A Cornish Gift

by Fern Britton

  ‘Mum, come and have a look at this,’ Sam said. ‘We’ve been watching these huge waves and—’

  ‘Put that thing away. The sun’s shining and we’re going out for the afternoon.’

  She skipped up the stairs to find Alex still in her room. ‘Hey. How’s it going?’

  Alex grunted something incomprehensible from beneath her hoodie.

  ‘Sun’s out.’

  ‘I don’t like the sun.’

  Charlotte laughed. ‘Or anything else for that matter, it seems. Stop hibernating, let’s go out.’

  ‘I’m tired. I don’t want to tramp round a stately home or a lobster farm.’

  ‘Ah – I’ve got something much better than that in mind.’

  Alex’s interest was piqued. ‘Like what?’

  ‘Fancy a trip out on a fishing boat?’

  Alex sat up – she loved boats. ‘Piran’s?’

  ‘Who else’s!’

  ‘Awesome! When are we going?’

  ‘Now?’

  Alex jumped out of bed and Charlotte headed back downstairs to rally the troops.

  *

  An hour later they headed out of Trevay on Piran’s fishing boat. The rain had cleared and the sun kept breaking through the clouds, promising warmer weather to come. The family foursome were all decked out in lifejackets and chatting excitedly as the boat chugged out into the open sea.

  ‘Backalong times, Trevay was full of little boats and fishermen like me,’ Piran informed them. ‘Nowadays, it’s the big boys like Behenna and Clovelly Fisheries what gets the big catches, but some of us still stick to the old ways.’

  They spent the next few hours learning about tackle and lines. Despite his gruff manner, Piran was a patient and thoughtful teacher. Alex and Ed were in their element. Alex had always been fascinated by how things work, and Piran’s informed explanation of long-line fishing and how to set the lines near the surface kept her completely absorbed.

  Sam and Charlotte were more interested in watching the wildlife. They thought they saw a dolphin’s fin and definitely spotted a couple of seals popping their heads out of the water, eyeing them curiously.

  ‘I’ve caught some!’ Alex was thrilled when she felt the tug of mackerel on her line. Neither Ed nor Charlotte wanted to spoil the mood by reminding her of her vegetarian principles.

  After a happy afternoon, they headed back towards Trevay. To everyone’s delight, a pod of dolphins appeared alongside the boat and raced them for a few minutes before breaking off and disappearing back under the waves. Charlotte watched in awe as the lithe creatures darted beneath the water. She remembered that the ancient Celts believed that dolphins had healing powers. Was it too much to hope that this could be the start of the healing process for her family too?

  *

  When they pulled into the harbour and unloaded their catch, everyone agreed that a barbie down on the beach would be the perfect end to a perfect day. Charlotte filled a cooler box with ingredients that Ed had picked up from Queenie’s shop, along with their fish.

  Aside from a fry-up, Ed’s other speciality was a barbecue. He loved the rigmarole of setting the charcoal – never briquettes – getting the glow just right, and then judging with minute precision whether it was time to put the food on. No charred-on-the-outside-raw-on-the-inside frozen sausages on his watch.

  As Ed set the barbecue going in the fading evening sunlight, Sam tackled Alex about her mackerel, half a dozen of which hung from a string attached to a hook outside the cabin.

  ‘If you’re a vegetarian, how come you’ve gone fishing?’

  Charlotte held her breath for a moment, fearing that the blue touchpaper had been lit and an explosion would surely follow.

  But, after taking a moment to consider her response, Alex said calmly, ‘Fishing felt different than I thought it would. Piran explained that fishing didn’t have to be destructive as long as you fish responsibly and think about your impact on the environment. I liked setting the lines and doing it properly.’

  ‘Are you going to eat one?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Well, I’m hoping they’ll be delicious,’ Ed chipped in. ‘But I wish we’d asked Piran to gut them as well.’

  ‘He’d have told you not to be a “bleddy lazy up-country arse” and to do it yourself.’ Charlotte came alongside him, carrying a chopping board and a plastic bowl filled with new potatoes and some beetroot, which she placed on the camping table. ‘What are you going to cook them in?’

  ‘I’ve got a marinade of lime, ginger and chilli.’

  ‘Nice! I’m starving.’ She handed him an open beer and took a swig from her own.

  ‘Cheers.’ They chinked bottles.

  As the cooking got under way, the appetising smell from the fish was unbearably tempting and Alex found herself hovering by her dad as he dished hot fish onto plates.

  ‘Want some?’ he offered non-judgementally.

  ‘Go on then.’ She picked hot chunks of mackerel off with her fingers and declared them delicious.

  ‘Does this mean you’re not a vegetarian now?’ Sam badgered.

  ‘I’m a fishetarian!’

  There were plenty of other people down at the beach that evening and they stayed on until quite late. Charlotte was disappointed to see that her potato, beetroot and egg salad remained untouched. She was sure that was the list of ingredients that Lorraine Pascale had used … But maybe the egg was wrong – or was it the beetroot? She offered it to Molly, who gave her a courteous thank-you lick but left the bowl untouched.

  When they got home, Charlotte tidied away the things while Ed collapsed on the sofa and the children drifted off upstairs to bed.

  Charlotte poured herself a glass of red wine and one for Ed, but by the time she sat down, squeezed onto the sofa in the tiny space left by his big long legs, he was fast asleep and snoring loudly.

  Noticing that his glasses had fallen halfway off his face, she removed them. He never carried a spare pair and would be lost if they got broken. Looking at him now, she thought that, apart from the grey hair around his temples, he looked almost exactly the same as he had when they’d first met. Essentially, he was the same, she realised. Constant. Steady. Just never there these days … She wondered what he would say about her.

  Charlotte took a blanket and gently tucked it around him, then turned and headed to bed with Molly close behind her.

  5

  It was the Applebys’ last day in Pendruggan. Tomorrow Charlotte and the kids would be going home, and Charlotte was surprised how sad she felt at the idea. She’d fallen in love with the place. As she looked around her at the dozens of families, surfers and walkers who had come to Shellsand Beach to enjoy the late-August sunshine, she thought there was no better place to be than here.

  Their imminent departure meant the time for prevaricating was over. Charlotte would have to talk to Ed today. She’d decided what she was going to say and how she was going to say it – she’d have to pick her moment.

  For the first time since they’d been on Shellsand Bay, there was a sign of life from one of the other cabins. The one next door to theirs was occupied. It looked to Charlotte like a family of surfers. There was an older man – a well-preserved specimen, perhaps in his late forties – accompanied by a young man who looked to be just out of his teens, and another lad about the same age as Alex. The younger two had blond hair, while the older one had probably been blond once but his hair was now white, with thick Boris Becker eyebrows that stood out in stark contrast against his tanned skin. All three had the sort of tan that comes from year-round exposure to the Cornish elements rather than a few weeks on the beach in summer.

  The man was immediately friendly and introduced himself in a thick Cornish burr as Paul Tallack. ‘We’m from up Trevay way, but my boys love the waves. Older one’s Ryan and my youngest is Josh over there.’

  He and Ed shook hands. ‘This is Charlotte, my wife, and those are my kids, Alex and Sam.’ He pointed to his son and daugh
ter, down at the water’s edge. ‘You’re surfing too?’

  ‘Aye, love it. We all do. Shellsand’s got the right climate, see? Today’s going be perfect. Them waves is building.’

  ‘How can you tell?’

  Paul tapped his nose conspiratorially, then laughed. ‘You gotta be in the know. Seriously, I’m a reserve coastguard, so I’ve spent years watching the waves and learning. You can never second-guess the sea, though. That’s part of the wonder of it. Never know what you’re gonna get. Need to respect it too, mind – can’t take any chances.’

  Spotting the presence of real-life surfers, Sam came hurrying up the beach to watch Ryan expertly setting out their kit. Charlotte could see that her husband and son were bonding with the neighbours in that way men do. Perhaps Sam and Ed were going to get that surfing lesson they so desperately needed after all.

  Josh, the younger of the two sons, ambled over to where Alex was sitting, still with her head in a book, trying hard to be nonchalant. At about fifteen or sixteen he was already a handsome young man and had that characteristic and confident Cornish charm.

  ‘What you’m reading?’

  ‘Pardon?’ Charlotte looked up from her book.

  ‘Your book. What is it?’

  ‘Umm,’ Alex looked down awkwardly at the cover, as if she’d forgotten. ‘It’s called The Catcher in the Rye.’ She looked down at her book again, her cheeks suddenly bright pink.

  Watching from the veranda, Charlotte felt a pang at Alex’s awkwardness, but Josh didn’t seem to notice. ‘What’s it about?’ He sat down next to her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  Alex hesitated, looking around her as if to find somewhere to bolt to. But there was no escape. She caught her mother’s eye and Charlotte looked away quickly, desperate not to add to her daughter’s shyness.

  ‘Er, it’s about a boy – he doesn’t feel that the world understands him. Or that he doesn’t understand the world. He sort of goes off on his own …’ She trailed off awkwardly.

  ‘Yeah, folks are like that. My dad’s all right, leaves me alone, but my mum’s always on at us: “Do this, don’t do that, pick your trainers up.” She don’t stop …’

  Josh continued in this lively vein and Charlotte smiled. Alex didn’t stand a chance.

  *

  The sun was high in the sky. Paul and Ryan couldn’t have been happier to share their expertise, and in Ed and Sam they had two ultra-willing pupils. Josh seemed content to forgo surfing and sit with Alex. The two of them were now side by side on the deckchairs, chatting animatedly. Alex’s face was lit up in a way Charlotte had almost forgotten, it was so long since she’d seen her that happy. Josh obviously had the knack of breaking down her barriers – his charm offensive was working wonders where Charlotte’s and Ed’s had failed. Maybe she’d been worrying too much.

  When lunchtime arrived, Paul and Ed decided to pool resources on the barbecue front. Was it possible for two men to share barbecue duties? Charlotte wondered. Or would it end in a tongs-off? They seemed to be doing all right, though she almost wished they weren’t. Having steeled herself for a difficult conversation with Ed, she was anxious to get it over with. But first they needed a moment alone. A little voice kept niggling away at her: If you don’t tell him now … Her thoughts were interrupted by Paul’s voice booming across the beach: ‘C’mon, Josh – muck in, mate! Get back to the jeep and bring me some more o’ that charcoal, it’s in the boot.’

  Josh did as he was asked and Alex came over to sit with her mother on the veranda.

  ‘You’ve caught the sun.’ Charlotte observed. ‘Given up on the vampire look, then?’

  ‘Mum!’ But Alex was smiling.

  They were joined by Sam, who proceeded to strip off his wetsuit, scattering big drops of seawater over both of them.

  ‘Watch out, you flippin’ idiot!’ Alex scolded.

  ‘Don’t call me an idiot. At least I’m not sitting there with an idiotic look on my face mooning over some stupid boy.’

  ‘Shuttup, you little arsehole!’

  ‘Sam,’ said Charlotte sharply, ‘stop showing off. Alex, calm down and don’t let him wind you up.’

  But Sam was in that irksome mode that comes as second nature to eleven-year-old boys, and, having discovered Alex’s raw spot, he wasn’t about to stop poking it.

  ‘Oohhh, feeling sensitive about your new boyfriend?’ He puckered up his lips and made loud kissing noises. ‘Mwah-mwah, I love you, Joshy.’

  ‘I’m going to kill you if you don’t shut up, you little shit!’

  ‘Sam, that’s enough!’ Charlotte could see that Sam was pushing it too far, but there was no letup.

  ‘Alex and Joshy, sitting in a tree,’ he sang, ‘K-I-S-S-I-N-G!’

  At this Alex launched herself at Sam, shoving him to the ground and kicking him in the ribs, screaming. ‘I hate you! I wish you were dead! I hate you and I hate Josh – I hate all boys!’

  Despite thinking that Sam had gone too far, Charlotte was shocked at Alex’s reaction.

  Ed, hearing the fracas, rushed over and hauled the children apart. ‘What the hell’s going on, you two?’

  ‘That cow pushed me over and kicked me!’

  Sam was rubbing his ribs and feigning tears, but Alex was panting hard and real tears of anger were streaming down her face.

  Ed took her by the shoulders. ‘Alex, relax. Come on, let’s chill for a minute, OK?’

  ‘No, it’s not OK.’ Alex shook her head violently. ‘Don’t tell me to chill out. Leave me alone.’ She shrugged her father off and moved away.

  ‘Alex, please, talk to me—’

  ‘No. Leave me alone, all of you. I’m going to take Molly for a walk.’ And, before he could stop her, Alex grabbed Molly, who’d been tethered to the veranda to stop her going near the barbecue, and stormed off in the direction of the path.

  ‘Ed? I’m not sure we should let her go off like this …’

  ‘Let’s give her some space, Charlotte.’

  ‘I don’t know – she seems really upset.’

  ‘She just needs a bit of time to calm down, that’s all. As for you …’ Ed turned to Sam and launched into a serious telling off.

  Charlotte caught snatches of it drifting on the breeze – no iPad and apologise to your sister – but her thoughts were with Alex as she watched her climb the path up the cliffs.

  *

  Over forty minutes had gone by and Alex still hadn’t returned. The food had been dished up but neither Charlotte nor Ed could muster an appetite. Even Josh was asking after her now.

  ‘I’m going to go and look for her,’ announced Charlotte.

  ‘No, I’ll go.’

  Their conversation was interrupted as the insistent beep of a pager came from Paul’s pocket. He took it out, looked at it and then made a call on his mobile.

  ‘OK, mate. I’m on my way.’ He rang off. Gone was his carefree, happy-go-lucky demeanour. He turned back to them with a look of tense concern. ‘There’s no need to panic yet, but a fishing boat on the water close to here has reported a sighting of a body down on the rocks.’

  Charlotte’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh, my God! Alex!’

  ‘Now hang on a minute,’ said Paul, laying a reassuring hand on her arm. ‘There’s no reason to assume that it’s Alex. The best thing you can do is stay here in case she comes back. I’m on callout and we’ve been scrambled. We’ll let you know if there’s any news.’

  As Paul set off at a run up the cliff path in the direction of his jeep, Charlotte and Ed looked at each other. ‘I’m going to find her, Ed.’ Charlotte’s tone brooked no argument.

  ‘I’m coming with you.’ Ed was equally determined. Sam’s bottom lip trembled and Ed squeezed his son’s shoulder. ‘Stay with Ryan and Josh, Sam. Everything’s going to be OK, I promise.’

  *

  Keen ramblers could walk all the way from Pendruggan to Trevay, but Charlotte had never been that far. On her walks with Molly they had only pottered along a
short section where slopes dotted with gorse and heather rolled gently down to the sea. Now she found herself on a stretch of the coast path with brambles on one side and vertiginous cliffs on the other. She could hardly bear to look down to where the waves battered the rocks a couple of hundred feet below.

  ‘I’ll never forgive myself if anything’s happened to her …’ Charlotte’s voice caught as she hurried along the path with Ed on her heels. ‘I should never have let her go – I could see how upset she was.’

  ‘Try not to think the worst. We don’t know that anything’s happened – she might be back at the cottage, playing with her iPad.’ But Ed wasn’t sure that he believed his own words. Alex might be fifteen, but she wasn’t worldly wise and she’d been upset and angry – the possibilities didn’t bear thinking about.

  They’d been walking for twenty minutes now and there was still no sign of her. Ed had tried calling her mobile, but there was no signal. Charlotte could feel panic rising up inside her with each step. Striding out in front, she picked up her pace. Please, please, let her be all right, she prayed.

  Then she saw a familiar outline ahead. Alex!

  ‘Darling! Alex! We’re here!’ Charlotte ran as fast as she dared to where Alex was crouched down, almost at the edge of the cliff. On hearing her mother’s voice, Alex stood and threw herself at her mother. The pair of them were immediately enveloped by Ed’s strong arms, and for a moment they stood hugging each other and crying.

  ‘M-m-m—’ Alex was distraught, tears choking her words. Charlotte held her tightly, whispering soothing words. ‘It’s all right, baby, it’s all right, we’re here.’

  ‘M-M-Molly—’ Alex could only point down to the rocks below.

  ‘You two, get back from the edge.’ Ed took a step forward and peered down the face of the cliff. The drop here wasn’t so sharp and the cliff sloped down a little more gently, but down at the bottom of the rocks he could see the unmistakable hairy body of Molly. She didn’t appear to be moving.

  Despite a surge of relief that it was his dog and not his daughter lying down there, he felt a lump in his throat at the sight below. Behind him, Charlotte was asking, ‘Do you know how it happened, Alex?’