‘No, but I’ve always wanted one, but they’re way out of my league.’ Sallie said, touching a leather buckle of one of the hampers.
‘What league is that then exactly?’ Holly asked.
‘You know, the league where people like these spend extortionate amounts on a jar of jam and have truffles on a Wednesday night for dinner. People like Ben’s mother.’ Sallie said.
Holly stepped forward, lowered her voice and touched Sallie on the arm, ‘pick up the basket,’ she ordered.
Sallie looked down at her and frowned.
‘You’re buying the basket or I’m buying it for you. You’re a Chalmers now, you’ve your own successful business and you rarely spend money on yourself. You’re getting the basket.’ Holly ordered and picked up the large basket with the top opening lid.
‘Take it.’ Holly nearly growled, pushing the basket into Sallie’s arm.
Sallie started to laugh, flicked her hair over her shoulder and taking the basket, replied, ‘You know what ladies, you’re right, I very much think I will.’
***
Sallie sat on the packed train with Holly and Xian the huge hamper just about fitting under the table in front of her.
‘What a day! We must have walked for miles.’ Sallie said, across the table to Holly.
‘Let me have a look at my steps,’ Holly replied and opened up the health app on her phone.
‘By the way my legs feel, it must be about thirty thousand.’
‘Sixteen thousand, so we definitely earned the afternoon tea.’ Holly announced, looking up from her phone.
‘I’ll sleep well tonight,’ Sallie said.
They all sat there chatting, Xian sipping from another flask that had magically appeared from the depths of her bag.
‘Any news on the house hunting then Sallie?’ Holly asked.
‘Not much around at the moment. I guess it’s the wrong time of year for people to put their house up for sale. There have been a few, but there aren’t many Victorian houses near to the sea in Pretty Beach, so that at the outset means it’s going to be tricky.’
‘Yeah, I suppose you really are just limited to those few streets in the Old Town. Or you could go next door to Pearl Beach - there are a lot more there and it’s only a two-minute drive.’
‘No, I couldn’t do it, I’ve found my place in Pretty Beach, and I won’t be moving out anytime soon,’ Sallie replied.
‘I know how you feel, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.’ Holly said as the train began to pull into the station, and Sallie pulled the huge hamper out from under the table and Xian popped her flask back into her bag.
Chapter 10
Sallie sprinkled hot chocolate powder into a saucepan of hot milk, stirred it round, grabbed a flask from the cupboard above and poured the hot chocolate into the flask.
With the flask in a basket, a paper bag with some of Holly’s gingerbread buns and a couple of hand warmers just in case, she stepped out of the Boat House doors, walked over the pebble drive as Ben was putting his coat on and closing the door to the workshop. He jumped over the little fence between the two properties to meet her.
‘Ready to go?’ He asked, putting his hand gently on her waist and kissing her on the cheek.
‘Yep - I’ve got the hot chocolate, the gingerbread and some hand warmers. That’ll be enough, won’t it?’
‘Yeah, we’ll stop in the pub on the way home too, that’ll warm us up - nothing like a cosy pub, a warm fire and a cold day.’
They started walking up through the laneway, through Pretty Beach to the wharf and watched the ferry chugging around into the bay, the sea strangely calm for the time of year.
Sallie wrapped her coat around her, pulled her gloves out of her pocket and put them on as the ferry sounded its horn in the distance.
‘Are we nuts, going for a walk along a canal when it’s really cold and there’s a layer of snow on the ground?’ She asked, pulling her gloves on and looking up at the sky.
‘I’m getting used to it being married to you!’ Ben joked and took her hand as they strolled down to the end of the wharf. ‘We’ll be fine, and the towpath down by the canal is always full of walkers whatever time of the year - in my humble opinion a bit of light snow on the ground makes everything, well, as you would say, twinkle.’
They sat on the bench at the ferry stop, watching the ferry in the distance slowly making its way into Pretty Beach. Ben got out his phone and started to scroll through the houses for sale website with Sallie, hand on his leg, leaning over looking at the listings. He scrolled to the top, changed the search to newly listed and three new properties came up - a farmhouse over Strawberry Hill way which as they flicked through the images Sallie oohed and ahhed at, a fully renovated cottage in Mermaids, and a house in the Old Town which looked promising.
Ben clicked on the photos on the Old Town house and opened the listing - it ticked a few of their boxes being in the right location, was bigger than their apartment which was the main reason for their house hunting and it was still near to the sea which was a must-have. As they looked at it further, though, they saw that someone had also decided to stick a very modern extension on the back, knock out all the interior walls so it was open-plan and had annihilated the beautiful old fireplaces by either ripping them out or boarding them up.
Sallie shook her head vehemently, tutting.
‘I’m guessing that’s a no then.’ Ben said, laughing.
‘It should be against the law to block up a fireplace and put in a modern gas fire with pebbles,’ Sallie said and shuddered.
‘I quite like that modern look,’ Ben replied, chuckling.
‘Hmm, can we please just ascertain here that I do not.’
‘Ha, like I didn’t know that already - I’ve spent the last few months searching for Victorian houses with fireplaces in the Old Town and trying to persuade you to have a look at anything that was built after 1900...’
‘It just hurts my heart, Ben, to see all these old houses ripped apart - and all this cheaply made stuff with inferior materials breaks in a few years and then has to go into landfill when the good workmanship when the house was built could have been saved in the first place.’ She took a breath in about to continue with her rant about old houses and how it was criminal what people were allowed to do to them, or worse, knock them down.
‘Here we go - the floorboards, the chimneys, the windows were made to last.’ Ben said, chuckling and smiling.
Sallie started laughing; he closed his phone and put his arm around her as they sat there and watched the ferry churn up the water as it pulled into the wharf. Ben checked with the crew hand it was running to Pearl Beach.
‘Yeah mate, this one is the slow service, so we’re stopping at all the beaches to Newport Reef. You’ll need to check on the way home though, the Winter service isn’t as regular and only on the hour from Darling all the way through to Pretty Beach.’
‘Thanks, yep, okay, the app’s right then, good. I’ll make sure we check it before we head home.’
‘Yeah, make sure you do - the bus runs all the way through at this time of year too, so you’re all good.’
They stepped onto the ferry, sat up the top in the warm and looked out at the coastline as the old ferry meandered along stopping at Mermaid Beach, Seafolly Bay, then Ladybird Cove, Darling Beach and then finally Pearl Beach where they got off, waved cheerio to the crew hand and started to walk into the small town.
Tiny cobbled streets surrounded a harbour wall packed with colourful fishing boats topped with a small walkway pier all the way out to the sea where an old Victorian clock tower looked out to the ocean at the end.
Sallie looked around as the sails of the boats clinked overhead and harsh cold air whipped in off the sea, ‘Well this is lovely - how come I haven’t been here? It’s odd seeing as it’s right next door to Pretty Beach’
‘I know, when I mentioned the canal before I was surprised you hadn’t been to Pearl Beach.’ Ben replied.
&n
bsp; ‘I think it’s because it takes longer to get to Pearl Beach by ferry even though by road it’s two minutes away and right next door. I’m always on the way to Newport or something so I’ve never stopped here.’
It’s one of the first places I came to down here actually before I’d even heard of Pretty Beach. We came down to have a look at the canal, you know, being into transport and all that.’
Sallie squeezed his hand; she knew that had brought back a memory of Tana. She could hear it in his voice.
‘You okay?’
‘Yep all good. Come on, we need to go through the High Street, over the old park with the bandstand, dip down the other side and then the canal runs all the way out through the town and out into the countryside - there are lots of pubs along the way. We’ll see how far we get along.’
Sallie put her arm through Ben’s, pulled her hat further down over her ears and they walked all the way down the tiny cobbled street in the middle of the town, lights criss-crossed over the top, bunting lined the shops and hanging baskets full of pansies hung from the coach lights lining the pavement.
They walked over the park, past the bandstand and made their way down a grassy incline and through the trees. All of a sudden there it was, the Pearl Beach Canal Ben had been telling her about that she’d never heard of before he’d casually mentioned it a few weeks earlier.
The whole scene in front of them was layered in a thin coating of pure white, the canopy of overhanging tree branches heavy with snow and the water in the canal a glinting icy grey-white.
Colourful red, black, yellow and bright green canal boats lining the side some with little gates to the front, contrasted with the white surroundings and tiny little billows of smoke curled their way up from chimneys through the frosty air.
A throng of walkers with dogs and prams strolled along the canal path, and over on the other side a pub with cosy lights on inside, outdoor heaters and tiny little curved windows tempted them to cross over the lock and settle down with a drink.
‘This is lovely, Ben,’ Sallie said, looking down at all the enchanting canal boats as they walked along the towpath.
‘It certainly is beautiful. I’ve always fancied myself a little canal boat - thought it would go well with the seaplanes but, well, I never really got around to it.’
‘Ha, my mind was just going there - how much use would you really get out of it though?’
‘I know, unless you live on it I guess you’d just use it every now and then - which was as far as I got thinking about it... and then Tana got ill, etcetera and then here I am all these years later with you.’
Sallie squeezed his arm as they walked along commenting on all the beautiful boats, their different paintings and signage, and all the weird and wonderful names displayed proudly on the sides.
They passed an old pub right on the towpath and peeked in the window to a roaring fire with a couple of dogs asleep in front of it, the smell of roast pork in the air and window boxes laden with ivy trailing all the way down to the path.
Continuing along the towpath, the boats tied to the side started to tail off and they scraped off a thin layer of snow on a bench on the side, put the picnic rug down on top of the seat, sat down and poured the piping hot milky chocolate into the little flask cups and broke off bits of gingerbread as they sat people watching families out for a Sunday stroll.
A family with a toddler in a cute pink bobble hat and heavily pregnant mum stopped to stroke a dog who was sitting on the deck of one of the boats looking around at the passers-by. Sallie observed the picture-perfect family scene in front of them and sighed thinking about how she’d been convinced she was pregnant when they’d stood on the top of the hill outside the little church in Pretty Beach and how a few months later that little dream had come to an abrupt end.
As she sat there on the bench sipping the sweet hot chocolate her mind wandered. Sallie had never thought she would even entertain the idea of having a baby again. She’d kept all those feelings nicely locked up in a little box marked with ‘don’t even think about it’, and left it with her two failed marriages. But since she’d been around Nina and Tillie and since meeting Ben she’d realised that she could perhaps open up her heart again, and had begun to envisage herself with a baby.
She wanted her and Ben to be parents, and thought about how wonderful it would be to be a happy little family unit more and more. She always tried to stop the thoughts in their tracks, not wanting to be too invested in it because she was scared to let herself go, petrified to think about it too much in case it never happened.
As she sat there looking at the family scene playing out in front of them she felt a wave of disappointment wash over her admitting to herself how her not falling pregnant would be so hard for her to accept now that she’d found Ben.
Ben put his hand on her leg and gave it a pat.
‘It’ll happen, beautiful, just you wait and see.’
Chapter 11
Nina tucked Tillie into her pram suit, wrapped her up snuggly into the carrier, then popped on her sunglasses, put her hat on and headed off down to the beach for a walk. Tillie needed to get her dose of fresh air and Nina needed to clear her head. She checked that she had her puffer in the pocket of her coat - the doctor had said that the cold air could possibly make it worse. She hadn’t felt anything so far but she wasn’t taking any chances.
The air was bitterly cold, the pavement covered in a thick layer of white and slush slopped around in the gutter down to the drains. Nina pulled her beanie further down onto her head, tucked her scarf into her coat and put the timer on her phone. Twenty-two minute walk out and then she’d turn around and do the same back meaning they’d get the requisite fresh air and exercise.
Tillie was oohing and ahhing to herself, toasty warm in her snowsuit, as Nina walked along, and it didn’t sound as if Tillie was dropping off to sleep. Maybe she was going to be dropping the morning sleep.
My god, she thought, how will I cope?
Nina’s whole life revolved around Tillie’s schedule these days. Her phone pinged; she took it out of her pocket and read it over the top of Tillie’s head.
Hi, want to catch up for that coffee sometime this week? I’m coming down to pretty beach with David for a few days if you fancy it?
Guy, David’s friend had been chatting to her on messenger It was all a bit strange - it had started after the night they’d met each other on her first night out after having Tillie. She’d liked the look of Guy straight away - tall, dark, handsome, broad and it hadn't gone unnoticed with Sallie that she’d apparently done the fluttery eyelash thing.
She’d found out soon enough though that he was married and sort of parked it there, but then later found out that his marriage was on a break and he was waiting around while his wife had decided whether or not she wanted to stay with him.
It was like penpals of the old days - he’d message her in the evening, she’d message back and they’d struck up quite the friendship. She’d ask him about little things that came up with Tillie and he picked her brains on the law. They’d met up once in the city after work for a quick glass of wine before the train and once for lunch after the news that his wife did in fact want him back, but at which point he’d decided that he actually didn't want to go back to her.
Sure, love to, I’m in the city Wednesday and Thursday, so any other day.
I’m getting the train Thursday night, let me know if it suits to travel back together? I’ll treat you to a railway sandwich.
She fiddled with the phone as Tillie started to cry.
Sounds good. I’ll check my diary when I get back, just out for a walk and I’ll let you know. Think my last meeting is at five so it will be not long after that.
He sent back a thumbs up emoticon, Nina closed her phone and put it in her pocket.
She walked further along the tiny little road. The fisherman’s cottages looked gorgeous with a smattering of snow, especially the one for sale at the top of Seapocket Lane. Everything gli
stened brightly, hurting her eyes in the sunshine as she made her way all the way down to the beach and stood there looking out to sea. Tillie was fast asleep in the carrier now and she took a few more steps down onto the beach, her boots crunching in the icy sand when the timer went off. She was glad - even though she’d walked fast and the sun was shining it was really quite cold and she wanted to get back inside.
She turned around and started walking back down the road when her chest got a bit tight. She stopped by Juliette's gate, pulled the puffer out of her pocket and sat on the wall taking in a huge breath of it. She instantly felt better and just as she was adjusting her boots to get back going, Juliette opened the door of her cottage.
‘I thought that was you. What are you doing perched out here on the wall in this weather? It’s freezing!’
‘Just out for a walk to get our scheduled fresh air and exercise, and I got a bit wheezy so stopped for the puffer.’
‘You're coming in Nina, let me have a look at you.’
Chapter 12
Sallie hopped out of David's black Mercedes wrapped her huge wool coat around her and tucked her scarf tighter into her neck. Her usual uniform of jeans and a shirt had been updated for the falling snow and icy winds with a cosy oversized jumper, boots and fleece-lined gloves. She’d scraped her hair back into a French pleat, spritzed herself with perfume and to suit the weather had slicked on a layer of deep berry lip balm.
‘Cold enough for you? Doesn’t it look lovely though? I used to love the snow up here when I was a kid, sledding down the hill like crazy.’ David grinned at the memory.
When she’d opened the door to the car he’d told her she looked amazing. He still always gave her compliments, even though she was now married to Ben. There was still a connection between them, and also the unspoken knowledge that he very much adored her. Sallie looked at him in his scarf and hat as she got out of the car and he walked around to help her over the snow. He really was quite the charming sweetheart and as he’d joked the first time she’d met him, not just a pretty face.
Winter at Pretty Beach Page 4