by Holly Martin
‘That’s one of the things I’m known for: rich settings and detailed locations.’
Amy fixed her with a look.
‘George is not remotely interested in me in that way,’ Libby said, suddenly feeling like she was protesting too much.
‘How do you know?’
‘Because I’m just his friend, he just sees me as one of the boys.’
Amy took a sip of her wine, eyeing Libby thoughtfully. ‘So, he practises on you and goes out with this Gazelle woman…’
‘Giselle, Amy, she’s not a deer.’
‘And where does that leave you two? The movie nights you two have, the long walks on the beach… You’re practically a couple anyway minus the sex and the kissing.’
‘I’d be happy for him. Giselle is lovely and I think she would be really good for him.’
‘You wouldn’t be jealous?’
Libby shook her head.
Amy gave her a doubtful look and Libby glanced over at George, ignoring the feeling of unease this thought suddenly gave her.
* * *
George watched Libby talking to Amy and smiled. It was beyond stupid to get excited about dating, Libby because it wasn’t even real and she was leaving in two weeks, but he couldn’t stop the giddiness from bubbling through him.
‘Are you shuffling those cards or just giving them a hug?’ Matt asked.
George quickly returned his attention back to the table. Every Sunday night was poker night for George. He, Big Dave, Nick and Matt would play for big stakes. Last week he had ended up with the fewest matches at the end of the night and had to buy the others a round of drinks. Tonight he was determined to win back his pride. Nick came back from the bar with two pints and George dutifully shuffled the cards.
Suddenly the door burst open and Big Dave hurried through with his equally big wife. Big Dave rolled his eyes as he quickly left her side and joined George and the rest of the boys.
‘Women,’ Big Dave muttered, supping the pint that Nick had bought him.
‘She’s getting so big, Dave,’ George said, eyeing Kat as she tried, unsuccessfully, to squeeze herself into the booth with Amy and Libby.
‘Oh God, mate, don’t let her hear you say that, that’s all I get all day: “I’m so fat, I’m like an elephant”, and then later on: “I hate you, you did this to me”. But yes she is. I swear if she gives birth to a baby cow I wouldn’t be surprised.’
‘How late is she now?’ asked Matt, as he nibbled at his peanuts.
‘She’s not due till tomorrow, but her two sisters both had their first child really early so she thought she would follow suit. She’s so fed up and she’s still getting bigger. Nothing fits her any more and I’ve offered to take her shopping but she flat refuses to buy more maternity clothes when the baby should be here by now. But that’s why I was late; she couldn’t find anything to wear.’
‘Isn’t that… what you wore to this year’s Halloween party?’ George said, eyeing the large black dress, cut in triangles at the bottom.
‘Oh please don’t say that to her, I said no one would notice.’
‘I doubt anyone would dare say anything to her,’ Nick said, ‘not if they want to live … Oh, look lively.’
George, Matt and Nick all straightened in their chairs, instinctively covering their manhoods as Kat marched over to them.
‘You look lovely, Kat,’ Nick said.
‘Shut up, Nick, I look like a whale. Dave, are you going to buy me a drink or are you going to let your poor wife die of thirst?’
Big Dave stood, getting his wallet out of his pocket. ‘Of course, my love, I thought you had your purse.’
‘I forgot it. It’s not a problem, is it,’ she said coldly. ‘I mean, you’re the reason I’m this big, the least you can do is buy me a sodding drink.’
Big Dave took a wodge of twenties out and thrust them towards her. ‘Here, buy whatever you want.’
Kat snatched them from his hand and walked off.
Big Dave sat down heavily and sighed. ‘Let’s play poker, boys; I think she’ll want to go home soon.’
Matt quickly dealt the cards and George glanced over at Libby again. Even the fact that he had a useless three and five couldn’t dampen his mood.
* * *
George was doing badly in poker. They’d been playing for about an hour and he was already borrowing matches from Matt who had won almost every game. George had won once, but he’d just ended up paying back the matches he had borrowed. He was studying his new hand when Libby came to sit with him. God, she smelt amazing.
‘How are we all tonight?’ she asked, beaming round at the other boys.
‘Now, come on, young Libby, we won’t have any of your cheating tonight, not when the stakes are so high.’ Big Dave indicated the large pile of matches in the middle of the table.
‘I’ll have you know that Libby is a well-respected member of this community,’ George protested, glancing down at her hands in her lap. She quickly gave the sign language symbols for A and Q and drew a heart on her palm. She eyed Nick then dusted her hands off. She had just told him that Nick had the ace and queen of hearts but nothing else worth worrying about. He smiled at her. There was something about her eyes tonight; she looked so happy it almost shone from her.
‘Well, if I’m not wanted here, I shall return to my table.’
She got up and walked off, re-joining Kat and Amy without a look back. He was unable to tear his eyes off her.
Nick clicked his fingers in George’s face. ‘Hey, what’s up with you tonight? I mean normally you stink at poker but this is a new level of bad even for you. Why do you keep looking over at Libby for? We all know you love her, that you’ve been in love with her for months, but why the sudden mooning all over her?’
‘I’m not mooning.’
‘There was definitely mooning,’ Big Dave said, and Matt nodded his agreement.
‘It’s nothing…’ George sighed. ‘We’re sort of going out on a date tomorrow.’
The boys collectively oooohed so loudly that Libby looked over at them, wondering what all the fuss was about.
‘Not a real date, she’s just letting me practise my wooing skills on her.’
‘You keep calling it wooing, and you’re never getting laid again,’ Matt said.
‘Keep wearing shit jumpers like that and no girl will be seen with you, let alone let you get into her pants,’ Nick said.
‘Shut up, both of you,’ Big Dave said. ‘This is a big opportunity for you, George, this is your one chance to make an impression on her, pull out all the stops and make her fall in love with you. Don’t screw it up.’
‘She’s not about to fall in love with me just because I take her out on a few dates. She’s had six months to fall in love with me, I don’t think she’s suddenly going to start now. Besides, she leaves in two weeks. Whatever her feelings for me, they aren’t strong enough to get her to stay.’
‘Maybe not, but you mooning over her like a love-sick puppy is definitely one way to put her off for good. Play it cool, man, and maybe she’ll let you practise your bedroom skills on her as well,’ Nick said.
Suddenly the date the next night had a whole new meaning. George knew it would never get as far as the bedroom but maybe Big Dave was right, maybe there was a small chance he could convince Libby he was the right man for her after all. All he had to do was find the balance between pulling out all the stops, making a great impression and playing it cool. He let his head fall into his hands. He was doomed before he could start.
Suddenly the pager in his pocket beeped and vibrated incessantly and as he grabbed it in shock he noticed other people’s pagers going off as well, including Big Dave’s. Shit.
The pub suddenly went silent as people realised the weight of what was happening.
George had been a volunteer for the lifeboat crew for years, but so were hundreds of other people, which meant that he was only on call twice a month. The lifeboat rarely got called out in their little bay; Port
Cardinal, a few miles down the road, got the main call-outs with all the boats coming and going into their harbour, but he knew that the White Cliff Bay lifeboat had been called out to assist them on the odd occasions. George had only been called out himself a handful of times.
Suddenly there were lots of quick hugs and kisses from the husbands and wives of the crew on call. It was always dangerous when they went out – the weather was unpredictable and you never knew what you were going to face. Kat rushed over and kissed Big Dave, her earlier mood obviously forgotten. George had no one to wish him good luck. They all moved to the door, when suddenly he felt a hand on his arm. He turned round to see Libby looking worried. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, squeezing his hand.
‘Be safe, do you hear me?’
He smiled and nodded, and he still had a big smile on his face when he caught up with the rest of the crew a few seconds later.
The RIB was already being prepped ready for launch when he arrived, which suggested it was an inshore rescue not one out at sea.
‘George, Dave, Richard, you’re going out in the RIB, but we will be ready to assist if you need the other boat,’ said Eric, the operations manager.
They quickly got changed into their drysuits, kitting up in record time as they were briefed about what had happened.
‘A boy has fallen off the slip near Main Street, a woman has jumped in after him.’
That was going to be a tricky manoeuvre. Even on a calm day, getting in and out of that bay was tricky because of all the rocks; in this weather it would be very difficult, especially with two bodies in the water. A child too. If the boy was panicking and uncooperative, it might require lifeboat crew to go in the water as well.
George started the engine and, as the other two men climbed in, he took off, fighting through the waves easily as he negotiated round the headland towards White Cliff Bay, which gave the town its name.
People were already lining the slipway in the bay and they all started waving and pointing as he approached.
He shifted the boat into second gear, slowing the engine as he got nearer, scanning the water for any bodies.
‘There,’ shouted Big Dave as he pointed.
The woman and the boy were together. She’d managed to get hold of the boy but they were now bobbing around in the sea as she desperately fought to take them both back towards the slip.
As she turned round to see the boat, George recognised his friend Penny in the water with Sam, one of the Mayor’s young boys.
There was a sudden movement on the slip as a man tried to jump in the water. The crowd around him held him back. The man wasn’t Sam’s dad, which made George think he was more concerned for Penny than Sam. The last thing they needed was another body in the water to rescue. Though George knew if it had been Libby fighting for her life in the waves he would have jumped in the water too, despite knowing the dangers.
He quickly manoeuvred the boat so it was upwind of them.
Big Dave threw the floating swimline to Penny with incredible accuracy and she grabbed it with the one hand she was using to hold on to Sam and they pulled her alongside the boat.
As the boat bobbed closer, she held Sam up out of the water for them to grab, but the action pushed her under the waves.
George reached down and grabbed her, pulling her back to the surface as Big Dave grabbed Sam with ease.
As soon as Sam was in the boat, Richard reached over and grabbed Penny’s arm and between the two of them they hauled her into the RIB, where she lay huddled against the cold on the bottom of the boat. Both of them were breathing and conscious. They just had to get them warm and dry now.
Big Dave was tending to the boy and George quickly knelt next to Penny.
‘Are you OK?’ he said, taking the spare lifejacket from Richard and pulling it over her head.
She nodded.
Seeing Sam’s parents lining the slip with the rest of the concerned town, George carefully manoeuvred the boat to the side of the slip. Richard threw a rope to one of the waiting people and they tugged the boat in close. Big Dave leant over and handed Sam back to his dad who whisked him away up the slip, quickly followed by the boy’s heavily pregnant mum.
George helped Penny to her feet and Big Dave and a huge man on the slip helped her ashore.
The drama was over.
* * *
George was lying in bed awake later. After a call-out he was always pumped with too much adrenaline to sleep properly. It had been a simple enough rescue. No one from the crew had had to risk their life by jumping in and he had been back in the Bubble and Froth before his ale had even gone warm. Walking back into the pub to tremendous applause, he had felt like a hero, even though he had barely done anything that could be considered heroic. It was Penny who had saved the little boy, she deserved all the credit. But one proud look and a hug from Libby made him feel like the bravest man in the world.
Suddenly there was the sound of a door slamming and a few seconds later he heard his own front door slamming open. He knew straight away it was Libby.
He quickly got out of bed and went into the lounge. Sure enough she was pacing in front of his sofa.
He watched her for a moment, as she paced barefoot in the Christmas pudding onesie he had bought her a few days before and she’d sworn she would never wear. She was muttering incoherently to herself before he took her gently by the hand and led her back out of his flat.
‘It won’t work,’ she muttered angrily.
‘What won’t work, honey?’ He guided her gently across the hall towards her flat.
‘You wouldn’t understand.’
‘Try me.’ He ushered her through her front door and into her bedroom.
‘Clint Eastwood.’
‘Clint Eastwood, what about him?’ He pushed her gently back down on the bed, and covered her with her duvet.
‘He’s buying my car.’
‘Right, I’ll look out for him then.’
‘Thanks George.’ She sighed, sleepily, before closing her eyes and drifting off back into a deeper sleep again. He went back to his flat.
He had become used to her sleepwalking by now. The first time she’d done it, she was standing in the street, in the rain. Just staring into space with a completely vacant expression on her face. He had assumed she had received some bad news and had gone into shock. He had rushed out onto the road and his suspicion was confirmed when all attempts to rouse her had failed. He had taken her back to her flat, wrapped a blanket round her and held her in his arms until she was ready to talk. When she had finally woken a while later, she had screamed hysterically at finding herself wrapped tightly in the arms of a man she couldn’t see in the darkness of her lounge.
When she had realised it was him, and that she had been sleepwalking again, she had explained that it was something that happened now and again, particularly if she was worried about something.
Since then it had happened quite a lot, normally once or twice a month. Sometimes she would be pacing, sometimes just staring into the nothingness, sometimes muttering incomprehensibly, and sometimes he could actually have a coherent conversation with her. Well, semi-coherent; ‘Clint Eastwood’ indeed.
Luckily she didn’t walk too far – sometimes to the bottom of the steps just outside the flats, but mostly to his flat. He had found her pacing round his lounge on numerous occasions or just sitting on the sofa staring at the blank TV. One time he had woken up and she had been standing over him. His screams had woken her up that night.
He hadn’t minded taking on the role of her protector and returning her back to her bed, in fact he quite liked it. It was just another thing that he found sweet and endearing about her.
The only time it had interfered with his social life was the one occasion he had managed to persuade a woman to come back to his flat. Sinead had been well up for helping him back into the sexual saddle and they had come through the door and fallen onto the sofa in a pile of legs, discarded clothes and kisses. He had
looked up to see Libby sitting on the other end of his sofa, staring at her hands like the ill-fated Lady Macbeth.
Sinead had freaked, mostly because of the wild, manic look in Libby’s eyes. He had never thought her eyes looked manic before, he always thought they looked lost, scared, and vulnerable.
Sinead was also less than impressed with the tenderness he’d shown Libby, and had suggested he slap her round the face to bring her round, before kicking her out the flat. By the time he had gently manoeuvred her back to her bed, Sinead had gone, leaving a note that said, ‘You and the freak deserve each other.’ A tad hurtful, he thought.
As he got back into bed he thought about Libby sleepwalking tonight. She had seemed fine today, all cheery and bubbly as normal, but clearly something was worrying her or she wouldn’t have been in his flat again. He resolved to ask her about it the next day.
Chapter Three
The problem was, Amy decided, as she rubbed the purple dye into her hair, she was nothing like Marie, Seb’s late wife – they were polar opposites in fact. Marie was tall and thin, where Amy was a classic hourglass, large breasts, and large bum. Marie was sweet, quiet and kind and Amy was loud, dry and bolshie. Marie dressed in jeans and t-shirts, whereas Amy didn’t even own a pair of jeans. For Seb to admit he loved Amy would be a huge slap in the face for Judith, not least because she couldn’t stand her, but also because Judith would wonder if Seb had really loved Marie if he now loved someone so completely different.
Amy sighed as she looked in the mirror. The Cadbury’s purple hair dye didn’t seem to be making much difference to her dark, almost black hair. She lifted a strand of hair and wondered if her other boss, Marcus, had actually heard of wigs, rather than having to go to all this trouble. A purple wig would have made much more of a dramatic statement.
She wandered into the bedroom to wait the twenty minutes developing time and peered out on the view. Up here at the very top of White Cliff Bay, she had an amazing view of the sea in front of her, and the surrounding hills and cliffs.
