Nora concentrated hard on humming while the words to the song filled her mind and she looked for each hold one at a time. Below her she could tell Jay was trying to hum louder, though he was becoming distant. Each grab for a crevice felt like a little victory, every push up a win.
‘Last one is on the right,’ said someone above her and it pulled her attention. The smiling face of one of the climbing crew was looking down at her from the top of the cliff and pointing to a nearby hand hold. She reached out with renewed confidence. ‘That’s it. You’re almost there,’ he added.
As Nora climbed the last few feet and scrambled on to the clifftop she heard Jay break out into full voice for the last verse, although together they must have hummed the song all the way through a few times to get her to the top. He had a great singing voice but it was the words that were speaking to her. She felt a rush like nothing she’dfelt before and Jay’s proud face at the bottom made it feel extra special. With Jay’s support she’d done it and she was elated.
*
Dixie was thrilled that Ned was up for helping her to fix up Elsie. It gave her another little boost. She was starting to realize that while peace, quiet and meditation were wonderful for her mental health, she was also the sort of individual who needed to be around people. She was missing Nora far more than she had expected to. They messaged all the time, but it was no substitute for having a good natter. She also missed Renee. It wasn’t that she was a stand-in for her granny. Her own grandparents lived in the wilds of Cornwall where they seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time reading the newspaper and walking. No, there was something about Renee that gave her an energy boost. Perhaps she was the very model of how Dixie would like her later years to pan out, although that would be setting the bar rather high and she definitely couldn’t handle her alcohol the way Renee did, but perhaps that came with age. Renee was a living legend and that was a status Dixie was unlikely to achieve. But in more subtle ways she pushed Dixie and the others to be braver.
She was finishing tidying up when there was a knock on the side of the van and a smiling Ned held up a large toolbox. ‘I’m ready.’
‘Excellent. The table in here is awfully wobbly.’ She demonstrated. ‘That’s a priority. I’d like to re-cover the door panels with this fabulous sticky felt I bought.’ She held up the roll. ‘But getting the panels off is a right faff. I bought some utensil storage which needs putting up and I don’t know one end of a screwdriver from the other.’ She moved through the van. ‘I thought about here.’ She pointed above the sink. ‘Or maybe better here.’ She pointed to the left of the sink area. And then down a bit. She pursed her lips as she pondered the many options.
Ned was giving her an odd look.
‘If that’s OK?’ she asked.
‘The table is your priority?’ he asked slowly.
‘Definitely. I almost lost my salad last night. It’s like eating on the side of the Eiger.’ She let out a giggle. ‘I think my friend Renee has a story about Ursula Andress and a trip up the Eiger.’ Dixie shook the thought away. ‘Anyway, if you can fix the table I’d be very grateful.’
‘OK, if you’re sure,’ said Ned, and with a casual shrug he came inside.
This time it didn’t seem as claustrophobic with him in the van with her, although he did take up quite a lot of space.
‘Shall I make us drinks and then I’ll get out of your way,’ suggested Dixie, getting out her gas ring and kettle. She had just enough water in one of the 1.5 litre Evian bottles. She’d need to get another one on her next visit to the garage. She didn’t like bringing back water because it was heavy but as there wasn’t a handy streamor waterfall nearby she had no choice.
‘Coffee with milk and two sugars please,’ said Ned.
‘Ah, I probably should have been more specific. I can offer black coffee with no sugar. Did you still want one?’
‘No, it’s OK. I was only being polite. Are you sure you’re managing OK living here?’
Dixie was a little affronted. ‘Just because I don’t have milk and sugar doesn’t mean I’m not managing.’
‘But there’s no running water or toilet facilities,’ he said, failing to hide his mild disgust at the thought.
‘I have a port-a-potty. I mean loo. It’s very discreet and hygienic.’ She didn’t mention her concerns for its capacity.
‘OK. That’s good then.’
‘Do I smell?’ She put her hands on her hips but then realized that exposing her armpits might not be the best way to demonstrate her point so she crossed her arms instead.
‘Goodness no, of course you don’t. I wasn’t saying that.’ Ned glanced around as if looking for an escape from the hole he’d dug himself into. ‘I’m sorry. I’d best get on with the um… table.’
Dixie busied herself with making a single cup of black coffee even though she didn’t want one either. Things were decidedly frosty all of a sudden.
24
The climbing weekend went by in a flash and they were soon back in Loughborough and unpacking their stuff from the back of the minibus. Obviously Trent was still playing the hero and now had his arm in a makeshift sling so that nobody further damaged his broken pinky finger by mistake. He had made a point of staring at Nora when he’d explained to everyone why he was wearing the sling. She was too tired to care. All the climbing had taken it out of her but the sense of achievement remained. There was also a feeling of being closer to Jay somehow, but then trips like this were all about bonding over shared experiences.
Nora and Jay decided to get an uber back from the drop-off point together. Jay seemed quite keen that he wasn’t alone when he entered his house. Nora had a feeling Jay was worried that he might find Renee half eaten by Bruce. Instead they were met by a smiling Renee and the smell of home cooking.
‘Something smells amazing,’ said Jay, putting his stuff down in the hall before freezing as if sensing something was amiss. ‘Where’s Bruce? What’s happened?’
Renee waved her hands in a calm-down motion. ‘Don’t panic. Everything is fine. He’s on his rug. Dinner’s on. Are you stopping?’ she asked Nora as she gave her a hug.
‘Er?’ Nora looked at Jay. She’d only really come as back-up in case Jay’s wildest nightmares had come true.
