‘Yet silver you’d feel cheated of the gold,’ Thomas says. ‘You’re right, bronze is overlooked.’
After lunch we make our way to the grassed area. Esterlita has found a megaphone somewhere and I brace myself for it. The Firecracker doesn’t need anything to help make her louder, that’s for sure.
‘Roll up, roll up for the very first Honeysuckle Hall Olympics,’ she booms. ‘May the odds …’
I butt her with my hip. ‘Oops, wrong competition. First up we have the sack race, and I think you’ll all agree that what happens in the sack, stays in the sack, am I right?’
I bet she’s got a bawdy joke for every station. The group giggle away, used to her by now and loving her personality.
Campers jostle and bump as they step in the sacks.
‘Ready, set, GO!’ yells Esterlita, catching me unawares as my heart jumps into my throat.
‘Do you really need that?’ I ask, covering my ears before they bleed.
‘YES!’ she screams into the bloody thing. ‘Where’s Anomaly?’
‘In the tepee, doesn’t want to join in.’
‘Bosh. Did he enjoy it out there by himself?’
‘Yeah, but he reckons he heard a dog, or a wolf howling throughout the night.’
Esterlita’s eye go wide. ‘A dog that sounds like a wolf?’
She looks downright panicked. ‘Yeah, that’s what he said, but I’m sure it’s fine. If we come across a stray don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. I’ll call animal rescue or something but I’m sure he just made it up.’
She shakes her head. ‘No, no, no, a dog who howls like a wolf means there’s a ghost outside. It’s a warning!’
‘What?’
Her face pales. ‘It’s a Filipino superstition.’
I’ve grown used to Esterlita’s Filipino superstitions, but they’re usually funny, especially the way she takes them so seriously, but I’ve never seen her look … so alarmed. Almost as if she’s seen a ghost herself.
‘I’m sure it’s not the case, Es. I know you take superstitions very seriously because your mum did too, but I think it’s all good.’ Surely, she knows it’s OK?
The race comes to an end with Teani winning, and Jock a close second. The other campers limp over the line after tripping over in their sacks.
Esterlita shakes herself, as if she’s literally shaking the angst off, and pulls up the megaphone. ‘Congratulations Teani, you can come and claim your gold medal. Jock, you get silver and Lulu, you have bronze!’
The campers titter and bicker good-naturedly as they make their way to the next game; donuts on a string.
‘Es, are you all right?’
She’s grinning madly and back in control but I still see a sort of panic in her eyes that she can hide from everyone except me. I know how well Esterlita can act, playing her exuberant self, and I know behind the façade she’s upset.
‘Me? I’m just grand, Orly. Let’s get this game underway.’
The campers line up along a string of doughnuts at belly-button height with their hands behind their backs.
‘So I’m guessing whoever eats the most doughnuts wins?’ Thomas says, with a gleam in his eye. His favourite thing to do is eat, and he and Esterlita get on like a house on fire because they’ve connected over their love of all things culinary.
‘Yes,’ says Esterlita. ‘My money is on you, Thomas! Ready, set, go!’
Teani nibbles on a doughnut and then stands back forfeiting her place. ‘I can’t eat sugar – it makes me go crazy. Like toddler sugar-high crazy.’
‘It’s OK. You can catch them in the next race.’
Thomas wins by a country mile, eating eleven doughnuts in about three minutes, while Esterlita doubles over laughing, tears streaming from her eyes because of just how ridiculous they look trying to catch the doughnuts in their mouths while the sugary sweets bounce and wobble on the string line.
We play musical chairs, dancing and singing to Eighties pop music. They go low over limbo, and Jock almost puts his back out. There’s a lot of screaming and bellowing for ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf?’. Before we finally finish on the egg and spoon race.
‘Right,’ I say. ‘No pressure but this is the very last race of the day and if you don’t have a gold medal yet—’ I look towards Jo ‘—then this is your last chance to secure bragging rights. And if I have to trip you all over so Jo wins this one, I will.’
They all laugh and Jo gives me a thumbs-up. I stand midway down the length of the tracks so I can indeed trip them over if they try and take the lead from Jo, who I want to win a medal, because I’m also the person who comes last in any athletic pursuit and sometimes you just want to win a damn race even if it’s by cheating.
Esterlita screams into the megaphone and they take off, balancing their eggs on spoons. Thomas and Jock are neck and neck in the lead, with Teani close behind. Lulu dashes around hoping to steal first and Jo is miles behind. Because they’ve all bunched up it’s easier to get in their way, so I quickly move past them so they have to change course. They yell good-naturedly as they all bang and crash together, except Jo who races ahead. They fall in a screaming heap taking me with them and it’s only then I see broken eggshell and feel a splat of raw egg hit my face as Jo makes the finish line, yodelling and hollering like she’s truly won gold for the UK.
‘Es, did you not boil the eggs?’ I ask as I help pull the gooey campers up one by one.
‘Boil them? What for?’
I let out a howl of laughter, and everyone joins in.
‘Well, it’s …’
She butts in. ‘If they were boiled then there’s no chance you’d all get covered in raw egg. Isn’t that the objective of the game? And the reason you wanted to trip them all over?’
‘Umm no, the objective is to balance the egg without dropping it.’
‘Ohhh … that’s boring.’
‘She’s right,’ Lulu pipes up, face covered with quickly drying egg yolk. ‘This is a much better way to play. I can’t wait for my kids’ birthdays. I’m going to get revenge on all of them!’
As if I summoned a demon, who should walk in at this very moment, when I literally have egg on my face, but dear old Harry, wearing a suit and tie, like he’s come for a business meeting.
‘Who’s that?’ Lulu asks.
‘A vacuum salesman,’ I say. Full of hot air! And proper sucks. Noah should be here to take over! ‘Es, do you want to take the gang inside the hall for some refreshments?’
Esterlita hasn’t heard me; she’s in one of her trance-like states. Harry has that effect on a lot of women. ‘Es,’ I say more forcefully. ‘Can you take the campers inside to get cleaned up?’
The Firecracker must sense my unease because she wouldn’t normally acquiesce so easily – not without telling the guy that I’m resolutely single! ‘Yes, of course. Let’s go, happy campers. You can freshen up while I make us some G&Ts. How does that sound?’
‘Bloody great,’ Jock says.
They follow Esterlita as Harry comes to a stop in front of me.
‘What do you want?’
‘It’s nice to see you too, Orly.’
I fold my arms, knowing I look defensive, but hell, I am defensive. Seeing him in the flesh is hard, harder than I thought it would be. The lying, cheating philanderer! It’s the way he saunters in here like he didn’t break my heart and have me vilified in the press.
I stare him down and give him no response. He doesn’t like that. Harry likes to be fussed over, made to feel welcome. Like he’s important.
‘Aren’t you going to invite me in for a drink?’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘For old times’ sake …?’
‘It’s been a few months, Harry. Not a few decades. I don’t think we’re quite at the for old times’ sake just yet. You sound like something out of a bad movie.’
‘My, Orly, so easily upset.’
My blood boils. I can actually feel it percolating and bubbling. ‘So easily upset?
Are you for real?’ Don’t let him get to you. This is how he turns things around.
He gives me a rueful grin as though he knows exactly what I’m thinking. The campers return to the grassed area, carrying drinks, ice clinking as they go. Why didn’t Esterlita keep them in the hall? And then I realise it’s because she cannot help herself and is intent on eavesdropping. She edges closer pretending to admire the climbing roses. ‘Jock,’ I say, ‘can you arrange the bocce for me?’
‘Leave it with me,’ he says, smiling. Jock is more likely to keep the gang enthralled with a hilarious story of his past. He’s quite the comedian and has an ability, almost like Esterlita, of keeping everyone entertained.
‘Let’s go into the cottage,’ I say to Harry. ‘You’ve got five minutes to say your piece, because I’m busy.’
‘I can see that. Nice little set-up you’ve got here. Very cute, quaint, playing children’s games by the looks of it.’
‘You wouldn’t understand. And that’s exactly the point.’
Chapter 25
Inside he wanders around, picking up picture frames and plonking them down in the wrong spot. I know he’s trying to goad me, but why? What does he want? My toes curl just thinking about it.
‘I’m parched after such a long drive. A G&T would go down a treat.’
‘You’ve been in town all day, Harry. The locals weren’t so receptive to you, were they? Must’ve have been hard for your ego, not to charm your way into getting my address so easily.’
He grins. ‘Small towns, small minds. You know how it is.’
‘Small towns, big hearts, more like it.’
‘You always did want to fit in, be accepted.’
He knows my weak spots, but so what? So what if I craved belonging somewhere? And I do, already I feel a pull for this town, for its people. They were on my side today and I know it means I’m slowly becoming one of them. ‘Sure did.’ I’m not going to ask about Carly C and give him the satisfaction but I really want to know what’s happened between them and why he’s suddenly appeared.
‘How are the camps going?’
‘Great.’
‘You think it’s viable, this kind of business?’
‘We’ll see.’
‘You should try making them more sophisticated. Glamorous. Make them for the A-list.’
‘Why?’
‘You could charge a bomb for this kind of escape, but not like this. Not with egg and spoon races, for crying out loud. Did you run out of money …? Why would you buy such a grand hall and fill it with suburban people? You have so many connections and you’re wasting them on people like this.’
‘You just don’t get it, Harry, do you? And the sad part is, you never will. I don’t want the A-list here; in fact, I’d give anything for this to remain closed off to people like that. Why should they have all the fun, and yeah, this might be too basic a set-up, with food cooked on a barbecue, and parlour games at night, and conversations around a campfire in PJs, but that’s exactly what I’m going for. Time out for real people. A retreat for those who actually do good in their lives and need a break. A place to unwind and find your inner child by playing musical chairs, or whatever the hell they want. What’s wrong with that? Why does anything good have to be associated with huge wads of cash? Because that’s not the answer. It’s so shallow! Here, people make friends, they share stories, and they slowly let the real world fade away. And they recover. They find the energy to go back to their busy lives with a bunch of happy memories and the knowledge that there’s a place in this busy world they can go to escape if they need to.’
‘Touching, Orly.’
I shake my head. ‘I’ll always wonder what I saw in you, Harry. Looking at you now, with your smarmy face and over-styled hair, I just don’t see it. I guess we all have to kiss a few frogs so we recognise the difference when our prince comes along. So if that’s all, I’ll ask you to kindly leave.’
‘Look, sorry. I guess I’m coming across the wrong way.’ He plonks himself down on the sofa with too much force, like he intends to stay glued to the spot. ‘I miss you. So much. I made a huge mistake and now I can’t function, Orly. Even work seems so empty without you.’
Little does he know I don’t believe a single word that falls from his lying lips. ‘Probably because you have to do your share now that I’m gone.’
‘Orly, please. I’m trying to tell you that I didn’t realise how good we had it until you were gone. We were good, weren’t we? I’ve never loved anyone as much as you. And I want you back. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.’ His delivery is too slick, like he’s rehearsed those sentences, or read them in a book and memorised them.
I don’t trust him and I never will again but I’m curious. ‘So Carly C booted you out?’
‘No, no,’ he says hastily. ‘I walked away.’
‘Really? I might message her and ask myself.’
‘Don’t. It didn’t end well and she’s a little bitter about it.’ I bet.
‘So, what happened?’
He sighs. ‘She’s like a very overwrought child who always has to have her own way. She’s petulant and moody and impossible to be around. She has an ensemble of yes people who do her bidding and God help you if you tell her she’s being unreasonable. It was like living with a dictator.’
Sounds familiar! ‘Well, you made your choice.’
‘But did I? I don’t think I did. I think I was lulled into it under false pretences.’
He is the limit! ‘How so? What did she promise you?’ Did she appeal to his avaricious nature, or is this yet another lie? Whatever it is, it doesn’t mean squat as I’m never taking the guy back!
‘I thought it went without saying that I’d be her new manager. The previous one was controlling and domineering and quite possibly into some less than legal accounting, knocking some extra off the top for himself. I tried to tell her so many times, but she couldn’t see out of those rose-coloured glasses when it came to him.’
‘Wait, you left Excès?’
He lowers his head. ‘I did, because she promised me the world.’ I bet Carly C did nothing of the sort – if there’s one thing she isn’t, it’s stupid. I don’t believe a word he says. Harry tried to shove his way in and take over and Carly C had the presence of mind to see scam written all over him.
Now it all makes sense. ‘Oh, Harry, you stupid, stupid man. You gave it all up for a celebrity and you lost! You lost your fiancée, your business and now what? You think running back to me will solve your problems? You think you can come here and take over the camp, make it into a hotspot for the A-list? You are so deluded! But maybe this is the shake-up you needed. You need to learn there are consequences for your actions.’
‘It’s not a bad idea, Orly. This place could be the next big thing. We could do it together, build it up like we did with Excès. It wouldn’t take me long to get the word out that we’ve got this prestigious exclusive camp, where we’re only inviting the elite. The mega wealthy. We could have hot air balloons with champagne and caviar. We could have …’
I shake my head. ‘Harry, there’s no we. And there never will be. You had your chance, and you messed it up, just like you will continue to do with other hapless souls. Thanks but no thanks. And now I’m going to get back to my campers. Real people with big hearts who are enjoying being here because it’s a nice part of the world, hotdogs and hamburgers and children’s games and all.’
‘And when they leave and you’re all alone?’
‘And …? I don’t understand what you’re implying.’
‘You’re not scared staying here alone?’
‘Scared of what?’
‘Being single for the rest of your life?’
I laugh. ‘There are worse things, trust me.’
I see Leo loping down the driveway, his face turning grim when he sees the unfamiliar car. Oh boy. ‘Maybe I won’t be alone forever though …’
Leo knocks at the door. ‘Come in!’
‘H
arry, this is Leo, Leo, Harry. Harry was just leaving.’
Harry stands, and gives Leo one of his most disarming smiles, but it doesn’t work on him. Leo remains stony-faced. ‘Sounds like it’s time you went,’ Leo says, glowering at him.
‘Look, mate, give me a minute with my girl, if you wouldn’t mind? We’ve got a bit of catching up to do,’ Harry says, edging close to me.
‘She’s not your girl.’
Harry lets out a bitter laugh. ‘She’ll always be my girl.’
‘Not on my watch.’ Leo’s clenches his jaw as if he’s just holding his anger in check.
‘This place reminds me of that little B&B we stayed in – remember, Orly? We didn’t leave that room all weekend …’
What’s he playing at? Is he trying to make Leo jealous or something?
Leo rolls his eyes, obvious to Harry’s ploy, and turns to face me, his jaw clenched tight as if he’s using all his powers to remain outwardly calm. ‘Orly, do you want him to stay or go?’
I briefly close my eyes, unconsciously comparing the two men who stand before me. Harry would never have asked what I wanted if this situation was reversed. Despite Leo’s muted animosity toward Harry, he’s still stopped to ask me what I want to happen.
I clasp Leo’s hand in a show of appreciation and give it a squeeze. ‘See you later, Harry. I hope you get yourself together and are a little kinder to whoever enters your life next. But it won’t be me.’ I move closer to Leo in solidarity. Our arms brush side by side and he strokes my still-clasped hand with an index finger.
Stubborn Harry stands there, every muscle in his face working. He’s never been one to give up on a fight, and it’s like I can see the cogs in his brain working. ‘Look, mate, Orly and I have a past and while I’ve got some making up to do, I think she knows exactly where her heart lies. And it’s not with you, so why don’t you give us some time alone to sort things out.’ Just like always, Harry ignores me and replies to Leo … I think that says a lot about him. He gives Leo a slow once-over as if his dusty work outfit is offensive.
‘Her heart was broken because you’re a selfish shallow excuse for a man.’ Leo’s voice is ominously quiet. ‘You lost the most beautiful girl in the world because you’re stupid. But guess what? Orly’s not stupid. She gave you a chance, even though everyone warned her about you, and that’s the thing with strong, smart women: they only give you one chance with their heart. You didn’t know how much she meant until it was too late. So your loss is my gain.’ My pulse thrums at the confrontation. I’ve never had a man speak up for me before, let alone display his feelings so openly. That final part of me falls hard for Leo, the part I’d been holding back for so long. ‘Leave or I’ll make you leave.’
Escape to Honeysuckle Hall Page 24