Beth took a bite of her sandwich and leaned back in the chair as she chewed slowly. “It’s so strange to think that I’ve only known them for a matter of weeks. They feel like family.” Beth vaguely registered the worry lines on Dee’s brow but ploughed on regardless. “Trystan and I have such a connection – we talk about everything. I’ve never been with a guy who I felt I could be completely myself with.” She smiled widely, but Dee’s features were fixed in concern.
“What’s going to happen at the end of the summer?”
“I don’t know.” As her smile fell away, Beth reached for her sandwich then set it back on the plate, realising she no longer had an appetite.
“Do you think you’ll keep seeing him?”
Her lungs felt tight and she sat up straighter. “It’d be difficult considering he lives in London and we live in Devon.”
“Not impossible, though. Lots of people have long-distance relationships. Or he could move to Plymouth.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve only known him a few weeks.” She shook her head. “It’s a holiday fling, that’s all. Which is exactly what I needed.”
“So at the end of the summer you’ll go your separate ways?”
“I would imagine so.” She took a bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly. “You’ve depressed me now. In two weeks we’ll be back home.” The thought of not seeing Trystan every day made her bones feel heavy. “It’s going to be a shock to the system settling back to real life. It’ll be hard for Ellie – she’s got used to being surrounded by people. Being here will no doubt feel lonely in comparison to being surrounded by the Treneary family.”
“Can I put something out there?” Dee smiled sympathetically. “Do you think you’ve latched onto this family to help you cope with losing your mum?”
Looking at the situation objectively, Beth couldn’t deny it was a possibility. “Does it matter?” she asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’ve been feeling so much more positive.”
“That’s great, and I’m not trying to burst your bubble. Maybe you should talk to Trystan, see what he’s thinking. He might be keen to keep seeing you after the holiday.”
Beth shook her head again. “I really don’t think that’s where things are headed. He’s just got out of a ten-year relationship. My life is kind of a mess – I don’t even know what I’m going to do for a job. I think a fling was something we both needed. I can’t imagine it being anything more than that, given our circumstances.”
“You obviously like him a lot though.”
“Of course I like him a lot. What’s your point?”
“I’m just worried that it’s going to be a difficult adjustment when you come back home.”
“I’m already aware of that,” Beth said, rolling her eyes. “Up until now I’ve been avoiding thinking about it.”
“Sorry.” Dee’s features relaxed. “Avoidance is the kind of strategy I’d opt for too. Feel free to ignore me. Maybe you should just enjoy the rest of your holiday and worry about getting back to reality when you really have to.”
That was exactly what Beth wanted to do. It would be slightly more difficult to do now that Dee had put thoughts of the future in her head.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Trystan had been convinced that looking after Ellie for the afternoon would be a breeze. His mum had asked him to pick up milk when he collected Ellie from kids’ club. Without thinking, he picked her up first and took her for an ice cream before nipping into the shop. It soon became clear that it would have been a better idea to do the shopping before he’d picked up Ellie. She insisted on walking along every aisle even though he only needed milk. And she wanted to buyeverything.When she got to the cosmetics section and begged him for nail varnish, he caved and they finally made it out of the shop.
She then proceeded to ask him a string of endless questions on the walk home, from why the leaves on the trees move, to why birds fly, to why the man they passed had no hair. She asked that one embarrassingly loudly. She also had a habit of pointing at pretty much everything she saw and asking, “What’s that?”
By the time they got back to his mum’s place he was mentally exhausted.
Then his mum had asked Ellie if she was allowed to wear nail polish, making him wonder if he’d been duped into buying her something illicit. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Beth might not allow it. Ellie said it was fine. Although he supposed she would say that.
“Are you sure your mum is okay with you wearing nail varnish?” he asked for about the fifth time as they sat together at the patio table. There wasn’t actually much point to the question now that he’d already painted her nails.
“Yes,” she said confidently while she slopped polish over his fingernail.
“You know you’re just supposed to paint the nails, not my fingers as well?”
Her tongue was poking out in concentration. “I just went a bit wobbly.”