‘Ruby? Is everything all right?’ asked Curtis with a yawn.
She looked him up and down. ‘You’re not dressed.’ She was beyond surprised.
‘No, I was late to bed. You see I was busy with something …’
‘Oh, crap.’ Ruby lowered her voice. ‘Is she still here?’
‘Who?’
‘The woman you were getting busy with.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Curtis scrunched his eyes up and then pinged them wide as if trying to wake himself up. ‘You’d better come in.’
‘Great.’ She followed him in and shut the door. ‘Why the lie-in?’
‘I didn’t get to bed until the early hours because, like we agreed, I am taking today off so there were a few things I wanted to get done.’
‘Okay. Great. I’ll wait while you get showered and changed.’ She waved her hands in the direction of the bedroom to encourage him to hurry up.
Curtis ran his hands over his face. ‘I’m sorry but I’m rather confused as to why you’re here.’ Both his cheeks twitched at the same time.
‘For our day out.’ She resisted the urge to do a ta-dah.
‘Day out?’ Curtis puffed his cheeks. ‘No, sorry you’ll need to explain further.’
‘We arranged it. I said you needed a day off to recharge your batteries and I promised you that you’d have fun.’
Curtis took a step back. ‘Then I’m afraid there has been a grave misunderstanding. I thought having a day off meant not working not … not … whatever you have planned.’
‘Curtis, relax. It’ll be fun. I promise. Now be quick or we’ll miss the best bits.’
‘Right.’ He hesitated before disappearing into the bedroom but was back a nanosecond later. ‘What should I wear?’
‘Do you have anything here other than a suit?’
‘Only my gym kit.’
‘Perfect. Now go.’ And she shooed him back into the bedroom. ‘And bring your swimming shorts too.’
The early June sunshine was warming things up when Curtis appeared at the car, his hair wet from the shower, wearing a plain white T-shirt, black shorts and carrying a rolled-up towel. ‘Are we going swimming?’ he asked.
‘All will be revealed. Hop in.’
Curtis did up his seatbelt and stared ahead. He looked apprehensive and on red alert. Ruby had been keen not to give anything away but she didn’t like the tense vibe he was emitting and she wanted him to enjoy the day.
‘Curtis, please relax. Today is all about you having fun. There’s nothing to worry about. Trust me,’ she said.
Curtis nodded slowly. ‘Okay,’ he said, but as soon as she set off, he gripped the seat. She quickly glanced across – his teeth were clenched and he kept flinching.
‘There’s no rush, is there?’ He shot a look at her speedometer and sighed at its reading, then gave a dramatically sharp intake of breath.
‘What?’ snapped Ruby, scanning the road for a hazard she’d surely missed.
‘I didn’t put the please clean my room sign on the door.’
‘Bloody hell, Curtis! I thought I’d hit something.’
To try to divert his attention from her driving, she suggested a game.
‘I don’t think you should be distracted from driving,’ he said.
‘It’s going to take us about an hour and a half to get to where we’re going.’ She glanced over and saw the fear in his eyes and knew a game was definitely the right thing. ‘Let’s play Shag, Marry, Push off a cliff.’
‘What now?’ His voice rose in alarm.
Ruby snorted out a laugh. He was funny. ‘You know. The one where you pick three people and the other person has to say whether they would shag, marry or push them off a cliff.’
Curtis chewed his lip. ‘Why would I want to push anyone off a cliff?’
‘Curtis. It’s not real. It’s a game. Lighten up. I’ll go first.’ She had a brief think before deciding on her three that she felt were fairly straightforward. ‘Okay. Anne Hathaway—’
‘Shakespeare’s wife?’
‘No, the actress.’ Curtis’s jaw tightened, but she continued. ‘So, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Obama and Demi Lovato.’
‘Who is Demi Lovato?’
It was going to be a long journey.
Ruby parked the car. Curtis let go of the seat and flexed his knuckles until the colour started to return. They’d had a good if somewhat quiet trip with very few hold-ups and they found a parking space not far from the beach.
‘Welcome to Cleethorpes!’ announced Ruby, splaying her arms and almost whacking Curtis in the face.
‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ he said. She wasn’t sure if he meant Cleethorpes or the near smack in the face.
Ruby got out of the car. ‘Curtis, you are going to have fun today even if it kills me.’
‘I do appreciate what you are trying to achieve. And I promise I will embrace my day at the beach.’ He held his towel aloft and smiled at her.
‘You can leave your swim stuff. We won’t need that until later.’ Curtis returned his rolled-up towel to the footwell like a child being asked to leave their toy behind. ‘First up, it’s the fun fair,’ she said, locking the car with a flourish. Curtis’s smile slid away.
Fifteen minutes later they were choosing rides. There was actually a point where Ruby thought he was going to vomit and that was just in the queue while they were watching the ride spin above them. His face was the same colour as his T-shirt.
They climbed into their seats and she could hear Curtis sucking in deep breaths. She started to feel a bit guilty that she was stressing him out. ‘You can bail out. I don’t want today to be traumatic.’
‘No. I read a book called Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway and this is a good opportunity to put that theory to the test.’ Curtis gripped the safety bar.
‘Can I give you some advice?’
‘Yes, please do. Unless it is make sure your will is up to date because, thankfully, I’ve already done that.’ Curtis flinched as a kiddies’ coaster whizzed by behind him.
‘Curtis, you’re not going to die. I promise you. That’s exactly what you have to remember. That’s kind of the whole point of fun fair rides and roller coasters. You think you’re going to die, but you’re not. You’re quite safe. Relax and enjoy being scared.’
Curtis was mouthing the words ‘enjoy being scared’ when there was a jolt and the ride started to move. They were in a small cage for two people on the end of a long arm. Both the arm and the cage rotated whilst the whole thing was turning like an errant Ferris wheel.
Ruby threw her hands above her head and screamed. Curtis clutched the safety bar and screamed – a very different sort of scream. ‘You’re safe!’ she shouted at him. ‘Let go!’
He held on tight. Ruby thumped his fingers and he instantly let go. She started to laugh and after a brief pause Curtis did too. Every time they twirled, he squealed and it made them both laugh more.
When the ride ended Ruby had a stitch from laughing so hard. She had to help Curtis off as his legs had gone to jelly. ‘Okay, something less manic now,’ she said, leading him to the dodgems.
‘You should be good at this,’ said Curtis.
He spent the whole time trying to avoid people whilst Ruby happily careered into as many others as she could. But it was good to see him laughing. After the dodgems they had a go at throwing beanbags at cans where Ruby won a garish pink teddy bear and gave it to Curtis. They went back to the car and collected some things from the boot and headed down to the beach.
The sun was shining – it was the perfect sunny June day. Great swathes of golden sand stretched in both directions but Ruby knew where she wanted to set up camp. It was where she and her mum had been going as far back as she could remember. There was a wide stretch of beach near the leisure centre and whilst there were people there, it wasn’t heaving. They found a good spot and settled themselves. Ruby had brought two picnic rugs, which she laid out and weighed down with stones. She flopped onto one
of them, opened up the cool box and handed Curtis a beer.
‘Ham or cheese and pickle?’ She waved two foil-wrapped packages at him.
‘Cheese and pickle, please.’
They sat and ate whilst they watched the water gently lap the sand. Children ran to the edge, dipped a toe in, screamed and then retreated. Parents smothered their children in sun block until they looked paler than Curtis had on the fun fair ride. Ruby handed him some sun cream, then pulled off her T-shirt to reveal a red bikini underneath. ‘Can you do my back please?’
There was a brief pause from Curtis. ‘Of course.’
She rolled over and he very gently rubbed the cream across her shoulders.
‘Thanks. Shall I do you?’ she asked.
‘No thank you. I’m keeping my top on.’
‘You’ll get those weird T-shirt tan lines,’ she warned.
‘I think I can live with that.’ He proceeded to cover any exposed flesh with sun cream.
‘Right. Cricket!’ Ruby jumped up, produced wickets, and a bat and a ball from her bag and handed the children’s sized bat to Curtis who regarded it with interest.
‘Cricket?’ He was grinning.
‘Beach cricket,’ she said and she stuck her tongue out. Ruby marked out a pitch in the sand and Curtis disputed its size. ‘Right, let’s get a few people involved.’ Ruby soon rounded up a couple of families and before long they had a full-scale cricket match on their hands. One of the dads was taking it all a bit too seriously and wouldn’t let the kids have a go until he was out and that was proving hard to do.
‘Throw me the ball,’ said Curtis. ‘I’ll bowl.’
Ruby had her reservations, Curtis didn’t strike her as the sporty type, but it wasn’t a real cricket ball so he couldn’t do too much damage. He eyed up the batsman who swung the bat around a bit in preparation for whacking it into the sea again. Curtis took a few strides up the beach, turned and then ran and bowled with a perfectly straight arm. The wickets almost jumped out of the sand as the ball hit them straight on. The kids all rejoiced and the dad walked off scratching his head.
‘You can bowl!’ said Ruby, unable to hide her surprise.
‘Harry taught me. He came to every cricket match I ever played in.’
Ruby wanted to hug him but instead she settled for a slap on the back. Curtis really got into it and was terrific at helping the kids to beat the adults; only a few times did she have to step in over boundary disputes. Everyone had fun together but especially her and Curtis. He seemed to relax into the familiarity of a game he clearly loved. He even copied her little dance when he hit a six – but only until Ruby put her hands on her hips and gave him a look.
Cricket over, they returned to their rugs and after a lot of persuading Curtis changed into his swim shorts whilst lying under a towel. He tiptoed his way into the sea as far as his ankles. Ruby took a few steps back and then ran into the water, sending spray in every direction. Including all over Curtis.
‘Whoa!’ he yelled, trying and failing to avoid the icy droplets.
Ruby dived under the surface, re-emerged and waved at Curtis to join her.
‘Don’t splash,’ he said, his voice going all school-teachery.
‘Is that a dare?’
‘It’s a request. Please.’
‘You’ve got three seconds before I splash. Three …’
‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Two … One!’ But before she could start Curtis had dived under the water. He popped up a few feet away and she had to swim to reach him. He powered away from her and she gave chase. After a couple of minutes he stopped swimming, turned onto his back and kicked his feet, frantically splashing Ruby’s face.
‘It’s all right once you’re in, isn’t it?’ said Ruby.
‘It’s my first time in the sea.’
‘No way!’
‘I remember paddling once but I wasn’t keen. I used to sit and read.’
‘But you can swim.’
‘Lessons at the swimming pool,’ he explained.
‘How posh,’ said Ruby. ‘My mum taught me to swim here.’ She looked back to the shore and could almost see her mother waving and clapping with pride at her first doggy paddle.
‘Race you to the breakwater,’ he said and he was off before she could reply.
They dried out on the beach until Ruby produced the buckets and spades. Curtis eyed them warily. ‘I am not four,’ he said.
‘No, but do you remember being four and how much fun building sandcastles was?’
His lips lifted at the corners briefly. ‘Perhaps. But I’m an adult now.’
‘Do you know anyone here, apart from me?’
Curtis scanned the beach. ‘No.’
‘Then what’s the problem?’ She thrust a bucket at him before he had a chance to object. ‘Get digging.’
Curtis proved to be an enthusiastic if somewhat picky sandcastle builder. After a lot of adjustments, they stood back to admire their handiwork. A large central mound of sand with four resplendent turrets was encircled by a moat with a painstakingly built bridge.
‘Good job, Curtis. Now you get to jump on it.’
Curtis looked horrified. ‘I couldn’t.’
‘That’s the best bit.’ She grabbed his hand. ‘One, two, three!’ And they both jumped.
After a bit more paddling and people-watching, Ruby declared they had a train to catch. They packed up their things and wandered back up the promenade.
‘But we came by car,’ Curtis pointed out.
‘Ahh, you’ll see,’ said Ruby with a wink. She wasn’t sure why she winked. It wasn’t usually something she did. It was, however, something her mother had used to do. She remembered seeing her mum wink and feeling a little flurry of excitement that something good was coming. Curtis didn’t appear to be reacting the same way she used to do. Although he didn’t look quite as terrified as he had earlier in the day, which was progress.
‘Quick,’ said Ruby, breaking into a jog.
They came to a halt by a small white land train ornately decorated and almost full of people. ‘This is the lollipop train,’ said Ruby. She paid the driver and hopped on board, making space for Curtis.
The driver came around and handed each of the children a lollipop. ‘Ahh,’ said Curtis.
‘Ta-dah!’ said Ruby, pulling two lollipops from her bag.
They sucked their lollipops and watched the Cleethorpes seafront go by as the train pootled along, showing them the sights of Cleethorpes beach including donkey rides and the garden, eventually coming to a stop near the pier and the car park. They dumped their beach stuff and Curtis went to get in the car, his lollipop stick sticking out of the corner of his mouth.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ asked Ruby.
‘Home?’
‘Nope. Still loads to do. Come on.’ She linked her arm through his and they walked back towards the pier and then a little further on until they reached the crazy golf.
‘I had better warn you that I am a reigning champion,’ said Ruby, handing him his putter and blue golf ball.
‘Then you can show me what to do.’ He gave her a warm smile. At last it seemed Curtis was relaxed.
They giggled their way around the course, tackling pirate ships, tunnels and castles until they reached the last hole. Ruby totted up their scores. ‘I won by one point!’
‘I demand a recount,’ he said, making a grab for the scorecard and missing.
After a brief tussle she handed it over. He scanned the numbers. ‘It’s a draw,’ he said, breaking into a grin.
They had a friendly discussion as they walked to the pier. Cleethorpes pier was shorter than most after the council dismantled a great chunk of it during World War Two, fearing the Germans would use it should there be an invasion. It might not have been as impressive as the likes of Cromer or Brighton but it held a special place in Ruby’s heart. It was where they had scattered her mum’s ashes. But she had lots of happy memories too. She remembered sitting on the pie
r and eating ice creams and the many times she’d tried and failed to catch a crab with a crab line and a piece of bacon rind.
‘Are you okay? asked Curtis, touching her arm.
‘I just zoned out. I’m fine.’ She’d been dreading coming back to Cleethorpes but with Curtis to focus on she’d surprised herself and enjoyed it.
‘What now?’ asked Curtis.
‘I present to you the country’s largest fish and chip shop,’ said Ruby, throwing out her arms and gesturing to the enormous restaurant taking up the lion’s share of the pier.
‘Let me pay for these.’
‘Nope. Today is on me,’ said Ruby, joining the queue.
They made their choices, paid and collected the orders. Clutching the warm packages, they walked until they found a bench and sat down to eat their food out of the wrappers with a wooden fork – just as you should at the seaside.
‘Why do fish and chips always taste better at the seaside?’ mused Ruby.
‘I don’t know,’ said Curtis. ‘I do know they taste better with you.’ It caught her off-guard and she wasn’t sure how to respond. Thankfully a large gull swooped down and snatched the chip Curtis had poised on his fork and the comment was forgotten.
Chapter Nineteen
Kim was quite pleased with how her hair had turned out. It had been coloured and now she’d put it up in a messy bun and it looked quite good. Sort of sophisticated but not too fancy. After much teeth grinding she’d settled on a black and white patterned shirt over a vest top and black trousers, which she hoped was smart casual. She reminded herself again that it wasn’t a date before adding an extra coat of mascara and redoing her lipstick. She checked herself in the mirror – she looked good. She pledged to make the effort more often – not for anyone else but for herself, because looking good made her feel good too. Recently the menopause had been getting her down and this was just the thing to give her a bit of a boost.
Adrian arrived on time, said lots of nice things about how she looked and had brought some sweets for the performance. He was keen to point out he was happy to pay cinema prices for drinks but drew the line at chocolate that he could get for a third of the price at the supermarket. She agreed – she hated being ripped off.
The Promise of Summer Page 15
