The Comfort Food Café

Epilogue

Spring

I t is April, and it is glorious. Sunshine pours from the sky; the trees are fresh and green, and the whole landscape around us is lush with new life.

The badgers have produced three more cubs, and we spend hours together watching them play, small bundles of fur tumbling around the woodland.

We have moved into the farmhouse, and settled into the rhythms of life together. Sophie will be heading to Cardiff for university in September, but for now, she seems happy here with her friends and her little job at the café.

Laura is already looking for a replacement, because I have sadly had to resign from my job there. I still help out when they need it, but I am concentrating on my new enterprise. The Rockery is a work-in-progress, and I have sold the house in Birmingham.

Gabriel and I are combining our skills, and have bought our first project together: a run-down cottage further down the coast that comes complete with spectacular sea views, rising damp and yet another avocado bath suite. Between us we have everything we need to transform it into a beautiful home, and I am so excited about it. I am finally living my Rightmove dream.

Today, it is my birthday, and we are hosting a party. Gabriel has been predictably gruff about it, and still feels uncomfortable when his territory is invaded. He’s here, though, looking all sexy and Heathcliff as he tries to make small talk with our guests. Every now and then he catches me staring at him across the room, and gives me The Look. The one that makes my insides melt.

He surprised us both in the New Year by deciding to see a counsellor. Once a week, he disappears off in the Land Rover to talk to a complete stranger about his feelings. It is literally the most un-Gabriel-like thing I could ever have imagined, but it seems to be helping. There is a gradual sense of lightening in him, of pressures lifting. Clouds clearing. I am proud of him, and tell him so at every possible opportunity.

It’s not changed him completely, though, and I know he was secretly reluctant to throw open the doors of his home to the entire Budbury collective … but he did it anyway. The house is looking beautiful, and I finally found that perfect rug. Norman and Marjorie look down from the mantlepiece, and more pictures have been added, especially of Belle, with her new friend, Beast.

Beast is a younger male, and incredibly submissive by nature. Matt helped us find him at a rescue centre, and despite his name, he is actually very handsome. He doesn’t seem to mind Belle bossing him around, and she has certainly mellowed since he arrived. They’re a bonded pair, just like me and Gabriel.

I find Laura standing by the fence to the paddock, a carrot in her hand and a nervous look on her face.

‘I’m worried Belle will bite my hand off, and that would make baking a lot more tricky,’ she says.

‘It’s always a possibility. I’ll distract her, you do Beast instead.’

She laughs as we feed the donkeys, then turns to look back at the house. The garden around us is starting to blossom, and the wildflower meadow is beginning to show signs of colour. There is chatter and laughter coming from inside, and the serenade of birdsong hovering in the background.

‘It’s gorgeous,’ she says. ‘The house. It’s like you’ve brought it back to life.’

‘That’s exactly what we aimed to do,’ I reply smiling. ‘And in the process, we accidentally brought each other back to life as well.’

‘I know. It’s magical, isn’t it? I was thinking that the other day, when I was drafting up an advert looking for someone to replace Sophie. I wonder who we’ll get next, and what will happen with them?’

‘I have no idea, but I’d guess something special. Thank you … for everything. For talking me into this. For knowing it was right for me before even I did.’

‘You’re welcome, all part of the Comfort Food Café service. Right, I need to start wrangling the girls and get home. They’re probably still sitting in silence in the kitchen.’

Ruby and Rose are desperate to see the badger cubs, but after we explained that they had to be completely quiet if they did, they’ve been proving they’re capable of doing that by refusing to speak ever since they got here.

She disappears off into the house, and passes Gabriel on his way out to find me. Belle brays at him in warning, and he keeps his distance. She’s not mellowed that much.

‘It’s gone well, hasn’t it?’ he says, sounding surprised as he drops a kiss on my forehead. ‘I never thought I’d have a birthday party here.’

‘Well, now you have. Another milestone. Are you okay? I know it doesn’t come naturally to you, having them here.’

‘No, it doesn’t … but I have a secret coping mechanism.’

He slides his hands around my waist, and tugs me into him. I squeal a little, delighted, and ask, ‘What is it?’

‘When I’m in a room full of people and I’m feeling uncomfortable, I just find you. When I look at you, everyone else disappears. They’re just background noise. You’re the only person I need. I love you, birthday girl.’