39
With a small bottle of gin nestled in a basket over her arm, Nina strolled along beside Nancy. It was a gorgeous warm evening in Lovely Bay, and they were on their way to one of the secret chowder speakeasies. Nina still hadn’t quite got over the quaint little places, often hidden in someone’s home, a commercial building, or in a location you would least expect, but she knew that she loved them. She smiled as they crossed the road, walked over towards the central green, went underneath the huge old tree, and started to head towards the main part of the town.
'So, where are we going?' Nina asked.
Nancy chuckled. 'Have you not quite yet realised that you’re not allowed to ask that when you go to a speakeasy?'
Nina laughed. 'I thought by now I might be able to know.'
Sucking air through her teeth, Nancy then chuckled. 'You need to be fully initiated.'
Nina laughed. 'You mean, like, have a ceremony or something? Are you going to touch me on either side of my shoulders with a sword? Will I have to kneel and wear a robe? Are there any thrones involved?’
'Exactly,' Nancy giggled. 'Actually, we don’t kneel here. You’ll need to lie down on a marble slab, and we douse you in water, chant old folk songs from the area, and dance around you.'
Nina played along. 'Will the water be from the River Lovely?'
Nancy laughed. 'Yes, indeed. I think that’s how it goes.’
‘So, considering I’m marrying someone who is a fully sworn-in Lovely, when will this full initiation take place?'
Nancy nodded and laughed. 'When you have the ring on your finger, all sorts of new things are going to open up for you in Lovely Bay. Just you wait and see.'
Nina laughed. 'Like what?'
'You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?'
About ten minutes later, they crossed another one of the Lovely greens, went over a small bridge, and made their way up a narrow lane running up the hill.
'I don’t even think I’ve been to this side of Lovely Bay before, not many times, anyway,' Nina said.
'No?' Nancy questioned.
'No, where are we going up here? What’s up here?'
'Follow your nose.'
‘Oh, I see where we are,’ Nina said as they took a left turn and seemed to double back on themselves a bit and started going down again. ‘We’re heading towards the RNLI shed, aren’t we?’
Nancy chuckled. ‘We might be, we might not.’
Nina nudged Nancy with her elbow. ‘We are, wow, what a setting for it!’
Nancy lowered her voice. ‘A good setting, a really good setting, but not one of the best chowders in Lovely Bay in my humble opinion, but what would I know?’
‘Oh, right. I see.’
‘Never,everlet anyone know that, and definitely don’t say it was said by me.’
Nina nodded. ‘Secret’s safe with me.’
A few minutes later, they were in the back of the RNLI shed in what looked to be some sort of storeroom. A timber floor was lined with vast custom-made shelving units holding dinghies, rowing paraphernalia, oars, and all kinds of things. Strings and strings of fairy lights ran between the shelves and were layered liberally overhead, old rustic tables were adorned with not much other than candles in jam jars, and Nina could see a small kitchen area off to the right. Everything was rustic, shabby, and very Lovely.
The place was busy with Lovelies already seated as Nina and Nancy weaved their way through the tables. A couple of people smiled and said hello. Birdie jumped up from the far end, kissed both of them on the cheek, and then they sat down. Nina put her bottle of Hendricks on the table, pulled two glasses towards her, and started to pour them both a drink.
About half an hour or so after they’d arrived, a few drinks in and they were chatting about this and that when the chowder arrived. Nina dipped in, raised her eyebrows, and lowered her voice. 'Tastes really good to me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.'
Nancy laughed and whispered, 'You’re just not quite as advanced in your chowder palate as me.’
