I pull back the gate and let Mercury go, putting down the bucket of feed. I take a deep breath and turn. I even have my eyes squeezed tight a little. I look out to the oyster beds but my heart lurches with love and gratitude to see Freddie standing right behind me, nudging me for nuts. Just call me the donkey whisperer! I look up at Sean and I know I’m grinning from ear to ear. Sean’s grinning right back at me. He raises his hand in the tiniest of waves. I can see him relax and settle into the inspection. Nancy, on the other hand, looks like she’s sucking on a lemon.
Chapter Eighteen
‘We passed!’ Sean shouts. He’s holding up a piece of paper. The white van disappears off up the lane, listing this way and that on the uneven ground. Sean looks relieved and he’s grinning like a daft schoolboy.
‘That’s brilliant!’ I say, hands on hips, still a little out of breath from being chased by Brenda the goose.
‘So that’s it, the place is yours!’ I can’t help but smile with him because I can leave now knowing the place he loves, his livelihood, his passion, is safe.
‘For the next ten years at least, providing there’s no problems with the waters in the meantime. I’m in business!’ He lets out a whoop and suddenly grabs me, picks me up and swings me round. I grab hold of my hat with one hand and his shoulder with the other. I shriek as he spins me round, just as Nancy decides to join us. Sean puts me down but doesn’t let his smile drop.
‘We did it!’ He hugs and kisses Nancy. I’m still fuming at her lack of effort.
‘I knew you would,’ she smiles, giving me the merest sideways glance before cupping his face in both hands and kissing him long and hard. I look away, feeling like a big fat gooseberry. But Nancy manages to catch my eye when she comes up for air, giving me another pointed look, making sure I’ve got the message.
‘So where do you want to go to celebrate?’ Nancy rubs away traces of her bright red lipstick from his mouth as she stands with her arm around his back, practically entwined.
‘You choose, I’m not bothered,’ he says, bending down to rub Grace’s head in celebratory mood. Nancy moves her leg away as Grace snakes around in front of Sean. Nancy and I may have crossed swords earlier but I hope this meal will mean we can put any misunderstandings behind us, along with any talk of Sean leaving the farm and going to work in her restaurant.
‘Oh, I’ve got something for you.’ Sean pulls out a brown envelope from his back pocket and hands it to me. ‘It’s not much, I’m afraid, but it’s what I owe you and just a bit extra. I know how hard you’ve worked.’
I take the envelope of notes and smile. It was hard-earned money and it’s going to have to last me until I find more work.
‘Right, dinner tonight. Where’s it to be?’ Sean says to Nancy. I tap the envelope and smile some more.
‘Sure you don’t mind, Fi?’ Nancy smiles sweetly at me.
‘Mind?’ I’m confused.
‘You’ll be OK here on your own, won’t you,’ she tells me rather than asks.
Sean looks up from rubbing Grace’s ears. ‘Oh, but I thought …’
‘I mean, what if the oyster pirates were to return?’ Nancy says. ‘I’m worried sick about them coming back.’ She looks at Sean.
I swallow and nod. ‘Of course. I’ll be fine.’ My little celebratory bubble bursts.
‘You sure you don’t mind, English? I could go into town, get something and cook. We could all eat together this evening.’
‘No, don’t be daft,’ I say, at the same time Nancy says, ‘No, she’s fine.’
I bite my lip.
‘If you’re sure …’ Sean double checks with me and I nod. ‘I’ll grab a shower and we’ll be off then. Nothing much more we can do now. Take the rest of the day off.’ Sean grins, then runs into the cottage, obviously keen to get his night of celebrations underway. Nancy’s smile drops and she throws me another warning look, then turns and swings her long dark hair and sashays up the uneven steps to the cottage with amazing steadiness.
‘Looks like two’s a party, three’s a crowd,’ I say to Grace, rubbing her ears. I breathe in deeply.
The air seems to have a calming effect. It smells salty and fresh. I’d like to try and remember that smell. The wind flicks at the ends of my hair poking out from under my hat. I need to get down to the café before it shuts and get on the internet to book a flight. I shut my eyes and let the freshness fill my head and lungs. At least I feel I’m leaving here a little more sorted in myself, compared to when I’d arrived. I might even miss it a bit. I watch as Grace sniffs at the rocks, up and down. I’ll miss Freddie and Mercury too. But not Brenda the goose, or Nancy for that matter.
‘I’m walking into town,’ I call to Sean and Nancy as I grab Grace’s lead from just inside the door on the coat pegs. But there’s no reply and the bedroom door is shut. Together Grace and I set off down the lane.
Sean felt bad about not taking Fi to dinner with them. But Nancy was right, they couldn’t risk leaving the place empty, just in case whoever had been there returned that night. Nancy was wrapped around him, kissing his neck, but he wasn’t really in the mood. He was sorry that Fi was leaving. She’d worked hard, a bit erratic, but she’d been a star at cleaning, weighing and grading the oysters, and Grace loved her. It had been good to know someone was here. Now he’d have to advertise again. He couldn’t risk losing his stock now he was on the up.
He’d miss Fi. His mind flitted back to the night before. Had he imagined it or had they nearly kissed? Thank Godthey hadn’t. He had promised her he wouldn’t overstep the mark. He put it down to a moment of madness, but he couldn’t help but think how much he’d enjoyed himself last night. It’d been a long time since he’d really relaxed in someone’s company. He hoped he hadn’t bored her telling her about the oysters. She’d seemed keen to listen, as keen as he had been to tell her.
I unclip Grace’s lead at the top of the stone steps and follow her down on to the sandy beach. Grace catapults across it, scattering the oystercatchers in all directions. She is running in huge circles, leaving footprints in the virgin sand. I walk down to the water’s edge where waves are gently rolling in and over and then sliding back. I look out across the rocks, then as far as my eye can see. Next stop America. I stop and stare and wonder. That’s the sort of place I could really get lost in. I turn to follow Grace along the beach.
‘Hello there.’ The voice makes me jump. It’s Maire from the art shop, bending down and picking something up. In the other hand a plastic bag is blowing like a flag in the wind.
