‘Hey, Mab, I can’t see the bottom.It must be a really long way down.Can you swim in here?It looks ace!’he said, already peeling off his jeans.
‘Wait – no!The water’s very deep in this part of the lake and the reeds are really dangerous, Josh.People have to be rescued every year,’ Mab yelled pointlessly, as Josh leapt into the lake, down to his bright blue boxers by now.His skinny ribs and smooth chest made him seem strangely vulnerable, and Mab felt a stab of alarm, edging nearer to the water as the men joined in, all calling out random threats and warnings.Suddenly, Mab felt herself sliding.She clutched frantically at an overhanging branch as she slithered and slipped down the grassy bank.
‘Aaaargh!’she screamed.‘Help, I’m…’ The branch bent alarmingly, broke with a loud crack and the icy water closed over Mab’s head.She thrashed around madly, taking great gulps of water as she struggled to surface.As her head emerged for the second time, she gasped as she saw Den standing on the bank, suddenly and gloriously naked.
‘Mab!Hang on, I’m coming, pet, don’t flap about like that.’
Leaping from the bank, he landed alongside her.A small crowd had gathered by this time, shouting encouragement and waving branches for Mab to catch hold of.
‘Here, grab this, love,’ shouted an elderly man, nearly joining Mab in the lake as he waved a rotten willow bough at her.
‘Be careful, you silly old fool!Blimey, look at that bloke.He’s got his kit off…’ said his wife, leaning forward for a better view.
At last, Mab felt herself being pulled by strong arms until she was clear of the clinging weeds.Den was somehow managing to avoid getting entangled, whilst at the same time pushing and tugging Mab to safety.Harry took over as they neared the others, leaning over the bank supported by Alex, and Mab was manhandled up the slimy bank.
‘Look at the knockers on her!’said a passing teenage boy, pointing at Mab and sniggering with his mates.
Hideously conscious of her clinging shirt, now completely see-through, Mab knelt, coughing, at Harry’s feet.Spitting most unbecomingly, Den joined them, the water streaming from his shoulders and down beautifully muscled thighs.Mab’s chest heaved as she stared at Den in amazement for a moment.Then, looking down at the water for a moment, she spotted a water rat swimming by.Horrified at the thought of what she’d swallowed, Mab began to splutter again, before being spectacularly sick on Den’s feet.
‘Well, that’s a fine way to thank me,’ said Den, wrapping his discarded sweatshirt around her shoulders and sluicing his toes in the lake before wriggling uncomfortably into the rest of his clothes.
‘Oh God, oh dear, oh… I’m so sorry,’ gulped Mab, ‘it’s just that, I have to look after myself now.These waters are poisonous…’
‘Look after yourself?Well, we all have to do that, bonny lass.’
‘Yes but…’ Mab was violently sick again, missing Den by a whisker this time, and then sinking onto the ground, arms wrapped around herself.
By this time, Josh had noticed the commotion and had swum back again, clambering out to a hail of recriminations from Den and Alex.The normally quiet Alex was incandescent with fury, and Josh was left in no doubt of the opinion of his next-to-oldest brother.The audience on the bank cheered and cat-called happily.They hadn’t had this much fun since one of the rowing boats had developed a leak last season and deposited a particularly annoying councillor and his family into the shallows.
As the damp, forlorn little group tramped back along the path home, Alex carried on his tirade.‘You thoughtless young pillock!We could have been visiting the hospital or the morgue by now, if Den hadn’t acted so quickly.’
‘I’m sorry, Mab.Sorry, all of you – I just fancied a bit of a swim, that’s all.’
‘Oh, don’t worry,’ said Mab, trying to pull herself together, ‘I’ll be fine when I’ve warmed up, I guess.’Her anxious face caused Den to join in again.
‘Well, you’d better do something to redeem yourself when we get back to the flat, Josh.That van needs sorting.The least you can do is put your stupid spelling mistake right, man; and do it quickly.We can’t stay here more than a day or two, there’s a business to run at home.’
Josh looked mutinous.‘Well, if you’d let me help with the business instead of all going on about exams all the time…’
‘Don’t push your luck, Josh.As soon as the Bank Holiday’s over, we’ll be back up north, and you can get on with your revision,’ Harry said.‘We’ll stay till Monday night, and then Leo will have to get on without us.Come on, let’s get this poor lass into the warm.’
When the bedraggled party reached the flat, Alex told them that they could have twenty minutes to gather their thoughts and to let Mab have a soak in the bath and then he and Den would chair a quick meeting about the way that they were going to organise the renovation and decorating over the coming weekend.Mab was relieved to find that Leo’s promises of gallons of steaming bath water were founded on fact.As she soaked in Annie’s scented bubbles, Mab smiled to herself.Sophie hadn’t been at all pleased to see them back so soon, but Leo was gratifyingly concerned when he heard the full story of Mab’s ducking.Den had fussed around getting Mab a hot drink and had also loaned her some of his best tracksuit bottoms and a soft sweater.Harry had donated a fine cotton shirt in exactly the same shade of sea green as Mab’s eyes.Alex hadn’t offered any garments, for which Mab was grateful – his hips were far narrower than hers.She wallowed in the blissfully warm water for a while, daydreaming, and then sat up suddenly as a thought struck her.Didn’t they used to recommend hot baths to girls who’d ‘got themselves into trouble’?Was she putting her baby at risk?But there was no way she could give up baths.Showers were so unsettling.Perhaps she should put a timer on to remind her to get out after half an hour for the next few months, and use a thermometer so she didn’t bother her baby.She climbed out hastily, patting herself dry with unaccustomed gentleness.
7
Leo watched Mab emerge from the bathroom ten minutes later, looking pink and contented.She had woven her newly washed hair into a thick plait and was dressed in the collection of borrowed clothes, which he thought suited her very well.She had rolled up the sleeves of her shirt loosely and tied the sweater around her shoulders.The trousers fell in soft folds, being designed for someone larger.Leo glanced down as Mab wriggled her bare toes luxuriously, somehow surprised to see that she was wearing pearly pink nail varnish.She caught him looking at her and grinned.
‘Sorry I was so long, Leo.When I live here, I’m going to have to ration the time I spend lying in that huge bath reading my book, or I’ll never get anything done.’
‘I know, I’m the same.Soaking in the bath’s the best way to keep sane, I reckon.’
‘True.Who needs a man when you can have hot water and bubbles?The only problem the bath’s ever given me was that time with the library book.That was an expensive mistake.’
‘I don’t know about that… men can be quite useful sometimes, pet.’
Mab laughed.‘You’re probably right.If there were no men here, who’d be making that wonderful smell of supper?’
The meeting was already underway when Mab came in, with everyone except Sophie gathered round the table.Leo’s spirits rose as he looked at his extended family – good progress had been made, largely because of Alex’s practical leadership and Den’s growing enthusiasm for The Chocolate Cake Bookstore.As Mab joined them, Leo, Alex and Den were just finishing drawing up a final action plan, while Sophie, having moaned for a good ten minutes that there was no Netflix available, hunted through a varied collection of DVDs in Angelica’s ancient TV cabinet for something to keep herself amused.After trying one or two for a few minutes, she settled forGone Girl– and slotted it into the machine with a happy sigh.
