I snapped my head in her direction. "Stay the fuck out of it, Laura."
"Elliot! Don't speak to your sister like that." Mum's head turned from side to side, looking between us both, her brows pinched with concern. "What's she talking about, Elliot? What's going on?"
"Nothing. She has no idea what she's talking about."
"Sure I do. Your engagement was an elaborate ruse, and it has blown up in both your faces. I mean, seriously, Elliot, what did you expect? You're not kids anymore. You're adults, and you can't play the ridiculous games you both so often played. People get hurt, clearly."
I went to speak but dropped my head to my hands instead. "It wasn't a game. It was real. I love her."
"I never said you loving her wasn't real. But the engagement, yeah, that was a sham."
"I don't understand," Mum pleaded. "Why would it have been a sham?"
"It wasn't." Deep down, I truly believed that our engagement wasn't a sham. When I put that Cheezel ring on her finger twenty-two years ago, I meant it. "It wasn't a sham, but it is over."
Mum's hand rubbed soothing circles on my back. "Why, sweetheart? What happened?"
"I'm no good for her. All I do is remind her of a time I let her down and nearly killed us both."
"What? What are you talking about, Elliot?"
"He's talking about the storm," Laura groaned, sounding both annoyed and disinterested. "Which is, again, ridiculous."
Mum turned to my sister. "Stop being a pretentious bitch. I love you dearly, but you're not helping right now."
"Fine," she said, standing up. "But I will say this, little brother, you and Danielle are two peas in a very rare pod from a very rare tree that, sometimes, I wish I could just cut down. You were both made for one another; back then, in between, now, and forever. Cut the crap, stop the childish games, and sort it out once and for all, yeah?"
She flashed her insistent eyes at me, unblinking, then walked off, tilting her head back while sipping her coffee, the morning sunlight bouncing from her face and highlighting her black hair. I loved her, but she pissed me off, and pretentious or not, she was bloody right.
"She's right," I said, scrubbing my face and sitting upright. "But that doesn't mean I can fix this."
"Why not?" Mum lightly patted my back. "You fix things all the time."
"How so?"
"You solve cases. Sooooo, solve this one."
I turned my head to her, a smile spreading across my face. "You really are amazing, Mum. I don't think I tell you enough."
She shrugged. "I don't think you do either."
"No, I mean it." I swept my hand in front of us, toward the immaculate garden with it's winding yellow brick path, manicured garden beds, feature tree, playground, glasshouse and shed. "Look what you and Jeanette have accomplished."
"Elliot, this was all you. You fought the demolition, and you paid for the entire thing. You're the amazing one. Why can't you just accept that?"
"Because if it weren't for me, none of this would be necessary."
"ENOUGH!" she said, her angered tone slicing through me. "You're here, right now, in this garden because a man put his life on the line to save you. Stop disrespecting that heroic act by constantly living in a shadow that you cast over yourself. Mr Hillier wouldn't want that. He'd want you to be happy. We all do." She stood up and waved to Jeanette and Danielle, as they made their way down the path. "Now, although I don't think it necessary, forgive yourself, Elliot Parker. Forgive but never forget. And when you're done forgiving, go and get the girl."
Not before long, the garden was bustling with local families, media personnel, the mayor, and Mr Hillier's widow and two adult children. The atmosphere was abuzz with excitement and anticipation, and as I stood up to the makeshift podium, a microphone mere centimetres from my chin, I paused to take in what we'd achieved. Before me was the original gum tree - the centrepiece of the entire site - a fairy themed garden and memorial plaque at the base of its trunk, paying tribute to a local hero. A garden shed and glasshouse stood in one corner of the yard, a playground in another, and all of it surrounded by garden beds full of herbs, flowers and vegetables traversed with a golden, yellow brick path.
I smiled, proud, took a breath, and began my speech, tapping on the microphone to garner everyone's attention. "Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, and children. I'd first and foremost like to thank each and every one of you for being here today. It means so much to all involved in making this garden what it has become. For those of you who don't know, Hillier Community Garden was originally erected as a tribute to a man whose selfless actions saved both my and Danielle's lives."