Ice Cream and Incidents

by Agatha Frost

  “We’re late to meet Jessie,” Alfie said as he looked up at the tower. “Why do I feel like the surprises aren’t over yet?”

  They loaded their cases into the car once again and walked to the tower. After paying their admission fee, they travelled to the top floor of the building and waited for the lift. As they travelled the five hundred feet to the top, Julia’s stomach flipped several times.

  “Wow,” she said as she looked at the view of the sea ahead when the lift doors opened. “Why didn’t we come up here sooner?”

  “I don’t think she’s here,” Alfie said as he checked his phone. “I’ll give her a call. I don’t know what she thinks she’s playing at.”

  Julia walked towards the edge of the observation tower where the floor and walls were made entirely of glass. She stepped onto the glass, the panel the only thing between her and the road below. The feeling was exhilarating, if not a little sickening. She looked ahead at the young woman in front of her who was standing right up to the edge of the glass, fearless of the dizzying drop below. When her phone started to ring, she pulled it out and turned around.

  Julia stared at the fearless young woman, her heart dropping even further when she realised she was not a stranger at all, but someone very close to her.

  “Jessie?” Julia cried. “Is that really you?”

  Jessie’s unruly dark hair had been cut up to her shoulders and shaped around her face with a full fringe resting against her eyebrows. Fiery red highlights had been added, giving it a sheen Julia had never seen from the teenager. Gone were the black hoody and baggy black jeans to be replaced with more fitted blue jeans, a white top, and a denim jacket. She was still wearing her clunky Doc Martens, but the restyle had transformed their look.

  “Sis?” Alfie muttered, stepping forward, his phone still ringing in his hand. “What have you done?”

  “Don’t you like it?” she asked, self-consciously touching her new fringe.

  “It’s not that,” Alfie replied, finally ending the call. “You just look so – different. You look grown up.”

  Jessie smiled, her hair and clothes not the only thing different. Julia sensed a subtle shift in her mannerisms somehow. It was as though she had let something go.

  “It’s not so scary when you stand on it,” Jessie said, turning and looking down at the ground. “It’s actually quite soothing. It’s a nice reminder that you can’t fall if your feet are on solid ground.” She turned back around and put her hands in her denim jacket. “I woke up with the sun this morning and walked back to Seabourne Avenue. It was almost like I was sleep walking, but something called me back there. When I realised where I was, I felt something click in me. Being here made me realise I’ve been holding onto so much anger for my whole life, and I don’t need to anymore. I have everything I ever wanted. I’m happy.”

  “You look beautiful,” Julia said. “Really beautiful.”

  “It’s just new hair and new clothes,” Jessie replied with a shrug. “But change is good, so why not make a complete change? I am eighteen now, after all. Can we go home now?”

  “I’d like nothing more,” Julia said as she wrapped her arm around Jessie’s shoulder. “Happy birthday by the way.”

  “Thanks, Mum.”

  15

  Julia had to stop her foot from pressing down on the accelerator during the three-hour drive back home. When she saw the first sign for Peridale, she could not help but smile.

  They pulled up outside the café, the ‘Happy 18th Birthday Jessie!’ banner hung up outside. Jessie blushed, but she smiled at the thought. Julia looked into the café, pleased that it was still standing, and glad that Katie had gathered everyone for the party like she had requested.

  “Julia!” Katie squealed when she walked inside. “You’re back! Oh, I must say, I’m quite sad to be leaving. I’ve had the time of my life! Where’s Jessie?”

  Julia looked around the café, her jaw dropping. Everything looked the same, except for the customers. At first, she thought Katie had filled the café with tanned strangers, until she realised they were the villagers.

  “Do you like?” Katie exclaimed as she ran around the counter in her high heels, a frilly pink apron attached to her front. “I’ve sold out of the first batch already! I told you I’d have the whole village ‘Glowing Like Katie’!”

  “Did you have a lovely time in Blackpool?” Amy Clark asked as she sipped tea, the white china cup glowing against her neon orange face. “I wish I’d asked for an extra ticket for myself. I do love a good drag queen. Where’s Jessie? Did you leave her behind?”

  “I’m right here,” Jessie said sheepishly. “Ta-da!”

  A couple of the customers audibly gasped at Jessie’s transformation, which caused her to blush even more.

  “Jessie, you look so – pale!” Katie exclaimed as she ran around the counter to pull out a bottle of her tan. “We must change that right away!”

  Over the next half an hour, they enjoyed tea and cake at the café while Jessie opened her cards and presents from the villagers and refused Katie’s many offers of free bottles of tan. Just as they were about to leave to head home to unpack, Dot scurried across the village green, Barker’s book clutched to her chest.

  “Well, I say!” Dot exclaimed when she spotted Jessie. “Look at you! You look like a woman! Happy Birthday dear.” Dot reached into her handbag and pulled out a stack of envelopes. “Don’t use them all at once.”

  Jessie flicked through the envelopes, but it was obvious they were the vouchers Dot had won at the fête.

  “You’re looking better, Gran,” Julia said with a smirk. “I hope you weren’t sick for the whole week.”

  “Oh, I made that up, dear!” Dot exclaimed with a waft of her hand. “I wanted to stay home so I could read Barker’s book in peace. I knew I wouldn’t get a second to myself with all that sun and seagull squawking. I must say, Barker, you did a splendid job. It was like reading a real book!”

  “It is a real book,” he replied with a tight smile. “But from you, I’ll take it. Thank you.”

  “I am a little upset that you included everyone else in the village and not me,” Dot said with a sigh as she pushed up her curls at the back. “I kept waiting for my appearance, but I suppose you’re saving that for the second book, right? A grand entrance in the first chapter as the new main character?”

  Alfie whispered something in her ear before walking out of the café. As though she could sense the explosion, Jessie joined him.

  “Dora?” Dot exclaimed. “I’m nothing like Dora! She’s an interfering old nosey busy-body!”

  Everyone in the café was suddenly distracted by their cups of tea. Deciding to leave Dot to vent, Julia climbed back into her car, and they drove up to her cottage. There was a yellow Mini parked in Julia’s usual space. She parked behind it, curious as to whom the car belonged.

  “Who’s is that?” Jessie asked as she climbed out. “Are we expecting visitors?”

  “It’s yours,” Barker said, patting Jessie on the shoulder. “I bought it before we left for Blackpool and arranged for it to be dropped off.”

  “Are you serious?” Jessie cried, running over to the car. “You’re not joking? This is really mine?”

  “Cross my heart,” Barker said with a chuckle. “It’s not brand new, but it’s only five years old and has only had one owner. It only has ten thousand miles on the clock and it’s passed its MOT. Do you like it?”

  Jessie ran around the car, her eyes widening with each step. Instead of replying, she ran to Barker and jumped on him, almost tackling him to the ground.

  “I love it,” she said, her eyes clenched as she hugged him tightly. “Can I take it out for a spin? Is it insured and taxed?”

  “All sorted,” Barker said as he patted her on the back. “They should have posted the keys through the letterbox, so she’s all yours.”

  Jessie let go and ran for the door, pulling her house keys out of her pocket. She scooped them up and ran back to the car
, her smile wider than Julia had ever seen it.

  “You kept that quiet,” Julia whispered to him. “It must have cost you a fortune.”

  “It’s worth it,” he whispered back as he wrapped his arm around Julia’s shoulder. “Let’s leave her to play with her new toy.”

  Julia unloaded the cases from the boot while Jessie and Alfie climbed into the front of the new car. With Barker’s help, she carried them inside and put them in the hall. A stack of letters waited for her on the side table.

  “You sort through those, and I’ll put the kettle on,” Barker said. “Peppermint and liquorice?”

  “Yes, please,” Julia said as she flicked through the various letters.

  As she walked through to the sitting room, a large brown envelope caught her eye in the mass of junk mail and bills. She perched on the couch and ripped back the seal as Mowgli sauntered into the room. He jumped onto the chair arm and nudged her, but she was too distracted to stroke him. She stared at the certificate of adoption in her hands, Jessie’s name in one box, Julia and Barker’s in another. She looked at the envelope, the stamp dated the morning they had left for Blackpool.

  “It’s official,” Julia said as she scooped Mowgli up. “We did it.”

  But as Julia stared at the certificate in her lap, she realised Arthur had been right when he had said it would not change a thing. She looked out the window and watched as Jessie set off down the lane in her new car. Julia felt as she had done for a long time, and the paper only served as an official confirmation. Jessie was her daughter, and nothing would ever change that.

  When Barker entered with their cups, Julia accepted her comforting tea gratefully before passing him the certificate. As he read over the document, his lips following the words confirming that they were Jessie’s legal guardians, Julia looked at her sparkling pearl engagement ring.

  “How does an autumn wedding sound?” Julia asked as she held the ring up. “This autumn.”

  “Like the best idea you’ve ever had.”

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  Dead in the Water - Chapter 1

  Book 1 in the Scarlet Cove series co-written with Evelyn Amber - OUT NOW

  “That’s the last of it!” The removal man gestured towards his now empty white van, wiping the sweat from his red forehead.

  “I can handle the rest,” Liz said, pulling the agreed fee from her small black purse. “Thank you.”

  The plump man climbed back into his van and started the engine. He gave Liz a small nod before setting off and rounding the corner out of view.

  Sensing the sweat running down her face, she pulled a small compact from her bag. Her pale eyes stared back at her, looking all the greener thanks to her bright red cheeks. She attempted to smooth down the flyaway hairs that had snuck out of her low-hanging bushy ponytail. Deciding it was a lost cause, she tossed her mirror back into her bag.

  Shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun, she looked up at the small flat above a pale green shop, which was to become her new home. She turned and took in her surroundings as the people of Scarlet Cove went about their daily routines. Her flat was in the middle of a small row of businesses facing in towards a stone town square, which appeared to be playing host to a market. There was a bustling pub to her left, with two more rows of businesses boxing them in on either side. Winding streets leaked away from the square, some edging up the steep hill of oddly positioned multi-coloured buildings poking out of the vibrant trees, and some falling down towards the sea. It looked exactly like the beautiful pictures she had fallen in love with.

  Liz slid her phone out of her jean’s pocket, itching to look at those stunning pictures again, but a small man with a bulbous nose wobbled towards her with a welcoming smile and an outstretched hand.

  “You must be Elizabeth!” the elderly man remarked with a chuckle as he beamed up at her. “Bob Slinger is the name. I’m your new landlord.”

  Bob rocked back and forth, his wide smile growing as though this was the most exciting moment of his life. With his round belly and crimson nose, he looked like a beardless Santa Claus, but his stature reminded Liz more of an elf.

  “People call me Liz.” She pushed her phone back into her pocket to accept the man’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  To Liz’s surprise, the little man had more than a handshake in mind. He yanked her down into a tight hug, his palm heartily slapping her back. Liz was taller than most women, but her new landlord made her feel like a giant.

  “Welcome to Scarlet Cove!” he cried in her ear as he finally pulled away. “I suppose you’ll be wanting your keys. This one is for the shop, and this one is for your flat. I hope you like our little town.”

  Bob thrust the two keys into her fist, one brass and one silver. He grinned up at her for what felt like a lifetime before finally letting go and turning to walk away. He only managed two steps before spinning on his heels, his finger in the air.

  “Is this all of your stuff?” Bob asked as he cast an eye at the small pile of boxes, one of which was almost taller than him. “You certainly travel light.”

  “I wanted a real fresh start.” She exhaled and looked over the things she had selected to bring with her on her new adventure. “I have all new furniture arriving soon

  “Flat pack?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Then I don’t envy how you’re going to spend your evening!” Bob winked and leaned in. “I have a rather mighty power drill if you’d like to borrow it? Might make the job easier.”

  “That would be great,” Liz said, her mind wandering to the cheap, rather pathetic screwdrivers buried in one of the boxes. “Only if you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all!” he exclaimed before letting out a jovial chuckle. “You’ll find folk are more than helpful ‘round here. Here’s my card. If you need anything just give me a call. Day or night, I don’t mind!”

  Liz accepted the card as she nodded her thanks. The old man teetered down the street and out of sight. She looked down at the plain white card, which simply read ‘Bob Slinger – Landlord,’ above his phone number. She was not certain, but it looked like it had been created using an old, inky typewriter.

  “What a peculiar man,” she muttered to herself as she unlocked the shop door. “Quite strange indeed.”

  Her shoes clicked against the dusty hardwood flooring as she walked into the empty store. She crossed her arms and looked around the small space, a smile spreading across her face. It would take a lot of work, but she could not wait until she opened it as her very own arts and crafts store.

  Art had been a passion of hers for as long as she could remember. Even though she had not picked up a paintbrush during mos
t of her fifteen years in the police force, she had not been able to put one down in the past two years.

  She had settled on Scarlet Cove to start her new life after seeing a picture of the beautiful English South Coast seaside town on the front of a book in a charity shop. Just from her landlord’s hug, she knew small town life would be very different to the one she had left behind in the city. She locked the shop door, wondering how long it would take to adjust to the change.

  An hour later, she carried one of the last boxes to the flat above the shop, placing it carefully in the middle of the empty sitting room. She looked around her flat, her heart fluttering with excitement. It was simple, with cream walls and basic fittings, and it lacked the glitz of her city apartment, but it already felt like home. Somehow, it felt like it was where she had always meant to end up, even if she had not expected it to happen when she was forty-two.

  Liz turned on her heels to run back downstairs, stopping when she remembered what was inside the box she had just brought up. Bending down, she ripped back the brown tape and carefully plucked out the red leather diary. She stroked the spine, knowing every word contained within its handwritten pages by heart. She flicked to the first page.

  ‘For Liz. So you don’t forget any more important dates. Love, Lewis.’

  She chuckled sadly, her mind casting back to her thirty-seventh birthday. She had found it strange to receive a diary as a gift, however, the first time she had opened it, she had realised it had already been filled. She flicked through, remembering exactly what lay between its pages. The twenty-second of October had been marked as the anniversary of her first date with Lewis. Every holiday, special occasion, party, and memory had been marked down.