The Chocolatier's Secret (Magnolia Creek, Book 2) (29 page)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Molly

Molly sat on the front pew between Andrew and Ben, among the people she’d known only a few short weeks, as they said goodbye to a man she’d taken seconds to like, moments to respect and understand.

While they’d been at dinner in the café, only a short walk from the hospital, Louis had suffered a second, catastrophic heart attack. Gemma had been with him, and by the time Andrew and Molly reached his bedside, he was gone. There were no nurses or doctors calling for help, nobody pushing on his chest to do compressions and revive him. A nurse was gently peeling away the sticky white circles that had been allowing the wires to send signals to the machines to monitor his vital signs; the machines were silent. Gemma was crying, but Andrew froze on the spot, stunned. Even when his wife hugged him, his eyes had been fixed on Louis and he couldn’t look away.

‘It was a beautiful service,’ Bella told Gemma now as they made their way outside the chapel.

‘I’ll miss him.’ Stephanie sobbed onto Gemma’s shoulder. The Bennetts had only been in the community a short while, but Molly could see the impact they’d had, knew the impact they’d had on her alone.

‘How are you holding up?’ Ben was by her side.

‘Thanks for coming.’

‘Hey, where else would I be?’ He tilted her chin up so she looked him in the eye. ‘I know this must be an impossible day for you.’

Molly crumpled. ‘I only just got to know him.’

Ben pulled her to him and held her as she cried, quiet tears that were no less powerful than those of anyone who had known Louis Bennett for years.

Despite the sombre mood at the chapel, the wake at the pub was filled with celebration of Louis’ life. Andrew, dressed in a black suit and tie, cleanly shaven, looking so different to the Andrew Bennett who was so often covered in chocolate as he created new masterpieces, recounted stories he knew about his dad, times when he was growing up and he’d clashed with Louis. This man in front of her now was a man Molly was proud to call her father – not her dad, she already had a dad who’d been there since she was a baby, and that would never change – but a father she was tied to in a different way and one she felt glad she’d got to know.

Molly wasn’t angry with Julia any more. If any good came out of Louis’ passing, it was that all of them had learnt about forgiveness. The Bennetts, and Molly, all had a deeper understanding of what the word really meant. And Molly was grateful. Julia had named Andrew on her birth certificate. She was glad too that Julia had contacted him and told him of her existence, because in some way it showed Julia was dealing with things in her own, albeit slow, way. But most of all she would be forever grateful that Julia hadn’t gone through with the abortion in 1985. Molly was glad she’d been given a chance to live.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Gemma

‘It’s too early,’ Gemma groaned when the alarm went off. She nudged Andrew, who turned over to face her and squinted when she turned on the bedside lamp. Even the sun was still sleeping somewhere beyond the moon.

She kissed Andrew gently on the mouth. ‘Don’t go back to sleep,’ she urged as she got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown, ready to go downstairs to make a cup of tea for them both. It was five o’clock, but they had too much to do to even think of having a lie-in. Today was the day of the Easter Egg Hunt at Magnolia House and somehow the laughter and excitement of it all was helping the pain of losing Louis a week ago. The funeral on Friday was still fresh in their minds, but this was a big distraction today and Gemma hoped it would help Andrew cope.

But it was also the day when Andrew would have to say goodbye to Molly, and Gemma knew it was at the forefront of both their minds as they prepared to start their day.

Downstairs, Gemma put the kettle on. She dropped a teabag into each of the awaiting two mugs and as she waited for the bubbles to boil rapidly and settle again, she wiped the kitchen window with the back of her hand so she could see out to the garden. It was still dark but in the moonlight she could just about make out Louis’ annexe. She shivered and felt the familiar lump in her throat. She still wasn’t used to him being gone, knowing she’d never see him shuffling from his door to theirs, or hear his voice call out in greeting to make sure he wasn’t interrupting. Neither she nor Andrew had set foot in there since they’d got some of Louis’ clothes to dress him in for the funeral. She knew what it would be like … the curtains were drawn, the place would be unaired. They would see signs of Louis all around.

Pouring boiling water onto each teabag in turn, she knew they’d have to get out there soon and sort through his things. There was most likely food going off in the fridge, a rancid carton of milk, bread with telltale green fur lying in the pantry. It’d be hard, but together they could do it.

Andrew’s footfall on the stairs announced his arrival five minutes later. He’d already had a quick shower, and when he leant in and hugged his wife as they stood side by side looking out of the window, his skin held a warm, citrus tang and a droplet of water fell from his hair onto her cheek.

‘How are you feeling?’ she asked.

‘Much the same,’ he sighed. ‘I miss him. And I’ll miss Molly when she goes.’

She reached a hand up to his cheek. ‘Let’s do this thing today. Let’s do it for Louis, and let’s do it for Molly.’

‘I love you,’ he told her. ‘Now, can I interest you in a bacon sandwich?’

‘Sounds good.’

‘We might need a good breakfast if we’re going to cope with hyper kids descending on Magnolia House.’

‘I can handle kids, it’s my job, remember?’

He winked. ‘You’re a natural.’

It broke her heart a tiny bit more when she felt the familiar pang of longing, the desire to have children and complete their family.

After breakfast they took the remaining boxes of mini chocolate eggs and the raffle prize – the new mould had arrived safely and Andrew had made the second half of the giant egg yesterday – over to Magnolia House as the sun rose to its optimum position in the sky. With no sign of rain even though winter was just around the corner, there was a warm glow across Magnolia Creek and it looked set to be a perfect day.

Magnolia House was all ready for the Easter Egg Hunt. There was a face-painting stall all ready and set up to go. There was a stall with a sign indicating it would be selling baked goods – breads, cakes, slices of sweet desserts – there was a wine stall run by Chris from the pub who was busy lining up bottles, there was a lucky-dip stall, a hot dog stand and a burger stand.

‘We have a few helpers today,’ said Rosie, leading them to the main room where Gemma saw boxes of their eggs stacked up. And there waiting for them were Stephanie and Emilio, Bella and Rodney Finnegan, Ben and Molly, Owen, and many other faces Gemma was starting to get to know.

‘We’ll get these eggs scattered in no time at all,’ said Gemma, and armed everyone with a box each. The helpers filed back out of the front doors where Rosie delegated areas for each of them to start. Rosie, Owen, Molly and Ben would take the farthest part of the field, working their way past the cottages and to the grass area on the left. Gemma and Andrew would take the area to the side of the lake, which would be vigorously monitored today with so many eager young chocolate lovers. They didn’t want to risk any child thinking there was chocolate hidden in the waters beneath and fall in.

Bella and Rodney ensured the eggs were well positioned around the garden to the right of Magnolia House, Emilio would take the hedges bordering another field and Stephanie would take the centre strip. The task of scattering the eggs was a lot of fun and Gemma could hear laughter, especially from Molly, Ben, Rosie and Owen in the fields the farthest away. She’d wondered how much they were getting done, but they got through their delegated boxes quickly enough and came back for more, and when the task was completed everyone willed the skies up above to hold their own, at least until mid-afternoon when the event would come to an end.

As the time crept towards twelve o’clock when the Easter Egg Hunt was due to kick off, the approach to Magnolia House gradually filled with vehicles and Main Street was choc-a-block with traffic queuing right back to the edge of town. Gemma hadn’t seen a setting so busy since the last time she’d been to the Easter Show in the city.

‘This is crazier than I expected.’ It was Andrew at her side, a huge grin across his face as the people kept on coming. Teenagers accompanied siblings, primary school children gabbled excitedly, all waiting for someone, anyone, to yell, ‘Go!’

‘It’s manic, isn’t it?’

‘You love it.’ He watched his wife and she linked her arm through his own.

‘I do. I can’t deny it.’

‘You’re not content with just me, are you?’ He was half serious, but there was humour in his voice and Gemma nudged against him.

‘I love you to bits, Andrew Bennett. But I want a family. I need a family.’

She turned to him until a small child bumped into her legs.

‘I’m so sorry.’ It was the mother, flustered and running after her child.

‘No worries, no worries at all.’ Gemma crouched down to the same level as the little girl. ‘And what is your name?’

A timid voice came out. ‘Bea.’

‘What a beautiful name.’ Bea had the cutest little button nose, the rosiest cheeks, and chestnut hair pulled into a tidy plait. ‘Are you ready to find those eggs?’

The girl shook her head and the mother said, ‘She was running away. That’s why she bashed into you. I think the whole thing is a bit crazy for her. She’s so little she’s afraid she’ll get trampled.’

‘Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?’ Gemma told Bea to wait there a moment. She went inside and came out with something behind her back.

‘Ta-da.’ She put a pair of long, white bunny ears onto Bea’s head like a headband. ‘How would you like to wear those? You’re a good ten inches taller now, much less likely to be trampled on,’ she winked.

‘You’re so kind. Thank you.’ The mother scooped Bea up into her arms and joined the crowds congregating ready for the off.

Gemma turned to Andrew, who had watched the entire exchange without saying a word.

He kissed his wife on the cheek before they looked around them, and he said, ‘Louis would’ve loved all this.’

‘He would.’

Another couple of kids came up to say hello to Gemma, or Mrs Bennett as she was formally known, and when the voice over the speaker announced the start of the event, squeals erupted and the hunt was on.

Carmen, Sofia and Darcy had driven up from the city, kids in tow, and they all commented on how happy Gemma looked despite recent events. And she was. She missed Louis, they all did, but she felt as though today marked a turning point in their lives and it would only get better from here.

An hour into the big event and Ellie, the little girl in Gemma’s class, ran up to her with a delicately woven basket in her arms, puffing and panting from all the running. ‘Look how many colours there are!’ Her eyes were bright, she was buzzing.

‘Ellie, how are you? And what a gorgeous basket.’

‘My daddy bought it from the gift shop,’ she told Gemma as Ellie’s dad came up from the field beyond. Ellie wouldn’t have done the hunt on her own like many kids would, full of confidence and invincibility. Ellie was cautious among crowds, wary of new situations, which was one thing they worked on at school. Whenever they had a class trip Gemma made sure Ellie knew what to expect, talked through any concerns she may have. If there was a visitor in school, then Ellie would know about it in finite detail so she could process it her own way before it happened.

‘Hello, Mr Sedgeway.’ Gemma greeted Ellie’s dad and reached out, shook his hand.

Mr Sedgeway smoothed down his daughter’s hair as she cuddled up against him, still gawping at the massive haul of colourful eggs in her basket. ‘It’s nice to finally meet at last,’ he said. ‘Ellie speaks very highly of you.’

‘She does?’ Gemma smiled.

‘We were worried about having her at a mainstream school, but you’ve taken away our concerns. So thank you.’ He nodded to Andrew in acknowledgment and took Ellie inside to have her face painted. She promised to come outside afterwards and show Gemma, see if she could still be recognised.

‘Hello, Mason.’ Gemma waved over at a little boy with chocolate around his mouth. ‘He’s in my class,’ she told Andrew.

‘You’re popular.’ They sat together on the wall surrounding the lake, most of their hard work done for the day.

‘Have you seen Molly?’ Gemma asked.

‘She’s over there.’ Andrew smiled and looked over to the veranda of the big house. Molly and Ben were deep in conversation, nursing a can of drink each. ‘I said hello and we agreed to meet up after this has all finished.’

‘How’s she feeling?’

He shrugged. ‘She’s not said much.’

‘I’m glad she got to meet Louis,’ said Gemma. ‘He really liked her. And I think Molly gave him closure on the secret he’d kept hidden for so long.’

Andrew nodded. ‘I told him I forgave him. I don’t know if he heard, but I like to think so. And his visit to the shop and the family lunch at the chocolaterie, the day he collapsed, is something I’ll never forget.’

Gemma squeezed his knee with her hand, and they sat there quietly, contemplating. Andrew still felt guilty for the way he treated his father, guilty that he hadn’t managed to persuade Louis to have the transplant before either of them even knew about Molly. But the doctors had been very clear. Whether or not he’d agreed to the transplant earlier, Louis’ heart attack had been something nobody could’ve foreseen. The outcome would most likely have been the same whether it had happened before the surgery or after it.

Andrew turned to face her. ‘We’ll make an appointment with the doctor. I want to give you a family, and I’ll do anything to make it happen.’

‘Anything?’

He nodded. ‘Anything.’

‘Then don’t book an appointment.’

His expression changed. ‘What?’

‘I’ve been thinking.’

‘Always dangerous.’

She smiled. ‘I’ve watched you with Molly, this girl you didn’t know until she was well into adulthood. I’ve spent time with Ellie, a girl who has additional needs and blossoms when they’re met.’

‘What are you saying?’

She hesitated. ‘What I’m saying is how about we forget IVF, or trying so hard to conceive naturally? Clearly my body is not happy to give us what we want, but there must be hundreds of kids out there who need people like us. We’re good people, we deserve to be parents.’ She reached up and touched Andrew’s face. ‘When I think of little Ellie, lost in the system with foster families for such a long time, I want to reach out and do something for any other child in the same position.’

Andrew drew in his breath.

‘What do you think? Is it a possibility?’ She crossed her fingers in her lap.

‘Do you think we’d be eligible?’

‘We could find out.’ Gemma tried to keep her eagerness in check. She’d been thinking about this for a few weeks, mainly since Molly came into their lives, but saying it out loud made it feel real, and she was excited.

Andrew looked over at three little boys, two of them scrounging in the dirt by the roots of a tree to find the eggs the youngest boy had dropped. The third boy was crying, his face was covered in mud. The other two handed him eggs as they were found, each time putting a little bit more happiness on to his face.

‘I’m in,’ said Andrew, eyes only for his wife now.

Gemma’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Really?’

‘One hundred per cent. I’m in. Before Molly came along I would’ve been scared I couldn’t parent a child who came from somebody else. But Molly has made me realise it doesn’t matter at what stage you become a parent, there are no rules. You pick up the job from the moment it starts, whenever that is. For Molly and I …’ He paused, looked over at his daughter talking animatedly with Ben. ‘We didn’t meet until now, but I get the feeling we won’t suffer for it.’