‘Ididtry to tell you this. It’s like you had a mental block about it.’
‘I know. I mean, yes, he should have told me about his ex-wife. But it was in the past, long before he met me. And he's never given me any reason to doubt him otherwise.’
‘Don't we all have things in our past that we're not proud of? Things we'd rather not talk about?’
Cally nodded. ‘Yeah. I was angry that he didn't tell me. But now, I'm wondering if I overreacted. If I threw away something good because I was hurt and scared. Then, your accident, andwhen I got home last night, I realised how stupid it all is. Life's too short, isn't it?’
Eloise smiled and shook her head. ‘Finally.’
‘Do you think I should message him?’
‘If you feel ready and if you genuinely want to try again, then yes.’
‘I need to try. I love him, El. I’ll think it through.’
‘Run, my friend, don’t walk.’
39
Cally walked around the lower floor of Nina’s harbour property to check that everything was done. She stood by the door with Nina’s checklist and surveyed what they had put together for the speakeasy for Nina’s part in the Chowder Festival. The two of them, with Nina’s husband Robby’s help at times, had worked hard and it showed. Cascades of sparkles ran down the walls in a glowy twinkle of warm white lights. Various tables had been begged and borrowed from all over Lovely Bay, each one had been covered in beautiful white tablecloths. On top of the tables, thrifted vases and the vintage tins Nina had found were stuffed full of ginormous bunches of pink and blue hydrangeas stolen from various gardens around the third smallest town in the country. The hydrangeas had been Cally’s idea. Their impact wasfabulous.
She ran her eyes down the list, checked a few things off, made sure each place setting was correct, and then got on with the last job of laying out the napkins beside the plates. Just like the tablecloths, the napkins were all made of pretty white linen, and the sailor's knot rope napkin rings finished the whole thing off. As Cally went around placing the napkins on each of the tables, she was both quite pleased and surprised at how wellthe decorating had gone. What she and Nina had started with had been a fairly large, nondescript back area of Nina’s office that hadn’t lent itself to a speakeasy in any shape or form. Now, through their endeavours, it was an intimate little place ready to welcome Lovelies into its fold.
Cally was just putting the finishing touches on the table settings when she heard Colin's booming voice echoing through from the backyard area.
'Hello? Anyone about? It's only me, come to check everything's ship-shape! Hello! Ahoy there.'
Cally smiled at Colin's enthusiasm. He was so hyper about the festival he was almost fizzing with it all. 'In here, Colin!'
A moment later, Colin's beaming face appeared around the doorframe. 'Ah, our Cally! Should've known you'd be here, making sure everything's perfect. Where’s Nina?’
‘She’s popped over to pick up Faye.’
‘Ahh, right. How's it all coming along? Looks like you’ve got everything well under control.'
Cally replied, gesturing around at the tables. 'Pretty well, I think, compared to what we started with.’
Colin stepped fully into the room. His eyes widened as he took in the elaborate setup.
'Blimey. You twohavedone well. You’ve outdone yourselves. Best one I’ve seen yet, I think.'
‘We’ve fussed over every little detail. No stone went unturned. Nina has lists of lists and then a list of those lists.’
Colin chuckled, shaking his head. 'Sounds about right. Our Nina doesn't do things by halves, does she? But that's what makes these events so special when everyone throws themselves into it.'
'True,' Cally agreed. ‘All we need now is to make sure our Faye goes down easily this evening and we’ll be laughing.’
‘How about the chowder? That's the real star of the show. How’s that going?'
Cally smiled. ‘I’m no expert like you, but it’s amazing.’ She led him upstairs to the kitchen area, where several large pots were simmering on the hob. 'The traditional version served in the sourdough.’
Colin lifted the lid of a pot and inhaled deeply. 'Oh, that smells divine. I might have to sneak a bowl.'
'Don't you dare. She’ll have a fit. How’s your organisation going?’
‘Excellent, my end. No problems yet, but we’ve not even started, so I’m sure we’ll have a few. It’s the most bunting we’ve ever had, that I know for a fact.’
‘It’s a sight to behold for sure.’
