Under a Starry Sky: A perfectly feel-good and uplifting story of second chances to escape with this summer 2020!

by Laura Kemp

  ‘God, this is so good!’ Wanda replied in ecstasy through stuffed chops.

  ‘Ha, listen to us, groaning over food!’

  ‘Closest I’ll get to groaning, let me tell you. Unlike you!’ Wanda raised her eyebrows suggestively.

  ‘Shuddup!’ Sara giggled. ‘It’s love, not lust!’

  ‘Oh, really?’ Wanda gasped. This was how it was though – no warm-up was required between them. ‘Have you said that to each other, then?’

  ‘Bowen has!’ Wanda caught a very cute and coy flutter of Sara’s eyelashes. ‘But I’m not there yet.’

  ‘But you’re close?’

  Sara nodded. Her inner glow had transformed her: she resembled an angel in soft focus. Wanda understood her reluctance to spell it out – she didn’t want to jinx it by saying it aloud.

  ‘Ah! There’s lovely!’

  ‘Yeah. But I’ve got to be careful.’

  ‘Deffo.’

  ‘My first marriage fell apart as soon as the honeymoon was over. I need to make sure this is the real thing.’

  ‘Wake up and smell the coffee, you mean?’

  ‘And his socks! I’ve got to see him warts and all, once the initial thrill has kind of calmed down. Because at the moment he puts the loo seat down but that might change.’

  ‘Glad to hear he’s treating my toilet well!’

  ‘It is weird going up there when it’s yours. But then it felt like a second home anyway. What’s the plan with it? Are you going to move back in soon? Not that I’m thinking of Bo, I wouldn’t be moving him in with me. Too soon.’

  Wanda saw this as her chance to fill Sara in on the conclusion she’d reached. ‘I’m going to let it out for another six months. Maybe longer. I’ve decided. I’m going to go travelling as soon as I can. Once the babies are born and everything’s settled down. I’ve enjoyed getting the site back on its feet but …’

  ‘What is it? Are you okay?’ Sara had spotted the undercurrent.

  Wanda laid down her fork. ‘I almost snogged Lew the other day.’

  ‘Whaaaaat?’ Sara leaned in over the table and topped up Wanda’s glass.

  ‘There isn’t a happy ending. Don’t get excited.’

  Wanda told the tale, feeling everything she had felt afresh: the excitement, the wonder, the sensuality. How she had seen him not as Lew the teenager but Lew the man, the old infatuation changing into something more grown up. Sara started apologising for being so wrapped up in her own stuff that she hadn’t even realised Wanda was sweet on Lew again. But Wanda hadn’t wanted to admit it to anyone until now. Then she got to the blow.

  ‘You think he started the fire?’ Sara said, agog.

  ‘I don’t know. I can’t believe he would’ve but why else did he flee?’

  ‘But what would his motive have been?’

  ‘No idea. Maybe it was a game that went wrong. Maybe Ryan pushed him into it. I’ve gone over it and over it but it doesn’t make sense. Yet the scars were there, the way he jumped back, he was acting guiltily. It’s made me think this is something that can’t be worked out.’

  ‘And that’s why you want to leave?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I don’t blame you, to be honest. But can you go, not knowing what happened? Why Lew was up there?’

  ‘Maybe I’ll have to. Because Lew hasn’t come to me to explain. And I’m not going to ask. It’s up to him. I’ll only be accused of making a drama out of it.’

  ‘Hardly! This is justified!’

  ‘And do I really want to know? I can’t possibly ever see his point of view about this. My dad … the site … it was like the end of my innocence. It was all over the news, everywhere we turned for months, there was so much damage.’

  ‘God, yes.’

  ‘Do you know, I had a feeling Lew was hiding something. I assumed it was just that he’d had his fingers burned by his ex and life in general. Never did I imagine it was actual burns. I thought me and him might … we were getting close. To think I even told him how I felt about him up there on the mountain. I’m heartbroken. I’ve lost him all over again, yet I wouldn’t want him anywhere near me.’

  Sara crawled round the table to give Wanda a cuddle. ‘I totally get why you’re going to leave. But I think it’s important you try to find out more. Because if you don’t, you might never come back. It’ll get bigger and bigger until you can’t face it. And, being totally selfish, I couldn’t bear that. Who would I have my curry with then?’

  Wanda gave her a little smile. ‘Thanks, mate,’ she said. ‘But your world is changing already. You’ve got a guy on the go. But for me, it’s like I’m standing still. I’ve got to move on. Nothing will change for me here. I’ve climbed that bloody mountain – I’ve sorted the campsite pretty much. The phone doesn’t stop ringing, we’re booked solid through to the end of September. Word of mouth is going far and wide, we’ve even had enquiries from abroad. I had a camping journalist contact me the other day, they want to feature us in a UK top ten coolest campsites feature. It’s fab, but what else can I achieve here?’

  Sara’s silence, so rare it was nearly extinct, shouted out what Wanda knew: it would soon be time to get packing. She had chased the dream of Lew for so long but she’d never really known him at all. Too much time had been wasted: she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  29

  So the destruction of the community garden had been Dean’s last act of fury.

  His humiliation at the disco night dressing-down by Spike and Annie had had to be cancelled out – Dean had always needed to have the last word.

  But finally it was over. She’d had a letter from his solicitor saying he had given up his claim on Teg and had agreed terms. There’d been an offer on the house, lower than what she knew it was worth, but he had obviously trashed the place. Still, it’d be enough for her to buy something. And that was what mattered – a safe haven for her with a garden of her own. Small plots could be as beautiful as the biggest: she imagined hers would be a square of stone surrounded by luscious borders of greenery where she could sit of a weekend with a cup of coffee, cocooned by nature. Just the thought of that stilled her – imagine how she’d feel when it happened! The realisation that she had arrived at the ‘when’ of her life, leaving behind the ‘if’, came to her as she made her way to the high school to drop in a proposal.

  A head-of-year teacher had heard about the community garden and had asked her to come in last week to talk about doing a project with the kids. A piece of land at the back of the school had been set alight last week by arsonists; the little sods had torched an old shed too, but the school had decided to make something positive out of it and turn it into a garden. There’d be a bit of money in it for Annie but that wasn’t why she’d jumped at the offer. It was a measure of how far she’d come – to be invited back to the school where she had failed so miserably was reward in itself. It would also distract her from the gaping hole inside of her at having lost Spike and Arthur. She’d seen them at Grow Up but there had been no chance to make a special effort because she’d had to really rally the kids, some of them in tears after the vandalism. Teg had made up for it, bounding at Arthur and Annie had had to take a deep breath when they were reunited in licks and cuddles. Spike had been friendly but there was a wall between them now and the politeness of their encounter, asking for tools, please, and fake bright smiles had hurt her deeply. But that was how it had to be.

  The timing of the school job was perfect in that sense. And she hoped so much that Arthur might sign up for it when it started. She’d caught herself searching crowds of pupils when she’d come in before and she was doing it now, scanning the shirts and trousers in the corridors for his fair head and freckles. It was so strange to be walking them again: being offered a seat in an office where she had once been told to stand up straight and explain herself in a bollocking over late homework or the wrong uniform
had felt like an out-of-body experience. Yet it had really happened, and Mrs ‘call me Sue’ Harrison had been thoroughly engaged with Annie’s off-the-top-of-her-head ideas, thanking her profusely for her time at the end. That sentiment remained: the secretary had told her to go on up to the year group area to personally hand over her fat A4 envelope outlining the project. Again, Annie picked up on an entirely different ethos in the school compared to the harsh environment of her days in the classroom. The buildings had been updated: there was a bright cafeteria smelling of basil and garlic in place of the gloomy prison-style hall that had stunk of cabbage; and all sorts of activities and clubs and trips and achievements were postered up on the walls. Who’d have thought she of all people would be treated like a valued pillar of the community. Her younger self would never have believed it! It was so ridiculous she felt a smile spread across her face. And there was Mrs Harrison waiting for her as if Annie was a VIP.

  ‘Annie! Hi!’ she said, holding out a hand and shaking hers enthusiastically. ‘Are these the plans? I’ve been looking forward to getting them!’

  ‘They’re rough in terms of measurements but you’ll get the gist and I hope they don’t disappoint you, Mrs Harrison.’ This woman, in her trendy khaki shirt dress and cool pink pumps, may not have been anything like the old dragons who’d once taught her, but even so, Annie would never call her Sue.

  ‘I’m sure they won’t! You’re a breath of fresh air. The total opposite of the gardening type, if you get me, you’re young, exciting and “can do”. The other two I approached were not quite what we were looking for.’ Ha! Annie knew what she meant – her rivals were generally older men who took sharp intakes of breath at anything other than a mow and a trim. ‘Gardening doesn’t have to be fuddy-duddy. And the way the planet’s going, it’s important for the children to get close to it to see it’s worth looking after.’

  ‘I completely agree! My proposal is all about that … the eco benefits as well as the psychological boost of getting your hands dirty, nurturing something from seed to plant.’ Annie was gushing like a bottle of pop. ‘I’ve tried to think of ways to draw them in – we could do plant murals and chill-out zones, make a greenhouse out of plastic bottles …’ Mrs Harrison beamed. ‘I can introduce maths into it too: there’s this thing called the Fibonacci sequence which you find in plant spirals such as sunflowers and fern fronds. Learning outdoors is always more fun. And if that fails then I’ll sell them the celebrity cool angle – loads of them are into gardening these days, Instagram is full of floral influencers, it’s crazy!’

  ‘Well, I can’t wait to read this!’ Mrs Harrison waved the envelope in the air as if it was a trophy. ‘Thanks for bringing it up here.’ A buzzer went and classes started pouring pupils. ‘Do you need me to show you out, or—’

  ‘No! Don’t worry, I know where I’m going.’

  God, it was such a thrill to meet people on your wavelength. It was as if her soul had been given a dose of Miracle-Gro plant food. Her self-esteem was back up off the floor, she was dizzy with pride and so she found herself sucked into the flow of students, swept along the corridors, down the stairs and back towards the school entrance. But then there was a bottleneck as a load of kids queued to get into the hall and as she got closer to the door she thought she saw someone familiar sat on the stage. It couldn’t be Lew. But it was. What was he doing here? And there was Bowen beside him in his fire service T-shirt. Lew must’ve come round to the idea of giving a talk at the school. Good on him!

  They were too far away to wave to, but if she just stood here with the door ajar could give them a thumbs up if they looked her way. But suddenly, the room of chattering children was being shushed by a teacher who was introducing Bowen and Lew. Bowen began to speak about the danger of fire but had trouble getting their attention; there were a lot of fidgeting bodies and wide yawns. He sensed their staring into space and cut his losses, making way for somebody, he said, who had suffered first-hand in the biggest fire in Gobaith’s history. That got their attention. For Lew wasn’t some old git who would give them a lecture – he was one of the village’s good guys, relatable and handsome, down to earth and cooler than the average bloke around here. As he got up, he looked nervously around the hall and Annie sent him all the vibes she could over the sea of heads to wish him luck.

  ‘Hi everyone,’ he said, ‘I’m Lew Jones, this is my old school. I’ve been sat here like you lot, bored out of my brains, wondering how long it is till lunch.’ The kids laughed and he looked at his watch. ‘Fifteen minutes. But I’ll make it quick and then you can have more free time, yeah? That all right?’ He asked the teacher, who made a show of thinking about it before he nodded.

  Cheers broke out and just like that Lew had won them over.

  ‘I’m not going to tell you all the stuff you know. Arson’s a crime … it’s a huge risk to life not just at the fire itself but because it takes firefighters away from other incidents … it costs millions of quid every year … blah blah blah. That doesn’t mean anything, does it? It goes in one ear and out the other.’ He performed a shrug, which sent a ripple of confusion around the room. If he wasn’t going to talk about that, what was he going to say?

  ‘No, I think it’s more powerful to show you something instead.’

  There was utter silence.

  ‘We’ve all seen the line of fire on the mountain top, at a distance it’s mesmerising, quite pretty too. It’s not harming anyone, is it?’

  Every face was focused on him wondering what he was going to do next.

  ‘But if you’re close enough …’

  Lew began to pull at his T-shirt. What was he doing? He wasn’t getting undressed, was he? Whispers went up and the kids swapped looks of disbelief. He took off his top and slowly turned around – and gasps went up from everyone, Annie included. His back was covered in scarring, pink and mottled, uneven and scrammed. Annie was reeling – she hadn’t known anything about this. He had never told her that he’d been injured that night.

  He turned to face them again and put his T-shirt back on.

  ‘I was involved. I had to go to a specialist burns unit. I told everyone I’d gone to Scotland for a course. I was too frightened to say anything. And then I left the village because I felt responsible for the fire …’

  Sickened and enraged, Annie stepped backwards, holding her hand over her mouth. Lew had been involved? And all this time he had allowed Ryan to take the blame? The shock sent her flying away from the door, she could still hear his voice but his words had turned to gobbledygook. She had to get out of this place before she threw up. Somehow she managed to find her way out, her stomach heaving, her head hot, her fingers cold. Scrabbling for her keys, she ran to the car park and made it to the hedgerow just in time to relieve her sickness. The adrenalin got her inside her van and away and then the pounding came to her head as she drove on, towards home, and as she got to Blod’s, the weakness came and she staggered limply inside, needing to process what the hell had just happened.

  ‘Annie!’ Blod came to her, her arm catching hers just as she dropped onto the sofa and Teg jumped up. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I can’t believe it … I’ve just seen something that changes everything. Ryan wasn’t alone.’

  ‘What?’ Blod was shaking her head.

  ‘Lew’s back, he was scarred.’ She shut her eyes and could still see the welts – and to think she’d made him potions for burns and he’d have used them on that. ‘He was there with Ryan. That night. Lew always told me he’d never found him up there.’

  ‘Lew? No!’ Blod said.

  ‘I saw it with my own eyes, I heard him say it.’

  What should she do with this information? What could she say to him? Why hadn’t he spoken to her about this? No wonder he had avoided giving a talk at the school. Something must have happened to twist his arm. None of it made sense, though. She needed to talk to Wanda. That’s what she had to do. And
then she remembered that Wanda had been virtually absent from village life for days now. Annie had knocked for her after discovering the vandalism but Carys was the one who’d come – she’d said Wanda was up to her eyes with work and when Annie had messaged her she’d either send back a rushed ‘Sorry, busy’ or nothing at all. Could the two things be related? But how? Because now she understood the last thing she wanted to do was to leave this house and face people. Had Wanda been burdened with the same knowledge? But surely she would have said something to her. And yet was it Wanda’s job to do that? Perhaps Lew had said he’d talk to Annie. Yet to do a big reveal like that in public without telling Annie first showed a serious lack of judgement. She felt completely let down by him: perplexed and betrayed, and then her shoulders were rising and falling as she began to cry, her mind a mess of questions, her heart in so much pain it was like losing Ryan all over again. A huge lie had been told, a cover-up of some kind. She needed to speak to Lew. But the thought of him made her retch. All she could do, and all she’d be capable of for the foreseeable hours, was to curl up and nurse her wounds.

  30

  One of the main charms of Under A Starry Sky is it being family-run. We were on the receiving end of home-style hospitality and we hope the next generation of Williamses arrive safely and continue the good work!

  Mr and Mrs Dempsey, Portsmouth

  Campsite Visitors’ Book

  Wanda’s finger hovered on the confirm button.

  There before her on her screen was the itinerary she’d had to cancel but was now ready to rebook, departing on October the first. Today was July the sixth; that gave her eighty-seven days until launch.

  She did a mental check of her dates – for the millionth time, because she was paranoid she’d get it wrong. While their due date was towards the end of September, the twins would be here by hook or by C-section when they hit week thirty-seven, which was the beginning of the month. It would mean Wanda was there to help Carys settle into motherhood and she’d get to bond with the babies herself. Yes, she was right, as she finished her calculations. All that remained was a countdown of 3-2-1 and …