Life Or Something Like It (25 page)

The next day was hot and heavy. As soon as Cat woke she threw back the curtains and pulled up the sash window in an attempt to cool the airless room. She could see Andrew and Charlie playing football in the field opposite and was relieved. She hoped they would reach an understanding. She got the sense that their relationship was key to Charlie resolving his issues at school. Before she’d looked after Ellie and Charlie, Cat had been oblivious to the complexities of bringing up children but now she could see that there was a lot more at stake. She couldn’t remember her own childhood being quite so fraught with angst and worry but it had been a different time.

She watched as Andrew tried to tackle Charlie and got an accidental kick in the shins from his son. Andrew was furious and deaf to Charlie’s pleas. Frustrated that his father wouldn’t listen, Charlie threw down the ball and stormed off with Andrew shouting after him. Cat sighed. It was going to be a long day. A car drew up outside the cottage and the driver beeped the horn twice to signal their arrival. Seconds later, the front door was flung open as Daisy flew out to greet Ronnie. Cat smiled. It might be good to have a female ally around today.

‘Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!’ cried the little girl, flinging herself into her mother’s arms.

‘Hello, my little sweet potato,’ said Ronnie, scooping her up and kissing the top of her head. She held her at arm’s length. ‘Look at you! You’re brown as a button,’ she added, squeezing her daughter to her. ‘I’ve missed you so so much!’

‘Me too,’ said Daisy. ‘But it’s been fun as well.’

‘Hi, guys,’ said Ronnie, as Charlie skulked back towards the house closely followed by Andrew.

Charlie didn’t speak. ‘Say “hello” Charlie!’ growled Andrew. Charlie muttered something inaudible before disappearing inside. ‘Sorry,’ said Andrew. ‘You’d think the teenage years were already upon us. How are you, Ronnie?’ He leant forwards to kiss her on the cheek.

‘Great, thanks. It’s good to be here.’ She smiled, gazing down at Daisy. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’

‘The more the merrier,’ said Andrew.

‘Good morning!’ cried Cat from the hall. ‘Did you have a good drive?’

‘It was almost too easy.’ Ronnie smiled, entering the house and hugging Cat. She took in her surroundings with nodding approval. ‘Well this is gorgeous. And where’s Ellie and that troublesome brother of mine?’

‘Hello!’ called a voice from behind them. Ellie and Finn appeared seconds later carrying breakfast provisions. He hugged his sister and placed the bag on the table. ‘And how are we all this fine morning?’ He was grinning as if hiding a great secret.

‘What are you so happy about?’ asked Ronnie.

‘I’m on holiday with my favourite people. That makes me happy.’

‘You’re up to something,’ said Ronnie, narrowing her eyes. ‘I know that look.’

Finn laughed. ‘Well I have got a surprise for everyone, especially Cat.’ Cat felt her cheeks flush.

‘You’re pregnant,’ laughed Ronnie. Daisy and Ellie giggled. Finn gave his sister a playful shove. He turned to Cat, reached into his pocket and held out a key. ‘It’s the key to his heart; don’t take it,’ whispered Ronnie loud enough for everyone to hear.

‘When are you going home again?’ joked Finn. He looked back at Cat. ‘Can you guess what it’s for?’

Cat looked at the key fob. It bore the words ‘North Sea Haven’. ‘It’s a beach hut!’ she cried.

Finn nodded with delight. ‘I know you really love them so I called into an agency and they’d had a cancellation on this one. We’ve got it for the week.’

Cat stared at the key and then at Finn. It was one of the most thoughtful things that anyone had ever done for her. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Really.’ She reached forwards and kissed him on the cheek.

‘Euw,’ said Ellie.

Ronnie nudged her brother. ‘Awww, you are a good guy after all.’

‘Nice one, mate,’ declared Andrew, patting Finn on the back. ‘Why don’t we have some breakfast and head straight down?’

The hut was perfect. It was situated at the far end of the beach where the promenade ended and the dunes began. It was opposite the spot where Cat had discovered Charlie the night before. Cat noticed that neither Charlie nor Andrew were particularly communicative but Ronnie’s teasing banter chivvied them along. Most of the other huts were occupied and people had already placed deckchairs and picnic tables along the promenade.

Their hut was painted in a rich dark blue, the doors and window frames finished in bright white. There were wooden steps leading up to a veranda, which Finn climbed now. As he unlocked the door, Cat inhaled the pleasing scent of holidays: musty, salt-infused promise. The hut contained four small wicker chairs, a fold-down table attached to the wall and a small kitchen area with a gas stove and cupboards containing assorted crockery and cutlery. Red, white and blue curtains with a beach-themed design were hung at one end of the hut with matching bunting adorning the ceiling.

‘It’s like something from the 1950s.’ Ronnie grinned.

Cat loved it. She stood on the veranda and stared out to sea. ‘What do you think?’ asked Finn, carrying a deckchair out onto the promenade.

‘It’s perfect.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you.’

‘My pleasure,’ he replied, holding her gaze for a second before going back inside to fetch more chairs.

‘This is the life,’ declared Andrew, walking down the steps and stretching out his arms. ‘Who fancies coming down to see the sea?’ Cat noticed his passing glance in Charlie’s direction.

‘Me!’ cried Ellie.

‘I want to too,’ said Daisy.

‘And me!’ cried Ronnie, pretending to be a little girl. Daisy and Ellie giggled, catching hold of her hands and skipping off across the sand.

‘Charlie?’ asked Andrew. ‘Want to come down and skim some stones?’

‘No thanks,’ said Charlie, sitting in a deckchair and folding his arms.

‘Suit yourself,’ sighed Andrew, turning on his heels and heading towards the sea.

Finn and Cat exchanged a glance. ‘I’m just going to get some water from the tap up there,’ said Finn, holding up a plastic container.

‘Okay,’ said Cat. She took a seat in the deckchair opposite Charlie. ‘You okay?’ Charlie picked at the fabric of his chair and shrugged. ‘You know what I think?’ Charlie didn’t answer but he turned his head towards her to show that he was listening. ‘I think you and your dad are as bad as one another. You’re both so stubborn!’ Charlie frowned. ‘You’ve got to listen to each other and you’ve got to forgive him sometimes. He doesn’t always get things right but he is on your side. Do you believe that?’

Another shrug. ‘I guess.’

‘So don’t sit here being miserable. Go down there and have some fun.’

‘Will you come with me?’

There was something different in the way Charlie looked at her now; he needed her. She stood up. ‘Come on then.’ She smiled. ‘Just heading down to the beach,’ said Cat to Finn as he returned with the water.

‘No worries. I’m going to soak up some rays for a bit and then sort lunch.’

Cat and Charlie made their way to the water’s edge. Andrew and Ronnie were whirling the girls around in the shallow water, making them shriek with glee. Cat approached Andrew and touched him on the arm. ‘Give her to me and go and talk to your son,’ she said, gesturing over at where Charlie was standing back from the crowd.

‘Has he stopped sulking?’ asked Andrew uncharitably.

‘Have you?’ retorted Cat.

Andrew frowned at her for a second and then laughed. ‘All right. Fair point.’

‘Where’s Daddy going?’ asked Ellie.

‘He’s going to play with Charlie for a bit and I,’ said Cat, picking Ellie up like a baby, ‘am going to dunk you in the sea, like a biscuit in a cup of tea!’ She tipped Ellie up and plunged her head towards the water and back up again several times, so that the little girl’s hair tickled the water. ‘Dunk, dunk, dunk,’ she cried, delighting in Ellie’s giggling shrieks. She turned her back on her feet.

‘Again, Auntie Cat, again!’ squeaked Ellie jumping up and down.

‘Mummy, do me!’ cried Daisy.

They played the game for a while until Cat and Ronnie decided that they’d had enough. Ronnie drew the outline of a mermaid in the wet sand and suggested that the girls find some shells and pebbles to decorate it. They watched as the girls darted off, buckets in hand, pausing every now and then to pick up a precious seashore treasure.

‘So you’ve settled into your new role then?’ asked Ronnie. ‘You seemed to be having a whale of a time with Ellie back there.’

Cat smiled. ‘I wouldn’t say I always know what I’m doing but I’m enjoying it a whole lot more than I thought I would.’

‘My sister is a regular Mary Poppins,’ teased Andrew, wandering over to join them whilst Charlie helped the girls decorate their mermaid.

‘Let’s just say I have a whole new respect for you parents. I don’t know how you do it.’

‘Well we are awesome,’ observed Andrew, winking at Ronnie.

‘I know I couldn’t do it,’ said Cat shaking her head.

‘I didn’t really have a choice,’ admitted Ronnie. ‘I never wanted kids and then one day I found out I was pregnant. I thought about having an abortion because I knew Daisy’s dad wouldn’t stick by me but Finn convinced me I could do it. I honestly couldn’t have managed it without him. It’s not been easy though and sometimes I think how much simpler my life would have been if things had been different…’ Ronnie was gazing at her daughter, dancing in the sand ‘…but I wouldn’t change it for a second. You get the life you’re given and mine is blessed.’ She smiled up at them. ‘Sorry, that was a bit intense, wasn’t it?’

‘No, it’s lovely. Really.’ Cat beamed.

‘Ta-da!’ cried Ellie, as they finished the sand picture. The adults made their way over to admire the results of their efforts. Charlie was putting the finishing touches to the intricate fish-scale decoration, carefully placing white pebbles on the mermaid’s tail. Ronnie had drawn the outline beautifully; the figure looked as if she’d drifted onto the beach. Her arms were outstretched and the girls had used seaweed for her hair, which billowed in the breeze, giving her a wistfully magical appearance.

‘She’s wonderful.’ Cat smiled. ‘I love what you’ve done with the tail, Charlie.’

‘Thank you,’ he said with a shy grin. He seemed more relaxed to Cat and she took this as the sign of a truce with Andrew. She decided not to question him; she understood now that he would clam up if cornered.

‘We covered her boobies with shells!’ giggled Daisy, pointing to the mermaid’s fulsome bosom, tastefully decorated so as to protect her modesty.

‘And she’s got earrings and a necklace,’ added Ellie, not wanting them to miss any detail.

‘Well I think she’s gorgeous,’ declared Ronnie. ‘Just like you two.’ The girls grinned with pride.

After lunch, Andrew took the children off to speak to Melissa whilst Finn built sandcastles on the beach with Daisy. Cat and Ronnie stayed in the hut and tidied up. When they had finished, Cat made mugs of tea and they sat outside with them in the sun. The day was still hot but a gentle breeze was now drifting in from the sea, making the air pleasantly warm rather than scorching.

‘I could get used to this,’ sighed Ronnie, flopping back into her deckchair.

‘It is magical,’ murmured Cat, closing her eyes and feeling the sun wash over her.

‘Of course you know that my brother is falling for you, don’t you?’

Cat was amused but not surprised by Ronnie’s candour. ‘I don’t think so,’ she replied.

‘Trust me, I know that boy. I’ve seen it before. He really likes you.’

‘Well I really like him. Just not in that way.’

Ronnie sighed. ‘That’s a shame because I think you and I could really rock it as sisters-in-law, you know?’ Cat laughed. ‘Seriously, Cat, I mean I know he’s my brother so I can’t see it myself but I get the feeling that Finn’s a good-looking guy and he’s got his own teeth. Some might say he’s quite a catch. Plus, and don’t ever tell him I said this, he’s actually quite a nice bloke too.’

‘I know,’ smiled Cat. ‘He is. Really lovely. I’m just not looking for a relationship.’

‘But you’re single?’

‘Ye-es.’

‘Are you a lesbian?’

Cat chuckled. ‘Not as far as I know.’

‘Is it the hair? He’s very hairy, isn’t he? And beards can be quite off-putting.’

‘No,’ laughed Cat. ‘He’s a lovely guy. I just don’t want a relationship. With anyone.’

‘What? Ever?’

‘I’m happy on my own.’

‘Hmmm. Well that is a great pity. You are a loss to men everywhere.’

‘Thanks.’ Cat smiled. She was keen to move the conversation on before Ronnie dug any deeper. ‘What about you?’

Ronnie shrugged. ‘There’s a guy I like at work. He’s a bit younger than me but we get on really well.’

‘You should go for it.’

‘Says the woman who refuses to go for it.’

‘I’m just a weirdo,’ replied Cat dismissively.

‘No I think you’re more of an enigma, Cat Nightingale.’ Ronnie stared at her with narrowed eyes before laughing. ‘Forgive me, I’m a nosy cow. I just think – oh, what’s going on?’ She sat up in her chair, distracted by something further along the promenade. Cat followed her gaze and spotted Andrew walking towards them with the children. She could see that they were all upset.

‘What is it?’ cried Cat as they reached the hut.

‘My Grampy’s died,’ wailed Ellie, burying her head in Andrew’s side. Charlie was biting his lip, trying not to cry.

‘I’m so sorry,’ said Cat. ‘How’s Melissa?’

‘Not great,’ replied Andrew. ‘I think it all hit her when she saw the children. She was very tearful.’ He rested a hand on Charlie’s head.

‘Come and sit down,’ said Ronnie. ‘You poor things.’

Cat was surprised when Ellie made a beeline for her, taking Cat’s arm and wrapping it around her body as if showing her what to do. Charlie sat down on the chair next to her. She put a consoling hand on his back. Ellie started to cry and Cat pulled her close for a hug, feeling the little girl’s heartbeat quicken.

‘Is it okay if I leave the kids here while I go and call Mel again?’ asked Andrew. ‘I want to make sure she’s all right.’

‘Of course,’ replied Cat. ‘We’ll stay here, won’t we, kids?’

‘Thanks,’ said Andrew, turning back towards the town.