‘You should introduce yourself to him; you must be around the same age. He’s very easy on the eye. Get yourself out for a drink with him.’ As soon as those words left Julia’s mouth, she looked apologetic. ‘I’m so sorry, that was very insensitive of me, especially given the reason you’re here. I bet you don’t feel like looking in the direction of any young man at the minute. I’ve not even asked you how you are.’
‘Don’t be daft, there’s no need to apologise, and surprisingly I’m really good.’ Bea smiled but didn’t share the reason why she was feeling on top of the world. ‘It’s great to make new friends, even if it’s just for a couple of weeks. I’ll look him up.’
‘You do that. He seems very lovely and is obviously talented.’ Julia picked up a bag of files from behind the counter and walked towards the staff room.
‘Before I forget, you need to sign in, in the logbook, for health and safety reasons. It’s just here.’ Julia pointed to a book on the shelf by the staff room door. ‘And I’m going to do a little work in the staff room so if you need anything just ask.’
‘I’ll get that done now. Thank you again for the trial. I can’t wait to get going. Oh, there’s just one thing I don’t know … the number for the coastguard or lifeboat station. What if someone gets into trouble in the water?’
Julia spun round. ‘Unfortunately, there isn’t one.’ She pointed to the sign on the wall. ‘It’s at their own risk.’
Bea stared at the sign and immediately her thoughts turned back to when she was a teenager, her heart suddenly thumping faster for all the wrong reasons. It had been an afternoon of sunshine, the temperature hitting a whopping thirty degrees, and she’d been hanging out with her friends at the local lake. The water looked inviting and, not realising the dangers, some of her friends began to paddle near the edge. There was an island in the middle and soon they were daring each other to swim across. Bea tried to talk her friends out of it but they wouldn’t listen. She remembered they’d argued and Bea took off home. It wasn’t until a day later that she discovered one of her friends had got into trouble and hadn’t made it. The town was in mourning for weeks, the funeral packed. It was a devastating tragedy.
‘But why is there no lifeboat or coastguard? Surely with so many people out on the water it’s a must?’
‘I suppose funds. The cost would be considerable.’
‘But what about the cost of someone’s life? You can’t put a price on that.’ Bea’s voice was passionate.
‘I hear you, I really do, but keeping a lifeboat always ready to go to a rescue is an expensive business. There’s also the crew – we would have to rely on volunteers. Not to mention the crew training and actually running the lifeguard service and campaigning for water safety. There’s also the kit ... everything would depend on donations. It would take thousands.’
‘Has anyone tried?’ asked Bea. ‘Look at the amount of people out on the water right now.’ Bea pointed through the open hatch towards the river.
Julia shook her head. ‘Not to my knowledge. The tourist industry in this area rocketed after the village of Heartcross hit the news with the bridge collapse. Then throw in local celebrities, the building of Starcross Manor, The Lakehouse and the reopening of Heartcross Castle, and of course the biggest mountain to climb in the Scottish Highlands, the annual boat race, the River Festival… People flock here. I feel like I’m trying to sell you a holiday.’ Julia smiled, obviously attempting to lighten the mood.
Bea understood everything that Julia was saying, but Heartcross was now on the map and surely it should be a huge priority to keep everyone safe. Julia touched her elbow. ‘I need to get on. Anything you need, just shout, and don’t forget to sign in for your shift in the logbook, otherwise you won’t get paid for today. We can have a chat at the end of your shift about what’s next.’
Watching Julia disappear into the staff room, Bea grabbed the logbook and placed it on the counter. There were numerous people looking through the wetsuits, and children trying to persuade their parents to buy them fishing nets. Bea smiled and let them know she was there if they needed any help. Then she opened the book. Julia had already signed in on arrival and Bea did the same: name, date and time of arrival. She turned back through some of the pages, discovering that the book went back several years.
* * *
The morning had flown by and before Bea had time to catch her breath it was midday. She’d lost count of how many excursions she’d sold and kayaks she’d hired out. Roman, who was in charge of the river taxis, had popped by to introduce himself, and she had even managed to sell a handful of Nolan’s paintings. The door to the staff room opened and Julia placed a mug of tea on the counter for her.
‘Here you go, take five. You haven’t stopped. How’s it going so far?’ she asked.
‘Love it,’ replied Bea, meaning every word. ‘I mean, look at that view! And everyone is so happy and friendly. When I work in the supermarket it’s complaint after complaint from customers and I hardly see anyone smile.’
‘The difference here is that they’re all on holiday and when the weather is as gorgeous as this it makes the world a whole different place.’
‘Agreed,’ replied Bea, taking a sip of her tea. ‘I’ve hung the life jackets that have been returned back on those rails there and marked them in the book. I’ve sold four wetsuits too.’
‘You have taken to this job like a duck to water. How would you feel if I offered you the rest of the shifts for the next two weeks? That will give me time to sort out a job advert and interviewing schedule.’
‘How would I feel? I’d say, “Yes, please,” but I’ve been thinking…’ Bea had a huge smile on her face. ‘I don’t want to miss out. I would like to stick around for the River Festival and extend my holiday.’
‘And you want to work here until then?’
Bea put her hands together as if praying. ‘If you’d have me?’
‘I’d bite your hand off and Flynn will be chuffed. It gives us extra time to sort out staffing ... but what about your job back home?’
Bea had thought about nothing else all morning. In between customers she’d written down on a piece of paper what she liked and didn’t like about her employment at the supermarket, and what she didn’t like outweighed what she liked by quite a bit.
‘It’s been on my mind all morning. I think I’ve fallen out of love with it and I’ve decided it’s the first thing I’m going to change about my life. I’m going to take the bull by the horns and resign.’ Bea knew she was maybe being a little impulsive but it felt right, even though there was the slight worry of how she would pay her bills. She did have a small amount put away in her savings account to help her out for a short time. Leaving her job would be the first step on this new adventure of living life for herself.
‘It sounds to me like you’re making some brave decisions – and I have to say that smile on your face suits you.’
‘I honestly feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now I’ve made that decision. I just know there’s more to life, and there’s something about the fresh air, water and sun … it makes everything seem okay.’
