‘Oh, leave Ellie alone, you busybodies.’ Mara giggled. ‘Ellie, ignore them. If there’s nothing going on between you and Mark, then I believe you.’
‘Thanks.’ Ellie knew that she was blushing. She took a sip of wine to cover her embarrassment.
‘I’m sure you’ll keep us posted if there are any developments—?’ Petra said, her eyebrow raised.
‘Of course.’
Ellie’s phone lit up. It was another text from Rowland.
‘Oooh, is that him now?’ Petra picked up Ellie’s phone.
‘No, it’s… just a friend. Well. An ex-boyfriend.’ Ellie took her phone back and looked at the text from Rowland.
‘Looks like your ex wants you to go out with him Wednesday night.’ Petra shimmied in her chair. ‘Aren’t you the dark horse!’
‘Well, I don’t know if I will,’ Ellie desperately wanted the conversation to end and the focus to move away from her. ‘It’s complicated.’
‘Come on, Petra. Leave the poor girl alone.’ Clare made a face at Ellie, who shot a grateful look back. ‘Let’s check in with the fundraiser organisation, and then we can concentrate on the important bit: wine.’
‘I’ve been sorting the food stalls. I’ve got six so far, nice range of things. Ice cream, traditional Cornish stuff, some vegan options, curry, noodles. That kind of thing. I’ve checked their insurance and permits,’ Mara said.
‘I’ve got the permit paperwork in for the event itself with the council,’ Clare added. ‘Shouldn’t be a problem.’
‘Awesome. Well done!’ Petra high-fived Clare. ‘I’ve created an Instagram account and been posting about the event. Mara helped me with making some logos and images. We’re doing well for followers, and I’ve been in contact with some of the local tourist organisations. Ellen at the Shipwreck and Smuggling Museum’s been handing out flyers I made, and I’ve put them in the café and in all the shops.’
‘Mara? How’ve you got on with the T-shirts?’ Simona put on her glasses and peered at her watch. ‘Oh, Lord – I forgot I had a pizza in the oven. Carry on without me for a minute.’ She flapped her hands at all of them and got up, picking up a pair of oven gloves as she went. Ellie watched as she approached a cream-coloured Aga, flicked open one of its cast-iron doors and deftly extracted the pizza.
‘Okay. I’ve got a few different options.’ Mara held up three different T-shirts. ‘This one, I’m not sure about.’
The white T-shirt Mara held up was emblazoned with the slogan ‘I GOT WET AT THE MAGPIE COVE WILD SWIM 2022’ in bold black letters.
‘Well, I like it. But I’m not sure it’s the message we want to send.’ Clare snorted.
‘What’s wrong with it, my love? Youdoget wet in the sea.’ Esther looked mystified. Petra patted her arm fondly. ‘I know, Esther. But it has a bit of a double meaning.’
‘What double meaning?’ Esther looked around the table. ‘What is it? Why are you all gigglin’?’
‘I’ll tell you later.’ Petra cleared her throat. ‘Mara, what else have you got?’
‘Okay. There’s this one.’ Mara held up a blue T-shirt with a picture of a sandy cove and a bright blue sea in a circle, with the words ‘MAGPIE COVE WILD SWIM 2022’ around it. ‘It’s nice, but it’s the most expensive option. If we still charged £20 a ticket, we’d make twenty per cent less for fundraising, after costs.’
‘Hmmm. What’s the third one?’ Clare took a crisp from an earthenware bowl in the middle of the table. ‘Don’t let me have more than ten of these, by the way.’
‘I CONQUERED THE COVE. MAGPIE COVE WILD SWIM 2022.’ Mara read the third one aloud. ‘This is my favourite.’
‘I like that one too.’ Ellie nodded.
‘Me too. I vote for that one,’ Petra agreed.
‘And me. If we really think we can’t have the first one,’ Clare added. ‘Esther? Simona?’
‘Looks good to me, my love.’ Esther smiled. Simona waved from the kitchen.
‘Whatever you ladies think,’ she called out. ‘I’ve got some garlic bread coming out in a minute.’
‘Ellie, how’d you get on with the newspapers?’ Clare asked.
‘Oh. Okay, I think. I’ve had emails back from theCornish Starand theExpress.’ Ellie looked at her phone. ‘They offered to write up an interview with one of us the week before the event. I’ve also got advertising rates for both, if we want to do that.’
