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‘Look.’ Jake ran his finger along the bottom line.
‘I don’t understand what these numbers are telling me.’ Evelyn looked close to tears.
‘This is the target figure.’ Jake pointed to the astronomical amount in one of the left-hand columns. ‘These are the amounts raised by different events and revenue sources – like the online pages. And this’—he let his finger hover over the bold figure again—‘this is the surplus.’
‘What’s surplus?’ Summer asked. ‘Are we going to Boston or not?’
‘Yes, sweetheart.’ Evelyn’s voice was choked by tears. ‘We’re going.’ She threw her arms around her daughter, who was immediately squished by Linda hugging her as well.
Jake watched them, awed by the feelings of love that were so strong they made his chest ache and his stomach clench. They’d done it. They’d really bloody gone and done it! He punched the air and let out a whoop.
‘Uhhh, need to breathe.’ Summer’s voice was muffled from the hug.
‘Sorry, sorry.’ Evelyn smoothed her hair back into place. ‘I’m just so happy.’
Jake pushed a napkin into Evelyn’s hands, and waited patiently while she dried her tears.
‘I’m glad we’re going to Boston.’ Summer grinned up at him, making his heart squeeze again. ‘But what’s surplus?’
‘It’s all the extra money we raised.’
‘We raised more?’
‘Yes.’ Nick nodded. ‘Quite a lot more than we needed.’
‘That’s so cool!’ Summer grinned. ‘We’ll have to do something good with it.’
‘Definitely.’ Evelyn nodded. ‘We’ll have to think about it.’
‘I’ve got an idea now,’ Summer said. ‘Do you think the hospital could use it? I know they couldn’t make me better, so I’ve got to go to Boston, but they make lots of other kids better, don’t they?’
Jake stared at her in amazement. Even with everything she’d been through, and all the pain and disappointment she’d experienced, and facing a journey that would literally be life or death for her – Summer still showed compassion that a lot of adults lacked. He snuck an arm around her shoulder.
‘I think that’s a lovely idea.’ He gave her a squeeze and had to cough some of the pride and love from his throat to speak clearly. ‘You’re right, the hospital charity could do a lot with that money.’
‘You know what,’ Linda mused, ‘you’ve given me an idea, Summer. You’re right, there’s a lot of children who will benefit from help from the hospital charity. The WI have already started talking about running the event again.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ Nick agreed. ‘You’ll probably raise less without the figurehead that Summer’s been, and you’ll miss the novelty value – but equally we’re going to get tonnes of social media attention and word of mouth advertising. This could be a thing. Just, next year, we’ll try not to plan it all in a matter of weeks.’
‘You’ve been wonderful, Nick.’ Evelyn kissed his cheek. ‘We’d never have done this without you.’
A few moments later, Margaret appeared from behind the café counter, a laden tray in her hands. ‘From the way you’re all acting, I think you might be needing this.’ She put the tray down on the table. ‘The one with the pink roses is for Summer.’ She shot Evelyn a wink. ‘Fizzy apple.’
They all reached for the delicate, mismatched, bone china cups and Jake laughed when he saw what it was: champagne. He raised his tea/champagne cup in toast. ‘To the best community in England. To Broclington!’
‘To Broclington!’ The others joined in the toast.
‘And, if I may,’ Margaret added, ‘to Summer. Wishing her every health and happiness.’
‘To Summer! Health and happiness!’
Summer held up her sparkling apple juice. ‘Look out Boston, here we come!’
Epilogue
Jake stood nervously in the arrivals lounge. He knew it was ridiculous to be nervous, but somehow he couldn’t stop the butterflies waging an all-out war in his stomach. He hadn’t seen Evelyn or Summer without a set of screens and three thousand miles between them since he’d flown home after Christmas. That had been nearly five months ago. They’d missed their first Valentine’s Day together, birthdays, and months of the normal, everyday things that were the foundation for any new relationship. He’d desperately wanted to be in Boston with them, but his parents had headed off on their adventure soon after Evelyn and Summer had left for Boston – and he’d been caught out trying to balance running his vet surgery while also trying to help Callum manage his duties as the sole practice manager. He’d stepped in with Sarah – being the best uncle he could – as often as possible, but it hadn’t made missing Summer and Evelyn any easier.
He'd made it to the States for Christmas – seeing his parents for long enough to exchange gifts and hugs before they jetted off again to save another part of the world. He wasn’t surprised they’d been bitten by the travelling bug: apparently the heat helped with his mum’s arthritis, while they both relished the challenge of helping some of the most vulnerable, deprived people on the planet.
