here. Why are you giving me this?’
‘The deposit for A Tale As Old As Time. We all chipped in. After what Rick said last night, we weren’t going to let anyone disrespect one of our own like that. Ever After Street wouldn’t be the same without you.’
‘You can’t have a fairy-tale street without a fairy-tale bookshop,’ Mickey says.
‘We’re only doing it for our own benefit,’ Lissa says. ‘We’re secretly hoping you’re going to put on another book festival next year. Preferably without any unwelcome interruptions this time. And I’ve been on the phone to the council this morning and they’ve started the paperwork for a community protection warning against Rick. He’ll be banned from coming to Ever After Street again.’
‘But… But…’ I struggle for words. ‘Youcan’tdo this. It’s too much. It’s—’
‘Between all of us, it was nothing. A tiny investment in our future too. All these booklovers have bought me out of house and home,’ Imogen says. ‘Next year we need to do some sort of co-operation and give discounts to Bookishly Ever After goers or something.’
‘One thing I’ve always said is that Ever After Street is like a family. We stick together. We protect our own. We help each other when we need help. We spend so much time here that we become like a second family. You girls are like weird colleague-sisters to me.’ Sadie slings her arms around me, Mickey, and Lissa, and beckons Cleo over. ‘You too, Cleo. It’s about time we got you working here.’
‘Cleo’s got a job at the bookshop anytime she wants it.’ I squeeze her shoulders. ‘Apparently I’m expanding into book festivals now too; I’m going to need some help.’
‘I’d love it.’ She hugs me back. ‘But Lilith’s daughter-in-law has just told me that Lilith’s unlikely to come back and it’s set my mind whirring. I want to spend as much time at the bookshop asI can, as long as you don’t mind me keeping my ear to the ground about what’s happening with the tearoom. Nowhere better for anAlice in Wonderlandtheme than a place that revolves around tea.’
She and the other three girls chatter excitedly about the possibilities and I take the opportunity to sneak back to Darcy. He’s wheeled his chair to the window of his shop and turned around, and I perch on the narrow windowsill beside him. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi.’ He’s looking out at Ever After Street with the bright autumn sun shining on his gorgeous face, and he blinks down at me like I’ve woken him up. ‘Thanks for holding me up – both literally and metaphorically. I don’t think I’ve ever been this much of an emotional wreck in my life. I never thought…’ He tilts his head back to indicate the shop sign above us.
‘I know.’ I reach over to squeeze his knee. ‘I’m ridiculously proud of you. They love you, Darcy. You just need toletthem.’
I can tell his emotions are raw and on the surface, and also that he’s absolutely exhausted. I don’t know how much sleep he got in hospital last night, but it doesn’t look like it was much. ‘Do you want to go home?’
His hand slides over mine where it’s still on his knee. ‘Not yet. And I kind of feel like I’ve justcomehome and it’s a nice feeling. I don’t want to lose it yet.’
Now it’s my turn to smile because it’s exactly what I’ve been feeling too. Like I’ve found a family I didn’t realise I had and they’ve been right in front of me all along.
‘What are we going to do next?’
‘About…?’ I ask.
‘My shop, for a start. It’s pretty useless to me for the next couple of months. Everything I own is upstairs. The cut flowers are going to die, so I’ve just given Witt my keys and told him to take them and distribute them to everyone, but I wondered if you wanted to use the space for anything… Another friendshipdate night or some author events or something. The garden or the shop itself. I have a feeling that A Tale As Old As Time might need to expand in the coming months…’
‘Seriously?’ I love his belief in me, even when the pinched look around his eyes suggests he’s hurting more than he’s letting on. ‘Cleo’s just given me two notebooks that she filled last night with details of all the people who wanted to put their name down for a friendship match next time. There’s enough interest that we could make it a weekly thing for a while and it still wouldn’t be enough.’
