16
Florence
Florence bought Lindy a pirate hat and plonked it on her head, making the girl giggle. ‘And there was me thinking you’d want to be the mermaid.’
They stepped back to the end of the promenade at Sandly Beach to watch the short parade of street performers pass by.
‘I think I got the gist of this celebration,’ said Stefan, purchasing a couple of seashell necklaces from a woman dressed as a pirate walking around with a treasure chest full with costume jewellery.
‘It’s a love story,’ said Lindy.
Florence nodded. ‘Between a pirate and a mermaid.’
Stefan handed her one of the necklaces and gave the other to Lindy. ‘Here. It seems to be all about seashells.’
Florence bit her lip to stop herself from beaming at the gift. ‘Thank you.’
‘Would you like some help?’ he asked her whilst untangling Lindy’s necklace from her hat.
‘I’m okay.’ Florence lifted her straw sunhat and placed the string of the necklace over her head. ‘Didn’t you get yourself one?’
‘Oh, no. I’m not sure seashell neckwear is my thing.’
Florence handed Lindy some money. ‘Quickly, Lindy, go catch that woman and buy your dad a seashell.’
Lindy sprinted up to the lady with the treasure chest.
‘Why do I need one?’ Stefan asked.
Florence chuckled. ‘You can show your love for your daughter over at Mermaid’s Wall. Not everyone goes down the romance road with the tradition. Lots of family or friends place a seashell for each other.’
He frowned as Lindy came back with a necklace, laughing. ‘Now I’m completely lost.’
‘I thought you said you’d got the gist of today.’
‘Clearly I’m missing something.’ He bent to one knee to take a picture of Lindy, who tipped her hat his way.
Florence waggled her hand towards him. ‘Here. I’ll take one of you both.’
‘Ooh arr!’ Stefan roared as Florence took some photos.
‘So,’ said Florence, handing back his phone. ‘Here’s the story. There was a pirate who fell in love with a mermaid.’
‘Yes, that much I understand.’ He grinned at Lindy.
Florence put her straw hat back on. ‘She wasn’t a mermaid when they met. His pirate ship was moored here. She was a local girl. When he had to leave, she wasn’t allowed to go with him, so she went up to Wishing Point and made a wish to become a mermaid so she could travel the seas with him.’
Stefan grinned. ‘Right? And?’
Florence stepped closer, flailing her hands dramatically. ‘There was a big pirate fight with another ship, and our pirate was badly injured and of no use to the captain anymore, so he was dumped here on their return.’
‘That’s pirate loyalty for you.’ Stefan huffed.
‘I know, right?’ said Florence. ‘Anyway, the love of his life was now a mermaid, so she couldn’t join him on land, so each morning he’d come to this beach and place a seashell over on that wall for her to find when the tide came in.’
Both Stefan and Lindy looked over at the short wall leading out to sea.
Florence gazed too, thinking it a dreamy tale. ‘One day, all that was found on the wall was his hat, boots, and coat. Some say he drowned in her arms. Others say he made his own wish and joined her. Over the years, the story changed, then someone started to commemorate the tale, and here we are.’
Stefan raised his seashell, twiddling it between two fingers. ‘So I’m guessing the seashell represents their love.’
Florence felt a slight flush of heat hit her neck. Swallowing hard, she tried to act casual, because she knew as soon as she told him the rest, he might feel embarrassed about gifting her a shell.
‘Tell him, Florence,’ urged Lindy, beaming at her dad.
Florence smiled at her, then turned her attention to Stefan’s curious gaze. ‘What people do today is give a seashell to someone they love. If the person wants to return the love, they go and place the shell on Mermaid’s Wall.’ She pulled in her lips and lowered her eyes.
It took a minute for the penny to drop.
‘Oh,’ said Stefan. ‘I see.’
Florence cleared her throat and raised her chin. ‘Like I said, lots of people gift the shells to family and friends. Bit like how some people treat Valentine’s Day as a day of love, rather than just romantic love.’
Stefan was staring over at the wall whilst nodding slightly.
‘I’m going to put mine on the wall later, Dad.’ Lindy stroked her seashell. ‘It means I love you.’
He smiled at his daughter. ‘I love you too.’
Lindy pointed at his necklace. ‘You can prove it by putting that on Mermaid’s Wall.’
Although Florence was laughing along with Stefan, she hoped no one mentioned the seashell he had gifted her. What was she expected to do with it? Part of her wanted to take it home and keep it forever, and another part wanted to put it on the wall.
Don’t you dare. Get a grip. He didn’t know what he was giving you. Oh, stop talking to yourself .
She smiled, pointing out the food stalls over the road whilst visualising Tiggy laughing her head off at the situation. ‘Shall we grab a burger or something?’
‘Yes, good call,’ said Stefan, rather too quickly.
The whole of Sandly Beach was buzzing with music, food trucks, families having picnics on the beach, and all the pubs were open, offering happy hour and free snacks. There were sweet stalls dotted around selling candyfloss and stripy rocks, ice cream vans had long queues, and all the beach huts were occupied.
Florence suggested buying a large beach towel and finding a spot on the golden sand to sit and eat their lunch.
Stefan refused to let her pay for anything more, handing over payment to the food vendor, then the beach shop, purchasing flower-shaped sunglasses for Lindy whilst there.
A gentle salty breeze blew up from the sea as they ate, and Florence relaxed beneath the sun.
‘I really am getting used to this beach,’ said Stefan. ‘It’s beautiful here.’
Florence agreed, smiling his way. It was nice to hang out with him and Lindy. All of their days together were lifting her spirits. It was also nice to know she had so many things to show Tiggy. Next year, she would sit in the same spot with her sister.
‘I wonder if wishes ever come true,’ said Lindy, breaking into Florence’s trance with the horizon.
‘Why do you say that?’ asked Stefan.
Lindy plopped a small pebble into her little orange bucket. ‘The lady from here made a wish to become a mermaid, but I’m not sure that’s true.’
‘Might be,’ said Stefan, grinning at Florence.
Lindy rolled her eyes. ‘Dad, I’m not a little kid. Anyway, why didn’t she just wish to be allowed on his ship?’
Florence chuckled. ‘That would make more sense.’
Stefan scoffed. ‘He should have just hung up his pirate hat and lived happily ever after with her here.’
‘He wasn’t allowed. Once a pirate, always a pirate, until the captain got rid of him.’ Florence shrugged.
‘Bit extreme though, turning yourself into a mermaid.’ Stefan glanced at Lindy, who shook her head at him.
‘It’s true love, Dad.’
‘It’s daft. But still, a nice day out for us.’
Florence laughed, nudging his arm. ‘That poor man might have drowned or something.’
Stefan met her eyes and smiled. ‘I’m going to believe he made his own wish to become a merman, and they swam off to live in warmer waters.’ He glanced around. ‘I bet it gets a bit nippy down here in the winter.’
‘Aww, your science brain believes in magic.’ Florence winked when he looked at her.
‘Hmm, maybe just for today.’
‘Can we put our seashells on the wall now?’ asked Lindy.
Stefan turned to Florence. ‘Is there a particular time this happens?’
‘I’ve not been here long, so I’m no expert on the subject, but from what I’ve heard, the ones declaring true love tend to put their shells down in the evening, and everyone else during the day.’ She glanced at her necklace. ‘I guess a lot of families with little kids have gone home by evening or off to a restaurant.’
Lindy jumped up, taking her bucket with her whilst flicking sand over the edge of the big green towel. ‘Come on, let’s do ours now. We might want to go to a restaurant later.’
Stefan raised his brow. ‘Oh, is that right?’
‘In her defence, we will need to eat again.’ Florence stood to help remove the sand from the towel without flicking it at nearby sunbathers.
Stefan took a corner of the towel, folding it towards her. ‘Restaurant it is then.’
They shared a smile before Lindy tugged them over to Mermaid’s Wall.
Florence stood along the edge, watching the gentle waves lapping at the side. A couple beside her was placing seashells, and Lindy and Stefan were at the other end, untying their shells from the string of the necklaces.
A seagull cried up above, gaining Florence’s attention, and whilst she thought no one was looking, she blew a kiss out to sea.
For you, Tiggy. Feel my love. Know I’m with you .
She blinked back a tear as a rush of emotion flooded her. The day was so gorgeous in every way, there was no way she was going to let the love around overwhelm her.
Reaching for her seashell, Florence was once more hit with the dilemma of what to do with it. She visualised her sister grinning, and knew Tiggy would have placed the necklace down already just to see the look on Stefan’s face. But Florence wasn’t as bold as Tiggy when it came to showcasing her feelings. Even the one night she’d shared with Stefan was light-hearted at the time.
Florence let go of the seashell and turned to see Stefan watching her. She offered a small wave, then made her way towards him to see what he wanted to do next.
‘Look,’ said Lindy, excitement in her eyes as she pointed at her shell next to Stefan’s. ‘Family love.’
Florence smiled. ‘Lovely.’ She would do the same next year with Tiggy.
‘Put yours there as well,’ said Lindy, stabbing her finger to the exact spot she meant. ‘You’re part of our family too now, so if you put yours with ours, it means you like having us as your family.’
How could she argue with that? It also meant she could do something with the seashell that didn’t give off love vibes.
‘All right.’ Florence removed the shell and placed it right where Lindy wanted, glancing up at Stefan to gauge his reaction. Her heart flipped a little when he met her with warmth in those leaf-green eyes of his.
Stefan opened his beach bag and pulled out a glasses case, swapping his ones for a pair of prescription sunglasses, and Florence could no longer read his eyes.
‘What should we do now?’ she asked, glad to leave the wall of love behind.
‘Can we go see the donkeys up the road?’ asked Lindy.
Stefan nodded. ‘Sure, but you can’t ride any. I hear they’re rescues.’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Florence. ‘They’re here to spread awareness, as the Donkey Sanctuary is always raising money to help keep the place open.’
‘You hear that, Lindy? We can donate to help the donkeys.’
Lindy poked her pirate hat upwards. ‘We should get more pets, Dad. I reckon Zeus gets lonely.’
He grinned. ‘Nice try, but we hardly have time to look after each other, let alone an animal.’
‘But Florence is with us now. She can help.’
Stefan shook his head. ‘No, she can’t. Florence is your childminder. You can’t expect her to care for your pets.’
And just like that Florence felt her heart deflate. One minute she was part of their family, the next, Stefan swiped it all away with just one sentence.
‘Do you want some candyfloss?’ Stefan asked Lindy, who nodded. He gave her some money and watched as she went over to the lady serving.
Florence forced a smile as he turned to face her.
‘Just so you know, I don’t think of you as just Lindy’s childminder, but I don’t want her taking advantage of you, Florence. You are part of our family now.’
That was unexpected. Florence wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so she simply gave a small nod.
‘When the words left my mouth, I realised I sounded a touch cold.’ Stefan’s hand came close to her arm, then he pulled back. ‘I wanted to explain.’
‘It’s okay. After all, I am supposed to be just the childminder. I guess this is what happens when you don’t hire a professional.’
‘I think you’re doing a great job. Lindy’s happy and loves you to pieces, and, well, we’re friends. We have a different setup to most in this situation, but it works for us, right?’
‘Like you said, Lindy’s happy, and so am I.’
‘Me too.’
Florence smiled. ‘It works. We work.’
‘Yes, we do.’
Oh, butterflies, be still .
Florence broke eye contact as Lindy came over with a stick of pink candyfloss, offering them a pinch.
‘Kasey was at the candyfloss stall with her mum,’ said Lindy, gaining full attention. ‘She said hello.’
‘What did you say?’ asked Stefan.
Lindy shoved some of the sweet treat into her mouth. ‘I said hello.’
Florence waved over at Belle and Kasey, then turned to Stefan. Could she help bring the two girls together as friends? It wasn’t really her place to interfere, but she really wanted Lindy to mix with other children.
Stefan started talking about the donkeys as they headed that way, but Florence zoned out.
I need to focus on something else. I can’t get lost in this family. I have my own to think about. And I need to make a start on Agatha’s story. One way or another, I’ll make amends with the newspaper and the Windmill Practice. Zeke is getting a love story whether he likes it or not .