Chapter 31
AUGUST
Nancy was looking forward to this week. She, Jackie and Phyllis had all got the day off.
It wasn’t often they had a weekday off together.
It was a lovely bright, sunny day too. July had been wonderful and August promised to be the same.
Maybe they could do a bit of sunbathing in the garden, relax with a couple of glasses of wine.
‘Morning. Isn’t it a gorgeous day?’ Phyllis said, coming into the kitchen carrying Cobweb. The little cat squirmed out of her arms and padded over to Nancy, rubbing against her then weaving in and out of her legs.
‘Good morning,’ Nancy cooed, scooping Cobweb up for a cuddle. Then she turned to Phyllis. ‘I thought maybe we could have a sunbathe out in the garden?’
‘Isn’t it beautiful? Proper beach weather,’ Jackie said coming in from the garden where she’d been hanging out some washing. ‘Why don’t we all have a day at the beach?’
Phyllis and Nancy exchanged surprised glances.
‘What, now?’ Nancy asked, putting Cobweb back down.
‘Why not? We can be there in a couple of hours. I’ll drive us there. Just pack a few things in a bag. Ten minutes and we can be off.’
Nancy felt a flutter of excitement. It had been ages since she had been to the beach. Clifford hated it, complained that he got sand in his shoes and there were far too many people. She enjoyed it though. ‘I’m up for it,’ she said. ‘What about you, Phyllis?’
Phyllis nodded. ‘Me too. The sea is good for the soul.’
So they all shoved beach towels, sun hats, sun lotions and a bottle of water into beach bags and piled them into Jackie’s car. They’d agreed for Nancy to sit in the front on the way there and Phyllis on the way back.
‘I feel like we’re on a road trip,’ Nancy said as they set off, radio blaring. Happiness flooded through her as they all sang along to the radio. It was a long time since she’d done anything spontaneous like this.
Luckily the traffic wasn’t too heavy, and with a couple of stops for refreshments, the sea soon came into sight. ‘We’re there!’ Nancy squealed excitedly.
‘I’m going to take us to a little cove, off the main track.’ Jackie turned into a narrow side road. ‘The main beach will be crowded with holidaymakers.’
After a couple more turns, she pulled up on a piece of waste land. ‘There’s a gorgeous private cove down those steps,’ she told them. ‘I’ve been here a couple of times.’
‘Perfect, we can sunbathe in peace,’ Nancy said, in relief. She’d dressed in shorts and a vest top, so that she could have a paddle.
They grabbed their beach bags and set off down the steps, gasping in delight as they descended onto the golden sand, bordered by a shimmering turquoise sea. And it was deserted.
‘This is wonderful,’ Nancy said. ‘I’m going to have a paddle in the sea.’
‘Me too. Shame we didn’t think to bring our swimming costumes with us,’ Phyllis said, trying to roll up her harem-style trousers.
‘You don’t need them. No one comes here. We can go skinny-dipping,’ Jackie told them, already pulling off her sundress.
‘What?’ Phyllis and Nancy exclaimed, exchanging a horrified look.
Jackie was already almost undressed. ‘Come on! Last one in is a chicken.’
Nancy watched as Jackie ran naked across the sand. She certainly didn’t have any inhibitions at all.
‘Come on in! it’s lovely!’ Jackie shouted, waving her hands. She was now waist-deep in water.
‘Blow it, let’s join her!’ Phyllis removed all her clothes, leaving them in a pile on the sand and raced off to join Jackie.
‘Come on, Nancy, be a daredevil!’ Jackie called.
Nancy looked around. There was no one in sight. She felt a little flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach. She had never done anything this daring. Her naked friends were now squealing and splashing each other.
‘Come on, Nancy!’ Phyllis called.
What the hell? Nancy pulled off her vest top. ‘Coming!’
It was a wonderful afternoon. They splashed about in the sea for ages, then got out and lay on their beach towels on the sand to sunbathe, making sure they lathered themselves with sun cream.
It was so good to feel the sun’s rays on her whole body, Nancy thought.
And so freeing not to wear clothes. She could see why Jackie liked going around without anything on – although she would never have the courage to pose naked like she did.
Suddenly they heard barking. Startled, they all looked around to see a black dog running down the steps. ‘Rascal!’ a man’s voice shouted.
Someone was coming! Nancy froze but Jackie casually pulled her sundress over her head, stuffing her knickers and bra into her bag.
Phyllis was already stepping into her trousers.
Nancy quickly reached for her clothes, there wasn’t time for underwear so she pulled on her shorts and vest top.
Just in time as a man and woman had appeared at the top of the steps.
‘Sorry about Rascal,’ the woman shouted as the three friends grabbed their bags.
‘Oh, that’s okay, we were just going,’ Jackie told them, completely composed.
They waited until the couple reached the bottom of the steps then went up, collapsing in a fit of giggles once they were at the top and out of sight.
‘Oh my goodness, that was close!’ Phyllis chuckled.
‘It’s all right for you two, wearing shorts and trousers, I had to try and keep my dress wrapped around my legs as I walked up the steps,’ Jackie said.
‘Now where are my knickers?’ She searched through her bag then exclaimed.
‘Oh no! I haven’t got them. I must have dropped them on the sand. ’ They all roared with laughter.
Today was just what she needed, Nancy thought as they got into the car and Jackie drove home, this time with Nancy sitting in the back. These two ladies had become good friends and were the perfect antidote for a touch of the blues.
* * *
Nancy returned from work later that week to find Slate in the front drive, dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket, polishing the seat of a silver motorbike.
‘Is that yours?’ she asked, surprised.
‘Yeah, one of Oxo’s mates was selling it.
I’m sick of going everywhere in the van.
My bike gave up the ghost a while ago so I used to borrow Decaf’s until he got with Muriel so I thought it was time I got my own.
’ He took a black safety helmet out of the saddlebag at the back of the bike.
Then he turned to her. ‘I’m going over to Decaf’s to show it him. Want to come? I’ve got a spare helmet.’
Nancy looked at the bike dubiously. She had never been on a motorbike. ‘Er… I think I’ll give it a miss.’
‘No worries, maybe another time,’ Slate said. He mounted the bike, started it up and was off. Nancy watched him as he rode along the street. She wished she’d said yes. Jackie was always going off on the back of Oxo’s motorbike. She needed to be braver and try new things.
So, a few days later when Oxo came to pick up Jackie for a ride out and Slate asked Nancy if she wanted to join them she bit the bullet and said ‘yes.’
She was terribly nervous, and clung tightly to Slate, but after a while she started to relax. She knew why Jackie enjoyed it so much now – the breeze against her cheeks as they sped along the road was exhilarating. It made her feel alive.
She marvelled at how far she’d come in the past few months: singing in a rock band, skinny-dipping – and now riding on the back of a motorbike. She was a different person since Clifford had gone.
When they returned, Phyllis was home from the shop and Slate offered to take her for a ride too but Phyllis politely declined. ‘I prefer four wheels to two,’ she said.
Which was exactly how Nancy had felt, but now she loved it.
She and Slate, Jackie and Oxo, Decaf and Muriel often went out for a spin on the bikes after that. Phyllis sometimes followed in her car, loading it up with food and drinks and they would stop somewhere to have a picnic.
Nancy was enjoying her life with her lodgers and dreaded them moving out.