Sunshine and Second Chances

by Kim Nash

  That was all Debs needed to hear to motivate her. It had been literally years since she remembered anyone saying that they were proud of her. Liv jogged on the spot while Debs closed the gate behind her, and they set off walking down the small cul-de-sac at a brisk pace.

  ‘Right, we’re going to do a small run now,’ said Liv. ‘You see that tree at the bottom of the road? We’re going to run to that.’

  ‘Shit, Liv, that looks miles away.’

  Liv laughed. ‘It’s about five hundred yards. And you are just going to do a gentle run. Nothing more. I think you’ll surprise yourself.’

  They started to jog.

  ‘You need to remember to breathe, Debs.’ Liv laughed, but she was right. Debs was literally holding her breath. ‘I always remember that about you at uni. When you went swimming you used to hold your breath from one end of the pool to the other. You must remember the breathing. Once you get your breathing right it’ll make life so much easier. Inhale deep breaths through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. I always remember that about you at Uni. When you went swimming you used to hold your breath from one end of the pool to another. You must remember the breathing. It’ll make life so much easier.’

  Debs knew that Liv knew what she was talking about, and Debs knew that she needed to take notice of Liv. There was no point doing it her way. She didn’t know best, even though in the past she thought she did. She needed Liv to help her and would do everything she told her to.

  Before she knew it, they were at the tree.

  ‘OMG! I. Did. It!’ she wheezed.

  Liv high-fived her. ‘You did. Well done. Now let’s power walk for a bit and then we’ll find another marker and run again.’

  ‘Are you sure I’m not ruining your running time, Liv? I do feel bad.’

  ‘I feel really good to be helping you, matey, so please don’t worry. Let me help. It’s nice to have someone depend on me for different reasons than my family do.’

  ‘Is everything OK at home, Liv? You’ve made a few comments this week that make me feel otherwise.’

  ‘Nothing that a few days away won’t cure, I’m sure. I’ll talk about it when I’m ready, Debs, I promise. But right now, I don’t want you to think about talking. I just want you to focus on your breathing. Now, you see that supermarket on the corner up ahead? We’re going to run to that.’

  ‘OK, let’s go!’

  Debs was a perfect student. It made Liv feel great to help her. She loved being able to help people. It made her feel valuable. At home, she just felt used, not needed for being her. Just needed because they relied on her. She felt free here, free from being responsible for others, but also guilty because she was enjoying having some space to herself, some time to free up her head and think about other things than her family. She felt bad because she was really enjoying it.

  ‘I’m so bloody proud of you, Debs. I really am.’

  ‘I’m feeling pretty proud of myself right now. I can’t believe I did that.’

  ‘You did so well. You’re not as unfit as you thought you were. Each day, you can do a bit more and keep building, until eventually you’ll be doing more running than walking and there’ll be no stopping you.’

  ‘And it’s so much easier when you breathe too.’

  They both laughed as they walked through the front door. Samantha was just walking through to the lounge area and looked most surprised to see Debs with Liv.

  ‘I’m helping Debs start to run,’ Liv explained.

  ‘Good for you, Debs,’ Samantha replied. ‘You should do that for a living, Liv. I bet you are very motivating. I know some personal trainers are all shouty and sergeant-major like, but that would piss me right off and I’d probably end up thumping the person who shouted at me.’

  ‘Well, I know it’s only my first time today, but I’ve made a start and it felt good. And you’re right, Samantha, Liv is really patient and encouraging. You should think about doing it for a job, Liv. You could really help people to transform themselves. You’d be brilliant.’

  ‘That’s really nice of you to say so, ladies, but I think you’re overselling me. I’m nowhere near good enough to teach people. Might be something to think about, though. I could train to do something like that. I’m going up for a shower, see you in a bit. I’m starving now. Ready for breakfast.’

  As Liv slathered herself in her Jo Malone English Pear and Freesia shower gel that she’d treated herself to at the airport, she mulled over what Samantha and Debs had said. Perhaps there was something in it. She loved to help people. She’d always loved helping people to choose clothes, too, when that had been her job. Perhaps she could help people transform themselves. She’d always loved helping people to choose clothes too. Maybe she could mix being a helping hand to someone to keep fit or lose weight, or both, with helping them revive their wardrobes or make shopping decisions. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. She’d run it by the girls over breakfast and see if they had any bright ideas.

  And, oh boy, did they have ideas! Over endless cups of freshly ground coffee, warm croissants and fresh fruit and yoghurt, her friends inspired her further. Fiona suggested that Liv became a personal shopper and set up a Facebook page advising people on style and putting different outfits together. Samantha suggested that she also set up a blog and looked at getting sponsorship from clothes companies. Debs suggested that she might be able to team up with a make-up artist and teach people how to have a new look. Liv also tested out the idea that she could work with Mikey, doing inspirational holiday breaks, maybe even in Portugal. That idea got a huge ‘ooh’ from them all and they volunteered to be her first clients.

  Between the four of them, they’d got Liv’s mind working overtime. She was excited and energised. She hadn’t felt like this for a very long time. And it felt really good.

  Liv sat back and looked at these women who she’d known for over thirty years. They’d lost a little of their friendship over the decades, as their lives moved in different directions, but they had never lost touch totally and were always there for each other. She knew that if she hadn’t spoken to any of them for months, then rang them up at three a.m. and said she needed them right then, they would be there without fail. Friends like that were priceless. Friends that you knew you could rely on no matter what.

  She hoped that they would all return from this break in Portugal feeling lighter and more at ease with the world.

  A wonderful thing happened when you put strong women together. They lifted and inspired each other. They motivated and encouraged each other. They supported and spurred you on to do better and to be the best version of yourself that you could be. This is how she’d felt when they were friends at uni and in their younger lives. And this was exactly how she felt right now. She was so glad she had invited them along on this holiday. She didn’t think they’d ever realise just how much she needed their friendship at this stage of her life and how much this holiday might already have made a big difference to her and how she felt.

  Twenty

  ‘Car’s here!’ Liv yelled from the hallway.

  Fiona and Samantha came bounding down the stairs. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to come, Debs? Sure you’d rather spend the day with Eduardo than us?’ They giggled.

  ‘Erm, let me think about that for a moment?’ Debs grinned mischievously. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind really, girls?’

  ‘God, if I had the chance to spend the day with a gorgeous man with a sexy bum and a Portuguese accent or go out with you lot for the day, I know what I’d be choosing. Adeus, meus amigos!’ Samantha put on a sun visor, looking quite the golfing part in her navy pedal pushers, white vest top and white pumps.

  ‘Don’t do anything we wouldn’t,’ Fiona shouted, followed by a very dirty laugh.

  Liv touched her arm. ‘Have a great day, darling. See you later.’

  A knock at the door made Debs catch her breath and she took one last look at herself in the bedroom mirror. This was becoming a habit, th
at was twice now in as many days. Maybe mirrors weren’t her nemesis after all. Maybe she was her own worst enemy. She turned this way and that and decided that she looked quite nice. Her hair had dried naturally, so it was wavy and softly feminine, looking a little blonder from the sun. Her face was definitely looking more sun-kissed than when she arrived, but the main difference was that she couldn’t stop smiling.

  She slipped her feet into her sparkly flip-flops, scooped up the bottom of her maxi dress in her hand and skittered down the stairway. As she pulled open the door, Eduardo was standing down the path, leaning up against a shiny red-and-silver moped. She threw her head back and laughed out loud. ‘And you expect me to go on that, in this dress? Shall I go and change?’

  Without breaking eye contact, Eduardo walked towards her, only stopping when he was so close that she could feel his soft breath on her face, and she could smell the musky tones of his aftershave. Her lips parted and she let out a sigh. It was if she had physically swooned like in the old movies.

  ‘You are perfect, just as you are, Debs. We will manage.’ He kissed her cheek tenderly and held out his hand to her, which she took. ‘Although I am sorry, but you will have to wear a helmet over your pretty hair,’ he said.

  She closed the door behind her and they walked down the garden path to the moped. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and as he touched her skin, she shivered.

  ‘You will have to put your arms around me and hold me tight.’

  Debs grinned. ‘I’m sure I can manage that!’

  He handed her a white helmet and he shook it gently to make sure it was on safely and fastened it at her chin. All the while, he didn’t take his eyes from hers. Bloody hell. He was beautiful and she was mesmerised by his piercing eyes. He put his helmet on, gave her a wink and they both mounted the bike. There was something incredibly sexy about sitting so close to this man and wrapping her thighs around his.

  ‘OK, hold me tight! We will not go fast though. I promise I take care of you.’

  She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her breasts up against his back. She was glad that she’d thought to put her denim jacket on, so he couldn’t feel her nipples harden through the fabric. She told herself to calm down but couldn’t stop giggling and wondered what the girls would say if they could see her now.

  Twenty minutes later, they arrived at an out-of-town shopping area. Eduardo dismounted and steadied her as she alighted the moped and stretched her legs. He helped her to take off her helmet and she shook out her hair. Luckily, helmet hair suited her natural waves; she was glad she hadn’t spent ages straightening it this morning.

  ‘You OK?’ he enquired.

  She still couldn’t stop smiling and nodded.

  He took her arm and folded it into his and they walked towards a row of shops. She had no idea where they were going but they headed towards a shop called Crafty Cockney. Through the window, she could see someone sitting at a sewing machine and wondered what sort of shop it was. She was still none the wiser until they walked through the door and she saw a huge shelf stacked high with colourful arts and craft materials.

  ‘Alright, Eddie darling, how are you? Haven’t seen you for a while. What brings you here today?’ A larger-than-life lady, with a heavy London accent and bright-red hair which matched her lipstick perfectly, greeted Eduardo by kissing him on both cheeks.

  ‘This is my good friend, Debs. She likes to do the crafts, but she has nothing here with her, so I bring her to you, Margo, to help her to get some basic things for her to make a start.’

  ‘Oh, Eduardo.’ Debs put her hand on her heart. ‘That’s so kind of you.’

  He brushed her cheek with his lips. ‘I will be back in half one hour. Margo, may I just have a word outside, please?’

  ‘Have a look round, me darling. I’ll be back in a jiffy.’

  Debs had always been a tactile person and couldn’t help stroking the rolls of colourful cotton and stunning silk fabric as she glided her hand along the shelves which were full to bursting. Other shelves held millions of different coloured balls of wool, with every sized knitting needle and crochet hook that you could possibly ever need, to racks and racks of paper for crafting, knitting and crochet patterns, sewing kits and cross-stitch patterns. This was a real treasure trove, there were so many glorious things in this shop, she didn’t know where to look first.

  She was in a little world of her own when Margo came back into the shop. ‘Alright, sweets?’

  ‘Oh, Margo, what a wonderful shop. Is it yours?’

  ‘It sure is, been here for over ten years.’

  ‘It’s just fabulous. Have you lived in Portugal for long?’

  ‘I came out on holiday once twenty-five years ago and had a holiday romance. Went back to London and missed the bare bones of him. I had a shitty job in a factory, which I hated. So I took a gamble and prayed to the gods that he felt the same. We didn’t have mobile phones in those days to keep in touch like we do now. I packed my job in, sold everything I had, booked a one-way ticket and I’ve never been back.’

  ‘Goodness me. What a story.’

  ‘Well, I always think you have to look back and regret the things you’ve done, rather than regret the things you haven’t done. I might have wondered for all of my life if I should have done it, if I hadn’t.’

  ‘Wow! It’s so brave, though. So you’ve been together since then?’

  ‘No, he turned out to be a total wanker, and after about three weeks I couldn’t stand the sight of him, so I dumped him and shacked up with his best mate instead.’ Her face lit up as she grinned widely, and Debs realised how much she liked her warm openness and total honesty, even when she’d only just met her. ‘Josep and I have been married for eighteen years and we have two children. He’s a chef. And he still makes my heart sing. Oh and he’s Eduardo’s brother.’

  ‘Ah! So your Josep is the handsome man who cooked our dinner the other evening. Wow. It’s such a small world.’

  ‘Ah, it’s all making sense now. Pep, I call him, did come home and say that he’d met four glamorous ladies up at one of the big villas on the hill that overlooked the sea. How funny. Now Eduardo, he doesn’t often have lady friends. Don’t tell him I told you this, but he had his heart broken a long time ago and has never really bothered with women since. But the way he looks at you, it’s different. I can tell that he likes you very much. He lights up around you.’

  Debs fiddled with the cuff on her denim jacket and her cheeks flushed. ‘I like him too. I really like him.’

  ‘How wonderful. Let’s have a cuppa and we can chat more before he comes back. I’ll text him and tell him to be a bit longer. Anyway, he’s also just paid me one hundred Euros and said you need to choose some craft materials.’

  ‘I can’t let him do that. That’s way too generous of him.’

  ‘Oh let him, darling, he’s got no one else to spend his money on. There’s something to be said for not having loads of kids, you know. Bloody leeches.’ She winked as she walked to the corner of the shop and turned to fill the kettle in the sink.

  Pinned to the wall was a list of craft workshops Margo ran in the shop, and Debs wished with all her heart she was staying longer. She would have loved to come to some of the pottery painting. It was something she’d always wanted to do and never got around to trying. There were some sewing workshops that she’d have loved to do too. She made a mental note to make sure that when she got home she looked up some similar places she could go to. She felt excited about getting involved in craft-making again. It surprised her that she’d forgotten how much she used to enjoy spending her weekends doing arts and crafts and also how good she was at it.

  They chatted as if they’d known each other for years, and Debs felt Margo was someone who, in different circumstances, she would have loved to be good friends with. She felt a shiver, and when she glanced up, Eduardo was looking at her through the window. He was so handsome and when he smiled at her, her heart flipped every time. Debs still co
uldn’t believe that he had brought her here today and treated her to a shopping spree. Dave would never have done anything like this. He always thought she was wasting time if she sat and did something crafty at home. It was OK for him to sit and watch football on the TV for hours on end, but he seemed to hate her sitting and doing something which she loved and which she found relaxing too. It was so hard at one point, because she’d get out her craft stuff and put it on the dining-room table where she was working and Dave would throw it all into a cardboard box, messing everything up.

  He certainly never respected anything she was doing. She didn’t know Eduardo well, but she had the feeling that he would always treat her with respect. It was such a shame that in a few days she’d be flying home. She couldn’t help but wish that things were different. But she wasn’t going to spoil this precious and wonderful time by wishing it away. She was determined she was going to make the most of every single minute.

  Eduardo was so considerate that he’d even thought to bring a rucksack with him, so Debs could pack the things she’d bought in the bag on the journey back. As Margo waved them off from the doorway of Debs’ new favourite shop, literally in the whole world, she snuggled into Eduardo’s back, her arms around his waist. He reached behind and squeezed her arm. She felt that this man could protect her from anything.

  They arrived back at the villa just after one p.m.

  ‘Will you stay for lunch, Eduardo?’

  ‘I would like that very much.’

  Debs threw together a salad and some cold meats with some more of the delicious fresh bread that was left on the doorstep every morning by the local baker. They chatted comfortably over lunch, the language difference not being a barrier in any way whatsoever. She asked him to teach her some more Portuguese words. She could listen to that accent all day long. She was quite sure that if he read out a shopping list in his sexy voice, she’d melt.