Chapter Five
Later that evening, Matt leaned on the balcony of the Surf Club terrace, watching teams of kids in wetsuits and red swim caps perform lifesaving drills in the surf. That had been him once. It felt like another life.
He’d arranged to meet Tyler for a drink but his meeting with a client had ended earlier than expected so he’d headed straight to the club.
Tyler greeted him, breathing a little heavily yet beaming. ‘Hello. Sorry, I’ve been running late. Stuck behind a veg truck all the way from Sennen.’
‘No worries. I’m early. Meeting was cut short so I came straight here.’
Tyler tugged the front of his T-shirt and wrinkled his nose. ‘Sticky, isn’t it? Van’s a/c packed in. I think I’ll have to scrap it and get a new one.’
‘I might be able to help you with that,’ Matt said. ‘I was thinking of trading in mine if you’re interested?’
‘You help me enough,’ Tyler said. ‘But I also might have to take you up on it. I’ll get the beers and be straight back.’ He glanced at the queue snaking out of the clubhouse door. ‘Place is heaving tonight. I might be a while.’
‘I’ll come and rescue you if you’re longer than three hours.’
Holding up crossed fingers, Tyler swept off to the bar.
The kids were racing into the surf and thrashing their way out to a buoy, guarded by two women in kayaks. There were still a couple of male instructors whom he recognised from his days as a member, both of them more grizzled than he remembered.
Some older children were gathered around one of them, Vince, intent on learning how to use a rescue board. Hopefully some of the kids would mature into volunteer beach lifeguards themselves or go on to work as professional lifeguards as he had once done.
When he was eighteen, Zennor had headed off to uni and Matt had … licked his wounds, failing to heal them before going travelling. He’d ended up in Oz for a while, lifeguarding in the summer and even busking occasionally.
When he’d returned, he’d found out she was engaged and the rest was now history. After the wedding, he’d moved to southeast Cornwall, gone to college and trained in property maintenance before doing up Harry’s place and starting his business.
He’d known for a while that Zennor was divorced from Trev, and he’d wondered countless times if his antics had contributed to the split. From his reception earlier, he could have a guess: she blamed him and hadn’t forgiven him.
Tyler returned from the bar with two bottles of beer. ‘Penny for them?’
Matt nodded at the beach. ‘Just thinking that we used to be that young and enthusiastic once.’
Tyler smiled and handed over the beer. ‘Brings back memories, doesn’t it? How old were you when you first joined?’
‘I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a member so probably about four or five.
Mum, Dad and Grandad were always here, instructing or running events or cooking or doing maintenance.
’ He’d started by joining in the ‘beach games’ that eventually morphed into more formal drills and training.
His parents had also been part of the organising committee until they’d emigrated – but it was always Grandad Harry who’d been the lifeblood of the club.
‘I’m glad Harry can’t see it now,’ Tyler said, echoing Matt’s own thoughts. ‘Those changing rooms should be condemned.’
‘They’re not quite that bad but they do need completely refitting,’ Matt said. ‘And the whole place needs a new roof, rewiring and decorating. I was shocked when I saw it a couple of months ago.’
‘How long had you stayed away?’
‘Pretty much since Grandad died.’
‘Too many memories?’ Ty asked.
‘You could say that.’ Matt sipped the beer, grateful for its cool smoothness, and raised the bottle to Tyler. ‘Thanks. I needed this.’
‘I guessed you might. How’d it go with Zennor, then?’
Matt had been waiting for this question, yet it still made his mood take a nosedive. It hadn’t been that high anyway. ‘Swimmingly. Perfect. She hung out the bunting, popped open a bottle of champers and threw her arms around me.’
Tyler arched his eyebrows. ‘That well?’
Matt sighed. ‘I suppose it was what I expected.’
‘Really?’
Matt tipped the bottle to his lips, letting the beer soothe his parched throat. ‘I did think that after so long, she might have … mellowed a little.’
Tyler grimaced. ‘This is Zennor we’re talking about. The woman whose wedding reception you ruined. The one we had to literally drag you out of kicking and screaming.’
Matt scoffed. ‘I wasn’t actually kicking.’
Tyler’s mouth twisted. ‘Mate, you were seriously out of control.’
‘OK, I grant you, I might have been a bit pissed and overwrought.’ Matt shrugged but inside he was squirming at the memory of the scene he’d caused: Zennor with her hands to her mouth in horror, her eyes pleading with him to stop as if he’d hurt her physically as well as emotionally. He felt a little bit sick, even now.
‘I – wish it hadn’t happened,’ he murmured.
‘I blame myself too. I knew I should never have asked you to step in but we were desperate. I would never have asked if I’d realised how you felt about Zennor.’
Matt shoved his hair off his face, watching the kids churning up the water as they raced to a buoy just offshore.
He used to be first every time when he was younger.
Nothing else mattered but winning – in training or competitions.
‘I don’t think I knew how I felt about her until I saw Trev snogging that waitress behind the staff block. On his frigging wedding day too.’
Tyler left a significant pause before replying. ‘Mate, are you still sure that’s what you saw? You had had a few.’
‘I’d had one solitary beer by then.’ He turned away from the sea and leaned his back on the railing.
‘Ty. I know what I saw. The woman had her legs wrapped around him and he had his hands under her arse. They were pressed up against the wall between the building and the bike racks. I’m not sure they’d have stopped if one of the chefs hadn’t wandered outside for a vape.
But you know all of this already. Why question it now? ’
‘Because …’ Tyler shrugged. ‘It was a long time ago. I had thought today might have started some kind of reconciliation between you two.’
Matt snorted. ‘Not from Zennor’s point of view.
She’s still as angry as the day it happened and I do remember that day in every excruciating detail.
I wish I didn’t but it was only after I’d spotted Trev that I really hit the bottle.
Someone had foolishly left some vodka open in the kitchen after I saw them. I was in no mood for restraint.’
Tyler’s mouth quirked. ‘I know.’
‘No.’ Matt sighed. ‘It was a bad time. Grandad hadn’t been well and Mum and Dad had started talking about “making a new life” in Oz.
I was drifting and wallowing in self-pity but that was no excuse to take my frustrations out on Zennor.
It would never have been a good time but to do it at her wedding was unforgivable. ’
‘No matter what you thought about Trev?’ Ty offered.
‘No matter what I thought. Not that I’ve changed my mind about him. And even if Zennor has, it wasn’t for me to change it for her.’
‘And now you’ve had to revisit all that shit because you’ve had to step in and help out my dad?’
‘No.’ Matt softened his tone. ‘No matter what Zennor thinks of me now, I want to help her and Roo. The building will be a good investment once it’s been sorted out.
’ Matt wanted to put the most positive spin he could on the situation and didn’t want to go too over the top about the issues with the building, which was breaking several regulations already.
‘My dad’s so relieved to have it off his hands and to someone he trusts. I am too.’
Matt was embarrassed. ‘I was lucky enough to be in a position to help and, if it makes you both feel better, I feel I lucked out by being able to take the building off your dad’s hands.
’ He grinned. ‘I’m hardly going to lose out because it’s in a prime position in the middle of St Ives with a view if I ever needed to sell, which I don’t intend to. ’
Tyler’s broad shoulders sank in relief. ‘Luck doesn’t come into it.
You earned your success by hard graft but that makes me feel better.
’ He slapped Matt on the back and sniffed the air appreciatively.
‘Now, let’s go and see what the burgers are like on that barbie.
The last lot were only fit for the gulls but one of the chefs from White Rocks is on duty this time so they should be good. ’
Matt agreed. White Rocks was a boutique hotel down the coast and its restaurant had a glowing reputation. Tyler led the way across the terrace to the barbecue set up at the bottom of the ramp that led on to the sand.
The kids were winding up the training and heading into the locker rooms to change out of their wetsuits. Paint was peeling off the door, which was wedged open with a large stone from the beach. Steam emerged from a cracked window which was taped up with gaffer tape.
‘Well, hello, stranger.’
Matt jerked around.
The accent was as rich and seductive as clotted cream. Dawn Ladock, goat farmer and current Surf Club president, regarded him as if he’d just done something hilarious or stupid or both. Maybe he had, in coming back to St Ives at all and confronting so many old memories.
‘Matt. I’m so glad you’re here for the announcement of our plans. Will you be training too?’
He laughed. ‘I’m not fit enough these days.’
‘I don’t know. You look pretty fit to me. More meat on you these days … all muscle too.’ She squeezed his bicep like a giant teat.
‘Appearances can be deceptive,’ he said, hiding a wince.
They’d had several discreet conversations over the past few months and they’d both agreed not to publicise the full extent of his connection with the refurb. To all intents and purposes, Matt had dropped into the club for a drink and a catch-up.
‘I wish you’d let us announce that you’re paying for it all.’
‘Not all. The club had already raised half of it.’
‘And costs keep going up so I don’t know if we’d ever have caught up.
The committee were worried it would be in this state for years.
With you taking care of the refurb of the club’s function room and the changing areas, we can focus our resources on training our young people.
I think your grandad would have approved. ’
‘He was always about helping to educate people on how to keep safe and save lives,’ Matt said.
The sharp blast of a whistle from the beach transported Matt back to his youth and his grandad marshalling the training sessions and yelling encouragement.
‘He was a remarkable man,’ Dawn said softly as if sensing Matt’s memories. ‘He should have had an MBE in my opinion. Not that he looked for accolades.’
‘He’d rather see the club keep going any day,’ Matt said. ‘And I’m grateful to you and the committee for not saying I’ve made a financial contribution.’
‘At the moment all anyone outside the committee knows is that it’s an anonymous benefactor.’
He nodded. ‘Thanks.’
It gave Matt a warm glow to think he was using some of Harry’s legacy to help the club.
While he’d never claim to be like his grandfather in his devotion to the club and community, they had one thing in common: Matt wasn’t looking for gratitude from anyone, and he didn’t want to be seen to be interfering or taking over, no matter how well-meaning the motivation.
That had not gone well for him at Zennor’s wedding – and her reaction to him buying her office had reminded him of how little she welcomed his ‘help’.
Dawn patted his arm. ‘Thank you, anyway. It means everything to us. I must go and I just saw Zennor arrive. Hmm. That’s another old member we haven’t seen much of lately. Our refurb news must have got around. Speak later.’
A few metres away, chatting to Roo and her husband, was Zennor.
At the sight of her dark brown curls cascading on to bare shoulders, Matt’s heart skipped too many beats for comfort.
The workplace dungarees had been replaced with a scarlet sundress that skimmed her curves and showed off her tan – she looked the epitome of the Cornish surfer girl he’d fallen for as a teenager, and Matt was powerless not to melt in the glow.