“So, as you were saying,” she said. Josh kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.
“What was I saying?”
“About telling George how you feel.”
“Oh that.”
“Yes that.”
Josh swigged at his beer and said nothing. Conversations were trailing off all around them, as the others started to pay attention.
“Come on, Joshua, spill it. Are you together, or not?”
“Perhaps we could do this some other time?” he said, raising his voice slightly, “when there aren’t seven other people trying to listen in!”
All eyes were on him, except George’s, and he was too far away to be of any help in getting him off the hook.
“What’s this?” Dan asked.
“Did I hear right?” Andy looked to Eleanor for confirmation.
Shaunna and Adele both turned to George and he raised his arms in surrender.
“Don’t look at me!”
“I hate you, Eleanor Brown,” Josh said, screwing up his eyes and glaring at her, pretending to be angry. She’d put him on the spot, and now he had no choice in the matter, but he actually felt really good about that.
“So?” she prompted.
“Agh. All right then. George and I are officially together, in a relationship,” he announced.
“About bloody time,” Andy said.
“Agreed,” Dan seconded.
“You waited long enough, hey George,” Eleanor called across.
“Yes,” Josh replied for him. He found his face through the dense steam and looked deep into his eyes. “And I’m so very, very glad he did.”
If it hadn’t been for Shaunna and Adele ambushing him, George would probably have started blubbering there and then, but instead he was being squashed by two scantily clad, very slippery women, who were rubbing his hair and kissing his cheeks.
“That’s where we’ve been going wrong all these years, bro,” Dan said.
“Ha, yeah.” Andy had finished his beer and took orders from anyone else who needed another drink before he went back inside, and found Jess, standing on her own, watching the rest of them from a distance.
“You heard Josh’s announcement?” he asked her. She nodded. “I’m really happy for them, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am,” she snapped.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No. I know. I’m sorry.” She wanted to look at him, but couldn’t.
“We can’t go on like this, Jess. It’s not fair on everybody else.”
“That’s what I was trying to say at the service station, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“You were trying to justify what you’d done, and I don’t want to hear it. I’m too angry to even try, but we have to put this aside and make a good show of getting on, for their sake.” He looked out to the others, all laughing and drinking and sharing stories. Jess watched them too. She was missing her friends so much.
“They’re all on your side,” she said.
“Yeah. And much as I’m enjoying their support and hate you for what you’ve done, I don’t like to see you being left out like this.”
“I deserve it.”
“Maybe you do. It’s not my place to say. But we’re going back out there, together, and we’re going to act like everything’s OK between us.” He wasn’t asking for her permission. He was telling her how it was going to be. He picked up as many drinks as he could carry and left her to bring the rest.
“Jess! Go put your bikini on!” Kris shouted. He had joined the others in the hot tub. She looked at Andy and raised an eyebrow.
“Best do as the man says.”
“OK. I’ll be right back,” she shouted to Kris and returned to their cabin. Andy circulated, handing out the drinks.
“What did you say to her?” Dan asked, taking a beer from him.
“Basically to stop being selfish, but not in those words, obviously.”
“Seems to have done the trick.”
Andy shrugged. “We’ll see.” He didn’t want to talk about her anymore and made his way over to sit with Josh and Eleanor. Dan stood next to James, looking in on their children, both curled up on the sofa and watching cartoons on Dan’s tablet, which was propped against a cushion on the armchair. Their eyelids were drooping and little Shaunna had her thumb in her mouth.
“Sorry about missing your wedding, by the way,” Dan said.
“Don’t worry. It’s perfectly understandable. Are you recovered now?”
“Almost. As soon as we get back we’ll have to rearrange the meeting with Jason.”
“Yes. I spoke to him briefly on Saturday. He is keen to get things in motion.”
“A bit too keen for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to jump in without looking myself a few times. Well, most of the time. But this is a bit different.”
“I think he understands that, which is why he’s asked for our support. I still miss Alistair terribly, but if I can help Jason to do this, then at least his death won’t have been a total waste.”
“Absolutely. I miss him too, although I wasn’t as close to him as you were, of course. Has Jason said anything about Alice?”
“Nothing.”
“Hmm. I ask only because she’s mentioned him a couple of times. I think she’s considering getting in touch,” Dan explained. “We’ll just have to play it by ear on that one.” James nodded his agreement.
“What’re you two scheming?” Eleanor asked, coming up behind James and putting her arms around him.
“Boring business matters,” James said. Dan excused himself and went to talk to Kris, who was sitting on the rim of the hot tub. It was a bit too warm for him and was making him feel sick.
“I need to have a chat with you, in private, at some point,” Dan told him. “It’s not urgent.”
Kris stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He followed Dan inside.
“We’ve been in here too long,” George said, holding up his wrinkled fingers. Adele and Shaunna followed his lead and giggled. “Seriously, you’re not supposed to stay in these things this long. Let’s get out for a while. We can always come back later.” He tried to stand up and they kept pulling him back down, but eventually he managed to fight his way over the edge, and back to Josh, leaving a trail of wet footprints across the decking.
“Having fun?” Josh asked, handing him a towel.
“Definitely. You?”
“Ah. You know.” Josh shrugged. George play-slapped his arm and he mouthed an ‘ouch’.
“Don’t be such a baby.”
“Don’t be such a baby,” Josh mocked. George put his finger on Josh’s lips to shush him, and he tried to bite it, then grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, water dripping from George’s nose onto his chin. Their lips were mere millimetres apart.
“I’m wearing Speedos,” George implored, holding the towel in front of his groin.
“Yes. I can see why that might be a problem.” Josh smiled teasingly. He tilted his face upwards, until their lips were just touching, and gazed into George’s eyes, lingering a moment longer before he released him.
“I, err…I’m just going to sit here for a while,” George said, shivering as he fell into the cold chair, unable to use the towel.
“Good idea,” Josh agreed, then leaned in and whispered: “Thank God I’m wearing clothes.”
Dan took Kris through to the bedroom and checked they could not be overheard; he closed the door.
“Is it true? What Adele said?”
Kris frowned. “Depends what she said.”
“That you had an affair?”
“Ah. Yeah,” Kris nodded sadly. He’d forgotten that Dan hadn’t heard directly from him about the marriage break-up. “Yes, it’s true.”
“Why? I thought you were happy.”
“So did I, but…when I had my breakdown I started to realise that I needed more.”
“More than Shaunna?”
“More of me. I love Shaunna, and I didn’t me
an to hurt her, but it turned out for the best in the end, because now we’re having so much fun together, and Krissi’s fine with it too, which was…”
“Hang on,” Dan interrupted him. “Adele said Shaunna was devastated and that you were still trying to work things out.”
“Err…” Kris screwed up his nose. “The thing is, we kind of made that up, for Adele’s benefit.”
Dan scratched his head. “Now I’m really bloody confused. Are you separated or not?”
“Yes, we are separated. No, we are not trying to work things out. That’s just what we told Adele.”
“Right. Gotcha. So…” Dan was still trying to decide if he should tell Kris or not, and in his hesitation had planted the seed of curiosity.
“So?”
“Before you confirmed the facts, I was going to tell you to have words with your wife, because she’s been flirting big time with Andy since we got here.”
“She’s a free agent now.” The words were dismissive; Dan watched him for a moment and decided it was safe to continue.
“And how would you feel if she and Andy ended up together?”
Kris laughed haughtily. “Even if he and Jess are finished for good, that’s not very likely, is it? Not with…” He spotted Dan’s raised eyebrow. “You think they might?”
Dan shrugged. “Whatever, I thought I’d mention it.” He wasn’t going any further with this. “Seeing as I thought you were trying to work things out.” There was no point.
“Well, as I say, she’s a free agent, although, with all due respect, I’d be bloody amazed if she went after Andy.” Dan faked a laugh and opened the door. The conversation was over.
Jess had returned in her bikini and bathrobe, to find the hot tub empty. It hadn’t been intentional, and George felt really bad about it, but there wasn’t a thing he could do right at that moment.
“I’m coming back in a minute,” he called over. “I’m just having a drink.” He held up his beer as evidence, and tipped the bottle to his mouth, half the contents running down his face. Josh caught a drip with his finger as it raced towards George’s belly button.
“Don’t!” he spluttered on a mouthful of unswallowed beer. “I’m having enough of a problem as it is.” Josh grinned and sucked the beer off his finger; the sexual overtone was probably unintentional, but even so, George had to concentrate to block it out. “I’ll get you back, you know that,” he said, twisting as he got up from the chair, so that his back was to everyone else. He pulled the towel over his trunks, a bulge still evident through the thick fabric.
“Ahem,” Josh said, averting his eyes. George struggled off towards the hot tub and stepped in as far as he could without taking the towel away, then whipped it off and threw it on the floor, submerging his lower body before anyone noticed. Jess joined him, and a minute later, Kris also climbed back in. The water was slightly cooler now, and the three of them sat chatting, enjoying the view and each other’s company. Adele and Shaunna were taking a breather, sitting in their bathrobes on the edge of the tub, and listening to the conversation. This was how things stayed for the rest of the evening, until people started making their way back to their own cabins or rooms; first Eleanor and James, then Dan and Adele, closely followed by Josh and George. Shaunna waited until Kris and Jess left, and locked up behind them, while Andy collected the empty bottles. He stopped at the kitchen sink for a glass of water. Shaunna waited until he became aware of her watching him.
Kris slowed to a stroll before they reached the steps to their cabin; Jess matched his pace. It was too dark to see her clearly.
“Did you get things sorted?”
“Not really.”
“Oh. It looked like you were getting on OK.”
“We’re on speaking terms, if that’s what you mean.”
Andy sipped at the water and grimaced. It was warm. He emptied the glass into the sink and tried again.
“I don’t wish to pry, and I know it’s difficult for the pair of you, but it’s pretty hard on the rest of us too.”
Jess sniffed. Kris reached into the darkness and gently rubbed her arm.
“It’s over between us.”
A silence followed. Their plans to intervene had not extended to this eventuality.
“Have you talked it through? Explained how you feel?”
“Why bother? Friends don’t lie. They don’t cheat. They don’t hurt each other. There’s really nothing left to talk about. It’s over.”
No more to be said, each wished the other a good night at the junction of their bedrooms and went to bed.
The next day saw everyone heading out on different excursions. Dan and Andy went back up to the sports centre, which was, in essence, a large log cabin with a shop full of equipment and a bored-looking student type sitting behind a desk. The previous day they’d booked a hang gliding session, and were given insurance forms to fill in while they waited for the equipment to be brought out and checked over. Meanwhile, Josh and George were going to explore the nearest village, which they’d passed through on their way here: a forty minute drive back down the mountains. Shaunna, Kris and Casper were hitching along for the ride to do the same thing, but independently. This left Adele, Jess, Eleanor, James and the children at the cabins, and the Browns offered to take little Shaunna out with them for a short ramble around the local area, culminating in a stop-off at the playground, which was distant enough from the other cabins to be almost a private facility. Hence, they were quite surprised to find three boys of around eight or nine years of age, playing on the roundabout when they arrived. Their bikes were dumped across the path, and they immediately apologised and came over to move them out of the way.
“Thank you, boys,” James smiled, setting Shaunna down. She immediately toddled off after Oliver, but he was too fast for her. Eleanor was carrying Toby in the papoose, and sat down on the tiny yellow park bench to rest her back.
“I don’t know how you cope with this,” she puffed, lifting Toby out and sitting him against her arm.
“I imagine it to be a lot like pregnancy,” James contended. She knew better, although it would most certainly have afforded him an insight, as the aches and pains she’d had in her lower back throughout the last three months of carrying Toby had returned in full force. James set off after Shaunna, who had made it as far as the slide, and was now pointing up to Oliver at the top of the steps.
“I-do-it,” she said. Oliver came flying down at speed, straight off the end, then back up again.
“I-do-it,” Shaunna repeated. James examined the slide. It was too narrow for him to fit, and Oliver was too small to hold on to Shaunna. All the while, one of the boys had been watching and now approached.
“Excuse me,” he said politely. “Would you like me to take her?”
“It’s very kind of you to offer,” James said, trying to think of a plausible reason why this boy—a stranger—shouldn’t take his friend’s daughter down the slide, other than the truth of it being exactly that.
“I’ve got a baby sister,” the boy added helpfully. “She loves the playground and I do it all the time.” James looked to Eleanor for guidance. She shrugged.
“I don’t suppose Adele will mind,” she said. It wasn’t as if they were leaving Shaunna with this boy and he sounded genuine enough.
“All right then. Thank you,” James said. The boy smiled and held out his hand to Shaunna.
“Come on,” he encouraged. She took his hand and he lifted her up, carried her to the top of the steps and sat her on his knee, dragging the soles of his training shoes along the sides of the slide to slow their descent, while she giggled with excitement.
“I-do-it,” she said again, once they’d stepped off the bottom. Dutifully, he carried her back to the top and down they came a second time, then a third, and so on until everyone had lost count. James was splitting his attention between this activity and Oliver’s swinging, in between the other two boys, who were showing him how to kick his legs so he could do it for himself
without being pushed. So far, he’d set the swing wobbling from side to side, but was having some trouble with backwards and forwards. He was becoming quite frustrated by this, and one of the others came over to set him off with the right motion, before returning to their own swing. James was quite overcome by the kindness these boys were showing to the younger children, and made his feelings very clear several times over. He had learned from Alistair Campion the value of praise in encouraging the right kinds of behaviour, and it really couldn’t be given too often. He took over the pushing of Oliver’s swing to allow his new friends to enjoy their playtime; not long after this, one of them pulled an old and battered mobile phone from his pocket and signalled to the other two. Little Shaunna was just coming to the bottom of the slide, and James took her from the boy, placing a one pound coin in his hand, as he had for the others.
“If your mother wishes to know where this came from, tell her she is welcome to find us. We are staying in the cabins over there.”
The boy nodded and darted off after his friends, all three of them tearing back down the track, wheels leaving the ground as they cleared bumps and stones.
“Come on,” James said, taking Oliver’s hand. “It’s time for lunch.”
“Can I have a bike, please?”
“You already have a bike, at your mother’s.”
“I bring it here?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“Oliver. Please don’t ask silly questions.”
“Because it is too far away,” Eleanor explained patiently. “Maybe your dad might think about buying you a bike to keep at our house.” She looked at James as she made the suggestion. So far, her ‘interfering’ had been allowed to pass without comment, but she could see that he wasn’t happy.
“I will think about it,” he said sternly. Eleanor and Oliver both knew to say no more. They started making their way back to the cabins, with Eleanor giving little Shaunna a piggyback and James carrying Toby in the papoose. As they walked, they hit a pocket where there was phone reception and a beep sounded from Eleanor’s pocket. She took out her phone: missed call and voicemail, from her dying patient’s husband, which could mean only one thing. James took Shaunna from her and walked on ahead so that she could listen alone. Her patient had died the previous evening, with her family around her; it had been very peaceful and she was in no pain. The widower ended the call by saying how much he appreciated her compassion and care for his wife, both so grateful for all she had done. One of the last things she’d asked was that he personally thank Eleanor and tell her she wasn’t to feel guilty about not being there, but that she would honour her memory best by enjoying her new husband and family and making the most of every precious moment they had together. The line went quiet, and then the voicemail options sounded. Eleanor saved the message, intending to delay a while longer to allow the tears to subside, but her patient had been right. Every moment was precious. So what if she didn’t agree with some of James’s decisions? So what if she was crying like a baby and Oliver would have a hundred questions why? She cleared her throat and made her way back to the cabin, where James immediately put his arms around her.
The Harder They Fall Page 35
