by Carol Wyer
Eleanor chuckled merrily at the exchange and Alex shook his head in mock dismay, grinning all the while. Ronnie released a loud sigh that set them all laughing.
‘Give up, Chloe. He’s beaten us all. Frightful man,’ said Eleanor, dropping a kiss on Fairfax’s head.
‘I’m just extremely entrepreneurial,’ Fairfax replied. ‘Ought to have been a property mogul.’
‘And determined. He almost always wins at Monopoly. That’s why he chose to play it, rather than Trivial Pursuits,’ Eleanor said. ‘He’s no good at that. Can only answer the pink card questions.’
‘True,’ said Fairfax, shuffling the Chance cards back into a neat stack and replacing them in the set.
‘Anyone want a top-up?’ said Eleanor, attempting to get to her feet.
‘No, thank you. I have to take the canine-shaped floor mat over there for a walk and then get on with some work…’ Chloe bit her tongue.
‘Work?’ Too late. Eleanor had picked up on it. ‘What sort of work?’
‘Housework,’ she replied quickly, knowing she was flushing pink again.
‘On Christmas Day? Are you mad? Have another glass of wine.’
‘I’d love to but I really do have to take you-know-who out for a while, and if I drink any more, I’ll probably fall over in a snowdrift and you’ll find me frozen solid in two days’ time.’
‘I’m sure Ronnie would save you,’ said Alex. He stretched his arms above his head. ‘Actually, I ought to move too. It’s been wonderful. Thank you for inviting me over.’
‘You’re welcome to stay longer,’ urged Eleanor.
‘That’s very kind but I must get going. I said I’d ring my parents to let them know I was okay. They still treat me like I’m a teenager at times.’ He shrugged and got to his feet. Ronnie looked up hopefully and seeing Chloe make a move, bounded up in one.
‘Okay. Well, we’ll see you again soon. The next adventure for the singletons is in five days, on the thirtieth. We should have lost the snow by then. At least I hope we have by then or we might run out of food and start eating one another.’ She burst out laughing, then put a finger to her lips. ‘Oops. Maybe I’m a tiddly bit drunk. We’ll pick you both up at ten.’
‘What are we going to be doing?’ Alex asked.
‘I’m not so drunk I’m going to spoil the surprise. You wait and see. It’ll be a huge laugh. I’ll guarantee that.’ She staggered into Fairfax, who put an arm around her waist.
They said their goodbyes and Alex started walking away from the house alongside Chloe. Ronnie bounced on ahead.
‘That was a really nice day. I feel quite mellow now,’ he said.
‘It was a much better day than I expected.’
‘I know what you mean. I don’t much care for Christmas. It’s a long holiday and unproductive. I usually try and get away, somewhere warm,’ he replied.
‘My friend Faith’s in Barbados, soaking up sunrays and cocktails,’ Chloe said.
‘Sensible idea. Still, there’s something romantic about a white Christmas. You can’t beat cold air, snow-covered branches and a magical setting like this. What had you planned on doing today?’
‘Building a snowman with Ronnie.’ She’d said it before she’d thought about it. He would think she was quite crazy. Instead he laughed.
‘What a tremendous idea. Why don’t we?’
‘It’s getting too dark to see.’
‘My house has outside floodlights that will illuminate the back garden. Come on. We’ll make one.’
The child in her shrieked yes and watching Ronnie leaping about snapping at stray snowflakes, her heart lifted. ‘Why not, indeed?’
Chapter Ten
Saturday, 30th December
‘All aboard,’ shouted Fairfax, head out of the window.
Chloe and Alex sprinted towards the car. Heavy rain tumbled from dark clouds, soaking them as they ran from opposite directions, pulled open the rear doors and jumped onto the back seat at exactly the same time.
‘Phew! What a monsoon!’ said Alex.
‘I know. What a shame. I preferred the snow. Now everything looks all muddy and dreary. A river of mucky water raced past the wheels and into the drain on the driveway.’
‘Let’s go,’ said Fairfax, putting the car into gear and pulling away. Rain hammered on the metal roof drowning his words, even though they were shouting. That and the slushing noises coming from under the car as they drove through vast puddles made any conversation almost impossible.
Chloe was glad they couldn’t talk without yelling at each other. She couldn’t have joined in anyway. She was fighting back the usual fear now bubbling inside and watched as rain splattered across the screen, all the while mindful of Alex next to her. They’d not bumped into each other again or chatted since they’d rolled snow together and made a snowman on Christmas Day. It had been a hilarious hour, fuelled by alcohol and a feeling of wellbeing, and after finishing an enormous snowman complete with large black stones for eyes and a stick for a nose and Alex’s beanie hat, they’d thrown snowballs for Ronnie to chase until they were all tired and it was too dark and cold to continue. Back home, she’d written a chapter of the new book before settling down to watch a film with her dog by her side and reflecting on the fact she’d had a much better time than she could have ever imagined and moreover, she hadn’t thought about William and Lilly once.
The rain eased slightly and Alex spoke up.
‘I was getting used to seeing Mr Snowman outside my window. It was sad to watch him morph into Mr Puddle.’
She half-smiled at the remark. ‘Did you rescue your beanie hat before it started pouring down?’
‘I certainly did. I’ll need it as soon as we start working again on the site. The wind doesn’t half blow up at Sunny Meadow.’
‘Goody. Snow, torrential rain and wind. Remind me again why I moved?’ she said.
‘Because of the phenomenal views,’ he replied.
‘And the superb neighbours,’ said Eleanor from the passenger seat. ‘Ah, here we are.’
They pulled off onto a track leading to a football training ground.
Chloe’s heart began thudding alarmingly and her neck became damp with perspiration. No matter that she knew some of the others who’d be there, or that Alex, Fairfax and Eleanor were with her; she really wasn’t looking forward to socialising again. She reprimanded her inner self who was now quaking deep within. This was crazy. She’d met these people before. She’d spoken to them all and got to know a little about them, so she shouldn’t be feeling so anxious. She reminded herself of the new book Faith was expecting. She had to go through with this for its sake. She had to speak to and listen to people, extract snippets of knowledge, and use what she uncovered. That’s what writers did. She attempted to calm her breathing now coming in short gasps. Alex threw her a look of concern. ‘You okay? You’ve gone a funny colour.’
‘We’re not playing football, are we?’ Chloe asked. ‘I’m rubbish at it.’ She hoped he’d think that was the reason for her apparent concern.
‘No, but there is an indoor football court that we’re using,’ came the response.
Alex pulled a face at Chloe and shrugged. He had no more idea than she did of what they were going to do. Another heavy downpour bashed against the roof. Fairfax drew up outside the main door. ‘It’s lashing it down. Make a run for it. I’ll park up and meet you inside.’
Doors flew open simultaneously and Eleanor, Chloe and Alex raced for the entrance. Alex opened the door and herded the women in. Several people looked up at their entry. Chloe recognised most of them from the skating event. Sean was one of the first she spotted. He lifted a hand and made a beeline for her. She was pleased to see him.
‘We were speculating as to whether or not you’d make it. Somebody said you’d been snowed in and we weren’t sure if the event would be held. Hi, I’m Sean,’ he said to Alex and held out a beefy hand which Alex shook.
‘Alex. Chloe, Eleanor and Fairfax’s neighbour.’
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‘Good to meet you. Fairfax not with you?’
‘Parking the car. He’ll be here in a sec,’ Alex replied.
‘We were snowed in for a few days,’ said Chloe aware she hadn’t taken Sean up on his offer to visit the bookshop. ‘How was Christmas? Did you spend it with Suzy?’
‘Christmas was quiet. Weather was too bad to go out but I managed to drive over to her mother’s and collect her on Boxing Day. We watched movies and ate too much junk food and played on the Nintendo I bought her. She’s a brilliant gamer so she beat her old man, hands down. You?’
‘We all had lunch at Eleanor and Fairfax’s house and afterwards Alex and I built a snowman.’
A slow grin spread across Sean’s face. ‘You made any snow angels?’
‘It was too dark by the time we finished. We chucked a few snowballs about and drove Chloe’s dog crazy,’ said Alex.
Eleanor clapped her hands together. ‘Okay everyone, listen up. Thanks for making it today in this lousy weather. I know you’re all keen to know what we’ve planned for you and I really hope you enjoy yourselves. If you’d like to go through the double doors over there, you’ll find out just exactly what today’s activity is. I thought we’d end the year on a high. Before we go, this is Alex. He’s another of our neighbours. Don’t think we’re signing up everyone who lives within a five-mile radius of our house, because we’re not. It just so happens that Alex was free today.’
‘Hi Alex,’ called Jacqueline, looking very fetching in tight black trousers and a loose red jumper. A few others joined in with greetings. Eleanor ran through everyone’s names for him. Alex lifted up a hand by way of a hello at each mention. Introductions over, the group headed across to the large orange doors that opened onto a full-sized indoor pitch. Instead of a goal post at the far end of the room, there were two sets of ten enormous inflatable skittles, larger than a person, and two massive plastic inflatable balls. Four people all dressed in tracksuit bottoms and yellow T-shirts bearing the logo Extreme Bowling, were waiting for them, hands behind backs, smiles plastered across their faces.
‘Welcome to human bowling!’ Eleanor shouted. ‘Where you take on the role of the ball and knock down the skittles, or should I say pins?’
Chloe’s nerves had no chance to get the better of her; Eleanor gave no one any opportunity to speak as she dived straight into the rules of the game, which involved each member of the team climbing into the human hamster ball, one at a time, and by running forwards inside it, direct and aim it at the inflatable pins supported by their team members. It was up to the person inside the ball to knock down as many skittles as possible in one strike.
‘Both teams will consist of six players. Team A; that’s Alex, Sean, Rob Jacqueline, Kaisha and Chloe, you’ll be up against Team B: Neats, Danielle, Ed, Tim, Fairfax and me.’ Fairfax burst through the door, water dripping from his coat and hair. He was greeted with a cheer from his teammates.
‘Winners receive a Jeroboam of champagne which works out at about twenty-four glasses, and the losers will get a couple of litres of lemonade. Right, sort yourselves out and decide which order you want to play in, tactics and so on, and then let’s get this game underway. I’d better warn you team A, I’m very competitive.’
Sean took charge of Chloe’s team, and huddled together like a rugby or football squad they discussed how best to play the game. ‘I bet Fairfax and Eleanor have done this or something similar before too. Anyone here ever been in a zorb ball?’ he asked.
Kaisha Lewis, a young woman in her twenties, with a pretty face and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose whispered. ‘I went water zorbing on holiday. You just run inside the ball and it propels forward. You’ll lose your balance though and you’ll fall over and turn upside down, especially as the ball rolls, so the best tactic is momentum. Keep running steadily, like a hamster, to give yourselves the best chance. If you fall over, you’ll have to go with it until the ball stops. It’s fun. I loved it.’
‘Great. You will probably be more accurate at hitting the pins than the rest of us. I spoke to Neats Kelly at the last event and found out she runs marathons. I reckon they’ll leave her until last as their secret weapon. You mind going last too?’
‘I’m happy with that.’
Sean spoke again. ‘Okay. Anyone else? Anybody else good at running?’ He was met with shrugs. ‘Looks like we’ll have to give it our best shot and hope. Who wants to go first? Rob?’
Rob, who towered above everyone, including Sean, looked down briefly. ‘I’m not too quick on my feet. I tend to fall over them. I might even be a hindrance to the team.’
‘None of us know how we’ll perform. I doubt you’ll be any worse than the rest of us. Only Kaisha’s done it before,’ said Sean, kindly.
The others agreed.
‘How about I start us off?’ said Alex. ‘Someone has to and it’s always better if someone’s gone before you. Don’t hate me if I miss the pins though. I’m not a great shot.’
‘We won’t,’ said Jacqueline quickly and flashed him a bright smile. Alex returned it. Chloe couldn’t ignore the spark between them. Jacqueline hadn’t taken her eyes off Alex since they’d arrived. No doubt she’d be soon introducing him to her motorbike and offering to take him home on the back of it. She pushed away such sour thoughts. It wasn’t as if she and Alex were even dating each other. They were no more than neighbours and besides, Chloe wasn’t looking for romance. Good luck to them, she thought, her attention now on the ball. She was going to make a complete mess of it. She had absolutely zero coordination. Soon after she and William had got married, when she’d felt able to handle going out with small groups of people, she’d gone bowling with her husband, one of his work colleagues, Henry, and Henry’s wife. They’d had the large rubber bumpers that beginners and children used put in play because her ball kept heading off down the channel. Henry had made several wise cracks about it, but the more he joked, the worse she played, and the worse she played, the more annoyed William became. Afterwards, when she’d apologised, William had said it didn’t matter but she knew she’d let him down. It was evident in his demeanour and he hadn’t taken her bowling ever again.
That occasion had been the catalyst for her condition worsening. She’d deteriorated quickly afterwards. William had a way of looking at her that drained her confidence and in spite of his words or apparent concern, she’d flounder and within weeks of marrying him she had turned back into the frightened Chloe who couldn’t cope. Nanny Olive had noticed the decline. She had warned Chloe that William was sucking the life from her and tried to get her to see reason, but by then it was too late and Chloe, who loved William with every molecule in her body, couldn’t have left him or stood up to him.
She knew she was going to be dreadful at this activity but she couldn’t back down. With the first human ball and pusher chosen, the other members of each team were dispatched to watch over the inflatable black pins, arranged as they would be in a bowling alley and balanced on inflatable rings, to ensure they were replaced after each knock-down attempt.
The Human Bowling staff members had moved the giant see-through balls onto the starting line and were holding them in place. Team B had selected Danielle Ryan, a single mother to three teenagers. When Chloe had talked to her last time she’d been wearing a bobble hat and a huge knitted sweater that reached her knees, and she’d been quietly spoken and shy, almost as afraid as Chloe of meeting new people. Today she was in another baggy jumper that swamped her slender frame, eyes large as she took up position. Tim, a plump man with jet-black thick hair, who could have been any age between twenty-five and thirty-five, rolled up the sleeves on his fleece top. He was going to push her away from the start line.
Alex removed his shoes, then squeezed through the entrance flap in the side of the ball, held apart by a staff member. He dropped into the ball and landed on his backside. He pushed up with difficulty, the staff holding the ball in situ, and once erect, stood with arms outstretched waiting for the game to st
art. Sean was going to give him the initial push to the second line marked out on the floor where they had to release the ball, allowing the person inside to guide it towards the pins. They’d decided he wouldn’t push too hard in case Alex lost his balance, but sufficient to get momentum and for Alex to propel it forward.
Team B had won the coin toss and went first. Tim let loose a roar as he ran up to the ball and heaved with all his might. Danielle fell onto her knees almost immediately. She scrambled up only to tumble again, and the ball veered to the left. Her team mates yelled excitedly at her and she tried to roll around to make it change direction, but her antics only caused the ball to bounce up and down gently until it finally collided with one outside pin, which knocked into another behind it, and she scored two points.
‘Mistake,’ said Kaisha to Chloe. ‘He should have pushed it more gently.’
Chloe heard her mumble something about kinetic energy but her attention became focused on Sean who rolled their team’s ball forward with curved hand movements, like she and Alex had when rolling the body for their snowman. Alex began scrabbling as if climbing up a mountain quickly. The ball picked up speed but retained a straight line. Alex ran even faster, arms and legs a blur, and as the giant ball bounced and rolled, he maintained his upright position until the second he struck the front pin full on and as he toppled over, so did all the other pins. Jacqueline yelled, ‘Strike!’
Next up were Rob and Jacqueline. She’d opted to go inside the ball and Rob, having watched Sean’s method intently, tried to copy it but under the guidance of his meaty paws, the ball spun off the planned route, and in spite of Jacqueline dropping on her backside and rolling in every direction possible to prevent it from missing the targets, it did just that and ended up in the far corner of the room. Neats, on the other team, fared much better and cries of jubilation came when she scored a strike.
