Midsummer Magic

by Julia Williams

  ‘They’re scattered about,’ said Freddie. ‘Part of the experiment is waiting to see what happens now.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Diana. ‘Should I go and find them?’

  ‘If you wish,’ said Freddie. ‘Is there anyone in particular that you’ll be looking for?’

  Diana thought for a moment.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ she began, and then realised it wasn’t true.

  Her mind flashed back to the dream, and the face she’d just glimpsed when she woke up. No, it couldn’t have been.

  ‘Well?’ prompted Freddie gently.

  ‘There’s only one person I want to see,’ said Diana, puzzled, ‘and I have to find him now.’

  ‘And who’s that?’ Freddie smiled at her, and she was vaguely aware the camera was still rolling.

  The face from the dream swarmed in front of her again.

  ‘Harry,’ she said slowly. ‘I need to find Harry.’

  Harry was on a boat – no, not on one, driving one. He was powering a speedboat across the waves, blinking into the sun. The wind was blowing through his hair, and he was exhilarated by the speed and the spray. He was wearing sunglasses, tee shirt and jeans, but felt like something in a James Bond movie. Even more so when he realised there was a beautiful girl by his side, shrieking her pleasure as he sped up, causing waves behind them.

  ‘This is awesome!’ she shrieked.

  ‘Isn’t it?’ He turned and smiled. ‘I’m so glad we’re doing this together.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Josie. ‘Me too.’

  Harry woke with a start, a smile on his face. What a great dream. He wondered if he could perhaps persuade Josie to go travelling after the wedding. His dream had left him feeling restless, as if something were missing from his life.

  He looked down, and realised he’d been sleeping curled up with Josie on a bench at the top of the cliff. He had vague memories of them waking up after Freddie had hypnotised them, and deciding they wanted to sit here together looking out to sea.

  Josie was still asleep, and he didn’t like to wake her. She was so beautiful, so precious. Their relationship was still new enough for him to be grateful that he’d found her. Not for him any more the thrill of the chase, the misery of the rejection. He’d found the woman of his dreams, and he wasn’t ever going to let her go.

  Josie stirred in her sleep and then blinked and looked up at him. She stretched and yawned.

  ‘Where are we?’ she said as she sat up. ‘I was dreaming I was wandering through a vast forest, and I couldn’t find you. I’m so glad you’re here.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Harry. ‘I was dreaming we were taking a round-the-world trip on a massive speedboat. It was amazing.’

  ‘Ha,’ Josie sat up properly now, ‘I can’t see you ever being able to drive a speedboat.’

  ‘You never know,’ said Harry, ‘I’ve never had the chance.’

  ‘And aren’t likely to,’ said Josie.

  ‘Is it such a mad idea?’ said Harry.

  ‘Is what?’ said Josie.

  ‘Us going travelling together?’

  ‘Woah,’ said Josie, ‘where’s this come from? Have you been talking to Ant again?’

  ‘Ant has nothing to do with it,’ said Harry. ‘You know before I met you I was planning to go travelling?’

  ‘I didn’t think you were serious,’ said Josie. ‘How can we go travelling? We can’t afford it, not with the wedding and everything.’

  The wedding. Harry suddenly felt as if he’d been hit between the ribs. He was beginning to hate the sodding wedding.

  ‘We could go afterwards,’ said Harry. ‘Save up and …’

  ‘No,’ said Josie, ‘I’m sorry Harry, I don’t want to go travelling. I can’t believe you’ve suddenly suggested it. We need to get ourselves straight first.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Harry, feeling deflated. He hadn’t realised till now just how much it meant to him. ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  ‘You know I am,’ said Josie. ‘You’ve got commitments now. You can’t just up sticks when you feel like it anymore. That’s Ant’s department.’

  ‘Then maybe,’ said Harry slowly, ‘we should have a rethink.’

  ‘About?’ said Josie.

  The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

  ‘The wedding,’ he said.

  Josie stared at him in dismay. It was the last thing she’d expected. She’d woken up feeling unaccountably anxious, after uncertain dreams in which she was searching for Harry and unable to find him. And now Harry had started wittering on about doing some kind of grown-up gap year, which was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment, and now he seemed to be saying …

  ‘What about the wedding?’ said Josie.

  ‘We could put it off,’ said Harry. ‘Wait a couple of years, have some fun. Then get settled. What’s the rush?’

  ‘I thought you wanted to marry me,’ said Josie in a small voice. A feeling of cold dread washed over her. Had he changed his mind?

  ‘I do,’ said Harry.

  ‘But?’

  ‘But, I think we’re rushing things,’ he said. ‘We’ve been together less than a year. We have still so much to learn about one another. You didn’t know I wanted to travel that badly, for example …’

  ‘More than you want to get married to me, it would seem,’ Josie felt as if her world were crumbling. Harry couldn’t be saying all this stuff.

  ‘That’s not what I meant,’ said Harry.

  ‘So, what did you mean?’ said Josie. ‘Do you still want us to get married or not?’

  There was a pause, before Harry said, ‘Yes, of course I do.’

  The pause hadn’t been long, but it was long enough.

  ‘But you’d rather go travelling first?’ said Josie. ‘Thanks for nothing, Harry.’

  ‘It’s not like that,’ protested Harry.

  ‘Then what is it like?’ said Josie. ‘It feels like my fiancé has cold feet, is what it’s like from my perspective.’

  ‘I love you,’ said Harry.

  ‘Really?’ said Josie. ‘You could have fooled me.’

  Shaking with anger, she got up and walked away. Harry had taken her completely by surprise. She thought that everything was perfect, that he was happy, and wanted to get married. But now it appeared he wasn’t. He said he loved her, but seemed to be unable to prove it in the one way she felt mattered. What did it mean? Could they still be together and not get married?

  1995: Bron

  ‘So it’s over then?’ Bron said sombrely.

  ‘Sorry, mate, but I’m afraid it is,’ said Freddie sighing. ‘They’ve said the viewing figures are really down from last series. And to be honest, I want to look at doing something new. Time for a change for both of us, old boy.’

  ‘I suppose,’ he replied. He’d hated the last two seasons of Illusions, but even so Bron felt cast off. It was work, and it was regular. It stopped him having to think too hard about what happened next.

  ‘There’s always producing and directing,’ said Freddie. ‘You have been banging on about doing both forever.’

  That was true. Maybe he’d have time for that now …

  He felt melancholy though. And he knew the reason why. Bloody stupid after all these years to be still hankering after her, but he’d always imagined that Tatiana Okeby would be the first leading lady he’d ever direct. But then, he’d always imagined that they would have been together with a horde of kids by now. What had stopped him? He could have had that future, and it was his own fault for not making it happen.

  Tati had more or less intimated that to him on their last, and he hoped final, meeting. One drink had led to another, and another, and then, of course the inevitable. And he thought it was their chance to put things right. They’d talked about everything that night; about their hopes, their fears, their failures, the pain they’d caused one another, and he’d really thought it was a new beginning. But whereas he had been over the moon, thinking that finally, here was the s
econd chance he’d been wanting all those years, Tati had made it very clear to him what it was all about for her.

  ‘It’s called a revenge shag, darling,’ she’d said in the morning. ‘Poor little Bron, did you really think I was coming back to you? After all this time? Give me strength.’ But she’d been so drunk by the time they went to bed, he didn’t even think it had been that calculated.

  And then to make matters worse, the next thing he knew it was all over the Sunday papers. ‘Bron and me: The True Story’, ‘Bron the Bastard’; ‘How Auberon Fanshawe broke my heart’.

  Poor lovely Tatiana. Such a waste. They said she was in rehab now, but he didn’t enquire too often. He really thought they’d cut through the bullshit of the last few years on that evening. But he’d been so wrong. Bad enough that she had rejected him in the morning, but to sell their story to the papers: his heart had broken all over again.

  However much of a mess Tati was in, Bron was staying well clear. He knew he was still vulnerable to her charms. Probably always would be. The problem was, she was bad for his mental health.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Diana’s happiness from earlier on had completely dissipated. She’d been wandering around for over half an hour and was now grumpily lost. After her chat with Freddie, she had left the Standing Stones to find the others, feeling unsettled by the emotions she’d had when she woke up. She’d just been having a weird dream, with Harry rowing her in a boat. It didn’t mean anything, surely? Diana felt sure that once she saw him again, she’d put it all in perspective, but couldn’t rid herself of the stomach-churning excitement she felt at the thought – which was ridiculous, especially as he was getting married to Josie. Your best friend, Diana reminded herself. How could she harbour feelings for her best friend’s fiancé? Especially since she’d never let herself fall for anyone properly since Ant.

  Diana’s mind fled back eight years, to when she and Ant had been an item. They had been so happy, or so she’d thought. But he’d let her down in her hour of need. And when she’d come looking for him – afterwards – she’d found him cosied up in the bar with Sian. Sian, who’d been her best friend. Ant claimed to have had no idea why she’d poured the glass of beer over his head. He’d denied anything was going on – yeah, right. Diana had seen first hand how flirtatious Ant could be, and Diana had never known anyone resist Sian’s seduction technique. All Diana knew was that during the most traumatic experience of her life, her boyfriend had been betraying her with her so-called best friend. Josie was the first proper friend Diana had trusted since then, but now she seemed to be harbouring feelings for Harry. She couldn’t do to Josie what had been done to her. She had to put these thoughts out of her mind.

  The moon was really bright and shone on the path, which gave way to some woods. Where the hell was Harry? Or Josie? Or even Ant? Or anyone. Diana wasn’t really a country girl, and the sound of hooting owls freaked her out. But the path shimmered in the moonlight, and something drew her on. Despite her anxiety and irritation, Diana felt a sense that something magical was about to happen, and if only she could find her way through to the right path, she could almost reach out and touch it.

  Harry was not feeling the magic. His head was thumping, and he felt heartsick at what he’d said to Josie. She had looked so hurt when he’d talked about delaying the wedding and the last thing he’d ever wanted to do was cause her pain. Harry wished she’d given him time to explain properly, but she’d run off into the darkness and now he didn’t know where she’d gone.

  He wasn’t even sure which direction he should be looking in. Perhaps he should think about heading home. Maybe Josie had gone straight back there. He’d find her, sit her down, have a proper chat, and sort it all out. They’d had a silly misunderstanding, that was all; it could be easily resolved. Descending the cliff path, he found himself walking through woods which swayed gently in the breeze. The soft calls of owls and the odd rustling in the bushes were the only sounds to disturb him. After he’d been walking about ten minutes, he found himself in a clearing. In the far distance he could hear the rhythmic roar of the waves. There was a real sense of something – magic? – in the air. Harry paused for a moment and then sat down. He didn’t know why.

  Then he heard voices. He got up gladly. Maybe it was Josie. But as the voices came nearer, he realised they were male voices.

  ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘it’s you.’

  ‘Hello, Harry,’ Freddie was all urbane charm, while Auberon Fanshawe huffing and puffing behind him nodded hello, and Will wandered nonchalantly behind them with a camera.

  ‘I thought you were going to show me where Tati is,’ Auberon grumbled. ‘Where in God’s name are we?’

  ‘I believe we’re not too far away from the farm where she’s camping,’ said Freddie with a smile.

  ‘Tati, camping? I’d like to see that,’ snorted Auberon.

  ‘I believe it’s more of a glamping experience,’ said Freddie, ‘she’s holed up in a yurt with all mod cons. But I’m hoping she might be up for a little midnight adventure.’

  ‘What did you say to her?’ said Auberon.

  ‘I may have possibly suggested subliminally that if she wanted that part, a late-night assignation at the theatre might be the thing,’ said Freddie. ‘You’re not getting cold feet, are you? It was your idea.’

  ‘No,’ said Auberon, but he didn’t sound too convinced.

  ‘Ah, Midsummer Eve,’ said Freddie, breathing a deep sigh. ‘Such a magical night, don’t you think? You could almost believe fairies and elves and Cornish piskies exist, couldn’t you?’

  ‘Tommy rot,’ said Auberon.

  ‘Um, I think I gave up believing in fairies some time ago,’ said Harry.

  ‘Oh well,’ said Freddie. ‘How’s the experiment going?’

  ‘Not well at all,’ said Harry. ‘I can honestly say that if I get through this evening, I will never be hypnotised ever again. Thanks to you, Josie’s run off and I don’t know where she is.’

  ‘So no one’s plighted their troth yet.’

  Harry rolled his eyes.

  ‘The likelihood of Diana and Ant ever making it is somewhat less than zero, and thanks to me getting a dose of verbal diarrhoea as a direct consequence of your hypnotism, my fiancée isn’t speaking to me.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Freddie. ‘I’m sure it will all be all right in the end. Why don’t you go and find her and have a chat?’

  ‘That was the plan,’ said Harry, ‘but I’m not sure where she’s gone.’

  ‘Well, we’re heading for the theatre,’ said Freddie. ‘If I see her, I’ll tell her to meet you there.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Harry. ‘It’s a deal.’

  Josie had planned to go back to the Standing Stones, to see if the others were there. She really wanted to talk to Diana and ask what she thought. A bit of her thought maybe she’d been unfair on Harry. Perhaps he was right, maybe they had rushed things – but it had been a bit of a shock, hearing that he still wanted to go travelling. He’d mentioned it when they first got together, but she hadn’t realised he was serious about it. Josie felt a little stab of guilt. She knew Harry really wasn’t happy in his job. Working on a local rag for London suburbia covering school fetes, lost pets and the occasional petty crime wasn’t exactly what Harry had had in mind when he left the journalism course he’d taken after uni. Josie could remember all those years ago, when they first met, he’d had the burning ambition to be a prizewinning journalist. That wasn’t going to happen at the Hornsey Echo, but she hadn’t twigged that he was so determined to do travel writing. Harry had mentioned it once or twice, but in such a diffident manner, Josie had assumed he wasn’t that serious.

  She couldn’t help feeling it was partly Ant’s fault. No doubt he’d been stirring Harry up with thoughts of getting away and finding his freedom again. Despite Ant’s intervention the previous day, Josie didn’t quite trust him. He was so against marriage – or commitment even, Josie had read the excoriating email he’d sent Harry when Ha
rry told him they were moving in together – he couldn’t seem to bear it happening for other people.

  Josie had reached a fork in the path; one way carried on round the coast, and another path went down to the openair theatre. A third made its way down to a pretty little beach where she’d spent much of her teenage years having illicit barbies on the beach.

  Josie struck off for the cliff path and, hearing voices, thought for a moment it must be Diana or Ant, but as she came further up the path, she realised the sounds were coming from a field where she could make out a brightly lit campsite – oh of course, this was the new place Mum had mentioned recently. A smart young couple from London had moved in and converted an old farm into a luxury caravan site, complete with yurts, and log burners, and ‘massage parlours’, according to Mum. Josie had checked, and it turned out there was a healing tent offering everything from Ayurvedic massage to hot stone therapy. And according to Mum, it was where Tatiana Okeby and her entourage were staying.

  ‘Please don’t go, Tati,’ she heard the high-pitched voice of Gray M’stard pleading, ‘Darling, you might get lost out there.’

  ‘Who knows what creatures are lurking in the woods,’ said the flighty little assistant, whom Josie had heard Tati refer to as Gypsy.

  Their voices were getting nearer, they were clearly heading across the fields for the path she was on.

  ‘Will you all stop making such a fuss,’ said Tatiana grandly. ‘I am going for a little walk down to the woods, where I am going to meet Mr Slowbotham and discuss this part further.’

  ‘But why so late?’ said the final member of the entourage, Ariadne, Josie thought she was called. ‘What if he’s an axe murderer?’

  ‘Hallo there,’ called Josie, ‘it’s me, Josie, I met Tatiana yesterday. You really don’t need to worry. ‘I’ve known Mike all my life, I can promise you he isn’t an axe murderer.’

  ‘You see,’ said Tatiana triumphantly. ‘There really is no need to worry. Mike wants me to perform for him at midnight, so as to get the ambience right. I think it’s a wonderful idea. Now please, children, leave me be. I’ll be fine. This young lady seems to know her way round, so I’m sure she won’t mind escorting me to the theatre.’