Loving Georgia ✔️

Chapter 12

'Dear, what's the problem with you?' June asked, peering at Georgia over the cup of tea.

'Sorry?'

'The tea is cold.' June frowned.

Georgia glanced at the drink, dipping her finger in slightly to check if June was right. She was. 'Sorry June. My mind is elsewhere today.'

'It's been elsewhere for a few weeks, dear. Is it because Jeremy went back to the city?' June tittered, taking the cup and placing it on the table.

'It's a good thing he left.' Georgia shook her head. 'It means you're healthier and he isn't worried about having to be close in case of ...'

'In case I die.' June laughed. It morphed into a frown moments later. 'I thought you guys were getting on. He loved staying out there in the cottage with you.'

'Did you know he was engaged?' Georgia narrowed her eyes at the older lady.

'I wanted him to be happy. He was happy in the cottage.' June smiled at Georgia in glee.

'June!' Georgia cursed under her breath.

'Love doesn't come around often, young lady.' June scowled. 'You remind me of me. Jeremy reminds me of my Paul. I knew it would be good between you. One day, it might still be.' June winked.

'That doesn't mean you get to meddle and break some hearts in the process.' Georgia scowled.

'You think I got my Paul by playing nice?' June asked, peering at Georgia in the other seat. 'Sit here, I'll tell you about how I got my Paul.'

Georgia reluctantly switched seats, tucking her leg underneath her on the large sofa next to June. As June began to tell her story, the rain began to patter on the window. It was the last of the spring rain they were in.

'I was sixteen when I met Paul.' June smiled to herself. 'But I was eighteen when I decided I wanted him for myself.'

'He had been dating this Peggy for about four months now. She was smitten, but I knew Paul could do better. He wanted more from life,' June continued. 'I wanted him, and Peggy wasn't enough for him.'

'Was their love not enough to make you reconsider your wanting him?' Georgia asked, fingers tapping against her leg in thought.

June looked at Georgia for a moment. 'I never said Paul loved her. I caught Paul looking at me many times during those four months.'

'So, he was dating Peggy but wanting you?'

'Doesn't that sound familiar?' June winked at Georgia.

'Jeremy wasn't with Faith for four months, June, they'd had four years,' Georgia reminded June of the differing timelines.

'Four months, four years.' June shrugged. 'What's the difference if you were never really in love?'

'He loved Faith. I talked to her and the things she spoke of ... that wasn't lust or infatuation, that was cold hard love.'

'Do you not want Jeremy?' June frowned. 'Why are you on her side?'

'Because she is not in the wrong here. I am. Jeremy is. All Faith did was a love a man who told her he loved her.' Georgia rested her head on the back of the couch, guilt sitting heavy in her gut. She hated being the other woman. She hated having fallen for a man she thought was open to her. She hated knowing she had hurt someone so deeply that it would stay with them forever.

'You did her a favour.' June patted her hand. 'She will see that one day.'

'How?' Georgia laughed, raising her eyebrows at the older woman.

'Jeremy wasn't all in with her. He was longing for something he didn't have. He came here looking for the answers to questions he has had for many years.' June nodded at her, pausing to cough painfully.

'That doesn't make it okay.'

'I know. I'm sorry.' June apologised for this first time. 'I didn't mean manipulate the situation. To hurt either of you.' She sighed. It had seemed so much easier when it was just a dream.

A tremble in Georgia's throat kept her silent. Many tears had been shed over this situation, and she was sick of it.

'If it's any consolation,' June coughed a few more times. 'I just wanted you to be okay after I died.'

'June, you shouldn't be thinking about that.'

'You wanted to die the day I met you. What's stopping you from being there again?' June's nostrils flared as the emotion built in her eyes. 'You're like a daughter to me, I needed to know you would be taken care of when I was no longer able to!'

Georgia stared at the ceiling, begging the tears not to fall. 'You were my god send June.' She whispered thick with tears.

'And I wanted you to be Jeremy's.' June patted Georgia's knee. 'I know I did everything wrong but if the opportunity ever arises, in a day, a year or a decade...' June stared into Georgia's soul. 'Love him for the both of us.'

Georgia could only nod. She'd already lost Jeremy and that ground was tarnished now, but if it gave June peace, she'd promise her the moon. The two saw there, hands intertwined in the silence until June was plagued with a rough coughing fit.

'Are you okay? Do you need me to call the nurse?'

Ever since Jeremy had left Woodside, a nurse had been staying part-time with June to make sure she was okay.

'I'm fine.' June coughed twice more. 'You know, I only needed Jeremy to be here for a week,' June mumbled, between shaky sips of water.

'What do you mean?' Georgia shuffled the orange pillows behind June's back before placing the half-empty glass on the wooden coffee table.

'Jeremy wanted to stay. He didn't have to. My dear' – June took Georgia's hand in hers – 'he knew from the beginning that you held the answers. He's loved you from the start.'

Georgia didn't know how to feel with the information June had just dumped in her lap. On the one on hand it made her heart flutter at the thought of Jeremy having loved her, but on the other, it made her feel awful for Faith.

'You can't live your life always thinking of others, Georgia. It's good to think of them, but if you never think of yourself you'll find yourself thinking back to what could have been.' June smiled at the girl. June decided to excuse herself for a lie down, the coughing had made her tired. She hugged Georgia and thanked her when Georgia insisted that she tidy up.

'One last thing, dear.' June paused at her bedroom door. 'You deserve to be happy. Don't turn him away because of Faith. If you chose not to go down that path, do it for you.'

Georgia watched June shuffle into her room and waited until she heard the click of the door before she stood up.

She appreciated the advice June was giving her, but she didn't like the feeling it was June saying goodbye. At the picnic it was a cheerful memory to leave behind, but this time it felt final. The water from the tap ran over her hands, ice cold against her skin.

A shiver ran down her spine, tingling until the water ran hot. She was lost in her thoughts as she swirled the dish brush around the cups, eyes fixated on the tree outside.

It was only a few weeks ago they were sat outside on the grass below the tree, curled up on a red outdoor blanket. The sun had been shining, and June was beaming in the chair.

Everything had been calm. Everything had been good.

Georgia wasn't so sure anything would ever be that good again.