Life Or Something Like It (22 page)

She sat down and hugged her knees to her body. She had forgotten how much she loved this song and it made her realise how deeply she had buried certain other feelings too. Cat had thought she would be relieved when Finn had finished but something inside – a newly unlocked box of long-ignored sadness – was now open. It was up to her if she wanted to slam it shut again or allow herself to take a peek inside. As she sat at the top of the stairs, she could feel her heart thudding in her chest because for almost the first time in her life, Cat Nightingale had no idea what to do.

Chapter Fifteen

The next day the sun burst through the sky again like a long-lost friend. It was clear and warm with the whisper of a breeze. Cat was boiling the kettle for her first caffeine hit of the day when Finn and the children returned from their now daily early morning trip out. He was carrying a brown paper bag, from which wafted an aroma of freshly baked goodness.

‘We bought chocolate croissants!’ cried Ellie unable to contain herself.

‘Unless you’d rather have a bowl of toasted cardboard,’ teased Finn, gesturing at the cereal box Cat was holding.

‘I would love a croissant, thank you,’ said Cat, sticking out her tongue at Finn. ‘I’ll fetch some plates.’

They discussed the day’s plans over breakfast. ‘How about hiring bikes?’ suggested Finn. ‘I saw a shop near the common. We could pack a picnic and head towards the harbour.’ The children made enthusiastic noises of agreement.

‘I haven’t ridden a bike for twenty years,’ admitted Cat with a worried frown.

‘You’ll soon pick it up again,’ said Finn encouragingly. ‘It’s easy, just like – ’

‘Falling off a bike?’ offered Cat.

Finn grinned. ‘Exactly.’

The man in the bike shop did not suffer fools gladly, unhappily or any other way. When Finn asked if he had a bike with stabilisers for Cat, the man gave him a look of such withering disdain, Cat was surprised he wasn’t immediately turned to stone. He had obviously seen, done and had enough of it all.

‘Bikes need to be back by four-thirty sharp otherwise I’ll have to charge you for another day,’ he grunted.

‘Thank you!’ cried Daisy with a cheery smile, which the man did not return.

Finn led the way across the common towards the harbour. The sky was a shimmering blue, the air clear and warm, but unfortunately Cat couldn’t fully appreciate it as she was concentrating all her efforts on staying upright. Charlie rode ahead with Finn, whilst the girls were sandwiched between them and Cat. Predictably, Ellie was a manic cyclist with an alarming, chaotic style, whilst Daisy rode with genteel care. Cat wobbled along behind them, desperately wondering what had happened to her balance.

Fortunately, there were few cars on this first piece of road so all she had to do was to try to remember how to cycle in a vaguely dignified fashion. The unmade road came to an end by a gate, which was where Finn and Charlie stopped to wait for them. Cat was now painfully aware of her audience and told herself to look ahead and focus. Unfortunately Ellie chose this moment to veer in front of her aunt, which resulted in Cat having to swerve violently to avoid her. Cat anticipated another unseemly fall and was as surprised as anyone when she managed not only to stay upright but to come to a smart and efficient halt as well. She felt breathless, her heart beating in her ears but she was alive.

‘How’s the bike?’ asked Finn.

‘Okay,’ replied Cat, doing her best to stop her legs from trembling.

Charlie was reading a sign on the fence. ‘Beware – Adders on the Common.’

‘What are adders?’ asked Ellie.

‘They’re just snakes,’ said Finn.

‘Snakes!’ squeaked Daisy. ‘Where?’

Charlie grinned with malicious glee. ‘On the common,’ he said. ‘And they’re poisonous – the only poisonous snakes in Britain.’

‘Charlie!’ scolded Cat.

‘I’m not going through that gate,’ said Ellie, grasping hold of Daisy’s arm and looking terrified.

Cat glanced at Finn. She wasn’t particularly fond of snakes herself. ‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘They’re far more scared of you than you are of them. They won’t come out in the day.’

‘Are you sure?’ asked Cat worried. Ellie was looking up at her aunt with alarm now. Finn gave Cat a meaningful nod in Ellie’s direction. Cat looked at her niece, swallowing her fear. ‘Finn’s right. It will be fine.’

They wheeled their bikes through the gate. The track became narrow, flanked on either side by brambles and gorse bushes. Cat looked warily left and right and noticed that Ellie stayed very close to her as they walked.

‘What was that?’ cried Ellie as something moved in the hedgerow. ‘I don’t like it!’

Moved by her friend’s distress, Daisy began to cry. ‘I want to go home.’

‘Probably a king cobra,’ chuckled Charlie.

‘That’s not helpful,’ said Cat, doing her best to usher the near-hysterical girls forward whilst trying to remain calm herself. ‘Hey, girls, I think there are some blackberries up ahead.’

‘Where?’ cried Ellie moving rapidly along the path, closely followed by Daisy.

‘Nice distraction technique,’ remarked Finn as they reached the end of the winding path and came out onto a crossroads where several footpaths converged.

Cat grinned. ‘Maybe my PR skills are coming in handy after all.’

‘That was the old railway track,’ said Finn, pointing back along a grassy path flanked on either side by sloping verges. ‘Until it was closed in the twenties.’ He leant forwards and plucked a handful of blackberries from the bushes, holding them out for everyone to try. They were delicious and bursting with flavour.

‘I feel as if I’m in the
Famous Five
.’ Cat grinned.

‘Which one are you?’ asked Finn.

‘George, of course. No-one ever wanted to be Anne.’

‘True,’ he laughed. ‘Right, ready to go on?’ The path to the harbour was relatively flat and wide, enabling them to ride in a slightly unruly line whilst allowing people coming the other way to pass. However, one couple did have to jump onto the grassy embankment when Ellie veered wildly into their path.

‘Sorry!’ cried Cat cheerfully as she passed. ‘She’s a bit erratic.’

After her initial struggle, Cat felt more confident riding at the back of their group. Finn was hurtling ahead, closely followed by Charlie. Cat and the girls kept a steady pace, gliding along in the warm sun. The landscape opened up on both sides and Cat was able to admire the soft green fields dotted with cows and the lighthouse and town in the background. The breeze shushed through the reeds and Cat’s mind and body was filled with a sense of freedom she hadn’t experienced for a long time. She had nowhere to be except here. Before, this would have filled her with fear but today, it was oddly liberating.

She was disappointed when they reached the metal bridge, which stretched across the harbour, and had to dismount. However, once they had walked across to the other side, they continued their bike ride along a similar country path crossing marshy fields flanked by reeds. A little way along the path, there was a large red-bricked house. Finn stopped there for everyone to catch up. A fat marmalade cat was basking on the garden path outside the glass-fronted porch. Cat noticed beehives at the end of the garden and jars of honey for sale. She surprised herself by reaching into her purse and giving Ellie and Daisy the money to buy one. Charlie and the girls paused to make a huge fuss of the cat, who graciously rolled onto his back so that they could tickle his belly.

‘This was a great idea,’ admitted Cat as she and Finn watched them. ‘I don’t usually slow down to this sort of pace.’

‘You don’t say,’ teased Finn.

Cat pulled a face at him. ‘Having said that, I am starving. Shall we find somewhere to have the picnic?’

‘Come on, kids,’ called Finn. The track became a road up ahead with a scattering of houses and a handful of cars. They wheeled their bikes into the village, which contained some of the most charming cottages Cat had ever seen. They soon came to a road lined with gift shops and tea rooms leading to a smartly maintained village green surrounded by more pretty cottages. It was situated on a slight slope and had a small play area in one corner. They found a spot to put down the blanket and it wasn’t long before they were tucking into their picnic. After she had finished her sandwiches, Ellie plucked a shiny red apple from the bag and stood up.

‘Charlie, will you push Daisy and me on the swings, pleeeease?’

Charlie sighed but he was in a good mood. ‘Come on then,’ he said, taking an apple of his own.

Cat watched them go. ‘He seems happier today,’ she remarked.

Finn nodded. ‘He’s probably relaxed into his holiday. It takes a while sometimes.’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘Speaking of which, I take it there’s no signal out here,’ he joked.

‘To be honest, I have no idea,’ said Cat surprised at herself. She reached into her pocket before withdrawing her hand as she changed her mind. ‘Actually, why do I need to look? It’s not as if anyone needs me.’

‘They do,’ said Finn, pointing towards the children.

‘Yes,’ murmured Cat. ‘I suppose they do. I am still a bit worried about Charlie.’

‘Because of the boys at the park?’

She nodded. ‘Also, I saw some messages on his iPad when we were back home.’

‘What sort of messages?’

‘Unpleasant ones. I think he’s being bullied or at least getting into something he doesn’t know how to handle.’

Finn shook his head in sympathy. ‘Poor kid. Have you talked to Andrew about it?’

‘I didn’t really have a chance and Charlie seems so closed about it. I was hoping the holiday might help him to open up a bit.’

Finn sighed. ‘That is a tough one. Boys aren’t exactly known for sharing their feelings with the world.’

‘What about you?’

‘I’m an open book.’ He grinned.

‘Really?’

‘Sure. Ask me anything.’

Cat gave a sly smile. ‘Favourite film?’

‘
Cinema Paradiso
.’

Cat nodded her approval. ‘Favourite singer?’

Finn screwed up his face in concentration. ‘Ella Fitzgerald,’ he said after a pause. ‘Complete perfection and makes it sound easy, which it isn’t.’

Cat smiled. ‘Ever been in love?’

‘Yes. It was 1986. I was five. She kissed another boy called Martin. Broke my heart. Still haven’t recovered.’

Cat laughed. ‘Poor you. Ever broken someone’s heart?’

Finn winced. ‘Yes, but I was very young and foolish and she was far too good for me. I would have made her unhappy.’

‘Self-awareness is half the battle. On behalf of the sisterhood, you are forgiven.’

‘Thank you,’ said Finn with an amused nod. ‘And what about you? Ever been in love? Or is there a secret man you’re hiding in a cellar?’

‘Actually there is. His name is Brian and we’re blissfully happy, thank you,’ joked Cat. ‘Anyway, what about Angelica?’

Finn eyed her knowingly. ‘That was a very neat deflection.’

Cat pretended to be clueless. ‘What? I thought we were still on you.’

‘You’ve got a story haven’t you, Cat Nightingale?’

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ replied Cat, feeling her cheeks grow hot. ‘There’s no story.’

‘Everyone has a story,’ said Finn. ‘Some people just choose not to tell it.’

‘Well there you go then.’

‘So there’s no-one? No unrequited love or handsome dude on the horizon?’

Cat peered out towards the sea, which could be spied over the tops of the cottages. ‘Can’t see one and as George Clooney’s now taken, all bets are off.’

‘Do you always do that?’

‘What?’

‘Fend off a serious question with humour?’

‘I seem to remember you telling me that I didn’t have much of a sense of humour once.’

‘Well maybe being with the kids has helped you develop one.’

‘You certainly need one around kids,’ admitted Cat.

‘Seriously though, are you saying you’ve never been in love?’

Curse this man
, thought Cat,
why couldn’t he let it go?

‘Can we have an ice-cream now, please?’ asked Ellie appearing at Cat’s side.

‘What a brilliant idea!’ she cried. Cat could have kissed her niece for impeccable timing.

After they had finished their ice-creams, they packed up the picnic rug and loaded the bikes. Finn turned to Cat with a wry grin. ‘This isn’t over, Nightingale. Not by a long shot.’

She frowned. She knew he was joking but for Cat this was serious; like teenage acne and the music of Take That, she had given up heart-to-hearts a long time ago. She could see that she would have to keep avoiding Finn’s bald questioning for the rest of the holiday.

The cycle ride back to the town took them along the towpath by the side of the harbour and back over the metal bridge. It was a narrow path and Cat prayed she would avoid toppling down into the thick estuary mud. Happily she managed it and once again she found herself exhilarated by the simple joy of cycling through beautiful scenery. There were all types of fishing boats and yachts in the harbour and as the ropes hit the masts they made a pleasant tinny sound accompanied by the insistent peep-peep-peep of the marsh birds. It was harder going on the way back for the children and by the time they reached the town and returned the bikes, the girls were crotchety and Charlie’s face was pink and sweaty.

‘How about we go for a drink?’ suggested Finn.

‘Good idea,’ agreed Cat. ‘Shall we find a café?’

‘I was actually thinking more of a pub,’ said Finn. ‘There’s a nice family-friendly one near the seafront.’

Cat didn’t normally frequent pubs but even she had to admit this was rather lovely. It had three separate rooms including the splendidly named ‘snug’, which led off the bar and where children were allowed. Finn led them to this area where there was a large table and the shelf around the top of the wall was lined with beer bottles. There was a fire at the far end, which Cat imagined would be blissful on a winter’s day.

‘What will you have?’ asked Finn. ‘Fancy trying the local beer?’

Cat usually drank wine but there was something about having just completed her first cycle ride in twenty years that made her answer. ‘Why not?’