NINETEEN
Ellie was sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the beach house porch, trying unsuccessfully to read a novel. It was a hot day and the sea was calling her, but because it was mid-afternoon, the beach was busier than when she went wild swimming in the mornings, and she was shy about going into the sea in front of strangers.
Fee had gone to Exeter for the day, a few hours’ drive away, borrowing Petra’s car for the journey. Apparently, she’d been doing some graphic design for the university there and they’d been so impressed with her work that they wanted to talk to her about a possible lecturing job.
Ellie found herself watching the people on the beach: a few surfers, people with dogs, a few old couples and mums with little ones, paddling at the sea edge. Ellie was thinking about how life just carried on, despite everything: the sun rose and set every day, whether you had had cancer or not. Toddlers paddled, dogs barked and old ladies wore cardigans on the beach even on a baking hot day. There was something reassuring about the way that the world carried on even when it felt like it had stopped for you.
She was also thinking about what Rowland had said, the other night. He had called her an ice queen. She’d never thought about herself in that way before. Was she so remote and inaccessible?
She picked up her phone and ran off a quick text to Toni before she could decide against it.
Sorry if I’ve been a bit distant. I just find it really hard to talk about what’s happened.Hope you’re having a good day. It would be really nice to talk if you have time. I miss you xx
She didn’t think she’d ever signed off a text to Toni or any of her friends with kisses before, or sent a message that felt so raw and honest. But it felt good to have done so. Even if Toni never answered, Ellie would know that she had, at least, tried to be more open.
Shading her eyes with her hand, she watched as two children ran onto the beach, followed by a young woman in pink shorts and a white vest. Ellie realised that she recognised the woman: Jamey, Mark Gardner’s sister. She slid on her sunglasses and picked up her book.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to say hello, but Ellie thought that she didn’t want to make Jamey feel uncomfortable by seeing her, and knowing that Ellie knew about what was going on in her personal life. If Jamey came over to say hello, then Ellie would talk to her, but she wasn’t about to go over there and intrude.
Still, Ellie watched from behind her book as Jamey ran after Amber and Danny, splashing them and making them squeal when she got to the clear, turquoise water. The kids waded out farther, the water up to the edges of their shorts. Ellie could hear Jamey laughing, calling out to them, perhaps warning them not to get their clothes too wet. Jamey waded out closer to them and caught Danny in a bear hug. It was lovely to watch them, and Ellie felt a sudden pang of something she didn’t quite recognise in herself. She’d never wanted kids, never been much of a kid person at all, but as she watched the easy way Jamey hugged and played with her children, Ellie felt a sudden yearning.
A text flashed up on her phone. She reached for it, thinking it would be Toni’s reply, but Rowland’s name sat at the top of her notifications.
Great first date the other night, Ellie. Let’s do it again soon, my beautiful Ice Queen.
She looked at the text for a moment, thinking how to reply. For anyone else, the text would be a bit forward, but Rowland was just that kind of big personality from whom you expected grand gestures and big talk. In a way, she’d always found him a little hard to read, because he was like that with everyone, from the postman to waitresses and people he’d just met.
Before she could think of anything to text back, a shout rang out across the beach, and Ellie looked up at the sound of a man’s voice. She squinted against the sunlight.
‘Oi! Danny! Amber!’ the man yelled again. He was striding purposefully down the beach towards Jamey and the children. Ellie sat up in her chair. The man’s whole manner – the tone of his voice, the shouting and what Ellie could see of his expression – put her on the alert.
In the sea, splashing with the children, Ellie could see that Jamey hadn’t heard him. He strode down the beach, and as he got closer to the beach house, Ellie could see that his face was set in a grimace.
‘Jamey! Oi!’ the man shouted out again, and this time Jamey heard him and turned around. Some other people on the beach had noticed, too.
‘Darren, you’re not supposed to be here!’ Jamey yelled back, and Ellie noticed that she stepped forward so that the children were behind her.
‘What the hell’s this?’ Darren waved a piece of paper at Jamey, following up his question with some swear words that made Ellie flinch.
So, this was Jamey’s abusive ex, and Danny and Amber’s father. And, Ellie assumed, the piece of paper in his hand was presumably the legal paperwork for Jamey. She got up and started walking down to the water line, grabbing her phone from the table as she did so.
Ellie approached the man carefully. ‘Hey, Darren. Can you just calm down? This isn’t nice for the kids to see.’ She really wasn’t in love with the idea of confronting an angry man who had a history of hitting women, but she wasn’t about to just sit there and watch him terrorise Jamey and the kids.
‘Who the hell are you? Sod off. I’m talking to her,’ he said, pointing at Jamey.
‘Well, you’re not talking, actually. You’re shouting and swearing, and there are kids here,’ Ellie explained in a conversational tone. ‘And unless I’m mistaken, I think you’re under a temporary restraining order, and there’s going to be a full court hearing. So, I’ll have to call the police. What you’re doing constitutes a violation of the restraining order, which can lead to fines, the permanent removal of your visitation rights from your children, or a custodial sentence.’ She held up her phone, realising that it was about to run out of charge. She angled the screen away from him so that he didn’t see, and hoped that Darren didn’t force her to make the call, because she’d look pretty stupid talking to no one at the end of the line. Still, Ellie held her ground and met Darren’s ferocious stare.
‘What the… how the hell do you know about that?’ Darren’s brow furrowed. ‘What are you, like, a detective or something? Sod off. I told you, I want to talk to Jamey.’
‘She doesn’t want to talk to you,’ Ellie replied. ‘Go away. I’m calling the police. I’m dialling 999.’ She tapped the numbers into her phone. ‘I’m serious.’
‘Darren, leave it!’ Jamey shouted. Amber had started crying, and Jamey held her daughter in a tight hug. The sea water had soaked both children’s shorts by now, and the sun went behind a lone bank of cloud. The afternoon had suddenly taken an unexpected turn, and the atmosphere on the beach had darkened.
Darren stepped forward and, taking Ellie by surprise, he knocked her phone out of her hands. It landed on the wet sand just in front of the incoming tide. ‘I warned you to stay out of it!’ he snarled.
Ellie stooped as quickly as she could to pick the phone up. As she did so, Darren strode into the water after Jamey and the kids.
‘Help!’ Ellie shouted, knowing that she wouldn’t be strong enough to pull Darren away from Jamey, and not wanting to get into a fight with him, or worse. She waved at the other people on the beach. ‘Help, please!’
