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Nova

For a moment no one said anything as they all stared at the open door. Arthur was the first to speak.

“What do you suppose is up with him?”

“I don’t know, but something fishy is going on there, you mark my words,” Phyllis said.

“I’m sure he’ll be back any minute,” Nova said. “Shall we carry on?”

They continued discussing the book, but after Michael’s sudden departure, all the energy seemed to have disappeared from the room. Ash had retreated into silence and Phyllis only piped up to disagree with Arthur. Nova tried to get the conversation going again, but her efforts fell flat, and after twenty minutes of stilted chat, she decided to admit defeat and wrap the meeting up early.

“Before we head off, shall we pick our book for next month?”

No one answered, and Nova’s heart sank. This was the moment they were about to tell her they weren’t coming back again, and she could hardly blame them.

“I’m happy to make a suggestion if no one else wants to,” Arthur said.

“If you’re sure, that would be great.” Nova gave him a grateful smile. “You’re a fan of biographies, aren’t you? I don’t read much nonfiction so it would be great to try something new.”

“Actually, I was going to suggest some fiction…” He paused, and Nova saw his cheeks were even redder than normal. “As you know, my Esi loves a good historical romance. And while they’re not my cup of tea, I thought maybe we could read one of them for her?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, not another soppy love story,” Phyllis said, rolling her eyes. “In Beryl’s day we used to have a proper rota for who chose the books.”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Arthur,” Nova said, ignoring Phyllis. “Do you think your wife might be able to join us at the next meeting?”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. She finds it difficult to leave the farm these days, her eyesight’s gone and she’s not so steady on her feet. But I always read our book choice to her, and she loves hearing what everyone has to say about them.”

“And is there a particular book Esi would like us to read?”

He gave an embarrassed cough. “Well, she loves those Bridgerton books. They’re all codswallop to me, but she likes all the corsets and balls and the like. So, I thought maybe we could read The Viscount Who Loved Me , which is her favorite.”

“That sounds great, thanks Arthur,” Nova said, over Phyllis’s exaggerated groan. “Thanks for coming tonight, everyone. Our next meeting is on twentieth November, so I’ll see you then.”

There was the sound of scraping chairs as they all rose. Arthur and Ash said good-bye while Phyllis muttered under her breath and Craddock waddled behind them out the room. Once they were gone, Nova began tidying. As she straightened up the fallen chair, she found Michael’s copy of Where the Crawdads Sing abandoned under it. In his haste to get away, he must have forgotten it. She opened the book and flicked through the pages, but there was only an ancient-looking leather bookmark with faded lettering saying something about lizards. Nova shut the book and put it in her bag to leave in the lost property drawer tomorrow. Not that she imagined Michael would ever come back to get it.

The community center was eerily quiet as Nova switched off the lights, and she hurried to lock the front door and run across the rain-lashed car park. It wasn’t yet eight, so she still had time to join Craig at the pub quiz, yet as she climbed into her rusty old Fiat, all Nova wanted to do was drive back to the house, put on her pajamas and curl up with her current Kiley Reid novel.

It wasn’t that Craig’s friends and family wouldn’t make her feel welcome at the Anchor. Everyone had been friendly to Nova since she moved down here, especially Lauren and her boyfriend, who had been best friends with Craig since primary school. Yet despite their efforts, Nova still felt like the odd one out when she was with his friends: the city girl who wore colorful vintage clothes, liked old-fashioned music, and couldn’t join in any of the in-jokes or old stories that bandied around. She knew it would get better with time: that at some point she’d stop being seen as “Craig’s kooky girlfriend from London” and just be “Nova.” But right now, after a ten-hour shift at the community center, all she wanted was a few hours alone with a good book.

Thankfully, no one was standing outside the Anchor in tonight’s storm and Nova was able to drive past unnoticed. In fact, she didn’t spot a soul as she wound her way through the steep, narrow cobbled streets down to the harbor. When she’d first moved to St. Tredock, back in May, the place had been bursting with life: the pavements crowded from morning to night with hordes of holidaymakers visiting the fishing village’s pretty beach and old-fashioned, picture-postcard streets. But now it was mid-October and the tourists had all gone home, many of the shops and restaurants had closed up for the winter, and the village felt like a ghost town.

It was only a three-mile drive along the coastal road back to Craig’s parents’ house, but Nova took it slowly as the rain and wind lashed her ancient car. The lights were all off when she pulled into Craig’s parents’ driveway; the Wednesday night pub quiz was a sacrosanct Pritchard family tradition and they’d all be there until closing. Nova let herself in and walked through the silent rooms, each decorated in muted shades of cream and beige, to the huge modern kitchen that ran along the back of the house, overlooking the sea. She always felt nervous cooking in here, as she was a notoriously messy chef and Pamela Pritchard liked her kitchen pristine, so Nova made herself a simple cheese sandwich, put her favorite Billie Holiday album to play on her phone, and sat down at the glistening marble island to eat.

She was a few mouthfuls in when her phone rang, interrupting the music. She assumed it was Craig, who liked to check in with her when she was alone, but when she lifted up her mobile, she saw it was her mum. Nova pressed answer and her screen was filled with her mum’s tanned, grinning face.

“ Buenas noches , Nono!” Maddy had to shout to be heard above the background noise.

“Hey, Mum! Where are you? It sounds like you’re at a rave!”

“Sorry, hang on, let me go outside.” There was a blur on the screen as she moved, and Nova caught flashes of what looked like a beach bar, with a sandy floor, bamboo walls and colorful flags lining the ceiling. Then there was a sudden brightness as her mum stepped outside, and the background noise died away.

“Sorry about that, darling, that was louder than I thought.” Maddy’s face was back on the screen and Nova drank it in. Her mum’s hair had gone lighter in the South American sunshine, and she had a new silver ring in her nose. As she sat down, Nova heard the familiar jangle of bangles that her mum wore clustered on both wrists.

“How are you, Mum? Adopted any more stray cats lately?”

“I’m good, thanks, and I have! She’s a little tabby who reminds me of that kitten we found in Goa when you were seven or eight; the one you wanted to smuggle back to London in your rucksack. Do you remember?”

Nova tried to place the incident, but her childhood memories were a blur of sandy beaches, vast blue skies and friendly stray cats. Her parents were lifelong travelers, and so while Nova’s friends had spent their holidays in places like Wales or Spain, her childhood vacations had always involved backpacking on a budget in far-flung places. They had been some of the happiest times of her life.

“How are you feeling about leaving next week?” Nova asked.

“Oh, a bundle of emotions. It’s gone so fast, and there’s still so much I want to do here. But I can’t wait to see you, eat marmite on toast and drink Yorkshire tea again!”

Maddie’s face radiated happiness as she spoke, and Nova felt a surge of love for her mum. It had been almost seven months since they’d last seen each other in person, when Nova had dropped Maddy at Heathrow airport to send her off on her work secondment for an NGO in Colombia. They video-called every week, and Nova had watched as her mum had slowly transformed from a gaunt, grief-stricken widow to the glowing woman she was now.

“How are you, Nono? How are things at the community center?”

“It’s good. I think I’m really starting to fit in now and forming some good relationships with the visitors.” Nova took a sip of water; she hated lying to her mum, but she also didn’t want to worry her by admitting just how hard she was finding it to settle in here.

“That’s fantastic! I knew they’d all fall in love with you quickly, everyone always does. And how’s Craig?”

“He’s great. He’s out at the pub quiz tonight; I’m just on my way to join him. And Pamela and David send their love.”

“Ah, give them my love, too, and tell them I’m looking forward to seeing them. I can’t believe it’s just ten days now, it’s so exciting!”

“I can’t wait either,” Nova said, a sudden lightness in her chest at the thought of being able to hug her mum again. “I’ve got so many fun things planned for when you get here. I want to do some big coastal walks and maybe take a boat out and see if we can spot any seals. Craig told me there’s a colony just down the coast, but we’ve not had a chance to go and look yet.”

“That all sounds perfect. Although there’s something else pretty exciting we have to do first…” Maddy grinned and Nova laughed.

“Yes Mum, don’t worry; it’s not like I can forget about my own wedding.”

“How’s all the last-minute planning going?”

“Yeah, all good. Pamela has everything under control so it’s really not that much work for me. I just have to turn up and say I do !”

“I’m so glad she’s been able to help you with everything.” Maddy paused and Nova saw something cloud her face. “You don’t mind that I haven’t been able to help more, do you? I know it’s not been great timing with me being the other side of the world right before your wedding.”

“Of course I don’t mind, I’m delighted you’re traveling again, and this job was an amazing opportunity. Besides, no offense, but you’d be shit at organizing a wedding. If it was up to you, I’d be getting married in a field wearing a bikini and no shoes.”

“There’s nothing wrong with getting married barefoot, your dad and I did it in Thailand!” Maddy laughed, but then she grew serious again. “I just worry that maybe I should’ve waited until you were more settled. Maybe I left too soon after—”

“Mum, stop it,” Nova interrupted. “We’ve been over this before and you didn’t go away too soon. I’m absolutely fine.”

“I know you say you are, but I still worry I abandoned you when you needed me most. After losing your dad followed by everything that happened with Declan, then moving to Cornwall and planning a wedding—these are huge things and I’ve not been there for you.”

“You’ve been on the end of the phone whenever I need you,” Nova said. “And I have Craig now too. He’s been the most amazing support, so it’s not like you left me on my own.”

“He has been amazing,” Maddy said, smiling again. “I know I had my reservations about you getting married so young, but I can see now that I was wrong. The life Craig is offering you in Cornwall—that stability and love—is a wonderful thing. And I know your dad would be delighted you’re so happy.”

“He’d be delighted that you’re traveling again too. Remember he said he wanted you drinking ice cold beers on a beach the day after his funeral!”

As she said the words, Nova pictured her dad sitting in the tiny, cluttered kitchen of their old London flat, a glass of wine in his trembling hand and Duke Ellington playing in the background. I don’t want you two moping around once I’m gone , he’d said. You’ve wasted too much time already. The second I’m in the ground, I want you both out there, living your life in full color, having adventures and causing trouble. Nova glanced around her at the large, spotless white kitchen she was sitting in now and felt a pang of longing for her dad so sharp she almost moaned.

“I miss him so much,” Maddy said, as if reading Nova’s thoughts. She paused before she spoke again. “I was thinking the other day, one of the worst things about his illness was that it didn’t just steal his life, it took both of ours too. For years we became side characters in the story of his disease. And so, while I miss your dad with all my heart, I can’t deny it feels good to finally be living my own life again; to have the sand under my toes and fresh air in my lungs. Does that sound awful?”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Nova said, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.

“It’s all your dad ever wanted: for us to be the main characters in our own wonderful, messy stories. And in ten days’ time, I’m going to walk you down the aisle as you start this next amazing chapter of yours. I’m so proud of you, darling, and he would be too.”

Tears pooled in Nova’s eyes, and she wiped them away.

“Right, enough of this moping!” Maddy said, her face brightening. “I’m going to have a cold beer and dance on the beach, and you’ve got a pub quiz to go and win. But I’ll see you very, very soon. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Mum.”

The screen went dark, and Nova was plunged into silence.