He didn’t say anything. He didn’t argue with her. He laid her down on the bed, helped her take off her dress, pulled her nightshirt over her head, pulled back the duvet and tucked her under. He sat on the bed until she fell asleep, waiting for her breathing to even and her pulse to lower. Then he went and cleared everything away, washed up, dried up and wrapped up the remains of the cake.
When order was restored, he poured the last of the champagne into a glass and sat outside looking up at the sky, balefully black until eventually it relented and gave him the gift of a thousand stars. Around him, music and laughter drifted out from the other beach huts. The waves whispered to him and he listened hard to what they had to say, for they had centuries of wisdom, the certainty of the tide. They spoke the truth. And when he’d drained the last drop of golden bubbles, he went back into the hut and undressed, sliding into bed next to her.
He reached out for her right hand in the dark, explored the back of it gently until he found the finger he wanted, then slid the ring onto it. It was hers, whether she wanted to marry him or not. It wasn’t a conditional gift. He certainly wasn’t going to take it back. It was beautiful, like she was, and it belonged to her. He curled himself around her and drifted off to sleep.
In the morning he woke up and found her awake, staring at the ceiling. He looked down at her right hand. The ring was gone. He opened his mouth to say something, to explain that he didn’t expect anything, but she reached out and put a finger on his lips.
‘Shhh,’ she said, and lifted her left hand. There it was. On her engagement finger. ‘I’m sorry I was such a wally last night. Sometimes it just gets too much and I can’t handle it. I can’t think straight. Of course I’ll marry you. Of course I will.’
RECIPES FOR A ROMANTIC DINNER FOR TWO
It’s the archetypal romantic setting – a table for two on the sand, with a white cloth and a candelabra, the waves gently lapping just beside you, and the sun in the distance dropping into the sea. Of course, for it to be perfect there would be a white-gloved butler to hand, twisting the cork and bringing out oysters on a silver tray, then discreetly melting into the background while you stare into each other’s eyes sipping champagne. But in the absence of staff, this menu is perfect for an al fresco supper à deux – with a little preparation beforehand it doesn’t take much work, especially if you don’t have elaborate cooking facilities, and the colours look very pretty on a white plate. Leaving plenty of time to make sure the ring box is secreted in the perfect place for it to be produced with a flourish!
Strawberry mule
This luscious pink cocktail is the perfect start to your evening, saved from too much sweetness by the lime. And strawberries mean summer, don’t they?
SERVES 2
7 large ripe strawberries
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp sugar
2 mint leaves, plus 2 sprigs to decorate
100ml vodka
Ginger beer, chilled
Muddle 6 of the strawberries, the lime juice, sugar and mint in the bottom of a glass until broken down and the flavours released. Add the vodka and strain into a fresh pair of glasses. Top up with ginger beer. Halve the remaining strawberry and use to decorate the glasses along with a sprig of mint.
Roasted figs
Plump, luscious and fragant, figs are the perfect prelude to a romantic encounter. The nuts and cheese balance the sweetness of the figs and honey. This starter is super easy so it won’t keep you from the table for too long.
SERVES 2
4 ripe but firm figs
80g fresh goat’s cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp runny honey
4 pecan nuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash the figs and cut off the tips then cut a cross in the top of each, pressing so it opens like a bird’s beak. Push the goat’s cheese into the opening and transfer to the baking sheet. Drizzle the honey over the figs, then sprinkle over the chopped nuts. Roast in the oven for about 5 minutes until everything starts to melt and mingle.
Salmon with samphire
The prettiest supper – pink and green – and also very easy. There should be some left over, in which case it is gorgeous cold the next day served with any remaining potatoes crushed with the sauce drizzled over.
SERVES 2
1 × 450g half salmon side
1 tbsp butter
2 lemons
Several dill sprigs
200g Jersey Royals, scrubbed
200g samphire
For the dressing
3 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp mayonnaise
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp each chopped fresh parsley, chives and tarragon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6.
First, make the dressing: whizz the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, herbs and seasoning in a food processor.
Place the salmon in a large piece of foil in a baking dish. Dot with the butter and sprinkle over some sea salt. Slice 1½ of the lemons thickly and cover the salmon with the slices. Scatter over the dill. Wrap the foil loosely over the salmon and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Check it is cooked through to pale pink before removing. Keep warm under the foil.
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10–15 minutes until tender.
Boil the samphire for 2–3 minutes.
Serve slices of the salmon on a bed of samphire with the potatoes on the side. Drizzle the salmon with the dressing and squeeze over the remaining ½ lemon.
White chocolate and raspberry cake
This cake comes a very, very close second to the orange and almond cake as being my favourite. It doesn’t look like much but it’s rather good-natured, like the best sort of friend! It’s gooey with a crispy edge, and you can throw whatever fruit you like into it and it doesn’t mind. I love raspberries but blueberries are good too, or a mixture of both if you feel so inclined. It keeps well too.
MAKES 1 CAKE
250g butter
200g white chocolate
300g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
300ml full-fat milk
250g self-raising flour, sifted
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 large eggs, beaten
400g fresh raspberries
Crème fraîche, to serve
Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas mark 3 and grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the white chocolate and sugar, stirring until everything is melted, then take off the heat. Mix the vanilla essence with the milk and add to the chocolate mixture gradually, stirring to cool it down. Fold in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then stir through the eggs. You will have a very wet batter but don’t worry! Drop in half the raspberries and mix in very gently so as not to break them. Pour into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Check that a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean before removing from the oven. Leave for 30 minutes in the tin before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve with the rest of the raspberries and dollops of crème fraîche.
THE TOP TEN BEACH MOVIES
You’ve eaten your fill, drunk the last drop of wine and watched the sun set. Now it’s time to snuggle up on the sofa together under a cosy blanket and watch a movie, preferably one set by the sea.
FOR ALL THE FAMILY
Finding Nemo
Clownfish Marlin searches for his kidnapped son, Nemo, with the help of his aquatic companions.
The Little Mermaid
Mermaid Ariel dreams of becoming human and falls in love with Prince Eric – leading her to make a deal with an evil sea witch.
ICONIC SURFING MOVIES
Blue Crush
After an accident, chambermaid/surfer girl Anne Marie decides to get back in the game with the help of her friends.
&nbs
p; Point Break
Johnny Utah is an FBI agent investigating a gang of surfers he believes to be bank robbers.
ROMANTIC COMEDY
Something’s Gotta Give
Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson as total opposites who fall for each other in later life in an idyllic Hamptons setting.
Mamma Mia
A woman meets the three possible fathers of her daughter on a Greek island with plenty of music from Abba!
Splash
A young man falls in love with a mermaid, with ensuing complications.
ACTION ADVENTURE
Cast Away
Chuck Noland is washed up on a deserted Pacific island and has to quickly learn how to survive.
The Beach
Adventure-seeking Richard is given a map in Thailand to find the ultimate paradise – but it turns out to be not quite heaven when he gets there.
From Here to Eternity
The trials and tribulations of three US Army soldiers and the women in their lives in the run-up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Nightcap
A Difficult Choice
Everdene was Jenna’s favourite pitch. On a day like this, it was a goldmine. There’d be a steady stream of customers, eager for the cool of an ice cream on a hot day. There was every chance she would run out by lunchtime. She’d have to drive back home to stock up her freezers again for the evening trade.
She still couldn’t believe the success of her little business. Her van was a familiar fixture on the sea front, and she was well-known. The Ice-cream Girl, they called her, and sometimes she sang for them, dressed up in her vintage frocks, belting out Dusty Springfield or Amy Winehouse.
Though she wouldn’t be able to fit into her frocks for much longer. She thought she’d just manage until the end of the summer, but any minute now she would have to pack them all away. She was half excited, half terrified by the prospect of motherhood, unsure how it was going to fit in. The baby was due in September, so she would have a good few months to get used to being a mum before she got back behind the wheel of the van after Easter. Would she manage to juggle it all?
Craig, her husband, had reassured her. If it didn’t work, they could sell the van and the goodwill for a decent sum. But Jenna didn’t want to give it up. It was living proof that she had made something of herself, after a rocky start. It was her identity. She thought it was going to be okay. Her mum had promised to look after the baby. There was a time when Jenna wouldn’t have relied on her mother for anything, but they were close these days. Everything had worked out. People could change. They both had.
It could so easily have gone the other way. She cringed as she remembered how low she had sunk; how desperate she had become at her situation. It was on this very beach, and if Craig hadn’t caught her, how long might she have gone on, nicking stuff out of people’s bags when they were in the water? She’d been unaware that the handsome policeman had been watching her from his beach hut, until she’d felt his hand on her shoulder.
And now, they were married. Both of their lives had changed that day. He’d seen something in her, something more than what she had believed herself to be: a loser, a chancer. It turned out she was a fighter.
Today was her last day serving ice cream. Craig had insisted she should have some time off before the baby was born. A few golden weeks of sunshine, relaxing, pottering, nesting. She had protested, thinking she would get bored, that she would only worry, but actually, now the day had come, she was grateful. It was getting harder to move around and, by the end of the day, she was exhausted. She had her two loyal assistants taking over from her, and she could supervise them from afar. She was grateful for the chance of some downtime.
She looked at her queue of customers, and felt pride and a surge of emotion. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, smiled and slid back the window.
‘Let’s be having you, then,’ she called out, her scoop at the ready. ‘What can I get you?’
Elspeth stepped up to the window, hoping she’d remembered what they all wanted. She felt a little bit guilty that they were working so hard on what should be their holiday, but they had risen to the occasion with enthusiasm. She hardly recognised the hut already! Meg was obsessed with television makeover shows, and had written out a time-plan and a checklist.
‘By the end of the week, this hut will be transformed,’ she told her grandmother. It was long overdue, she knew. She was impressed with Meg’s skills. She was even more handy than the boys, juggling hammer and nails and screwdrivers with dexterity and bossing them around.
Two big tins of paint were waiting for the exterior makeover. The four of them had stood in the DIY shop, arguing over what colour to paint it. Stripes won through in the end. A fresh minty green and white, to cover over the boring brown.
And during the upheaval, Meg had found the photographs in the back of the cupboard. There they were, memories of a golden day, stuck in an old envelope. Elspeth had leafed through them, Meg exclaiming at the antics and the outfits. Louche blond Dickon and his twin Octavia, lolling on the sand. Black-haired Juliet, smoking as always, hidden behind her sunglasses. And Elspeth herself, looking slightly out of place in her blue cotton frock.
‘These are so cool! Oh my God, look at this!’ Meg held up the photo of the human pyramid. ‘We should put them onto canvas. They would look amazing on the wall.’
‘Why not?’ smiled Elspeth. She could still remember standing on Octavia and Juliet, desperately trying to keep her balance, arms out. She could still remember falling. What if she hadn’t fallen? What if she’d gone back to Oxford with Dickon that evening? What if Harry had ended up marrying Octavia? A whole different set of children would be in the hut now, instead of her wonderful three.
‘One Nobbly Bobbly, one Twister and two 99s,’ she asked Jenna. How many ice creams had she bought from her over the past years? ‘How are you doing?’
Jenna puffed out her cheeks. ‘It’s my last day today. I’m going on maternity leave.’ She rolled her eyes slightly, as if it was something to be ashamed of.
‘Enjoy the chance to relax.’ Elspeth smiled. ‘You’re going to be a lovely mum.’
‘Thanks. I hope so,’ said Jenna, handing over the change, then she smiled at the next customer.
‘Can I have a Magnum, please? White chocolate.’
‘Coming up.’
Sofia reached out her hand with the money, admiring the sight of the opal on her finger. It felt good to see it there. She hadn’t noticed it at first when she woke. The sea air had made her sleep more soundly than she had done for months, and she’d opened her eyes just after nine. For a moment she lay enjoying the sound of the waves, and the cry of the seagulls, and then she went to brush her hair away from her eyes and caught sight of the ring on her right hand.
She had lain there for some time, staring at it. Feeling him breathing next to her.
The truth was, Lewis had taken her unawares the night before, and she’d panicked. Sofia always liked being in control. It was a fault, she knew. But it was only because she was so very much not in control of her body. It was a survival tactic.
Now, in the soft light of the early morning, she knew what was the right thing to do. She felt overwhelmed. She had never thought she would find someone who would want to share her life. But Lewis never made her feel anything less than perfect, even when she kicked off like she had last night. Did she deserve him? Did he, more to the point, deserve her?
But as she looked at him sleeping, she knew the answer. She had to believe. After all, he made her a better person. He’d taught her patience, and how to look after herself, and how to stop before she got too tired. She slid the ring off her right hand and transferred it over to her left. And when he woke, she told him she would marry him.
And then the day carried on as normal. Lewis went for a surfing lesson, and Sofia sat outside the hut listening to music with her earphones in, dozing in the sun, until she got too hot and decided to go for an ice cream. It wasn�
�t too far to the van. She was taking it easy today. Yesterday had probably been too much. The journey, the swimming, dinner … the proposal.
She looked in admiration at the girl serving the ice creams. She was dressed in a fifties halterneck, red with white polka dots, and was obviously expecting a baby. She was luminous – she looked so happy, talking to all the customers, joking and laughing. Comfortable in her skin.
Sofia caught her breath. She had to admit it to herself. It was what she wanted. For a long time, she had pretended she wasn’t interested in becoming a mother. It seemed easiest that way. But suddenly, she thought it might be a possibility. It would be hard, but not impossible. And she knew that Lewis would make it happen for her. She knew he would move mountains if she wanted a family. She knew he would always be there.
There was a lump in her throat. The first step was admitting to herself that was what she wanted.
‘Hey.’ The girl was looking at her, holding out her Magnum. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Oh! Yes. Thank you.’ Sofia reached out and took it. ‘Sorry. Away with the fairies.’
The second step would be to voice her desire to Lewis. She’d talk to him when he got back from his surfing lesson. She had the feeling he would want a baby just as much as she did.
A Day at the Beach Hut Page 14
