Fallen down gutter on the boathouse cottage. Can’t see anything else though.
Good, get back in here, I don’t like you being out there.
I’m fine. I’m going to come back in, have a shower and go down to the Orangery.
Twenty minutes later they were both ready to go and closed the door of the Boat House - Ben rugged up in a huge ski jacket, boots and a beanie and Sallie a big scarf over her coat and thick padded gloves. It was slippery as they walked down towards the laneway.
‘You shouldn't have gone down there on your own in this.’ He pointed up to the clouds and to the weather.
‘I’m fine, Ben. It’s all calm now - I can’t believe that a few hours ago it was storming as much as it was. Look at it all now, just so beautiful. I’m in my element. I hope it comes back for the weddings.’ She sighed contentedly and looked at the snow covering everything.
‘I’ll get that gutter sorted out later. We don’t want that broken if it starts raining,’ Ben said as they walked along in the snow.
‘Okay, hopefully the Orangery is intact and then we’re all good.’
He looked over towards his house as they walked past, and the seaplanes bobbing around down at the end of the jetty.
‘We were lucky, let’s hope everyone else is too. The last storm was bad; a huge old tree fell into Scotty’s house and it was a nightmare with the insurance. Will’s place took a hammering too - blew one complete side of one of his residences off.’ Ben’s friend Will had a string of retirement homes, mostly all old country manors, his nearest one to Pretty Beach being about twenty minutes inland.
They trudged along the middle of the laneway now devoid of any cars, blanketed in white with barely a soul around. All the little pastel shops of Pretty Beach looked as if someone had sprinkled white powder all over them from above. Outside White Cottage Flowers one of Felicity’s staff in hat and gloves cleared snow from the rungs of the vintage ladder used to display their pots, and outside the curry house Ali was sweeping snow from the doorway with a broom.
‘Speaking of Will, have you heard anything about him and Juliette?’ Sallie asked.
‘Only that he bumped into her in the pub in Newport when she was in there after work one evening with some other midwives.’
‘What? She kept that quiet!’
‘I reckon he likes her; I’ve known him since I was five. Christ, he’s been through some women, but Juliette could give him a run for his money.’
‘Yeah, I make you right Mr Chalmers. No flies on her. Her ex-husband though, the politician, sounds like a real piece of work.’
They continued walking up through the laneway. There was a bit of damage here and there but overall it seemed that most of the businesses had survived without much damage.
They walked past the fisherman’s cottages and down towards the Orangery, turned right down the tiny lane that ran alongside it, and opened up the double gates onto the courtyard. A couple of the outdoor chairs had blown over, snow-laden branches were perilously close to the top of the dome and one of the vines growing along the outside had fallen down but there seemed to be no signs of damage as they went to walk in.
Ben moved some snow out of the way with his foot at the base of the door, and Sallie took out the keys and turned the lock. They walked in and looked around. Everything was intact except a few of the panes at the very top and a whole panel of one of the windows on the side which had a large crack running all the way through it.
‘Thankfully that seems to be all. Easy enough to sort that out. I’ll see when’s the earliest they’ll be able to come and replace it,’ Ben said and started searching through his phone for the number of Pretty Beach Glass.
Sallie strolled around, peering at everything.
‘Yeah, that’s good, I was bracing myself for a lot more than that and a lot more money to be spent to fix it all.’
Ben phoned through to Pretty Beach Glass and they walked back out of the Orangery, down through the yard and opened the gate to the first of the cottages. As they were looking up at the guttering they heard a voice call out.
‘Hello, any damage?’ Suntanned Pete was walking past the gates and had glanced in to see what was going on.
‘Nothing much really, just a few panes in here, a gutter at the other place. How about you?’
‘Crikey, it was a bit mad! The water came right up and into the reception, and hit the sandbags. First time I’ve seen it like that since I was in my twenties. Thankfully I was well prepared. Always likely to flood down that part of Pretty Beach and I’ve seen it before so I’m alright. I’ve cleaned up what I can already - just need this all to clear up and it to dry out.’ He pointed up at the clouds.
‘Sounds scary,’ Sallie replied, hoping that it didn’t clear up and wanting more snow.
‘Been through it before, and I guess it won’t be the last time Pretty Beach sees a storm.’
Ben and Pete laughed and Sallie shoved her freezing cold hands in her pockets and stamped her feet on the ground to keep warm.
‘I was just on my way to check on Nina and the little miss; she’s had that terrible wheeze and I thought I would see if they needed anything,’ Pete said as he went to carry on.
‘I took some milk in last night and told her she needs to get that cough looked at,’ Sallie replied, shaking her head from side to side.
Pete held up his hand and started to walk away. ‘I’ll tell her again too - not that she’ll take much notice of me though,’ he said and walked off down towards Nina’s place.
Sallie watched him go and thought about how when she had first arrived in Pretty Beach and stayed at Seashells Cottages she’d not been sure about Pete. She’d felt then that there was something not quite right about him, but since Nina had moved down to Pretty Beach too and she and Pete had become friendly, Sallie had realised that maybe she had been wrong.
Chapter 7
Sallie and Ben walked along the white covered pavement and strolled past the rows of beach houses now all gloriously adorned with an abundance of snow. Smoke rose from the chimney pots and lights glowed cosily from inside the houses.
‘Come in!’ Jessica opened the door and ushered Ben and Sallie in. They took off their boots by the front door and hung their coats up near the radiator.
‘Brrr, it’s chilly out there!’ Icy air came through the door and Jessica quickly shut it and led them into the main room. A roaring fire lit up the room, and the scent of mulled wine bubbling away on the hob and something delicious in the oven hit their nostrils.
Nina was sitting on the sofa by the fire, her legs tucked up under her. David sat on the other side with his friend Guy and a large plate of antipasti on the coffee table in front of them. Camilla was pulling something out of the oven, pottering around in the kitchen behind the three-metre-long island, with a glass of wine and getting things ready for the dinner.
‘Hope you’re hungry, Ben, Camilla’s done enough food to feed an army,’ Jessica said.
‘Ravenous, this weather seems to make me hungry all the time.’
‘You’re always hungry all the time.’ Sallie exclaimed from her seat next to Nina.
‘True. I am actually, so what’s on the menu?’ Ben asked.
‘Slow cooked chicken in white wine and mashed potato and baked cheesecake - nice, warming comfort food.’ Camilla revealed from the kitchen.
‘Sounds perfect to me,’ Ben said and took his glass of wine from the counter, sitting back down on the sofa next to Sallie.
‘So, when’s the big day then?’ Ben turned to Nina and asked. ‘Have we set a date yet?’
Nina had been planning Ottilie’s naming ceremony and after seeing the success of the last wedding in the marquee, she had decided that rather than wait all the way until the warmer weather, she would embrace a Winter theme. Sallie had chimed in and said it would be perfect to hold it in the Orangery.
They’d discussed it and the more they’d thought about it, the more Nina had loved the idea of a Christmas/W
inter themed naming ceremony for Ottilie. So, they’d drawn up a short, exclusive guest list of about fifty people, planned a very simple menu and had worked out the time to fit it around Tillie’s sleeps so that she would be happy for the whole thing.
‘In about a couple of months' time as long as that suits the Orangery. There’s not actually a lot of planning really. I’ve no family to invite, what with mum’s situation, just close friends and we’ll probably go with the afternoon tea idea so there’s not much organising at all,’ Nina replied, swirling her mulled wine round in the little goblet.
‘You’re joking, aren’t you? There’s always organising with you Nina - you’ll have a spreadsheet, a work plan and a run sheet if I know you.’ Sallie laughed and slapped Nina gently on the leg.
‘Hmm, the new me is more go with the flow, more relaxed,’ Nina said, chuckling and then coughing.
‘I’ll believe that when I see it!’ Sallie took a sip of her wine and held out her hands towards the fire and looked out the doors onto the snow-covered swimming pool.
‘I love this weather. Let’s hope it snows for the naming day too - can you imagine how pretty the Orangery will look? It’ll be lovely if it’s all toasty and warm inside with mulled wine and freezing outside.’
‘You really do love snow, don’t you Sallie?’ Nina replied.
‘Yes, I really, really, do.’
Sallie gazed out of the window and thought about the naming ceremony. She loved being part of Nina’s new journey with Tillie - Nina having a baby and becoming a parent had done two things for Sallie. Firstly, it had made her see the joy of being a parent firsthand and how it had changed Nina for the better. Secondly, it had made her realise that the want she’d had buried deep down inside for so very long and had strived to ignore, was still very much alive and kicking.
Chapter 8
Sallie had finished up planning menus with the caterer and had left work early to go to the hairdressers. Since the first meeting courtesy of Holly with the team of hair and beauty experts before the date with Ben, when she had been primped and polished, she’d made a vow to herself to look after herself more. She couldn’t be doing with the whole ‘me-time’ thing, but now she had a decent income she had committed to going to the hairdressers every couple of months - it was a whole lot easier than fiddling with a box dye in the bathroom.
She’d loved what Kim had done to her hair before, adding honey highlights of blonde and caramel to the supermarket dye and Sallie had warmed to Kim right away - Kim hadn’t looked down her nose at what was going on with Sallie’s hair, but rather got on with the job in hand and was only concerned about Sallie being happy with the result and Sallie loved that attitude.
Sallie pushed open the door to Ivory Hair and was greeted by the scent of a strong lemon-scented candle, a huge display of flowers and a small, vacant-looking receptionist who smiled at Sallie, looked at the computer and clicked a few things and led her to a seat at the far end of the salon.
‘Kim’ll be with you soon,’ said the vacant-looking receptionist, pulling out a chair. Sallie sat down and put her bag under the mirror.
The salon was as it had been every time she had been there - every station was taken, but the way it had been designed meant it was still quiet and calm and instead of the trendy music in other salons she’d been to in the past, Kim’s place had a playlist playing softly in the background. Flowers stood on all the counters and essential oils wafted from carefully placed diffusers. Sallie sat back in the chair and almost hoped that Kim was delayed. The atmosphere was so tranquil and calm she could almost have a little nap.
Kim appeared from the back, her cheeks flushed with bronze, a slash of coral on her lips, her eyes bright and cheerful.
‘How are you? It seems like only yesterday you were last here and not that long ago I was at your place... before all the excitement, weddings, births...’
‘I know time is flying by.’ Sallie sat forward as Kim pulled the black gown around her neck and did it up at the back.
‘Talking of births, how’s Nina? I haven’t seen her for a while, I think she comes in on my day off,’ Kim asked.
‘She’s good. Though she’s been a bit on and off with a bad wheezy cough - turns out it’s asthma. She went to the doctor recently and that was the diagnosis.’
‘Oh dear, that’s not good. My cousin had adult-onset asthma - it’s really nasty. She ended up in hospital a couple of times with it in the end.’ Kim was clearly concerned.
‘Funny you should say that, you're not the first person I’ve heard that from. I’ve tried to tell her to slow down a bit, you know what she’s like. At least she’s been to the doctor now though, and knows what it is.’
‘Yeah, you have to be careful, everyone thinks asthma just means one of those puffers, but it’s quite serious, you can get very ill with it.’ Kim picked up a piece of Sallie’s hair and gazed down at the colour.
‘Same as usual, or are we going for something a bit more dramatic this time? Maybe a pink?’ She laughed.
Sallie looked back alarmed, ‘No pink hair for me Kim, caramel slices are the closest I get to experimenting.’
‘What about the Christening, oops I mean naming ceremony, has Nina set a date yet? The last time she was in she said she was starting to organize it and it would be in the Orangery, is that still the plan?’
‘Yep, all being planned. She decided to go for it rather than wait until the warmer weather, we’re going with a festive scene, lots of cosy throws, pretty lights and mulled wine. I've started to pray for continued snow.’
Chapter 9
Sallie sat on the train with Holly and Xian as it sped along through the countryside, and made its way to the city.
Holly had her phone on her lap, the notes app open and was making a list of exactly what she wanted to buy. Xian had her tablet propped up on the table, a chocolate muffin beside it on top of a paper bag. Xian stared at the tablet, occasionally swiping up as she looked at share prices. Sallie sitting beside her glanced over to the tablet and a sea of figures and numbers.
‘I don’t know how you understand all that Xian,’ Sallie said, leaning over and peering at the screen.
‘Me either,’ Holly said.
‘It looks like a jumble of numbers to me,’ Sallie said and laughed.
Xian took a small flask out of her handbag, poured some of her special drink into the cup and took a large swig, ‘You get used to it. I started dabbling with a few pounds and it’s now grown.’
‘That’s an understatement if ever I’ve heard one,’ Holly replied.
Xian took another sip of her special drink, tutted at Holly and sat back in her chair.
‘Anyway, enough of those boring old numbers. What are we going to buy today? I can’t believe it’s been a year since our last Christmas expedition into the big smoke for goodies,’ Holly asked them.
Holly and Xian had been going into the city once the Christmas stock had started to arrive in the shops for as long as they could remember. Each week they made a day of visiting one of the city’s best department stores, coupled it with an afternoon tea and followed on afterwards with looking at the Christmas lights. Today it was their trip to the fancy shop in Piccadilly and Sallie had eagerly joined them. She had looked online and had her eye on a Christmas hamper, a caddy of speciality tea and the special handmade English chocolates they’d had after the wedding in the cathedral.
All three of them got off the train, and made their way over to Piccadilly, strolling along, arm in arm, Xian looking up at the beautiful old buildings and pointing out what she loved the most.
As they walked along in the cold air Holly started to reminisce about the past and what their life had been like when they’d first arrived in the country. They’d laughed together when Xian said how excited they’d been the first Christmas getting on the bus in Pretty Beach early in the morning and arriving in the city hours later.
With barely enough money for the bus fare they’d walked everywhere in thos
e days and could only afford to window shop. Without any money for food they’d brought little flasks full of noodles with them and Xian’s special drinks and at lunchtime had sat on a bench in Regent’s Park watching the world go by.
These days they’d moved on from the bus and the packed lunches and sped into town on the new train, enjoyed afternoon tea in the best establishments, and arrived back in Pretty Beach laden down with turquoise shopping bags and every year a new, extremely expensive bauble for their tree.
They all approached the old building and stood on the other side of the road gawping up at the ornate turquoise facade, the throngs of shoppers weaving in and out with turquoise bags and peered over at the beautifully dressed windows.
‘Right, come on team. Let’s go shopping,’ Holly commanded as the lights changed and the little green man started flashing for them to cross the road.
They walked into the store through the beautifully crafted front doors, and wandered in and out of the huge departments. Sallie watched as Xian popped Vietnamese peppers in her basket and Holly piled Christmas cookies into hers.
Sallie looked around in amazement, fascinated by the other women whose lives clearly facilitated that this was their local place to shop. She watched well-dressed city men lingering over jars of jam and trailed along beside Holly and Xian gazing up at the massive chandeliers twinkling above their heads.
They slowly meandered from one room to the next, weaving in and out of the displays and people, until they got to the hampers. Sallie stopped dead in her tracks, and walked up to the massive pile of hampers in all different shapes and sizes.
‘What one are you going to get?’ Holly asked as Sallie moved around the display peering into hampers and touching the wicker, opening lids and looking inside.
‘Ahh, I’m not buying one,’ Sallie responded.
‘I thought you said you loved them? Have you already got one like this then?’ Xian asked, whipping out her hip flask with her special drink and taking a nip.
Winter at Pretty Beach Page 3
