It Started at Sunset Cottage

by Bella Osborne

  “Have you told him how you feel?” Kate said, passing her another tissue as Lumina handed her the sodden one. Kate whisked it to the floor with barely a touch. This woman really was used to being waited on hand and foot and snotty nose.

  “Huh, he’s never here and when he is, he’s watching his phone, waiting to pounce on it, like a cat watching a mouse.” Kate knew this to be true.

  “Maybe you need to talk to him about some time away together, just the two of you, so that you can work things out, understand where you stand with… well if there is someone else.”

  Lumina seemed to brighten up at this. “We are going away soon. To Monaco!”

  “There you go. That will be ideal. I need to go now,” said Kate, getting up from the bed. Lumina grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

  “Thank you, Kate, you’re a good friend.” Kate gave a wan smile, but felt she barely knew her.

  “Take care of yourself and Horse,” she said, as she extricated her hand from Lumina’s grasp and left.

  Kate could hardly stop herself from jumping up and down on the spot when she saw the helicopter. Tim was striding ahead talking to Terry. Paul, the location manager, was following him, with Kate trailing behind. As nobody was watching her, she started to skip and felt silly for doing it, but it felt so good. At that second, Tim stopped abruptly and turned around. Kate managed to stop before she careered into the location manager, but she had been rumbled. Tim was grinning from ear to ear and Kate wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Thankfully only Tim had seen her.

  “Right, it’s difficult to talk on board, so are there any questions before we go?” The response was shakes of heads all round. “Okay, see you later, Terry. We have to skip off now,” said Tim, beaming at Kate, who thought the heat from her ears might actually set fire to her hair.

  The flight was as exciting as she had hoped it would be. The helicopter was small inside, the three of them were sitting close together and she could feel the warmth of Tim’s thigh against her own. Tim kept pointing out landmarks and checking she was okay and Kate was so enjoying the trip that it was disappointing when the helicopter came in to land. A large stretch limo pulled up alongside and they all filed in.

  “Do you always go for the inconspicuous option?” she asked Tim.

  “It’s all they had. Terry arranged it, anyway,” he said, giving her a playful nudge. “If we’re talking about inconspicuous, I need to talk about your sk…” but Kate was quick and talked over Tim.

  “So did you choose these locations?” she asked Paul.

  “Yes. One of my team did the research, then we came here and whittled down the options. Then we presented them to Che.”

  They whizzed along, and soon they were in the centre of Bath, surrounded by Palladian and Georgian architecture. Paul’s map had a series of yellow and red sticky spots on it and he was trying to follow where they were. Tim turned to Kate.

  “Will you be walking around Bath, or will you be sk…”

  “Here we are,” announced the driver, and they all looked out of the window.

  “I have a disability,” said Kate, in hushed tones, as she returned Tim’s nudge of earlier, “I can’t walk when I’m happy. It’s baffled medical science.”

  “I can imagine it has,” said Tim, trying to keep a straight face, but his smile spread.

  “Shall we get out, then?” said Paul, looking bemused by the exchange between Kate and Tim.

  “Yes, please lead on,” said Kate, and they all followed him.

  First stop was a magnificent regency building in Sydney Place that was going to double as the outside of Patrick’s penthouse apartment.

  “It is impressive and that’s definitely something that Patrick would choose,” said Tim.

  “Does the super-modern interior set we have fit, though?” said Kate thinking out loud.

  “I think it’s actually a good descriptor for Patrick,” said Tim.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Impressive on the outside and stark, stripped bare inside. Functional, cold almost, until Marcie comes into his life.”

  “Mmm, I think you could be right,” said Kate thoughtfully, wishing she’d made that connection.

  “I think these days you can have any interior you like and people accept it,” chipped in Paul, making both Tim and Kate turn to look at him, as they had almost forgotten he was there. They walked up and down a bit and Paul took a few photos. Kate borrowed the camera and took one of Tim outside the front door. The look he gave her through the lens made something shiver inside her. She clicked the button quickly and handed the camera back to Paul.

  “So, all agreed on this one, then?” asked Paul.

  “Yes, works for me,” said Kate, and Tim agreed.

  They all piled back into the limo and went off to inspect the office building that had been chosen as Patrick’s office. The driver dropped them off nearby and they walked a short distance to the building in the city centre. Tim had his usual very dark designer shades on, and today he was wearing a fitted black shirt, long-sleeved but with the cuffs rolled back, and blue jeans. He always looked good, but then when you had people to buy your clothes for you and tell you what suited you best, it would be hard not to look good, mused Kate. The office was another regency building, but less impressive than Sydney Place. Kate, Tim and Paul stood on the pavement staring at it whilst a multitude of shoppers and tourists walked around them. Kate wondered if she’d be trampled in the rush if someone suddenly spotted that it was Timothy Calder.

  “I don’t like it,” said Kate eventually.

  “Why? It is an actual office building and we’re planning to be filming inside this one too. It’s all arranged,” Paul said defensively.

  “It’s too ordinary, it’s neither one thing nor the other. It’s not an impressive regency building and it’s not an impressive office building,” she said flatly.

  “Patrick would never choose this,” stated Tim, as Paul puffed out a long, slow breath.

  “It’s Bath; all the buildings are like this, it’s one of the best available,” said Paul.

  “I always had a very modern London-style office building in mind when I wrote it.”

  “With lots of glass,” added in Tim.

  “Yes, exactly,” agreed Kate.

  The conversation went round in a loop, with Paul trying to justify the choice and Kate and Tim maintaining their stance. Eventually, Paul agreed to look for other options, but firmly stated that he couldn’t promise anything at such short notice.

  The coffee shop was next on the list and this was perfect. Kate and Tim spent far too long there jabbering away to each other, agreeing fiercely on which was the cosiest table and where Patrick and Marcie would sit when they met. Tim slipped out the back to meet the owner, who was a woman in her forties. Kate watched as the woman stumbled over her words, turned red and stared in awe at Tim. It took her back to the first time she had met Tim at the cottage all those months ago. Next, they went to a bar that was surprisingly busy, so they just had a quick look and, to Paul’s relief, were both happy with it.

  Last location was the park. In the book, Kate had written about Patrick and Marcie meeting at the bandstand in Hyde Park, so the move to Royal Victoria Park in Bath was a big jump for her. The limo dropped them off, and the party of three headed off across the park, with the early-evening sun starting to fade behind them. As they were walking across the undulating grass, Kate almost lost her footing and in that moment she instinctively reached out for Tim’s hand and it was there. She steadied herself quickly and then let his hand go. All the time she kept her eyes downward, inspecting the ground in her path, not wanting to feel the swim of emotions churning through her.

  “There it is,” said Paul, pointing ahead. In the distance was a small semicircular structure, open on one side and painted white on the other. In front of it was a low hedge and a variety of brightly coloured flowers.

  “Is that meant to be the bandstand?” asked Tim,


  “Of course it’s a bandstand!” said Paul, who was still smarting after losing the office argument. As they reached the bandstand, Kate knew that despite it being quite different to the famous one in Hyde Park, which she had always pictured, this was the perfect place for the tender scenes between Patrick and Marcie. However, Tim was pulling faces.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Kate.

  “It’s not what I pictured and it’s not as obvious. I think Patrick is an obvious character. And it’s got filled-in sides – bandstands don’t have sides.”

  “No, they don’t usually, you’re right. But the fact that it’s not open will mean you’ll have to focus on the two characters a lot more. It makes it more intimate, somehow. I like it.”

  “So, is that a yes, then?” asked Paul, looking at his watch.

  “Hold on, give me a few minutes, will you,” said Tim, as he went through the hedge and in one leap jumped over the decorative railings. Kate looked around; there must be another entrance to get onto the bandstand, but Tim was now offering a hand to help her up.

  “I don’t think you’re meant to…” started Paul, but nobody was listening. Kate held onto her dress with one hand and with trepidation she took hold of Tim’s offered hand. As she feared, the now-familiar shooting sensation seared through her body and she had to concentrate on getting over the railings without making an idiot of herself. Tim was strong and almost lifted her over and made sure she landed safely on the other side.

  The view from the bandstand was a glorious one and made the perfect spot to sit and read or talk, apart from the distinct lack of seating. Kate couldn’t control her excitement and she wasn’t entirely sure that it was all down to the bandstand. She scanned the back of it, found the almost invisible door in the panelling where the band would normally enter, and pointed this out to Tim. “Look. Patrick will be waiting for Marcie and think she’s not coming. But instead of seeing her as he’s about to leave, as it was in the book, she’ll appear through the secret door. Their eyes will meet, there’s a fast-paced conversation and then Patrick sweeps her into his arms and kisses her and swings her around.” Kate looked into Tim’s eyes, those very green, expressive eyes and tried to make out what she saw there.

  “Visually, I think it might just work. One question; why would Patrick pick here as opposed to over there by the lake?” Tim said. Kate looked over to the lake, which was a very pretty spot and pondered this for a while as she leant on the railings.

  “The bandstand makes a statement. He wants to control the situation. It’s easier to walk away when you are in an open space, but here you are on show. Patrick lives his life on show; it’s actually somewhere he’s comfortable.” She turned to Tim, who came and leant on the railings next to her.

  “But he’s changing. Being with Marcie is changing him.”

  “It is, but he’ll still revert to his comfort zone when he’s unsure of something. And being somewhere showy like this, where he can control what happens, is right up Patrick’s alley.”

  There was a pause and they both let the amiable silence hang between them. “Okay, I’m sold. The bandstand works,” Tim said, and they both smiled at each other. Tim leaned forward slightly and Kate’s gaze was drawn to his lips.

  “So, all sorted, then?” called Paul, and the moment was lost.

  “No, sorry, we need to find an office building. Let’s ask the driver,” said Tim as he very smoothly jumped over the railings and lifted Kate over both the railings and the hedge, placing her gently on the ground next to him. He took her hand and this time he held it firmly when she tried to pull it away.

  “I don’t want you tripping over again,” he smiled, “or skipping,” he breathed quietly into her ear. Kate was surprised to find that her erogenous zones, which she thought had long since been packed up and archived, were able to spring into life in a split second, and she was thankful for the steadying hand to maintain her balance.

  Back in the limo, the driver was very helpful and, much to Paul’s annoyance, he knew of quite a few modern, glass office buildings around Bath, so they set off to view some. The first one was smoked glass with red frames, which reminded Kate of a fire station. The second one didn’t have enough glass and was quite tired-looking. Number three was actually an NHS drop-in centre, which the driver apologised for, but number four fitted the bill completely. It was walkable to the city centre and had a mix of stark, white office building and dark glass, with a tall glass atrium. Kate and Tim took one look at the building and both said, “Yes”. Paul went inside to find out some contact details, while Tim and Kate waited in the limo. Tim checked his phone and picked up some messages, so Kate decided to check hers, too, although she wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone in particular. Her voicemail informed her that she had one new message. The message was from Didi saying that she’d been given the all-clear; she would be let out of the asylum at the weekend and was the offer of a lift still available? Tim looked over at Kate.

  “My friend Didi. She’s coming home at the weekend.”

  “Your mad friend?”

  “Yes, well remembered! It’s been driving her potty being cooped up. I’ve not been able to see her as much as I’d like, what with filming and everything, but I’ll see her at the weekend.”

  “Take the chopper home tonight,” offered Tim.

  “How do you mean?”

  “It’s booked till midnight. It can fly at night and it’ll have you home in no time.”

  “But you can’t land a helicopter in my road,” chuckled Kate.

  “No, you land it on the field near the church,” stated Tim, and Kate raised her eyebrows as she realised that this must have been what Tim had done at the weekend. “Or get it to land near the hospital and then take you home afterwards. Pip will sort it for you.”

  “Thanks, that’s really kind. If it’s okay with you, then, I will take it and I’ll get the train back down in the morning.”

  “Of course, it’s fine. Pip is a big fan of yours.”

  “I think she’s read some of the books,” said Kate, trying to appear modest.

  “No, I mean after sorting out Mina and the chopper and stuff this morning,” he said with a chuckle. Instant blush hit Kate’s cheeks. I’ll never need to wear blusher again, she thought.

  “Oh, I was only helping out.” The mention of Lumina brought that morning’s conversation back to her and a harsh reminder of the depth of Lumina’s feelings for Tim. “You and Lumina, you’ve got something special there,” she said rather awkwardly, as if she had to force the words out

  “What makes you say that?” said Tim, a small wrinkle furrowing his brow.

  “She’s really in love with you, Tim.” Perhaps she shouldn’t have said it, but it was said now. Tim smirked and Kate knew that he wasn’t aware. “Seriously, Tim, Lumina is in love with you. It runs deep for her. I’m sure she enjoys the media attention that you bring too, but the fact is that she’s fallen hook, line and sinker for you.”

  “Now there’s a phrase you don’t hear very often. Only in films before 1970,” he said, trying to lighten the moment, but he sensed Kate’s solemnity. “She knows it’s not serious. I’ve been clear with her all along.”

  “But you can’t be logical about love.” The atmosphere in the limo was a little strained when Paul returned. Little more was said and they headed back to the helicopter.

  Chapter 17

  Kate was quite shocked by how much she loved the excitement and opulence of travelling by helicopter, although it wasn’t quite the same not sharing the experience with someone else. Travelling at night was different, too, because there was little to see as the helicopter slid through the darkness, so Kate gazed at the patterns of lights far below.

  Tim was right that it was a surprisingly quick journey, and within about half an hour they were hovering and landing in the vast grounds of the convalescent home. The pilot jumped out and helped Kate down. She kept her head ducked low, as instructed, as the rotors were still turning. She promis
ed the pilot she wouldn’t be long and strode across the grass towards the home.

  As she got closer she could see that the helicopter’s arrival had caused a bit of a stir and there was a geriatric welcome party shuffling outside. Kate walked up the stone steps, where Didi was surrounded by about ten other residents in various states of undress, all jabbering excitedly and pointing from Kate to the helicopter. Didi was standing with her hands on her hips, “You’re never taking me home in that?”

  “No, sorry Didi, it’s on loan just for this evening. I can’t stay long. Shall we go inside? It’s getting a bit chilly?” Didi ushered the others inside as the excited babble started to die down.

  “Are they Nazis?” asked a small, frail old lady, who was leaning on a zimmer frame and staring wide-eyed at the helicopter.

  “No, Alice, you’re quite safe. It’s just my show-off friend Kate. The war’s over, Alice.”

  “Is it? How marvellous!”

  “Come on, Alice, you had best get some cocoa and head off to bed,” said Didi, with a good-natured roll of her eyes as she helped Alice turn her frame around.

  It was lovely to see Didi fully mobile and able to help someone else. It gave Kate confidence that she was truly ready to go home.

  “Ah,” sighed Didi as she sat down hard in the large wing-backed chair, “so the celebrity lifestyle’s not suiting you at all, I see.”

  “No, I hate it,” said Kate, with a scowl.

  “Must be terrible having to fly everywhere by helicopter. You must miss sitting in traffic on the motorway.”

  “I do, terribly.” Kate picked up her tea cup and saucer, “Thanks for this.”

  “I figured I owed you a few,” said Didi.

  Kate gave her a summarised update of the last week or so and a few details about Lumina’s meltdown and the trip to Bath.

  “So why the visit by helicopter?”