Stormy Skies

by Summer Waters

  “One thing at a time,” said Kathleen, laughing. “There’s the garden to clear first. But yes, I’ll definitely need to recruit some volunteers.”

  When they’d finished bundling the things that Kathleen thought would be useful or saleable into the garage, it was almost dark.

  “I’ll run you home in the car,” she said as everyone filed back up to the house.

  “What are you going to do about water?” asked Antonia as she waited for her turn to wash her hands in the utility room sink.

  “For the shed? We’re going to have to bring it down from the house in buckets. Unless…” Kathleen paused thoughtfully before continuing, “…maybe I should use the utility room as a temporary treatment room for now and keep the shed for rehabilitation and general things. Obviously the new Ocean Watch building will have tap water, but it’s going to be a while before I get planning permission, and then it has to be built.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea,” said Hannah enthusiastically. “We definitely need a treatment room with water.”

  “Yes,” Antonia agreed. “You never know when there’s going to be an emergency.” She felt a rush of anxiety. They’d made a good start on the temporary Ocean Watch building, but suddenly it didn’t seem enough. Vowing to work even harder the following day, she scrubbed her hands clean.

  Kathleen gave everyone a small bar of chocolate to eat on the way home. “Something to keep you going that won’t spoil your tea,” she said as she handed them out.

  There were spots of rain on Kathleen’s car when Antonia climbed in, munching her chocolate. She struggled to get the door shut against the wind.

  “What a horrible evening,” Kathleen shivered. She started the engine and switched on the heater.

  It was a short drive to Hannah’s apartment and the car was only just beginning to get warm when they arrived. Antonia climbed out and ran straight inside. It was raining heavily and in the few paces it took to get there she was soaked.

  “Phew!” said Hannah. “I hope we’re not going out for tea tonight. It’s so wet.”

  They clattered into Hannah’s apartment and hung their coats up to dry. Mrs Davies was pleased to see them.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked. “I thought we’d ring for pizza.”

  They spent a fun evening eating tea while watching a film. Antonia particularly enjoyed herself as her mum never let her eat in front of the television. The film was so funny that Antonia finally managed to rid herself of the sense of unease that had been bothering her since yesterday. In the softly lit flat with the curtains drawn against the dark, wet night everything felt safe and under control. There was nothing to worry about. Ocean Watch would soon be up and running.

  Later, as she lay in bed, listening to the wind and rain rattling on the window, Antonia touched her silver dolphin charm. Its soft body quivered against her fingers. Reassured, Antonia fell asleep.

  The following morning Antonia, Cai and Hannah got up and had an early breakfast. They were piling their dirty dishes into the dishwasher when Mrs Davies wandered in, still wearing her dressing gown.

  “Once I’m ready, I’ll run you to Kathleen’s in the car,” she offered.

  Antonia held her breath, hoping Hannah would refuse the offer. There wasn’t time to wait for Mrs Davies. Antonia wanted to get going now. To her relief, Hannah shook her head. “Thanks, Mum, but it’s not far. We’ll be there before you have time to dress.”

  Mrs Davies looked disappointed. “Oh, all right then. Anyone want a cup of tea before you all disappear?”

  “No, thanks, but you’re welcome to come to Kathleen’s with us,” said Hannah mischievously. “We could do with the extra hands.”

  Mrs Davies laughed. “No, thank you! I’d better get on with some of my own work. I’ve plenty to do.”

  The sky was grey, but at least it was dry and the wind had dropped. Antonia turned up the collar of her coat and buried her cold nose in it. They hurried to Kathleen’s then stood on her doorstep ringing the bell for ages.

  “Maybe she’s in the garden,” said Cai. “She might be loading her car with stuff for the dump.”

  They were about to go round the back and look when a dishevelled-looking Kathleen, wearing an enormous pair of gloves, appeared.

  “Nice gloves,” said Hannah, giggling.

  “Squirrel trouble,” answered Kathleen, by way of explanation.

  “You’ve got a squirrel?” asked Hannah. “When did that come in?”

  “Last night. He’s got an injured paw. You wouldn’t think so though. When I opened the cage to feed him this morning, he escaped and I’m still trying to catch him.”

  Kathleen opened the lounge door by a crack then shut it quickly when everyone had squeezed inside.

  “There he is, on the curtain. Oh! He’s so sweet!” exclaimed Antonia.

  The squirrel was hanging from the curtain with his tail looped over his back like a furry question mark. There was a neat white bandage wrapped round his front left paw. He eyed Antonia suspiciously as she stepped towards him.

  “It’s OK, boy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Antonia continued talking to the squirrel until she was close enough to reach up and lift him down.

  “Careful!” warned Kathleen. “Don’t touch him. Squirrels can have a nasty bite.”

  But there was no chance of Antonia getting close enough to touch the squirrel. With a defiant flick of his tail, he ran higher up the curtains then, with an amazing leap, landed on the settee.

  “A gymnast squirrel,” commented Cai.

  “Help me catch him,” said Kathleen, advancing on the squirrel with open arms. “But don’t touch him. Not under any circumstance!”

  The squirrel waited for Kathleen to get within a whisker’s length of him before scurrying across the top of the settee and jumping on to an armchair.

  Cai grabbed the squirrel’s empty cage and advanced towards him, forcing him into a corner. With an agitated chirrup, the squirrel darted round Cai and ran back up the curtains. He went right to the top and, whiskers twitching, sat watching everyone with a smug expression.

  Kathleen was getting irritated. “We’ll need a stepladder to reach him now. I wonder where it is…”

  “In the utility room cupboard,” Hannah reminded her. “I’ll get it.”

  The squirrel was very cheeky. Chuckling at his antics, Antonia watched him swinging from the curtain.

  Kathleen positioned the stepladder by the curtains and Cai stood at the bottom with the squirrel’s cage. Slowly she began climbing up the rungs, mumbling softly to the squirrel as she went. Whiskers quivering, grey body hunched, the squirrel watched her. Each time she moved up a step, Kathleen stopped, hoping to reassure the squirrel that she meant no harm. Reaching the last rung, she slowly stretched out her arms. Antonia held her breath.

  She’d done it. Clever Kathleen had caught the squirrel! But as she wrapped her hands round his body, the squirrel wriggled free and raced down the curtain. Startled, Kathleen wobbled and only managed to save herself by grabbing a handful of curtain.

  “Typical!” she exclaimed.

  Chapter Seven

  Hannah couldn’t stop laughing. Cai went after the squirrel, trapping him in a corner of the room.

  “Help me,” he called.

  Antonia ran to his side and together they managed to herd the squirrel inside his cage.

  “Got you!” said Cai triumphantly, closing the door. The squirrel chattered angrily, but Cai ignored him and carried the cage back to the other end of the lounge, setting it down near the hedgehog.

  “Well done,” said Kathleen. “I hope that paw heals soon and I can let him go. He’s trouble, that one.”

  Idly Antonia wondered if her healing magic would work on the squirrel’s paw. Should she ask Kathleen if she could give it a go? She didn’t want to seem like she was showing off, but it would be a great help if the squirrel was fit enough to be released back into the wild. Antonia took a deep breath, steeling herself to say something, wh
en she suddenly realised that her magic wouldn’t work. How could it when the dolphins hadn’t called for her help!

  “Antonia, I asked if you were ready.” Hannah gave her a quizzical look.

  “Oh! Sorry. Yes, of course.” Antonia didn’t have a clue what she was supposed to be ready for, but she followed Hannah to the utility room.

  “Washing the shed,” hissed Cai in her ear. He gave her a knowing smile and muttered, “Miles away again.”

  Antonia grinned back. Although Cai couldn’t actually read her mind, he knew her so well that sometimes it felt like he could!

  “Let’s get started then,” she said cheerfully.

  Hannah rifled through the utility room cupboards and found plastic aprons and disposable gloves. The aprons were too big so they wound the straps round their backs and tied them at their tummies.

  “These will keep us nice and dry,” said Antonia as she filled two buckets with warm water and soap.

  “There are only two mops,” said Hannah, backing out of a cupboard.

  “How about you two have the mops and I go to the dump with Kathleen?” suggested Cai.

  “Brilliant idea! There’s not that much rubbish, but there’s lots to go for recycling. I could do with an extra pair of hands,” said Kathleen approvingly.

  Antonia and Hannah each took a mop and a bucket of water and Cai carried a broom to the shed for them. He left them sweeping out the dirt before they washed the floor. It was very dusty and when the sweeping was done, Antonia and Hannah stood outside to let the air clear.

  “Eew!” coughed Antonia. “Gross!”

  She gulped at the fresh air until she began to feel lightheaded. Then suddenly she realised another sensation was sweeping over her. Vision! He was about to call.

  “Ready to start mopping?” asked Hannah.

  Antonia had been about to nod, but no sooner had Hannah dunked her mop into the soapy water than Antonia felt her silver dolphin charm flutter against her neck. Hannah stopped work and leant the mop against the wall.

  Silver Dolphin, we need you. Vision’s voice rang out in Antonia’s head.

  I hear your call, she answered silently. A shrill whistle filled the shed.

  “Vision, I hear your call,” said Hannah, racing out of the door. She pulled the gate open and they squeezed through it together.

  The estuary path was muddy after the rain. Feet squelching and sliding, Antonia ran as fast as she could to answer Vision’s call. Poor Cai! Antonia knew he’d be upset to have missed this. Being a Silver Dolphin was a responsibility they both took very seriously.

  It was easier going on the sand dunes as they were damp and the sand held together instead of sliding underfoot. Antonia and Hannah scrambled up them and down the other side. The tide was in and so the beach was much smaller today. Antonia pulled off her disposable gloves then her shoes, socks and apron. Hannah did the same and they left their things in a pile. Wet sand splattered up their legs as they ran towards the grey waves.

  Gritting her teeth against the cold, Antonia bravely waded into the sea. As the water came up to her thighs, she dived in and began swimming. Immediately her legs fused together and kicked like a dolphin’s tail. Antonia forgot the cold and, using her hands like fins, propelled herself along. She loved the way her body arched in and out of the sea like a real dolphin. Whistling for joy, Antonia swam faster.

  “We’re going in the same direction as last time,” clicked Hannah, panting a little as she caught Antonia up.

  Antonia had noticed that too. She wondered why Vision had called them. Antonia and Hannah swam on. After a while they could feel vibrations. Looking up, Antonia saw three dolphins, their silver heads bobbing in the sea. Hannah pulled ahead and stopped in front of the largest.

  “Silver Dolphins, thank you for answering my call,” clicked Vision, rubbing her on the nose.

  Antonia hung back while Hannah rubbed noses with Vision, Lulu and Rolly. Then she greeted the dolphins.

  “Dad said we could play when you’re done,” squeaked Lulu.

  Vision clicked a laugh. “I did say that, but first the Silver Dolphins have a job to complete and it may take a while. There’s some rubbish that needs clearing away.”

  Vision swam towards the shore, stopping as the water grew shallower. “I can’t go any closer, but you can see from here.”

  Antonia followed Vision’s line of sight and her mouth dropped open in amazement. Wherever had that come from?

  Chapter Eight

  “Is that a table?” Antonia couldn’t help being surprised even though she was used to finding all sorts of strange items littering the seas.

  “Looks so,” said Hannah as they waded towards the object. “It’s the sort pubs and cafés put outside.”

  The table lay on its back. Surf frothed round its skyward-pointing legs. One leg was merely a jagged stump. Hannah examined the table carefully.

  “I’m almost certain this came from the café garden too,” she said. “They’ve got ones exactly like this.”

  “But how did it get down here?” asked Antonia. “Is someone pushing things off the cliff?”

  “I don’t know,” said Hannah thoughtfully. “It didn’t look like anyone had been near the place, did it?”

  “Apart from when the trees were cut down,” said Antonia. “It was really windy last night. Maybe it got blown over the edge.”

  “Yes! That’s it!” Hannah exclaimed. “It got blown over. Luckily it landed here and not a bit further round where the seals are.”

  On second glance, Antonia thought that the table looked far too sturdy to have been blown from the cliff top, but she didn’t say anything. “What are we going to do with it?” she asked.

  “Let’s get it out of the sea and put it on the beach while we decide,” Hannah suggested.

  Positioning themselves at opposite ends of the table, they lifted it up and carried it on to the sand.

  “A bit more,” puffed Hannah. “Here, that should do. It’s far enough back not to get washed out by the tide.”

  “We can’t leave it here!” exclaimed Antonia.

  “No, of course not,” agreed Hannah. “But it’s not the sort of thing you can throw in the nearest bin and it’s too heavy for us to carry back to Kathleen’s. I thought if we left it on the beach, she could come and collect it in the car.”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Antonia. “We’d better find out where we are. There’s a footpath over there. Let’s see where it goes.”

  The footpath led between a gap in the cliffs and after several twists and turns opened up into a field.

  “It’s a car park.” Antonia pointed to a small wooden hut with a man inside reading a newspaper. There was only one car in the field and it looked like it belonged to the car-park attendant.

  “I wonder if he wants a table,” said Hannah. “He could sit outside on nice days.”

  “It’s only got three legs,” Antonia reminded her.

  “Good point.” Hannah sighed. “That’s a shame. We’ll have to get Kathleen to come and pick it up – as if she hasn’t got enough to do.”

  “At this rate Kathleen will be able to set up a café in her own garden soon. Maybe she should hire a lorry and clear the old café’s garden if she’s going to end up with all their furniture,” said Antonia, half teasing, but with a note of seriousness.

  “Very funny,” Hannah laughed. “Let’s go back now. Lulu and Rolly are waiting to play.”

  Surreptitiously Antonia glanced at her watch. She really wanted to play with the dolphins, but it was already mid-morning and they had lots to do.

  “A quick game,” Hannah added.

  It would be fun to play with Lulu and Rolly and a quick game should be all right. With any luck, Kathleen and Cai would be back by now. They might even have mopped the floor. Antonia felt guilty about playing with the dolphins when Cai was busy, even though she knew he wouldn’t mind.

  “Race you back to the beach,” she shouted, sprinting away.

&n
bsp; “Cheat,” called Hannah, galloping after her. “You had a head start.”

  Antonia reached the beach first and wedged some rocks against the table’s three legs to make doubly sure that it wasn’t going anywhere. Hannah arrived hot on her heels.

  “I nearly beat you,” she said with a grin.

  Antonia found a piece of crinkly brown seaweed draped on a rock like a lost scarf. She snatched it up. “This is perfect for seaweed tag. I’ll be it.”

  They ran back into the water, gasping at its coldness until their legs melded together and they didn’t notice any more. Lulu and Rolly were waiting for them a short way out to sea.

  “Seaweed tag, three waves’ head start,” clicked Antonia, waving the seaweed in the air.

  Everyone shot in different directions, leaving Antonia bobbing in the water on her own. Well, almost on her own…Away to her left a grey head nodded in the water.

  Antonia cried out in delight. “A seal!”

  For a moment she was distracted as she watched the seal swim closer to the shore. Then, veering away, he swam round the headland. Antonia sighed contentedly then whistled, “Three waves, ready or not – I’m coming!”

  They played five games of seaweed tag. Lulu and Rolly were bigger cheats than Bubbles, Antonia’s dolphin friend, but it was great fun trying to get the better of them. When everyone had had a turn at being it, Antonia called a halt to the game. “We have to get back,” she said.

  “Spoilsport,” said Lulu, splashing her with water.

  “Spoilsport yourself,” retorted Antonia, good-naturedly splashing Lulu back.

  “Water fight!” clicked Rolly, joyfully smacking his tail on the sea’s surface.

  It was impossible not to join in. Antonia splashed as hard as she could, spraying anyone who came near with salty water.

  “We really have to go,” said Hannah at last when everyone stopped for a rest.

  Antonia nodded. Cai would be waiting to hear about their rescue. She couldn’t wait to tell him about the table. Imagine his surprise!