Who knew how much a, ‘Me too!’ or a ‘You think that’s bad…’ could mean?
I even found myself telling him what little I knew about my birth mother, which he responded to with such sincerity, I wept.
We spotted an osprey swooping, emerging from the sea with a fish glistening in its beak, and watched a family of rabbits. An older couple walking with a pair of red setters were the onlypeople, except for yellow-clad figures on fishing boats and ferry passengers waving on their way to Ireland.
Sticky Formica tables, strip lights and LED screens felt like relics from a distant time.
‘Ah, I have to go,’ Pip said eventually, checking his watch. ‘I can leave the blanket if you wanted to tarry a wee bit longer?’
‘No, I’ll come now.’ I had a stash of letters in my bag, and needed to match them up with the others before I started reading.
We were quiet for most of the walk back. I couldn’t guess Pip’s thoughts, but hoped they might in some ways echo mine.
It seemed they did, when he paused by the farmhouse door.
‘I have to get changed, then meet Da in the fields, if you’re grand making your own way back from here?’
‘Of course. Your mum said she’d leave the bike by the far gate. Is that the one near the pond?’
‘Aye. That’s it. Well. Enjoy the rest of your day, Emmie.’ He looked away, hand gripping the back of his neck, which I was learning meant he felt nervous. ‘I had a bonny time.’
‘Me, too.’ Ifbonnymeantthe best two hours of my life so far. ‘Thanks so much for taking me.’
‘So… would you maybe…? Sunday afternoons, we usually head to the beach. I mean, Lily’s probably already mentioned it. I wouldn’t want you to feel obligated to spend your whole time here with the Hawkinses… but, well. We swim, chuck a ball around. Light a bonfire when it cools down. You’d be very welcome, if you don’t have any other plans.’
‘That sounds amazing. I’d love to, thank you.’
He grinned, a twinge of pink blooming beneath the farmer’s tan.
‘Lily’s bound to invite you too, so you don’t have to bother about coming as Pip’s girl.’
There was a part of me starting to feel more bothered that Iwouldn’tbe her.
16
I floated across the lawn, waving my fingers at the tadpoles in the pond and nodding hello to a pair of ducks. The bike was where Rosemary had promised, and I grabbed on with gusto, looking forward to sailing back along the path to Sunflower Barn.
It took me a couple of seconds to notice that the handlebars were damp. Sticky, I realised as I snatched my hands away. I sniffed them, only to recoil in horror.
I had no idea what that stench was, but I imagined a dead fish had possibly been involved.
I dug through my bag for a tissue to try to wipe it off, then checked the rest of the bike. The saddle was splattered with the same liquid. Using the remains of my water bottle, I did my best to clean off the worst of the mess, but the lingering smell still triggered my gag reflex if I bent too close.
My buoyant mood evaporated. I wheeled the bike home, the return journey seeming far longer than it had previously, and not simply because it was alone and uphill.
Lily was heading out to pick the kids up from a birthday party when I arrived back.
She started to ask how lunch had been, before coming to an abrupt stop, whipping around and promptly vomiting in the nearest bush. I hastily wheeled the bike back to the furthest part of the drive, then fetched a glass of water and a napkin from the kitchen.
‘What fresh hellwasthat?’ Lily spluttered, gratefully accepting the water. ‘Smells like you fell in a pile of rotting fish guts, then tried to wash it off in the septic tank.’
‘It was on the bike when I came back from lunch. I wondered if an animal had sprayed on it.’
Although that wouldn’t explain why it was only on the handlebars and saddle.
‘No animal I’ve ever come across.’ She frowned, giving a tentative sniff from the safety of several metres away. ‘Where had you left it?’
‘Your mum wheeled it to the far gate. Maybe someone walking along the footpath tipped something over the hedge?’
