A Pretty Beach Wish Polly Babbington (the lemonade war series .TXT) 📖

She’d emailed Gary and asked if it would be possible to fix up some fairy lights and an ice bucket with champagne, and Gary had come back saying that as long as she provided the champagne, their insurance would allow it and that they wouldn’t be able to use her fairy lights, but he would see what he could do.

A day later, Gary had called her while she was at work and told her that he’d sorted the lights and the carriage would be just as she’d asked for which in her words had been ‘twinkly and sparkling’ and that she would need to drop the champagne off on the day.

So, it was all set - a sparkly ride on a vintage railway, complete with pink champagne and a magnificent view out over Pretty Beach. The only other thing left to do was organise the last bit of the surprise.

Chapter 57

Juliette held her hand up to shade her eyes from the sun, stood on the walkway above the beach, and looked all the way along at the throngs of people lazing around in the sunshine. The lovely weather after a few days of rain had brought lots of the locals out of the woodwork to enjoy an afternoon of lovely Pretty Beach weather.

Juliette looked around for a quiet spot on the sand and decided that she’d need to walk all the way along away from the main beach to avoid bumping into anyone she knew. She didn't want to have to stop and say hello to anyone, and certainly didn’t want to have to answer any enquiries into how Bella was doing, however kindly intended. She wanted a couple of hours to herself to bask in the warm weather and let the sun warm her bones.

She pulled her sunhat further down on her head and popped her sunglasses on, hoping she wouldn’t see anyone she knew. She walked along looking out to sea and thought about how the last few weeks had gone since she’d got her energy back. Although it pained her heart, Juliette finally seemed to be accepting what had happened to Bella. She had continued to be less tired, she’d made it up to Luke, had been ensuring she made him feel how much she appreciated him, and she was fully back to work.

It felt good to be back to something near to her old self. She would never feel the same again. She knew that for sure. She would never be able to not worry about something else, something worse happening to either of her girls, but she was glad to be somewhat back in control of both her emotions, energy levels and her life.

She got to the far end of the beach where there was less sand and more pebbles and therefore a lot fewer people, and she looked down and studied where she was going to sit. Not near any teenagers, or toddlers, or anyone or anything that would interrupt her quiet time. Her time to contemplate the next part of her life. The thing that had been cooking in her mind for the last few weeks. She slipped off her sandals, walked down the steps and crossed the sandy pebbles. Once she’d found a spot in between an old lady on a deckchair in a Panama hat, a woman in a tiny bikini with a pram with a cover over it and a couple tucked up beside a bright blue windbreaker, she put her basket down on the beach.

Juliette pulled her pale blue and white striped towel out of her basket, laid it on the beach and dug the matching sun umbrella all the way into the sandy pebbles, and making sure it was secure sat down on the towel and looked out to sea. She pulled her book out of her bag, opened it up, and sat quietly reading in bliss with the sea lapping in and out, the sun every now and then dipping behind the clouds.

An hour or so later, another layer of sun cream and having had enough of her book, she took out the small floral lunch bag in her basket, laid a tea towel on top of her beach towel, took the tiny polka dot plastic chopping board from her bag, and placed a wedge of brie and a baguette on the board.

She sat there methodically cutting off a slice of the brie and spreading it onto the bread thinking about Luke.

He’d been off-colour for a few days. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she’d not seen him like it before. It had started when they’d met when they were walking along looking at the jellyfish the day after the storm. He’d not been at all happy about Jack being back on the scene. His attitude had been odd. She didn’t know what the word for it was, but as she sat there eating the bread and cheese it came to her. Tetchy. He’d been tetchy about the Jack thing.

She mulled it over more. Wondering what it was about and how Luke was in the whole of this Jack being back on the scene thing, and it came to her. She suddenly realised that she hadn’t really consulted Luke about whether or not he would mind if she met Jack. Perhaps she should have asked him? She’d thought at the time though that really Luke was so laid back he wouldn’t care that much. But maybe Luke wasn’t quite as laid back as he liked everyone to think. Including her.

She’d also thought in the back of her mind that she could do precisely whatever she wanted. She didn't have to ask Luke’s permission for anything - she certainly wasn’t going down that route in a relationship ever again.

But maybe that wasn’t the right way to behave? Maybe that’s what Luke had wanted? Had he wanted to be involved in the decision? Had she made him feel unappreciated? Had she made him feel unloved?

There was the