Ask Amy Green: Summer Secrets

by Sarah Webb

  “Well?” I say.

  “Martie’s pretty angry with me. But at least she didn’t hang up.”

  “Is she coming over to see you?”

  He shakes his head sadly. He looks like a puppy that’s just been put outside.

  “Oh.” This isn’t very romantic at all.

  Sitting down beside us, he puts his head in his hands. “I’ve really messed up this time. There’ll never be another Martie. I’m such an idiot. You always know where you are with Martie. Always tells you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.” He gives a laugh. “She said my teeth look fake.” He opens his mouth wide and pulls back his gums. Now he looks like a mare at a horse market. I don’t like to point out that veneers are fake.

  “Pay no attention,” Clover says kindly. “They’re lovely. So she knows you’re Matt Munroe, but she hasn’t told anyone? Or tried to contact you?”

  “No.” He shrugs. “That’s Irish girls for you. Completely mad and stubborn as anything. Sorry, girls, no offence.”

  “That’s OK,” Clover says. “It’s probably true. The stubborn bit, anyway.”

  Matt sighs. “I guess I’ll just have to move on. Put Martie behind me. But at least I have her number now. Thanks to you two. She said I can ring her if I need to talk.”

  “Did she now?” Clover looks at me, eyebrows raised.

  “And will you?” I ask him.

  “Every day. Until she changes her mind.”

  I smile: if he’s that determined, there’s hope yet.

  Chapter 34

  It’s hard to say goodbye to Mills. Ria has arranged for a chauffeur to bring us to the airport. Matt has a script meeting all afternoon, but Ed and Mills have come along to see us off.

  “I’ve had such an amazing time.” I grab Mills and give her a bear hug. (She smells of apples from her fruity shampoo.) “I’ll miss you.”

  “Only two more weeks,” she says aloud before whispering in my ear, “Thanks for all the advice. Ed’s great. I don’t know what I saw in Matt; he’s far too serious for me. And good luck with Seth. I’m sorry we didn’t get much time to talk, but you guys will work it out; you’re made for each other.”

  “I hope so, Mills,” I say. “I’ll see you back in Dublin. Have fun with Ed. And thanks for everything.”

  Earlier this morning, I finally got a chance to tell Mills about what had happened with Seth and a little about Kit.

  Mills said that from the way I was describing Kit, it sounded as if he and Matt were very alike – both drop-dead gorgeous, both confused.

  “I think they both need to find out who they really are, Amy,” she said. Mills is one smart cookie sometimes.

  Talking to her made me realize just how much I miss Seth and how much he means to me. Back at the hotel, while Clover was writing up some notes for Saffy on her laptop, I went downstairs and sat down at one of the computers in the hotel’s business centre. I wanted to check my emails and was hoping there might be a message from Seth. There was!

  Yowser, Amy!

  Miami! You lucky thing, kiddo! It’s supposed to be mega.

  I’m sorry too about the phone call the other day. I was really annoyed with you afterwards and frustrated that you didn’t seem to believe me about Jin (as if!) – but I thought about it and I guess I was going on about her in my emails a lot. I missed you and maybe I wanted to make you a bit jealous. It was really childish and stupid, and I’m sorry.

  I hope you don’t mind, but I was so upset after our phone call that I talked to Jin about it. She said it sounded as if we were good together and worth saving, and not to let you go without a fight. She said she broke up with her boyfriend once and she missed him so much that it made her realize how much she liked him. They got back together and things are even better now.

  Anyway, I hope we can work things out back in Dublin. I don’t want to lose you, babe.

  Love always,

  Seth XXX + a million

  P. S. Jin really isn’t my type. Promise. I only have eyes for you!

  I almost cried with relief. Jin’s right: sometimes you don’t realize what you’ve got till it’s gone. I’m not going to make that mistake again.

  After nearly fifteen hours of travelling, Clover and I arrive at Cork Airport on Sunday morning. I managed to get some sleep on the plane, slouched on top of Clover’s shoulder, so I don’t feel too bad, but Clover’s in bits: she didn’t sleep a wink. She rolls her head on her neck and it makes an ominous click. She scowls at me. “You were dribbling on me the whole way over the Atlantic.”

  “I don’t dribble.” I wipe the edges of my mouth with my finger. Oops, maybe I do dribble a little. I stretch over her and look out of the window. Grey sky and drizzle. “Welcome back to sunny old Ireland.” I sigh.

  Miami, with its sun, clear blue skies, swimming pools, elephant-sized jeeps, red carpets and Jimmy Choos, seems like a dream.

  Chapter 35

  Back at Haven House, Clover takes to her bed at three with jet lag. I finish up my late lunch and walk outside. Spotting a book on the patio table I walk over. It’s Into the Wild, the book Kit was reading in his boathouse. There’s a plain white postcard sticking from between its pages and I pull it out. To my surprise, it’s a note for me.

  Dear Amy,

  Sorry about the other day. Thought you might like to read this. Sad but honest.

  Kit

  “Sad but honest” – does he mean himself or the book? I didn’t think about Kit much in Miami, but now I’m back I get this overwhelming urge to see him, despite Seth’s email. And the book has given me a good excuse.

  “Mee-mee.” Alex toddles out of the kitchen, his arms outstretched. “Mee-mee, biccie.”

  “And I thought you were just pleased to see me, little man.” I lift him up and swing him in the air. “Let’s get you a biccie, then.” Tucking him under my arm, I walk back inside and hand him a chocolate digestive from Mum’s secret stash.

  “Have you got Alex?” Mum calls from upstairs.

  “Yep, I’ll send him up to you in a minute.” (I’d better wipe away the tell-tale chocolate smears first.)

  I clean him up with a baby wipe and then pat him on his padded-nappy bottom and carry him up the stairs. He sits on the top step, staring up at me.

  “See you later, alligator,” I say and gently kiss the top of his head; then I skip down the stairs and walk quickly towards the boathouse.

  It’s cloudy but at least it’s not raining. As I approach the boathouse, I see two figures sitting on the rocks. They are facing the window framing Kit’s mobile. It’s Gramps and Esther. And they’re lost in conversation. I try to creep past them, but my foot crunches on some pebbles and they look up.

  “Amy!” Esther smiles at me. “How was Miami?”

  Gramps pats a flat stone. “I’ve saved you a seat.”

  “Miami was great,” I say, sitting down. I tell them all about my holiday – although I leave out the Matt/Sean discovery. Esther must know him and I figure it’s not my story to tell.

  “Your gardener friend was looking for you,” Gramps says when I’ve finished. “Said he had something for you.”

  “Yes, a book.”

  Esther looks at me, opens her mouth and then closes it again. Suddenly, the sun breaks through the clouds, its rays beaming through Kit’s mobile, making the glass shards sparkle. “There you go,” Esther tells Gramps, nodding at the mobile. “Told you it would happen if we waited long enough. Haven’s very own northern lights, courtesy of Kit.”

  “Kit?” I ask her. “I thought his mum made the glass mobile.”

  “May? No, child. She used to collect glass paper-weights, all right. Kept them in the boathouse – it was her special place – but Kit created the mobile.”

  “Why did he tell me his mum made it?”

  Esther shrugs. “No idea. But it’s the first time he’s spoken about May to anyone since the day she took her own life.”

  I stare at her, confused. “But I thought she died in a
boating accident.”

  “Ach, now, I’ve said too much already.”

  “Please tell me, Esther. Please,” I beg. “I’d like to know the truth.”

  She’s silent for a moment, her eyes glassy as she stares out at the water. Finally, she says, “May rowed to the middle of the lough and lowered herself over the side. She’d filled her coat pockets with her heaviest paperweights. The weight of them sent her to the bottom. They didn’t find her body for days.”

  My eyes fill with tears. It’s so awful. Poor Kit.

  She pauses and looks at me. “I know, child. Terrible, terrible thing, but the poor soul was at her wits end. She just couldn’t go on. Kit went catatonic from the shock of it. He disappeared for days. Eventually his dad found him in the boathouse. Kit had smashed the front window by hurling the rest of May’s paperweights through it. They shattered on the beach. Sometimes you can still find shards among the pebbles. Afterwards, Kit’s dad fixed up the window and Kit started to hang bits of the broken paperweights in it. That’s how he started the mobile.”

  “It’s so sad,” I say. “But maybe there’s something I can do. Maybe I could—”

  “Amy.” Gramps reaches out and holds my hand firmly in his. “You can’t always fix people. Sometimes they’re too damaged to sticky-tape back together.”

  “But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try,” I say, jutting out my chin stubbornly.

  “Aye,” Esther murmurs. “That’s true.”

  “Hey, Amy.” Mum appears behind us. “Where’s Alex?”

  “I left him inside with you. At the top of the stairs. Ages ago.”

  Mum’s face goes white. “I thought he was with you. He’s not in the house.”

  I climb to my feet. “He’s probably just in the garden somewhere. I’ll help you look.”

  Mum’s biting her bottom lip so hard it’s gone as pale as her face.

  “I’ll look too,” Gramps says.

  “Let’s all go.” Esther stands up. “He can’t have gone far.”

  Mum puts a hand up to her mouth. I can see she’s starting to panic.

  “Don’t worry,” I say. “I’m sure he’s fine. He’s always wandering off.”

  “But this is an island,” Mum says. “All that water. And you know what he’s like with water, Amy.”

  Now I’m starting to worry too. “I’ll go on ahead,” I say. “Gramps, you and Esther check out the garden. Mum, where’s Dave?”

  “On the beach with Evie and the Sticklebacks.”

  “You go down and get him. I’ll meet you back at the house in a few minutes.”

  I pelt back to the house and dash upstairs to check all the bedrooms.

  “What are you doing?” Denis says as I swing open the door to his room.

  “Have you seen Alex?” I ask him frantically.

  “He was outside playing with a dog a few minutes ago. The dog was barking a lot – I think Alex must’ve pulled its tail.”

  “The gardener’s dog? The black and white one?”

  “Yeah. Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Alex is missing.”

  “Maybe he followed the dog somewhere,” Denis suggests.

  “I bet you’re right.”

  I fly out of the door and down the stairs, taking them three at a time and almost twisting my ankle at the bottom. To my surprise, Denis is right behind me. The two of us race out through the kitchen doors and almost collide with Kit.

  “Seen Jack?” he asks. “I heard him barking a few minutes ago but now he’s disappeared.”

  “We think my little brother, Alex, is with him,” I say, my heart pounding.

  Kit looks at me. “I’ve been lifting new rose bushes across to the island from the mainland. If Jack’s looking for me he might be on the mainland. If Alex tried to follow him—”

  “But he can’t swim!” I screech.

  Kit suddenly looks alarmed. “Quick, the tide’s on the way in. Follow me.”

  “Tide?” I shout after him as he runs down the garden. “I thought this was a lake.”

  I break into a sprint but Denis quickly overtakes me. “It’s a salt-water lake,” he says. “With tides. The only one in Ireland.” He runs backwards for a second, grinning at me, his cheeks flushed scarlet. “Come on, slowcoach. Keep up.”

  Who would have thought Denis was such a strong runner?

  Kit turns right, past the boathouse – and then stops. The island and the mainland are separated by about six metres of water. The large rocks that act as stepping stones between the two pieces of land are almost covered by water.

  Jack is standing on the scrubby grass of the mainland, pacing up and down and barking wildly.

  “Jack!” Kit shouts. “What is it, boy?”

  “He’s barking at Alex,” Denis says, pointing. “Look!”

  Alex is lying stomach down on a large rock, clinging to strands of brown seaweed, halfway across the lake. I have no idea how he made it out that far, but that’s the least of our worries. The tide is still coming in and the waves are lapping his body. One big wave will sweep him into the water.

  “Alex, stay there!” I shout. “Amy’s coming.” I start to make my way towards him.

  He looks over and starts to wail, “Mee-mee! Mee-mee!”

  “I’m coming, little man. Hang in there.” I scramble across the first rock, my flip-flops sliding about. Denis is following behind me.

  A wave splashes over Alex, soaking him. He lets go of the seaweed and slithers into the lake.

  “Alex!” I scream, terrified. I hurry over the rocks towards him as quickly as I can, slipping on seaweed and splitting my knee open on some barnacles. It’s throbbing and pumping blood, but I don’t care. Hauling myself upright, I keep going.

  By the time I reach his rock, Alex’s head has disappeared under the water. I scour the surface with my eyes, willing him to come up, but he doesn’t. My whole body goes icy with horror.

  And then SPLASH, Kit dives into the lake. I watch transfixed as he ducks under the water and comes back up with Alex in his arms. Alex is coughing and spluttering, but he’s alive.

  Clinging to the rock with one arm and gasping for air, Kit holds Alex tightly against his chest with the other. “It’s OK, I’ve got you,” he tells him. Alex is thrashing around, goggle-eyed and clearly petrified.

  I run towards them, not caring if I slip again, and miraculously I make it in one piece.

  “Can … I … pass him … up … to you?” Kit says, his breath laboured.

  “Yes.” I reach down and lift Alex out of Kit’s arms, but his sodden weight makes me stumble forwards. Just before I lose my balance and fall into the water, someone grabs me from behind and pulls me back.

  Denis!

  I sit down on the rock, Alex bundled in my arms.

  “Mee-mee,” he says and smiles at me with blue-tinged lips.

  I hold my baby brother tightly against my chest and cry with relief. “Thanks, Denis,” I say through my tears.

  “’S OK. Is Alex all right?” Denis looks worried.

  “He will be – thanks to you and Kit.”

  Kit hauls himself out of the water and stands beside us, dripping. “That was close,” he says. “Another couple of seconds…” he tails off.

  Alex begins to shiver violently, his teeth rattling in his mouth like a cartoon character’s.

  “You need to take off his wet clothes or he’ll get hypothermia,” Denis says. “They’re always going on about it in Scouts. Here” – he whips off his rugby jumper and hands it to me – “put this on him.”

  Taking the jumper, I pull off Alex’s soggy clothes and nappy and wrap him in the jumper. He’s still shivering. I’m about to take off my own T-shirt to put round him too – which would be so embarrassing in front of Kit – when there’s an engine noise and a boat pops around the edge of the island. Inside it are Mum, Dave and Prue. I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life.

  Kit and Denis look relieved too. We all wave and shout, “Over
here!”

  Dave powers the boat towards us, almost crashing into the rock in his eagerness.

  “Is Alex OK?” Mum asks as the boat draws alongside the rock. Her eyes are red and swollen.

  “He’s fine, Mum. Just a bit wet and shaken.”

  She closes her eyes for a second and blows out her breath. “Thank God.”

  Dave stands to take Alex. He throws the wet clothes into the bow, then passes Alex to Mum.

  “Here, Sylvie.” Prue hands Mum a rug.

  Swaddling Alex in it, Mum rocks him against her chest. “Oh my baby,” she croons, tears pouring down her cheeks. “My little baby. You’re safe.”

  “What happened?” Dave asks me.

  “Alex followed Kit’s dog on to the rocks and got stuck,” I explain. “He slid into the water and went under – but Kit jumped in and saved him. Then I nearly fell in and Denis saved me. They’re both heroes.”

  “Amy saved him too,” Denis pipes up. “She pulled Alex up on to the rock.”

  Dave smiles at us. “You’re all heroes,” he says.

  Chapter 36

  Kit and I climb back across the rocks to the island. Dave offered us a lift in the boat, but Kit said he’d walk and I didn’t want to leave him.

  Once on dry land, Kit picks up his runners and we make our way back towards the boathouse. Neither of us says a word until we get there.

  Then Kit looks at me. “That was pretty intense.” He wipes some drips of water off his forehead.

  “If it wasn’t for you—” I begin.

  “’S nothing,” he cuts in. He starts to walk towards the boathouse door. “See you later, I guess.”

  “Wait!” I don’t want him to go. “It was your first time in the water since your mum’s accident, wasn’t it?”

  He looks at me carefully. “You know, don’t you? About Mam.”

  I nod. “Esther told me. I’m so sorry. It must be hard for you.”

  He nods once and stares down at the ground.