There is a…an exhibition this evening, all different sports. Some of us are talking about what sport means to us,’ Guy said. He held onto his water glass and tried to look convincing.
‘God that sounds dull! Rather you than me, mate. Oh well, another time. Shall we order dessert? What was that one with the truffles?’ Daniel asked his wife.
‘I can’t remember what it was called but I do remember it was the most expensive dish on the menu,’ Gabriella said with a laugh.
Guy forced a smile.
Idiots
. Was this what his life was to be from now on?
Chapter Eighteen
August 2005
‘And now, the moment you have all been waiting for…Marco the Magician. Applause!’
The game show had been the lamest thing Emma had ever seen. Six red boxes and free raffle tickets for the audience. People with tickets corresponding to the numbers called were then invited on stage to choose a box. In some boxes were acceptable prizes, if you thought vouchers for the restaurant or a return visit to the holiday park were worth winning, and in the last box was a live snake that had almost escaped the grip of the host. Young children screamed and fled their seated positions on the floor in front of the stage and the game had been wound up pretty quickly after that.
Her dad had missed the whole event. His mobile phone had rung when the large woman staying three caravans along from them had been beckoned to the stage. He’d gone out to the lobby. Emma knew it was Marilyn. Who else would be calling him when he was on holiday? How could he think it was OK to be involved with another woman now? How involved with her had he been when her mother was still alive? She took a sip of her Orangina and picked up her book. It was
Dracula
by Bram Stoker. Another cheery read. At least this book wasn’t written in old English.
‘Vampires?’
Emma looked up and smiled, seeing Guy stood at her table. He was dressed up. He wore black trousers and a pale pink shirt that highlighted the darkness of his hair.
‘Is that the same word in French? Vampire?’
‘
Oui
,’ he replied, sitting down.
‘You can’t stay here. My dad’s here. He’s gone to make a phone call and…’ Emma started. She didn’t want her dad seeing Guy. Although Mike had seen them dancing together the night they first kissed, she didn’t want him to know she was involved with a boy. He would make a stupid comment about it. He would probably think, if she had a boyfriend, that it was OK for him to be moving on. It wasn’t OK. And Guy was hers. She didn’t want to share the knowledge of him with anyone.
‘Will you have dinner with me?’ he asked her, leaning forward across the table.
‘Dinner? Tomorrow? Like another picnic?’ Emma asked.
‘
Non
. Tonight. Dinner. I know a place,’ he whispered.
Her heart soared. A proper dinner. At a restaurant. Not barbequed sausages, lukewarm beans and a bread roll like her dad had been serving up all week. Her lips were moistening just thinking about it.
‘You can come?’ Guy asked her.
‘I…I don’t know. I want to, but…’ She looked out into the lobby and watched Mike on the phone. He was smiling. A wide grin crossed his mouth and then he let out a laugh that creased his entire face. He looked nothing short of joyful. It was wrong.
‘At nine? Meet me at the back
entrée
,’ Guy told her.
She looked up at him. His hair fell over his eyes and he smiled.
‘I’ll be there,’ she answered.
Looking to check no one could see, he moved his hand across the table and touched her fingers with his. A spark of electricity left her stunned and sent a current running through her. It reached places that she hadn’t known she could feel, inactive until now.
‘
À bientôt.
’ He left, made his way across the dance floor to the bar area.
A warm glow was filling her up, rising through her body as she watched him. And then it froze. She saw Tasha and Melody approach him. Tasha touched his arm. Her long,
‘God that sounds dull! Rather you than me, mate. Oh well, another time. Shall we order dessert? What was that one with the truffles?’ Daniel asked his wife.
‘I can’t remember what it was called but I do remember it was the most expensive dish on the menu,’ Gabriella said with a laugh.
Guy forced a smile.
Idiots
. Was this what his life was to be from now on?
Chapter Eighteen
August 2005
‘And now, the moment you have all been waiting for…Marco the Magician. Applause!’
The game show had been the lamest thing Emma had ever seen. Six red boxes and free raffle tickets for the audience. People with tickets corresponding to the numbers called were then invited on stage to choose a box. In some boxes were acceptable prizes, if you thought vouchers for the restaurant or a return visit to the holiday park were worth winning, and in the last box was a live snake that had almost escaped the grip of the host. Young children screamed and fled their seated positions on the floor in front of the stage and the game had been wound up pretty quickly after that.
Her dad had missed the whole event. His mobile phone had rung when the large woman staying three caravans along from them had been beckoned to the stage. He’d gone out to the lobby. Emma knew it was Marilyn. Who else would be calling him when he was on holiday? How could he think it was OK to be involved with another woman now? How involved with her had he been when her mother was still alive? She took a sip of her Orangina and picked up her book. It was
Dracula
by Bram Stoker. Another cheery read. At least this book wasn’t written in old English.
‘Vampires?’
Emma looked up and smiled, seeing Guy stood at her table. He was dressed up. He wore black trousers and a pale pink shirt that highlighted the darkness of his hair.
‘Is that the same word in French? Vampire?’
‘
Oui
,’ he replied, sitting down.
‘You can’t stay here. My dad’s here. He’s gone to make a phone call and…’ Emma started. She didn’t want her dad seeing Guy. Although Mike had seen them dancing together the night they first kissed, she didn’t want him to know she was involved with a boy. He would make a stupid comment about it. He would probably think, if she had a boyfriend, that it was OK for him to be moving on. It wasn’t OK. And Guy was hers. She didn’t want to share the knowledge of him with anyone.
‘Will you have dinner with me?’ he asked her, leaning forward across the table.
‘Dinner? Tomorrow? Like another picnic?’ Emma asked.
‘
Non
. Tonight. Dinner. I know a place,’ he whispered.
Her heart soared. A proper dinner. At a restaurant. Not barbequed sausages, lukewarm beans and a bread roll like her dad had been serving up all week. Her lips were moistening just thinking about it.
‘You can come?’ Guy asked her.
‘I…I don’t know. I want to, but…’ She looked out into the lobby and watched Mike on the phone. He was smiling. A wide grin crossed his mouth and then he let out a laugh that creased his entire face. He looked nothing short of joyful. It was wrong.
‘At nine? Meet me at the back
entrée
,’ Guy told her.
She looked up at him. His hair fell over his eyes and he smiled.
‘I’ll be there,’ she answered.
Looking to check no one could see, he moved his hand across the table and touched her fingers with his. A spark of electricity left her stunned and sent a current running through her. It reached places that she hadn’t known she could feel, inactive until now.
‘
À bientôt.
’ He left, made his way across the dance floor to the bar area.
A warm glow was filling her up, rising through her body as she watched him. And then it froze. She saw Tasha and Melody approach him. Tasha touched his arm. Her long,
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