Page 7 of The Sunshine Sisters: Aurora

‘May your home always be filled with life,’ smiled Sylvia, coming in with a vibrant green umbrella plant and placing it on the little hall table.

‘And last but not least,’ said Maddy, bringing up the rear and waving a bottle about, ‘May your home always be filled with... oh, hell, I can’t remember any of this clichéd nonsense Sylvia’s told me to say. Just get the glasses out, eh?’

‘Great idea,’ I agreed, as everyone laughed, including Sylvia, and we all piled into the kitchen.

There was a hunt to find the glasses, but eventually they were located in a stack of boxes in one of the bedrooms. While Maddy organised the drinks, Sylvia took me to one side in the kitchen and pulled a bottle of prosecco out of her bag.

‘That’s for you to enjoy yourself,’ she murmured, opening a cupboard door and popping it inside, out of the way.

‘Oh, thanks so much. That’s so kind of you.’ I blinked away the tears that were threatening.

Sylvia once ran the Little Duck Pond Café herself. But then she’d become firm friends with Ellie and when she’d retired, she’d placed her beloved café in Ellie’s hands.

‘I’ve never once regretted my decision,’ she told me, when she heard I was going to be renting the flat. ‘Not for a minute. Best thing I ever did, in fact. The café’s gone from strength to strength under Ellie’s direction and I’m so proud of her.’

I’d nodded my agreement and said I loved the café’s relaxed atmosphere. And the cakes, of course.

‘Fen, Katja and Maddy are all such good bakers. And even Ellie can bake a decent Victoria sponge cake these days!’ she’d added with a wink.

Now, I smiled at Sylvia. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am to Ellie and Zak for letting me live here. It’s so lovely. But of course you know that since it used to be your flat!’

‘It did indeed,’ said Ellie, joining us with a smile and putting her arm around Sylvia. ‘I’ve loved living here and I’m going to miss it, although I’m excited about having more space and a big garden at the new place.’ She rubbed at a corner of one of the cupboard doors with a frown. ‘They could do with a bit of a spruce up. A coat of special paint, maybe?’ She gave the room a critical once-over. ‘Actually, I think the flooring could do with being replaced as well.’

‘No, it’s fine!’ I protested.

‘Well, it’s okay,’ she conceded. ‘But I’ve always thought we should have a power shower put in. You have to run around in the one that’s in there in order to get wet!’

I laughed. ‘I’m just glad to have a shower that’s all mine. I used to feel terrible holding Milo up if I was in the one and only bathroom.’

‘Hey, come on, you three,’ called Maddy. ‘It’s drinky time.’

We all sat around the kitchen table and they toasted me, and Maddy started talking about wedding venues and how the one they were favouring had offered her and her fiancé Jack a fabulously discounted midweek deal, spa and dinner included, so that they could get a proper feel for the place before possibly booking their reception there.

Then somehow the talk turned to babies, and inevitably, the subject of Ellie and Zak’s IVF treatment came up.

Ellie, who’d been nursing an orange juice while we drank the champagne, smiled a little wearily. ‘Well, I’m having the hormone injections at the moment to help my ovaries produce more eggs, so we’ll just have to wait and see. There’s a wholelotof anxious waiting, I’m finding. It’s egg-stremely frustrating!’

I chuckled at the awful pun along with everyone else, but in my heart, I knew it wasn’t really funny. Ellie was putting on a brave face and making a joke. But she must be terrified the treatment might fail again.

I opened another bottle and we talked some more about the wedding.

And as I waved them all off later, with the promise of seeing them soon in the café, I thought about how excited Maddy was about her forthcoming nuptials, even though December was still a long way off.

To think, in the early days, I’d actually imagined one day walking down the aisle with Nash...

I think I’ll stay single, thank you very much.

CHAPTER FIVE

Over the following few weeks, after I’d moved into my new home in Ellie’s flat, I settled into a routine that suited me.

Milo and I would have a catch-up meeting every few days, at which we’d discuss progress with the glamping site and make a list of items that needed attention, including sourcing the various interior design elements, project managing the building of the shower block, and balancing the books. Milo was employing me part-time as his admin assistant and it was up to me when I chose to do the work.

Every morning, I’d be up early, and after a quick shower and breakfast, I’d be at my laptop at the kitchen table until early afternoon, working through phone calls and emails, logging receipts and liaising with the builder over any supplies that were needed.

Ellie was organising what she’d promised and the flat was being given a make-over by a handyman, Saul Goodrich, who lived in the village. At first when she said a man called Saul would be spending time painting the kitchen unit doors, installing a new power shower and replacing the flooring throughout the flat, my heart had sunk into my boots. The makeover sounded lovely but having someone – a total stranger – invading my space, whistling and hammering and drinking endless brews while I was trying to work? I wasn’t sure about that at all. I’d probably rather just put up with the slightly down-at-heel kitchen for the time being.

But as it turned out, I’d been completely wrong about Saul.

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