Love Mends (7 page)
Authors: Leslie K Rose
Chapter 20
“Why doesn't Tom come with us?” David asked.
“Why do you ask the same thing every week?” Katherine snapped.
“Children, children,” their mother intervened. “You know why Tom doesn't want to go to church.”
It had been almost three months since Tom returned to West Isle. During that time, he'd integrated into island life in a way he wouldn't have believed possible. He'd found it relatively easy to adjust to the absence of TV, phone and Internet. There had been once surprise: the volume of work he was expected to do in his new job. He'd had visions of lazy days interrupted by the occasional call on his services. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The requests came thick and fast—there were very few weekdays when he wasn't busy. Of course, a lot of time was spent travelling between jobs. Anne had taught him to drive the carriage, but he was still far from confident, and preferred to travel on foot. There had been one slight hiccup when he'd first moved to West Isle. Some of the islanders had assumed Tom would take on all of Mr William's duties—including those of children's entertainer. Tom might have been many things, but a children's entertainer was not one of them. Fortunately, Walter Taylor had come to his rescue. The store owner was a frustrated actor who had been only too happy to fill the role.
The cottage now felt like home. He'd even mastered the cooker—with Anne's help. Tom still dined with the Masons, but usually no more than once or twice a week. He'd become so adept in the kitchen that, on a couple of occasions, he'd had the Masons over to the cottage for dinner. Much more frequent were the dinners shared at the cottage by just Tom and Anne. They took turns at cooking, although he'd be the first to admit she was by far the better cook.
Although they were both incredibly busy, the two of them always managed to find time to spend together. They often visited Secret Cove, and had seen the seals on a number of occasions. They'd even given names to two of the seals who were regular visitors to the cove. Over the months, Anne had introduced Tom to many of her other favourite places on the island including: 'Spooky Cave', 'The Bird Nest' and 'The Littlest Waterfall'. Anne loved to make up names for the places she loved the most.
Minutes before the Masons were due to leave for church, there was a knock at the door. David rushed to answer it.
“It's Tom.” David flung the door wide open.
“Tom?” The surprise was evident in Anne's voice.
“Do you mind if I join you this morning?”
They were all staring at him. It was the first time any of them had seen him dressed in a suit.
Jean Mason was the first to react.
“Of course. We'd love to have you join us. We were just about to leave.”
It was a beautiful, sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky. David ran in front. Katherine walked alongside her parents. Bringing up the rear, Tom and Anne walked side by side.
“I'm so glad you decided to come,” Anne said in little more than a whisper.
“Me too. I'm a little nervous.”
“It'll be okay. You'll see.”
It was okay. It was much more than okay.
For a few moments when Tom first stepped foot inside the small church, his mind went back to that day—the day he'd said goodbye to Susan. He almost turned and walked out, but something stopped him. Instead of sorrow, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. It was as if Susan was right there with him—giving him her blessing—encouraging him to stay—telling him it was okay to be happy.
“Are you all right?” Anne asked, as they left the church together.
“Never better.”
“It wasn't too much for you?”
“No. It was exactly what I needed. I've been trying to forget Susan because it hurt too much to think about her. I realise now I'll never forget her. I don't want to forget her. She'll always be an important part of my life, and I'll always love her. That doesn't mean I can't move on. I used to feel guilty for being happy, but I realise now that Susan wouldn't want that. She'd want me to be happy again.” Tom took hold of Anne's hand. “She'd want me to love again.”
The two of them were lost in each other's gaze for the longest moment.
“Come on you two,” Katherine said as she walked past. “Mum says Tom should join us for Sunday lunch.”
Katherine ran ahead of them, trying to catch up with her parents and younger brother.
“We'd better make tracks,” Tom said, as he took hold of Anne's hand.
“What made you decide to come to church today?” she asked.
“It was time. I should have done it before now.”
“I'm glad you did.” Anne smiled. Had she ever been happier?
“There was another reason.”
“Oh?”
“I didn't want my next visit to church to be on my wedding day. I couldn't risk spoiling one of the most important days of my life because I hadn't made my peace with the past.”
“Your wedding day?” Anne stopped dead in her tracks.
“I should have said:
our
wedding day.”
Anne's lips parted, but she said nothing. She was too stunned to speak.
“Sorry. I guess it's all a bit sudden. I hadn't planned to say anything today. I'd intended to wait until the next time we visited Secret Cove. I was going to tell you how happy you make me. I was going to tell you I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I was going to ask you to marry me.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“You do know I love you?”
“I... I suppose... I hoped you did.”
“I do. I love you Anne.”
“I love you too.”
**************
“To Anne and Tom,” Arthur Mason proposed the toast.
“Anne and Tom.” The words echoed around the room.
“Shouldn't we be drinking Champagne?” Katherine asked.
“Orange juice will do just fine,” her mother said.
Tom and Anne sat at the same side of the table. Tom needn't have worried about asking Arthur Mason's permission to marry Anne. Both Arthur and Jean were delighted to accept him into their family.
“I love island weddings,” said Katherine. “I'm going to make the most beautiful bridesmaid dress ever.”
They planned to marry in late spring of the following year. Once married, Anne would move into the cottage with her new husband.
“After you're married, will I have to call you Uncle Tom?” David asked. He looked a little put out by the idea.
“Don't worry. You can still call me Tom.”
“And when Tom and Anne have children,” Jean said. “You'll be their Uncle David.”
David liked the sound of that.
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