The Summer We Ran Away: From the author of uplifting women’s fiction and bestsellers, like The Summerhouse by the Sea, comes the best holiday read of 2020!

by Jenny Oliver

  Then Julia sent fourteen phone numbers of Cedar Lane residents not currently included on the WhatsApp group, one after the other, drowning out whatever passive-aggressive response Lexi was getting ready to reply. Then she muted the group for a week, now fully aware that what was on there today would soon be completely irrelevant. Old news. Tomorrow’s fish and chip paper, if, as Amber pointed out, fish and chips didn’t come in natty little cardboard boxes nowadays. And so the thread rolled on regardless…

  Linda from number eighty-seven: Heads up, John Lewis sale starts tomorrow, guys! Yay!

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  One year later

  ‘No, Charlie, it’s this way, that’s a one-way street.’ Julia rang the bell on her bike to stop him.

  Charlie stopped, lifted up his sunglasses. ‘Oh so it is,’ he said, noticing the sign. ‘This looks like a nice café,’ he added, pointing to the tables laid out on the pavement, the waiter bringing out trays of little beers and glasses of pastis to tourists soaking up the sunshine.

  Julia beckoned for him to stop stopping and follow her down the side street. She was excited.

  ‘OK, OK, I’m coming,’ he said, cycling up to meet her.

  Up ahead was the Hotel Croissant, the giant gold croissant that swung from the signpost sparkling as the sun hit it. The hotel had been freshly painted a Farrow & Ball-esque pale grey, looking even better than it did on the Instagram renovation shots.

  Julia and Charlie locked up their bikes out front. Charlie was in yellow shorts and his faded green T-shirt, Julia was in a skirt and plunging red V-neck that followed the specifications of Martin’s fashion advice to the letter. They’d spent the last ten days cycling round France, tanned and relaxed. Sleeping in their tent at various different campsites, eating bread and cheese and drinking cheap wine. Going to sleep soon after the sun set and waking up at dawn. Completely unglamorous but totally them.

  And now they were on the last leg of their holiday. Staying at the Hotel Croissant.

  Julia pushed open the door. Inside, there were gold tiles on the wall of the entrance hall and reclaimed wooden floorboards. The front desk was an old glass-fronted haberdashery counter with hundreds of tiny drawers and a big gold service bell. In the far corner was a white taxidermy swan with a crown on its head and behind the counter stood a very tanned Amber Beddington.

  ‘You’re here!’ Amber smiled, looking up from a swanky new iMac. She was wearing her yellow shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Her hair was jet black and hung longer than it had in Cedar Lane, skimming her shoulders. Sunglasses pushed her fringe from her forehead.

  ‘We made it,’ said Julia, walking forward, gazing around the place. ‘It looks amazing.’

  ‘Do you think?’ Amber asked, clearly proud of the job she’d done, running her hand along the polished counter.

  ‘It’s phenomenal,’ Julia replied going to peer into a lounge room off to the left. ‘Emerald House, eat your heart out.’

  Just then Lovejoy appeared from a door to the back, as sun-kissed as Amber, dressed in a black shirt and jeans. His hair too was longer and his face effortlessly relaxed. ‘Hello, hello!’ he said, arms wide in greeting. ‘Welcome. What do you think?’ he asked.

  Julia grinned, still loving seeing them together, Lovejoy’s arm draped casually over Amber’s shoulders. Amber trying to pretend she was cool with it all but her grin shining bright from within. Julia tipped her head back and looked all the way up the staircase, she saw just a treasure trove of elegant luxury spiralling round to the crystal chandelier at the very top. ‘I love it,’ she said. ‘I really love it.’

  Lovejoy gave Amber’s shoulder a squeeze. Then he came round the counter and, picking up their bags, said to Charlie, ‘Let me give you the tour, mate, and I’ll show you your room. Best in the house,’ he added.

  As they disappeared up the stairs, Julia went to stand with Amber. ‘It really is so, so great,’ she said.

  ‘I like it,’ said Amber, looking round, surveying her abode. ‘It’s been pretty hard work but it’s nice, you know, having complete control. And I can usually convince Lovejoy that my way of doing things is the best.’

  ‘I’ll bet you can,’ Julia laughed. Then she leant against the counter and asked, more serious, ‘And how’s it all going, you know, with the two of you?’

  ‘It’s good,’ Amber said, coyly. ‘It’s fun.’

  Julia raised a brow. ‘You still like him.’

  Amber closed her eyes, blushing. ‘Yes, I like him. We like each other. We can admit it now.’

  Julia clapped her hands with joy. ‘It’s so lovely.’

  ‘How’s Lexi Warrington?’ Amber asked, clearly keen to change the subject. ‘Still getting her knickers in a twist about the build?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Julia nodded. ‘She’s forever sticking notes on the builder’s van to stop them parking in front of her house. I watch them every morning just peel it off and scrunch it up.’

  Amber smiled, eyes narrowed with delight. ‘And do you see her a lot?’

  ‘No,’ Julia shook her head. ‘Not really. I’m too busy. And I just figure, if someone doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, why go after it. I’m nice to her and everything but I’m less “Hi Lexi”,’ she did a manic smile-and-wave impression of herself.

  Amber nodded. ‘Good.’ Then opening the door behind her said, ‘Shall we go and sit outside?’ She beckoned Julia out of the back room and through to the garden. It was all overgrown and ramshackle with wild flowers, in the corner there was a small plunge pool with some lounger chairs around it and then behind that a broken fence that led to a tangle of scrubland. ‘We haven’t got round to doing this, yet,’ Amber said, pulling out one of the rusted chairs for Julia to sit down on. ‘I’m hoping it’ll be a breakfast terrace for guests but at the moment we just get distracted lounging in the pool. I’m telling myself it’s good to have a break.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ said Julia. ‘You’ve been working hard!’

  ‘That’s exactly what I tell myself.’

  Julia looked around at the wilderness, at the falling hollyhocks and cascades of vibrant bougainvillaea. Around the edge of the patio were terracotta pots filled with white geraniums and a rusted bench. ‘It’s a really lovely space. I can’t believe it’s here, I didn’t see it when we stayed for the antiques fair.’

  ‘I know,’ Amber took a seat, ‘it was all closed up, we prised open the door and discovered it, what a good day that was!’ Stretching her long tanned legs out under the table, she added, ‘So tell me, why are you so busy?’

  ‘Well,’ Julia tucked her seat in under the table and rested her elbows on the warm metal, ‘Charlie and I now have multi-hyphen careers.’

  ‘Oh really?’ Amber did a wry smile. ‘How very millennial of you.’

  ‘I know!’

  ‘What do you do?’ Amber asked as she reached behind her to pluck a weed from between the brickwork.

  Julia leant back in her seat, fanning herself with her hand and tying her hair up in the ponytail. The garden was a sun-trap, warmth radiating from the whitewashed walls. ‘Well I spoke to my work about how everything was going and said that I loved my job but wanted to expand my horizons etc. I actually talked to my dad about what to say and he was really helpful.’

  Amber raised a brow. ‘There you go.’

  ‘I know. I was quite shocked. Honesty – who knew!’ Julia laughed. ‘Anyway, they agreed to let me work a condensed week so my pay’s the same but I’m only four days in the office. It’s longer hours but it’s fine, I like my job. But they’ve set me up with a mentor and on a Thursday night I go to night school and I’m training to become a life coach. Can you believe it – me, a life coach?’ Julia pointed at herself, incredulous. ‘I love it. Every other Friday I shadow another life coach, which is really interesting. And then—’

  ‘Christ, is there more!’ Amber’s eyes widened.

  ‘Oh yeah.’ Julia nodded. ‘On the Fridays I’m not with the life coach, I bake, an
d Charlie and I have a stall at the local farmer’s market which is every other Saturday. Amber, it’s so brilliant.’ She couldn’t hide her enthusiasm. ‘It’s the highlight of my week. We work together. We’ve got a banner and a gazebo and all that. I sell my cakes. And Charlie sells his vegetables. We couldn’t make a living out of it, but it’s not the point, we cover our costs and more most weeks.’

  Amber looked impressed. ‘That’s amazing. Is the market in Sainsbury’s then? It all went ahead?’

  ‘Yes! And sometimes Old Harry sells his stuff too. We’re like a family. My dad quite often comes and helps us sell. Apparently he likes the whole market trader vibe. Who knew?’

  Amber huffed a laugh. ‘I can imagine him chatting up the customers. Brilliant.’

  A butterfly landed on the table, wings soaking up the sun. Amber was smiling at Julia, her excitement clearly infectious. Julia thought about her life now. It was all still normal but those small injections of change that took them out of their comfort zone and into new comfort zones were life-changing. They had everyday adventures with risks that suited them. There were still mortgages and debt, talk of babies on the horizon, a new roof at some point, but it all became less significant because the here and now had come into its own. The present rather than the future was being lived. Even her friend Meryl’s updates about how she was living it up in Hong Kong couldn’t compare.

  Amber sighed and stretched her arms above her head. ‘Well it all makes me very pleased to hear.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Julia nodded, her cheeks flushed with pleasure.

  ‘Especially the bit about Sainsbury’s,’ Amber added. ‘Lexi must have been fuming when the planning went through.’

  ‘Oh yeah, she went nuts,’ Julia sniggered.

  Amber folded her arms over her chest, very satisfied by the news.

  Through the back door, Lovejoy and Charlie appeared, back from the tour. They pulled over the broken old bench to sit down on.

  Lovejoy put his face up to the sun.

  Charlie said, ‘It looks brilliant, Amber. All incredible.’

  ‘Thank you, Charlie,’ Amber replied, as if his compliment really meant the world to her. ‘And tell me, what are you up to? Got a new job?’

  ‘I have actually, thanks for asking,’ Charlie said, making himself at home on the bench.

  ‘He has a van,’ Julia cut in.

  ‘Intriguing,’ Amber replied.

  Lovejoy sat forward, gesticulating excitedly with his hands as he spoke, keen to impart news that he knew and Amber didn’t. ‘He’s working for one of those veg box companies, Amber. You know the ones who always put the flyers through the door.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m a franchisee. I’ve got the whole town signed up!’ Charlie’s face lit up as he talked about it. ‘The pay’s shit but it’s really good. And I still work at my old job but as a contractor now, so it’s less money but more freedom. And anytime we get stuck for money we Airbnb out one of the rooms in the house, or the whole place, and go and stay with friends or Julia’s parents.’

  ‘They think we’re really enterprising,’ Julia laughed. ‘It’s something my dad can talk about at the club. None of his friends understand Airbnb, so it makes him feel clued-up.’

  Charlie said, ‘Ideally I’d like to set something up on my own but for now it’s just learning all the logistics of the business.’

  ‘Sounds great,’ said Amber. ‘Well done.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Charlie’s cheeks pinked a little with pride.

  Lovejoy added, clearly having heard all about it on the tour, ‘He wants to move to the country, sell veg to fancy restaurants.’ Then he turned to Charlie and said, ‘I told Amber we should turn this patch into a veg garden but she’s having none of it.’

  Charlie gave the scrubby patio a once-over. ‘It’s an ideal space for vegetables,’ he said, gesturing to the sun-drenched plants. ‘You could maybe make a couple of small beds for some carrots and tomatoes and stuff over there.’

  Amber waved her hand. ‘Ignore him, Charlie, he’s never going to do it.’

  Lovejoy frowned with affront. ‘I’d do it!’

  ‘Please!’ Amber rolled her eyes. ‘There is no way you’re going to grow vegetables. You’d get bored and they’d all die.’

  Lovejoy sat up straight, expression aghast. ‘You’re so unsupportive.’

  ‘I’m supportive,’ Amber countered. ‘Just not of things that I know you’re never going to do.’

  ‘That’s unsupportive!’ he replied, arms raised in frustration.

  Amber made a face, mimicking his chat.

  Julia laughed.

  ‘Don’t encourage her,’ Lovejoy said.

  Amber nudged Julia with her foot. ‘Do you want to move to the country?’

  Julia shrugged, toying with a bit of rusty paint on the table. ‘I wouldn’t rule it out. I don’t know. Maybe.’ She laughed at her own indecision. ‘But Charlie wants pigs and I don’t want pigs because they’re ugly and smelly.’

  Lovejoy chuckled.

  Amber said, ‘I thought the whole thing was that pigs didn’t smell.’

  ‘Yes, thank you,’ said Charlie, hands held wide. ‘They’re very clean animals.’

  Julia shook her head. ‘All people who say they don’t smell don’t have pigs.’

  Charlie was about to counter when a window from the kitchen opened and Pandora’s white-blonde head stuck out, ‘Hi, Julia! Hi, Charlie! How are you? Do you want a drink?’

  ‘Oh my God, you gave me such a shock!’ Julia held her hand to her chest.

  ‘Oops, sorry.’ Pandora made a guilty face. She was wearing a red bandana in her hair and a huge white shirt, the sleeve rolled up to reveal tan-freckled arms. Her make-up was perfectly contoured and her eyebrows drawn on thick. She said, ‘Does anyone want a cup of tea? Or a beer? Wine?’

  Charlie said, ‘I wouldn’t say no to a beer.’

  Julia nodded. ‘Wine would be lovely, thanks.’

  ‘OK!’ Pandora smiled brightly and disappeared back into the kitchen, pulling the shutters closed behind her.

  Julia looked questioningly at Amber. ‘What’s Pandora doing here?’

  Amber shook her head, despairing. ‘She’s on a gap year, she did a ski season over the winter and was meant to be staying on for the summer but they fired her for, I think, being generally quite shit at being a chalet girl and just going skiing all the time. So she’s here,’ Amber gestured to the kitchen, ‘being a hotel maid.’

  ‘And what’s she like?’ Julia asked.

  Amber shook her head. ‘She’s so bad.’

  Everyone laughed.

  It was warm in the garden, a little haven of bees buzzing around the hollyhocks and lavender. There was a lemon tree in the far corner fat and heavy with ripe fruits. And a fig tree opposite that filled the air with sticky sweetness. The sun glinted invitingly on the turquoise pool water. The filter hummed and the odd swallow swooped to skim the surface for a drink.

  Pandora came out carrying a tray of wine glasses and beer and a bottle in a cooler and sat herself down in one of the other chairs. ‘I’m taking a break, Amber.’

  ‘OK,’ Amber nodded, resigned.

  Then a voice said, ‘Julia! Charlie! You’ve arrived!’ and she turned to see Martin coming down the stairs. He strutted over, dressed in his kilt and a bright yellow T-shirt. He’d had all his hair lopped off really short.

  Julia stood up. ‘Martin, I didn’t realise you were here, too. And look at your hair.’

  ‘Don’t it’s dreadful. The worst mistake of my life,’ he said, coming over and holding Julia’s shoulders, air-kissing her on both cheeks. Then doing the same to Charlie. He pulled out a chair and poured himself a glass of wine. ‘I’m just here on a bit of a holiday.’

  Amber said, ‘I’m not sure ten months is a bit of a holiday, Martin.’

  Martin shrugged. ‘An extended visit,’ he corrected. ‘The Channel 5 job fell through. Which really is fine because no one watches Channel 5. I’m actually going
back soon to audition for Shipwrecked.’

  ‘I hope you get it,’ said Pandora, all serious. ‘You really would be amazing on that.’

  ‘I think so,’ Martin agreed. ‘I just need my hair to grow back,’ he added, running his hand over his shorn off locks. ‘I’m like Samson, all my powers have gone. That’s why I’m hiding out here,’ he joked.

  Amber raised a brow. ‘I thought you were just enjoying the free holiday.’

  Martin made a face of affront. ‘Er, excuse me, I’ve been very useful. I decorated two of the rooms.’

  Amber scoffed.

  ‘I did!’ Martin said, defensive. ‘And I’ve given you all my extensive style knowledge free of charge.’

  Amber shook her head. Martin settled himself down satisfied he’d won the argument.

  Pandora poured everyone’s drinks and handed them round. Lovejoy said, ‘I think it’s getting hotter,’ and wiped the sweat from his brow. Julia watched as Amber got up and opened a big white sun parasol, granting him some welcome shade. The gesture made her smile. Amber noticed and rolled her eyes but then had to hold in a bashful smile herself.

  Julia sipped her wine, enjoying the shade from the parasol and the sweet perfume of the fig. She glanced around the group – Lovejoy chatting with Charlie, both of them swigging from their beer cans, Pandora re-plaiting her hair as she talked Shipwrecked tactics with Martin, Amber listening to what Lovejoy and Charlie were saying and interjecting – then she said, ‘I can’t believe we’re all here! We’re only missing one person, aren’t we? How’s Billy getting on at uni?’

  ‘Ask him yourself,’ Amber replied. ‘Billy! Get out here!’ she hollered and a couple of minutes later, Billy sloped out, yawning, fumbling with his glasses, looking like he’d just got out of bed. ‘It’s the holidays and he decided his were best spent in France,’ she said it slightly exasperated but it was clear she was delighted to have him there.

  Billy sat down on the arm of Pandora’s chair. ‘Well everyone else was here,’ he yawned. ‘It was unfair otherwise. And we’re meant to live with our parents, aren’t we? We’re the boomerang generation.’