A Kiss, a Dare and a Boat Called Promise

by Fiona Foden

  “Yeah,” I say, hoping I sound like I mean it, because I really do. It’s hard to feel truly grateful, though.

  Sure, we have friends and somewhere to stay. But a few feet away, there’s just an empty space where Promise used to be.

  As life on a boat is usually slow and dreamy, what happens next feels dizzying. “Things are falling into place,” Mum tells me and Ryan, after seven nights of us sleeping squished up side by side on cushions on Tarragon’s living room floor. At least, Mum and I have been. Ryan has been staying on Tyler and Jake’s barge on the opposite riverbank.

  “So what’s happening?” I ask, stroking Murphy, who’s curled up at my side on Bella’s deck. It’s a baking hot afternoon, far too nice to be cooped up indoors.

  “Well, it seems as if our luck’s changing,” Mum says. “You know Tony at work?”

  I nod. He owns the country hotel and lets Mum bring home any leftover cakes at the end of the day. “Well,” she continues, “he’s friends with some guy who runs a pub. This mate of his is desperate for a chef – his old one walked out last week. Completely left his friend in the lurch, Tony said, so he’s pretty desperate. There’s a flat, too – it comes with the job.”

  “A flat?” I gawp at Ryan in horror. He just looks neutral, as if he’s taking it all in.

  “That’s right,” Mum says. “I’ve already spoken to the pub guy and his wife. They said they can’t believe I’ve turned up like this, at exactly the right time. Tony’s given me a glowing reference so they’re keen for me to start as soon as I can.”

  We sit in silence for a moment. Bella and her parents are down below deck, making dinner, giving us the chance to talk things over. “So where is this pub?” Ryan asks.

  “Er … it’s in London,” Mum replies.

  “What?” I exclaim. “We can’t go to London! I thought you meant somewhere around here, so we’d still be near everyone…”

  Mum shakes her head. I can tell she’s been trying to come across all positive and enthusiastic, but now she’s faltering a bit. “Sorry, love, I know it’ll be a huge change for all of us…”

  I look across the river at the row of brightly painted boats, wondering if this is happening for real. It feels as if one minute I was cycling home on that last day of term, the sun blazing in the sky and bunting flapping in the trees, and the next, we’ve not only lost our home, but we’re moving to London, where we don’t know a soul. “The pub’s in a pretty nice area,” Mum continues, though I’m barely listening now. “Can’t say I know it, but I’m sure you’ll both like it once we’re settled in. There’ll be lots more for you to do—”

  “This is just temporary, right?” I swing round to face her.

  Mum hesitates. “I honestly don’t know, Josie. I’d love to say yes, but I don’t want to lie to you. All I can tell you is, we desperately need somewhere to live, and I seem to have found a job that comes with a flat – we won’t even have to pay rent.”

  “It sounds like a pretty good deal,” Ryan adds cautiously.

  I study my brother, realizing that, while he’s trying not to show it, he’s actually intrigued about the prospect of living in London, in a flat – starting a whole new life. Like he’s almost looking forward to it. “I know we’ll miss everyone,” Mum adds, “but it might be better for us as a family. You know how hard it’s been for me to find work these past few years. There are so few jobs around here, and in London I should never be out of work.”

  I clear my throat awkwardly. “D’you mean … this is it, Mum? That we’ll never move back here?” I’m trying to keep the wobble out of my voice.

  “Like I said, I just don’t know, Josie,” Mum says softly.

  “But what about our friends and school and everything?”

  “Well, it’ll be too far for you both to travel to Alcot High, obviously. So, yes, it does mean a new school. I’m sorry…”

  I put my arms around her. “It’s not your fault, Mum. It’s the boatyard man’s for refusing to fix her—”

  “Just leave it, Josie,” Ryan mutters.

  “It is, though! We never had any problems with Promise before, did we?” My voice cracks, but I won’t cry, not here on Bella’s deck.

  “We just need to be positive, OK?” Mum says, pulling a brave smile.

  “Yeah.” Ryan gives my arm a squeeze. “We don’t have any choice, and anyway, it means I’ll have a better chance of finding a summer job.”

  “Who cares about that?” I shoot back. “You’ve never had one before.”

  “Yeah, because I was too young. I’m sixteen now—”

  “OK, I know how old you are, you don’t have to—”

  “Stop bickering, you two,” Mum barks at us. “It’s not helping at all.”

  I glare at my brother, deciding there must be a lump of rock where his heart should be. Yet … he’s right that we don’t seem to have any choice. There have been so many things I’ve wanted to do these past few days – like call Bill from the boatyard and tell him he’s got to fix Promise, or at least give her back to us, so I can phone around and find someone who’s at least willing to try. But I can’t, can I? Everything’s been decided. This is the end of our life on the river, at least for now. I can’t believe it’s for ever, though. There must be something we can do…

  The three of us fall into silence as I stroke the warm, wiry top of Murphy’s head. “Er … there’s another thing,” Mum adds, pushing back her hair distractedly. “I’m really sorry, but the couple who own the pub and flat above it – I’m afraid they don’t allow pets.”

  Just like Mum said, I’m trying to be positive. Murphy’s only having a holiday on Tarragon – at least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Of course I’ll miss him like crazy, but hopefully he’ll like it here. Bella has always wanted a dog, so she’s bound to spoil him rotten. As for being parted from my best friend, I’m still hanging on to the hope that we’ll come back. Maybe someone will see Promise sitting there, looking all forlorn in Bill McIntyre’s yard, and decide she’s worth saving. They could fix her up and perhaps one day, we’ll have enough money to buy her back…

  Far-fetched, I know. But I have to keep believing that something good will happen.

  “There’s no need for you to hire a van, Helen,” Charlie says later when we’re all lounging about on huge cushions on Tarragon’s deck, making the most of the evening sunshine. “It’ll cost a fortune. We can use my truck – Kate and I will help you.”

  “No, you’ve both done more than enough for us,” Mum says firmly, sipping from a chipped mug of tea. “I’ve found a cheap van-hire place, and I can drop it off at their London depot once we’ve moved in.”

  Kate sighs loudly. “I wish you’d let us help you, Helen.”

  “Well,” Mum says, “maybe you could help me pack up at the boatyard. I’m sure I’ll appreciate some moral support that day.”

  “Of course we will,” Kate says. “So when is it happening?”

  “Er … later this week.” Mum casts me a quick, anxious glance. She’s acting weird – kind of cagey, as if she doesn’t want to discuss the details in front of me. Murphy certainly knows something’s wrong, as he’s been pressed up against my side all evening. As dusk starts to fall, Charlie lights the candles inside glass lanterns, as it’s still warm enough for us to sit outside. “So … what day are we actually moving, Mum?” I ask hesitantly.

  “I’m not quite sure yet, Josie. Um … I’m just going to grab a sweater, OK? It’s getting chilly out here.” Sure – it’s only the warmest night of the year so far. She heads down into the cabin, followed by Kate and Charlie, and I frown at Bella as the three of them start mumbling down there.

  “What’s going on?” Bella hisses.

  “I’ve no idea,” I say, desperate to follow them downstairs but also knowing I’m not wanted right now.

  “They’re acting really weird
.” She scowls. “This is so tough for you.”

  “I’m OK,” I say, managing a smile, even though my heart feels as heavy as stone. “I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here, though.” My eyes prickle with tears.

  “Hey, don’t cry,” Bella says gently. “London’s not that far, and we’ll always stay in touch, won’t we?”

  “Of course we will,” I say firmly, pulling Murphy on to my lap.

  Across the river, Ryan is playing a rowdy card game with Tyler and Jake. Their laughter floats over the water as if this were just an ordinary day at the start of a long, hot summer.

  Bright sunshine beats down on the boats next morning, making those with steel decks almost too hot to walk on. On the roof of Mucky Duck, Maggie and Phil’s barge, you can actually fry an egg. They call everyone over to watch, cracking one on to the flat metal surface so we can watch it sizzle. Dragonflies skim the river, their wings gleaming green and blue like jewels. “Let’s go swimming,” Bella suggests, and minutes later we’re all cycling along the twisting lane we take to school – that’s me, Bella and Ryan, plus Tyler and Jake – until we reach the woods, where a narrow mossy track leads us down to the lake.

  This is the first time we’ve got around to coming here since last summer, and it feels far better than moping about on Bella’s boat. All of us have been paddling and swimming here for years. Of course, when we were younger, parents would come too. I can remember Dad telling us kids to gather up all the wood we could find, and we’d build a fire and make a sort of grill out of wire for cooking the burgers we’d brought.

  As the soft, spongy path curves down towards the water, I glance back at Tyler, who’s cycling behind me. This time last year, I’d been hit smack-bang by a crush on him that overwhelmed me for the whole summer. Imagine – falling for one of my brother’s friends. Of course Ryan found out – he’d heard me and Bella giggling about it as we swam – and told Tyler right away. It was officially the most embarrassing day of my life, with Ryan, Tyler and Jake all screeching with laughter, and me having to spend virtually the whole time freezing my butt off in the water, because I couldn’t face sitting with them on the blankets we’d laid out. Finally, when I’d plucked up the courage to come out – just before my blood turned to ice, basically – I discovered they’d flung my clothes up into the trees. There, snagged on a spindly branch, were my horribly babyish candy-pink knickers, wafting gently like the bunting we had at our party last week. I’d wrapped myself in a giant towel until Bella had finally managed to get them down for me.

  As the memory starts to burn my face, I stop my bike and prop it against a tree.

  “Hey.” Tyler had appeared at my side, looking, shall we say … sorry. Not that I’m the kind of girl who holds a grudge for an entire year, especially as I’ve seen him virtually every day since then.

  “Hey,” I reply.

  As he props up his bike too, I notice he’s blushing. “Bit late, I know,” he murmurs, “but I’m sorry about that, uh … thing last summer.”

  I smile. “S’all right. I’m over it now.”

  “Dumb thing to do.” He grins awkwardly, and I catch Bella giving us quick look before she darts into the woods. I scamper off to join her, so we can strip down to our swimming costumes in private.

  In fact, the day turns out better than I could have hoped for. Messing around in the lake lifts my spirits, and it feel so good, swimming through the cool, clear water in the baking sun.

  “Tyler’s been hanging around you today,” Bella remarks later with a grin.

  “Has he?”

  “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”

  The two of us are laughing as we dry off on towels, then stretch out, exhausted after swimming for hours. “Well,” I say, “it’s been good, all being together today.”

  Tyler wanders over and plonks himself down beside us. “We’ll all miss you, you know,” he says shyly.

  I turn towards him and smile, shielding my eyes against the late afternoon sun. “I’ll miss you, too. I’ll miss everyone,” I add quickly, “but I’m sure we’ll be back some day.” He nods, his pale blue eyes meeting mine. It strikes me that, if this had been last summer, I would have been so excited right now, wondering if this meant the start of something.

  Now, though, it feels like an ending.

  I swallow hard, wondering how to fill the small silence, when my mobile rings. As I take it out of my bag, I see it’s Mum calling. “Hi, Josie?” comes her slightly breathy voice.

  “Mum? Everything OK?”

  “Yes, sweetheart … are you still at the lake?”

  “Uh-huh…” I glance towards the water’s edge, where Ryan, Bella and Jake are piling up wood to make a fire, just like Dad’s. Tyler is still sitting on the towel beside me, his face turned biscuit-brown by the sun.

  “Josie…” Mum pauses. “Er … maybe I should have told you. But I thought I was doing the right thing…”

  “What is it, Mum?”

  She clears her throat. “While you’ve all been at the lake, Charlie took me to pick up the van, and we’ve spent all morning taking everything off Promise…”

  My heart lurches. “Have you?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. I … I’d been thinking it over and I knew it would upset you to be there while we were packing up – and Ryan too. I thought we’d be better doing it when you were having a lovely day with your friends.”

  “Oh.” I blink into the sunshine as a terrible realization washes over me. “So where are you now? Still at the boatyard?”

  “Um … no,” Mum says in a small voice. “We’re back at Tarragon. But as soon as you and Ryan get here, we’ll be saying our goodbyes and heading off to our new flat.”

  “But we can’t!” I cry, not caring that Tyler is staring at me, or that, down by the lake’s edge, the others are all giving me confused looks. “We can’t go today,” I hiss. “There’s … there’s something on the boat I have to get.”

  “Hon, we took everything,” Mum insists. “Everything that could be moved, I mean. We couldn’t bring your mirror, I’m afraid – it was impossible to get it off the wall of your cabin. But I promise I’ll buy you a new one.”

  I let out a huge, desperate gulp.

  “It’s only a mirror, Josie,” Mum says.

  I nod wordlessly, swiping at tears with my fingers. Bella has run towards me with Ryan and Jake in pursuit. Everyone gathers around me, asking, What’s wrong? What is it? I shake my head and turn away. “We need to go back to the boatyard,” I tell Mum. “We have to go there today, OK? It’s really important.”

  “Darling, we can’t. Promise is being taken to the scrapyard this afternoon. Bill said he desperately needed the space.”

  “So … she’s gone already?” I croak.

  “Probably, yes,” Mum murmurs. “I’m sorry, Josie. I just thought it would be less upsetting this way.” I finish the call without saying goodbye.

  “What’s wrong?” Bella asks, eyes wide with concern.

  I look down at the parched ground. “Mum and your parents have been to the boatyard to take all our things off Promise,” I say quietly. “We’re actually leaving today.”

  “What? You mean they’ve emptied the whole boat?” Ryan exclaims.

  I nod, aware of everyone’s eyes fixed on me.

  “They’ve taken everything?” Bella hisses.

  I shake my head briefly, meaning No, not everything… Ryan comes over and puts an arm around my shoulders. “Listen, sis,” he says gently, “we’ll be OK. We’ve just got to hold it together for Mum, all right?”

  I nod, thinking, What about Dad? “What d’you think will happen to Promise at the scrapyard?”

  Ryan shrugs. “Dunno. I guess she’ll be broken up, maybe sold off as spare parts.”

  “Where is the yard, anyway?”

  He blows out air. “How should I
know? There’s probably loads. Anyway, listen – we’d better forget about lighting the fire and just head back.”

  I nod, checking my phone as it bleeps. It’s a text from Mum: Sorry about yr mirror hon, will get you a new one asap.

  I blink at the screen, lost for words as everyone starts to pack away the blankets into backpacks and gather up the bikes. She thinks that’s what I’m upset about – an ancient mirror covered in butterfly stickers that I have to stand on tiptoe to see into. But perhaps it’s better that way. Maybe by the time we’ve cycled back to Bella’s boat, I’ll have convinced myself that a rusty old tin with a dented lid didn’t really matter at all.

  A hired van is parked in a small clearing close to the boats. I can hardly believe it contains virtually everything we own, or that we’re actually leaving right now.

  “You sure about driving this thing, Mum?” Ryan asks, loading in his bike, then mine, and slamming the van door shut.

  “Of course I am,” she says defensively.

  He looks at me and raises a brow. “This might be … interesting,” he whispers, and despite everything, I smile. Although we haven’t had a car for ages, we both know that Mum isn’t the world’s greatest driver.

  “Let’s make this quick, sweetheart,” Mum says as we make our way along the path to say our goodbyes to our friends on the boats. “I can’t bear a long, drawn-out thing, and I’m sure you two don’t want that either. It’s too sad.”

  I nod and breathe deeply, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. There are hugs and good-lucks from Bella’s parents, and some boysy backslapping and high-fives among Ryan and his mates. In fact, all the boaters gather to see us off. My eyes are brimming up with tears, and so no one can see, I bob down to make a big fuss of Murphy. “Enjoy your holiday,” I whisper, cuddling his furry little body. “I’ll come back and see you very soon.”

  That’s how I get through it. You see, I’m still trying to convince myself we’re just off on some trip, not moving for good. I’m clinging on to the hope that, by some miracle, Promise won’t be broken up at the scrapyard after all, and that one day we’ll find her again, as good as new. My tin will still be there in the secret space under my bed, and Dad won’t even know we’ve been gone.