44
Nina walked along the road beside Robby, strolling in the direction of the jetty not far from the High Street. With Faye in her pram, they watched as the riverboat puttered along, and Clive waved from the front. Nina smiled and waved. It was a bright day in Lovely Bay, with sunshine darting in and out of clouds and the riverboat was busy with people out and about. Robby bumped the pram wheels up over the ramp, wheeled it towards the front of the boat, put on the brake, and sat down.
‘Bonjour,’ Clive said as he approached. ‘How are you guys?’
‘We’re doing well. How’s baby Faye?’ Clive asked, peering into the pram where Faye was asleep.
‘She’s doing well, but she’s been quite unsettled, so we came out for a walk. She’s dropped off, thank goodness. We’re on our way to the hotel to check on that water leak it had.’
‘Oh yes, I heard about that. What was it in the end?’
‘Something to do with one of the drains,’ Robby replied. ‘It’s one of the main pipes that runs along through the back of the property there. It was blocked. We had to call the water people in the end.’
‘That doesn’t sound good. Garden full of water, wasn’t it? That’s what Birdie said.’ Clive asked.
Nina raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes, it was. And then, on top of that, all that rain we had didn’t help matters. Water everywhere! We’re popping down there to check it out.’
Robby nodded. ‘Combining it with getting Faye out for a walk, so hopefully, it'll settle her a bit.’
‘What’s wrong with her then?’ Clive asked. ‘Poor little sausage.’
‘Not really sure. She’s been quite grizzly.’
Clive sighed. ‘Not nice.’
‘Nope. Not nice for anyone involved.’ Nina agreed with a laugh.
About fifteen minutes or so later, they strolled towards The Summer Hotel and both grimaced as Faye stirred. Robby jiggled the pram, and Nina whispered, ‘Oh, that didn’t last very long, did it?’
‘Maybe she’ll drop back off.’
Nina peered into the pram as Faye closed her eyes again, looking as if she might go back to sleep. ‘Poor little thing.’
As they arrived at Robby’s aunt’s house, they knocked on the door. A couple of minutes later, June answered and beamed. ‘What a nice surprise. How is she? Feeling any better?’
Robby smiled. ‘Not really, she’s been quite unsettled, so we’ve brought her out for a walk. She did drop off, but she hasn’t been that happy.’
June tutted and shook her head. ‘Sad. Maybe it’s her tummy. What a sweet little cherry pie she is, though.’
‘She is. And guess who’s been booked into baby swimming lessons?’
June clapped her hands together. ‘That’s so cute.’
‘Yeah,’ Robby smiled, ‘I can’t wait to take her and see how she gets on. You’ll have to come.’
‘Daddy and baby going swimming, how sweet!’ June exclaimed.
‘Robby is taking her when I’m at work, so that works out nicely.’ Nina noted.
‘Fabulous!’ June enthused.
‘Anyway, June, how are you?’
‘Doing well. No complaints from me at my age.’ June replied and joked. ‘Still have all my own teeth, too.’
‘Ready for your trip to the caravan?’ Robby asked.
‘I can’t wait. I’m going to have lots of time to put my feet up and I have loads of good books to read. I’m sorted on that front.’
