‘So, it’s really important we watch very carefully, don’t you agree, Dev?’
‘I do, now drink up, Kam, and we’ll go and get a good spot. Right at the front.’
They both started to pull on him again, dragging him to where they wanted him, his pint sploshing down the side of his glass. What was amusing him a second ago was about to lose its sheen very quickly.
Dragged to the front of the gathering crowd he raised his hand to wave to those taking part: Matt Masters, who was in a team with Sylvie from school, Sylvie’s partner, Alex, and some tall blonde man who looked like there was no obstacle he couldn’t merely stride over, all Thor-like.
The Parkins, however, were studiously avoiding his eye. Pippa was in some bizarre towelling cloak thing that looked like something a Victorian may have taken to the seaside and failed to respond to his waving. Her brother, though, finally caught his eye and winked before putting his thumb up.
He saw Alice, the teaching assistant in the frightening Mrs Adams’ class, who was on the church team along with Dan the vicar – who still looked like he had come straight from Hollywood casting and not like he should be in a dog collar – and a couple of weathered-looking older men. Kam knew that they were the local bell-ringers, so although older than the other teams, they had a strength to their upper arms that would make them a hard group to beat.
Suddenly, there was a screech of white noise that caused everyone’s head to turn towards Roger, who stood next to the little stage and was tapping on a microphone.
‘Hello, everyone, and welcome to Penmenna’s It’s-a-Knockout. The last event of Feast Week before you all head back to mine for a taste of the legendary Smuggler’s Scuttlebutt.’ He delivered this welcome address in a deadpan way that couldn’t have been less welcoming. Kam wondered if putting him in charge was an example of Penmenna humour. Roger went on to outline how the course would work before concluding that, unusually, the band would accompany the first part of the course, where the team members would be expected to take turns running through a huge inflatable course climbing, swinging, sliding, jumping and collecting puzzle pieces that they would have to assemble into something that hopefully made sense at the end.
‘However, this is Penmenna, so nothing is ever straightforward and I think you’ll find we’re going to have a surprise up our sleeve as this plays out. Keep your eyes peeled. You don’t want to miss the competition this year.’ And with a flourish, most out of character, he motioned to the band, who were still tuning up.
As he waited to see what would happen next, Kam felt his father place his hand on his shoulder. Kam turned a fraction to acknowledge his father, not a man prone to spontaneous displays of affection.
‘It suits you here, Kam.’
‘Thanks, Dad. I do love it. I can see myself staying for a while.’
‘I think you should. You seem to have fitted in well.’ Dev squeezed his shoulder and nodded three times. That was his way of saying ‘I’m proud of you, son’, and Kam felt pride of his own whoosh over him. He was proud to be part of his family, proud that his father had forgiven him. He gave his dad a pat on the shoulder that he knew would be interpreted as it was meant, as an ‘I love you, Dad’.
He turned back to face the stage, knowing his father wouldn’t want this dragged out, to see Rosy walking on stage with a microphone. He knew she could sing, her voice had been outstanding during the Sea Shanties – pure, confident and clean – and now she started to sing into the mic, scanning the crowds as she did so. Then Ethel, brandishing a saxophone, began to play, swiftly followed by the others, Flynn at their heels barking along. He tried to follow the song – he recognised the lyrics – and was just focusing in when the whole band paused, even the dog who appeared to have faultless timing. Roger shouted ‘one two three’ into the mic and all four teams got on their marks. Nothing unusual so far, apart from Pippa, who appeared to be slipping out of her towel thing – oh my gosh, she was! – to reveal that spandex outfit that had a sweet, sweet spot in his heart. Only now it had been redesigned and patched with bits of red to resemble the costume of an old-fashioned jester. All the teams started to run and Rosy carried on with her song, a song about being a fool in love.
Cogs began to whirr in Kam’s brain and as he saw his mum and dad’s expectant faces looking at him, he had a feeling something big was about to happen but he had no idea what.
Meanwhile the crowds were cheering. Pete had grabbed Pippa as she completed the course and brought back her part of the puzzle ramming a jester’s hat onto her head. By the time Rosy’s song finished, the young farmers seemed to be in the lead with three of their pieces assembled, whilst the other teams still only had two apiece, when suddenly the band burst into another song, this one much more recognisable.
Out of nowhere his sisters appeared on the course. They were going to get in the way and cause an accident if they didn’t move soon, but Mickey, still tuneful for one missing so many teeth, belted out Stop! In the name of love and the whole course froze. The vicar had his leg half over a bit of the inflatable, others were mid run, one with a puzzle piece but they all paused in their positions. Was this usual? Kam couldn’t remember seeing this before in any knockout games he had witnessed.
Pippa, the only contestant moving, turned and faced Kam, a look of utter fear on her face. He had never seen her so pale. He still wasn’t sure what was happening but he knew the compulsion to race towards her and wrap her up, protect her from whatever was making her look that way was strong. He started to move, but his father gently, silently placed his hand on Kam’s arm, keeping him where he was as his sisters moved behind Pippa and gave her the mic Rosy had been using for the previous song. The whole field, which had been murmuring as everyone froze, now stood stock still and silent, waiting to see what would unfold.
This was excruciating, what was happening?
‘Stop! In the name of love.’ Pippa’s voice pierced the silence as she took over singing the song, but with no accompaniment from the band. Her voice started off a little wobbly but soon began to soar, albeit slightly off-key. His sisters launched themselves into some kind of dance routine that would have been funny if it had been a boy band, but was even more hilarious as his sisters did it, although he couldn’t help but notice that somehow over the years they had changed from clumsy lumps with no coordination into graceful young women.
But it wasn’t upon them that his gaze rested. Instead, he could feel his heart beat faster and faster as Pippa continued to torture the song and the entire field stood there watching her.
He heard a snigger from behind him, and he turned quickly to give the group of small boys, all of whom he recognised from Class Three, a look so stern it would have scared his own mother, who at this moment in time was looking all misty-eyed at Pippa as if she was a fairy queen, granting happiness to all.
He turned back and locked his eyes on Pippa’s, holding them there as she butchered the song all the way to the end. He wasn’t sure why she was doing this but it was very cute, and yet she didn’t seem any less frightened as the song came to a close. He noticed out the corner of his eye that the vicar was trying to get off the inflatable as discreetly as he could, and Matt Masters looked like he might be beginning to have cramps in his leg, yet they all stayed as still as possible.
Pippa stopped singing, and still clutching her microphone started to walk away from her team and from his sisters, and right over towards him.
Oh wow.
What was she about to do?
He didn’t know how to react, what to do with his body. Was she really doing this and coming over to him? His breath was increasingly ragged as he looked at this brave, brave woman who had captured his heart all those months ago and then broken it into two after the best day and night of his life. Now she was walking to him with a microphone and for some reason his parents were here, standing behind him and making it quite clear that he wasn’t going anywhere. Not that he would. Not that he would ever do anything to upset or emba
rrass Pippa, who still looked scared but also incredibly determined.
But still this couldn’t be real. He was going to wake up any moment now and hear his sisters squabbling in the bathroom, not all standing in a field looking like they were about to cry.
Pippa stopped in front of him. Her eyes hadn’t left his as she marched her way across the field towards him, but now they flicked down to her feet and he watched her take a very deep breath before looking up at him again.
‘Hello,’ he mouthed at her, giving her the biggest smile he could muster.
If anyone had told him he would be standing in a field today having the whole of the Penmenna community and most of the people from all the surrounding villages staring at him he would have been mortified. Normally this would be the sort of thing that his nightmares were made of. Normally he would glance down at this point and realise he had no trousers on. But it appeared this was not a dream; he was fully dressed and surrounded by his family whilst the woman who had rejected him – yet he had remained totally infatuated with – was standing in front of him, dressed as a fool, having sung her heart out, loudly and really badly, in front of everyone.
‘Hello,’ she mouthed back. He watched her give her shoulders a little shake, and knew from that small motion that something else was coming.
‘Kam Choudhury, I want to take this opportunity to tell you that I am a fool.’ She spoke into the mic, her words loud and clear for all to hear, although there was a little shake to them. She gestured to her costume, slightly shaking her head and with that half smile that he knew was her what-am-I-doing? smile. ‘I made a huge misjudgement, ignored my intuition and as a result may have caused you hurt. I need you to know, in front of all these people here today, that I would never ever deliberately hurt you. I think that, with the exception of my own dad, you are the most honourable man I have ever met, and you combine that with being a man I have had so much fun with. We fit, you and I. We may have broken a rule or two while working together, but despite that it’s fair to say the whole community are out in force and willing us to sort out our differences.’ She nodded at Rosy, who had moved on to the assault course to stand next to her partner Matt, and was beaming over at the both of them, clearly giving her support for whatever this was. And what Kam thought it was, was almost too big for his head and his heart to compute.
Pippa took another deep breath and, still holding his eyes, continued her speech. ‘You wrote me a letter, but somehow Sheila got involved and I didn’t get it until this week. It made me cry. Everything you said, everything you have written mirrors exactly what I feel. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have met you, to spend time with you, and that is something I want to do for as long as you can bear it. Like I said, you and I fit together. It feels like I have found the other half of me, the half that I am meant to be alongside. The half I want to be alongside. I want to be able to tell you how much I care for you every single morning for the rest of my life.’
Kam thought his heart was going to power right out of chest, so he took a step forward, and then another. This had to be a dream. There was no way this woman was standing in front of him declaring her heart in front of their whole community. Although right now, he didn’t give a fig about anyone in this field apart from Pippa standing in front of him, dressed head to toe in red and yellow, and with bells on. He watched the grin spread across her face, practically ear to ear as he stood opposite her, toe to toe, so close he could feel her breath as she whispered ‘Hello,’ again and he whispered it back.
‘I haven’t finished.’
‘You are amazing. This is amazing.’ Kam’s arm swept to encompass the whole field, but his eyes remained locked on her. ‘I certainly have no problem with you telling me every single day how much you want to be with me.’
‘I do. I really do. You haven’t changed your mind, have you?’ Their voices, now they were so close, were low, intimate, meant for just the two of them, and the whole field was straining to hear.
‘I haven’t. I really haven’t. I cannot tell you how happy this is making me. You’ve been my everything almost since I first set eyes on you and now, somehow, you are stood in front of me saying everything I ever dreamed of. Pippa Parkin, you are the most wonderful woman I have ever met and I cannot believe my luck.’
Her eyes welled with tears, and he didn’t know if they were of relief, happiness or shock, but he did know there was only one thing left for him to do. As he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close, he lowered his lips to hers. He felt suffused in the glow of coming home, of the whole world being right, of his love being returned as she kissed him right back, as deeply, as passionately and as committed as he was and the entire field threw up a deafening cheer.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to say a huge thank you to my fabulous agent, Hayley Steed. She is a constant source of support and joy, always making me giggle, calming me down and boosting me up. You are awesome.
Another thank you has to go to my editor, Elizabeth Jenner for being so supportive, particularly when I had a poorly patch and panic earlier this year. And to Laura McCallen for her ever watchful eye. The whole team at Canelo are wonderful and I love working with you all. Keep inviting me to the parties, please.
A huge shout-out and thank you has to go to the very patient Bibek Khanal, who I ran to with concerns and niggles about this book and who guided me straight. Your advice was much needed and I cannot express how grateful I am for all your help.
My friends in teaching will still remain anonymous but much loved. As ever, I am so grateful you answer all my questions. It’s been a while since I was in the teaching game, so these updates are much needed.
And of course, the book community - writers, readers, bloggers and my much loved SisterScribes, your enthusiasm and support are invaluable, and I appreciate it more than I can say. A good review or a reader getting in touch are the things that bring the sunshine to the day and make it easier to keep on tapping away at the keyboard. So many of you have been kind, and said the loveliest things – it really means the world, thank you. Do feel free to get in touch with me on Facebook or Twitter, it’s always great to hear from you.
Finally, Jack and Katharine – even though you’re really old now, I still quite love you. You’ve remained pretty cute. No-one makes me laugh like you do, and no-one gives me such good, honest advice. You have never steered me wrong and I am so very proud of the adults you have become. Mad love. Namdi, you remain practically perfect in every way (and I remain in vocal denial everywhere but here). And of course, my parents, always having faith, it means the world. x
First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
57 Shepherds Lane
Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU
United Kingdom
Copyright © Kitty Wilson, 2019
The moral right of Kitty Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788633345
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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