Unforgettable Embrace (28 page)

"This story is like Pirates of the Caribbean," Simon interrupted again, "that's my favourite film of all time, auntie."

"That's nice, Sim
on," Rachel indulged her nephew.

" General Humbert and his French forces accidentally landed at Kilcummin Strand, close to the north Mayo village of Killala. They had planned on docking at Lough Swilly in County Donegal, with several ships carrying about a thousand French troops in support of a rebellion planned by the United Irishmen against the English. The last ice age never reached Mayo and the county is rich in marine life and flora and fauna. There are still archaeological artifacts to be found from the Bronze Age and the cliffs carved by wave erosion that run from Belderg to Benwee Head have to be seen to be believed."

"You've sold Mayo to me, aunt," Holly said, "I'm really looking forward to doing some sight-seeing when we come up to visit you. Where's your nearest town?"

"The local village is Belmullet. It's quite a large village really, with three supermarkets, several pubs and hairdressers. There are a few other specialist shops like hardware, clothes and stationery. Everyone's very friendly and welcoming, a bit nosey, but that's to be expected in a small village."

"How are you going to entertain yourself at the weekend?" Holly asked, "you like going to the cinema and out to dinner in the evenings."

"There's a divine Indian restaurant
, Batt took me there. It's the best Indian food I've ever eaten. There's also a hotel with a gym and spa and an entertainment complex with bowling and the like, so I'm sure I'll be able to amuse myself."

"How far is the nearest cinema and proper shops like Dunnes Stores and Tesco?"

"They're about fifty miles away in Ballina."

"Fifty miles!" Holly exclaimed, "so you have to drive a hundred miles round trip to go shopping."

"It's the one slight downside of living in such a remote area," Rachel agreed, "but it's a small sacrifice that I'm more than willing to make. The village is just a five minute walk from my house and I can stroll along the seafront to get to the main street."

"Can we build sandcastles, auntie?" Simon asked.

"Absolutely," Rachel smiled at her nephew, "just make sure to bring your bucket and spade." "How are you going to earn a living?" Holly asked her sister, "I can't see there being many jobs for anyone up there, let alone a French-speaking call centre supervisor."

"I want a total change of career anyway," Rachel said, "and my dream job has always been to be a florist."

"A florist!" Holly couldn't believe what she was hearing, "firstly you tell me you're moving to the back of beyond and now you tell me you're having a complete career change which involves playing with flowers. Whatever's come over you?"

"Excuse me!" Rachel had had just about enough of Holly's tone, "first of all, as we have already established, I am more than entitled to live wherever I choose and secondly, if I want to work as a bin man or a florist or whatever then that is my prerogative."

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few minutes after Rachel's sudden outburst.

Then Simon broke the awkward silence by saying, "but auntie you can't be a bin man cos you're not a man, are you?"

"No, Simon, I'm not a man, thank you," Rachel responded snippily.

"You're welcome," Simon replied, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Rachel glanced over at Holly who was doing her best to stifle her giggles. The sisters made eye contact and exploded into laughter.

"I needed that laugh," Holly said, after a few minutes of convulsive laughing and tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What's so funny?" Simon asked in bewilderment, looking from his aunt to his mother as if they had lost their minds.

"Never mind, Si, auntie and mommy just wind each other up sometimes, as I'm sure you and Mia will when you're both a little older," Rachel smiled.

"What made you want to be a florist anyway?" Holly asked. "It's a big change from being a supervisor in a warm, cosy office."

"It's always been a secret dream of mine to own a shop full of flowers. You know how much I love flowers," Rachel said.

"It's true, you do love them," Holly agreed, "but surely it takes more than a keen interest in flowers to become a florist."

"I want a career that I am passionate about. I got so fed up with being a money-maker for a large corporation. I was starting to feel like a number. So, I decided to follow my dream and do something I know I'll love. If I manage to make a decent living out of it, what more could I ask for?"

"I suppose the major advantage is that you get to be your own boss," Holly conceded, "you can n
ever be bossed around anymore. Everything will be controlled by you. That's why I hated working. There was always some manager or other on a power trip, wrecking my head. I'm so happy here at home with the children, being a full-time mother."

"Obviously, that must be v
ery satisfying," Rachel said. “That's what I want in my career, some job satisfaction. It will be so rewarding to be able to touch people's emotions with my flowers. Flowers are central to the most important moments in everyone's life."

"That's true actually," Holly agreed, "we give flowers for birthdays, weddings, funerals, most celebrations and even commiserations too. I think they're a waste of money myself, but to each their own."

"Well, that's rather
cynical of you," Rachel said. “Where's the romance in your life? Do you mean to tell me that if Will walked through the door with a huge bunch of roses that you wouldn't be thrilled?"

"Maybe," Holly said slowly, "I guess it is nice to be given flowers, but I'd never buy them for myself."

"I remember when I first moved out of home and into the apartment with Tony, mom gave me a beautiful bunch of lillies," Rachel said.

"Aren't lillies the official flowers of funerals?" Holly asked.

"I think so," Rachel replied, "but I didn't care, they smelled absolutely divine, and besides, it's the thought that counts."

"You are quite a creative person and you do have good colour coordination," her sister said. "My sales training at Sherrington should stand to me as well," Rachel said.

"Do you have any ideas where you'll set up your florist shop?" Holly asked.

"Yes, actually, I have my eye on a recently vacated shop on the main street in Belmullet that I think will suit me perfectly," Rachel said.

"What about finances?"

"Well, I still have a fair chunk left over from my share of the apartment. I've had a chat with my bank manager and he seems to think we can do a deal. He told me to pop in next week to discuss the details."

"It seems like it's all systems go for you aunt
," Holly said.

"It certainly is,
mother, I can't wait to get started."

Chapter 38

"Finally, that's the last box," Batt sighed with relief, throwing himself on to the couch.

He and Rachel had spent two days packing her belongings carefully into her campervan and Batt's jeep, and even with two large vehicles, they barely had enough room for all her possessions. They were both absolutely exhausted from their efforts and the long drive from Cork to Mayo.

"How can one woman have so much stuff?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that mys
elf," Rachel agreed with him. “If I never see another cardboard box, it'll be too soon. I am never moving house again."

"Well, I don't know about that," Batt said, "I certainly hope I can change your mind some day." "Maybe, one day," Rachel smiled, "but not just yet."

"Don't make me use my magic powers of persuasion on you," he said, pulling her down on to the couch and enveloping her in a big bear hug, where he started tickling her mercilessly. "Mercy, please, mercy," she begged, trying to wriggle free from his clutches, "I'll do anything you want, I promise."

"Promise me you'll at least consider moving in with me, one day," he said, fingers poised and ready to tickle her again.

"I promise! I promise!" she gasped.

"Ok, that'll have to do for now, I suppose," he relented, releasing her from his tickles. She wiped the tears of laughter from her face.

"Oh, my God, I have such a stitch in my side, you are so unbelievably naughty."

"Would mademoiselle care for some wine?" Batt asked, jumping to his feet.

"Definitely," Rachel said, "that's the best idea you've had all day."

"Oi, cheeky! I'm full of good ideas," he said, pulling her ponytail on his way into the kitchen. Rachel stretched out on the couch and channel-surfed while Batt went in search of the wine. She loved Batt dearly, there was no doubt about that in her mind, but she was glad she'd stuck to her guns and moved into her own place, despite his best efforts to persuade her to move in with him.

She thoroughly enjoyed her own space and was pleased to discover that she actually quite liked her own company. She didn't mind spending time alone. The period she'd spent in her campervan had taught her the ability to sit still and listen to her own thoughts. When she'd lived in her camper, she'd often found that she didn't always need the distractions of watching television or reading a book. It was enough to just gaze out the window and sit quietly alone, letting her mind wander.

Of course, it was nice to have company too, but she found it rejuvenating to be by herself for a while. She loved being with Batt, she simply wasn't ready to fall into the domestic life quite yet. It was so easy to get stuck in a rut and boring routine, she'd learned that with her relationship with Tony. She was enjoying the fact that her relationship with Batt was relatively new and that they were still at the exciting stage of discovering different things about each other. She liked that Batt took her out to dinner and that they made an effort to get dressed up for each other on their dates. She realised that their relationship would eventually progress to the stage where they moved in together, but she was more than happy at the moment, to leave that eventuality in the future, preferably the distant future.

Rachel was so absorbed in her thoughts that she suddenly realised Batt was taking an inordinate amount of time to find the wine.

"Everything ok in there," she called from her comfy position on the couch, "a woman could die of thirst around here."

"I can't find the wine," Batt responded, sounding slightly bothered.

Rachel reluctantly pulled herself to her feet and padded into the kitchen. The room looked like a bomb had hit it.

"This place is a tip," she said, "I'm dreading unpacking it all."

"I'll give you a hand," Batt offered, as he rifled through another box, looking for the wine.

"I thought you said you had a brilliant packing system, Rach, where you said you knew where everything was located immediately."

"It started off brill
iantly," Rachel admitted. “I soon gave it up as a bad job and just started throwing everything into a box. The system was starting to take precedence over the actual packing, cos I was beginning to get a bit obsessed. I got everything packed in the end, but there's no system unfortunately. I guarantee the wine is in here, somewhere, but where exactly, I don't know."

"I give up," Batt said, "let's just have orange juice instead."

"Good idea, I'll wash the mugs we used for our tea earlier, cos I've no idea where the glasses are located either."

"What am I going to do with you?" Batt teased, swinging open the refrigerator doo
r. "Well, look what I found,” he said, emerging from the 'fridge with a bottle of perfectly chilled white wine.

"There it is," Rachel laughed, "I knew it was in here somewhere."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, unscrewing the cork and pouring the wine into their mugs.

"Cheers," she said cheekily, clinking her mug against his.

"Cheers," he joined in, wrapping his arms around her and planting a big kiss on her lips.

"Now let's open all the lovely housewarming presents everyone got me," Rachel said. "I promised I wouldn't open them until my first night in my new home. I really don't know how I resisted, I do love presents."

"How do you know which box holds the presents if you completely abandoned the system?" Batt asked curiously.

"Oh, that was easy, I put my presents in the front of the campervan, so I'd know exactly where to find them," she smiled.

"Throw another log on the fire, will you love?" she asked, as she ripped open the big box, where inside were her carefully wrapped parcels.

The fireplace in her house was the final decision maker for her when choosing her new home. It was a stone fireplace and her landlord had very thoughtfully left a large pile of peat in a neat basket for her to throw on the fire. The flames made the room feel very cosy and toasty warm.

"Oh, wow," Rachel said, as she opened her present from her mother. It was a huge c
andle from Yankee Candle Company with the refreshing scent of "Clean Cotton". Rachel breathed deeply, inhaling the candle's wonderful smell.