“I’ll try not to,” I say, with a wink, and then, swinging my hair as though I’m in a shampoo commercial, I stride off toward the departure gate. Reaching a hand up to my pendant, I feel the empty space; where once there was a whole, there is now only a crescent of coin. I am leaving the island lighter than I came, in so many ways.
LAURA LE QUESNE’S GUIDE TO JERSEY BEACHES AND BAYS
Best Bay to kick off your shoes—Bouley
Best Bay to hunt for sea glass—Rozel
Best Beach to dance beneath the stars—Plémont
Best Beach to spot Henry Cavill naked—Grève de Lecq
Best Beach to drink too much sangria or eat lobster by the shore—L’Étacq
Best Bay to see the beautiful bioluminescence—La Rocque Harbor
Best Beach to have a paddle-boarding date—St. Brelade’s
Best Beach you’ll only know about if you’re local—Beauport
Best Beach for pizza and PDAs on the sand—Portelet
Best Beach for gazing at the horizon and resetting your soul—St. Ouen’s
Epilogue
FIFTEEN MONTHS LATER
“Thank you so much for agreeing to do this, Laura,” says Suki. “It only seemed fitting that it would be you who interviews us. You were always best at these things.”
She squeezes Jasper’s arm and looks up at him like a wide-eyed schoolgirl.
“Well, what’s one more for old times’ sake?” I say with a smile. “It’s good to see you both. How is your family, Jasper?”
“They’re so excited about the wedding. We’re having the reception at my mother’s house,” says Jasper. “My sisters are all terrified of Suki, which is just the way I like it. None of them dare boss me about when she’s around, ha-ha.”
He leans down to kiss her, and she sinks into his arms—I still can’t get my head around the change in Suki this last year; it’s as though Jasper’s adoration has smoothed away some of her hard edges. I have to avert my gaze as the kiss carries on an awkward amount of time.
“And how’s Ted?” Jasper asks, finally freeing his lips to talk. “Suki said you were moving to Jersey full-time? Do you need a new kitchen in that old house you’re going to live in?”
“I think we’re good for kitchens. But yes, Ted finally got a job at the Jersey hospital, and since I can work anywhere, we’ll be living there permanently now.”
“Are you still writing?” Suki asks. “I haven’t had a pitch from you in a while. You’d better not be offering your ideas elsewhere before coming to me first?” I hear the familiar edge in her voice.
“Well, I’m writing less and less these days,” I explain. “The jewelry design is taking up so much of my time.”
“We looked at your website! I’m so impressed, Laura,” says Jasper.
“I saw that Bee Bee Graceful wore one of your quaint necklaces to the book launch where she revealed her true identity. I’m sure that didn’t do you any harm PR-wise,” Suki says, her eyes challenging me for a reaction. “Not that your designs aren’t charming, but I’m sure it helps to have a global influencer on your side.”
“Well, yes, that certainly helped raise my profile.” Suki still hasn’t forgiven me for leaving. She pretends to play nice, especially since she credits me for introducing her to Jasper, but a little backhanded insult can usually be found in there somewhere. “Right, shall we get this on tape then?”
Jasper and Suki take seats on the red studio sofa. Avril, the camerawoman, has the lighting and the sound all set up. I perch on a stool out of shot and notice how strange it feels to be doing one of these interviews again, with these two, of all people.
“So,” I say in my best presenter voice, “Suki and Jasper, tell our Love Life subscribers, how did you meet?”
“Well, it all began when one of my best journalists, who shall remain nameless, ha-ha, went to Jersey to research a story, and she picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport . . .” Suki begins.
* * *
* * *
The interview goes well. Suki does ninety percent of the talking, but it is clear how besotted Jasper is, he can’t take his eyes off her.
When he is finally allowed a chance to speak, he says, “The funny thing is, Suki is not my usual type at all. I usually go for blondes, and she’s got black hair; she’s city, I’m country; she hates boats, I live on them; I’m a foodie, and she doesn’t seem to eat anything. She can’t abide the kind of music I like, but well, something about it just works—all I want to do is make her happy. Love works in mysterious ways sometimes, doesn’t it?”
“It does. Congratulations on your engagement,” I say. “Can you tell us about the proposal?”
“Well, Jasper sent me a text, asking if I could get him a drink from the fridge in the Emmeline kitchen—which you can see if you swipe up from this interview. It’s one of his best sellers; anyway, I trot along and open the door, and Jasper has taken all the shelves out and is sitting in there with a ring.”
I can’t help laughing at this. They hadn’t told me that detail when they asked me to do this interview.
“Of course, I fainted clean away. It was so terrifying finding a body in the fridge, so he only got to propose properly once the paramedics arrived and I was sufficiently conscious.”
“It was a bit of a botched job, I’ll admit,” says Jasper, “Though it does go to show how exceptionally spacious Furlong Fridges are—I put them in all the Contessa Kitchens. Luckily, despite scaring her half to death, Suki still said yes. We’ll have to split our time between London and Jersey, but we’ll make it work.” Jasper leans over to kiss Suki’s head, then rolls up his sleeve to reveal a small “Suki” tattoo written in italic on his forearm. “I never thought I’d be the type of person to get a tattoo.”
“I’ve got one too,” says Suki, “but I won’t show you where.”
And then they start tickling each other, giggling and whispering in a way that makes Avril and me feel we’d both like freakishly large fridges to climb into.