Infinite Spring

by J. A. Armitage

  “Ah,” said the shop assistant, “it might be that we have run out of stock. I’m sorry. I’ll just go check with my manager.” The young woman disappeared from sight, taking the showroom model with her, leaving Anais by herself. Just as she was about to check out the other cameras, the tannoy announced her flight was ready for boarding. She picked up her bag of shopping and wondered what to do. She didn’t want to miss the flight, but now that she had it in her head, she really wanted a camera. She was almost about to pick up the nearest boxed one to her when the assistant came back.

  “I’m afraid this is the last one in stock. My manager said that you can have the shop model and she’d give you a discount and throw in a free camera bag and memory card.”

  It sounded like a good deal, so she quickly bought it and made her way to the gate. Once inside the plane, she was pleasantly surprised when the air hostess directed her left into the first class compartment. She gave Winnie a silent ‘thank you’ when she sat in the luxurious seat with plenty of space. She didn’t know what awaited her at the other end, but she was determined to enjoy the journey.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A gush of warm air hit her as she exited the air conditioned airport. After living in England so long, she’d forgotten the wonderful feeling of coming out of an air conditioned building into the baking hot sunshine. Of course, most of the time, Los Angeles was like that, but in the U.K. it was the opposite. You went inside to get warm. Taking a few lungful’s of the warm air, she made her way to the taxi rank. Winnie had told her that the boat was moored at the marina in Los Cristianos. Having never been to Tenerife before, Anais had no idea where this was in relation to the airport, but she didn’t want to waste time figuring out bus schedules. She found the nearest taxi and in faltering high school Spanish, asked to be taken to Los Cristianos. To her immense relief, the taxi driver understood her and even better, didn’t laugh or gape at her destination. If it was too far, he would probably have said no.

  The journey to the marina was beautiful. The palm trees that were dotted along the side of the road reminded her of her home in Los Angeles, where they had grown abundantly in her garden. The cerulean blue of the sky was soon joined by the blue of the ocean as they drove along an ocean road. She knew it was a relatively small island, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that they would be driving along the coast. The sun blazed down, warming her face and a few small white clouds lazily scudded across the sky. Despite the perfect balmy weather, she was beginning to feel nervous. What if Aethelu sent her home? Told her she didn’t love her anymore? Anais didn’t think things were that bad, but what if they were? She didn’t have much time to worry about it, though, because before long, the taxi pulled up. She scrambled in her bag for some Euros to pay the taxi driver and walked toward the boats. Lines of boats ranging from little dinghies to luxury yachts were dotted around the marina. She realised she didn’t know what she was looking for. Winnie had told her that Ava and Alfred’s boat was called The Light Princess; she just hadn’t mentioned how big it was. She knew she could ask at the marina office, but instead, she chose to walk around the marina, enjoying the weather and looking at all the yachts. It was another excuse to put off facing Aethelu. She wasn’t just nervous, she was downright scared. A leisurely stroll around the marina would give her time to get her thoughts together and come up with something better than “I’m sorry.”

  It turned out that she had plenty of time as 20 minutes later she still hadn’t found the right boat. There were only a couple left that she hadn’t checked out, and she was beginning to wonder if she should call Ava when she heard her name being called.

  “Anais? Anais, darling, is that you?” A high-pitched voice called out to her. “I didn’t know you were coming, what a wonderful surprise.”

  Anais looked around for the source of the voice. She didn’t have far to look. Standing on the bow of the largest yacht, stood Ava. She looked even tinier than usual, dwarfed by the huge boat on which she was standing.

  A ladder hung from the side of the boat which Anais climbed to get aboard. The words ‘The Light Princess’ were painted in gold along the side in a flourishing script.

  “Oh, sorry, I should have gotten the gang plank out for you to walk up. Alfred usually does it, but he’s out at the moment. Never mind, you are here now. So, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

  Anais had forgotten Ava’s particular way of speaking, asking question after question, not pausing for breath or giving time to answer them. She carried on.

  “You’re here to see Aethelu, of course. I’m afraid she’s out, too. We’ve seen the most darling apartment on the north side of the Island, but I wanted Aethelu to have a look at it before we took the plunge, so to speak. Freddy took her over there this morning, but they said they’d make a day of it. I’m not expecting them back until this evening. Come and look around my baby! You’ll love it!”

  Anais had to think for a second to process all the information. Aethelu would be out for the day and Ava’s baby was obviously The Light Princess. She followed Ava around the most luxurious yacht Anais had ever seen, not that she’d seen many. It was huge. Three bedrooms, a small kitchen, a dining room, a lounge area and two bathrooms not to mention the huge deck with ample sunbathing space.

  It was a palace on water. Anais had never seen anything like it. Ava chatted in her singsong voice all the way around, obviously proud of her ‘baby’. She directed Anais to the lounge area and sat her down on a taupe coloured sofa. She carried on her chit chat, as she poured a couple of glasses of champagne.

  “So, tell me how everything is going at home. Aethelu tells me there is trouble in paradise. I’ve heard about Alex of course. Poor Alex. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Winnie must be frantic with worry.”

  Anais wasn’t sure what to say. Ava seemed to already know everything that was happening. Anais realised she’d been on the yacht half an hour and was yet to utter a single word. All she could think about was Aethelu. She was due back in the evening. She looked at the clock. It was just after midday. She couldn’t contemplate spending the next few hours listening to Ava having a conversation with herself.

  “Would you mind if I had a shower to freshen up after the flight?” It felt rude to ask, but Ava’s constant chatter was driving her mad.

  “Of course, you can. Here, I’ll take you to the guest bedroom. It has an ensuite. Please make yourself at home. I’ll call Freddy and let him know you are here. Perhaps, he’ll want to get back sooner. I know Aethelu will.”

  The mention of her name made Anais’ heart leap. It also gave her an idea.

  “Actually Ava, if you don’t mind, can you not call them? I’d like to surprise Aethelu. Perhaps I will take her out to a nice restaurant if you can recommend one nearby?”

  “Nonsense! There is nowhere more romantic than my baby. You can have a lovely meal up on the deck. It will be fabulous. I’ll take Freddie out for the evening. Hire a hotel room. Oh how exciting.” She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. It was not what Anais had in mind, but Ava was being so nice to her that she didn’t have the heart to turn down her offer. It didn’t actually matter where she spoke to Aethelu, just that she spoke to her. She was shown to a small but immaculate cabin where she quickly showered and changed into a sundress. She didn’t have time to dry her hair before Ava was back, knocking on the cabin door.

  “Come on, darling. Let’s go shopping. You are going to need some food for tonight.”

  Anais put on some flip flops and followed Ava off the yacht. At the edge of the marina, she was expecting to turn right towards what she assumed was the town, so she was surprised when Ava turned left towards a small car park.

  “Ok, get on.” Ava indicated a yellow Vespa and handed her a matching yellow helmet.

  Anais had never ridden pillion before, but she was willing to give it a go. She swung her leg over the seat and waited for Ava to get on in front of her. She was slightly disconcerted to see Ava getting on, not her Vespa
, but a red one next to it.

  “I’ve never driven a bike before, Ava. I don’t know how. I don’t even have a driving licence.”

  “Don’t worry. Just copy what I do, Use the accelerator, you can see the break. Put your helmet on and follow me.”

  She quickly put her helmet on and copied what Ava did. She was terrified when the bike started to move forward. She didn’t have time to panic as Ava had already set off. She followed as best she could, trying her hardest not to fall off. She was at least grateful that Ava seemed to be taking the back streets rather than the main roads. More cobbles but virtually no traffic. Beautiful white houses with red flowers in window boxes lined the streets and by the time Ava pulled up, Anais was beginning to enjoy herself.

  “Enjoy the ride? Quite a blast, huh? So what do you plan on cooking for your romantic dinner? My butcher does a great deal on steaks. There’s a lovely little wine shop where you can pick up some divine vino. You’ll want flowers of course.”

  Anais decided it was easier to follow Ava around and let her plan the evening rather than try to argue. Plus a steak dinner did sound nice. She enjoyed the afternoon more than she’d anticipated. Ava knew every shop keeper and chatted away in fluent Spanish with each of them. Once everything for the meal had been bought, Ava took her to a boutique dress shop.

  “That dress is lovely, but it’s not right for a romantic evening. Let me buy you something with a bit more pizzazz.”

  Anais was going to argue, but Ava was still talking, so she didn’t get a chance.

  The shop was small, but Anais could tell that it had an exclusive clientele. As with all the other shops, Ava knew the owner. The immaculate woman ran up to Ava and kissed both her cheeks. She wore a red halter neck top and her black silky waist length hair fell in waves down her back. Whilst they were conversing in rapid Spanish, Anais looked around the shop. She noticed that there were a lot of sequins. All the dresses were very showy and sparkly. She didn’t really like any of them. They reminded her of something a drag queen might wear. The owner came over to her as she was running her hands over a blue sequined ball gown.

  “No, no, no. Theez iz all wrong for you. I have ze perfect dress. Pleez follow me.” Anais followed the stunning woman to the back of the shop to a rack of dresses. She pulled out a long white dress. It did have some beading on it, but thankfully, it was understated unlike the rest of the dresses in the shop.

  “Perfect!” said Ava grabbing the dress. We’ll take it. Thank you, Juanita. Put it on my tab, will you? Kiss, kiss.” And with that she was out the door before Anais had time to speak.

  “Er, Thank you.” She smiled at Juanita and quickly followed Ava out of the shop.

  Despite her diminutive size, Ava could move quickly, even in high heels and laden down with shopping bags. They got back to the Vespa’s in no time and Anais was relieved to find that Ava planned to carry the shopping on her own Vespa. She was quite looking forward to the journey back to the boat on the little bike. Once she got used to it, it was kinda fun to ride. She was almost disappointed when they finally made it back to the marina. The sun getting low in the sky alerted her to the fact that time was not on her side. A fact that Ava had also noticed.

  “Here. Take the dress, get yourself all dolled up, and I’ll do the cooking for you.”

  Back in the cabin, Anais pulled the white dress over her head. She wasn’t sure it was quite right until she looked at herself in the mirror. It was understated, but beautiful. Pure white, with just enough sparkle to make it something special. It would have looked amazing if she had a tan, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She certainly didn’t plan on going back out and buying fake tan.

  ‘Get all dolled up.’ Ava had said, which Anais had assumed meant put makeup on. Anais already knew that she’d not packed anything more than a tinted lip gloss. It was all she had, so she liberally coated her lips giving them a rosy glow. She did find a few stray hair clips in the bottom of her bag, so she decided to try to take her curls and clip them up so they were at least out of her face. Because her hair had dried quickly and naturally in the heat of the sun, it had formed tight ringlets which cascaded down her back. It took a while to tame her hair back enough so it framed her face prettily. By the time she left the room, the sky was turning orange and the smell of steak was permeating the air. It smelled delicious. She followed it to the little kitchen where Ava, wearing a pink apron was busy getting the dinner ready. When Ava saw her, she immediately started talking.

  “Wow, you look gorgeous. I think I’ve got a white shawl that will go nicely with that. I was thinking of serving dinner up on deck. It’s a little cooler so you’ll definitely need a shawl, but I think you’ll see why when you go up there. I hope you don’t mind, but I called Freddy. Now don’t worry. I didn’t tell him that you were here. I just asked him when they were due back. He said they were nearly here, so there’s no time to waste. Take these will you.” She handed Anais two glasses and the bottle of wine they had purchased earlier.

  Anais made her way up to the deck and what she saw took her breath away. Ava had set a table on which a candle flickered in the slight breeze. Fairy lights surrounded the deck and reflected in the dark water below. Soft music floated out of some hidden speakers. The whole effect was magical.

  Ava bustled past her and placed two dinners on the table.

  “They are here. I just saw them pull into the car park. Here is that shawl. Have a wonderful evening and we’ll see you tomorrow. She kissed Anais on the cheek, and left her alone on the boat.

  It was then that Anais realised that not once in the past few hours had she asked Ava how Aethelu was or what she thought of her.

  This whole dinner could be a complete disaster.

  It was too late to worry about it now though. Aethelu had already boarded the boat. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Anais. Her expression was unreadable and Anais suddenly found herself at a loss for words. The word ‘sorry’ was stuck in her throat. The two girls stood just metres apart, both silent.

  Anais searched her mind for something to say--Anything. She could hear herself breathing over the soft lapping of the water.

  “Aethelu…” she began tentatively.

  Aethelu didn’t wait for her to finish, instead, she gapped the divide between them and launched herself into Anais’ arms. Tears were coursing down her face.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She could barely speak through the sobs. Her tears were creating a wet patch on Anais’ shoulder.

  Anais hugged her fiercely. “Why are you sorry? It’s me that should be sorry. I’m the one that came here to apologise.”

  “About what? About you and Alex? I know you, Anais. I trust you. I may not trust my slimy toad of a brother, but I trust you. I know that you didn’t lead him on.” She pulled away from Anais and grabbed a napkin from the table to wipe her eyes. Sitting down at the table, she waited for Anais to do the same before continuing.

  “I was just so mad when Alex told me. I was mad at him, I was mad at you. Mostly I was mad at myself for being so distant and driving you away.”

  “You didn’t drive me away.”

  “I know that now but my head was so messed up. I’d just lost my friend Mike, the year before that, I’d lost Alistair. Rafe wasn’t responding to treatment and I thought I was going to lose him, too. Everything seemed upside down. When Alex told me that he and you had slept together…”

  “But we didn’t!” Anais interjected.

  “Yes, I know. Audsley called me when she heard how I was and told me the whole story. I confronted Alex and he confessed the truth. I think it was the fact you didn’t tell me that made me feel angry. I would have understood a drunken kiss, but you let me go on and on about Rafe’s infidelity with Judith and you didn’t once think to tell me.”

  Anais hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

  “I felt sick of the sight of everyone so I came out here for a while. Just to get away from the house. I couldn�
��t bear it there anymore. I felt awful leaving you at August’s, especially as by then I already knew what happened in Las Vegas. Since being here, my head has had time to clear. I’ve felt like I was coming out of a fog in the last few days. Ava might talk a lot, but she does have some good advice. She told me that she’d seen a difference in me the last time she came home-- A sparkle in my eyes that only happened when you were in the room, and I’m not talking about the effect of The Light. She said that you were the best thing that ever happened to me and that everyone makes mistakes. She told me to look into my heart.”

  “Did you? What did you find?”

  “I found you!”

  “I’m sorry,” Anais began, but Aethelu cut her off.

  “Don’t be. It’s over now. Let’s enjoy the evening. This steak looks delicious.”

  Anais smiled, amazed at how easily she had been let off. She still felt dreadful at her actions, but the relief that Aethelu had forgiven her so totally took a weight off her mind. She knew she’d have to find a way to make it up to Aethelu, but she planned on showing her just how much she was loved. With a new spring in her heart, she picked up her knife and fork and tucked in to Ava’s dinner.

  As they ate, Aethelu’s phone rang.

  “Hi Mama… Yes, she’s here. We are fine,” she laughed, “I will.”

  Anais suddenly realised in her haste to buy dinner and her worry over Aethelu, she had totally forgotten to call Winnie like she promised.

  “He is? Fantastic! That’s great news… I don’t know, maybe a few more days…ok, I love you, too. Bye”

  Anais looked at her questioningly.

  “Mama said to give you this for not calling her,” She playfully swiped Anais around the ear. “and to let you know that Alex is awake and back to his usual annoying pain-in-the-ass self.”

  “She said that?”

  “Well, I might have added some of the words myself.” she grinned.

  “I’m so glad he’s ok. Funnily enough, I didn’t feel as worried about him as I did about Rafe. When I saw that Rafe was ok I think I just assumed Alex would be, too. It’s weird, though, isn’t it?”