The Gin Shack on the Beach

by Catherine Miller

  Turning a corner and starting on the next set of stairs, Olive glanced over the banister to see if there was any sign of Veronica, but there was nothing to see or hear. Maybe Olive wasn’t following her at all. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, it was darker and hard to make out where anyone might have gone. But then a breeze caught the back of Olive’s neck and she turned to see where it was coming from. A beacon in the form of a glow-in-the-dark fire-exit sign guided her to the breeze’s entry point. Like the fire exit Randy had shown her the evening before, this one was also wedged open in the same way. Only this one didn’t lead to a dead-end courtyard. This one led to the outside world.

  Chapter Six

  Olive’s mission was complete so she had no real need to continue the pursuit. She now knew how to escape the building unnoticed, but she still had questions she wanted to ask and now was as good a time as any.

  Olive might have lost sight of Veronica, but the route to the beach was a pretty straightforward one. It was a happy fact that moving into Oakley West Retirement Quarters meant she was closer to Westbrook Bay and her beach hut than she’d been from her own house, which was a ten-minute walk away. Oakley was one of the grand buildings directly on the seafront. The road was set back from the coast with a wide expanse of grass before you reached the clifftops. Across the green there were only a few interruptions to the canvas of green and blue. There was a scattering of shelters and benches and further along were the sunken gardens; a place close to her heart, but she didn’t visit often because of the memories it held.

  Whenever she came to the beach, she envied the people who lived along the Royal Esplanade: the stretch of road that ran parallel to the coast. Every building was stately in appearance with a mix of private residences, hotels and restaurants, some in more need of repair than others.

  Olive had loved the area ever since she’d moved there when she married John. She’d fallen in love with the beach. It was so much quieter than its neighbouring sands in Margate. Here at Westbrook, when it was busy it was full of families and people enjoying various activities on the waterfront. But when it was out of season, it was blissful in the tranquillity it provided.

  It was within months of moving here they’d first rented a beach hut. In the early years, they’d had a hut directly on the sands, the children able to access the beach in an instant. It was idyllic. Then, afterwards, when the family had been reduced from four to two, having the beach hut wasn’t the same. There were footprints missing in the sand and no way of finding them there, however hard she looked.

  It was when Richard went to university that Olive decided she needed to return to what made her happy. The sound of the sea alone was enough to make her feel at one with the world in a way that couldn’t be replicated. This time, she went for a hut further along. It was set back near the cliff face and offered a different view of the seafront. From there she was able to watch as the dog-walkers and cyclists made their way along the stretch of concrete promenade. It took years, but eventually she found the happiness everyday life had to offer. It wasn’t the same kind as in previous days. It was a reinvention of itself and for that she was thankful.

  As Olive walked along the Royal Esplanade, no longer worrying about how much noise she was making or trying to keep up with her target, she took another moment to be thankful. It was a blessing to be this close to the sea, less than five minutes’ walk to her beach hut. It was just a shame she didn’t have the freedom to come and go as she pleased.

  Approaching the slope down to the promenade, Olive made no effort to hide from Veronica. Looking out to the sea, she spotted the familiar figure already in the water starting her morning swim. If she hadn’t realised Olive was now resident in Oakley West with her, she planned to tell her before they both left the beach.

  Taking her key from her backpack, Olive opened up the beach-hut doors and they let out a gleeful groan at her presence, as if questioning why they’d not seen her in recent days. She was already missing being able to come here as she pleased. Her first scheduled visit was due tomorrow afternoon when Skylar would be here with her son, Lucas.

  Olive wasn’t particularly comfortable with the fact that Richard wanted her babysat. She didn’t want the relaxed comings and goings of beach life to be made awkward by her friends feeling obliged to keep an eye on her.

  Opening her thermos, Olive hoped it wouldn’t be that difficult to get round her son’s system. They just had to say someone was with her, but he didn’t have any way of double-checking that when he was all the way in London. So if, for example, Skylar needed to go home early because Lucas was hungry or poorly, it shouldn’t mean Olive needed to return to Oakley West as well. She would just have to see how far she could push the boundaries without her son realising.

  It was a hot-chocolate kind of morning, so Olive made two and hoped she would easily catch Veronica’s attention once she was out of the water. With her new friend (Olive was ever the optimist) occupied, it gave her time to check the ottoman’s stock. Inside were twelve glorious bottles of some of the finest bespoke gins she knew of. She never drank this early in the morning, it was always her tipple before heading home, but she needed to see if any needed replacing soon and have a think as to whether they were all keepers or whether it was time to switch one to a new variety.

  Carefully, she pulled each bottle out and placed it on the counter. She wished she could display them like this more often. They looked so pretty along the side, the colours and designs of each varying from simplistic to intricate. A quick glance told her all the bottles had adequate amounts of gin for her not to worry about having to order any at the moment. That was a good thing, because, as she suddenly realised, she had no idea where she’d get them delivered to. In the past it had always been to her house, but she wasn’t sure what Oakley West would say to consignments of gin turning up.

  ‘I thought it was you.’

  The voice startled Olive enough that she almost knocked some of her precious bottles over. Clutching where her heart should be (it had risen to her voice box), she turned to see Veronica. ‘Gawd, are you trying to kill me?’

  ‘Not intentionally, but I’m not the one playing at being Bond and hiding in cupboards.’

  ‘What? How did you know I was there?’ Olive’s cheeks blushed at the thought of being caught out.

  ‘As soon as I spotted you at Oakley, I knew you’d be wanting to find out how to escape sooner or later. When that door creaked I knew you must be behind it.’

  Olive laughed. ‘Not quite a CIA agent yet then? Here, I made a hot chocolate for you.’ Olive offered the mug and a seat. If they were lucky she might still have a packet of biscuits stashed in the biscuit tin.

  ‘Marvellous. I should have popped by here sooner.’ She took the mug and stretched out her free hand. ‘Lovely to officially meet you. I’m Veronica Owens.’

  ‘Olive Turner.’ Olive embraced the warmth of Veronica’s hand and already knew they would be kindred spirits. ‘Now, let me see if I can find us some chocolate chip cookies.’

  ‘Never mind your cookies. I want to know what’s in those bottles.’ Veronica didn’t hesitate in making herself comfortable on one of the deckchairs. It made Olive regret not inviting her over sooner, but then they were both evidently creatures of habit and had their own routines that they stuck to. If it hadn’t been for her move to Oakley West their early-morning polite wave to each other would have continued indefinitely.

  Olive tore open the biscuits all the same and offered them to Veronica before settling down herself. She’d not intended telling anyone about her gin hobby, but the row of bottles did require a bit of explaining. ‘For some considerable time now, I’ve been searching for the perfect G&T. I’ve been trying out as many gins as possible over the years and these are my current favourites. It’s always changing, though, as I like to try all the new bespoke ones that are coming out.’

  ‘Have you found it? The perfect G&T, that is.’

 
‘Far from it. I think I have plenty of years of research ahead of me. I only ever have one drink at the end of the day.’ It was something they’d done as a couple when John was still alive. It was one of the things she’d continued to do, knowing he would have wanted her to continue their quest to find the perfect combination.

  ‘Well, you do know how you could speed up this research project, don’t you? I think it’s time you got yourself a research assistant and I’d be more than happy to volunteer.’ Veronica eyed up the bottles with the level of delight they deserved.

  Olive hadn’t considered the idea of sharing her hobby. Not because it wasn’t something that couldn’t be shared, more that it was somehow so inextricably linked to life with John. The unspoken toast she always made was private. But then, she also knew this was something she enjoyed and her husband would want that passion to continue.

  ‘I think any assistance would be welcome, although it’s a bit early today. I normally have one at the end of the day and was hoping to escape out of Oakley West after dinner some evenings. So, if you’re my assistant, tell me, why Tuesday mornings? There must be a reason that’s the day you choose to escape.’ She dunked her biscuit and listened in the hope Veronica would be willing to answer.

  ‘You’ll soon learn that Oakley West is very much a place of routine. Everything revolves around a timetable. You’re expected at the dining room at certain times, they like you to sign up for activities and take part as much as possible. They like to know where you are at all times, so there aren’t many opportunities to grab five minutes unless it’s in your bedroom.’

  ‘That’s what I feared,’ Olive said, verbalising her thoughts without meaning to.

  ‘You’ve obviously not studied the timetable in any detail yet otherwise you’d know that breakfast starts half an hour later on a Tuesday. They have a stock delivery early that morning. Kitchen and medical supplies all at the same time. So, it occupies most of the staff and means there’s a bit more leeway with timings, with breakfast being later. It’s easy to escape on a Tuesday morning. I’ve tried on other days, but there have been too many people about.’

  ‘Hmmmm… that’s a shame. I’d pop down here every morning if I could get away with it. I thought I’d be able to come to the beach hut as and when I pleased once I’d moved into Oakley West, but it seems my son has other ideas. He’s let me keep the hut, but only if I come here at particular times and it has to be pre-organised to make sure at least one of my friends is about.’ Olive also helped herself to a biscuit. She took her frustration out with her chewing rather than getting onto her soapbox for too long.

  ‘It’s a bit of a nanny state of affairs. Just because we’re old doesn’t mean we’ve lost use of our senses. You’d think considering it’s only down the road they’d let you come here when you liked.’

  ‘Oakley West is probably worried about my son suing them if I go and do myself an injury. He probably threatened them with exactly that. He’s a lawyer,’ Olive added, clarifying why he might put those fears into people.

  ‘Are they going to get someone to walk you down here to make sure you don’t break your hip on the way?’

  ‘Oh God. I hope not. They’re not going to be that pedantic are they?’

  Veronica shrugged. ‘The activity coordinator brings us down here in a group. They do love everything to be supervised.’

  ‘Hence why you escape on a Tuesday morning?’

  ‘Yep. I’d go mad if I didn’t come here at least once a week.’

  ‘I think I’ll go mad if I don’t come here once a day.’ Olive offered Veronica another biscuit and they both took one before she secured them away in the tin.

  ‘I’ve tried finding other times of day to make an escape, but I’ve not had much luck. Feel free to join me next Tuesday, save you hiding in the cupboard.’

  ‘Thank you. That’s very kind. And maybe between us we can find another opportunity to escape one evening. Do you think they’d let you walk down here with me, rather than one of the staff?’

  ‘Wouldn’t that be nice? Shall we ask and see what they say?’ Veronica upended her mug and finished the last of her hot chocolate.

  ‘We can but try.’ Olive took both the mugs to clean them before they left. It would be weird to have someone come along with her, she was so used to her independence, but she would much rather have Veronica here than be walked along by some healthcare assistant like she’d lost the ability to navigate down the road.

  Olive decided to return the bottles to safety and gave Veronica a brief history of each one as she stowed them away. Her favourite varieties at the moment all seemed to be fruit-based in some way: orange zest, rhubarb with ginger, citrus crush. Talking about them was a pleasure and it gave Olive something to smile about, knowing she had a friend wanting to listen to her impart her knowledge.

  ‘I think life at Oakley West has just started to get interesting.’ Veronica offered a wink.

  Definitely a kindred spirit. And with such a strict set-up and so many opportunities to be rebellious, they were going to have great fun. ‘I guess it’s time to head back? Unless we want to get caught.’

  ‘Oh gosh. Yes, we better had. They’ll be expecting us at breakfast soon.’

  Gin and rebellion would have to wait for another day.

  Chapter Seven

  It was a perfect July afternoon with the school summer holidays drawing near. As Olive watched Lucas build a sandcastle empire, she was reminded of the days she used to come down here with Richard and Jane after they’d finished school. The five-year age gap between them hadn’t mattered when there was sand about. It provided exactly the level of entertainment children needed and this hadn’t changed, whatever the generation.

  Olive stopped herself from reminiscing too much. She didn’t want the past pulling down the present.

  ‘How funny that you knew each other from coming to the beach and you’ve both ended up in the same home,’ Skylar said.

  Olive and Veronica were sitting on deckchairs outside Skylar’s colourful beach hut while Skylar prepared a makeshift picnic for her son.

  ‘We’re in retirement quarters. They get very het up if you call it a home,’ Veronica said.

  ‘How are you finding it, Olive?’ Skylar buttered bread as she spoke.

  Olive drew her attention away from Lucas playing on the sands. ‘It’s a bit early to say. The people are lovely, as is my room, but it’s an entirely different way of life. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to.’

  ‘How’s it different?’ Skylar passed them both a mug of tea and joined them on the deckchairs.

  ‘They’re not too keen on any residents having much freedom and Richard is making it harder by making sure I’m supervised when I come here. We have to check in and out with everything we’re doing and we’re not supposed to go out by ourselves after dinner.’

  ‘We’re lucky Matron has said I can come with Olive as her chaperone,’ Veronica said. ‘It’s providing Olive with some extra get-out-of-jail-free cards.’

  ‘They’ve given us permission to come down here together if you or any of the others aren’t about. Very gracious of them, don’t you think?’ Olive wasn’t able to hide the sarcasm in her voice and she had no need to, being among friends.

  ‘Oh, Olive, that’s not going to sit well with you for very long. How are you going to cope?’

  Olive sipped her tea. It was still hotter than she liked it, but she used the opportunity to catch Veronica’s eye, trying to suss if she would be happy for her to share that they were in fact able to escape once a week.

  ‘We’re trying to come up with a plan,’ Veronica said. ‘Just between us, I manage to escape on a Tuesday morning. I’ve been doing it for a long time. That’s how I recognised Olive in the first place. We just need to see if there are any other times we can escape.’

  Lucas ran back to Skylar’s beach hut, collected his food, and then headed back to his three-foot-high sandcastle. It obv
iously needed protecting so he picnicked over there.

  ‘What about in the evenings while they’re lighter? Surely you could pop out one day after dinner without being caught? Say you’re in your room reading?’ Skylar said.

  ‘I haven’t been there enough days to know how easy it would be to escape. What do you think, Veronica?’

  ‘I’m not sure. I’ve always just gone to the evening entertainment after dinner. It would be reasonable to retire early and try to find a way to pop out. I’m just not sure how.’

  Checking her watch, Olive realised that time was marching on and soon they would have to walk back up the slope and along the road to return to Oakley West in time for dinner. ‘Maybe we can suss it out tonight. See if any exit routes are clear enough to escape unnoticed.’

  ‘Great idea,’ Veronica said, clearly enthused by the idea of getting out more. ‘Although, we wouldn’t get away with it every night. They’d soon notice if we did that.’

  It was a shame Olive wouldn’t be able to continue her tradition in the same fashion she was used to, but the whole move required reinvention in one form or another. ‘We can do a recce tonight. Then try and get down here later in the week and hope we get away with it.’

  ‘What will you do here in the evening?’ Skylar asked.

  ‘I know exactly what we’ll do,’ Veronica said and peered at her watch. ‘Surely it’s not too early today?’

  Barely requiring the encouragement Veronica was providing, Olive got up and ventured into her beach hut. Like she had the previous morning, she set out the gin bottles ready to be admired. She selected three of her finest cut glasses and retrieved a small bottle she’d been saving for a special occasion. Inaugurating others into her hobby deserved something special.

  ‘Ready…’ Olive said, inviting Veronica and Skylar to join her, hoping Skylar wasn’t a teetotaller. ‘This is what we’ll be doing.’

  ‘Wow. Have you always had these hidden in here, Olive?’ Skylar asked.