The South West Series Box Set

by Rebecca Paulinyi

  “I thought it’d be too isolating for someone like you!”

  “There was a time when it would have been too isolating for you!” Beth threw back, and Lee nodded.

  “Times change, I guess,” she said. “It’s worked out pretty well for me, I have to say.” And Beth had to admit that her sister had never looked so happy than in that moment, sat on the sofa with her daughter, with messy hair and a patch of what looked suspiciously like baby sick on her sleeve.

  ***

  James was definitely the cook of the family, but Lee and Beth did their best to throw something together so he could come back to a homemade meal. Vegetables were cooked, chicken was grilled and potatoes boiled - handily all while Holly napped. Lee poured a generous glass of wine for Beth, and a much smaller one for herself - “On account of the breast-feeding,” she explained.

  “You give up a lot when you have a kid, don’t you!” Beth said with a large sip of wine.

  “It’s not so bad. You get a lot too!”

  The food was almost ready and Holly had been awake for ten minutes or so when the front door clicked open, and James walked through the door in his uniform, hat in hand. He smiled as soon as he saw them, leaning in kiss Lee and take Holly, swirling in the air as she giggled.

  “Hiya Beth,” he said. “Lovely to see you!”

  “Thanks for having me!” she replied. She realised she’d been wrong earlier - now her sister looked happier than she’d ever seen her. The changes she had made to her life were clearly working - giving stuff up didn’t look like much of a hardship when you were that happy.

  “You know you’re always welcome,” he said, running a hand through his dark, curly hair. “I should change - is that dinner I can smell?”

  “Almost ready!” Lee answered.

  “You should come more often, Beth,” he said, with a grin and a twinkle in his eye as he walked up the stairs. Beth watched Lee’s eyes follow him.

  “You can go after him, if you want,” she said with a giggle. “I’m no prude! I can babysit…”

  “Elizabeth Davis,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter. And I’ll remind you that there is a bottle of wine open, and I expect to hear all the gossip on your love life!”

  Dinner was a pleasant affair, and James talked about his day (which had been boring, apparently, and involved trying to herd some cows who were blocking a main road. Luckily, none were hurt), and Lee described Holly’s attempts at crawling in great detail. A candle was lit in the middle of the table, although it definitely wasn’t dark outside yet, and Holly made a mess of the vegetables and chicken she had been given, much to the amusement of the adults present.

  Beth sipped her wine quietly while they talked, realising she was quickly becoming in danger of viewing this as some sort of idyll; something she needed to aspire to. As happy and content as they were, she gave herself a mental shake; she didn’t need - or even necessarily want - marriage and a baby right now. A carbon copy of her sister’s life was not going to solve her lack of enthusiasm for life right now.

  “So, how are plans for your wedding going?” she asked, and James offered to wash up as Lee shared photos on her phone of the dresses she was considering for the bridesmaids, of which Beth was to be one.

  “Since it’s a Christmas wedding,” she said, “I thought red. Do you like it?”

  Beth nodded. “It doesn’t really matter what I think though, sis - it’s up to you!”

  “I know, but I want you and Gina and James’ sisters - well, sister and sisters-in-law - to like what you’re wearing.”

  “You’ve got your dress, though?”

  “Yeah,” Lee said with a grin. “I’ve chosen it, but it needs altering - after all, I’d just had a baby when we got engaged, so my body’s changed a bit since then!”

  “And you’re still not letting any of us see?”

  “Nope!” she said, laughing and refilling Beth’s wine glass.

  “You’re trying to get me drunk so I’ll spill the beans,” Beth said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

  “Me? Never! Anyway, who knows if there are beans to spill?”

  “Between you and mum, you always find out everything…”

  “But I don’t judge like mum does!” Lee said with a raise of her eyebrows.

  “I don’t think anyone ever does…”

  Chapter 4

  It was in the picturesque town of Dartmouth the next day that it happened.

  James was working a later shift, and so the four of them set out for a morning together, with Beth continually surprised by how much stuff was required when taking a baby out for the day. The sky was an azure blue and seagulls dotted the skyline when they eventually made it to the water front and took a seat on a thankfully empty wooden bench. The water lapped lazily against the stone wall, with little boats and dinghies bobbing up and down peacefully. A lone gentleman in a blue cap was tending to his boat; a few people milled around opening up shops or snapping photographs, but on the whole the area was still quite quiet. It was only nine in the morning, after all; plenty of time for the area to get busy.

  James and Lee chatted, but Beth just soaked in the atmosphere. Across the water, rows of brightly coloured houses stood overlooking the scene, and it was so perfect it almost looked like a painting. A little boat began to move through the water, connecting the two sides of the idyll, creating white foam and waves as it bobbed towards them. Beth let out a sigh without even realising.

  “You okay?” Lee asked.

  “Yeah… it’s just so perfect, isn’t it.”

  “I’ve always loved it here,” Lee agreed. “Since we came down as kids with mum, remember?”

  Beth nodded. “But it just seems to get better every time.”

  James and Lee caught each other’s eyes, and let the quiet wash over them all for a moment or two, before Holly’s fussing and James’ rumbling stomach demanded action.

  “Shall we go and get breakfast?” James asked, pointing over at a small café that had opened its doors onto the sunny street. “They’re open, and we can have a wander around later.”

  Beth tore her eyes off the picturesque view and nodded, finding it a struggle to move from the peace of the moment.

  ***

  “What’s over there, then?” she asked, pointing vaguely over at the bright houses as she wolfed down her egg and sausage sandwich.

  “That’s Kingswear,” James said, happy to use his local knowledge. “There’s not much over there, other than what you can see - although, Agatha Christie - you know, the mystery writer? - she lived over there, towards Galmpton, so there’s her house which you can visit. Apparently she got a lot of inspiration for her books from there, and set some around here.”

  “Yeah, one of the Poirot episodes was filmed on Burgh Island, wasn’t it?” Lee chimed it, grabbing a bit of her own food while Holly was occupied with some toast.

  “Yeah, that’s right. And one at Greenway, I think. I’ve never read any of them, I have to admit,” James said. “Watched a few with mum and dad though.”

  “Never read any Agatha Christie?” Beth said with a gasp of mock outrage. “Lee and I devoured them when we were younger.”

  “Those copies at mum’s are so well read,” Lee agreed. “It’s been years though, since I last read one…”

  ***

  They wandered the picturesque little shops together, picking up a cute new outfit for Holly - yellow, with sunshines and daisies embroidered on it - and spending too long for Holly’s liking in a boutique little jewellery store that had one-off pieces designed around crystals and birth stones. They ummed and ahhed over several pieces, but ended up leaving with nothing in the end - although both debated their wisdom in doing so all the way down the street, and almost turned back.

  They found themselves in a second hand bookshop down a small alleyway near lunch time, with a strict time limit due to James’ need to get back for work in the afternoon.

  “Look, Le
e!” Beth called out from a dusty corner near the back of the narrow shop. “Loads of Agatha Christies! If there was ever a time to reread…” She browsed the titles, moving her finger across the dusty spines as she read. And then there were none; Murder on the Orient Express; The Mousetrap… All ones she had read, as Lee commented over her shoulder, but the pull of rereading them was strong, and she left the shop with three in a paper bag, as well as a leather-bound notebook she hadn’t been able to resist. Well, she reasoned with herself, she was on holiday, after all - and it was a very cheap holiday, all things considered.

  “We’d better head back, I’m afraid,” James said, checking his watch as he bounced the baby on his hip.

  “I did promise I’d meet someone at two,” Lee said apologetically. “About some possible legal issues they’re having. I won’t be too long, I promise.”

  “It’s fine,” Beth said breezily, as they wandered back past the boats bobbing on the water. “Although, actually… would it be rude if I stayed here? Unless you need me to take care of Holly or anything…”

  “No, no, I was just going to take her with me anyway… If you’re sure? We can pick you up later if you like.”

  “Or I can get a bus, don’t worry about me! I just feel like I wouldn’t mind spending a bit longer out here, if that’s okay.”

  “It’s your holiday,” Lee said, giving her a hug. “I want you to have a good time. Relax, enjoy the sunshine, ring me for a lift, okay?”

  “Will do. See you later!”

  She waved them off and sat back on the bench, closing her eyes and hearing the gulls, the people, the water… The sun felt glorious on her skin, and she took a deep breath and felt free as her lungs filled with the slightly salty air. She could definitely smell fish and chips in the distance, and thought that might not be a bad idea for her lunch… but for now, she cracked open one of the books she had bought, crossed her legs on that wooden bench and let herself get lost in the mysterious world of Agatha Christie.

  ***

  She was halfway through the novel when it happened. When she decided what the change in her life was going to be. It wasn’t a small one, by any means - but then hadn’t Tony said change was good? Change was what she needed? She wasn’t sure why she was listening so much to the words of a rambling drunk twenty-year-old… except that the words had certainly resonated with her. It was what she had known she needed to do - she just needed someone to tell her. And now she knew what that change should be.

  Chapter 5

  She would move to Dartmouth.

  It sounded simple, as she said it there in her head, over and over. She would move to Dartmouth. She felt happy here. It was beautiful here. Her soul felt like it soared here.

  Well, she certainly felt poetic here, that was for sure.

  She let out a breath and laughed, causing a couple of passers-by to look on in confusion and concern, as the petite blonde sat and laughed to herself, alone on a bench.

  Of course, there would be organisation needed - something she wasn’t great at. But her sister had done it, and things had worked out well for her - and as much as she knew she didn’t want a carbon copy of her sister’s life, this just felt right. She could be near family, for a start. She could find some new job - after all, it was a tourist town with summer right around the corner, there was bound to be some work, right?

  She could start again. Hit refresh and see if things worked better this time around…

  ***

  The idea seemed a lot crazier as the day went on. Her mind was too jumpy after the thought hit her to carry on reading, so she stashed the book back in its paper bag and hit the shops again. She found herself back in that same little jewellery store, where the owner gave a wide grin.

  “I thought you’d be back!”

  “Couldn’t resist,” said Beth, touching the delicate chains with the tip of her finger. She knew Lee had loved the silver bracelet, with intricate silver strands entwined around tiny nuggets of turquoise. It was the golden tiger’s eye necklace that had caught Beth’s eye - a large piece of golden brown crystal attached to a fine gold chain that caught the sunlight. They were both a little more than Beth should really have been spending on jewellery, but they had been on her mind all day, and she knew if she went home without them she’d regret it.

  Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she couldn’t help but smile when she read the words on the screen.

  If you have time, could you go back and buy that bracelet Lee liked? I’ll give you the money this evening! Thanks - James.

  She took a quick selfie in front of the jewellery counter and sent it back, with the caption Great minds think alike! Her decision made, she went to the counter and watched as the woman carefully wrapped them in tissue paper, before placing them into a midnight blue bag covered in moons and stars.

  He was definitely a good man, she thought as she walked out of the shop and headed to the fish and chip shop, her stomach rumbling despite the decent sized breakfast she’d eaten that morning. Beth had never been overly keen on Nathan, Lee’s cheating ex - there’d always seemed something a little slimy about him, although she’d never voiced this. They’d appeared happy together, for a long time, and so Beth had been polite and friendly to her brother-in-law. If she ever saw him again, though…he’d be sorry.

  She tried to think back to whether Lee had ever seemed this happy, this relaxed, when she was with Nathan, and thought that she couldn’t have been… this was a very different Lee. The old Lee was extremely concerned with things following a plan, and was always out working or exhausted from work. She certainly didn’t have leisurely breakfasts or cook dinner and laugh over it.

  I’m going to move to Dartmouth.

  It was definitely a crazy idea - but then she had once been known for her crazy ideas. And maybe crazy was what she needed right now.

  There was a short queue at the fish and chip shop, which boasted that everything was cooked fresh to order, and Beth watched a younger guy in surfer shorts balance three boxes of food as he left, then a family argue over how many portions of chips they needed. She ordered and then perused the notices on the board in the window as she waited.

  Missing dog - reward for safe return. Jack Russell, ginger tipped tail. Call 07391 283103

  Garage sale! Everything must go! From 12pm on July 1st. 5 Church Street - great bargains!

  1 bedroom flat. £500/month, bills included, access through chip shop. References required. Sorry, not suitable for pets.

  It hit her like a force, like kismet, like some God or fate was giving her a sign. A big, glowing arrow that said ‘this is what you need to do!’

  “This flat,” she said to the young guy who was packaging up her fish and chips. “Is it above this shop?”

  He nodded and pointed to a white door to his right. “Yep, right through there. The owner used to live up there, but he’s got married and moved.”

  “Is it still available?”

  “As far as I know - think it’s empty from July 1st.”

  “Can you see the water from it?”

  “Give me ten minutes and I can show you around, if you like? My colleague will come back from lunch then.”

  She nodded and smiled. “Sounds great. I’ll eat this outside then come back, okay?”

  As she tucked in to her traditional Devon fare, she felt as though perhaps things were slotting into place.

  ***

  “Bedroom,” he said, pointing to a small white room with a double bed taking up the majority of the space.

  “Is the furniture going?” Beth asked.

  “No, I think it’s being rented as furnished, although the bedding will be gone, and there’s still clothes in the wardrobe I think. Then that’s the kitchen…” A small kitchen opened out onto a living room with a two seater sofa, television and coffee table - but Beth barely noticed them. It was the view that got her - from the living room window, you could see the bobbing boats and the tiny little multi-coloured houses, as
well as the water and the people walking below.

  “Perfect,” she said. “What a view. How is this not rented yet?”

  He shrugged. “Some people don’t like living above a chip shop, apparently! Plus it’s only one bedroom, lots of families or couples looking right now.”

  “I love it,” she said. “I want it.”

  She hadn’t been impulsive in a long time; it was a lot of money, and she was still renting in Exeter… she had no job, she had no plan, nothing except a longing to live in this town and read mystery novels and see that view every single day…

  “Great! I’ll give you the owner’s number, and you can talk it through with him, is that okay? He’s gonna be so pleased someone wants it! He loves this place.”