Chapter 26 #2
We approach the eponymous canopy sign, Joyland spelled out in bright yellow, light-up letters, the sounds of bells, whistles, arcade music, and children having the time of their lives carrying over.
Archer, Aidan, and Rain are waiting below the canopy, but Cole is just wandering off towards the white trailers lining the promenade, selling all manner of foods.
The strange cocktail of smells in the air is like nowhere else – donuts, candy floss, and the salty tang of seafood and vinegar from the small pots of seafood cocktail, cockles, and whelks.
Cole is already eating a pot of cockles, his eyebrows waggling.
“What?” he asks incredulously. “I love cock-les.” He roars with laughter at his own joke while the rest of us groan in disbelief that this man is in his thirties.
“Can we go in now, Daddy?” Nancy asks, taking my hand and leaning into my leg, her seal jumper already tied around her waist. I knew she’d be too hot in this sunshine, but she wanted to wear it because it’s from Corey. I can’t blame her.
“We sure can. We just need to get the tickets.” I pick her up, and she gladly grasps my shoulders, a little anxious from the noise and the general hustle and bustle.
Fenside Common is a small, rural village, and this place in summer is loud, bright, and overwhelming, even to me as an adult.
I can completely understand why she might be a bit unsure.
“We got them already,” Rain announces, pulling a giant roll of old-fashioned, orange arcade tickets from his pocket. He gives everyone a long strip, and we head inside.
Watching Nancy squeal with delight on the teacups with Wren and Cole, the pirate ship with Archer, and the Ferris wheel with Rain and Aidan is incredible. She has slotted into our family like she was always meant to be here, through the bad days and the good ones, like today.
There’s only one person missing. When Nancy and I reach the front of the queue for the legendary Snails rollercoaster, an idea pops into my head.
“Hey, poppet. Shall we video call Corey so he can come on the ride with us?” I take her ear-splitting shriek as agreement and pull my phone out.
She swiftly grabs it from my hand and, far too deftly for a four-year-old, unlocks it with my pin code, navigates to his contact, and hits the small camera button.
“Hello,” Corey’s sweet, slightly tinny, voice says. “Oh! Hello, Miss Nancy. How are you today?”
“I’m very well, thank you, Bunny.”
“Oh my goodness, you’re so polite. Where are you, sweetheart? It’s very noisy.”
“We’re going to sit on the snails,” she says, deadpan, and I kneel down to see a look of affectionate confusion on his face.
“Hi, Doc.” He smiles.
“Hi, you. We’re at Joyland, and the Snails is a rollercoaster,” I explain. Corey inclines his head in understanding.
“I see,” he says. “Did you just want to make me sad that I’m missing out, Miss Nancy? I’m at work today,” he pouts exaggeratedly.
“You can come with us, Bunny,” Nancy says.
“I thought we could have you on the call while we ride if you have the time? We’re about to get on.”
“Oh yes, that sounds like so much fun.” He grins, and genuine excitement fills his face. I wish so badly he were here for real.
We climb the galvanised metal stairs onto the platform, the mechanism of the vintage rollercoaster click click clicking loudly as the toxic green snail car with a maniacal face and a Dali-esque moustache approaches.
I turn the camera on the video call so Corey can see it approaching, and I stifle a laugh as he almost swears loudly at its odd paint job.
I climb in first, then lift Nancy inside and secure the seatbelt around both of us.
She tries to wave at our family, who wave back enthusiastically over the fencing, calling Nancy’s name like she’s a celebrity.
My daughter preens. Corey is giggling through the phone – I love how much he loves her sassiness – and when I look at the screen, I see he’s waving at my family, too.
Nancy’s bouncing in her seat, and when the car starts to move forward, she squeaks and grips my arm harder than I would expect a four-year-old to be able to manage.
As the rickety rollercoaster rocks us from side to side and we careen up and down what feel like enormous bumps but are in fact only a few feet high, I, and some of my more intimate body parts, become increasingly glad that it’s over in less than three minutes.
“That’s was ’mazing, Daddy. Again?” Nancy shouts, cheeks flushed and eyes bright.
“Maybe in a little while, baby girl. Or maybe Uncle Cole might go on with you?”
“Yay,” she cries as she leaps through the exit gate and launches herself at Cole. I can see she’s convincing him, not that it takes a lot. I’m pretty sure Cole would walk over hot coals for Nancy.
“Well,” Corey says, his voice thick with giggles once again. “That was quite something.” I turn the camera back to my face as I exit the ride enclosure just as Nancy goes in again with Cole in tow.
“I think my balls are gone forever.” I wince.
“I sincerely hope not,” Corey says, mischief in his eyes. I growl lowly at him, a warning to behave.
I’m quickly surrounded as everyone says hello to Corey, and then he has to go because there’s a Boxercise class finishing and he has to clean the studio. I step away so I can speak to him privately.
“Any news?” DI Martin had called him two days ago, informing Corey that they had a lead on Dominic’s whereabouts. A call had been received by Dan in prison, and the police are following up on the location it came from.
“Nothing yet. I’ll call you as soon as I hear.” I smile reassuringly.
“It won’t be long now, baby.”
“I hope so. I’m ready to come home. I l—” He stops himself abruptly. “I miss you all so much.” I sag a little, unsure of what he was about to say, but hoping it might have been the three words I’ve been dying to say to him, but refuse to until he is standing in front of me, finally home for good.
“We miss you too. Keep me posted. Call me later?”
“Of course.”
He hangs up, and I go back to watch Nancy on her third go around on the Snails, this time with Rain as her victim.
***
We stayed at Joyland a couple more hours, but by the end, Nancy was dead on her feet. We made our way home, and she had a very quick bath before I tucked her into bed. Poppy has just arrived to babysit for me so I can meet my family once more for dinner at the White Horse.
Poppy adores Nancy, and the feeling is very much mutual.
The first time we went into Poppy’s Café, I ordered an almond croissant with a black Americano as usual, while Nancy asked for a ‘pacosofolat’, which baffled both Poppy and me.
Weirdly, Chris, Poppy’s husband and the chef in the café, apparently speaks fluent pre-schooler, and deciphered it as a pain au chocolat, and ever since then Nancy comes home with one of Chris’s chocolate pastries every time we pass, and my daughter has clearly stolen yet another couple of hearts.
“She’s fast asleep, but just ring me if you need anything.”
“We’ll be fine. I’ve got some work to do,” she says, indicating her laptop bag, “and then I plan on reading my new Scarlett Drake book.”
“Nice. What’s this one about?”
“Rain said it’s a gay reimagining of Great Expectations, so I’m excited. It has very good reviews.”
“Well,” I say, with a quick kiss to her cheek, “thank you so much for watching her.”
“Anytime. Have fun.”
I jog lightly across the village green and find my family filling the smaller of two covered dining areas in the pub garden.
Sam has hired a couple of new staff since Christmas, so he can spend more time with Wren, and he’s joining us tonight as well.
It’s been great to see them settle into their relationship, but enquiring minds want to know.
And it seems that Archer is not about to let them wriggle out of it this time.
“So… how are things going with you guys?” he says, staring meaningfully at the two of them.
“You’ve both been pretty tight-lipped about” – he gestures between them – “this, since, er, before Christmas.” Archer tries for diplomatic, clearly not wanting to say ‘since the pregnant woman claiming to be your wife showed up, and you broke my sister’s heart’, but falls about twenty feet wide of the mark.
Wren glares, but Sam replies easily, tightening his hold on Wren’s waist. “It’s going. Wren and I are amazing, but there’s still a lot to iron out with Tasha.”
“So, hang on,” Cole interjects. “Is she really your wife? What the fuck, Sam? Since when?” I’m thankful for Cole’s bluntness, vocalising what I’m pretty sure all of Wren’s big brothers want to know.
“Since Evan’s stag do in April last year.
” I remember Sam went to Las Vegas when his brother was getting married, but I had no idea he’d gotten fucking married.
“I got completely fucked up because I thought I’d completely fucked things up with Wren, and I woke up married to Tasha.
I regretted it immediately, but I had to fly home that day.
When I tried to call her to arrange the divorce, she never picked up the phone.
I literally had my solicitor sorting out sending divorce papers without speaking to her, when she rocked up at Christmas about ready to pop.
” He takes a sip of his wine, and I notice Wren snuggle down into his body a little more, as if reassuring him that she’s not going anywhere.
“So, has she had the baby now, then?” Rain asks. “She must have, surely. She looked about ready to pop at Christmas.”
“Yeah, she has. And Sam insisted on a paternity test, and we’re just waiting for the results. But either way—” Wren says, before being interrupted by Sam.
“Either way, we’re together. Wren and I, I mean.
We’re together whatever that test says, and we’ll figure it out if and when we need to.
” He says this to Wren, more than the room at large, and I have no doubt they will sort things out, judging by the way they are swooning over each other every time I’ve seen them today, and especially right now.
The conversation moves on, and before long, we’ve descended to reminiscing over childhood stories. Today has been a bloody good day.
We’re deep into our second round of drinks when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, assuming Nancy must have woken up and wants me, but when I see Corey’s name on my screen, I rush to answer.
“Hello?”