Confetti at the Cornish Café

by Phillipa Ashley

  Cal points across the water at the spot where Lily can just about be seen, guiding the lifeboat towards her. She’s like a little ragdoll, picked up by the swell and dropped again, and she’s very quiet. Harry comes into view. There’s red on his face – he’s cut himself – but he’s somehow struggled free of the currents and has almost reached Lily. The lifeboat is closer now and Cal shouts: ‘There, over there,’ holding his arm straight to mark the spot.

  Fighting the churning surf, Harry reaches Lily and pulls her onto her back and starts to kick for the shore. The lifeboat nears them but Harry is already dragging Lily though the surf. Ben wades into the water but is almost knocked over by another large wave. Mawgan seems to have gone in at the edge of the sea too but I’m way more concerned about Louie again now.

  ‘I’m going down to the beach to help,’ Cal tells me.

  ‘I’ll keep an eye on Louie to make sure he stays put.’

  ‘OK, but be careful and don’t do anything stupid,’ Cal warns before clambering back over the rocks towards the beach.

  I make my way back towards Louie’s perch by keeping close to the overhanging cliffs at the very edge of the rocks. The cliffs are crumbly and there are danger signs up warning of rock falls but Louie is terrified and I daren’t leave him. The spray of the largest waves spatters my hair so I press closer to the cliff and edge, as close as I dare get to the wet and shivering Louie. I’m not sure he can hear me but I call him, gently, coaxing him. He creeps along the narrow ledge towards me and then, to my huge relief, jumps down onto a lower, broader ledge. Like a tiny mountain goat, he makes his way under the cliff overhang towards me.

  As soon as he’s within reach, I scoop him up and tuck him inside my coat.

  ‘You’ve scared us to death, boy,’ I say, soothing him and rubbing his soaked fur through my coat. He licks my hand. ‘At least you’ll live to fight another day.’

  On the beach, Cal is helping Harry carry Lily out of the surf. A drenched Ben is lying on the sand, with Mawgan kneeling over him, appearing to give him the kiss of life. Is he in a bad way too after a wave knocked him over? It’s Lily who concerns me most. Fortunately the RNLI have leapt out of their boat and are now taking over from Cal. Two paramedics are running down the sand towards everyone. Realising I’m shivering as much as little Louie, I make my way back over the rocks to the beach.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Over an hour later, I’m finally allowed into Lily’s hospital room where she’s still in a gown but sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling. Though pale and shaken, she’s fine after a thorough checkup by the doctors at the nearest large hospital. Harry has already been discharged and is on the phone to some of Lily and Ben’s people. Ben sits by Lily’s bed, holding her hand, with a neat dressing on his tanned forehead.

  ‘How’s Louie?’ she demands the second she spots me.

  I give her an encouraging smile. ‘Fine. A local vet checked him over and he’s now having a rest with Cal in the Land Rover. Cal’s fed him too. He had to have a pouch from the shop, not his special food. I hope that was OK?’

  ‘Of course it was. I’m sooo thankful he’s alive. Thank you so much for saving him. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t save him really. He scrambled out himself in the end,’ I say, embarrassed. ‘How are you and Ben and Harry?’

  ‘Harry’s calling his boyfriend, Giles,’ Ben says, scrolling through his phone, obviously having recovered very quickly from his ‘ordeal’ of being knocked over by a wave and ‘cared for’ by Mawgan.

  ‘We don’t know they’re actually partners, Ben,’ Lily cuts in.

  Ben snorts. ‘Don’t be naïve, babe. They’ve lived together all the time he’s been working for us and they’re not brothers or cousins, that’s for sure. They share a cottage near us in the Cotswolds and Giles has a gay pride sticker in his car.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s right for us to discuss Harry’s personal life.’ Lily lowers her voice even though there’s no one around to hear. ‘Harry’s had a tragic past. We ought to do a film about it. His father was an earl and when he was little they lived in a huge stately home in Gloucestershire. But his dad lost a fortune in a mining venture in Argentina and then he was killed in a helicopter accident.’

  ‘That’s awful,’ I say, not missing the fact that Lily is discussing Harry’s personal problems in detail after trying to protect his privacy. Not that I mind hearing more of Harry’s story, of course.

  ‘Harry’s brother, Piers, inherited the title and a load of debts so he sold what he could and went to work for an investment bank. Harry’s technically an Honourable.’

  Lily giggles but Ben snorts. ‘He’d kill you if you mentioned that to his face. He’d die of embarrassment.’

  ‘What’s an Honourable?’ I ask, not being an expert on aristocratic titles, surprisingly enough.

  ‘It means the younger son of an earl or viscount. I had to do lots of research into the peerage for one of my roles,’ Lily says, glaring at Ben and daring him to interrupt her. ‘Harry’s mum still lives in the dower house but she has to rent it off the tech company who own the big mansion now. Harry joined the paras and was a major until he was injured in an explosion in Afghanistan so he left to work in a close protection company. We met Harry’s brother and his mum at a party near where we live and they told us about Harry and that’s how he started doing our security. He’s amazing, really. I don’t know what we’d do without him. Like today.’

  Ben scrolls through his phone. ‘He did actually fall in, babe. That’s not exactly heroic and he did put you in danger. Why did you jump in after that bloody dog?’

  ‘Don’t start that again, Ben. Louie means everything to me.’

  He glances up at her. ‘Everything?’

  ‘Not everything. You all mean a lot to me. Louie, you and Harry. I couldn’t let him and Louie drown even though I know it was stupid now.’ Lily reaches for his hand to reassure him.

  ‘Harry and Louie were fine. What if I’d lost you? What would people have said? You put everyone in danger and God knows what might have happened if Mawgan hadn’t dragged me out after I was knocked against that rock by the waves. She saved my life, no thanks to Saint Louie the mutt.’

  Lily snatches her hand out of his. ‘Sometimes I hate you, Ben Trevone!’

  ‘Yeah, but what were you thinking of? Leaping in after a dog.’

  ‘A dog and a human. Don’t forget that Harry fell in while he was trying to help Louie. I was out of my mind with worry and I reacted instinctively.’ She lies back on the bed and curls up, facing away from him. ‘And I don’t want to hear any more about it. I just want to go home.’

  Hmm, I think, now is possibly not the best time to talk about their wedding. I also feel like pushing Ben back into a rock pool, and Mawgan with him. ‘Um. I think I’d better give you some time on your own. I’m going to see how Louie is.’

  Tears shining in her eyes, Lily turns back to me again. ‘Oh, thank you for taking care of him. Do you mind waiting with him until we can collect him? I think they’ll discharge me soon and our people are on their way, but I want him to be with someone he knows until then.’

  Lily is still very pale. She’s lucky to be alive and, possibly, I think the shock of her ordeal is starting to truly hit home. I smile. ‘No problem. Louie is a sweetheart and I know Cal will love to have him for as long as possible.’

  Well, a little white lie never hurt anyone, according to my Nana Demelza, so she’d be proud of me now. When I get back to the Land Rover, Cal is sitting in the driver’s seat checking his phone but puts it away as soon as he spots me. Through the passenger window I see Louie nestled in a scruffy tartan rug on the passenger seat, with one corner pulled over his little body. My heart goes out to him and to Cal, who must have tucked him in.

  Cal gets out. ‘How’s Lily?’ he asks.

  ‘Badly shaken up but more worried about her dog. How’s he doing?’

  ‘He’s had
another little stroll round the car park.’ Cal pulls a face and points to a small plastic bag on the passenger seat. ‘He seems none the worse for his swim but he’s knackered now and having a kip. I don’t blame him. What a day.’

  ‘You’re telling me.’

  ‘How are the other humans?’

  ‘Lily’s waiting to be discharged. Ben’s minor cut on the head has been stitched and Harry’s fine and when I left I heard him in the corridor, on the phone to his boyfriend, Giles.’

  ‘I thought that looking after Ben and Lily would have taken all his time up. They’re like a pair of kids.’

  I laugh. ‘Harry and Giles live in a cottage near to Ben and Lily in the Cotswolds when Harry’s not on the road with them. He has a tragic past, according to Lily.’

  ‘Join the club,’ says Cal, pulling me towards him and hugging me. ‘For once it wasn’t us in the water. I’m glad they’re OK and happy to have you in one piece even if you are a little wet.’

  He raises his eyebrows and I shake my head at his very naughty innuendo. It does remind me though that I’m still damp and starting to shiver in the cold evening air. Grimacing, I look down at my damp jeans, which are shrink wrapped to my thighs and in danger of cutting off my blood supply.

  ‘You’re soaked,’ Cal murmurs.

  ‘I’ve been too busy to do anything about it. You’re still wet too.’

  ‘I declined an offer of a gown from one of the nurses,’ he says and pulls a face. ‘I think their other patients needed them more.’

  ‘Funny. The nurses didn’t offer me one.’

  ‘Maybe the prospect of you getting naked in front of them wasn’t quite so appealing.’ He gives me a wicked grin.

  ‘You think they’re interested in you when they have the chance of getting their hands on Ben Trevone?’

  ‘It was worth a try … but you are wet and you have goosebumps on your goosebumps.’ He nods at the thin top underneath my coat which clings to my breasts, showing my nipples.

  ‘Even my knickers are wet after sitting in my soggy jeans for a couple of hours and the shops are all shut now, so I can’t even buy last season’s beachwear and a pair of Crocs,’ I say, starting to shiver. ‘Never mind. We’ll warm up in the Land Rover on the way home.’

  ‘We would if the heater wasn’t shagged. I keep meaning to get it fixed. Hmm.’ Cal rubs his face thoughtfully. ‘Polly asked me to take some of her stuff to the charity shop in St Trenyan last week and I still haven’t done it. It’s better than nothing.’

  Quietly, so as not to wake Louie, he opens the rear doors and points to a charity bag. I do hope the air ambulance charity shop won’t mind us borrowing a few pieces.

  I pull out a pair of leggings with holes in them. ‘I think they might be relieved. Have you seen some of this stuff? It’s only fit for the recycling skip.’

  ‘It’s dry and will keep us warm on the way home though,’ he says. ‘So hop in.’

  We can’t help making a bit of noise while we take off our clothes and rummage through the bags but Louie dozes on in his makeshift doggy bed, knackered after his adventure.

  ‘Tell you what,’ he says, eyeing me up as I strip to my knickers. ‘Let’s forget getting dressed at all.’

  ‘It’s one way of keeping warm but what if Louie wakes up?’

  ‘Good point, but I’m definitely going to have you as soon as we get home.’

  We’re not gonna make it that far, I think, drinking in the smooth tanned skin and muscled abs like a woman dying of thirst. Cal’s down to his boxers and delves in the bag for a pair of ancient trousers. ‘Jeez, I think these were my dad’s.’

  With a grimace, he pulls a pair of well-worn navy suit trousers over his calves and thighs. They’re two sizes too big round the waist and a few inches too short in the leg. They look like they’re about to fall down so he ties them up with a pink dressing gown cord. I giggle as he puts on a tatty olive sweatshirt with a fading logo on the front.

  ‘Penwith Scything Festival 1998,’ he says. ‘I think it must have been Polly’s partner’s. Who does any scything these days?’

  ‘No one I know. I think you look very stylish.’ I grab a piece of clothing before I die of cold. ‘Oh God, look at this.’ I hold up a striped silky dress with a pie-crust collar, shoulder pads and ribbon at the neck. ‘This was Polly’s “posh frock” when she was a teenager. She had it for Princess Diana’s wedding street party in St Trenyan. She told me she couldn’t bear to part with it until now but “seeing as Prince William worked for the air ambulance” she didn’t think HRH would mind, if she happened to be looking down.’

  Cal shakes his head in disbelief but I’m desperate now and there’s no way I’m squeezing back into those jeans, it would be like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. I also grab a hoodie with a broken zip and pull that on over the top.

  ‘Wow. I don’t think I can keep my hands off you but I think you need these to complete your ensemble.’

  Cal hands me a pair of fisherman’s socks with holes in the toes.

  ‘Oh, sexy.’ I pull them on, grateful to have cosy feet again. ‘I love your hipster trousers by the way. Very on trend.’

  Cal glances down at his bare ankles poking out of the trousers. ‘I think we need another fashion shoot.’

  ‘Our wet boots will have to do because I’m not driving home in fluffy slippers and broken flip-flops.’

  He kisses me over the open bag of clothes, which perfumes the air with a slightly musty scent. Louie is forgotten as we enjoy a wonderful warm snog surrounded by the contents of Polly’s wardrobe.

  ‘Why drive home yet at all? That lot will be ages.’

  ‘You know, I think you’re right.’ My resolve melts, not that I have any resolve where Cal’s concerned these days. We collapse in a heap on the floor of the Land Rover, with a pile of random garments for a bed. Cal tugs at the ribbon, pulling it loose and opening a modest ‘V’ in the dress. I slip my hands inside his trousers, which isn’t hard considering they’re much too big.

  ‘I love you,’ Cal whispers. ‘Even looking like a crazy woman who went nuts in the charity shop.’

  ‘Me too,’ I whisper, warming up rapidly. ‘Even smelling of mothballs.’

  ‘Mmm.’ Instead of diving on me, he hesitates and touches his forehead to mine. ‘There’s something I want to tell you.’

  ‘Go on, then.’

  Sharp yaps startle us and the Land Rover shakes as someone thumps the side.

  ‘Louie! Louie! Have you missed me?’

  We spring apart and I scramble to my knees.

  Cal groans and hisses at me. ‘It’s Lily.’

  ‘I know,’ I mouth. ‘We’d better get out.’

  ‘Hello. Anyone in there? Oh, I hope they haven’t locked Louie in their car on his own!’

  ‘I’m sure they wouldn’t do that. They must be inside.’ Harry’s voice is distinctive.

  ‘Should we break the window?’ Ben asks.

  ‘No, no, please don’t do that. We’re coming,’ I call.

  ‘Sadly, we’re not,’ Cal whispers but turns the handle on the rear door. Lily, Ben and Harry appear at the rear, with several new faces behind them, all of whom frown at us in total horror like they’ve come across two rough sleepers dossing down in a skip.

  Cal lets go of me. ‘Sod it,’ he mouths.

  ‘Louie!’

  ‘Yap, yap, yap!’ Louie scrambles over the back of the passenger seat, lands on a pair of pink jeans and then launches himself at Lily.

  She cuddles him and her eyes widen as she spots us sitting in the van.

  ‘Hello. We were trying to get out of our wet clothes and thought we’d use these old ones.’

  ‘The shops were shut,’ Cal says helpfully.

  ‘Who exactly are these people?’ asks a short woman with jet black hair caught up in a bun like a doughnut.

  ‘They’re the people arranging the wedding. Jade, this is Cal and Demi. They saved Louie.’ She kisses him again and his eyes close in
pleasure, which is more than I can say. A pale young guy with a man bun, a ginger wisp of beard and wearing a mismatched tweed suit glares at us down his long nose. Somehow, I don’t think he’s had to resort to the charity shop. That suit looks deliberate.

  ‘Jade’s my publicist and Addison is our agent,’ Lily says, then titters. ‘I love the outfits.’

  ‘Recycled chic,’ I mumble and scramble out of the car. My face must be the same colour as the lobster Cal had for lunch. He climbs down beside me and looks less like a hipster and more like a hobbit in the rolled-up trousers and braces. All he needs are hairy feet and pointy ears.

  ‘And you are the people in charge of organising Ben and Lily’s wedding?’ Addison asks, as if he’s found a slug in his quinoa salad.

  Mawgan pushes her way to the front of the group. ‘Oh, I’m sure it’ll be a memorable occasion with Demi in charge,’ she says in a voice that doesn’t match her eyes. ‘Demi’s appearances at events always are,’ she says, referencing the times when I ‘accidentally’ dropped food on her, ripped her dress and when Mitch took a liking to her. Oh shit, she must have told them about my past mishaps. Her butter-wouldn’t-melt act is slipping fast.

  ‘It’ll be fun,’ says Lily firmly, although I think even her breezy confidence in us is wavering judging by the doubt in her eyes. Perhaps it’s only her delayed shock, but I’ve a horrible feeling that Jade and Addison have a lot of influence over her.

  ‘If there’s anything I can do to help, you know where I am,’ Mawgan pipes up. ‘As a successful entrepreneur, I’m skilled at managing multiple projects and I’d be delighted to help my old friend Ben, and you too, Lily. It’s so exciting to be involved.’

  My heart sinks as Mawgan reels off her LinkedIn profile.

  Lily gives a weary sigh. ‘We’re going to our hotel to recover this evening but Jade will be in touch to confirm the time of my meet-up with you and Rachel at Kilhallon.’