she added, wondering if she should even mention it, ‘I do hope there’s nothing in the papers, Harrie. Whatever Pablo did, it’s not your fault.’
‘Oh, I expect they’ll find something .’ Harriet sighed and collected her belongings together, crammed her hat back on and hid her eyes behind her sunglasses again. ‘When both members of the couple are well known, they like to spin it out. I should know. Or at least, I should have known.’ She gave Miranda a sad little half-smile, waved to the rest of them and started walking back up the beach, her head well down.
‘She’ll walk into someone, staring at the ground like that,’ Clare said, watching her middle child going up the village path on espadrilles that had a serious heel. ‘Is she actually properly famous? I’ve been so out of touch with things the last year or so, I haven’t a clue about my own daughter’s career. I’ll make more effort from now on.’
‘She co-presents something regional, a middle of the afternoon TV show about local interest things, but I expect she’s hoping for a sofa spot on a national breakfast show any time soon,’ Miranda told her. ‘But I don’t think she’s troubled Heat magazine yet. Or at least shehadn’t till the footballer. I’ll ask her tonight about the job thing. Right now, I just feel sorry for her. I don’t think she’s only upset about losing Pablo.’
‘I’m sorry for her too. But she needs to keep it in perspective. She’s only twenty-eight – she’s got years to meet someone who’s right for her. She mustn’t let this one rotten apple poison her life,’ Clare said, flipping over the page in her book rather forcefully. Miranda took a deep, calming breath. Competitive misery between Clare and Harriet – was that going to be the pattern from now on? Please not.
Silva, on her raffia beach mat, had drifted sleepily into a reverie in which the inflatable crocodile was wearing a black swimsuit, the regulation sort they had for swimming at school. She shifted her head slightly and actually found herself opening an eye to check the big plastic toy in case it wasn’t actually a dream. A shadow fell across her face and she squinted up at her brother.
‘Silv? You coming to the shack with me to book the lessons?’ Bo pulled his headphones out of his ears and looked out to sea where the surfers were still lying on their boards. The sea was fairly calm just then, not giving enough waves for good rides. He looked down at Silva and laughed. ‘Oh my God ! You should see your back and your legs! Didn’t you put like any stuff on you?’
‘Course I did. I sprayed it everywhere. Like, y’know,where I could reach. Maybe I missed a teeny bit?’ Silva tried to squint round and shrieked at the sight of her thighs. ‘Nooo! I look like someone’s painted me bright red!’ she squealed, pulling a towel over herself and hiding under it.
‘Yeah, and you’ve got a white stripe down your back where your hair was lying.’ Bo wasn’t helping, almost doubled over with laughter.
‘I need to get in the sea. I’m so hot.’ She fanned her face with her hand and scrambled to her feet.
‘In the actual freezing sea? Wow, that’ll sting!’ Bo teased cheerily. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘Shut up , bruv!’ Silva’s face was thunderous as she picked up the crocodile and ran down to the sea’s edge, pounding as fast as she could past families camped behind wind-breaks and children playing beach cricket so she didn’t have to risk seeing people pointing at her scarlet and white striped body and laughing at her.
Annoyingly, Bo had been completely right. The first splashes on her feet and ankles told her the sea was close to icy. She felt a big stab of envy for Willow in Florida who would almost definitely be lying right now on a big stylish surfboard, trailing her hand in warm water, with turtles floating about in the clear blue below her. No wonder almost everyone in the sea here was wearing a full-on
‘Oh, I expect they’ll find something .’ Harriet sighed and collected her belongings together, crammed her hat back on and hid her eyes behind her sunglasses again. ‘When both members of the couple are well known, they like to spin it out. I should know. Or at least, I should have known.’ She gave Miranda a sad little half-smile, waved to the rest of them and started walking back up the beach, her head well down.
‘She’ll walk into someone, staring at the ground like that,’ Clare said, watching her middle child going up the village path on espadrilles that had a serious heel. ‘Is she actually properly famous? I’ve been so out of touch with things the last year or so, I haven’t a clue about my own daughter’s career. I’ll make more effort from now on.’
‘She co-presents something regional, a middle of the afternoon TV show about local interest things, but I expect she’s hoping for a sofa spot on a national breakfast show any time soon,’ Miranda told her. ‘But I don’t think she’s troubled Heat magazine yet. Or at least shehadn’t till the footballer. I’ll ask her tonight about the job thing. Right now, I just feel sorry for her. I don’t think she’s only upset about losing Pablo.’
‘I’m sorry for her too. But she needs to keep it in perspective. She’s only twenty-eight – she’s got years to meet someone who’s right for her. She mustn’t let this one rotten apple poison her life,’ Clare said, flipping over the page in her book rather forcefully. Miranda took a deep, calming breath. Competitive misery between Clare and Harriet – was that going to be the pattern from now on? Please not.
Silva, on her raffia beach mat, had drifted sleepily into a reverie in which the inflatable crocodile was wearing a black swimsuit, the regulation sort they had for swimming at school. She shifted her head slightly and actually found herself opening an eye to check the big plastic toy in case it wasn’t actually a dream. A shadow fell across her face and she squinted up at her brother.
‘Silv? You coming to the shack with me to book the lessons?’ Bo pulled his headphones out of his ears and looked out to sea where the surfers were still lying on their boards. The sea was fairly calm just then, not giving enough waves for good rides. He looked down at Silva and laughed. ‘Oh my God ! You should see your back and your legs! Didn’t you put like any stuff on you?’
‘Course I did. I sprayed it everywhere. Like, y’know,where I could reach. Maybe I missed a teeny bit?’ Silva tried to squint round and shrieked at the sight of her thighs. ‘Nooo! I look like someone’s painted me bright red!’ she squealed, pulling a towel over herself and hiding under it.
‘Yeah, and you’ve got a white stripe down your back where your hair was lying.’ Bo wasn’t helping, almost doubled over with laughter.
‘I need to get in the sea. I’m so hot.’ She fanned her face with her hand and scrambled to her feet.
‘In the actual freezing sea? Wow, that’ll sting!’ Bo teased cheerily. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘Shut up , bruv!’ Silva’s face was thunderous as she picked up the crocodile and ran down to the sea’s edge, pounding as fast as she could past families camped behind wind-breaks and children playing beach cricket so she didn’t have to risk seeing people pointing at her scarlet and white striped body and laughing at her.
Annoyingly, Bo had been completely right. The first splashes on her feet and ankles told her the sea was close to icy. She felt a big stab of envy for Willow in Florida who would almost definitely be lying right now on a big stylish surfboard, trailing her hand in warm water, with turtles floating about in the clear blue below her. No wonder almost everyone in the sea here was wearing a full-on
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