Christmas at the Gin Shack

by Catherine Miller

  ‘Come in, come in.’ Despite being in recovery, Tony was as welcoming in his own home as he was at the Gin Shack. It was obviously in his nature and he soon had Olive settled down with tea and biscuits. She should probably have said no to biscuits. They might be part of the reason her breathing was more laboured these days. Oakley West was making her more rotund with the excellent meals they provided. That thought wasn’t going to stop her, though. She only planned to live once.

  It was strange sitting in Tony’s living room. Even though she regarded him as her best friend, she’d rarely had a need to come to his home. It was always at the Gin Shack or the beach huts that they spent time with one another.

  ‘So, what’s the gossip, Olive? Please help me. I’m getting bored out my mind here.’

  Olive wasn’t really one for gossip, although she did like to know what was going on, which was possibly the same thing. ‘Someone added three brown streamers to the Gin Shack sign you got for my hut. They’re the same as the ones that were put on that blooming bottom.’

  ‘Esme told me about that. I do hope it’s not going to become a regular thing. Have you told Richard?’ Tony dunked a biscuit in his tea and, if he was going to, it was only polite for Olive to join in.

  ‘Of course not. If he’s worried he’ll have CCTV wired up to his laptop for a twenty-four-hour vigil and I’d be far more concerned about him knowing how many hours I spend there. He’d end up monitoring my activities, not those of the invisible squatter.’

  ‘He’s far too busy romancing Skylar to worry about what you’re up to. What’s that about a squatter?’

  Olive hovered her dunked biscuit over her tea for so long the soggy bit dropped with a splash. ‘Never mind squatters, what do you mean by romancing?’

  Honestly, there wasn’t a chance of keeping up if she’d missed what was going on with her own son.

  ‘I shouldn’t have said anything. I thought Richard would have mentioned it. You must have realised Cupid has been afoot.’

  Olive filled her mouth with the solid half of the biscuit that remained. She’d hoped something might be going on, but dismissed the idea. A silly old woman wanting to see her son happy. He clearly wasn’t in his own work, despite the business’s resounding success. But the very fact he’d been so willing to come and take charge of the Gin Shack in Tony’s absence told her that, while accolades and business awards were one thing, finding happiness was quite something else. Biscuit swallowed, Olive needed to know more. ‘Tell me everything you know.’ She arched an eyebrow, even though she couldn’t officially arch an eyebrow, so really, what she was doing was raising both eyebrows and tilting her face. She had to get across the need for information somehow.

  ‘I’m not sure even I’m supposed to know.’

  ‘Even better.’ At least if Tony wasn’t supposed to know, then Richard would hopefully be none the wiser that Olive did. ‘Go on.’

  Tony shifted awkwardly in his chair. ‘Look, if I tell you, you’re not allowed to let on to anyone that I have.’

  ‘My lips are sealed,’ Olive said, actually sealing her lips as she said it, making the words sound like a series of farts.

  Glancing around the room like someone might appear, Tony hunched forward. ‘Esme babysat for Skylar on Monday night,’ he said in a whisper, raising his eyebrows like it was solid proof something was going on.

  ‘That could have been for anything.’ Olive was surprised to find she was disappointed.

  ‘That’s not it. I was bored that evening after a day in the house by myself. All the boys were out at football training, so I thought I’d ring Richard and see if he wanted to come over, seeing as the bar is closed on a Monday.’

  ‘Yessss…’ Olive raised her eyebrows and tilted her head in that give-me-all-the-info-now kind of way, desperate for Tony to come up with a solid punchline.

  ‘He answered to see if I was okay and told me he was busy.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I heard Skylar’s voice. I’m one hundred per cent sure it was her.’

  Having had her own dose of hearing voices of late, Olive wasn’t sure it was possible to know for certain it was someone unless Tony had voice-recognition software available. ‘How do you know it was her for certain?’

  This was more like the solid proof Olive had been hoping for, but she didn’t want to go around in the belief Richard and Skylar were dating if it was based on hearing a voice that might not have been Skylar’s. And even if it had been, they might have been going out as friends to a movie or something they both wanted to watch. Olive would ask Tony out to events, but not mean it as a date. It was perfectly possible for a guy and a girl to just be friends, and besides, for Skylar and Richard to be dating would be just too perfect.

  ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I figured I’d ring Esme up to see if she knew where Skylar was and to let her know Richard wasn’t able to come over because he was busy. Of course she put two and two together in exactly the same way I did, and so when Skylar got home she may have probed her about her evening more than she would have done.’ Tony picked up another biscuit, ready to dunk.

  ‘And what did she find out?’ Olive was still waiting for a solid piece of information to hang her hopes on.

  ‘Skylar told her she’d been out on a date with Richard. Of course, Esme wasn’t supposed to tell me, and I’m definitely not supposed to be telling you, so we’re not even having this conversation, okay?’

  Olive’s heart did a little skip of joy. She really, honestly, one hundred per cent knew she should not be hopeful about something that must be entirely embryonic, so much so that there was every chance there would never be a second date or a third. So, she really had to ignore the wedding bells clanging in her ears. Or the sense of how wonderful it would be for Skylar, who she already regarded as a surrogate daughter, to become her actual daughter-in-law. No, Olive had to entirely ignore those feelings. She had to avoid trying to push for her son to give her information or to find methods to help the relationship on its way. She knew nothing, she had to remember she knew nothing. But oh, what a glorious speckle of hope to hold in her heart. ‘I won’t say a thing,’ Olive said, knowing she was grinning far too widely to be able to disguise how happy the news had made her.

  ‘Now tell me about this squatter you’re on about?’

  Olive didn’t want to think about that after talking about something that was perfection itself. But the reality was, she was convinced someone had been in there – she just wasn’t sure why or where they had disappeared to. She relayed what had happened to Tony. ‘There’s every chance I might have been trying your boys’ hut by accident, but I know I wasn’t. I just can’t explain what happened otherwise.’

  ‘That is odd. And you say the towels were folded again? Who else has a key to your hut?’

  ‘Richard and Skylar and neither of them would use the hut without telling me.’

  ‘Unless they’re using it for a bit of nooky.’ Tony laughed at his own joke.

  At least, Olive hoped it was a joke. She was all for them getting into a relationship, but she wasn’t going to support them getting down and dirty in her beach hut. Skylar had her own one for that kind of thing. And she should certainly be using her own towels. Olive didn’t like to think she was a prude, but she was certain there should be some kind of towel etiquette where such matters were concerned. She certainly didn’t want to be finding any sticky patches among hers. She was done with the wet-dream years. She neither expected nor wished to ever have to clear up such substances from her son ever again.

  ‘Neither Skylar nor Richard would use the beach hut without telling me.’ Olive needed to be clear on this before her thought patterns made her puke a bit in her mouth. ‘I think someone was sleeping there overnight, although I don’t think anyone did last night. We must have scared them off.’

  Thinking about it, Olive was only ever there early on a Tuesday when she and Veronica went for a dip. She’d given up going there early most other days because breakf
ast at Oakley West was far too tempting to skip, so she tended to set herself up for the day with the hearty food they provided. Then she headed to the beach either in the morning or afternoon, the amount of time she stayed depending on whether she was going to the Gin Shack. She was still working the occasional shift behind the bar, mostly because she liked to, but also because there were days that were a bit low on numbers with Tony not being about. Fortunately, with Tony out of the woods and now in convalescence, it meant the Salter boys and Esme were all happy to return and work shifts as required.

  The shift in lifestyle meant Olive wasn’t often at the hut early doors like she once had been. So maybe someone had been staying there a while overnight and it was only now that she’d noticed.

  ‘If at any point you think they’ve returned, you give me a shout and we’ll do a stakeout to see who turns up.’

  ‘Won’t that get you in trouble with Esme?’

  ‘We’ll have to do it one of the nights she’s babysitting for Skylar. She’s booked in for next Monday already.’

  ‘Really?’ Olive could have swotted Tony for not having told her this piece of information already. If that was the case, surely this meant there was a second date booked. It might even be a third or fourth date for all Olive knew.

  ‘Yes. So, seeing as we know most of the people who would tell on us will be occupied, it might be a good time to get ourselves into mischief. It won’t hurt if none of them knows.’

  ‘It’s a date in that case.’ Olive didn’t do dating any more. She was way past wanting any such complications in her life and openly admitted to never having got over the loss of her husband. But if she was going to date, she wouldn’t want to do anything conventional, and hanging out at the beach at night on a stakeout sounded like the kind of thing she’d like to do.

  ‘And at least this way, if Richard and Skylar are getting it on at your beach hut, we’ll be sure to catch them at it.’

  And with that thought, a tiny bit of sick made its way to Olive’s mouth.

  Chapter Ten

  In the weeks following Tony’s heart attack, the usual Sunday rituals were a rather watered-down affair.

  For the first couple of weeks, there was no meeting at the bench. It somehow seemed wrong to continue without Tony. Instead Olive went to the Gin Shack to meet Richard for him to okay the gin choices.

  When they were there he was always busy, sorting deliveries, doing paperwork, cleaning the bar. It was lovely seeing him doing so much to get to grips with the bar. She just hoped he didn’t overwork himself.

  The usual gathering of dishes had been reduced to a fish and chip dinner (although it was equally as lovely) because everyone had been caught up helping with the Gin Shack as necessary. It felt like they were missing a limb in those first weeks with the entire Salter family not able to come.

  But today, for the first time, it felt like the rhythm of normal life was beginning to return. The meeting still took place at the Gin Shack, their traditional picnic was still going to be fish and chips, but today there would be special guests in attendance. The Salter family were going to be back.

  The boys were already here: TJ, Aiden and Noah playing their normal game of cricket. It was a sound Olive had missed.

  ‘Are you not joining in today, Lucas?’

  The young boy was in the chair next to Olive. It was most unlike him not to be occupying himself with something more active.

  ‘I’ve got a whoopsie. Do you wanna see?’ Lucas was already beginning to pull up his trouser leg even though Olive hadn’t replied. When the material was above his knee it revealed a nasty, scabbed-up scrape.

  ‘Oh, gosh. How did you manage that?’ It was a good job falling was something people did less of as they got older. Olive would have been stuck at Oakley West with a graze that size.

  Lucas smoothed a hand over his wound and introduced germs in the way only seven-year-olds could. He glanced over at his mum, but said nothing.

  Olive guessed there was something amiss. That there was something Lucas didn’t want his mum to know. ‘You don’t have to tell me now. You can tell me when we go for an ice cream later, if you like?’ There were times when a boy needed to talk to someone who wasn’t his mum.

  Lucas nodded.

  Whether that was at the opportunity to talk or the thought of ice cream, it didn’t matter. What was important was being there for him, in the same way Skylar was there for Olive.

  Skylar, with her beautiful long dark hair, was Olive’s closest beach-hut friend. In theory, it should have been Esme, seeing as they were much closer in age, but she was always busy with Tony and the boys. So, even though there were more than four decades between them, Skylar and Olive were besties. Not that Olive would ever be cool enough to use that term or fully understand what it meant.

  They were similar in lots of ways. Although in different circumstances (ones Skylar rarely made reference to), they were in essence a mother and son trying to get by in the world, much like Olive and Richard had been way back when. It was the reason Olive had a particular soft spot for the pair. She knew herself how every bit of help and friendship she was able to offer was appreciated and was sometimes needed. And Olive enjoyed her occasional babysitting duties when she would keep an eye on Lucas so that Skylar was able to pop to the bank or the shop. It was always a pleasure to watch him make sandcastles or help him with his homework in her hut.

  ‘Here he is,’ Richard said, standing and starting a round of applause.

  Tony and Esme were walking hand in hand down the slope towards them all. And when one person clapped, every other person joined in, way beyond their row of six huts. The applause and cheers came from all the beach-hut owners. Every person there, most of whom had witnessed Tony’s near-death episode, stood and clapped and whooped.

  Tony was home. Equilibrium was being restored.

  For the rest of the gathering, Olive was able to catch up with Esme. Even though there wasn’t much time to organise it, they decided the Gingle Bells retreat weekend should still go ahead. Partly because Tony was adamant he didn’t want what had happened to him to affect any of the Gin Shack plans, and partly because Esme whispered that having him home all the time was driving her potty and she figured if Tony had something to do on the computer related to the bar, it might stop him from mithering so much.

  That wasn’t the only thing whispered to Olive that day. When she eventually got the chance to take Lucas for his ice cream, she was able to ask him more about his injury.

  ‘What did happen then? You know I won’t tell anyone.’ The café being closed was a real inconvenience. Rather than the short walk along the prom, they were having to wander all the way up the slope to the ice-cream van that had been quick to jump in on a business opportunity. It was a good job someone had, because, however great a bay with a Gin Shack was, what would any beach be without ice cream?

  ‘It happened at school.’ Lucas was holding Olive’s hand and was being incredibly patient with her lack of speed.

  ‘Was it an accident or did something happen?’

  ‘I got pushed.’

  Olive stopped in her tracks. ‘That’s not on. Did you tell your mum?’ It would be easy to understand if he was embarrassed by the fact, but if he was being picked on, Skylar should know about it.

  ‘No, she thinks I tripped.’

  There was relief in knowing Lucas was happy to talk to her. It meant she was doing an okay job in whatever role it was she played in his life, but it was important he spoke to the right people if he was having trouble. Olive brought herself to his level. Thankfully it wasn’t a hard task, given that their height difference could be measured in inches rather than feet. Honestly, what were they feeding the youth of today? ‘If they do it again, you come and tell me, okay?’ She could make him tell his mum or tell Skylar herself so she could talk to the school, but if he wasn’t brave enough to say something to his mum in the first place, there was every chance he would clam up. ‘Is this the first time?’
<
br />   There was a possibility it was a problem that had been going on for a while. In which case, Olive would have to really consider what she should do.

  ‘They were just mucking about.’

  Olive nodded. In her experience, small lads were prone to doing that. Richard had been a master in mucking about. Just as long as Lucas knew he had someone to talk to, if it was anything more. ‘Okay then. You just tell me if it happens again. Now, I’ve heard ice creams are a good cure for poorly knees.’

  And years of experience meant Olive also knew that it was categorically the best way to wash down fish and chips.

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘…armadillo, crocodile, badger, giraffe.’

  ‘And stop.’ The doctor clicked the stopwatch.

  ‘Did I pass?’ Olive was pretty impressed with her efforts to name as many animals as she was able to in one minute.

  ‘You do. With flying colours. So what’s made you think you might be having memory problems?’

  The barrage of questions hadn’t exactly been testing. Olive should have been pleased. ‘There’s just been a few odd occurrences that have made me worry and think something was going on.’

  ‘I can refer you to the TIA clinic if you think you’ve had another episode.’

  ‘You see, that’s the thing. I don’t think I have, but I don’t know how else to explain it.’

  ‘You’re due your annual check with the clinic in a couple of months. I’ll ask them to bring it forward. At least that way it will hopefully put your mind at ease.’ The doctor tapped at her computer and clicked her mouse and whatever she needed to do was done. ‘And don’t forget to look into that mobility scooter. At some point you need to consider slowing down your pace.’

  The doctor had Olive all wrong. ‘The only reason I’ll agree to getting one is if it helps speed me up.’

  When it was done, Olive was glad she’d gone to the doctor. It gave her a sense of accomplishment rather than worrying over something that might be nothing. She wasn’t entirely keen on the mobility-scooter suggestion, but somehow, the idea being delivered to her by the doctor made the need for it more real. It wasn’t as easy to brush off and in some ways it made sense if it would save her time and energy. Pressing ‘buy now’ on her new purchase hadn’t been an easy decision, not least because how would she know if she could manage to drive the bloody thing? But it was never too late to learn a new trick or two and Olive was determined to do just that if it would make things easier.