Autumn Dreams at Mermaids Point, page 7
The girl eyed her hand for a moment before taking it in a quick grip and release. ‘I’m Emily; that’s Max.’ She nodded at her brother who was chasing Toby up and down the same short stretch of beach, his laughter and the dog’s happy barking rising up on the currents of the warm evening air.
‘Pleased to meet you. Are you staying in the Point long?’ Nerissa tucked the lead in her back pocket as they made their way across the pebbles towards the thin strip of sand which was rapidly disappearing under the evening tide.
‘The Point, is that what you call it? I like that. We’re here for a week.’ Emily pulled her long blonde hair out of its scrunchy, smoothed some escaped strands back from her forehead, and twisted it all up on her head in the kind of messy, nonchalant topknot Nerissa could only dream of achieving. Though she loved her hair, it was too thick and had too much of a life of its own to be tamed by anything other than a plait or a tightly wound bun. A gust of wind sent her curls flying everywhere – proving her point – and she fished an elastic from her pocket and braided the mass with quick familiarity. ‘I love your hair,’ Emily said, watching her as she settled the plait between her shoulder blades.
‘I was just thinking the same thing about yours. It’s so smooth and silky.’
‘Thanks.’ Emily raised a hand to touch her topknot, a sweet blush creeping onto her cheeks as though she wasn’t used to compliments. ‘Have you always lived here?’ she asked as they strolled along, following the track of paw and footprints in the sand.
‘All my life. My family has been here for generations. My brother and his wife run a gift shop and their daughter, Laurie, runs the café next door. Her cakes are to die for – you’ll have to get your dad to take you in for afternoon tea while you’re here.’
‘Don’t you get bored, though? I can’t think there’s much to do around here.’
Nerissa considered the question rather than leaping to instant defence of the village she loved. It’d been a long time since she was a teenager, and though she’d always been content here, many – Gareth included – had found the smallness of life in the Point confining rather than comforting. ‘I go through phases of loving it and “get me out of here”. I had a chance to leave when I was a bit older than you are now, but it didn’t work out.’
‘What happened?’ When she didn’t answer immediately, Emily swung round to face her. ‘Sorry, that was rude of me to ask.’
Nerissa patted her arm. ‘No, it’s fine. I was madly in love with a boy who couldn’t wait to leave the village. I would’ve followed him anywhere, but he died in an accident and my life took a different path. I lost my sense of adventure after that. Nowadays, I’m a bit too comfortable in the rut I’ve made to change. The people I love most in the world are all here, and that’s what matters to me.’
‘My mum died a couple of years ago and now I don’t know what to do about anything any more.’ Shoulders stiff around her ears, Emily turned away to stare out to sea. The last rays of the setting sun had burnished the waves a brilliant gold.
Nerissa felt the pain in the girl’s voice like a fist around her heart. Losing Gareth had been devastating, but she’d had the solid bedrock of her family holding her up. When her mum had died not long before Nerissa’s fortieth birthday, it had still been far too soon, but having the centre of your family ripped away at Emily’s age was unfathomable to Nerissa, even with her own experiences as reference. As the sun dipped further below the horizon, the sea turned from gold to the red-black of a rose’s petals. She could mouth a load of platitudes, the same things this poor girl must’ve heard a thousand times, or she could steer their conversation in another direction. ‘I’m forty-three and I still don’t know what I’m doing with my life.’
Emily’s giggle sounded a little wet, but her voice was steady when she spoke. ‘Dad says I can take a year out before I start my A levels.’
Nerissa cast a quick look down the beach to where Max and Toby were still chasing each other around. They weren’t far, but far enough away they wouldn’t overhear them. ‘And is that something you might want to do?’
‘I don’t know. I think I messed up a couple of my exams – I haven’t told him that,’ Emily rushed the last bit out.
‘I won’t say anything.’ When Emily stayed silent, Nerissa decided to give her some space. ‘I’m going to rescue Max before he and Toby both end up soaking wet.’ She placed a gentle hand on Emily’s shoulder. ‘Catch us up when you’re ready. The words we give to the sea are heard only by the waves.’ It was something her mum had always said to her when she was growing up and feeling frustrated, and Nerissa had taken them to heart. Whenever she needed to get things off her chest, she either spoke them to Gareth in the stillness of the churchyard, or she came down here to the beach and stood much as Emily was now.
Emily nodded, her attention still fixed on the far horizon.
Jogging a few paces away to give Emily as much privacy as she wanted, Nerissa raised an arm and waved at Max. ‘Hey! Not too close to the edge now.’ As she drew nearer, she realised her words were in vain because the bottom few inches of Max’s jeans were darker than the rest and his trainers made a squishing sound as he ran up, Toby on his heels. ‘No! Don’t you dare,’ Nerissa warned the dog as he braced his legs in a stance she recognised. ‘If you’re going to shake, you do it over there.’ She pointed up the beach.
Toby gave her his best innocent eyes, not budging an inch.
‘No!’ Nerissa cried, a little desperately as she moved Max behind her just in time to shield him from the sand and salt spray the retriever sent flying into the air as he gave himself a huge shake from tail to nose and back again. She glanced down at the spatters marring her clean T-shirt and capri pants. ‘Oh, Toby.’ To add insult to injury, he had the cheek to stick his nose into the palm of her hand as though expecting a treat!
Max peeked around her, took one look at the mess and started giggling. When Nerissa raised an eyebrow at him, he clapped a hand over his mouth to try and stifle his amusement, but there was no hiding the way his shoulders were shaking up and down. ‘Sorry,’ he managed, sounding not in the least bit repentant.
‘I don’t know what’s so funny, young man,’ Nerissa said, her voice mock-stern as she folded her arms. ‘I’m the one who’s going to have to explain to your dad about the state you’re in.’ She looked down at his soaking-wet legs and feet. ‘You could’ve at least taken off your trainers.’
‘I didn’t think about it until it was too late,’ Max admitted, expression growing sheepish. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll tell him it wasn’t your fault.’
He sounded so sweetly earnest, Nerissa couldn’t help reaching out to touch his cheek. ‘No, you’re all right.’ She made a big show of glancing at the dog, then leaned close to whisper in Max’s ear. ‘We’ll tell him it was Toby’s fault.’
‘Okay,’ Max whispered back, and then they were both laughing. ‘Should I take them off now, do you think?’ he said a few moments later, lifting one leg to display a soggy foot.
‘Bit late now, and it’ll be hard work getting back over the pebbles in your bare feet. We’ll head for the surgery and you can dry off a bit. If your dad’s still busy with Doc and Keith we can chuck your trainers in the tumble dryer for a few minutes.’ Nerissa checked behind them and was relieved to see Emily making her way towards them. ‘Here’s your sister, now.’ She raised her voice to include the approaching girl. ‘I’ve got some ice cream in the freezer if you fancy a scoop?’
Emily looked a little wan as she drew up beside them, but her lips lifted in a small smile. ‘That sounds nice.’ She took in the state of her brother. ‘Max! What happened to you?’
With a cheeky grin that would get him out of trouble – and into a lot more of it in a few years’ time if Nerissa had any money on it – Max held a finger to his lips. ‘Shh, it was Toby’s fault,’ he whispered. ‘But we don’t want to upset him.’
Nerissa couldn’t hold in a burst of laughter. Honestly, this boy was clearly too clever for his own good, but so cute with it she could see him getting away with murder if left unchecked. ‘You get an extra scoop, Emily, because you managed to keep your feet dry.’
‘Hey, no fair!’ Max protested as Emily gave him an evil grin.
‘Come on, you two.’ Nerissa ushered them up the beach towards the other set of steps nearest the surgery. Toby, full of excitement at having made a new friend, darted in circles around them, tail wagging and uncaring of the salt already drying in his thick coat. He’d need another bath, but not tonight. Tonight he could have an extra towel in his bed and make do – a soggy dog was a problem best tackled in the morning.
She got the children settled at the scrubbed pine kitchen table with a bowl of mint choc chip each and Max’s trainers bumping around inside the dryer, then slipped through the connecting door into the surgery. The corridor was dark, but light was spilling out from the open door of the room they used for minor injuries, and she could hear the low murmur of masculine voices. Pausing in the corridor, she rapped her knuckles on the door frame, keeping her back to the open door in case Keith was in a state of undress. She heard the snap of surgical gloves being removed, but it was Tom, not Doc who came out to speak to her.
‘Everything okay?’ He glanced over her shoulder as though expecting her to have brought the children in with her.
‘Everything’s fine. They’re in the kitchen.’ She pointed towards the door that led to the accommodation part of the building, light visible through its frosted pane of glass. ‘I’ve given them a bit of ice cream, I hope you don’t mind.’
Tom laughed, a deep, rich sound that made something long dormant inside her stir in lazy interest. ‘They’ll love you forever. We’re nearly done here.’ He nodded his head towards the surgery door. ‘Just as well Keith spoke to Malcolm when he did because another day and he might not have been so lucky.’
‘What happened?’ Nerissa asked. When Tom frowned as if she had no business asking, she rolled her eyes a little. ‘I’ll see it in the morning when I update his records on the computer. I just meant, is he all right?’
‘Oh, of course you will, sorry. Nasty gash on his leg that’s got infected. We’ve cleaned it out and given him a few stitches. Malcolm just needs to give him an antibiotic injection while I finish dressing it.’
Nerissa peeked inside to see Doc and Keith chatting away. Crooking a finger, she indicated to Tom to lean closer – he was at least as tall as her brother, though of slimmer build, and she didn’t want Keith to overhear what she had to say next. ‘You’ll have to hold his hand,’ she murmured.
‘Malcolm or Keith’s?’
The teasing question caught her off guard and Nerissa found herself staring a little too closely into a pair of warm hazel eyes edged with smile lines. If he leaned any further down, or she rose up a fraction on her tiptoes they’d be close enough to… ‘Oh.’ She stepped back before the rest of that dangerous and highly inappropriate thought could crystallise. ‘Um…’ God, what had they been talking about? Keith! ‘Keith!’ she said, a little too loudly.
‘Yes?’ Keith’s voice came from inside the treatment room.
Oh, bloody hell! ‘I was just wondering if you wanted a cup of tea? While Doc finishes up, I mean.’ She didn’t dare look up at Tom for fear she’d catch him laughing at her awkwardness.
‘That’d be grand. You’re a good girl, Nerissa. She’s a good girl, your Nerissa,’ he echoed himself, the point clearly aimed at Doc.
‘She is,’ Doc agreed, appearing in the doorway. ‘The surgery would be lost without you. I bet you’d give your hind leg for someone like Nerissa to help you out, wouldn’t you, Tom?’
What? Why on earth was he dragging Tom into this impromptu love-fest? Cheeks flaming, Nerissa gave Doc a quick smile as she backed away. ‘Yes, well, I’ll get those teas, shall I?’ she stammered out before spinning on her heel and not quite running away, her hand unconsciously seeking the comfort of the ring dangling on her necklace.
9
Waking the next morning, it took Tom several seconds to orientate himself. The ceiling above him was wrong – a sea of creamy Artex dimples instead of the brilliant white smoothness he was used to. It was normally only his heart that ached in these moments between sleep and full consciousness before his brain once more processed the absence of Anna, but this morning his left hip was screaming at him to move. Stretching his leg, Tom immediately forgot the pain in his hip as his toes connected with a solid footboard. He reared back, only to bang his head. ‘Jesus Christ!’
‘Dad?’ The sleepy voice of his son scattered the last of Tom’s confusion, setting him firmly in the present and the second bedroom of the little cottage in the heart of the village of Mermaids Point.
‘I’m fine.’ He checked his watch – not even six. ‘Go back to sleep, Maxy.’
‘Mkay.’ The muffled reply came from the depths of the quilt.
When they’d returned from the surgery the previous night, it hadn’t felt like a hardship to offer the main bedroom with its double bed to Emily. She was of an age where privacy was important, and Max had been delighted at the idea of he and Tom bunking down together in the pair of single beds set against opposite walls in the smaller room. It hadn’t occurred to Tom to check the measurement of the beds until he’d climbed in last night and realised they were a good half a foot lacking for a frame as tall as his. It wouldn’t have been so bad without the head and footboards. Tom resolved to check the kitchen drawers for some tools after breakfast. With any luck, he’d be able to unbolt them and give himself a bit more space.
Sunlight beamed through the window above Max’s bed – likely what had woken Tom in the first place. He glanced once more at the lumpen shape in the opposite bed and contemplated curling up and tugging his own quilt over his head. The twinge in his hip warned him to not even think about it, followed swiftly by his bladder waking up and making its own needs felt.
Taking care to avoid the open suitcases spilling their contents into the middle of the floor, Tom tiptoed across the room to tug the curtains closed, then made his way towards the door. With unerring accuracy, he managed to locate every squeaking floorboard, but Max didn’t so much as stir – not even when the old-fashioned latch clunked as Tom pressed it.
Leaving his son to sleep, Tom used the bathroom and cleaned his teeth. He considered a shower but decided it was too bloody early to squeeze his body under the showerhead which was set halfway up the wall. Wondering if everything in the cottage had been fitted to Lilliputian dimensions, he made his way down the short hallway to check on Emily. Her door was open a fraction and as he pushed it open, he heard a soft voice he didn’t recognise. ‘Em?’
‘Hey, Dad.’
Taking that as an invitation, he pushed the door wide and found her sitting cross-legged on the bed, the contents of her rucksack scattered across the sheet beside her. A sketchpad was balanced across her knees, and he caught a glimpse of the shadows of a pencil drawing darkening its white surface before she lowered a protective hand to cover it. Tom swallowed a sigh at the way she felt the need to hide things from him. ‘Everything all right?’
Shoving a handful of tangled hair off her face, she nodded. ‘I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I thought I’d listen to my book.’ Her gaze moved to the phone on the pillow next to her, the source of the voice he’d heard. ‘I didn’t wake you, did I?’
‘Not at all,’ Tom reassured her. ‘I’m a bit stiff this morning – too many hours in the car and sleeping in a sm— different bed.’ He corrected himself just in time. It had been his choice to offer Emily this room and he wouldn’t make her feel guilty and start the week off on a bad note. She had a tendency to take even the most innocuous things to heart. ‘I’m going to make a cup of coffee. Do you want anything?’ The owners of the cottage had left a welcome pack of basic staples, but he’d have to sort out some food shopping today.
‘I’ll have some juice.’ There’d been a carton of long-life orange juice on the counter next to one of milk and he’d put them both in the fridge last night. She folded the sketchpad closed. ‘I’ll come down for it.’
‘You look so settled there. I can bring it up,’ Tom protested, then wished he’d kept his big mouth shut when her face fell. ‘Though I’d love the company, if you don’t mind – you can help me make a plan for the week, if you’d like?’
Emily brightened. ‘Sounds good. I’ll make a list.’ She fished out a notebook from the pile of things on the bed and scrambled to her feet.
Tom waited while she tugged on a cardigan over the vest and leggings she’d worn as pyjamas, then led the way down the steep, narrow stairs, ducking just in time to avoid whacking his forehead on a support beam. ‘This cottage was built for midgets,’ he grumbled, hunching his shoulders in exaggeration.
‘You’re just too tall,’ his daughter countered, not trying to hide a smug grin when he glanced over his shoulder to see her raise her hands over her head to pat the beam as she passed easily under it.
‘Somehow, I knew it would be my fault.’
‘Embrace the reality of your life, it’ll make things simpler.’
She had more cheek than the final scene in The Full Monty, but he just laughed, delighted she was bantering with him. ‘Alas, I think you’re right.’
While she settled at the kitchen table and opened a fresh page in her notebook, Tom pottered around filling the kettle and fetching the milk and juice from the fridge. There was a coffee machine in the corner, the cord wrapped around it in a way that said it wasn’t used much. He tugged open a couple of drawers and cupboards but couldn’t find any pods for it. It wasn’t the same make as the one they had at home, but he might have a look in the supermarket – once he’d located the supermarket – and see if they had any of the right brand.
Drinks made, he took the seat opposite Emily and worked his way through the mental list he’d been putting together. ‘Food shop. Proper look around the village. Tourist information?’ He phrased the last as a question, unsure if somewhere as small as Mermaids Point would have such a thing.
