Chapter 5
Will
The weekend had arrived and the Jolly Pirate pub was packed for the Halloween party. The lively atmosphere and people dressed up in costumes filled Will with a sense of community as soon as he entered the beer garden out front. Everyone was on top form, singing karaoke inside, laughing and taking photographs, enjoying the food coming from the outdoor grill area.
One thing Will loved was belonging somewhere, and since leaving the navy he hadn’t found connection, even when part of a mountain rescue team. It was strange to think he didn’t fit anywhere.
Jed approached him before he’d even had a chance to check out the bar. ‘Will, glad you came. And you dressed up. Look at you. Who are you supposed to be?’
Will looked over his attire. ‘A zombie groom.’ He laughed along with the old fella dressed like a rather sophisticated vampire. ‘There wasn’t much left in my size at the fancy dress shop, so I opted for make-up and a wedding suit.’
‘This is what happens when you’re all muscle.’
Will laughed, flexing his biceps. ‘I’m not that big.’
Jed showed off his own firm arm. ‘Not bad for seventy.’
‘It’s all that fish you eat,’ Will joked.
‘I keep telling folk that,’ said Jed seriously, making Will’s smile stretch.
They headed inside the pub, where the music pumped and the noise was deafening. Jed led Will to the bar, warning him to avoid the green concoction in the punch bowl. The toy eyeballs bobbing on the surface were enough to put Will off without the heads-up.
‘I’ll introduce you to my friends,’ said Jed, gesturing to the beer garden. He handed Will a bottle of lager and nudged his arm towards a small stage at one end of the room. ‘Unless you want to sing first.’
That was actually a maybe. Will liked a singalong, but normally with people he knew. He figured he’d wait to see how he felt later, as the night was young and his drink untouched. He waggled a hand side to side, then followed Jed outside to stand by a tall patio heater.
Jed waved a woman over. Her tied-back white hair almost matching her ghostly face. ‘This is one of my oldest friends, Luna.’
Luna immediately took Will’s hand in hers, her midnight-blue eyes scanning over his palm.
Not what Will was expecting. ‘See anything interesting?’ he asked playfully.
Her gaze was filled with interest as she raised her head, then she smiled and patted his knuckles. ‘Welcome to Port Berry, love.’
Unsure what to make of that, Will simply nodded. He’d met some intriguing people in his time, but Luna held something about her bordering on magical. She really was quite endearing — and a tad scary.
Jed nudged his friend’s shoulder. ‘Got a feeling about this one, Luna.’
‘Me too, Jeremiah.’
A younger lady approached. ‘Stop reading palms, Nan. We’re at a party.’ She turned to Will. ‘Hi, I’m Alice. Please excuse my grandmother. She can’t help herself.’
Will smiled at the woman dressed as a clown complete with spongy red nose. ‘It’s okay. I’m making friends.’
Alice nodded, causing her red wig to slip forward. She pushed it back while giggling. ‘I’m not sure this is the best way to make new friends. You won’t recognize half of us tomorrow.’
‘Ignore her,’ said Luna. ‘She always wears that red nose.’
Alice pinched it, making a honking sound, and everyone laughed. ‘Hey, feel free to pop in to the Treasure Chest any time. That’s our family’s newsagent’s shop. It’s just along the road. Ooh, and come here for dinner one weekend with us, and we’ll introduce you to our team of Hub volunteers.’
Jed pointed at the grill set up beneath a shelter made of brick pillars and a high ceiling. The large grill had a small kitchen behind it and an athletic man dressed as a skeleton, dancing with his barbeque fork aloft. ‘That’s Robson. Owns this place, and he’s another volunteer at the Hub. Come on, let’s grab a hotdog and say hello.’
The scent from the food made Will’s mouth water. He was getting something more juicy than a hotdog. The steaks looked good, especially with hot sauce and a toasted bun. Yep, that was dinner sorted.
Robson was so friendly, and he told Will dinner would be on him if he decided to join them one weekend. Alice swiped some sliced cucumber from the foil platters on the counter and grinned, causing Robson to flick a piece of lettuce her way.
Will watched them mess around, then turned his attention to Jed and Luna, in a conversation with some others he didn’t yet know. Everyone looked so relaxed in each other’s company, and Will wanted to be part of their world already.
Robson sorted Will a steak, then pointed out a spare seat at a table quite close to the road that passed along the harbour front.
Will decided he’d pop over to the small pier across the road to sit and eat, giving his eardrums a rest for ten minutes.
He wandered down its length before plonking himself down at the end, dangling his legs over the side. The dark sea below was calm, and the sky held a thousand stars. Just how he liked it. He ate his steak burger and drank his lager, feeling content.
Wales and his old life seemed so far away. Could he really settle in this fishing village? He certainly could be at one with the pier. How tranquil his setting was.
‘Hello,’ said a female voice. ‘Looks like you had the same idea as me.’
Will glanced up to see a petite zombie bride smiling his way.
‘Do you mind if I sit?’ she asked, before he had time to speak. She thumbed behind her. ‘Or I can go over there if you want to be alone. It’s just, seeing how we’re dressed, I figured we should sit together.’
He glanced at his costume, then once more at hers. Patting the ground to his side, he said, ‘Pull up a pew.’
She shuffled to his side, then bit into her hotdog. ‘I’m Ginny,’ she said, mouth full, cuffing her lips.
‘I’m Will.’
She playfully nudged his arm. ‘They do say you can find your soulmate anywhere.’
It took a moment to figure out what she meant, then it hit him. They were dressed as a zombie bride and groom. He breathed out a quiet laugh, then supped his drink.
‘It’s nice here, isn’t it?’ she said softly.
‘Reminds me of a B-movie.’
Ginny laughed. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘It’s Halloween, dark, we’re alone, dressed as zombies, surrounded by water.’ Will pointed at the sea. ‘Round about now a great white shark should catapult out the waves and gobble us whole.’
‘Well, that’s cheerful.’
Will threw his head back and laughed.
‘Anyway,’ added Ginny. ‘We’re zombies. We’re already dead.’
‘That’s debatable.’
‘No, it’s not. You have to be dead to be a zombie. It’s like zombie law.’
‘Yeah, but they’re still around, attacking people. Are you really dead if you can do that?’
Ginny nodded. ‘You might have a point.’ Then she finished her hotdog, leaving Will wondering what kind of conversation he had got himself into.
The sea gently lapped against the pilings below, creating the only sound as the two strangers sat in silence for a while.
‘You’re not from around here,’ said Ginny, waking Will from his trance with the biggest star in the sky.
‘What gave it away, me being a zombie or the Welsh twang?’
Hazel eyes twinkled his way. ‘You just don’t have a Port Berry vibe.’
Will snorted a laugh. ‘And what’s that when it’s at home?’
Ginny shrugged. ‘People from around here have a look about them that says they’re happy to be home.’
‘What’s my zombie face telling you?’
‘Not sure. Are you on holiday?’
Will stared at her for a moment before turning his gaze back to the sea. ‘I came here to find my family.’
And I told her that why?
He mentally shook his head and glugged some booze. What started out as a nice enough night had turned into something quite odd and unexpected, and he wasn’t at all sure why he hadn’t headed back to the pub yet.
‘Did you find what you were looking for?’ Her voice was so soft, it almost sounded sad.
Turning her way, Will tipped his head from side to side. ‘Sort of. I guess.’
‘Sounds unfinished.’
No way was she reading into any corners of his mind. It was finished. It had to be. He’d felt sick to his stomach since finding out how he was conceived. The subject had been locked away before it had the chance to destroy him. He deeply inhaled the night air; he was feeling a bit queasy.
‘It’s finished,’ he told her, hoping he sounded confident, because he wasn’t exactly feeling that way.
‘It’s okay. Life can be strange.’
It wasn’t her words that floored him, rather her cool hand gently resting over his for a few seconds. Something stirred, and it wasn’t helping his unsettled tummy. She was staring out to sea, and he was looking directly at her. Had they met before? Could be déjà vu. He wasn’t certain. All he knew was something felt familiar.
Ginny sighed, raised her legs straight out in front of her, then dangled them back over the edge of the pier. ‘I’ve been coming down here since I was a kid. I’ve always liked staring out to sea. Are you a fan of the waves?’
His Royal Navy uniform flashed through his mind as a twitch hit the corner of his mouth. ‘It’s okay.’
‘Some people think it’s creepy of a night, but I think it’s peaceful. Not that I could live on a boat or anything. Can you imagine? All that motion of the ocean keeping you awake.’
Will smiled to himself.
Ginny raised her index finger at the sky. ‘Love it when the stars are out though. They can guide you home.’ She faced him and smiled. ‘Celestial navigation, it’s called. Comes in handy if your GPS packs up.’
Will quietly laughed.
Ginny lowered her head, and Will saw her smile fade. ‘It would be nice if something showed you the right way to go, wouldn’t it?’
Maybe it was his turn to hold her hand. Nope! I’m not going there. But she did need cheering up for some reason.
‘Some woman read my palm earlier. You could try her.’ He smiled, hoping she would join in.
Ginny glanced back at the pub. ‘That would be Luna. Resident psychic. Did she tell you anything?’
‘No. Just looked intrigued.’
‘She does that. Leaves people wondering. Take her with a pinch of salt.’
Will bobbed his head. ‘So . . .’ He left his word hanging, wondering what to add.
‘Do you ever feel alone?’ she asked. ‘Not lonely or anything, just alone?’
It had always hit the hardest when on leave and with no one to go home to. Being alone was part of who he was. The question made him wonder if he was used to his way of life or if it still niggled him. If he was honest, then he would tell her he wished so hard to have had a family. To have a family. Someone who wanted him more than anything.
Will’s gaze dropped to her lips for a second, then moved to her cheek. He felt he could sit and talk to her all night, but words failed him.
‘It’s okay,’ she said, barely a whisper. ‘I understand.’
Do you?
He wasn’t sure she would. He was only starting to get to grips with his backstory. How was he supposed to share or explain that to anyone?
‘Being alone isn’t so bad.’ The words seem to slip out by themselves.
‘I don’t like it,’ she said softly.
Neither do I.
‘Haven’t you got family?’ he asked, clenching his hands so he didn’t reach out for hers.
‘No one that loves me.’
Maybe she would know how he felt after all. She sounded as sad as him.
‘Sorry,’ she added quietly. ‘Ignore me. I’m not normally like this. Blame it on the night air.’ She laughed but it was weak. ‘Okay, let’s cheer up. How about a game of I spy?’
Will laughed. ‘Go on then. You start.’
‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with . . . S.’
Will glanced up, then down. ‘Sea.’
Ginny chuckled. ‘Wait, I can do better than that.’
‘Oh no, you had your turn.’ He looked around them. ‘Hmm, something beginning with G.’
‘You have to say the whole thing otherwise it doesn’t count.’
‘Seriously?’
She gave a curt nod.
Will grinned. ‘Okay. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with G.’
Ginny pointed along the pier. ‘The grill over at the pub.’
‘Nope.’
‘Great big sparkly things.’
Will burst out laughing. ‘And where’s that?’
She pointed at the sky. ‘The stars.’
‘Nice try.’
‘Oh, come on, there isn’t anything around here beginning with G.’
‘Look closer.’
‘I give up.’
He nudged her arm with his own. ‘Ginny.’
Ginny smiled. ‘I’m not sure I count.’
‘Oh, you count.’
She raised her chin a touch. ‘Yes, you’re right, I do.’
They gazed at each other, sharing a warm smile, and without any thought whatsoever, Will asked, ‘Do you want some company tonight?’
Ginny stared at him for a moment, then thumbed over the road. ‘I live just up Berry Hill. Do you want to come back to mine right now?’
He noticed her swallow hard. This was unusual for her. It wasn’t exactly everyday for him, but he wanted to be with her. ‘Yeah,’ he replied, feeling his body tense.
Ginny stood first, offering a hand his way, which he took. Her head tilted backwards. ‘You’re twice the size of me.’
Will grinned. ‘Try three times.’
‘Are you sure you want to come home with me?’ she asked, revealing a look of concern.
‘Are you sure?’
She nodded and led him off the pier.
‘You can change your mind at any point,’ he told her, bringing her to a halt along the harbour. ‘Any point.’
‘I know.’ She gestured to a steep hill. ‘Just up here.’
Will took in the view before he entered the blue-washed harbour house. Maybe what they were about to do was reckless, but as she gently tugged him into her home and closed the door, he no longer cared.