The Gift of Cockleberry Bay

by Nicola May

  Rosa pulled away and yawned loudly. ‘How is the little boy, anyway? And who were they, do you know?’

  ‘I have no idea. Alec took the lead on getting them away from danger. Holidaymakers, I assume.’

  Rosa sat up. ‘Right. We had better go down and assess the damage at the café.’

  ‘No rush. What’s done is done. It’s bright sunshine out there today so the drying out will already have started.’

  ‘You know me, I have to get up and get things sorted. I can’t believe I dropped off to sleep with the wind howling like it was. And that rain! I’m sure it’s worse than any weather we ever had in London when we lived there.’

  At that moment Hot came pattering into the bedroom from his basket in the sitting room. He’d heard the voices and knew it must be breakfast-time. Josh leaned down and whisked him on to the bed. ‘Here’s our little sausage.’ He pushed his face into the mini-dachshund’s velvety neck and breathed him in. ‘Careful with Mummy,’ he warned the little dog. ‘She’s hurt her leg.’ Hot whiffled around them both and let out a bark.

  ‘Come on then, my lad, let’s get you some breakfast and then it’s walk time, to view our estate.’ At the mention of the W word, Hot started running around in circles on top of the covers.

  ‘Oi!’ Josh grabbed the excitable hound and held him tightly in his arms.

  ‘Wait for me,’ Rosa said. ‘I’ve scratched myself on the sea wall, that’s all, and I need to know what’s happening.’ She then crashed back down on her pillow. ‘I do feel really tired though.’

  Josh put Hot back on the floor and placed his hand gently on Rosa’s arm. ‘It’s not surprising. I expect you are suffering from a bit of delayed shock.’

  Ding! The shop doorbell signalled a visitor entering. Only two people had the front-door key apart from themselves.

  ‘Rose? Josh? You awake? I’m coming up.’ Titch Whittaker’s Devonian twang filtered up the stairs. ‘Put your tits and bits away, the pair of you.’

  The nineteen-year-old paraded into the bedroom. Her cropped blonde locks and large breasts under her tight red T-shirt made her look like some kind of a computer game character. From the day they had met in the Ship Inn, when Rosa had only just arrived in the Bay, Titch had never called Rosa by her real name and ‘Rose’ had just stuck. As had their extremely strong friendship.

  ‘I just saw your mum,’ she told Rosa, as Josh went off to let Hot onto the balcony to do a wee. ‘She’s working in the Co-op till midday. She sends her love and said she’ll pop by and see you when she’s done. The damage is pretty bad down the front, evidently. The beach is a complete mess too. If you need any help with the café, I’ll come down after my shift here.’ When Hot scampered back into the room, she picked him up, cuddled him close and continued: ‘The sun’s out again, so I reckon the shop is going to be busy, especially now you’ve got those wildlife-shaped inflatables. The parrot one is my favourite, for sure.’ She suddenly stopped and burst out, ‘Oh shit, and more importantly, I forgot to say…’ She ran out of breath.

  ‘Take it easy, love, before you internally combust.’ Rosa swung herself out of bed while a scrabbling Hot released himself from Titch’s cuddles.

  ‘Guess what?’ Titch said importantly. ‘You were mentioned on the radio this morning.’ She assumed a newsreader-type tone. ‘“Local shop-owner, Rosa Smith, is the heroine of the moment after saving the young son of a London family who are down here on holiday.” I cannot believe I missed all this. Mind you, Theo just wouldn’t settle. The thunder scared him, and his crying drowned out most of the noise of the storm for much of the night, to be fair.’ She gave a lengthy yawn. ‘I’m bloody knackered. So, what happened?’

  ‘You always said you’d be famous one day.’ Josh poked his wife gently in the ribs as she walked past in her little nightie.

  ‘I’d much prefer infamous. And, well – look, Titch, it’s no big deal. A young kid ended up in the drink; luckily the surf was up so he had a soft landing. I just jumped in and managed to get hold of him before the tide swept him away.’

  ‘You ARE mad – it’s official. But, bless you, Rose, and thank goodness your arm is better now, or you’d have been swimming in circles like Nemo.’

  Despite Rosa having a flashback to her drinking days, when she had fallen at West Cliffs and badly hurt her arm, she still managed to laugh.

  ‘You wait, the Gazette will be wanting a piece of the action soon. In fact, a storm in the Bay and a dramatic rescue, that’ll be at least six pages taken up and an award of some sort, I reckon.’ Titch sniffed, then went on, ‘Right, I’d better open up.’ She headed for the stairs, singing a very out-of-tune version of the song ‘Tell Me Why I Don’t Like Mondays’.

  Highly amused, Rosa got back into bed and cuddled into the lovely, warm body of her husband, who had snuggled back under the covers himself. Hot, scurrying around the side of the bed, broke up the cosy moment with a ‘Get up and take me out, you bastards’-type yelp.

  Rosa put her hand outside the bed so that the impatient hound could lick it, made a little contented noise and shut her eyes momentarily before opening them with a start. ‘Oh no! Shit!’

  ‘What is it, angel?’

  ‘I completely forgot about Jacob and the puppies.’

  CHAPTER 3

  Before they went up to the Lobster Pot to see the new arrivals, Josh and Rosa’s first duty was to check what had happened to the café. The beach, when they got there, mirrored a war zone. Rosa had never seen anything like it. So much debris had been washed up that the place was almost unrecognisable. What astounded Rosa the most was the number of plastic bottles and fishing line that were entwined with varying banks of seaweed. There were even dead fish and sea birds in the mix, and to her distress, some of the birds were still alive, flapping and cawing as they struggled to free themselves. Thankfully they were being attended to by people wearing branded green and white T-shirts with some kind of logo on them.

  It seemed as if nearly half the inhabitants of Cockleberry Bay were also down there doing their bit. Some had begun placing the plethora of debris into different piles, while others were retrieving waste bins that had been blown around the Bay, and in the case of the Ship Inn, clearing up glass from windows smashed by the force of the storm.

  Sara greeted Josh and Rosa at the café door and let them in.

  ‘How are you feeling, chick?’ she asked Rosa, hugging first her and then Josh. ‘I can’t believe you were so brave. I couldn’t have done what you did.’ Sara never failed to be astounded by Rosa’s strength and determination. She put it down to her tough upbringing in children’s homes and foster-care. A lesser person would be dining out for weeks on jumping into a turbulent sea and rescuing a child, but not Rosa.

  ‘I’m fine – a scratch on the knee and feeling a bit tired, that’s all.’ She made a little groaning noise. ‘I can’t bear that so much wildlife has been affected. How on earth does all this plastic get into our waters, anyway?’

  ‘That’s a good question.’ Sara put on her bright yellow apron. ‘But if we as individuals can all try to do our bit, then that’s a good start, at least. We need to stop using plastic for everything. I even saw an advert for bamboo toothbrushes the other day.’

  Rosa nodded and looked gloomily outside. ‘What are we doing to our planet?’ she sighed.

  Sara picked up some plastic-covered menus that were scattered on the floor. ‘Maybe we should print fewer of these too?’

  Josh was busy checking out the appliances in the kitchen area of the café.

  ‘How’s it looking?’ Rosa noticed a broken window to the side of the seating area. The rain had come in and there were shards of glass lying around. ‘Right, I’ll get rid of those safely – and that floor is filthy.’ She went to find the dustpan and brush as well as the broom, mop and bucket from the cupboard. After collecting up the shards of glass and tipping them into the recycling bin, she quickly swept around the floor, ready to wash it.

  ‘We were lucky, you kn
ow,’ Josh told them. ‘I think the sea must have reached its peak when the little lad fell in, so the water didn’t sit in here. The sea only came in a couple of inches, by the look of it, so all the appliances are in good working order, thank goodness. The floor in here is designed for wet feet anyway, so I reckon let’s leave all windows and doors open for a few hours. With a day like today, once we’ve cleaned it, the place will dry out properly in no time.’

  ‘That’s a relief.’ Sara started turning everything on. ‘Let’s fill all the urns up and get ready to give the volunteers hot drinks on us – and although I feel guilty saying this out loud, we’ve got plenty of plastic bottles of water too. Is that OK with you?’

  ‘Of course it is,’ Josh said immediately, Rosa nodding in agreement. ‘We’ve got stacks of recyclable cups with lids out the back.’ He looked around him. ‘And only one window smashed – that’s incredible. We can claim for that on our insurance if we need to, but it may not be worth losing the good premium we have. I’ll check if one of the lads out there has got a spare board I can use for now.’ Josh scratched his head. ‘Where’s the big lad this morning?’

  ‘He’s got a couple of clients first thing, said he’ll be down later.’

  Alec Burton was a counsellor, nicknamed ‘big lad’ because, at six-feet four, he was just that. With his thick mop of auburn hair and beard, he resembled some sort of Scottish gladiator.

  Alec had helped Rosa through a very tough time earlier in the year, assisting her in facing her demons with alcohol, and also with confronting her self-esteem issues. Not only had she become stronger as a person but her relationship with Josh and her jealousy issues had also come on in leaps and bounds. Rosa had been delighted to pay this kindness forward in playing Cupid between him and Sara, who had also had her own struggles; namely coming to terms with the untimely death of her partner. Now, very much together, Alec and Sara appeared a perfect couple, and were direct proof that you could find love later in life.

  Sara went on, ‘Alec was just so good with that woman and her grandchild last night. He is an amazing human.’

  ‘Aw, look at you, all in love and soppy.’ Rosa grinned.

  ‘And I have you to thank for that. It’s not even three months yet and I do have to say I am rather smitten.’

  ‘Life in the old dogs yet, eh?’ Josh chipped in.

  ‘Enough of your cheek, Mr Smith. Fifty is the new thirty, I’ll have you know.’ Sara in no way looked her age, with her natural beauty, trim figure and trendy dress sense.

  ‘You’ll be moving in together next,’ Rosa teased.

  ‘Er, this weekend actually.’ Sara blushed.

  ‘Really? You kept that quiet, lady.’

  ‘If anyone ever said to me, “When you know, you know”, I used to laugh and wonder what they meant. Yes, I was completely in love with my Steve, but it was a slow burner. This feeling has whipped me up like a storm, and I have not one single doubt about this man being The One.’

  ‘I am so happy for you,’ Rosa said, squirting floor cleaner into the bucket.

  ‘Yeah, good on you. Alec didn’t mention your co-habitation either.’ With his last words, Josh sounded a little put out. His friendship had also grown with the big man in a very short time, but Alex hadn’t shared that news with him. ‘Do shout if you need a hand with the moving.’ Josh started spooning instant coffee into the recyclable cups while Rosa mopped and pottered around, getting the café shipshape.

  ‘So, tell me more about the lady and the little boy,’ Rosa enquired.

  ‘Well, her name is Tina Green and the little boy is her grandson, Alfie. They speak like you, Rosa – proper London people. They were holidaying down here, staying in the caravan park at the top. As the road was blocked, Alec put them up last night. Tina wanted to see you, to thank you, but they had a train booked back to London and couldn’t afford to change the tickets. I just hope the road was clear enough to get to the station.’

  ‘Oh yes, I forgot about the fallen tree. That’s probably why so many people are down here helping with the clean-up: they couldn’t get through to work.’

  ‘Excuse me.’ A deep voice caused Rosa to turn around from what she was doing. She was greeted by a guy in his early twenties, she reckoned. His face was tanned and friendly, and his long brown curls were being kept in order under a trendy striped bandana. He wore his long shorts well – like a European, not an Englishman. He wiped his hands down the side of them, then held one out to Rosa. ‘Hi, I’m Nate.’

  ‘Hi.’ On shaking his hand, Rosa got a weird feeling run through her, as if she knew him already. ‘Have we met before somewhere?’

  ‘No, I doubt it. I work for these guys. Have done for a couple of years.’ He pointed to his T-shirt, the Sea & Save logo crossing his chest. ‘We’re based on the north coast, but we saw the forecast for the eye of the storm, so we were all set to come down first thing this morning.’

  ‘Aw, it’s great, what you are doing.’

  ‘Yes, they are a good bunch. My boss has asked if we can maybe have some drinks, but it would be easier if you could bring us a batch so that we don’t have to stop what we are doing. We will pay, of course.’

  ‘We are already on it, and no way are any of you paying; we’re getting a table set up outside so please do tell everyone to help themselves. We are making some cheese rolls up too.’

  ‘That’s so kind.’ Nate smiled at her for a long moment then hurried out of the café.

  ‘Look at you being all bashful around the rescue team,’ Josh noticed, kissing his wife on the cheek.

  ‘Moi? Of course not. What’s that saying: why would I eat a burger when I have steak at home?’ she teased him then carried on with what she was doing.

  Leaving the floor to dry, Rosa was just loading up the table outside with ready-made coffees, when the familiar white-haired figure of Sheila Hannafore, the landlady of the Ship Inn, walked past. There was no love lost between the two of them for many reasons – most recently due to Sheila’s belief that Rosa had run her youngest son, Lucas, out of the Bay. Unbeknown to Rosa, that was in fact what had happened.

  Rosa noticed how thin and stressed Sheila was looking as the woman greeted her curtly. Despite being in her late sixties, she had always looked well and sprightly, probably down to the new teeth and face-lift that she had paid for out of the money her husband had left her when he had died; today, however, that wasn’t the case.

  ‘Sheila,’ Rosa acknowledged back. They hadn’t spoken to each other for months and Rosa wondered what was coming now.

  ‘In all my years down here, I’ve never known a storm like it. You didn’t have too much damage, I hope?’ Sheila asked.

  ‘Er no, we were very lucky. You?’

  ‘Some windows got broken, but it’s not the end of the world. I’d prepared for far worse so I’m not complaining. Anyway, look, I’m not actually here for small talk.’

  Phew. Situation normal, Rosa thought, feeling slightly unnerved by the previous pleasantries.

  ‘Have you heard from my Lucas lately?’ Sheila then demanded.

  Rosa sighed. Even the mention of the woman’s youngest son’s name unsettled her. She hadn’t heard from him since the awful incident last Christmas when Josh had been away and Rosa had got drunk, not knowing afterwards whether or not she had slept with Lucas. That incident had nearly broken up her marriage and was one of the key reasons why she had stopped drinking for good.

  ‘I haven’t, Sheila, no. Is he all right?’ Rosa cringed at showing how much she cared.

  ‘That’s why I am asking you, Rosa. It pains me to have to do that, but I thought you might still be sniffing around him. He said he might be down in the summer, that’s all.’

  ‘He was never one for having his mobile on all the time.’ Rosa cringed again at releasing yet another knowing comment about the woman’s precious son.

  She could hear Josh and Sara chatting and laughing inside.

  ‘Well, you would know that, wouldn’t you?’ Sheila bar
ked. ‘I hope married life is treating you well,’ was her final sarcastic comment before she turned and marched back across the littered beach to her pub.

  Josh had caught the end of the conversation and appeared at the door, asking, ‘What did she want?’

  ‘Oh, er, nothing much. She was just being nosy, wanting to see what damage had been done. Probably hoping to nick some of our business – you know what she’s like.’ Rosa tried to shake the thought of Lucas out of her mind. She knew that whatever she and he had had was over, but it didn’t stop her worrying about him.

  Putting her face up to the sun and pushing thoughts of the handsome plumber to one side, she murmured, ‘I cannot believe what a change there is in the weather. It’s summer again. This breeze is so welcome too.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a perfect day. Might even get my Speedos on later.’ Josh made a clicking noise with his tongue and winked.

  ‘What a joy for us all.’ Rosa laughed.

  ‘Always treating the ladies, you know me… Anyway, now the worst is cleaned up, Sara said she’s fine to carry on with her shift today.’

  On hearing her name, Sara herself came to the door and said, ‘Yes, go on, the pair of you. You need to spend as much time with each other as possible, while you can.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’ Rosa frowned, causing the tiny lightning scar on her left cheek to crease.

  Sara grimaced. ‘Sorry, eek – I didn’t realise. I’m going back inside.’

  ‘Josh?’ Rosa cocked her head to the side.

  ‘Come on, pretty lady, Jacob has just asked us to go and meet his new brood. Let’s go.’

  As they began to walk up the hill, Rosa linked one of Josh’s big arms with both of hers and said, ‘Husband? Please tell me what’s going on.’

  CHAPTER 4

  ‘Ciao-ciao!’ The chiselled Italian called Raffaele air-kissed both Josh and Rosa three times before telling them: ‘I must get on, sorry.’ He pointed to his chef’s whites. ‘We are very busy with lunchtime bookings today. His Lordship is upstairs with Her Ladyship, the Duchess.’ He waved his arms around animatedly, his accent becoming more pronounced. ‘I tell you – he is obsessed with those little cuties. Per favore – go on up.’ And then Raff hurried back into the pub kitchen.