‘Mummy, it’s Ariel.’ Rosie touches the wooden mermaid figure that is stuck to the wall. ‘I should have put my costume on.’
‘Come on, little ladies, let’s find a table.’ Damien grabs their hands and leads them over to a free table. The open flames spit and crackle as a huge log is about to catch.
Damien pulls out two chairs and seats the girls. They look tiny in the adult chairs and I regret not bringing their booster seats so they can sit at our level. Rosie is too big for a high chair and the one I spot against the wall looks a bit greasy and splattered.
‘Hey, do you need these?’ The woman with the pink hair comes over with two firm thick seat pads. The girls slide off the chairs while she ties them to the seats. ‘There you go.’
‘Thank you,’ I say.
‘You’re more than welcome, my lovelies. Enjoy your day.’
I glance ahead as she goes through the staff only door. Maybe she lives here and her baby is with another family member.
Flames begin to lick the log and spread further, and Millie is mesmerised by them.
‘I think it’s a charming place. It has a mermaid, lots of shiny glass and the friendly lady gave us some cushions for the girls.’ I smile at Millie and Rosie. They nod in agreement.
‘I like it here, Mummy,’ Millie says.
After gathering the order up, I stand. ‘I’ll go order the food.’ It’s the only way I’m going to get a moment alone to look around properly. Maybe Will is trying to lead me to someone who works here or maybe he’s here now, drinking. He might want to catch my eye but he won’t feel comfortable if I don’t leave this table, alone.
Squeezing through the sea of sweaty men, I finally place a hand on the bar. No one is waiting to be served, they’re all just drinking.
‘What can I get you?’ A blonde-haired girl smiles, her lips thin but shiny pink with gloss.
I reel off all the food and drinks that we want. She puts the order through and goes to start the drinks at the other end of the bar. Several men laugh and cheer, I take them in first. Their accents are so thick I can barely make out what they’re saying.
I glance around, hoping to make eye contact with Will but no one is taking any notice of me. In fact, I feel invisible.
‘Here you go. Two Cokes and two lemonades.’ The server holds out the payment machine and I tap my card.
‘Hey, love, can you deal with Kyle’s spillage when you’re done here? Sorry about that, he won at golf. You know what he’s like when he’s had a victory.’
‘Yes, ’course I will, Mary.’
‘You’re a gem.’
I weave through the people and the tables carrying the drinks, the music crackles into life. ‘That’s Amore’ by Dean Martin comes on. I recognise that song as it was one of my Nan’s favourites.
A man looks right at me. He then whispers into a woman’s ear and she reaches across the table, covering her mouth while speaking to her friend. I turn to see another man with deep split veins on his bulbous nose. For a second, I think that he’s going to come over and speak to me. I mouth the word Will and he stands as he stares at me.
He leaves his full pint on a table and pushes through everyone before running towards the door.
‘Leaving already, Cody,’ a woman shouts. ‘Cody.’
He doesn’t answer and darts out of the pub. The bell sounds over the music and all I see is him running past the front window as he pulls his dark coat on. He glances back and his stare meets mine.
‘Kate, we’re gasping for those drinks.’ Damien shrugs.
My instinct is to dump the drinks and chase after the man but one look at Damien tells me I can’t. How could I explain that one? If I leave, he will follow me with the girls and I don’t want that. I glance around again and several people keep rudely looking at me and talking. I can’t hear what any of them are saying over the music and the hum of voices.
‘Food won’t be long.’ That’s all I can murmur as I stare at the door, hoping that the man will come back. He owes me that much after getting me to come all the way here. It had to be him watching me earlier at the cottage. He wants to talk, I know he does, but I could see that something was holding him back and that something was fear.
Damien gets up to go to the toilet so I grab my phone and click on Will’s messages and hit reply.
Why did you leave like that? I’ve come hundreds of miles to speak to you and one sighting, you run. I’m not giving up and I know what you look like now. I will find you, Cody!
The woman who called him as he left walks towards the toilets so I stand in her way. ‘Why did that man run when he saw me?’
