Cold Bath Lane

by Lorna Dounaeva

  My hiking boots rubbed terribly. They had seemed to fit all right in the shop, but now that I was wearing them, they shredded the backs of my heels with each step. Still, I moved quicker than Dad, who huffed and puffed behind us, like we were taking an expedition up a mountain.

  The cabins were made out of the same dark wood as the trees that surrounded them and it gave them a pleasant smell.

  Alicia was in Buttercup cabin, with a dozen other girls her own age. They all looked up as we entered, and I could see them sizing us up. There were quite a few parents there, too, helping their kids unpack. Dad glanced around at them all, and nodded in satisfaction. He’d decided they looked wealthy enough.

  There were no windows, and very little space for personal effects. Some of the girls had emptied out their cases on their beds, and they now sat in a sea of belongings. No matter how many times they moved things around, they couldn’t find a place for it all.

  I took Alicia’s pyjamas out of her bag and placed them under her pillow, along with her favourite doll, then we packed everything back into the case and stowed it under the bunk.

  “Why are they crying?” Alicia asked, as a couple of the girls clung to their parents.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. We couldn’t wait to get rid of Dad.

  Alicia scratched her arm. “Why are there so many mosquitos?”

  “They like the water,” Dad said.

  “But there are so many of them!”

  “You bet there are. You’re out in the countryside now. There’ll be foxes and badgers and all sorts. I’ll bet there are even wolves.”

  “There aren’t any wolves in England,” a round faced girl told him.

  “There are wolves, all right,” Dad said in a low voice. “The government don’t want you to know.”

  “Come on Dad,” I said, tugging at his arm. “I want to see my cabin now.”

  Hazel Cabin was further up the hill. Dad followed me inside, puffing and panting. He plonked himself down on my bed and waited to get his breath back, sweat running down his face. He looked around at the other women and grinned. I had never been more acutely aware of the redness of his bulbous nose, or the stench of his breath. Silently, I unpacked a few of my things, despising him for the intrusion. I kept my copy of The Gingerbread Man hidden in my suitcase. I didn’t want him to know that I still looked at that book from time to time, when I wanted to feel Mum’s presence.

  A few of the other women said hello and smiled, but Dad repelled conversation like a defensive skunk.

  “Tea is at five,” someone said, a little pointedly. I glanced at Dad and imagined him squeezing himself into the seat next to me at the table, stealing the food off my plate. I imagined Coral’s horrified look as he produced a bottle of gin from his coat and took a big swig to wash it down with, punctuated by a foul-smelling belch.

  “Well, I’d best be off,” he said, standing up.

  It was so unexpected, I didn’t know what to say.

  “Good,” I said, then quickly corrected myself. “I think we can manage now.”

  I tried not to squirm as he plastered a sloppy kiss on my cheek.

  “Have a great summer, Jody Bear. Don’t do nothing I wouldn’t do.”

  I feigned a smile and watched anxiously as he wandered off towards the car park. I could hardly believe he was gone.

  A bit after Dad left, a pretty redhead arrived.

  “Hi,” she said. “I’m Isabel.”

  I glanced around to see who she was talking to and was surprised to realise it was me.

  “Hi,” I mumbled. I didn’t even think to tell her my name.

  I watched as a dark-haired man carried her stuff in for her. I admired his lithe, athletic body as he set her suitcase down by her bed and joked about what she had in it.

  “It’s just the bare necessities,” she said, as she removed half a dozen pairs of shoes and several pairs of shorts. It all looked new, if not designer.

  “You seriously expect to use these?” he said, holding up a pair of hair straighteners. He glanced around the simple cabin. “I mean, do you see any electrical sockets here?”

  Isabel blushed. “Well, you never know,” she said, shoving them back in her bag.

  He didn’t hang around for long after that. I looked away as they said goodbye and he left the cabin.

  “Was that your boyfriend?” I asked, as casually as I could.

  “Oh no, he’s my brother. Half-brother actually. He’s a total pain in the arse.”

  “My brother’s a pain in the arse too,” I told her, changing into some more comfortable shoes. “And so is my sister, for that matter.”

  I left Isabel to unpack and walked towards the food tent. There was a strong smell of onions frying. Alicia was already at the front of the queue with some of the other kids from her cabin. She smiled as Coral served her a burger in a bun, and I was pleased to see her having a good time.

  To the right of me was the car park. I scanned the rows, checking to make sure Dad had really left. As I did so, my eye fell on Isabel’s brother, standing next to a tatty red sports car.

  He didn’t see me at first. He had his head tipped back as he drank Tango straight from the can. He must have been thirsty, the way he chugged it down, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

  He finished his drink and set the can down on the roof of the car for a moment, while he consulted his map. I guessed that he was preparing to drive back home, wherever that was. His hand was on the car door but, just as he was about to get in, he took one last look about, and that was when his eyes met mine. It was a look that suggested he would have liked to get to know me. No, more than that; that he already knew me. That there was already something between us, even though we had only just met.

  I gave up my place in the queue and drifted over to him.

  “Hi,” he said. “I can’t remember if we’ve kissed or not?”

  I tried to be cool, but my facial muscles betrayed me.

  “Hey, I got a smile out of you. What’s your name?”

  “Jody.”

  “I’m Julio. I’ll be back at the weekend. Save me a place by the campfire, won’t you?”

  “Maybe I will.”

  27

  Camp Windylake was a world away from the area I’d grown up in. There were no vehicle noises, no honking of cars or screeching of brakes. I couldn’t be sure it was even the same sky we slept under. Every night, I would sit and watch the moon sink low into the trees. It had to be twice the size of the one we had back home. It was as if someone had turned up the brightness.

  Coral put me in charge of nature walks. I was supposed to lead the kids around the woods and point out birds and insects. Except, I didn’t know the names of most of them. Luckily for me, some of those rich kids knew plenty, so I was able to get them to answer each other’s questions. If I was really stumped, I would consult the nature book Coral had given me.

  “Lovely afternoon,” she called, as I returned from one of my nature walks, that first week.

  “Ain’t it?” I replied.

  Coral beamed. That woman smiled more than anyone I’d ever known. Where I came from, people were cautious with their smiles, but Coral smiled with abandon.

  “Would you do me a favour, dear, and help Isabel clean up the arts and crafts tent?”

  “No probs.”

  I wondered if Isabel really needed help, or if she was too posh to clean up herself. She had that look about her, as if she thought she was better than me. Still, I was happy to help out, since Coral had asked.

  The arts and crafts tent was very messy indeed. The kids had been doing an activity involving clay, and there was brown gunk up every wall of the tent.

  “What happened here?” I asked. “Some kind of explosion?”

  Isabel laughed like this was hysterically funny, then pointed up at the ceiling. “It’s even gone up there. That’s going to be an arse to clean.”

  I grabbed a sponge and started to clean the table.

  �
��Oh, thank you,” she said. “I thought I was going to be here all night.”

  She gave me such a grateful look, that I wondered if I had misjudged her.

  “How about some music?” I switched on the radio and we danced about as we worked. Isabel was naturally graceful, of course. I wondered if she had been to one of those Swiss finishing schools. I could just see her walking about with a book on her head.

  I moved on to the walls while she faffed with the sink.

  “Can I help?”

  I turned to see Alicia standing in the doorway. She looked adorable in her embroidered t-shirt and matching shorts. Her curls tumbled over her shoulders. I’d given up on trying to tame them.

  Isabel looked up and smiled. “What a lovely offer. You could have a go at sweeping the floor, if you like?”

  Alicia found the broom, which was almost as big as her, and pushed it back and forth across the ground sheet. I caught the way she looked at Isabel, like she was some kind of pop star, and my mood soured. What had Isabel done to earn such hero worship, when I had dedicated my life to bringing her up?

  “It will be time for tea in ten,” I reminded her. Coral was obsessed with punctuality, and she liked the kids to sit in the correct places, as if they’d joined the army. She also liked to start the meal by saying Grace. Dad sometimes said Grace too, but his thoughts would run away with themselves and it would turn into a rant more often than not.

  Alicia pulled a face. “I want to stay here,” she said, her bottom lip popping out.

  “I know,” Isabel said. “But you don’t want to get yourself into trouble, do you? Coral will be expecting you.”

  “I wish I could stay in the arts and crafts tent all day. I wish I could sleep in your cabin too.”

  Her infatuation was obvious, but Isabel laughed it off. She was used to having kids fawn over her.

  “Ten minutes,” I warned, ‘then I’ll walk you over.”

  At the campfire that evening, Alicia wangled a place right beside her idol. Still, perhaps Isabel was a good influence. I was amazed to see Alicia joining in with all the singing and dancing. You wouldn’t know she’d had a completely different upbringing from everybody else. The camp life suited her completely.

  When Friday night came, I had butterflies in my stomach as I looked out for Julio.

  Would he still be interested in me, I wondered, now he had had a week to think about it? I had certainly thought about him.

  “Well, good night, everyone,” Coral said, after she had led the staff in evening prayers. I was stunned by the dedication she put into it, as she named each child in turn.

  “And I pray that Harriet will find the strength to try more nourishing foods,” she said of the little girl who refused to eat anything other than bread and chips.

  “And I pray that Clarence will find the will to continue with his oboe lessons. And I pray that Alicia will learn to return the love that is shown to her.…”

  I balked a little at that. Alicia did return the love I gave her, she just had her own way of showing it. Still, I didn’t dwell on it. Coral had moved on to the good night song, and everyone was singing along. I mouthed the words, uncertain of what I was supposed to do. There were actions, too, but I couldn’t keep up.

  “That’s right, scatter the love,” Coral called, and everyone waved their fingers about, as if love could be sprinkled to the wind. After the love had been sprinkled, Coral and Irvine went off to bed, as they did every night, like clockwork. I watched them walk up the road to their private cottage and heaved a sigh of relief. I still felt a depth of gratitude to the couple, but they were really, really straight-laced and we were, after all, a group of young people looking to unwind.

  That particular night, Isabel invited me to share a bottle of Lambrusco with her and her mate, Kate. Neither of them drank nearly as fast as me and I had trouble pacing myself, so we got through it in no time. When the bottle was gone, I felt restless. There was nowhere to get any more alcohol that day. You’d have to go into town for that. I thought about doing just that, but I really wanted to see Julio.

  “Where is Julio, anyway?” asked Kate. She sounded dead casual, but I thought I caught a look, and wondered if she was a rival for his affections. Which was a shame because I quite liked her. She wasn’t as pretty as Isabel. More of a take-me-as-you-find-me kind of girl. She was easy-going and non-judgmental. I’m sure she noticed how much drink I put away, but all she did was put a friendly arm around me and say how nice it was to have time to chill.

  “How should I know?” said Isabel, lighting a fag. “I’m not his keeper.”

  I glanced at my watch and my heart deflated. It was a quarter to midnight. Most of the staff were heading back to their cabins. I had to face it. Julio had stood me up.

  “He’ll probably come tomorrow,” Isabel said, as if it didn’t matter. But it did matter, to me at least.

  I kept myself busy with the kids, all day Saturday, but I thought about him constantly. If he didn’t come today, I really thought I might die. That evening, I put on the best of my new clothes. There wasn’t much I could do about my hair, but I helped myself to Isabel’s expensive makeup. It did wonders for my skin, covering the pockmarks of my teenage acne. I added a hint of rouge to brighten up my cheeks and apricot lip gloss to moisten my lips. As a finishing touch, I dabbed on a little of Kate’s perfume. I didn’t want to smell like his sister, after all.

  Alicia looked at me funny as I met her outside her cabin.

  “You look fancy.”

  “Thanks. I’m trying out a new look.”

  “Hmm…”

  Alicia might have been ten, but she wasn’t daft.

  “Jody, I want to thank you for all your hard work today,” Coral said, as she did the rounds before bed.

  I looked down at my feet. “You’re welcome.”

  She looked me over, her keen eye taking in my altered appearance.

  “You look well. I think the fresh air is doing you good.”

  “Got to be better than that London muck.”

  “I think it’s more than that. I think you look happier, if I’m not much mistaken. More relaxed.”

  I smiled in spite of myself.

  “You know what? I think you’re right.”

  Julio didn’t arrive until half past ten.

  “Where did you get to?” Isabel asked, as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

  I couldn’t imagine Sam kissing me like that. It would gross us both out.

  “Had a problem with the car. Hope you didn’t party too hard without me?”

  I think this last question was addressed to me, but nobody else noticed.

  “We did alright,” Isabel said. “It’s a shame you got here so late – I wanted to show you the arts and crafts tent.”

  “Another time.”

  He was still looking at me as he sat down next to Isabel. I wished I could sit on the other side of him, but Sebastian grabbed the seat before I could. The blokes seemed to like him as much as the girls did. He had a certain cool about him, I suppose. He was the kind of person everyone was drawn to.

  I watched as he chatted with Isabel and Sebastian, but after a while, he got up. My heart swelled as he walked over to me. He saw something in me that no one else did.

  Yes! Yes, I am special. It’s just that no one’s noticed before.

  “Got a light?” he asked, leaning right up close, so he was almost nuzzling my hair.

  I knew that was a line. Isabel smoked like a chimney. She was never without her lighter.

  “Here.”

  I held out my lighter and he produced a spliff. It wasn’t anything new to me. I had smoked a fair bit of weed in my time.

  Julio squeezed himself into the seat next to me. I’d have sworn there wasn’t room for anyone to sit there, but he managed to wriggle his way in. I breathed him in. His aftershave was peppery and exotic.

  “So, Jody, where are you from?”

  “London, born and bred. What about you?”

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nbsp; “I’m from here and there. My mum’s from Andalucía, so I visit her when I can.”

  “That must be hot.”

  “Too hot for me. I usually spend my summers with Dad and Isabel at the beach.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  I thought his life sounded like one big holiday.

  “So, you like working here?”

  “Yes, I do. They’re good kids.”

  It was true. I liked the way the posh kids looked up to me. They were all so well brought up, so well mannered. It felt good to be treated with respect.

  I was very aware of his body, sitting in such close proximity, and the warmth of his skin sent electric shocks through me. The other people sitting around the campfire blurred together and there was just us. I was getting a taste of what Coral and Irvine had, and I liked it.

  Julio insisted on walking me back to my cabin, holding my hand all the way. We stopped just outside, after all the other girls had gone in.

  “I’ll see you again next weekend,” he said, “If that’s OK?”

  “Of course it’s OK.”

  I tilted my head up to look at him, and he leaned in. I tasted him even before our lips met. He left the softest kiss on my lips, then he looked deep into my eyes. He was short, like me, our bodies beautifully matched. I couldn’t help thinking Mum had sent him down to me. He was the boyfriend she would have liked me to have. My heart sang as I slipped past the other sleeping bodies to climb into my bed. I couldn’t believe my good luck.

  The next morning, I wondered if it had been a dream, but I could still taste him on my lips. I didn’t feel like the same old Jody anymore. I mean, I had the same memories and the same problems, but my burden had become easier to bear. I stood a little taller and there was a wiggle to my walk. I felt like I had come alive.

  I was the happiest I had ever been, but I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the week until I saw him again. I hung around with Isabel and kept looking for subtle ways to get more information about him. What music did he like? Had he had other girlfriends before me? It was impossible to keep my mind on what I was doing, and I would break off in mid sentence and forget what I had been saying.