Chapter 2
Nina and Robby hopped off the riverboat and walked around the bay, doubled back a little, and headed in the direction of the marshes. Nina had fallen in love with the marshes on the far side of Lovely Bay when she’d first arrived in the little town by the sea. Now, she’d walked and been for runs in the marshes so many times she felt as if she knew the higgledy-piggledy boardwalks running through the reeds and water like the back of her hand.
She let out a huge exhale as they stopped for a minute or two and gazed at the view. The whole scene in front of them was a muddled mix of greens and blues, with little dabs of white here, there, and everywhere. The saturated colours topped a tangle of wooden boardwalks that felt as if they went on and on forever, somehow leading to another world. A nice, clean, fresh, safe little place tucked into one of the corners of Lovely Bay.
Nina breathed in the smell of nature, flowers, and the scent of the water flowing through the grasses and reeds as she held her face up to the sky for a bit and let the sun land on her cheeks. All of it warmed her cockles: the sound of water lapping under the boards, reeds rustling, sunshine warming and birds chirping. As she strolled along the boardwalk, she felt herself slowly leave the real world behind and let Mother Nature take charge. Plants and grasses swayed in the wind, a heron swooped down and landed on a tree branch, and just in front of her, circles rippled gently across the shallow water.
As they made their way further into the marshes, Nina and Robby chatted about how pretty the landscape was in the sunshine, moved to talking about the birdlife, and then got onto Nina’s business, A Lovely Organised Life. Her small business had continued on in the same vein in which it had started, with slow and steady growth. It provided her with a nice little income doing something she loved. It was never going to make her millions as far as she could see, but she was in control of her destiny and enjoying the ride. Really, that was more than good enough for her.
As they strolled and talked, the conversation moved to discussing Robby’s business. He had been invited to tender a huge contract for a property company in Southeast Asia, namely an investment group in Singapore with fingers in many pies. He’d been scoping out contacts and working on it for all the time Nina had known him, and it had finally got to the stage where things were getting real. Nina nodded as Robby discussed the latest on the tender and the fact that if he won it, it would mean a lot of travel and would be a huge upturn in the success of his business. Nina wasn’t sure about him trotting off halfway around the globe willy-nilly, but she’d decided that she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. She wasn’t against broadening her horizons or hopping on planes, but a large part of her was only interested in putting down further roots and living out her life in Lovely Bay. What was not to love?
As they discussed the ins and outs of the Singapore tender, they wound their way out and away from the marshes and headed towards Lovely Bay itself. Walking over one of the many small greens, they stopped and peered at the names on the war memorial, gazed up at the beautiful old, towering white lighthouse and then headed towards the High Street.
As they arrived at the top of the street, Nina took in the scene and smiled to herself: the pretty shops with their quaint awnings over the pavement, the trestle tables outside the hardware shop, the chocolate shop tucked down at the end, and Birdie”s chemist with the door propped open onto the street. She loved it all, but especially the unique shell roofing tiles that made sure you knew you were in Lovely Bay.
On the pavement, people nipped here and there, ducking in and out of shops, and the Lovely coats with their striped hoods could be spied from every corner. Nina adored living in her new location by the sea. She was never going to get complacent about what Lovely had to offer. The fact that she was part of Lovely Bay and its community was not lost on her at all. She loved that she could mooch around, pop into a shop, chat with a few Lovelies, and go to the deli for a coffee with no plan as such and just enjoy herself. As far as she was concerned, Lovely Bay just simply never got old.
As they walked towards the chocolate shop, Nina stopped and chatted with Millie, who was untying bunting from underneath the awning going over the pavement. ‘Hey, how are you two?’ Millie asked with a smile on her face.
‘Good, thanks,’ Nina replied. ‘You?’
‘I”m just getting ready to bring everything in for the storm. The last time we had a huge storm, we lost all our bunting; it was ripped down, and the next day, we found it flying about all over the show.’
‘Yes, they’re saying it’s going to be a big one. We’ve just tidied up at the back, too. I wonder how bad it’s going to get?’
‘Not sure if I want to know! I hope we don’t lose power.’
‘Same. We’ve got power banks charging at the ready and loads of candles, so at least we’re prepared.’
Millie nodded. ‘Oh yes, I must remember to do that, too. There is no doubt it will go out.’
‘So they say. Right. See you later, stay safe.’
‘Yep, see you. Tuck yourselves up.’ Millie chuckled. ‘See you on the other side.’
A few minutes later, Nina and Robby were pushing open the door to the deli. They stepped in to see Alice, the manager, standing not far from the door, fiddling with one of the window catches. ‘Ahh, hello. How are you?’ Alice asked with a smile and raised eyebrows.
‘Good, thanks. We’ve just been for a walk to the marshes.’ Nina gestured to the street. ‘Hard to believe that the weather is going to change and this huge storm will roll in. It’s such a nice day out there at the moment.’
‘I know. I’m not taking any chances on not believing it, though,’ Alice replied.
‘No, same here.’
‘It’s good to see you on this side of the shop today.’ Alice chuckled. ‘What have you been up to?’
Just as they were chatting, Colin, wearing a Lovely coat, pushed open the door and started to shrug the coat from his shoulders. ‘Ahoy there! It”s not cold out there now,’ he observed.
‘Not yet,’ Alice replied. ‘Wait for it.’
Robby nodded. ‘It’s warm for this time of year. How are you, Col? How are the boats and suchlike? All ready for the storm?’
Colin nodded and looked a bit concerned. ‘Everything is ready with the boats, apart from the main one. I just hope we don’t get any damage this time. I can’t be doing with all the back and forth with the insurance company if there is. It was an absolute nightmare last time. How are you two?’
‘Yeah, don’t even get me started on insurance. We’ve just been saying the same. Everyone is getting ready for the storm.’ Robby laughed and joked. ‘Our Nina is going to make a huge vat of chowder to see us through in case we get marooned.’
Colin raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that so?’
Nina nodded. ‘I am.’
Alice tutted, cocked her head to the side, and widened her eyes. She joked. ‘I really hope you won’t be using the famous deli recipe, only known to those who work here and our Birdie and her family. I might have to report you if you are.’
‘Of course not,’ Nina chuckled. ‘As if I would ever do that. What do you take me for?’
‘No, she never does.’ Robby laughed, continuing the banter. ‘I think she may have learnt from the best, though.’
All of them knew well enough that Nina’s chowder, which was basically Birdie’s chowder, had begun to gain a reputation of its own. It had even been said that Nina should start her own speakeasy on the ground floor of the harbour property.
‘You”ve got your feet well under the table now, haven’t you?’ Colin chuckled. ‘What with your own recipes and people requesting that you do a speakeasy, you”ll be taking over the chemist next. Watch out, our Nina’s about.’
Nina laughed. ‘I don’t think I’ll be doing that anytime soon! I’d be thrown out of Lovely Bay. Birdie is in charge, we all know that.’
Alice interjected. ‘Yes. I did happen to hear that your chowder is becoming known as one of the best in Lovely Bay. Is there any chance of a delivery for me?’ she asked with wide eyes and a silly look on her face.
Nina laughed. ‘Sorry. Only on the harbour side of Lovely. We do our own thing up our end.’
Alice joked. ‘I might have to move.’
‘I”ll be delivering my chowder all around the harbour. Everyone is waiting with bated breath,’ Nina said with a laugh.
‘I bet they are.’
Robby laughed. ‘She’s getting to be a total expert and I have the tough job of testing new recipes.’
Colin leaned against the counter and grinned. ‘I’ve heard. So, when are you going to share your secret chowder recipe with the rest of us mere mortals?’
Nina laughed, shaking her head. ‘Come on, Col, you know I can”t do that. Isn’t it Lovely”s first rule not to divulge your secret ingredients? Plus, Birdie would have my head if I spilt the beans on anything remotely close to her recipe.’
Alice chimed in, ‘Maybe we should start a petition for you to start a speakeasy. We could get the whole town to sign it.’
Robby grinned. ‘I don”t know if even a petition could sway our Nina. Stubborn comes to mind.’
‘Well, I suppose we”ll just have to keep dreaming about Nina’s chowder.’ Colin laughed. ‘One day.’
‘Don”t tempt me on the speakeasy thing. I might just do it to spite you lot and only invite the harbour side.’
Alice sighed dramatically. ‘Alas, I’ll have to put my house up for sale and move over there.’
The group laughed and Nina swooned inside about being part of the banter. It was one of the little moments that had made her fall in love with Lovely Bay—the quaint traditions and silly customs, the camaraderie and inside jokes. All of it amalgamated to give her a sense of belonging that had been sorely missing from her life before she’d arrived to house sit at The Summer Hotel.
‘Well, as much as I”d love to stay and chat, we really should get going,’ Nina noted.
‘Yep, and I need to finish off securing everything,’ Alice agreed.
‘Me too,’ Colin replied. ‘Right, well, stay safe, you lot. See you after the storm.’