GIs and Ginger Beer, page 1
The Great Summer Street Party Part 2
GIs and Ginger Beer
Georgia Hill
One More Chapter
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London SE1 9GF
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2022
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Copyright © Georgia Hill 2022
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Cover design by Lucy Bennett © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022
Cover images: Shutterstock.com
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Georgia Hill asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
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Ebook Edition © March 2022 ISBN: 9780008519759
Version: 2022-02-24
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading…
About the Author
Also by Georgia Hill
One More Chapter...
About the Publisher
For the ADCs. Thank you for the ‘Zoom handholding.’
The Berecombe News
A Year of Commemoration
By: Keeley Sharma
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Our year of celebration and commemoration continues! I hear our guests from the US can’t believe what a warm welcome Berecombe has given them – again! So much so, five are staying on a while longer. We’ll have the pleasure of GIs Leonard, Victor, Jessie, Curtis and Norman for this summer’s events.
Make sure you book early for the picnic and train ride on the scenic Berecombe Steam Railway as it’ll be popular, and we’ll remember the sacrifices made on D-Day in a service which is bound to be moving.
Now all we need is some sizzling summer sun!
Chapter One
Petra sank onto the chair with a relieved sigh. She flapped her bright pink apron at her hot face. ‘Oh boy, am I glad it’s my break. Been manic. I’ve had the Yummy Mummies in, the Knit and Natter lot and the book group as well, as the bookshop’s having a stock-take. Not to mention the tourists are flocking in now it’s the season. This is the first time I’ve been able to sit down since opening.’ She pushed a mug of hot chocolate over to Ashley. ‘Here you go, girlfriend, just what you need on a cold May morning.’ She shivered. ‘I wish spring would hurry up and arrive, I could do with some sunshine.’
Ashley sipped and remained silent. Looking around Millie Vanilla’s Café, she saw a few mums and toddlers still gathered around several tables put together and the remnants of the book group pretending to discuss their latest read but really catching up on gossip. Berecombe’s most notorious pair of pensioners and doyennes of the WI, Beryl and Biddy, caught her gaze and waved. It was cosy in here against the unseasonable chill outside and the windows streamed condensation. No one was braving sitting outside today, let alone on the beach with its crashing waves. Ashley dipped her head and concentrated on an errant marshmallow. It was good to be out for once. Since the row with Eddie, she hadn’t felt much like socialising. The furious words that she’d spat out were seared guiltily into her brain. She’d been so hard on him.
Petra stirred her hot chocolate. ‘What have you been up to? Hardly seen you around and this the first time you’ve been into the caff. What have you been up to, girl?’ She winked broadly. ‘Or maybe it’s who you’ve been up to? How’s that delicious hunk of an American, Eddie? Haven’t seen much of him either.’
‘I’ve been busy. I’ve started at the Arts Workshop,’ Ashley replied eventually, after deciding what to say. ‘Working for Ken Tizzard. I’m only part-time at the moment – in fact, he lets me choose what hours I want to do, so it’s pretty perfect. I find it tiring, though. Probably no surprise. I haven’t worked for my living for over a year.’
‘Well, that’s not surprising, considering you’re still getting over your accident. Great that you’re working with Ken, though. He’s a good bloke. What are you doing there?’ She tucked in a stray blonde hair that had escaped her victory roll and settled back to listen. As usual, Petra was rocking a full 1940s look.
‘Mostly admin. Sorting applicants for courses, ordering supplies, answering the phone. That sort of thing.’
‘And will you do some teaching too? That’s what you did before the car accident, right? Teach art.’
‘Maybe,’ Ashley said guardedly. She didn’t add that standing up in front of a class was the last thing she could face. Somewhere, in amongst the crumpled wreckage of her Fiesta, she’d lost the sunny self-confidence she’d always had.
‘It all sounds good. Really positive.’ Petra grinned. ‘But what I really want to nosey in about is all the goss with you and your American. You did a right Cinderella act after the ball. Your big coz Noah and I looked for you for ages.’
‘I got a taxi home. Had a bit of a headache.’
‘Too much champagne, eh?’ Petra dug out a tiny mirror from the depths of her violently red dress and checked her matching lipstick.
‘Something like that.’
Beryl and Biddy wandered over to say their goodbyes.
‘Ooh, ladies.’ Petra slid the mirror back into her pocket and grinned up at them. ‘Just the people I need to see. How does a choir sound? A fun choir, nothing serious. Getting together and singing a few favourites. Old and new. Thought I’d use the theatre if we get enough people.’ She pulled a face. ‘Or here, if there’s only a few of us.’
‘Sounds right up my alley,’ Beryl replied, with her trademark enthusiasm. ‘What fun!’
‘Mmm. Maybe,’ Biddy growled. ‘As long as we don’t have to sing the rubbish that passes for pop music these days.’
It took more than Biddy to deflate Petra. ‘Why not come along to the first session and see for yourself? I suspect you might have a fine voice hiding in there somewhere.’
‘If only she would hide it more,’ Beryl put in, with a wink.
‘Think it’s high time for your bus,’ Biddy said, her thick eyebrows raised in disdain. ‘You don’t have time to spare for being a music critic, even if we were the slightest bit interested. Come along, Elvis.’ The little black poodle trotted after her obediently, and Beryl followed, grinning.
‘Don’t you love those two? What a double act.’ Petra stared after them for a second and then focused on Ashley with a frown. ‘Are you all right, my lovely? You don’t seem your usual self.’
Ashley popped a marshmallow into her mouth and chewed disconsolately. ‘Petra, you really don’t want to know.’
‘Is it something to do with Eddie? I thought you and he would be all loved-up now he’s back from the States. I mean, anyone with half a brain cell can see you two are made for one another. The sexual tension’s off the scale.’
‘Yes, Eddie is back from the States,’ Ashley blurted, unable to keep it to herself any longer. ‘Only trouble is, he’s brought with him his ex-girlfriend … who just happens to be having his baby!’
Chapter Two
Petra sank back on her chair, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. ‘Eddie has got a woman pregnant? When? How? I can’t believe it!’ She did a quick scan of the café to see if anyone needed anything and then leaned in. ‘Spill!’ she hissed. ‘You’ve got approximately thirty minutes until the lunch rush starts.’
‘As to how, probably in the usual way.’ Ashley tried – and failed – to keep the bitterness from her voice.
‘All right then, when? Just now, when he was in the States?’
Ashley shook her head. ‘It happened at Christmas. He’s got this –’ she corrected herself ‘– he had this on–off girlfriend. He came over here and they split up, but they got together again briefly when he went back home for the holidays.’
‘And she got pregnant? Are they still together? If so, he had no right to be making the googly eyes at you.’
Ashley felt a glimmer of a smile. ‘No. They split up. He realised there was no future for them when he came here.’
Petra sat back again. ‘Interesting,’ she said, thoughtfully. ‘How on and off was this relationship?’
‘From what I can gather, Bree—’
‘Brie?’
‘The girlfriend.’
‘Weird name. Bit cheesy.’
Ashley laughed for the first time in a week. ‘It’s Bree, as in B-R-E-E, not B-R-I-E, like the French cheese.’
‘Just as well, or I’d have to swap allegiance to Camembert.’
Ashley laughed again. ‘You’re so good for me, Petra.’
‘What are girlfriends for? So, go on, how on and off was this thing with the cheesy one?’
‘From what Eddie told me, most of their lives. He said he’s known her since he was a freshman. What’s that? First year of university?’
‘No idea. I don’t know much about this country’s educational system, let alone America’s. You know, Eddie’s in his mid thirties, easily. It’s a long time to be in a dysfunctional relationship.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘That they’ve been messing each other about all this time with no commitment.’
‘I think it was Bree doing all the messing about. Eddie said he’s not proud of being manipulated by her and only saw the situation for what it really was when he came to the UK to work.’
‘And he would have liked some commitment?’
‘I get that impression. Bree wasn’t too happy when he announced he’d be teaching in England, had a hissy fit and stormed out. They tried to work things through at Christmas but Eddie realised it wasn’t going to work anymore.’
‘And she gets preggers. How convenient.’
‘What do you mean?’ Ashley stared at Petra.
‘If you want my opinion, I reckon she’s been yanking his chain all of his adult life and, just when he breaks away, she finds the perfect way to keep him tied to her.’ Petra drained her mug, looking triumphant at her analysis. ‘Is she the sort to do that, do you think?’
Ashley thought back to the evening at the ball and how Bree had hinted at her condition before even establishing whether Eddie had told her. The glint in her dark eyes… It could have been high spirits, or enjoyment of the night – or it could have been vindictiveness. ‘I suppose,’ she began, ‘she had Eddie exactly where she wanted him for years and, once he ended it, she wants him back.’
‘Or maybe not even that. She just wants to carry on playing the mind games.’
‘Do you think people really do things like that?’
‘Who knows? Nothing would surprise me.’ Petra shrugged. ‘Maybe the biological clock has struck and she’s always had Eddie lined up as her potential baby’s father? Then he announces he’s going to work abroad. Plan scuppered. Last chance you’ve got with him, stick a pin in the condom or forget your diaphragm and Bob’s your uncle. Or bun’s in the oven, if you like. She obviously didn’t envisage her doting Eddie falling for a gorgeous Brit. And by that, I mean you, my lovely. That must have ruined her plans even more.’
‘The tragedy is, I think if she hadn’t messed Eddie around so much, he would’ve happily settled down with her and had children. He told me he’s always wanted kids.’
Petra reached out a hand. ‘But he’s fallen for you. Anyone can see that.’
‘I was beginning to think so.’ Ashley sighed. ‘I mean, we haven’t done much except kiss but, oh God—’
‘What?’
‘It was electric!’ She scanned Petra’s expression and felt herself blush. ‘There’s definitely a physical connection. But besides that, I really felt he was someone I could build a life with. I could see myself growing old with him. Does that sound ridiculous when I barely know the guy?’
‘No, girlfriend. I reckon when you know, you know.’
‘And now it’s all so horribly complicated. And I have to decide whether knowing he’s having a baby with his ex is something I can live with.’
Petra glanced over to the till where a customer was waiting to pay. ‘Hold that thought; I’ll be right back.’
Ashley stared through the steamed-up windows at the churning waves outside. A gull flew low and then caught the edge of a thermal, effortlessly soaring into the sky. Everywhere was grey today. Lowering clouds bulging with rain, sea spray clouding the air, even the sea itself was a furtive-looking greeny-grey. For the first time in days, her fingers itched for her paints and she cursed herself for forgetting her sketch pad.
Staring hard and trying to memorise the scene, she couldn’t help but let her thoughts stray to what Petra had said. Was it possible that a woman could be so calculating as to deliberately chance getting pregnant with the man who had finally broken off their relationship? Ashley had never met a truly manipulative person. She’d known a few casually tactless or thoughtless ones, but never anyone who was capable of what Petra suspected of Bree.
Her eye was caught by one of the Yummy Mummies wrestling her little boy into his jacket and failing, as the toddler was having none of it. Maybe Bree had seen it as the last chance to have a baby with a man whom, no matter how dysfunctional the relationship, she knew and trusted? A longing deep inside Ashley bloomed and twisted. She’d love a little boy like the one currently being bundled into his cute mini parka.
She’d always assumed she would have children one day. The accident had changed all that, as it had changed so many things. Pre-accident, she’d been coming up to thirty and in a stable relationship. Marriage and children were vague but promising prospects on the distant horizon. Now all that hung in an uncertain balance. There was no man and, because of her injuries, there might be no children. If Bree had grasped at the chance to have a baby, even if it had been done with deliberate deception, Ashley had a niggle of understanding and some sympathy. How could she not? It still didn’t solve the problem of how she felt about the whole situation, though. She sighed.
Petra put an espresso in front of her and a piece of coffee-and-walnut cake. ‘On the house. You can’t face this sort of problem without cake.’ She sat down next to Ashley and added, more gently, ‘So, what are you going to do about Eddie?’
‘The last thing he said is that he wants to start a relationship with me.’
‘Well, of course he does. He’s that sort of man.’
‘He told me he was falling in love with me.’
‘Wow! But?’
‘But how can I go into a relationship with him, knowing Bree is in the background all the time and about to have his baby? A baby he really wants.’
Ashley had a sudden vision of Eddie as a dad. Holding the newborn in his arms with the look of awe and masculine pride that fathers have when they see their child for the first time. ‘Oh, Petra, he really wants this baby.’ She picked up the coffee cup and swallowed the espresso in one. ‘I just don’t know if I can share him like this. I don’t want to share him at all! He accused me of wanting the fairytale, and maybe I do. I certainly want something as uncomplicated as possible. It’s not much to ask, is it?’ She pushed the cup away, her lower lip trembling. ‘And, if Bree has had this hold over him for so long, what’s to say they won’t get back together again, especially as she’s the mother of his child? How can I compete against that?’
Petra reached for her hand again. ‘Girl, this is tough. Yes, it’s not an ideal way to start a relationship with somebody, but I suppose you have to ask yourself if the possibility of a future with Eddie is worth the complication that is Cheesy Lady and Mini Babybel.’
