April wasn’t sure her legs would carry her as she left the kitchen, but she wouldn’t stay a moment longer in the house where Jason had cheated on her. Her coat was by the front door, left in readiness for a hasty departure, and she didn’t bother putting it on as she stumbled outside. She pushed through the throng of partygoers, but a few insisted on wishing her a happy New Year. After a couple of refusals, she gave in. Tara had warned her that it might feel overwhelming stepping out of the old year, but if this was her chance to leave Jason, so be it. Her marriage was over. Happy New Year.

17

‘You look well,’ Tara said as she watched April rip apart a croissant.

It was New Year’s Day and the shop was otherwise empty. Tara had opened up only long enough for the village’s hungover residents and visitors to refuel on coffee and carbs before sending Michelle home and hanging the closed sign on the door.

‘I didn’t get up until eleven,’ April said with her mouth full. ‘I had the best sleep ever. How about you? Late night?’

‘Would you believe we were all in bed by twelve thirty?’ Tara said, sweeping a finger under a gritty eye, conscious that she looked as tired as she felt.

Having left the house early that morning, she hadn’t looked in the mirror until she had arrived at work. Horrified by her reflection, she had rooted out an old mascara from the flat, but the trip upstairs did nothing to improve her spirits. She was yet to advertise for a tenant, and the detritus of her previous life remained scattered in the empty rooms as if it expected her return.

‘Does that mean it was quiet or uneventful?’ asked April.

Tara wrapped her hands around a steaming cup of coffee. ‘It started off promising enough. Lily and Molly wanted to write more letters to send to heaven, but unlike Christmas Eve, it was teeming down. Iain used a golf umbrella as a makeshift shelter, but there was no way I could get the burning pages to float away and they fell into a puddle.’

‘Hardly your fault.’

‘You think?’ Tara replied. ‘Lily was in tears when she FaceTimed Joanna’s parents, and by the end of the call, I was the villain with a long list of offences, from stealing her mother’s cake recipe to breaking promises to Molly about getting a dog. My introduction to the new year was Lily telling me she hated me.’

‘You shouldn’t take it to heart.’