The Beach Cottage by Lilly Mirren

Author:Lilly Mirren [Mirren, Lilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Lab Press

Thirteen

It was a beautiful day. Autumn had arrived and with it, some slightly cooler weather. Bea loved autumn and winter on the island. The sun wasn’t as relentless, there was a slight chill in the air overnight, and the ocean had a more deeply blue tint rather than the glaring brilliance of summer.

She climbed out of bed with a smile on her face, pushed her feet into her slippers and padded into the kitchen to make herself a fruit salad with yoghurt for breakfast, along with a giant mug of cappuccino from the lovely espresso machine Aidan had bought her.

Not only was it autumn, but it was the first Sunday of the university break, and she expected both of her children on the afternoon ferry. It was the first time the two of them would visit her cottage together, and she was more excited than she’d thought possible. She couldn’t stop smiling as she made coffee, then carried everything out onto the back verandah to sit looking out across the beach as she ate.

She spent the day getting chores done around the cottage. After a full week in the café, she was exhausted, but happy. She’d had customers every single day, and some were becoming regulars. She’d found a couple of high school students to help after school and on weekends, which was how she was able to take the day off to prepare for her children to visit. She did the laundry and tidied, cleaned and scrubbed. She even took an hour to lie in the bathtub with a mud mask on her face and a pillow under her neck while she listened to an audiobook.

Finally, it was time to collect them from the ferry. She hurried to the car and picked up Dad on the way there. He must’ve been excited, but didn’t show it. His entire face was passive. Only his grey moustache twitched as though he wanted to laugh or smile, but was holding it in.

“You looking forward to seeing them?” Bea asked.

“Can’t wait.”

She smiled to herself. He’d always been stoic, but she could read his emotions after years of practice. The way he folded his hands in his lap as she drove showed he was tense. He stared out the car window at the landscape and didn’t speak — that meant he was thinking, anticipating seeing the kids again. She wondered if he’d heard anything back about his medical tests yet. He might not tell any of them if the news was bad. She’d have to ask him if he didn’t say something soon, although she knew how much he hated anyone to prod for information.

“There they are.” She pulled into the parking lot to see the ferry already docked. Harry and Danita walked across the tarmac with bags slung over their shoulders. Dani waved a hand at the old station wagon as Bea parked.

Danita’s blonde hair shone brilliant under the heat of the sun, her fedora tipped forwards over dark sunglasses. Harry’s peaked cap

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