Spring Tides at Swallowtail Bay: The perfect laugh out loud escapist romantic comedy for summer! (Swallowtail Bay, Book 1)

by Katie Ginger

  Derek removed the towels, pulled a small torch from his toolbox and had a look. ‘Yep, that’ll be the weather done that. Can you see this coupling ’ere’s gone?’ He pointed to a piece of pipe that, to Stella, looked exactly like the other bit of pipe above it.

  ‘How much is it going to cost?’ she asked, raising a hand and absent-mindedly biting her nails.

  Sitting back, Derek scratched his head and sucked a breath in through his teeth. ‘Well, I’ll have to go and get a few bits and it’ll take about an hour to do. I’ve got to cut this ’ere and then again ’ere.’ He pointed to just above and just below the leak. ‘Then put a new bit in.’ He scratched some more. ‘About hundred quid.’

  ‘A hundred?’ repeated Stella. She didn’t have much spare money and what she did have she’d planned to spend on a new bed after discovering the disaster that was currently in her new bedroom. A hundred pounds was a lot, but however much it was, it had to be paid. She couldn’t just ignore the problem or she’d have an internal swimming pool where her kitchen used to be.

  ‘Yeah, well. I can probably do it for eighty if there ain’t no complications.’

  Please God don’t let there be any complications, thought Stella. There was something decidedly cowboy about Derek. All he needed was chaps and a horse. Suddenly, Stella had an image of this short, rotund man trying to mount a horse and had to bite back a giggle. ‘And can you do it now?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He stood up and pulled his T-shirt down but it failed to cover the bottom of his stomach and a small slit of podgy pink flesh poked out. ‘I’ll nip and get the bits now if you like?’

  ‘That would be great, thank you, Derek.’

  Once he’d shut the door behind him Stella sighed and looked at Frank. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to afford that and a new bed.’ Running a hand through her hair again she decided the last couple of quid in her wallet was to be spent on necessities. ‘Right, Frank. I’m going to nip next door and get a coffee, okay?’ Frank wagged his tail in response. ‘After spending money on this, I’m not going to be getting a new bed any time soon, so if I’m sleeping on the sofa for the foreseeable future, I think I deserve it, don’t you?’

  Thankfully, Frank replied with an assenting ‘rup.’

  Chapter 2

  Lexi Durham was rudely awoken by two small pairs of icy cold hands and two pairs of freezing cold feet being pressed against her as the children jumped into bed.

  ‘Mummy,’ said Ralph, her six-year-old son. ‘Taylor said I smell of poo and that I’m a baby.’

  Rolling over with a groan, Lexi came face to face with her eight-year-old daughter, her blonde hair falling over her face so only her green eyes popped out. ‘Yeah, well, Ralph said that I’m ugly and the worst singer in the whole wide world. Which I’m not!’

  ‘Yeah, but you said I smelled like poo first—’

  ‘I did not!’ Her voice rose an octave, piercing Lexi’s eardrums.

  ‘Yes, you did.’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  Lexi rubbed her eyes and pushed a mass of hair back from her face. As far as her sleep-deprived, addled brain could make out, there were two ways she could deal with this situation. The first option was to completely lose her shit and send them back to bed, shouting as loudly as possible. The second was just to ignore their silly bickering because they’d be bickering all day anyway, and give them both a kiss and a cuddle. Deciding on option two, Lexi wriggled her arms out from under her and squeezed them both in for a hug. She kissed the tops of their heads and smelled the baby shampoo she still used, remembering all those times they’d fallen asleep on her as newborns, their soft, chubby cheeks pressed against her skin. ‘Good morning, you two little monsters. I love you.’

  ‘Love you too, Mummy,’ they said in unison. ‘Can we go and play?’ Ralph asked, the previous argument forgotten. He had a cute gap where he’d recently lost a tooth and Lexi smiled as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

  ‘Yes, as long as you don’t bicker.’ Fat chance – but she had to say it anyway.

  ‘We won’t.’

  And out of bed they scrambled to immediately begin arguing again. As their voices grew louder, Lexi groaned and rolled over for one more minute snuggled in her cosy duvet. Though being a single mum was the hardest job in the world, she did appreciate the perk of having the bed to herself so she could wrap the duvet around like a cocoon. Rudely, the alarm clock beeped, insisting that she get out of bed. Remembering that she was on an early shift in the café, and the kids had to be dropped at breakfast club at eight o’clock, she hastily climbed out and dressed in the outfit she’d picked the night before. The one good habit Lexi had was choosing her clothes each night rather than throwing something on in the morning. But then, a vintage look like hers required some planning. Once dressed, she brushed her hair, pulled it up into a chignon and pinned the sides into a 1940s style. After a quick flick of eyeliner, a coat of mascara and a swipe of red lipstick and she was good to go. Or at least, go and make packed lunches.

  The kids, however, weren’t quite working at the same speed. Ralph, his room trashed, was now sitting in his empty toy box wearing a fireman’s helmet. Captain Cuddles, his favourite teddy bear, was squeezed in beside him as he ordered the anchor be heaved up and his loyal crew set sail. Taylor’s room was equally messy but her teddies had been laid out in a more orderly fashion ready for teddy bear hospital. She was dressed as a ballerina and had on an old pair of Lexi’s high heels, too busy dancing to actually tend to her patients.

  Lexi decided to ignore the horrendous mess and pretend it wasn’t there. In a minute she’d close their bedroom doors and forget about it until later. ‘Time to get dressed, kids. Double quick, please.’ But double quick didn’t seem to mean anything to Ralph and Taylor, and despite her earlier attempts at calm she was soon shouting. By the time the kids were dressed and being dropped off at school, Ralph was almost in tears and Taylor was pouting more than Kim Kardashian. Lexi’s heart melted under the tearful gaze of her gorgeous boy and his big blue eyes, and the usual guilt and self-loathing flooded back.

  She’d tried so hard this morning not to be a crazy shouty mum but somehow it always ended up that way. Blame pulsed through her veins till every part of her body was saturated. What made it even worse was that the school was deserted as her kids had to go to breakfast club. Again. Ralph and Taylor pulled at her hands to go in but Lexi drew them back, wrapping them in one final hug. ‘I love you two. Shall we have hotdogs for dinner tonight? And curly fries?’ She couldn’t really afford it, but she wanted them to know how much she loved them.

  ‘Yeah!’ they both shouted. ‘And no vegetables?’ asked Taylor.

  Lexi smiled at their wide grins, all traces of the morning’s upsets forgotten. ‘Okay. No veg, but don’t tell your teacher.’

  They ran into school smiling and Lexi turned on her heel and hurried to work. Even though there wasn’t much traffic at that time of the morning, it was still quarter past eight when she arrived. It was going to be another beautiful spring day, which meant lots of customers and, hopefully, lots of tips. Her mobile phone bill was coming up and she was running woefully short of funds. Another reason why she shouldn’t be spending extra money on expensive branded food, but her kids deserved it.

  ‘Morning,’ came a small voice from the back of the shop. ‘So you finally decided to turn up then?’

  ‘Ha ha.’ It was a good job Raina was so understanding, otherwise Lexi would always be in trouble. She tossed her bag down and began tying her apron, watching the early morning birds hop between the branches of a tree in the churchyard opposite. ‘Sorry about that. After they’d trashed their bedroom, they wouldn’t get dressed, then after I turned the telly off they got dressed even slower because they were constantly moaning at me to turn it back on. Ralph couldn’t find his shoes, Taylor couldn’t find her cardigan and neither of them could find their reading books. Sometimes I don’t know why I bother. They can’t be any more feral than they are already.’
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  ‘Nonsense. You’re doing a grand job,’ came her comforting Irish lilt. ‘It’s hard enough being a mammy without having to do it all on your own. I tell you what, you make me one of your amazing cappuccinos and I’ll forget all about it.’

  Lexi smiled to herself. They went through virtually the same routine whenever she was late, which was quite often. She didn’t make a cappuccino better than anybody else, Raina just liked having someone else make it for her. And why not? She’d owned the café for almost forty years and magically, it was still going even with the fancy ones at the other end of the high street and the chain ones competing with them for business. But Raina was a sturdy old bird and had no plans of retiring any time soon. If she did, Lexi would miss her like crazy and be out of work, and that didn’t bear thinking about. ‘I think it’s going to be another nice day today,’ Lexi said to distract herself. ‘The town’s always busier when it’s sunny.’

  ‘Yes, I think so too.’ Raina put another batch of freshly made baguettes into the oven. The smell of the first baked loaves filled the air and reminded Lexi she hadn’t had any breakfast. The children would just be having theirs at school and another wave of guilt hit her. How she wished she didn’t have to put them into breakfast club, it meant such a long day for them, but at least she would be there to pick them up today. She much preferred that to them being the only ones left at the end of the day – the last ones collected from Sunset Club. But even that happened more times than she’d like. Being a divorced single parent was hard, hard work. Will was around at the weekends and loved his kids dearly, but the bulk of the responsibility still fell on Lexi’s shoulders, and, she thought ruefully, it had ever since the kids were born.

  Turning her back on the window, Lexi steamed some milk at the big posh machine and then gently poured it into the coffee. She handed the cup to Raina and they went and sat down. Lexi took a moment to appreciate the café she absolutely adored working in. There were only six tables, each one laid with a different linen tablecloth. None of this plastic rubbish. Raina hated the plastic ones even though using proper ones required more cleaning. On the centre of each table sat a small jam jar of flowers or herbs, depending on what Raina had picked on one of her walks. On a high shelf that ran all the way around the shop, were random pieces of china they’d both found at car boot sales, and in between them sat pretty shells the children had found while walking along the beach and presented to Raina as keepsakes. Lexi smiled. If her kids did things like that perhaps she wasn’t doing such a bad job after all. ‘Shall I do the till after this?’

  Raina shook her head. ‘No need. I’ve done it already.’

  ‘I thought that was the purpose of the early shift? That, and sorting out the tables and chairs, and prepping the fillings.’ Lexi looked over to the counter. ‘Which I can see you’ve already done too.’

  ‘I know, but I woke up at five and couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up a bit earlier than usual. The older I get, the earlier I seem to wake up these days.’ Raina took a sip of her coffee, closing her eyes and tipping her head back a little to savour the taste. ‘I thought I might as well come and do the chopping. I left the chairs for you though. They’re getting a bit heavy for me now.’

  ‘I’ll do those in a minute then.’ Lexi cupped her cappuccino, feeling instantly more awake as the aroma of fresh coffee drifted up. ‘The new woman’s arriving next door today.’

  Raina’s wrinkled cheeks creased even more as she smiled. ‘Oh, that’s exciting. Do you think she’ll keep the shop the same or start selling weird stuff like crystals and joss sticks?’

  Lexi paused. ‘Joss sticks?’

  ‘Yeah, and healing crystals and all that hocus-pocus rubbish. You know those stinky shops that sell strange hippy clothing. All made of that horrid wool with swirly patterns. And dream catchers. I bloody hate dream catchers.’

  ‘Would it matter if she did?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Raina replied with a shrug. ‘You get all sorts these days. But those sorts of shops do stink.’

  ‘I don’t think she will,’ Lexi replied, sipping her coffee to hide her smile. ‘The estate agent said she’s going to sell arty stuff and homeware. Herbert left loads of stock so she’ll probably sell that off first. I would. Maybe you should pop round later and introduce yourself?’

  ‘Why don’t you?’ teased Raina. ‘She’ll be closer to your age than mine, I’m sure.’

  ‘Because,’ said Lexi, putting her cup down and adjusting a hairpin, ‘I need to schmooze these customers so they leave me nice big tips. And you’re the owner. It should definitely be you.’

  As Raina was a widow with no children, comfortably off and incredibly kind, she allowed Lexi to keep all the tips. Since the divorce, the agreement had been that Lexi was to spend the money on herself, but so far that hadn’t happened. Something or other always came up to stop her. Ralph’s school shoes would come apart because the boy had toxic toes, or Taylor would need new leggings for PE because she’d had a growth spurt and was getting cold ankles. Still, using the tip money was better than dipping even further into her overdraft.

  Before long it was time to open up and no sooner had the sign on the door been flipped than the first of their usual customers poured in. The workmen were nice, pleasant boys – well, men really – and always told Lexi to keep the change. When they sat down with their bacon and sausage baguettes with lashings of ketchup they filled one whole side of the little café. Thankfully they ate quickly and were on their way by nine o’clock when the old ladies started arriving for their regular tea and toast after they’d been to the Post Office.

  Lexi enjoyed preparing their favourite teapots and vintage cups and saucers, and each had their own one. These were her favourite customers even though they only left a small tip, but pensions weren’t much these days. Lexi often chatted with them about her outfits and what they had worn back in the day. Some had even donated their old vintage clothes so that Lexi’s closet at home was overflowing with items. Not all of them fitted, but she couldn’t bear to throw such beautiful things away, or even give them to a charity shop. Most of all, she loved listening to their stories; Lexi usually had to pull herself away to clear the tables and keep the cakes and pastries stocked up as she heard about coming-out balls and dances during the war.

  By ten o’clock that morning, the first rush of the day was over and as the older ladies settled with their second pot of tea and a selection of cakes, Lexi and Raina were enjoying a quick sit-down before lunch preparations began. The bell above the door tinkled and a pretty woman in a damp T-shirt with bobbed hair the colour of milky coffee walked in. The tip of her fringe was wet and had begun to curl, giving her a trendy look, but something about the baggy jeans and ill-fitting, damp T-shirt told Lexi this hadn’t been done on purpose. ‘Hi, what can I get you?’ Lexi asked, as the woman’s eyes scanned the chalkboard menu on the wall.

  ‘Can I have a latte to take away, please? Better make it a big one.’

  ‘That kind of a day is it?’ Lexi turned and began to make the coffee.

  ‘It definitely is.’ An anxious note perforated her voice. ‘I’m Stella by the way. Stella Harris. I just bought the shop next door.’

  From the corner of her eye Lexi saw Raina peer around the doorway from where she was out the back, mixing cake batter in a large stand mixer. Lexi turned her attention back to her customer. She didn’t look like she’d be selling crystals or stinking up the place with horrid joss sticks which should make Raina happy. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Stella. I’m Lexi. I was hoping to pop by later and say hello. How’s it going?’

  ‘Not as well as I hoped. I’ve got a leak. But once that’s sorted out I hope I can get cracking on clearing up. I wanted to open on Saturday.’

  ‘Oh no. A leak?’

  Stella nodded, concern clearly written on her face. ‘Yeah, a pipe under the sink burst, or cracked or something. It’s not too bad. I could just do without it on my first day.’

  ‘I’m sure yo
u could. Well, here you go. Hopefully this will help.’ Lexi placed the takeaway cup on the counter. Just as she did, her mobile phone rang. It was the school. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Stella, I just need to take this.’ She placed the phone to her ear while her stomach turned over. It always did whenever the school rang. There was no logic to it; she just feared something terrible had happened, like a fire or a terrorist attack, or something else completely horrific and really very unlikely. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Hello, Miss Durham, it’s Mrs Brandon from the school.’

  A senior teacher. This couldn’t be good. ‘Hello.’

  ‘Nothing to worry about, I just wanted to let you know that during playtime this morning Ralph bashed heads with another child. We’ve applied some ice and he’s perfectly fine but we like to let the parents know, as there’s a little bit of a lump. We’ll send him home with an accident slip but I just wanted to reassure you everything was fine.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’ Lexi stiffened. ‘Thanks for letting me know, Mrs Brandon. Goodnight – I mean, goodbye.’ Goodnight? Why had she said goodnight? Now she looked like a complete idiot to the deputy headteacher. Though her exterior was calm, inside her heart was beating double time and her mind was screaming. Her baby boy had hurt himself. And a lump? How big was the lump? Where was the lump? How hard did they hit each other? Could he have concussion? Should she let him sleep tonight? Should she take him to A&E? She looked up to see Stella waiting patiently, smiling at her. As Lexi’s mind returned to that of a normal, sane human being, her heartrate slowed as well. ‘Nothing to worry about. Just my little boy had a bump with another kid. Both okay.’

  ‘Oh, good,’ Stella replied. ‘It must be worrying when the school phones. My sister has kids and she told me she always thinks something really bad has happened. She’s normally worried her son has burned down the building or something. He’s a bit of a terror.’