Chapter 10
By the end of summer the following year, life had settled down and returned to normal, or a new normal and perhaps a better one. Edward and Jill were as good as retired. They still sourced books, ordered stock, did the wages and other paperwork mainly from home, but everything else they left to their small band of dedicated staff. The rest of their time was their own, and they spent it pottering around, going for walks and continuing their exploration of the Welsh countryside. Sometimes they took Beti with them. Sometimes they left her at home. She was getting older and no longer liked to walk as far, but she remained healthy for an elderly dog of around thirteen.
Edward had been able to embrace his hobbies more fully. He liked to spend days drawing, painting and writing when he could. His ideas were coming together, and he was well on his way to completing his first illustrated book. It included his sketches of local landmarks and poetry that had been inspired by it. It also included reflections and anecdotes of his experiences in Wales, and some of the characters he’d encountered on his travels. He planned to have a limited edition published in bound hardcover, which he’d sell in both shops.
He was getting to his evening classes more regularly, and had now tried his hand at both photography and creative writing courses too. It was the kind of retirement he’d always envisaged. Jill was getting to her book club regularly. They’d increased both membership and the regularity of their meetings of late, now she had more time on her hands to promote it through the bookshops. She’d also taken an interest in flower arranging of all things, and Edward had more time for reading. There was nothing he liked better than immersing himself in a good book, whilst sitting on a park bench or in the stillness and quiet overlooking Swansea Bay. He’d celebrated another birthday in the spring. He was now 61, and Jill was a mere 57, a baby in comparison. Jill had effectively retired early, but had been very happy to do so. She wouldn’t get her state pension for another ten years. Edward would support their very comfortable lives in the meantime. He was more than able to do so.
Both were gradually stepping further back from the business. Teas, coffees, cakes and light savoury snacks were now being served from the Swansea bookshop as well as the Neath one, both to take away and to enjoy in the relaxed comfort of the shop. Meredith had come over from Neath to get the Swansea food and beverage side up and running, and it was proving popular with customers. Megan continued to work there too, and paint when she could. Henry and his girlfriend Holly had returned from abroad. They were now running the Neath shop and living in the home above. Edward had given it to them, but with a small degree of sadness on his part. He’d liked it there. He’d enjoyed the peaceful views of the park opposite. His stay in Neath had proved a short-lived one, although he was happy to have Henry back and seemingly more settled in life. Edward liked Holly very much. He hoped she and Henry might marry one day. As for Daisy, she just worked where she was needed and seemed content to do so.
Edward hadn’t lost his inclination for a new enterprise entirely. He was already on the lookout for a third property in the West Cross or Mumbles area. He wanted somewhere secluded and overlooking the bay. He’d always admired such properties on his walks to Mumbles and back on Sunday mornings as a student. Some of the nicest ones had been occupied by his lecturers at the university and their families at the time. Edward had always hoped he might be able to afford such a home himself one day. Now he could. Despite his recent expensive divorce, he could still afford one easily.
He had considered opening a third bookshop and coffee shop in Mumbles, but Jill had talked him out of it. She’d convinced him they didn’t need the hard work and hassle at their age. They had enough on their hands running two shops. It was better to relax and be able to enjoy life at their age. She was probably right. It didn’t stop Edward looking for a new house to live in. Then perhaps they could pass the Swansea home over to Meredith and her girlfriend, Tess, if they wanted it.
‘Isn’t three properties greedy?’ Jill asked.
‘Well, as we said with your engagement ring, there’s no harm looking,’ Edward retorted.
Jill laughed. She was very much in love. The sorry business with Alice had been forgotten. They’d put it firmly behind them and moved on. It was no longer mentioned, at least not in a negative way.
‘Can’t you picture us living in one of those big houses overlooking the bay?’ Edward wondered, trying to paint a picture of wedded bliss in a new home and not the rather rickety one they were living in. ‘We could get it refurbished with all the latest fittings and furnishings. We could have a big kitchen we can both cook in.’
Edward had finally relinquished eggs and dairy from his diet and joined Jill as a fully committed vegan, only eating plant-based products. It had been good for his waistline. He’d lost a good stone and a half since he’d first come to Swansea, despite the fact they both still enjoyed a glass of wine on as many nights as not. They had cut back somewhat since the height of their drinking the previous Christmas, when Alice had been in town for three long weeks. Edward could no longer even be considered overweight. He’d had to buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes. He looked quite trim and almost handsome, with his neatly trimmed silver beard.
He and Jill had even managed a spot of tennis over the summer. With Edward’s guidance, Jill had started to enjoy it and become quite good for a relative beginner. She could now get some enjoyment from hitting the ball back and forth over the net. They did it quite regularly when the weather was nice. Edward was almost back up to league standard, although he was yet to join a proper club. It remained something he might do in time.
Meanwhile Edward’s divorce to Alice had been finalised and settled. In the event there had been no major arguments. When Alice had been presented with the fine print, she’d been more than pleased. She’d discovered Edward had been true to his word. He’d been as generous as he reasonably could be. Not only could she keep the house, she was now a rich woman in her own right. As Edward had predicted, she also had a new man in her life too. He was a business executive called Charles. He was predictably handsome, younger and well off. Alice was happy. Perhaps she was secretly pleased Edward had decided to stay in Swansea after all.
It had allowed her to reconcile with him and be friends again. Indeed Edward had finally returned to Oxford several times over the previous months to collect more of his belongings. The rest Alice had agreed could remain in the house, until he and Jill had found a new and bigger home in which to live. They were already actively looking. Edward had even met Charles on more than one occasion and warmed to him. He seemed more reliable than Paul, and seemed to dote on Alice. Edward liked him well enough, and was confident Alice had made a good choice. They’d even all gone out for dinner together on his last visit.
‘It’s funny how things have turned out,’ Alice said, as they sat eating in what had always been one of their favourite Oxford restaurants. ‘To think only last Christmas I was trying to win you back. Now you’re getting married to Jill, and I’m very happy with Charles.’
‘Well, I’m glad things have worked out and we can be friends,’ Edward agreed.
He was indeed. He was happy to be able gradually to right the wrongs he’d committed. He was now a proud grandfather. His daughter Victoria had given birth to a healthy boy, Benjamin, in late spring. Edward had only met him once, but was expecting to meet him again soon. Edward had gone out of his way to spend more time with Victoria’s partner, Mark, and advise him on business matters, as he was effectively welcoming him to the family as a future son-in-law. He imagined there could be another wedding there before long. As Edward was giving Henry and Holly the Neath property, to compensate he gave Victoria a not insignificant quantity of money to do as she wished with. They were looking at putting it down as a deposit on a London property, if they could find anything suitable.
Edward and Jill were beginning to plan their own wedding, for the following summer as agreed. Jill had come into a little money herself, although it paled into insignificance compared to Edward’s millions, although Alice now had some of them. Mary’s house had been sold and the proceeds split three ways, between Jill, her sister Beth, and brother David. It wasn’t enough to make her rich, but it did mean she had a bit of money of her own in the bank for once. Before that she’d had nothing except what Edward had been kind enough to give her. She greatly appreciated it, but it was also nice she didn’t have to be totally reliant on him for once. He had gone off with Alice after all. She only had it on trust he’d never do such a thing again. She thought she knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t do, and by the same time the following year they’d be married. Both her sister and brother liked him. They were pleased for Jill she was getting married again.
For his part Edward was happy to have been able to put things right, and redeem himself to an extent, having fallen from grace so spectacularly the previous year. He tried to help people where he could. He still hadn’t done anything for Alan and Gwen. He wanted to help them too, so they could retire. Perhaps he could offer to buy the guesthouse, and get new people in to run it. It would allow them to move somewhere nice to live out their retirement. Or he could buy a share of the business, so they could at least go part time. Perhaps that and other options were something he might discuss with them the next time he saw them. He had to be careful not to overstretch himself. It was something he could look at once he and Jill were settled in a new house, and had finished planning their wedding. It was less than a year away, and at their age a year went very quickly.
September arrived. It was now nine months since Alice had arrived in Swansea to disrupt their lives. It seemed like a distant memory, or an unwelcome dream. So much had happened since. Alice had probably forgotten all about it herself, now she had Charles and her own life was moving forwards. The new year had brought much better luck for everyone. Edward’s son, Henry, had returned to him, and was now living locally in the property Edward had bought on a whim in Neath the year before. Perhaps he’d subconsciously known he’d put it to good use one day, apart from as a new bookshop and coffee shop. Thanks to Victoria, Edward had become a grandparent for the first time. He was now proud grandfather to an adorable grandson, Benjamin. And to cap it all Edward and Jill were now looking at venues for their own wedding. It could just be the first of many over the coming years, with Victoria and Mark, Henry and Holly, and Alice and Charles, all potentially tying the knot.
Edward and Jill started their search for a suitable wedding venue in Swansea. They looked at a number of hotels and several country houses, which would have been more than adequate, but nothing really grabbed them. There was one in Mumbles they liked, which for a while was top of their list of possibles. As they were in no particular hurry, they carried on searching. And money was no great object. Edward was paying, so they could afford any of them. They weren’t working to a budget, but from personal preference they planned to keep it a small and intimate affair, of just best friends and closest relatives. They were only planning to invite those they really wanted to join them on their big day. They didn’t want to invite people out of obligation. There seemed no point. Jill seemed to have something particular in mind. She said she’d know it when she saw it. As Edward had been married twice before, on this occasion he was happy to defer to Jill and let her take the lead in all decisions. With their business it was generally the other way round.
As Jill was struggling to find exactly what she wanted, they began to widen their search a little further. They looked at several venues to the east of Swansea, but mainly concentrated their search on the Gower. Whilst conversely Edward wasn’t the biggest fan of the first area of the UK to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it held many wonderful childhood memories for Jill. Edward mainly didn’t like it as much as its most ardent advocates because it involved too many high, cliff-edge walks, and neither the roads to it nor the amenities on it were particularly great. That didn’t put Jill off. She drove them there, and when they went to see Fairyhill, a grade two listed Georgian house in its own grounds in the middle of the Gower Peninsula, she immediately fell in love with it. As it was nestled in lush countryside and not near any cliffs, Edward couldn’t argue or disagree with her choice.
‘This is the one,’ she told him, as they wandered round its sprawling 24 acres of gardens and woodland.
‘As long as your happy, I’m happy,’ Edward declared.
‘I can picture it already,’ Jill said, visualising their wedding day in her head, which was now less than a year away. ‘It will be absolutely beautiful.’
‘I can’t disagree,’ Edward concurred. ‘It’s stunning here, and so peaceful and quiet.’
They could hear birdsong coming from the trees around them. It made the setting even more enchanting. This was the venue they’d been waiting for. The others paled into insignificance in comparison. They now just had to check what days were available the following year. As they’d both now stepped back from the business and were in semi-retirement, they weren’t tied to particular days of the week. They realised, however, it was probably best for their guests if they could make it a weekend. They realised also they’d have to shut both shops for the big day, so their growing team could all attend.
Whilst there were plenty of weekdays to choose from, unsurprisingly Saturdays in the summer were hard to come by. Most had already been booked up. Luckily the venue had just received a cancellation in early June. The couple concerned had decided to go with another venue. Edward and Jill jumped at it, and snapped it up straight away. Edward was happy to put a deposit down immediately to secure it. So it was decided. They had a wedding venue and were to be married there in June the following year. They stopped in Mumbles on the way back to celebrate. They found themselves sitting on a bench overlooking the bay, in the glorious sunshine of a September late afternoon. They’d just enjoyed a coffee and cake at a nearby café, and planned to have a refreshing lager or cider before heading back.
‘We’ve come a long way in a short time,’ Jill remarked.
They’d only been together a little more than a year, and were now planning to get married.
‘We certainly have,’ Edward agreed.
They’d even managed to fit in a very brief separation, when just for a moment Edward had been tempted by his former wife, Alice. He was happy she’d now found Charles, and such temptations could never happen again. He really was a one-woman man again now. He’d never be anything else for the rest of his life. He was happy in Wales. He was glad he’d made the decision to come here. He had only intended it to be a brief holiday, but he’d decided to stay with Jill. He was glad he had, and hadn’t returned to Oxford.
‘Mumbles is so different from when I was a student,’ Edward observed. ‘It used to have pubs from one end to the other, most of which were favourites of Dylan Thomas. They’ve almost all disappeared, to be replaced by café-bars or apartments.’
‘We used to come here for walks with my parents, but we didn’t drink in Mumbles that much when I was old enough,’ Jill said. ‘We considered it a bit posh. We mainly went to the nightclubs in town when I was a teenager. There used to be loads of them, but they’ve mainly gone too.’
‘I remember there were lots,’ Edward nodded. ‘We mainly stuck to the student ones though, like Cinderella’s on the end of Mumbles Pier. I have many happy memories of going there.’
‘I wonder if we were ever there together,’ Jill speculated. ‘I started going out when I was fifteen or sixteen, so it’s quite possible. People did in those days. They generally didn’t ask for ID or check ages when going into clubs back then. We occasionally went to Cinderella’s, as well as all the ones in town. I would have been in my mid-teens, sixteen or seventeen. You would have been twenty or 21 I guess.’
‘I’m sure you were very pretty,’ Edward commented. ‘Of course I was with Angela, my first wife then. I wouldn’t have been allowed to look at other girls, and I wouldn’t have wanted to.’
‘There’s no harm looking,’ Jill said and laughed, squeezing Edward’s shoulder and then pulling him tightly to her.
She embraced him with deep and genuine affection, and didn’t want to let him go. They were very much in love and happy together.
‘Of course I used to snog a different boy every week when I was a teenager,’ Jill continued. ‘It was never very serious. We never stayed with the same boy very long. We didn’t want to get tied down to just one. I used to go out with a group of girls. We used to be quite loud and rowdy when we were drinking. I’m not really in touch with them now. It was just a social thing at the time. We weren’t friends for life or anything. I occasionally see one or two of them around. I imagine they’re all settled down with adult kids or divorced by now.’
‘I met Angela not that long after arriving in Swansea, so I never had the chance to play the field or sew my wild oats,’ Edward reflected. ‘I didn’t really want to anyway. It was never my thing if I’m honest.’
‘I didn’t sleep with them,’ Jill said. ‘I mean some of the girls did, but I was pretty innocent. I didn’t lose my virginity until I met a fellow fan of The Smiths when I was studying art. We were together for a few years, until he went off to London to seek his fame and fortune. I never really heard from him again. I mainly seemed to end up with losers and outcasts after that, people who didn’t really fit in, and weren’t that keen to work, until I met John.’
‘You have me now,’ Edward reassured her. ‘You’ll never be alone again, whilst I’m living and breathing.’
As summer headed towards autumn, Edward intensified his efforts to finish his book. It was nearly done, and he’d soon be in a position to find a publisher. He wanted it published and stocked in both shops before the end of the year and in good time for Christmas. With its heavy emphasis on local interest, he thought it might make a nice Christmas present, rather like the illustrated editions of the Dylan Thomas favourites he already sold and were big sellers. Whilst he didn’t imagine himself to be on anything like the level of Dylan, he could see there was potential in his book and that it might have some wider appeal. He hoped a local publisher would feel the same. He’d just pay someone to publish it if not. He could see it was more than just a vanity project, and could be a business success if marketed properly. As a result he was more than happy to put his money where his mouth was if necessary. He just needed to finish the damn thing first.
As September moved inexorably towards October, Edward found himself returning to his local walks more. He wanted to take advantage of the lighter evenings, before the clocks went back and it became too dark to go out after teatime. Normally he had Beti in tow, whilst Jill remained behind in their home above the King Edward Street bookshop, preparing their evening meal. She preferred to have Edward out the way, as she set about that daily task. If he went a little earlier in the late afternoon, she’d sit drinking a mug of tea or reading a book, as a means of enjoying a bit of quiet time to herself first. Edward usually had a book with him. He’d returned to reading in a big way, now he had more time on his hands. His present book of choice was The Holy Sinner by Thomas Mann, published in 1951, in an English translation naturally. Like his French, Edward’s German was nowhere near good enough to read in its original language. He’d found the beginning difficult, but he’d persevered as he always did, and now he was really getting into it, and found the tale of Oedipal love quite fascinating.
Edward varied where he walked Beti. He walked the bay in both directions. He made a point of popping in on Alan and Gwen, if he happened to be passing. He could now tell them he and Jill were getting married the following year. He just did a quick circuit of Victoria Park, adjacent to the Brangwyn Hall, if he didn’t have long or if Beti was tired. He sometimes took her to Singleton Park and Swansea Botanical Gardens if he had longer, or the childhood hangout of Dylan Thomas, Cwmdonkin Park in the Uplands. His favourite was always the seclusion of Brynmill Park, with its beautiful lake in the middle and abundant waterfowl that gathered on it. There was always a free bench for Edward to sit in quiet reflection or reading a book, with Beti obediently by his side. Edward loved it there. It was his favourite as a student, and it still was. Though he’d barely appreciated the beauty of Swansea’s parks as a young man. He did now he was in his sixties. All he had left was time, and what better place to spend it than where he was.
Sometimes he stopped for a coffee or tea on the way back, depending on the time of day. The nearby coffee shop shut at 4pm. It reminded him of the time he’d first returned to Swansea some eighteen or so months earlier. If it was evening he occasionally stopped for a quick beer before returning. There was nothing like enjoying a pint on a late summer evening. Once there had been a nice local pub just round the corner in Brynmill Crescent. It was called The Rhyddings and had been favoured by both Dylan Thomas and Kingsley Amis back in the day. Edward had been a regular drinker there as a student. Sadly it was no more, and Edward now had to wander a little further for his pint, not helped by the fact another former student favourite The Cricketers had also closed.
There were now café-bars by the beach that hadn’t been there in Edward’s undergraduate days, but he didn’t like those as much. He liked traditional, old-fashioned pubs. Edward wasn’t keen on change, particularly for the sake of it. He was a nostalgic person, and although still forward thinking in some ways, spent much of his time reflecting on the past. When he’d come to Swansea, he was aware his best days were mainly behind him. Since he’d met Jill, he’d come to appreciate he had a future too. If all went well, it could be a truly marvellous one. Indeed since the start of the year, he’d probably felt as happy as at any time in his life, and since those heady days over forty years earlier when he’d first met Angela. By some strange twist of fate, Swansea had brought him the happiest days of his life.
Of course he’d been happy in Oxford, but he’d always been drowning in work too much to enjoy it fully. Then Angela had died. He’d been happy with Alice for ten years or so, until her affair with Paul had derailed it. He was even happier with Jill. He was looking forward to them finding a new home together, and then getting married the following year. He was 61 now. He’d be 62 then. As he walked Beti home, he realised what a truly lucky man he was. Things had worked out very well in the circumstances.
When Edward had finally completed his illustrated manuscript of poetry and sketches to his satisfaction, he immediately set about the task of finding a publisher for it. He had no intention of sending it off in the post. He planned to go straight to the horse’s mouth. He thought his prospects were better if they could actually see what he’d done for themselves. He also knew the fact that he was the joint owner of two local bookshops was a massive advantage in his favour. It meant he had a readymade outlet from which to sell his books. It could also prove a useful negotiating tool, when seeking someone willing to invest in his proposal. He could offer to stock any potential publisher’s other publications, if they agreed to help him with his. At present he and Jill mainly concentrated their efforts and attention on rare and second-hand books. In future they could diversify more into stocking local books by local authors as well, Edward realised. Tourists visiting the area were often interested in buying something with a local flavour.
Edward googled every publisher he could find within a twenty-mile radius or so. Most were just printers, catering for printing needs on demand. They were a number, however, publishing books of local interest, focussing variously on the history of Swansea and the Gower, its traditions, culture, cuisine and folklore. A few dealt with poetry, if not exclusively. Edward contacted those, and tried to set up meetings with their proprietors. One told him their books were presently full, and they wouldn’t be considering new proposals and manuscripts until the following year. Another agreed to take a look at Edward’s work, but said it wasn’t really his thing. A third said they’d publish it, if Edward met all the costs involved. He was happy to do that, until the last one he contacted offered him something rather better. It was only a tiny publishing house, situated not far from the Glynn Vivian Gallery. It was willing to offer Edward a hybrid publishing contract, where they’d promote him as a new author and poetic voice, but he’d share the risk and costs of publication. Edward jumped at it, and they agreed to publish a limited edition run of his book. If it sold well, they’d do a second run.
Edward was thrilled. It had been a secret ambition all his life to get a book published, but during his working days he’d never had time to focus on writing one. Now in his sixties it was finally happening. His book was coming out. It was actually being published, and he was proud of it and what he’d done. He felt the poems, stories, anecdotes and illustrations inside did him full justice, in his gradual development from a totally amateur to more serious artist. If it sold at all well, he could do a sequel. Or perhaps he’d write a novel. His career in business might have been drawing to an end. His literary one was just beginning. And whilst he might not have been a brilliant illustrator, his basic sketches, drawings and paintings did have a simplistic and almost childlike quality that was instantly appealing, and captured something of the rustic beauty of the landmarks around Swansea.
Edward considered various titles for his book. He quite liked Swansea Reflections. He toyed with calling it An Englishman in Wales, only to find it had already been used by little-known poet WH Middleton. In the end he decided to title it simply Poems and Stories From Swansea Bay by Edward Chapman. He was keen to get the local angle in the title, rather than something more obscure. He thought it might help to sell more copies from his two shops. The title also seemed to best sum up what was inside.
Immediately Edward’s mind started to race ahead. He was already planning the official book launch in his head. It would take place in the Swansea bookshop. There would be generous amounts of food and drink, just like when they opened the shop in Neath. He might invite a few local dignitaries, but on this occasion it would be mainly friends and family. He’d arrange for a catering company to provide a buffet, so no one had to cook. Naturally it would be himself and Jill in attendance, and members of her book club, plus several from his own art class. Megan, Meredith and Daisy would be there, as well as Henry and Holly. He’d invite Victoria, Mark and his new grandson, Benjamin. He’d ask Alan and Gwen if they wanted to come, and Gwyn and Sian, who’d sold him the Neath property and were now happily retired in their Gowerton cottage. Jill could invite her sister Beth and family, and brother David. He might even invite his own sister, Felicity, he’d rather lost touch with of late. Edward was also considering inviting Alice and Charles, to show there were no hard feelings and they truly were now friends and would remain so as far as Edward was concerned. He wanted to invite everyone he actually liked. It was pretty much the same people he and Jill would invite to their wedding the following year.
As soon as Edward got a publication date from his publisher, he set a day for the official launch party and began sending out invitations. He knew he’d be disappointed if any of those chosen select few couldn’t make it. As it happened all those he considered his true friends accepted his invitation, and were only too happy to do so. He wasn’t especially interested in promoting his book, it was just an excuse to gather them all together in one place and enjoy their company and a pleasant evening of eating and drinking. To that aim he realised he was being quite selfish. As a result he would reward them well for making the effort to attend, and give them a night to remember. He’d push the boat out on food and drink, even by his own generous standards. He was unconcerned with the cost. He just wanted everyone to have a good time.
With his book completed, he could turn his attention to another matter. He and Jill started to look seriously for a new home, one where they could begin their married life and hopefully live out their retirement. It was conceivably the last place Edward would ever buy. When they moved again, it could well be into a retirement home, although possibly a bungalow first. Hopefully that was many years away. They were still fit and active now. Edward wanted more space. He wanted a proper study or studio, and possibly a library. He’d had these things back in Oxford. The living quarters above the Swansea bookshop were far more humble and basic. Of course they’d serves their purpose. They were cosy, just as it was above the Neath shop, where Henry and Holly were now living.
They concentrated their search along the bay road into Mumbles, and the properties Edward had so admired in his student days, particularly in the Blackpill and West Cross areas. They viewed several, and discounted them for one reason or other. Eventually they found one set back in its own grounds which was perfect. It was on the market for a cool 1.5 million. Edward was confident he could negotiate a little off the asking price, not least because he was able to pay in full immediately. He could instruct his bank to transfer the funds straight away as required. A sale was agreed. They just had to wait for the current owners to move out, but they could expect to be in their new home by November at the latest, when Meredith and her girlfriend, Tess, would move into the rooms above the Swansea bookshop, at an advantageous rent being set by Jill, who technically would be their landlady.
Edward’s book launch was scheduled for the end of October, just before the clocks went back. They’d start the evening in the dying embers of daylight, but it would go on until past midnight in all likelihood. Edward was already getting excited about it. He was expecting a take delivery of the first batch of books the week before. He was also looking forward to moving into his new home with Jill. He was glad finally to be able to give her a house he felt was worthy of her. It wasn’t quite as grand as the one in Oxford that Alice had kept, which was probably worth more in the region of two million. But it was a finer home than most people would ever get to live in during their lifetimes. Edward considered it a fitting property for the woman that was to become his wife.
‘I can’t wait to live there,’ Jill enthused. ‘I never imagined in all my days when we used to drive to Mumbles with my parents as kids that I might get to live in one of those big homes one day.’
‘Neither did I,’ Edward admitted. ‘It was just a dream Angela and I had when we used to walk past them on Sunday mornings, walking off the beer of the night before. Now that dream is finally coming true, only with you. I think she would have been pleased for us. I know I’m thrilled.’
‘I hope she wouldn’t mind it will be me living there not her,’ Jill commented.
‘Angela wasn’t like that. She wasn’t really the jealous type,’ Edward assured Jill. ‘If she was watching over us now, she’d be happy to see us so happy. She was a practical person. She knew life would go on even without her. When she was dying, she told me not to stay on my own, but to marry again in time. It just took a while to find someone, first Alice and now you. I can honestly say I’m as happy now as I’ve ever been in my life.’
‘Me too,’ Jill agreed, hugging Edward warmly and kissing him on the lips. ‘I feel in many ways my life is just starting. This was what I was waiting for all these years.’
‘We’re very lucky to have found each other,’ Edward noted.
‘I know. I’d be lost without you,’ Jill told him.
‘I’d be lost without you too,’ Edward said, kissing her back. ‘You mean everything to me.’
They both couldn’t wait for their future to start. It couldn’t begin soon enough. The coming Christmas would be a very different one to that of the previous year, when Alice had thrown their lives into such trauma and confusion, and they’d briefly separated. All that was now forgotten and no more than a distant memory. They’d very much reconciled in the days and months since. In some ways it had brought them closer together. They relationship had now entered a new stage and reached a new level. They were moving into a new luxury home together, and would be married the following year.
The day of the official book launch drew closer. When Edward first held a copy of his book in his hand, he felt elated. It brought a satisfied smile to his face, and he was filled with a sense of warm pride and happiness. The publisher had done a good job. With Edward’s financial help, no expense had been spared or corner cut. It was a high-quality hardcover. Of that there was no doubt, at least to look at. The colours of the illustrations were vibrant. They’d been expertly reproduced, even enhanced, and leapt out of the page. Hopefully the written contents were of a similar standard. Edward had worked tirelessly on them for months, completing multiple revisions and rewrites, until he had the poems as near to as he envisaged in his mind as he could possibly manage. Every word of every line had been chosen with care. It wasn’t in Edward’s nature to do otherwise. And many of his drawings, sketches and watercolours hadn’t made the final book. Only the very best had been included.
Only Jill was allowed to see the book before its official unveiling. She was suitably impressed. She thought he’d done admirably, particularly for a first effort, although he’d never quite be another Dylan Thomas. All his years of reading and enjoying literature had still taught him something. He showed promise, and there was every chance his book with its charming illustrations would sell in their shops. It would make an excellent present or memento of a visit to Swansea and the Gower Peninsula.
Finally the day of the official book launch arrived. Edward felt a little nervous. They’d chosen a Saturday, so no one had to work the following day. A weekend would also be easier for those who had to travel and had weekday jobs. It meant they could stay over and travel back at their leisure on the Sunday. They closed both shops early at 2.30pm, to give everyone plenty of time to get ready. Edward and Jill were no longer working in the shops as such, except to provide occasional holiday cover. They were now officially retired, and just looked after the books, wages, ordering and other admin tasks from home as needed. They were gradually teaching Meredith and Henry that side of operations too, so they could take it all over one day and perhaps run a shop each.
Edward had the Swansea bookshop ready by 6pm, in time for his guests to arrive at 7pm. He and Jill had gone to some trouble and effort to make it look nice for the occasion. They’d put up subtle white fairy lights, and his new book was prominently displayed, to be perused by anyone who wished to. There was also some marketing material the publisher had provided to promote the book, and a picture of Edward looking suitably thoughtful in full author mode. It all felt a little surreal, and a million miles away from the London financial world he’d inhabited for so many years. It felt more in keeping with his true self in truth.
Edward had laid on a huge amount of drink for his guests to consume, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic for those who were travelling by car. He’d arranged for the food to arrive at 7.30pm, as some of it was hot. He’d managed to find a local caterer who could provide a vegetarian and vegan buffet. It was the same one he’d used for the Neath bookshop and coffee shop opening, that everyone had seemed to enjoy very much. Now the Swansea bookshop had been converted into a café too, they had no shortage of tables, chairs, plates, glasses and cutlery. They’d just have to wash up afterwards. They’d do that the following day.
Alan and Gwen were the first to arrive, followed by Gwyn and Sian. It was funny that the most elderly were always the most punctual. Then Meredith and her girlfriend Tess, followed by Henry, Holly and Daisy. Megan was slightly delayed, and didn’t get there until a little later. Everyone was given a choice of drink by Edward, as they walked through the door. A number all arrived at once, including Jill’s sister Beth and brother David, who’d met at a pub first, so they could come together. Victoria’s train was running slightly late, but she’d got a taxi from the station after checking in at the Grand Hotel opposite, and arrived with partner Mark and Edward’s grandson Benjamin by 7.15.
Edward had invited his younger sister Felicity, but she couldn’t make it in the end. Something had come up at the last moment, but she promised to catch up at the wedding. He’d rather lost touch with her of late. She’d gone her own way in adult life, and they weren’t as close as they’d been as children. Edward still felt a certain protective brotherly instinct and love towards her, and still sent birthday and Christmas presents to her two daughters. He hoped he and Felicity would reconnect at some point. She was the only one of the invited guests not to be there. Edward couldn’t really complain too much at that, he reflected. Everyone else had gone out of their way to join him.
Naturally Edward’s publisher, who he was most appreciative of for his assistance in bringing the project to fruition, was in attendance. A couple of the local dignitaries who’d attended the Neath bookshop opening and Edward had since befriended, also came along to share Edward’s big moment. There was no one else. As intended it was an event for friends and family only. Last to arrive and making her grand entrance at 7.30pm, just as the food turned up, was of course Alice, with her partner Charles by her side. No doubt it was entirely intentional on Alice’s part. She’d never intended it to be otherwise. Naturally she wore a special dress and matching heels for the occasion, both new of course.
‘Hello, Edward,’ she said, as she glided in and across the floor, looking a million dollars and something like a movie star. ‘What a lovely little party. You were always a fabulous host.’
‘As you were yourself,’ Edward replied graciously.
Alice greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and he kissed her back. Edward couldn’t help but admire the outfit she was wearing. Doubtless she had a whole new bespoke wardrobe from the finest boutiques of London and Oxford since the divorce, all paid for by Edward’s money. He didn’t begrudge her that, if it was what she wanted and made her happy. He realised he was perhaps partly at fault for the fact that both Alice and his own daughter Victoria had a tendency to be too materialistic. They’d seen with their own eyes all the money Edward had made and what it could buy, and they wanted the same. He was pleased to see Victoria had started to soften since becoming a parent herself, and begun to realise there were more important things in life, like family and friendship. Alice too had started to show her more gentle, human side in the last year, which was a good thing. Edward knew her grand entrance now was merely for the sake of appearances.
‘Now everyone’s here, I just want to say a few brief words before the food is served,’ he announced. ‘Thank you all so much for coming. This isn’t really about my book, although there are copies here for everyone to take with them for those of you who want one. It’s more about getting all my friends and family and the people I truly care about together in one place at the same time. As most of you know Jill and I are getting married next year. You may not know we’re moving into a new home in West Cross next month. We hope you’ll visit us there if you can, and we’ll see you all again very soon at our wedding. Now enjoy your evening, and eat and drink as much as you like. There will be dancing afterwards,’ he promised.
With that the food started to be served, and Edward’s guests began to tuck in. It was a wonderful evening. It filled Edward’s heart with joy to see his friends and family all mingling and getting on. Edward took the opportunity to chat to both Beth and David, Jill’s siblings, and get to know them a little better. Even Jill and Alice were talking in a friendly manner, and old rivalries seemed to be forgotten. After the divorce and all his recent expenditure, Edward was no longer quite such a rich man, but he was a contented and happy one. Those who took the trouble to peruse his book also seemed to be suitably impressed. It meant it was a successful event on every level. At one point in proceedings his son Henry, accompanied by girlfriend Holly, pulled him to one side.
‘Thanks for finding me and Holly jobs and somewhere to live, dad,’ Henry thanked his father warmly.
He was usually quite a quiet and reserved young man, so this was praise indeed coming from him.
‘My pleasure, Henry,’ Edward replied. ‘It’s truly a delight to have you back.’
‘There’s something else you should know. Holly’s pregnant,’ he announced.
‘Well, congratulations to the pair of you. I’m thrilled,’ Edward said.
So he was going to become a grandparent from both his offspring.
‘We were thinking we might get married too next year, if she’ll have me,’ Henry continued.
‘Of course I’ll have him,’ Holly chipped in. ‘It took me a while to find him. I’m not letting him go now.’
‘That’s amazing news,’ Edward replied. ‘It’s heartwarming to see two young people very much in love.’
Edward realised their respective weddings would just be the start of a spate of weddings in quick succession. He had little doubt Victoria would marry Mark before much more time had passed, and he guessed Alice would marry Charles at some point. She was just waiting for him to propose. Using her stunning good looks and womanly wiles, she’d have probably manipulated Charles into asking before the evening was out. It wouldn’t have surprised Edward. She generally got her way, once she set her mind on it. Perhaps even Meredith and Tess would follow suit in time. Edward was just pleased they’d all found happiness with someone they loved. He knew Daisy had a boyfriend. He hoped Megan would find someone too when she was ready. She seemed in no particular hurry to settle down. Her mother Jill hadn’t been at the same age, so perhaps it was no surprise.
Having spoken privately to Henry and Holly, for his part Edward pulled Alan and Gwen quietly to one side for a quick word before they went. They were already happily married, and had been for years. It was something else he wanted to discuss with them, which had been on his mind for quite some time, but he didn’t know how best to resolve and in which way to proceed.
‘There’s been something troubling me,’ he began. ‘I want to help you retire, but I don’t know the best way to go about it.’
‘That’s very kind, but you don’t need to do that,’ Alan replied. ‘We’ll get there eventually.’
‘If not for a year or two,’ Gwen added and smiled.
‘That’s all well and good, but I want to do something before that,’ Edward continued. ‘Perhaps I could invest in your business. It seems like a good prospect. That at least would allow you to take on extra staff to share the load, and you could go part time with the thought of stopping completely eventually. It would be very similar to what Jill and I are gradually doing with our two bookshops. We’re slowly handing them over. We only really concern ourselves with the admin and bookkeeping side of things now. We barely set foot in the shops otherwise, only from time to time to see everything is shipshape and in order.’
‘Well if you think our guesthouse is really worth investing in,’ Alan started to say.
‘I do,’ Edward interrupted him. ‘I might even be interested in purchasing it one day. It has sentimental value to me, and it would complete my empire of local property,’ he joked. ‘Of course we wouldn’t run it ourselves. We’d get someone to do that for us. We’d just be silent partners.’
‘Well if you’re really interested, we’d be very happy to discuss it,’ Alan stated, barely able to believe his own ears and what he was hearing.
‘I am genuinely interested,’ Edward reiterated. ‘I tell you what, I’ll drop by in the week and we can talk about it then.’
‘That would be lovely and very kind of you,’ Gwen thanked him.
It was something he’d been meaning to do for some considerable time. It put his mind at rest that he was finally doing something about it at last. At the very least he’d offer an investment that would pay for extra staff, so Alan and Gwen didn’t have to be there all the time. It was very difficult for them to get away at all at present. In future they’d have far more time for each other and away from the guesthouse altogether, if Edward had any say in the matter.
It only really remained for him to do something for his sister, Felicity. He’d try and rectify that within the next year. It was a pity she’d been unable to attend the evening’s book launch and socialising that accompanied it. He’d reach out to her again when he could. He’d helped everyone else close to him in his life in some small way. He should help her too, he recognised. It was the penance that needed to be paid for his indiscretion with Alice, he felt. He’d allowed his high standards to slip in the weeks before the previous Christmas. He’d fallen from grace in a big way and from a great height. He’d gradually put it all right where he could. That gave him enormous comfort, and he had Jill back. He’d won her heart for the second time, and this time he was determined to keep hold of it.
The party carried on until late into the evening. As promised music and dancing followed. Some of the older guests started leaving at around 10.30pm. Others stayed until midnight. A few, the hardcore, remained even later, drinking and chatting happily. The final guests didn’t leave until gone one, when Edward and Jill could finally breathe a sigh of relief and relax alone together. They’d leave clearing up until the morning, they decided. The party had gone very well. Indeed it could hardly have gone any better. They were able to go upstairs and collapse exhausted in each other’s arms, feeling all was good with the world and the special people they knew in it.
Edward and Jill spent a quiet Sunday morning clearing up. They didn’t hurry in their task. They didn’t need to. They didn’t even begrudge doing it. It brought back happy memories of the good-natured revelries that had taken place, and they reminisced about some of the highlights. Edward was pleased everyone had taken a book when they left, or at least one between two for couples, as he intended. There seemed little point in Alan and Gwen, Gwyn and Sian, Victoria and Mark, Alice and Charles, and the other couples who’d attended, all having one each. Besides they were a limited edition, and he and the publisher needed to keep the bulk to sell in the shops. Edward hoped the recipients would enjoy them. If not they’d make good gifts for someone else.
When they’d eventually finished clearing up and had the shop ready for the week ahead, Edward stood back as he always did to admire their handiwork. The shop had come a long way since Edward had first walked through its doors some eighteen months or so earlier. It had been modernised to an extent, and now served, coffees, teas, cakes and light snacks, though still retained some of the quaint charm it had always had. Edward and Jill could be rightly proud of their efforts to develop the business, which was now in the capable hands of Megan and Meredith. They could continue to take a back seat in the future. It was now making more money than it ever had before, just as the Neath shop had proved a success. They’d done enough there for one day, and Edward announced he was taking Jill out for lunch. They knew somewhere nearby which did a nice vegan roast.
‘We’re not doing anything else today,’ he declared. ‘In fact I think we should have a quiet couple of weeks before we move into our new house.’
‘I second that,’ Jill agreed, never one to turn down a well-deserved rest.
Edward was paying a removal company to do all the packing and moving for them. They were far too old to do it themselves. They’d still have a lot to do when they moved in, however, to get their new home looking and feeling exactly as they wanted it. No doubt deciding the aesthetic fine detail and similar matters of that type would be ongoing for months. Edward would also have to hire a van at some point to bring more of his stuff down from Oxford, that Alice was kindly still looking after for him. It wasn’t fair she had to keep hold of it any longer than she already had, now she was the proud owner of their old house and Charles was living there with her. At least Edward had space in the new property to accommodate it all. And now that he’d finished his first book, he’d enjoy a short break to recharge his batteries. He wouldn’t start on a new book, which he intended would focus more on his photographs of the local area, until the beginning of new year at the earliest.
After they’d eaten they strolled back along King Edward Street, past where they lived in the corner house, and continued down Francis Street, past the back of the Brangwyn Hall, and through Victoria Park. Beti trotted dutifully by their side, although she wasn’t quite such a keen walker as she had been in her prime. She was getting old, just as Edward and Jill were getting old themselves. Although they still had a bit of life left in them and they were determined to make the most of it whilst they could.
It was a pleasant autumn day, with only a light breeze. The sky overhead was mainly blue and just dotted with white cloud. The clocks weren’t due to go back until the following weekend, so it was still daylight until early evening. Edward and Jill found a familiar bench on which to settle. They were only a stone’s throw from the guesthouse run by Alan and Gwen, but they wouldn’t visit them today. Edward would leave that until another day, when he could have a proper discussion with them about their plans and a possible future collaboration together in private. As it was a Sunday, they would very likely be busy attending to the needs of their guests at present anyway.
Instead Edward and Jill looked out over the bay. It was a very familiar scene to them. It hadn’t changed all that much since Edward was a student over forty years earlier, although there were now a few more bigger buildings to the east in the direction of Port Talbot, that had sprung up between the coastal road and beach, including the new Swansea Arena and the Swansea University Bay Campus, than had been there in Edward’s day. These new developments had gradually replaced the decaying industries of the past. In the early 1980s when Edward first came to Swansea, the process was only just starting. Now it was almost complete.
To the west in the direction of Mumbles, far less had changed to the naked eye. Of course change was inevitable. To a degree Edward had come to accept that now, though he still disliked it to some extent. Once he’d had Angela. Then he’d had Alice. Now he was with Jill. They had been the only three significant partners in his life. Now he had Jill, he’d never have another, he realised, and he was content with that thought. He didn’t need anyone else. She was enough. He made her happy, and she made him happy. That was all anyone could ask for in life. And now he was a grandfather from his daughter Victoria, and had his son Henry back too, and would soon be a grandfather again. He couldn’t really ask for much more, he thought. That truly would be greedy. He looked into Jill’s eyes and squeezed her hand.
‘Thank you for staying with me,’ he said.
‘I’m very glad I did,’ Jill replied, squeezing his hand back. ‘Let’s not mess it up this time though,’ she added and laughed.
‘We won’t,’ Edward assured her, and was very confident in that assertion.
He knew he’d never allow what had happened with Alice to happen again for as long as he lived. He’d got his metaphorical halo back, or the one he sometimes liked to think he wore. Not that he was a saint or anything like. He wasn’t. The previous year had shown that, but he’d largely redeemed himself, and he planned to keep it that way this time. It suited him rather better than pretending he was a ladies’ man. He never would be that, he realised.
By some strange twist of fate and unexpected set of circumstances, he’d ended up where he was meant to be all along, and more importantly with the person he was meant to be with. That person was Jill. He understood that now. What was more, he intended with all his heart never to let her go. He’d remain with her for the rest of his life, and she’d remain with him. They’d be virtually inseparable from now on, and that prospect delighted them both. There was nowhere they’d rather be and no one they’d rather be with than where they were at that point in time, with Beti their dog at their side as always, and Swansea Bay stretching out into the distance.
