Chapter 3 #2
Seren was staying until one, when the shop closed for an hour for lunch she’d explained. “If you run into trouble this afternoon, just give me a call. I’ll leave my number by the till.”
A few minutes before one, a woman came in wearing shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt. She was tanned and slim and looked in her early forties with blonde, sun-bleached hair. She smiled as she came over to Carrie, who was crouched down tidying up a shelf of historical romances.
“Hi, Carrie?” the woman asked.
“That’s me,” said Carrie, standing up.
“I’m Nat. I run the holiday club here. Mary got in touch with me and suggested your daughter might like to join us in the afternoons.
I’ve got all the details here.” She handed Carrie a piece of paper which Carrie quickly scanned.
It was so much cheaper than any holiday club in London!
With what Auntie Mary was paying her, she could definitely afford for Poppy to go for at least a few sessions a week.
“Oh my goodness, she really did think of everything.” Carrie laughed. “Pumpkin? Can you come over here?”
Poppy carefully put her book down next to the cat and walked over.
“Poppy, this is Nat. She thought you might like to go to the holiday club she runs.”
“Hi, Poppy,” said Nat. “We’re going to be going to the playground and making scones this afternoon, if you’d like to come?”
“Can I, Mummy?” pleaded Poppy.
“Absolutely. Give it a try this afternoon and see what you think.”
* * *
Carrie and Poppy had some lunch together in the flat after Nat and Seren left and then Carrie walked Poppy down to the community hall which was being used as the headquarters for the holiday club. Poppy ran in happily and Carrie walked back up to the shop, enjoying a few minutes in the sun.
The afternoon passed quickly. Carrie was happy knowing that Poppy was occupied and hopefully having fun, and proud that she managed without having to call Seren for help. There were a surprising number of customers. It was the summer holidays she supposed, but still...
Carrie closed the shop at five. She’d been a bit worried about how she was going to get the cat to leave, but Tabitha seemed to realise it was time to go home and waited patiently by the door until Carrie let her out.
Carrie quickly ran up to the flat and packed a bag with some snacks, water, swimsuits and towels. She really hoped Poppy had had a good time and it would be nice for her if she made some friends for the summer.
Poppy was playing tag with some other children in the yard outside the community hall when Carrie arrived. She came running over. “How was the shop? Did you sell lots of books? Is Tabitha still there?”
“The shop was fine. I sold quite a few books and took another order. Tabitha went home when I closed up, but it sounds like she’ll be back tomorrow. But more importantly, did you have a good afternoon?”
“It was so much fun!” said Poppy, taking hold of Carrie’s hand.
They began to walk down to the beach. “Nat is really cool, and so is Sam, the other leader. And I made three new friends: Jamie, Katy and Charlotte. Jamie lives on a farm with lots of sheep. I had scones which were so yummy. I had a cheese one and one with strawberry jam. Some people had cream, but it looked yucky. We weren’t allowed to use the oven because it was hot, but I helped make the mixtures.
I had to rub the flour and butter together with my fingers. ”
“That sounds awesome,” said Carrie. She was so pleased that Poppy didn’t have to spend all her time in the shop and had somewhere fun to go.
They reached the sand and took off their socks and shoes. Some of the holidaymakers had already left or were in the process of packing up, but the weather remained gloriously warm so plenty of people were still around.
“If we walk along for a bit, I’ll show you one of the secret beaches I know about,” Carrie said. “It’s a lovely little bay and we can paddle there. I brought our swimsuits.”
They changed in the toilets and then walked along. Their clothes wouldn’t all fit in the bag Carrie had brought with her so she was laden down with the bag, two pairs of shoes with socks stuffed in them and an armful of clothes as Poppy skipped along beside her.
Carrie glanced down at her pasty pale legs: she really should have applied some self-tan before she’d bared her body to the world. She was quickly distracted by Poppy showing her a pretty shell she’d found and put aside her self-consciousness.
They reached the end of the beach and walked around the headland to another bay. They clambered over some rocks and around another headland to reach their destination. It was deserted just as Carrie had hoped.
“Race you to the water, Mummy!” yelled Poppy and she began to run towards the sea.
Carrie laughed. “You rotter!” she called after her daughter as she dumped their belongings and chased after her little girl, catching her just as she reached the water and receiving a splash for her trouble, making her shriek with how cold it was.
They messed around in the water together and soon got used to its chill.
“Oh look, Mummy! It’s that little dog from yesterday,” Poppy cried, pointing to where a figure accompanied by a dog was coming down the steps on the other side of the cove to where they’d entered.
They must have been walking along the coastal path around the clifftops and were coming back down on to the beach.
Poppy was right: it was indeed the dog from the previous evening and his stressed-looking owner.
Poppy went back to showing Carrie how she could float on her back. When she stood up in the water, Carrie said, “Pumpkin, you’re freezing! Look at all the goose pimples on your arms. I think we should get out of the water and get you dry.”
“Just five more minutes . . .” begged Poppy.
“Auntie Mary left us some pizzas that we can have for tea . . .But we can’t put them in the oven until we’re home . . .”
“OK, we can get out now! Can we go in the sea again tomorrow?”
“If it’s warm enough,” promised Carrie. They trudged out of the water and on to the beach.
The man and the dog were almost across the cove now.
The dog was nosing around happily when it spotted them and came running over to say hello.
It was so excited it overshot them and went careering around, landing on the pile of their clothes.
Which it began to attack. The owner, spotting what was happening, began running over but the dog grabbed hold of something and went tearing off down the beach with it.
Carrie’s mouth hung open in shock as she realised it was her bra.
And not even a nice bra at that, one she’d owned since before Poppy was born but was still comfy and she’d never bothered to throw it out.
She was mortified as the man chased after his dog, her tired bra hanging from its mouth, its strap dragging along the sand.
Knowing it was being chased, the dog decided its best option was to run into the water.
The man followed, soaking his trousers as he attempted to grab the dog’s collar.
“Monty. Come here!” the man yelled. The dog changed tack and raced out of the water, looking like it was going to head up the steps he’d come down, but he got distracted by what was presumably a wonderful smelling piece of seaweed and he stopped to examine it . . . dropping the bra in the process.
Carrie ran over, closely followed by Poppy, and gingerly picked up the mangled remains of her underwear. The man raced to them and attached a lead to the dog’s collar.
“I am so sorry!” he panted, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “I can’t believe he did that! He’s never done anything like that before.”
Oh, why couldn’t the ground just open up and swallow her?
He stopped for a moment, looking at Carrie as if trying to place her.
Recognition seemed to pass across his face and his eyes widened.
So it wasn’t just her who thought they’d met before.
Well, she certainly wasn’t going to hang around to discuss it now!
He opened his mouth to speak again but Carrie interrupted as she quickly scooped up all her belongings.
“Don’t worry! These things happen. Come on, Poppy, let’s go. ”
She hurried back the way they’d come at a near jog with Poppy scurrying behind her. How she wished she was wearing more than a swimsuit!
“The dog didn’t mean to eat your clothes, Mummy. He was just excited!”
“I know, Pumpkin. I’m not cross,” Carrie said, slowing down to smile reassuringly at her daughter — and chancing a glance across the beach. Thankfully the man hadn’t followed.
“Let’s pop your T-shirt and shorts on to walk back,” Carrie said, feeling the redness of her cheeks begin to subside.
“But my swimming costume’s all wet!” Poppy explained.
“We’ll be back at the flat in only five minutes,” Carrie promised. “And then you can have a nice hot shower to warm up.”
They pulled on their clothes and wiped their feet with a towel to get the worst of the sand off before putting on their shoes and socks.
“I can’t wait for that pizza,” said Carrie, trying to behave as normally as possible. She didn’t want her poor daughter to think she’d gone completely crazy.
“Me too,” said Poppy with a grin.
They held hands as they walked up the hill to the bookshop.
Poppy hopped in the shower as soon as they got back and Carrie got the oven heated up and unpacked their things.
She couldn’t face examining what was left of her bra so just threw it in the bin.
She put the pizzas in the oven and had her turn in the shower, wishing she could wash away the embarrassment of having her underwear chased down by a handsome stranger.
They ate their pizza on the sofa as a treat and watched Encanto together cosily, before Carrie read to Poppy in her bed and the little girl went to sleep.
Carrie was planning to settle down with her book when her phone pinged with a WhatsApp message from Davina: Are you free for a chat? Carrie smiled, finished making her camomile tea and called her friend from the comfort of the sofa.
“Hi, how are you?” she asked when Davina answered.
“Already wishing September was here, to be honest. Sophie’s bored out of her mind and driving me crazy while I’m trying to work.
Silly me thinking I could work from home with a six-year-old.
I can’t believe how quickly the holiday clubs filled up.
Thank goodness Gary’s off work next week and can keep her entertained. ”
“I’m sorry I’m not able to help out,” said Carrie. Poppy loved having her bestie round during the holidays and usually Carrie would have Sophie as much as possible so Davina could work.
“Don’t be daft! I shouldn’t even be complaining — we’re off to Florida in a couple of weeks! And I’m so glad you got to go away, even if it is a working holiday. How is it?”
“The shop’s great. I can’t believe what Auntie Mary’s done with the place. It’s so different from when I was last here. And everyone’s lovely. The lady who runs the café next door brought round pastries this morning.”
“That’s so nice!”
“It was. You won’t believe what happened at the beach earlier though.”
Carrie told her the sorry tale and couldn’t help laughing now that the whole traumatic experience was over with.
“Maybe you’ll never see him again,” said Davina, kindly.
“I don’t want to have to avoid the beach. He was walking his dog there yesterday as well . . .”
“You’ll have to get a disguise then, or at least wear better underwear!” Davina joked.
“I fear hiding from him is the only option,” Carrie said, now giggling.
Carrie felt a lot better for speaking with her friend.
Having a laugh about it had helped put things into perspective.
She was a grown-up, and so was the man on the beach.
If they saw each other again, it was no big deal.
They’d simply ignore each other. There was no need to mention what happened ever again.