Chapter 4
It didn’t matter how upset Daisy was at Theo leaving; hearing the words ‘I love you’ yelled out over Wildflower Lock car park was enough to forget it all.
Daisy May was in love. She wasn’t just dating; she didn’t just have a boyfriend. She had a boyfriend who loved her. It was enough to put a skip in her step as she headed back onto the towpath. There, the closest boat moored to the car park was the Jeanette, which was owned by none other than her mother’s new boyfriend, Nicholas. For a split second, she considered knocking on the door to see if her mother was visiting. After all, she desperately wanted to share her news, though she decided quickly against it. No matter what her mother said, Daisy hadn’t yet seen a pleasant side to Nicholas. Besides, she could simply text her mum to let her know on the phone.
Her second thought was to message Bex or Claire, only she immediately discarded those options, too. Bex was spending the weekend on a work retreat that she’d been talking about for the last two months, and not positively. Two days full of team-building activities, like leading one another blindfolded through an obstacle course, or completing personality tests to find out what sort of leader you are. All activities that Bex pretended she had no interest in. But deep down, they all knew how much she’d enjoy it when she was there. After all, a bit of competitiveness always brought out the best in her. Unfortunately, it meant she wouldn’t be free for a chat.
Claire, meanwhile, was currently on holiday in Croatia. The last thing Daisy wanted was to disturb her while she was getting some well-needed family time. For a split second, Daisy thought she was out of people she could divulge this amazing news to when, as she walked up the canal and reached the September Rose, she noted the boat on the other side of it.
The beautiful Ariadne was owned by Yvonne, the elderly lady who had been on the canal even when Daisy’s parents were married and living there. She had been the one who’d told Daisy about her past on Wildflower Lock, and let her browse through the dozens of dusty photo albums she kept, allowing Daisy a glimpse of her father and mother in a life she had never known.
Daisy always promised herself she would drop in on Yvonne more often. After all, Yvonne invited her around for a cup of tea every time they saw each other, but Daisy struggled to find the time. After talking to people all day at the coffee shop, the last thing she wanted when she finished was yet more chatting. Only today was different. Today, she wanted to talk, and maybe, she thought, she could kill two birds with one stone, giving Yvonne a bit of company while somehow slipping in the news of her and Theo.
Having decided what she was going to do, Daisy popped into the September Rose. She grabbed the unsold slices of cake, popped them into one of her takeaway boxes and crossed over the bridge.
The Ariadne was identifiable by sight but also by aroma, as it was the only houseboat on the canal that smelled strongly of incense. The scent, which rose from constantly burning candles and incense sticks, formed an invisible fog around the moorings and, for an instant, Daisy regretted the decision to visit her friend. Thankfully, she spotted Yvonne sitting on the stern of the boat enjoying a cup of tea outside.
‘Fancy a slice of cake to go with that?’ Daisy asked as she approached.
Yvonne turned to face her and grinned. ‘I never say no to cake.’
Daisy returned the smile. ‘I thought you might say that, though I brought a slice for both of us too, if you want some company?’
A slight pause followed, after which Yvonne waved her hands impatiently.
‘What are you waiting for, then? Pop aboard!’
A minute later, Daisy was sitting on the hull of the Ariadne with the box of cake open between them.
‘So I saw your young man last night,’ Yvonne said between mouthfuls. ‘He popped in to say hello to me.’
‘He did?’ Daisy wondered when that could have been, as from the moment Theo had arrived at the September Rose, the pair hadn’t separated. Then again, he probably arrived earlier, while she had a queue, and came here first. That would explain why she hadn’t seen him coming up the towpath.
‘Oh, he couldn’t stay. He was rushing to get to you.’ Yvonne confirmed what Daisy had thought. ‘But he wanted to make sure he said hello. Tell me, how’s that new job of his going? Sounds like it’s keeping him busy.’
‘Too busy,’ Daisy said. She didn’t mean to sound so down. After all, that was the exact opposite of why she had come here. But it was how she felt.
‘That doesn’t sound good,’ Yvonne commented. ‘Everything all right between you two?’
‘Oh, yes, everything is wonderful. He told me he loved me.’ Daisy grinned, happy to have shoe-horned the comment in almost naturally.
‘Well, of course he loves you. Any fool can see that,’ Yvonne remarked, almost rolling her eyes.
Daisy smiled to herself. Others had said that before. That it was obvious how crazy Theo was about her from the way he looked at her. Still, there was something about hearing those words from his mouth that made it all the more concrete.
‘It’s good. It’s really good; I just wish I could see more of him. He’s going to be away for a month now. Honestly, if I could take the September Rose on the sea, I swear I would head straight to him tomorrow.’
Yvonne frowned. ‘What do you mean, “if”? Of course you can take it on the sea. Well, not the open sea. And it’s been a long time since I’ve done it, but…’
Daisy paused, her fork poised just above the cake. ‘What do you mean? You took the Ariadne on the sea?’
‘The Ariadne, and the Minotaur before that. It’s the only way to get out of the estuary.’
Daisy could hear what Yvonne was saying, but she was still shaking her head in disbelief.
‘But I thought you couldn’t? The hull, the flat bottom. I thought if a wave hits you…’
‘Oh yes, if a big wave hits you, you’re done for,’ Yvonne said matter-of-factly. ‘But we’re not talking about crossing the Atlantic here. Get a calm day, get your tide timings right, and you can get round to Southend easily enough. And after that, well, the world is your oyster. Or at least, the rivers and canals are.’
Daisy sat back in her chair, ruminating over what she just heard. She’d always thought that the September Rose could only be moved off this stretch of canal on the back of a trailer. But Yvonne was saying she’d done the journey, and multiple times at that.
As she sat there, pondering the idea, Daisy couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to turn up and surprise Theo. To moor up alongside the Narrow Escape. That way, they wouldn’t just have to spend one or two days together. They could spend weeks, months even – assuming she could find a suitable spot for the coffee shop.
She looked at Yvonne, unable to suppress the giddiness that was flooding through her.
‘Would you fancy doing that trip again?’ she asked.