The Emerging

by Tanya Allan

  Many French holiday-makers would head south, to the warmer Mediterranean coast. However, not everyone could afford the exorbitant prices for accommodation and nearly everything else in the south, so some headed west instead. The Atlantic coast was cooler and definitely less settled than the Mediterranean, but when it was nice, it was a lovely place to be.

  The Gulf of Morbihan was a sheltered inland sea, protected from the Atlantic by the narrow mouth of the inlet at Port Navalo. In the Gulf were many islands, some inhabited, and a wonderful area in which to sail and explore. There were many ports with cafes and restaurants in which the sailor could stop and refresh oneself. Port du Crouesty was to the southeast of Port Navalo by a few kilometres, on the Atlantic side of the straights.

  Both families had been visiting the area for many years, having bought property here in the eighties. The children had found many others of their own age, of which the Fortiers and Royers were but two families among many.

  That first year that Keira had appeared, Charles was a University student, studying to become an architect. Just like Keira, Adelise was still at school, but thought the older boy was the best thing on two legs. She had thought that he might find her equally as attractive, but out of nowhere came the English girl and her Hobiecat.

  To be fair, although Charles had obviously found the English girl attractive and spent far too much time with her, the girl herself did not appear to be that interested in Charles. On those occasions when the young people had all congregated together, the English girl had been very much side-lined as her French wasn’t very fluent. However, she picked up the language so quickly that Adelise suspected that Keira had been pretending to not understand so as to get Charles to pay her more attention.

  Adelise was not to know that Keira had only been a girl for a matter of a few weeks, so was still fumbling her way through life. She was only just beginning to appreciate what her torc could do for her, so was experiencing a steep learning curve with both her new gender and what resided around her neck. To have a very good-looking boy interested in her was flattering, but also somewhat frightening. She liked the attentive Charles, but was a little wary of what signals she was sending him. As a result, she tried to play it cool, which was taken by the French boy as playing hard to get, and made him all the more interested.

  Nothing very much occurred that first year, but the following year saw Keira return with two friends; an Irish girl called Shannon, who chased every boy capable of walking and stringing a sentence together; and a very shy but pretty English girl called Connie.

  Adelise noticed that something had happened to Keira in the intervening period. Gone was the rather shy and uncertain girl who spoke the language poorly. Instead, she returned looking like a million dollars and full of confidence. It was as if she had grown up three years in the intervening twelve months. She was now totally fluent in French and appeared to know exactly how to wrap poor Charles around her little finger, or any male, if it came to it.

  Adelise’s brother Armand was now a student in Lyons with a girlfriend. This fact did not deter the irrepressible Shannon, who targeted the poor boy and almost traumatised him in the process.

  As far as Charles was concerned, his smile arrived on the day he first saw Keira, and he was with her as much as was humanly possible. To Adelise’s disgust, Keira was no longer reluctant to accept his advances, and gave him sufficient encouragement to make sure that he was entirely blind to any other girls specifically Adelise.

  It was a relief to all, perhaps with the exception of Charles, when the English girls went home at the end of their two weeks. Adelise hoped that Charles would lose interest in Keira before the next holiday, but she feared that he wouldn’t. Her other hope would be for the English girl to meet someone in England and therefore not be interested in Charles.

  Neither happened.

  For a start, when the English girls returned, it was a week earlier in the season, as Connie and Keira had now left school, and Shannon was on the break after her first year at university. They also arrived without Keira’s father and new step-mother. Stephanie and Graham were in the Caribbean on their honeymoon. They had handed over the keys to the Crouesty apartment without hesitation and the instructions to ‘leave the place standing.’

  Adelise did not arrive until a week after the others. As she walked through the port on that first evening to return to the old haunts and favourite cafe from the previous years, she was dismayed to see Charles sitting next to Keira with his arm draped in a proprietary fashion across her shoulders.

  Keira looked even more attractive, having already acquired a gorgeous tan from the hours spent sailing and basking on the beach. She was dressed in a stunning sundress that made her look more like a catwalk model than ever.

  Armand was pleased to see that Shannon was draped over a large young man wearing a Welsh Rugby shirt.

  He actually turned out to be a New Zealander called Matthew who was doing Europe and had been working in a bar in Crouesty when he happened to fall for Shannon, mainly because of what she could do with an empty bottle of beer. (Actually, the empty bit was optional, but nobody wanted to drink it afterwards).

  The girls were as friendly as ever, which made Adelise even more cross. The problem was that Keira was a nice girl and it wasn’t as if the French girl had managed to stake a claim on Charles in the first place.

  Everything changed on that day.

  It was a lovely sunny day, very much like all the days of this particular summer. The marina was busier than usual, as there was a competition running over the weekend, so there were many guest boats fighting the regulars for the already crowded berths.

  They were pulling their hair out at the Capitainerie, as was usual in the summer weeks. There were far more boats than there were berths, so many owners were frustrated at the lack of somewhere to keep their boat. Many would stock up their boat and sail into the Gulf to find a berth in one of the many inlets or moorings that were scattered around the islands and mainland towns.

  Adelise and her family would often spend several days (and nights) on their boat, depending on the weather. Her parents discovered that teenage girls are not always the best crew, particularly when sailing interferes with their social lives. Armand was a clone of their father, so adored sailing, and, as long as Shannon was otherwise engaged, he could take or leave social interaction for the most part.

  However, due to the crowds, her father decided to undertake an ‘expedition’. On this occasion, he decided to head out for a day’s sailing to return up the Rivière d’Auray to a berth he had pre-booked at the picturesque village of Auray for the weekend. That way, they’d avoid the crowds in Port du Crouesty, and be certain of a berth when they returned on Monday.

  This estuary was tidal, so he had to time it right. Too late and he’d never get up to estuary, so they’d have to stay where they found themselves, and if they were stuck in the mud, they could incur a fine by the river authorities, or even sustain damage to the hull.

  Because they left quite early, Adelise did not witness the near disaster, but only heard of it later, on her return.

  The weather was unpredictable in this region. Even if the sun was shining, the sea could be rough, and the wind treacherous. The coastline was notoriously rocky and there were hidden reefs to catch the lazy or unwary. One could not venture too close to the shore, so it was always a good idea to follow the buoys and charts, no matter how familiar one thought one was of these waters.

  When Adelise returned, she found all her friends talking about it. She also discovered a morose Charles sitting in a sulk by himself.

  “What’s up with Charles?” she asked one of the others.

  “Oh, the English girl told him his fortune, I think.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think he was a little over-protective towards Keira, so she told him that holiday romances were all right, but not for him to get too steamy and serious, as she wasn’t that interested. He’s been sitting ther
e ever since.”

  “How was he over protective?”

  “I’m not sure, but it was something to do with the rescue.”

  “What rescue?”

  “Of course, you’ve been away, haven’t you?”

  Adelise was getting frantic by this stage.

  “What the hell happened?” she asked.

  “It was yesterday morning, Sunday. You probably were up at Auray waiting for the tide, but it was blowing a gale here. Some kids went out in a dingy; you remember the Montpelliers?”

  “Yes, what about them?”

  “Stephan and Paul took the dingy out. Their parents were at that fancy lunch at the Marina, and had told them not to go out if it was windy. We were all at the beach; no one went out because of the wind. The waves were getting bigger by the minute. No one saw them until it was too late. They keep the boat at the other end of the beach, so no one was close enough to see them go out.

  “I can’t remember who saw them first; it might have been the Irish girl. Anyway, we could see the dingy was in trouble, as it capsized in a very rough sea. Charles said he’d go and ring the coastguard from the direct line at the club. We were all watching as a couple of the lads decided to take out the rib with the outboard, but they had to turn back before they got swamped. We could see the hull of the dingy in the water and the two boys sitting, hanging onto the keel board.”

  “What happened?”

  “Charles came back and watched the guys bring the rib ashore. He then realised that Keira was missing. He went mental, searching and shouting. Shannon told him not to be an arse as she had probably gone to the toilet.”

  “Anyway, we were all distracted by him, so we just noticed the dingy being pulled out of the water by the two boys, with Keira helping them. She said a freak wave pushed them towards the beach, so she had gone to help them. The mast had snapped, so they were going to have a lot of explaining to their parents.”

  “Keira went out to them?” Adelise asked, surprised.

  “I don’t know, no one was watching the dingy, as it all happened when the rib was coming back in. The guys got soaked and damn near overturned in the breakers.”

  “What did they say?”

  Not a lot; they were exhausted. They just said what Keira said; the wind and waves blew them toward the shore and she went out to them.”

  “So, why did Keira dump Charles?”

  “Well, after we got the dingy in and the two guys were checked over, Charles had to go ring the coast guard again to cancel them. When he got back, he delivered a stern lecture to Keira about being foolish.”

  Adelise smiled.

  “That would have gone down well,” she said, sarcastically.

  Her friend grinned.

  “Like a lead balloon. She told Charles that she was a big girl and to back off. He was stupid enough to think he could then tell her off some more. That was when she told him that she was not his property and that if that was what he felt then he could just forget any thoughts of being close to her. Judging how close they got the other night, I think that shocked him a little.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “Nothing; she walked off and hasn’t spoken to him again, while he’s sat in the corner of the cafe being miserable fool.”

  Adelise smiled gently. This was her chance.

  “Were the boys all right?” she asked.

  “Tired and scared, but otherwise okay. Their parents were furious and are making them pay for the new mast.”

  Making an excuse, Adleise left her friend and made her way to the cafe. Charles was still sitting there looking miserable. She went in and sat down next to him.

  “Hi,” she said.

  Charles vaguely looked her way without saying anything.

  “I hear Keira was a stroppy cow?” she said.

  “I was only looking after her welfare,” he said, petulantly.

  Adelise felt bold, so she reached out and took his hand.

  “I know, she’s so ungrateful,” she said. “I’d never be that nasty to you.”

  “That was a bloody stupid risk!” Shannon said.

  “Calculated,” said Keira.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Amber said that people see what they want to see and what they expect to see. When something doesn’t fit their expectations, they change what their memory tells them so that it does.”

  Shannon couldn’t argue, as nobody actually saw Keira go out to the dingy and help the boys and the boat to shore. Fortunately the boys in the rib were being so entertaining that everyone was distracted for several crucial seconds. The two in the dingy were so grateful that they were quite happy to keep to Keira’s story.

  “I still think you should have let the coastguard or lifeboat do their job,” Connie said.

  “They weren’t going to get there in time. Charles had only called them, so they would be at least twenty minutes, or half an hour. These boys had less than three minutes before hitting the reef.”

  “You didn’t have to snap Charles’ head off, he was just worried about you,” Shannon said.

  “Maybe, but I needed to do something. He was beginning to piss me off. He was settling into a nice little domestic arrangement and talking about me coming over to live with him at his university. Amber said that relationships might be difficult.”

  “You need to find Mr Incredible, or some other superhero,” Connie said with a smile.

  “Like that’s ever going to happen. At least I know I like guys,” said Keira wearily.

  Adelise didn’t hate Keira anymore. Indeed, she was a little grateful to her, but was never going to tell her so. Charles was hers on the rebound, and she was able to manipulate events so as he could see how much better she was compared to the feisty English girl. She had high hopes of something developing further.

  Keira had outgrown the French holiday, and so when they returned to England, she felt it unlikely that she would return. Still, it had been fun while it lasted.

  Twenty-one

  London 2014

  Shannon was late, so she grabbed a couple of bits of bread from the bread-bin, whopped a piece of yesterday’s pizza between then, and left her flat, just remembering her bag as she rushed out.

  Fortunately, a bus was just pulling up at the stop across the road, so she just managed to get there before it started off again. After showing her pass to the driver, she collapsed onto the only available seat.

  She sat back and gnawed her sandwich, much to the amusement of the oriental gentleman sitting across the aisle from her. He was obviously a tourist, as he wore the standard Japanese tourist’s garb, including digital camera and umbrella.

  A mobile phone rang. Shannon groped in her bag for her phone, as it was hers. The theme tune to Star Wars was a little lame, but at least she knew it was hers.

  It was Connie, as she suspected it might be.

  “Hi, Connie, what’s up?”

  “You’re late!” her friend said.

  “Yeah, well, sue me. Is Keira already there?”

  “I don’t know, we agreed that I’d wait for you outside; remember?”

  “Sorry, but Matt didn’t leave until gone two.”

  Connie rolled her eyes.

  “It’s your first day, so you could have made a fucking effort!”

  “I’m on the bus; I’ll be there in about ten.”

  “I’ll tell Keira.”

  “Ta. Look, I’m sorry, but you know what I’m like!”

  “See you,” Connie said, unwilling to say something that might make Shannon cross.

  In fact, the bus took twelve and a half minutes. Connie, a slimmer and very well-dressed Connie waited outside the imposing building.

  “What have you got all over your face?” she asked the Irish girl.

  Shannon wiped the tomato paste from around her mouth.

  “Pizza, probably,” she said, her Irish brogue still evident.

  “Come on; I called Keira and told her that the traffic w
as holding you up.”

  The building they entered was neither the MI5 or MI6 buildings that the girls were expecting. This was an old building. One amongst many other imposing but very anonymous grey buildings that housed various departments of the Home Office.

  A uniformed guard on reception was polite but possessed a no-nonsense manner.

  “Yes, ladies, may I help you?” he asked.

  Connie took a letter from her bag.

  “Good morning, we’re here to see Miss Frost,” she said, almost forgetting Keira’s surname.

  “Ah, you’ll be Miss Rogers and Miss O’Hanrahan, yes?”

  The girls nodded.

  “Sign in, please, and don’t bother smiling for the camera,” he said, as they signed the book and stared at the impersonal lens of the security camera as they did so.

  He handed them two ID cards with plastic clips to attach to themselves. They were impressed as their photographs were already on the cards, even though they were temporary, visitor passes.

  “Fifth floor, she’ll be waiting for you when the lift stops. Have a good morning.”

  They were the only people in the lift.

  “Can you believe we’re actually here?” Connie said.

  “Not really. I know I told her that she should give us both a job when she made it, but I never thought she would.”

  “Do you realise that we’re the only people who know her secret?”

  “Apart from her Dad, that is; oh, and the Lambster.”

  “They don’t count.”

  “At least I didn’t believe she was a fucking alien!”

  Connie smiled.

  “I was young and gullible. Besides, it wasn’t that far from the truth, was it?”

  “My Dad would die if he could see me now!” Shannon said, regarding her reflection in the large mirror that was the back wall of the elevator.

  A slim and very sophisticated young woman, dressed like a city businesswoman stared back at her. She and Connie could be colleagues in the same office.

  “I even had me fucking hair cut!” she complained.

  “Mind your language, Shannon,” she said, automatically.