The Beachcomber

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The Beachcomber Page 16

by Josephine Cox


  For a while he enthralled them with tales of his escapades, and the laughter rang through the room. Because he wasn’t too busy at that time of day, the landlord agreed to serve them ham and chips, even though the cook had already left for the day. “But don’t expect nothing fancy.” Though when he arrived with the meals half an hour later, they were a credit to him.

  Jasper ordered the drinks. “Three pints o’ yer best,” he told the landlord, and that included one for Kathy.

  “You’re never going to drink that, are you?” Tom laughed when Kathy picked up the huge mug in her tiny fists.

  “I certainly am!” she replied. “I’ve already done one thing today that I’ve never done before … going on that boat. Well, now I’m doing another,” and she took such a gulp of the beer that it sent her into a choking fit.

  “Take it easy!” Laughing, Tom patted her on the back. “We don’t want you drowning yourself, at least not before you’ve had a chance to do all those other things you’ve never done before.”

  Appreciating his concern, Kathy finished the pint and got a round of applause. “Happen I should order yer another?” Jasper teased.

  With the room already going around in her head, Kathy wisely settled for a dandelion and burdock.

  Before they knew it, the time had rolled around to six o’clock. “By! That’s the best day out I’ve had in years,” the old man said. “I can’t recall when I laughed so much.”

  Tom thought the same. “What say we take a walk along the front?” The truth was, he didn’t want the day to end.

  Kathy jumped at the idea. “I could use a bit of fresh air.” Like Tom, she didn’t want the day to end either. “My head feels like it’s been run over by a herd of elephants.”

  “Serves yer right for trying to be one o’ the men,” Jasper laughed. “Women ’ave no right drinking beer. It don’t suit ’em.”

  Kathy laughed. “You’re right there!”

  Thrilled that he would be keeping Kathy’s company for some time yet, Tom went to pay the bill. Meanwhile, the old man went off in the direction of the gents’, while Kathy went in search of the ladies’. “I’m just going to powder my nose,” she told Tom.

  A few minutes later they were heading for the beach. The sands were still crowded with holidaymakers, but the promenade was not too busy. “By ’eck, this is grand!” Jasper strolled along, hands in trouser pockets and a look of contentment about him.

  “There’s three things in this world worth fighting for,” he said. “Taking a boat out on the open seas; a stroll along the promenade in the heat of the day –” he gave one of his naughty winks – “and a woman in your arms. That’ll do for me.”

  After a while, they stopped at the ice-cream parlor. Taking their tubs of ice-cream to a bench, they sat and watched the children at play. “Oh, but there’s nowt like it!” With melted ice-cream all over his whiskers, Jasper winked at the ladies and felt like a king.

  Alongside him, Kathy and Tom chatted quietly about West Bay and their new way of life. Kathy told him about Maggie and how she was coming to visit soon. “I’ll have to keep her on a short rein though.” She smiled at the thought. “The truth is, you never can tell what she’ll do next.”

  Tom explained how he had come to love his life here, though there were certain things he must do before he could really settle down. He delighted her by confessing how much he had enjoyed the day and being with her, and asked a question that put a smile on her face. “Maybe we could do it again?” he wondered aloud.

  “Why not?” she said, happily.

  Sitting there together, with the sun on their faces and the sound of holidaymakers having fun, they talked about many things, but neither Kathy nor Tom revealed the reasons they had come to West Bay. And while they sat beside each other, looking at the sea and sky and the children playing, they thought how wonderful it all was.

  Suddenly, Tom slid his hand over Kathy’s and held it ever so gently. Taken by surprise, Kathy looked up to find Tom looking down on her, his quiet eyes smiling into hers. Neither of them spoke, but that moment was cherished in both their hearts.

  The old man had seen it too, and couldn’t help but smile to himself. Today, he hoped, had seen the beginnings of love, and his old heart was full.

  All too soon, they were on board the bus, heading home. As before, Kathy sat next to Tom and, intermittently nodding off, the old man sat behind. A silence fell between Kathy and Tom, and for the first time she felt rather awkward with him, uncomfortably aware of his powerful frame next to hers. The quietness between them was overwhelming. She wanted to ask Tom many questions, and yet she sensed he wasn’t ready for that kind of intimacy. He seemed distant, as though there were things preying on his mind, private things that needed all his attention. Kathy understood that, for she also had things on her mind, which only she could deal with.

  When they got off the bus at West Bay, the old man begged an early night. “I’ve come over all tired,” he said, yawning. “I reckon I’ll get an early night.” He yawned again before addressing Tom. “I’ll see yer at the harbor-master’s office in the morning. You’ll need to register for a berth, an’ there’s all kinda forms and rigmarole to go through. Best mek it early, ’cause he’s a wily old bugger … won’t tend to nothing after ten o’clock. Once he’s locked that office door and gone fishing, you’ll not find him in a month o’ Sundays!”

  Tom agreed to meet the old chap outside the harbor-master’s office at eight o’clock sharp. “See you then, Jasper, and thanks for today.”

  “You’ve got a beauty of a boat there, son,” Jasper answered. “I reckon you’ve got years o’ fun for your money.”

  He kissed Kathy goodnight. “Yer did us proud, lass,” he told her with a grin. “I ain’t never seen a woman drink a pint afore, apart from that bearded woman at the circus … knocked it back in seconds, so she did, and asked for more!”

  He walked away, leaving Kathy and Tom laughing. “He’s a one-off,” Tom remarked. “The finest friend a man could ever have.”

  Kathy agreed. “No wonder everybody loves him,” she said, “I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

  At the front door, she asked if he would like to come in for a while. “Best not,” he answered softly, “not tonight.” The truth was, he needed to put a distance between them. He needed time to think through what had happened today. “It was very special having you along. Are you glad you came?”

  Kathy’s heart was racing. Standing here, so close to him, with the evening drawing in and the house behind them in shadow, it was too nerve-racking. “Yes, I am … very glad.” She wanted to sound confident and strong, but her voice emerged as small and feeble.

  Suddenly he took hold of her. “You’re lovely.” His dark eyes enveloped her. “You’re so … different … from anyone I’ve ever met.” He thought of her running out after that taxi; then in the chip shop, talking to him like she’d known him forever. And today, drinking a man’s pint. She was so alive! Ready to take on the world.

  She gave a shy, nervous laugh. “I’m just a bit crazy, that’s all. You’d do well to steer clear of me.”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, for the longest moment of her life, he gazed down on her. Looking up at him, she felt herself losing control. When, with great tenderness, he now tilted her face to his, touching his lips to hers, she never wanted it to end. The sensation of his warm lips against hers raced through her senses, and turned her heart upside down.

  The kiss was fleeting. For a while longer, he held her close, his arms enfolding her, his face gentle against the softness of her skin. Then, holding her at arm’s length, he looked down on her, the softest of smiles twinkling in those dark eyes. She was so sure he was about to say something intense that when he let her go with the words, “I’d best be off. Goodnight, Kathy,” she was stunned.

  She watched him stride down the path. At the gate she wondered if he might turn, but he didn’t. Instead he went away at a quickening pace, like a m
an driven by demons.

  “Goodnight,” she murmured. A moment later, disillusioned by his sudden action, she went into the house and got herself ready for bed, where she lay, thinking of him, wondering what it was that made him so afraid to love.

  CHAPTER 8

  IRENE PACED THE floor, a cigarette in one hand and a port and lemon in the other. “Where the devil is she?” Pausing, she took a puff of her cigarette and squashed it into the ashtray. She finished off her drink, replacing the glass on the table beside the smart black telephone, before grabbing the receiver. For the umpteenth time she asked for Samantha’s number.

  Yet again, there was no answer. She slammed the receiver down and began pacing again. “Wretched girl! Why is she never here when I need her?”

  The sudden, invasive sound of the doorbell startled her. Rushing to the window, she peered out to see her daughter Samantha at the door, impatiently ringing the bell. Now, seeing her mother, she threw out her arms in frustration. “Let me in, for Chrissake!”

  As soon as Irene opened the door, she fled past her into the living room. Irene followed. “Wherever have you been? These past few days I’ve tried time and again to contact you, but you’re never home!” Irene was not best pleased. She was used to people being at her beck and call.

  “I took a few days off. Is that so terrible?” Looking slightly disheveled and seeming somehow disturbed, Samantha rounded on her. “Anyway, I’ve told you before, I won’t come running every time you call. Just because you had a new telephone installed for me doesn’t mean you’ve a right to call me every hour of the day or night! Why don’t you leave me alone?” she asked.

  “Leave you alone? Just look at the state of you!” Taking a minute to observe her, Irene noted the untidy hair and the rumpled clothes. “What’s the matter with you?” She was visibly shocked. It wasn’t often her daughter spoke to her in that way. A closer look showed how her daughter’s face was unusually flushed, and there was something unnerving about her that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Where’ve you been?” she persisted.

  Samantha seemed not to have heard. Instead she ranted on. “All the time … calling me up! Expecting me to run around here like a dog for a treat.” Swinging round, she glared at her mother with a look of hatred. “I’ve told you before, Mother. I have got a life of my own, you know!”

  Walking toward her, Irene grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t you speak to me like that … after all I’ve done for you.” Summoning all her formidable authority, she gave Samantha a vicious shake. “What have you been doing? Why couldn’t I get hold of you?”

  Suddenly, Samantha was crying. “It’s all your fault. You got me used to having expensive things, and then, whenever you feel like it, you cut me off. Oh, it’s all right when you want me around … leaning on me, making demands … do this, Samantha … do that! And if I don’t dance to your tune, I’m cast aside like some kind of rubbish.” The tears flowed and the rage subsided. In its place came the pitiful obedience that Irene had come to expect.

  “I’ve been good to you, Samantha. I gave you a house, and jewelry worth a small fortune … which you couldn’t wait to sell, damn you! I’ve warned you time and again about being so extravagant, but you take no notice. If you’re not going off to these wild parties, you’re entertaining undesirables at home. You spend money like it falls out of the sky, and I’m left to pick up the pieces.”

  Lowering her voice, she warned, “I can’t go on rescuing you. I haven’t got endless funds. Richard isn’t a stupid man. I have to be careful.”

  “Don’t give me that, Mother. You can twist him around your little finger. Besides, it won’t be long now before you get the lot!”

  Choosing to ignore this remark, Irene told her in a quiet, authoritative voice, “I’ll ask you once more.” Looking her daughter in the eye, she demanded to know, “Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been away.” Thrusting her mother off, Samantha strode across the room, where she leaned on the fireplace, staring defiantly. “Why? Am I not allowed to go away like normal people?” It was at times like these that the nastiness of the mother was evident in the daughter. “Am I supposed to ask you for permission, or what?”

  Lighting another cigarette, Irene gave her a cool, patient look. “You still haven’t answered me.”

  “That’s because it’s none of your damned business!” Looking uncomfortable, Samantha took a moment to gaze absent-mindedly out the window. When she next spoke, it was not to answer her mother’s question directly, but to put a question of her own. “You know I got a job as receptionist, in that new hotel on the outskirts of town?”

  “A job of which I never approved. I’ve told you before, there’s no need for you to work if you don’t want to. You know I’ll always look after you. I’ve said so often enough. But I can’t have you wasting money, left right and center.”

  Taking a long drag of her cigarette, she blew out the smoke in long, swirling tails that settled between them like a veiled curtain. “So, what have you been up to?”

  “What the hell d’you mean?”

  “Don’t play the innocent with me. Come on, out with it. You always come running to me when you’ve done something wrong. What is it now?”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong! Why do you always assume everything is my fault?”

  “Because it usually is!” Scowling, she stared hard at this young woman who had turned out to be such a disappointment. “They sacked you, didn’t they?” She laughed, a hard, cynical laugh that showed her delight.

  Samantha was defiant. “It wasn’t my fault!” she claimed. “The idiots sacked me for arguing with the head receptionist – a silly, spiteful old bitch who took a dislike to me straight away. She goaded me until I thought she should have a piece of my mind. It got a bit out of hand, and she went behind my back to the manager. I was finished on the spot. They wouldn’t even listen to my side of the story!”

  Irene shook her head. “You never learn, do you?” she commented dryly. “But I can’t say I’m sorry they finished with you. I never wanted you working there in the first place.”

  “Please, Mother, I haven’t come here to be lectured.”

  “All right. I can see you’re worried.” Squashing the second cigarette into the ashtray, she came to where Samantha had sulkily flung herself into the red leather settee. “I’ll help you over this one, but you’re going to have to curb your spending. I can’t keep up with you. I won’t!” She gave her daughter a prod. “You sold all my jewelry, damn you! But you should still have money left from what I gave you before … haven’t you?”

  “No.” Now as Samantha glanced up, her face seemed haunted. “It’s all gone.”

  Irene knew her daughter too well. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” she prompted. “Something you’re afraid to tell me.”

  There was a moment when Samantha looked away, before she answered in a sorry little voice, “It’s the house.”

  “What about the house?”

  “I took out a loan against it, and now they want all the back payments or they’ll take the house.”

  Taking a step backward, Irene was visibly shocked. Her icy composure vanished. “You what?” Taking a step forward, she slapped Samantha hard across the face. “You stupid little bitch! I told you never to do that. I warned you, it was the one thing you should never risk. And now you tell me they’re about to repossess it. Well, let them! If they throw you out on the street, don’t come running to me, because I’ve had enough! Get out of here. Go on … I don’t want to see you anymore.”

  “Please, Mother!” Samantha revealed her crafty plan. “Father should never have left that house to Kathy. By rights it’s half mine. I can take her to court and make her sell it.”

  Irene shook her head. She was adamant. “No court in the land would make her sell it to give you half. She was given her father’s house, and you were given mine. Out of the two of you, I’d say you got the best deal, wouldn’t you?”

>   “Oh, please, Mother, you’ve got to help me.” She always knew how to turn on the tears, but now, seeing that she had gone too far, Samantha was genuinely frightened. “Don’t turn me away.”

  For what seemed an age, her mother stared at her. She suddenly saw how, in comparison to Kathy, this daughter was weak and useless, and in some measure she knew she must take the blame. She’d always thought Samantha was like her. She had cultivated and trained her, dreaming of only the best for her eldest child. But she had spoiled her. And Samantha had none of her own backbone.

  “All right! I’ll help you, but only this once. I’ll clear the loan on the house, but I insist you come with me to a solicitor and ask if there can be some sort of agreement drawn up, to safeguard the house.”

  Though she didn’t like the idea, Samantha had no option. “All right, Mother, anything you say.”

  Heaving a deep sigh, Irene opened her arms. “Come here, child.”

  Greatly relieved, Samantha went to her, and they hugged for a time until, stepping back, Samantha asked greedily, “When he’s gone, it won’t matter, will it? Because we’ll be rich, won’t we?”

  Irene smiled. “I’ll be rich!” she reminded her. “When Richard breathes his last I’ll be worth a fortune.” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “After I’ve sold the business, I intend to spend like never before.” She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Who knows? I might even meet a proper man – one with youth and looks, who knows how to look after a lady …” She smiled slyly. “If you know what I mean?”

  “So! I’m not a proper man, is that what you think?” While the two of them laughed at the prospect of Richard’s demise and their good fortune, he had watched from the doorway. Having overheard everything, he was white with rage; bitter with himself for having been taken in so easily.

  Shocked to the core, Irene and Samantha stared at him. “No, Richard, you’ve got it all wrong!” Starting toward him, a look of innocence on her face, Irene cajoled, “I didn’t mean it like that.… I … just …” Now, as he put up his two hands, she stopped in her tracks. “You must know how much I love you.”

 

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