The Cosy Canal Boat Dream: A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

by Christie Barlow

  ‘One sausage and egg muffin and one coffee that actually looks like coffee.’ She handed them over the counter. ‘Made with my own fair hands,’ she said triumphantly.

  ‘Well, who’s a clever girl?’ teased Gilly.

  Fern rolled her eyes at Gilly’s quip but took it in her stride, ‘Brown or red sauce?’

  ‘Brown please,’ Ed replied.

  She passed over a couple of sachets as he grappled with the loose change in his pocket and paid before saluting and heading back towards the boatyard with Sam trotting at his side.

  ‘You’re getting the hang of this already, the customers love you!’

  Fern smiled, ‘One customer!’

  ‘There’ll be plenty more.’

  They both looked up to see an array of people walking down the wharf.

  For the next forty minutes, Gilly and Fern served a steady stream of customers while Nell and Bea prepared the food in the kitchen for the customers at the tables.

  ‘I officially declare it’s tea-break time,’ said Bea, eventually placing a drink on to the counter for Gilly and Fern once there was a lull in customers. ‘How’s she doing?’ Bea turned towards Gilly.

  ‘Fern?… Like a duck to water.’

  ‘Excellent.’

  ‘Where’s Nell? She’s rarely appeared this morning.’ Gilly sipped her drink, giving a fleeting glance towards the kitchen door.

  ‘She’s coming now,’ answered Bea.

  Nell appeared a couple of seconds later and walked straight past Gilly and stood in the deli window, looking out over the marina.

  ‘I’m going to catch five minutes in the sun; a little fresh air is needed,’ said Nell, over her shoulder, taking her mug of tea and sitting at the table outside. She knew she was acting abruptly, but the questions inside her were festering and she just needed to stay out of Gilly’s way until she had the chance to confront her later. Stretching out her legs, she tilted her face towards the sun and closed her eyes. She’d been on her feet all morning and was feeling a little tired, but thankfully, at the minute, it was just about manageable.

  Nell sipped her tea and watched the boats chugging out of the marina. Then suddenly something caught her eye.

  She squinted towards the opposite side of the marina. There standing on the boat, Much Ado About Nothing, was Lloyd Keaton.

  Nell sat upright in the chair and stared at him. Her heart was thumping. What was he really doing here? ‘You okay?’ asked Gilly, standing on the towpath just outside the deli door. ‘You seem very standoffish today.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ answered Nell, closing her eyes and avoiding all eye contact with her mum, knowing everything was far from fine.

  ‘You don’t sound fine, if you don’t mind me saying.’ Even though Nell’s eyes were shut she could feel her mum watching her.

  ‘You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?’

  Nell opened her eyes, and looked towards the shop. Fern and Bea were laughing inside. This wasn’t the best time to reveal what actually was bugging her. Nell sat up straight, took a deep breath and looked out over the water.

  ‘I’m just enjoying the sunshine.’

  ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’

  ‘Little Rock Marina is always beautiful. And there’s Lloyd. Nice man. I’ll have to introduce you.’ Nell was testing the water. She carefully watched her mum’s reaction as she glanced over towards his boat, but she didn’t answer.

  ‘Do you think he’d come to the opening night of the Old Picture House once it’s up and running?’

  Nell watched her mum’s reaction closely.

  ‘He’ll have probably moved on by then,’ answered Gilly.

  ‘Huh,’ Nell huffed under her breath but still loud enough for Gilly to hear.

  ‘What’s got into you today? Why are you being so snappy?’ Gilly glared at Nell, who didn’t answer.

  ‘Anyway, I’d best get back inside. I’m teaching Fern how to make bread next. She is missing some very basic life skills, that one.’

  Nell watched her mum quickly disappear back inside before looking back towards Lloyd Keaton.

  Whatever was going on, she was determined to find out the truth.

  Chapter 45

  It was 6.30pm and Nell and Bea stared at the letters one last time. They were all laid out in chronological order, with the photographs placed on top. Nell was meeting her mum in just forty minutes.

  Bea folded her arms and leant on to the table, ‘It’s times like this I could murder a glass of wine. That one’s cute,’ smiled Bea, staring at one of the photographs of Nell on sports day.

  Nell rolled her eyes.

  ‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist, so before you go round there …’

  ‘Which I’m not relishing in the slightest, especially when she discovers I’ve been snooping through her personal things …’

  ‘Yes, I see where you are coming from with that one, but there’s a bigger picture here.’

  Facing the fear from her mum was one thing, but Nell was dreading uncovering what all this was actually about.

  They both slumped back in their seats until Nell exhaled deeply, her eyes brimmed with tears. ‘In my heart I know what I’m about discover.’ Her voice cracked.

  There was a pause.

  Bea put her arm around her shoulder.

  ‘She’s had an affair.’

  ‘You put these letters away and I’ll make you a strong cuppa.’ Bea re-filled the kettle.

  Bleary eyed, Nell reached for the first letter and placed it back inside the envelope.

  ‘Where’s your laptop?’ asked Bea, looking around the boat.

  ‘Over there, why?’

  ‘To search the web, to see if we can find out anything about Lloyd’s background.’

  ‘I’d never thought of that,’ Nell reached for the laptop and switched it on.

  Two minutes later, Bea cast her eye over the computer screen while Nell looked over her shoulder and watched while Bea typed the name Lloyd Keaton into Google.

  It took a second to load before she clicked on a link.

  Bea read out loud.

  Lloyd Keaton was born in Staffordshire, England.

  An English actor, film director ranked alongside Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood.

  Spouse Annie Clayton.

  ‘Is that it?’ Nell asked.

  ‘Pretty much so. There’s a list of all the films and plays he’s performed in. Shakespeare too. He’s had a very successful career, according to this, and even directed films.’

  ‘The address on all the letters are Stratford, though, look,’ Nell let out a long sigh and met Bea’s gaze.’

  She took a deep breath, her face looked anxious as she spoke, ‘I’m going to go now.’

  ‘Over to Bluebell Cottage?’

  Nell nodded and managed a nervous smile. She took the last gulp of her tea and stood up.

  ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

  Nell shook her head, ‘This is something I need to do on my own, but please be on the end of that phone.’

  ‘I promise.’

  Bea followed Nell on to the deck of the ‘Nollie’. Nell’s heart was thumping so loudly she was convinced that Bea would be able to hear it. For a moment they stared out over the marina before turning and walking down the jetty. Fred was still fishing off the side of his boat.

  ‘Good evening,’ shouted Bea over to him.

  He looked up and tipped his cap in his usual acknowledgement.

  He turned his gaze to Nell, ‘Evening, hope you’re well.’

  ‘All good here, Fred, thank you.’

  ‘She’s taken the boat again, you know. She’s becoming quite a regular over there. Off again about ten minutes ago, she was.’

  Both Nell and Bea glanced towards the narrowboat moored over on the far jetty. The little rowing boat was tied up and bobbing away in the water alongside Lloyd Keaton’s boat.

  Nell’s heartbeat quicken, ‘I’m going over. I need the canoe from the boatya
rd.’ She swung under the rail of the jetty and powered her legs towards the boatyard. Bea quickly followed her.

  Two minutes later, Nell was clutching the oars and manoeuvring the canoe towards the water.

  ‘Wait,’ shouted Bea, finally catching her up.

  Nell looked up, tears were threatening to spill over. ‘I think she did have an affair and …’ her voice quivered, ‘I think there’s only one reason why she’s been sending him photos of me. He’s my dad and now I’ll have the pair of them in the same place.’

  ‘Please, stay calm until you know all the facts.’

  ‘I can feel it here,’ Nell thumped her chest. I knew the moment I set eyes on that little shoebox that she was hiding something.’

  ‘I’ll be waiting here for you,’ Bea gave her a reassuring smile as she watched Nell launch herself into the canoe. She pulled the oars and began to glide effortlessly through the water towards the narrowboat. She was about to get some answers …

  Chapter 46

  With adrenalin pumping through her veins, Nell tied up the canoe and stumbled on to the deck of the boat.

  She snagged a look inside as she took in a deep breath. There, sitting at the table inside the boat was her mum and Lloyd, deep in conversation.

  Whatever her mum was hiding, she was about to find out the truth. Bursting through the door, both Gilly and Lloyd looked up, startled. Nell’s eyes glanced between the pair of them, her heart thumping. Then she spotted the shoebox in the middle of the table.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Gilly’s voice was shaky and the colour instantly drained from her face.

  There was silence.

  With a trembling hand, Nell reached inside her pocket and lay all the opened letters on the table. ‘I could ask you the same question. Looking for these, by any chance?’ she stared at her mum, willing her to speak. Nell’s throat became tight and she felt that at any second her legs were going to buckle underneath her.

  Lloyd stood up, ‘Please sit down,’ his voice was soft.

  ‘I’m fine standing.’

  ‘Please sit down, Nell. We were just on our way to see you.’

  Nell stared at her mum.

  ‘Please believe me, we were. That’s why I’m here. I knew the letters were missing.’

  ‘I know what went on,’ Nell spat, testing the water, ‘How could you do this to my dad? How could you?’ Her body was visibly shaking.

  ‘Oh, Nell. It’s not what you think, please sit down.’

  Nell stared at Lloyd with hatred before slumping into the chair. ‘What do you know? Or what do you think you know?’ asked Gilly, sounding more calm than she felt.

  Lloyd sat back down. Nell noticed he looked anxious.

  ‘There’s no point in lying to me any more. I’ve seen what’s in all these. Why else would you be sending letters and photos of me to him?’

  ‘You had no right snooping through my personal stuff.’

  ‘I think me snooping through your stuff is the least of everyone’s worries, don’t you?’

  Gilly and Nell stared at each other. There was a strange tension in the air.

  ‘So why all the lies, claiming you didn’t know him?’ Nell couldn’t even bring herself to say his name. ‘When obviously you do.’

  Lloyd leant forward and picked up one of the envelopes. ‘You kept these all these years?

  Gilly swallowed down a lump and nodded.

  ‘I couldn’t open them. I knew if I did, I’d come back.’ His voice was barely a whisper.

  ‘I know, you don’t need to explain yourself.’

  ‘Someone clearly needs to explain themselves,’ Nell stared straight at her mum. She couldn’t hold in the question that was burning inside her any longer. She took a deep breath, ‘Did my dad know I wasn’t his?’

  Gilly closed her eyes and nodded.

  Nell gasped.

  ‘But it’s not what you think.’

  ‘Well, tell me what I think, then. Are you my father?’ Nell turned her attention to Lloyd. ‘Is my mum sending you letters with photos of me, because you are my father?

  Lloyd placed his head in his hands. He was clearly distraught.

  He looked up at Nell, ‘Yes, I’m your father.’

  Nell’s lips were trembling, her whole body ached with pain. She exhaled.

  ‘Nell, you have to listen to me.’

  ‘I don’t think I want to listen to any more of your lies.’ Nell’s breathing became erratic and she had to force herself to breath calmly. The tears were free-falling and she wiped them away with the back of hand. She felt drained and battered.

  Gilly took her hand, ‘Okay, You weren’t meant to find out this way.’

  ‘Were you ever going to tell me?’

  Chapter 47

  ‘Please listen to me.’ Gilly knew that what she was about to tell Nell could change her life forever too.

  Nell remained silent, her heart was beating in double time, waiting to hear what her mum was about to say.

  ‘This is Lloyd Keaton.’

  ‘Yes, I know who he is. What was it? A one-night stand? You couldn’t resist someone famous. Let me guess, you met at the theatre, you were a groupie.’

  ‘Nell, stop it now.’ Gilly took a breath.

  ‘We didn’t meet at the theatre, far from it.’ Lloyd added softly. ‘We met at 41 Church Lane.’

  It took a second for the address to register, ‘My grandparents’ house? They knew about the affair?’ Nell’s eyes darkened.

  ‘There was no affair. This is Lloyd Taylor.’

  Nell listened to her mum’s words, ‘But that’s your maiden name. I don’t understand.’

  ‘My brother,’ said Gilly simply, ‘Lloyd is my brother.’

  Nell eyes widened and she let out a cry, ‘Someone really needs to be telling me what I should be thinking right now.’

  ‘You are brother and sister? This is so wrong.’ Nell buried her head in her hands.

  ‘Nell, this isn’t what you think, please listen,’ said Gilly as the emotion gripped her and the tears burst through.

  Lloyd grasped her hand and squeezed it tight. ‘Here, take this,’ he offered her a tissue, ‘Let me explain.’

  ‘My stage name is Keaton. It was changed when I landed my first film role. It was during the filming that I met and fell in love with my beautiful wife Annie, Annie Clayton. She too was an actress.’

  ‘Such a wonderful person,’ Gilly said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

  ‘The day she told me the news we were expecting our first child was the happiest day of my life. I was over the moon, everyone was, but I knew it was never going to be easy as we were both working up and down the country and both on different film sets for long periods of time.’

  He took a deep breath, ‘Everything was going well. We bought a little house not far from Mum and Dad and Annie gave up the stage a couple of months before the baby was due.’

  ‘Lloyd was working away in Stratford when Annie’s waters broke,’ Gilly chipped in. ‘We telephoned the theatre, but he was already in the middle of his performance.’

  ‘They passed the message on in between scenes and I knew there was a possibility I’d manage to catch the last train back if I hurried after the play.’ Lloyd wiped away a tear and paused.

  ‘It was too late, when Lloyd arrived …’

  ‘There’d been complications,’ he said. ‘And my darling Annie passed away during childbirth. I never even got chance to say goodbye.’

  Lloyd took a deep breath. He looked so sad and rubbed his hands over his face, ‘When I arrived at the hospital …’ Lloyd couldn’t finish his sentence. He stood up and placed both his hands on the sink and bowed his head.

  Gilly took over, ‘When Lloyd arrived at the hospital, he found me and your dad cradling you.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes. Nell, you were the baby.’

  Nell felt as if she’d been hit by a high-speed train. Her head was whirling trying to take everything in. Nausea had taken over
her body and the tears fell.

  ‘Nell, I know this is a huge shock for you.’

  She looked up and met Gilly’s eyes, ‘You’re not my mother?’

  Gilly bit down on her lip and shook her head. ‘I’m not your biological mother, but I will always be your mother. Me and your dad loved you like you were our own. You are our own, you were so special to us and Lloyd knew we’d love you with all our hearts.’

  ‘Why didn’t you want me?’ Nell’s voice faltered, her heart was breaking and she didn’t attempt to wipe away the tears.

  ‘The circumstances were tragic,’ Lloyd turned back to face her. He stretched over the table and took Gilly’s hand, ‘When Gilly and Benny found out they couldn’t have any children of their own they were devastated, we were all devastated. They had so much to offer. When Annie passed, and believe me it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, I gave them you, the most special gift of all. They could give you a happy, stable home; they could give you roots. They gave their lives to you, which makes them very special people. I love them dearly. With me you would have been passed from pillar to post, with childminders, never making friends because you’d never stay in one place long enough. It seemed the best solution. Annie had passed away and your mum and dad had you, a child they never thought they’d ever have.’ Lloyd wiped away his own tears.

  Nell’s heart was shattered, ‘Why didn’t you open any of these?’ she pointed to the letters on the table.

  ‘I couldn’t. My heart was broken letting you go and I knew I had to have a clean break for Benny and Gilly’s sake. If I saw a picture of you, I’d want to come back and I couldn’t do that to them or you. You were theirs now, but my love for you never diminished,’ he managed a weak smile, ‘You have to believe me.’

  ‘Lloyd never knew your name until he was sitting on your boat. He put two and two together when you mentioned my name and that I worked in the deli.’

  The knots in Nell’s stomach took her breath away, ‘You never knew my name?’

  He shook his head.

  For a second everyone was lost in their own thoughts until Nell spoke, ‘Why now? Why come back now?’

  ‘I had business in the area. I thought I could keep a low profile, living on the boat until the transaction went through.’