Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
G race’s hangover had already started to dissipate by the time she got out of bed at two in the afternoon. She’d remembered to drink water and take painkillers before she went to sleep, so things could have been a lot worse.
Celine’s thin face came back to haunt her as she showered. The woman had a bitterness about her that would never be erased. And all because of Will. She didn’t know the ins and outs of his relationship with the Frenchwoman, and she had no desire to, but it obviously hadn’t ended well. Celine was one unhappy woman.
Was it really worth volunteering yourself for the battlefield that was relationships? She’d had a long and happy marriage, and for many people that was enough for one lifetime. Was she being greedy if she hoped for another connection as strong as the one she’d had with Phil?
It came to her that she’d forgotten to do anything at the party about asking Will to adopt Karen. In the taxi, Angeliki had again mentioned that the young cat was ready to be rehomed. Karen had had all her injections, and her slight eye infection had cleared up. Angeliki needed to free up space in her surgery as soon as possible. But Grace had let the night get away from her, not helped by the fact that Will had been surrounded by various women most of the time, and not available to chat. Slammed up against his chest during the dance and having to whisper in his ear wouldn’t have been quite the right time to broach it either.
Her phone had been on silent while she slept, but when she checked it, there was a message from the party giver.
Hope you enjoyed the party. Still not thanked you properly for the other night. Know you’ll have work tomorrow. Care to meet me at four down by the port? Usual café?
She wasn’t quite sure what was on offer, but a leisurely coffee and maybe a club sandwich would do.
Yes, fine.
Fine? Let’s aim for something a bit better than that. Make sure you’ve got hat and swimming stuff.
Just what was she letting herself in for? Grace thought about making an excuse– she could do with a quiet afternoon– but the thought of Karen’s little face at the bars of her cage stopped her. It would be more difficult to meet up and persuade him to take Karen while she was working. He was already a few days into his holiday, so the sooner he settled Karen in, the better.
Ok. See you then.
Grace took her seat at the café at five to four, but there was no sign of Will, which was unusual. Usually, he was the early bird. She’d wait for him before she ordered. Repeated honks of a boat horn a few feet away made her look up. She could see a man standing up in a small wooden boat. Why was he making all that noise on a Sunday afternoon?
The penny dropped as the man waved in her direction. Oh, no, not a boat. He’d surprised her with a motorbike, now a boat. How many toys did this man have? Was he going to land on the roof of the language school in a helicopter next? Boats were her least favourite thing. She’d better go over and explain that the afternoon was off.
‘Grace! Over here.’
Grace made her way to where Will stood on the quay.
‘Surprise!’
‘Yes, and I wish you’d told me. I hate boats. I would have said no straightaway if you’d warned me.’
Boats had been Phil’s thing. Not hers.
Will’s face fell.
‘Ah, I thought you’d be pleased.’
‘Well, you thought wrong.’
Grace was aware she was being rude, but really Will couldn’t have picked a worse idea.
He pointed seawards.
‘If you’re worried about the water, it’s calm as a millpond out there this afternoon. There won’t be any waves, and I’ll stick close to the shoreline. I just thought it would be a nice idea to potter around the island, get away from the crowds and see the beaches from a completely different viewpoint.’
His face was that of a small boy’s who’d been told that no, he couldn’t go out to play with his friends, but still thought it was worth trying it on.
‘I’ve got my captain’s licence if that’s what’s worrying you. We’ll be perfectly safe. Why don’t you give it a go, and if you still hate it, I’ll bring you straight back and we can go for lunch in town.’
His sales pitch was impressive, she had to give him that. And she had only been out on a boat once, in the middle of a roaring gale in the Channel, with the rain driving into her face like nails. She had no idea what it would be like to be out in a boat in the Greek sunshine on a calm sea. Maybe he had a point. And she mustn’t forget the whole reason for seeing him was to persuade him to take Karen.
‘OK, five minutes it is. And you promise to bring me back if I hate it?’
He did the sign of the cross on his chest.
‘Cross my heart and hope to die.’
‘Slightly dramatic.’
Will put out a hand to help her onto the boat. She sat down as directed on a polished wooden seat at the back of the vessel while Will manoeuvred out of the busy port. The boat was certainly well looked after. Everything gleamed. It reminded her of Will’s shoes. It was like one of those boats you’d see in films from the sixties with Sophia Loren in a silk headscarf being piloted along the Riviera by a hunky Italian. Grace wished she’d brought a headscarf with her. Her hair would no doubt be a tangled mess by the time they’d finished.
Within minutes the craft was hugging the coast and Grace sat back and let the hot sun beat down on her. The occasional spray thrown up by the motion of the boat peppered her body with welcome droplets of water. She had to admit that so far it was nothing like her previous experience off the English coast on a grey Sunday in March.
The sound of the engine made it hard to talk, but Grace was quite content to sit and take in the scenery, as the familiar landmarks she saw on her walks punctuated their route. It was strange to see the little white churches with their blue domed roofs from another angle and to realise how tiny they looked from out at sea. They passed the town beach, which was packed, and she strained to try and see if Charlie and Sarah were there, playing with Buster, but they weren’t close enough to make out individual people.
The little coves scattered all along the coastline looked inviting, and as they neared the top of the island, there were fewer and fewer people lying on the sand or swimming.
Grace remembered to look at her phone. They’d been going for twenty minutes. She’d been so absorbed, she hadn’t even noticed.
Will turned back for a moment.
‘Feeling OK? Happy to carry on?’
Grace couldn’t pretend the trip was an ordeal. She did a thumbs-up and watched as Will stood firm at the wheel, making slight movements this way and that. His swim shorts and white T-shirt left plenty of opportunity to watch the muscles in his arms and legs as they worked to keep the boat on course. Grace forced herself to look away. It wasn’t like she was studying for an anatomy exam any time soon.
The boat slowed down once they’d rounded the end of the island, and she could see that Will was heading for a tiny cove almost hidden in the rocks. A few metres from shore he killed the engine.
‘We need to wade in from here. So, shoes off, and then I might need a bit of help pulling the boat onto the sand, please.’
‘Wilco. Over and out.’
Why had she said that? As if she was one of his men on an exercise. But he was lucky he wasn’t with Angeliki or Celine. They wouldn’t be much use hauling a boat around. Not that he’d pick his girlfriends for their brute strength or ability to drag boats to shore. That would be a bit niche.
Once they were settled on the sand, on Will’s trusty lightweight blanket again, he unpacked the picnic.
‘I take it you’re hungry?’
‘Why do you always assume I’m hungry?’
‘Aren’t you?’
He went to put the stuff back into his rucksack.
‘OK, yes. But you make me sound like I’m constantly desperate to stuff something down my gob.’
His smile reached all the way to his eyes.
‘Charming thought. But having known women who don’t appear to let more than a morsel pass their lips, I like the fact you’ve got a healthy appetite.’
Celine’s stick-like arms came into Grace’s mind. It probably was a refreshing change spending time with someone who ate like a horse. She must stop thinking about Celine though. It wasn’t as if she was some sort of rival. Grace had no desire to even be in the contest.
Will pulled out a series of containers.
‘A lot of this is stuff left over from the party. It needs to be eaten up or I’ll have to chuck it out.’
‘And I’m the human dustbin who’s going to do it?’ Grace smiled to let him know she wasn’t serious.
‘Exactly.’
There was a bottle of sauvignon blanc in the bottom of the rucksack, which Will opened and poured her a glass of, before helping himself to water.
‘Are you not having one?’
‘Not when I’m in charge of the boat.’
‘So, you just keep plying me with drink…’ Grace stopped before the words ‘and have your wicked way with me’ even thought about coming out of her mouth or lodging in his mind. She downed the wine instead and concentrated on the horizon.
The sound of a phone buzzing in his rucksack made her look round. Will delved inside and pulled it out.
‘More people thanking me for the party. I’m going to turn the bloody thing off for a while. Enjoy the peace and quiet.’
‘Me too.’
Grace switched hers to silent as well and stretched out her legs. The whole ‘having to be permanently connected to the rest of the world’ thing got to her sometimes.
‘Do you remember the days when there was only one phone in the house?’
Will smiled. ‘Yes. Ours was in the hall, and we were told not to use it without permission on pain of death.’
‘Ours was in the front room. My dad used to go ballistic about the phone bills. With two girls at home who needed to speak to their mates a lot, they were high.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘But I found a way to outsmart him.’
She’d got Will’s interest.
‘How?’
‘A boy at school’s dad worked for BT and he gave me a special number that the engineers used to test the phone. It was something like 147. So, I used to sneak into the front room when no one was looking, ring the number and then run out again. Then I’d shout out “I’ll get it!”, rush back in, ring a friend’s number and talk away for as long as I wanted, with my dad thinking they’d made the call. He couldn’t work out why the bills weren’t going down.’
Will stared at her for a moment.
‘Wow. Very naughty. But also impressive. I bet you were a right handful as a teenager.’
‘You could say that.’
Memories of staying out late and keeping her poor dad waiting up for her came back into her mind. He’d be sat in his pyjamas in the kitchen with a cup of tea and the paper when she got back from whatever party she’d been to, and the rows would start.
‘I did give my dad the runaround, I will admit.’
‘I feel for the guy.’
‘So did I, once I grew up and had kids of my own that I worried about as teenagers, still worry about as adults. I loved my dad to bits, but at the time I didn’t think where I was going and what I was doing were any of his business. It’s funny how your mindset changes.’
‘I think all teenagers like to keep a few secrets from their parents. Which is probably a good thing.’ Will’s smile had her wondering what sorts of secrets he was talking about. ‘Every generation thinks they’ve discovered the wonder of sex, don’t they?’
Ah, those sorts of secrets. She didn’t want to start swapping stories of teenage fumbling.
‘I feel sorry for kids these days,’ she replied. ‘We had so much more freedom. There wasn’t all this tracking your loved ones with phone apps and knowing where they are every moment of the day and night.’
‘No, you’re right. In the holidays, my mum would chuck us out of the door in the morning and not expect us back until teatime. No one had a clue where we were or what we were doing. Usually, nothing much. Riding our bikes to the stream, smoking or trying to chat up girls was probably as far as it went.’
Grace had an inkling that Will hadn’t had to try too hard. She accepted another glass of wine and a small piece of the moon-shaped birthday cake, then they both lay back on the blanket. There wasn’t a lot of shade on the beach, and unless she did something fast, she was in imminent danger of dozing off.
The extra layer of her swimming costume under her clothes made her even hotter. She’d put in on before she left in case there wasn’t anywhere easy to change. She hadn’t fancied doing it under Will’s eagle eye.
‘How about a swim before we head back?’
Will had taken the words out of her mouth.
‘Just what I was thinking.’
Grace stripped off and rushed into the sea before she couldchange her mind or be confronted with Will without hisT?shirt.
He overtook her after just a few strokes, but she caught him again at the edge of the bay and shouted over. ‘Last back to the picnic gets a prize.’
They raced neck and neck to the shore, but Grace just pipped him to the post as she flopped down on the blanket on her back.
‘Yes! Winner!’
Will lay down beside her and leant over so his face was inches away. Grace thought for one crazy moment that he was going to kiss her, but she didn’t have time to find out whether it was something she wanted, as he rolled away again.
‘OK, you won fair and square. What do you demand as your prize?’
This was her moment. She propped herself up on one elbow.
‘You know Karen, the kitten we rescued.’
‘Yes…’
Will sat up.
‘She’s all grown-up now, and ready to leave home…’
‘I think I know where this is going.’
‘So, will you adopt her and have her at yours? Please?’
‘That’s quite a big prize for a very small swim. I don’t know anything about looking after animals. I’ve never even had a pet.’
‘What, never?’
‘No. As I’ve told you, my dad was in the army and often away, and my mum had three of us boys to deal with. She said she couldn’t cope with any more living creatures in the house that needed looking after.’
‘Ah, that’s sad. Every child should have a pet at some stage.’
‘Except the ones who pull the legs off spiders for fun and then turn into serial killers, presumably.’
‘Yes, except them… So, is that a yes?’
‘You’re a very persuasive woman, Grace. But you don’t get off lightly either. I will expect you to come round regularly to help with… pet things.’
‘You really don’t have a clue, do you?’
‘Do you want me to take the cat or not?’
‘Yes, I do. Thank you, thank you.’
Grace reached over to hug Will at the same time as he lay back down on the blanket, and she landed bang on top of him.
Their eyes met for a moment before Grace unglued herself from his bare wet chest.
‘Whoops.’
Will’s eyes were full of laughter, and something else that Grace didn’t want to think about. She leapt to her feet.
‘Can we go and collect her now, please?’
‘Now?’
‘I’m sure Angeliki would open up for us. She only lives a minute away from the surgery. But of course’—Grace gave him the side eye—‘you know that.’
‘I do indeed.’
It was sensible to remind herself that Will had had several relationships on the island that hadn’t worked out.
* * *
Angeliki was only too happy to get rid of Karen to a good home and was waiting for them at the surgery when they got back.
‘I can give you some spare food and lend you this carrier for today, as long as you bring it back in the next couple of days, Will.’
‘Scout’s honour.’
Grace giggled, which earnt her a funny look from her friend. Two large glasses of wine in the afternoon could do that to her.
Karen purred away like a tiny motor when Grace transferred her from the cage to the carrier.
‘See, she loves me.’
Angeliki looked between them.
‘It’s more important that she loves Will, unless you’re planning to move in as well.’
Grace attempted a laugh, which had both of them staring at her.
‘Ha-ha. Of course not. But I will be visiting regularly to make sure she’s properly looked after.’
Will put his hands on his hips.
‘How dare you suggest that I will fall short in any way!’
‘Well, you certainly need a few lessons in pet care, from what you were saying earlier.’
Angeliki shut the cage door with a bang.
‘Anyway, you two, I’m sure you’ve got things to be getting on with. I’ve got a date in…’ Angeliki glanced at the clock. ‘Fifteen minutes.’
Grace stroked the fabric of Angeliki’s orange linen dress.
‘I thought you were looking smarter than usual.’
‘Charming. I come all this way to help you…’
Grace silenced her friend with a hug.
‘Is it with Nick?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oooh, how exciting.’
‘Well, if I don’t get there, I’ll never know.’
Will picked up the carrier and blew a kiss at Karen cowering inside.
‘Thanks, Angeliki. Will she be OK on the boat? I’ve got to drive it back to the cove.’
‘She won’t break. As long as Grace can hold her steady.’
Grace waved her hand in the air. It would be a breeze compared to the rescue on the motorbike.
‘No problem. So, coffee update in my lesson break tomorrow? Yes?’
‘OK.’ Angeliki directed a look at Will. ‘It seems we have something to discuss.’
Grace gave her friend her best puzzled look and headed for the door.
The journey back was as gentle as the way there. Grace kept Karen entertained with little bits of a serviette she had in her bag and was rewarded with plenty of purring.
It really had been a glorious afternoon on the water. Consigning boats to being part of Phil’s world and not hers had been shortsighted. And her world didn’t need to be divided up like that anymore. It had taken her this long to realise it.