Page 17 of Just the Beginning

As she strolled along the seafront, Anya spotted the deli Rick had bought the sparkling cordial from and she paused to have a nosey through the window. The beautiful display of cheeses, olives and meat made her nostalgic for the many parties she’d hosted when the wine had flowed and the house had been full of laughter and conversation. Parties where people had let their guard down and fallen for Drew’s easycharms just like she had. Anya turned abruptly from the window, a sour twist in her stomach. Unwitting or not, she had played her part in his activities.

She crossed the road as though putting distance between herself and the deli would somehow give a similar distance to her memories – and her guilt. No chance of that.

‘Watch where you’re going!’

The harsh words in a strong local accent brought Anya up short, just inches from the front of a double-buggy being pushed by a scowling, blonde-haired woman who she recognised but couldn’t place. In addition to the two babies strapped in the buggy, the woman was clutching the hand of a boy of maybe three of four.

‘Sorry!’ Anya pressed herself back against the wall to take up as little space as possible on the pavement. ‘I was miles away.’

‘Huh.’ The woman looked her up and down. ‘I heard you’d moved down here. How the mighty have fallen, eh?’

Anya’s stomach twisted even more, the sour feeling beginning to bubble and burn up her oesophagus. She placed a hand on the centre of her chest as though she could soothe the rising acid. ‘Again, I’m sorry I was in your way.’

The woman’s sneer turned a shade uglier. ‘You don’t even recognise me, do you? Then again you always were a snobby cow. Don’t bother with your airs and graces around me, we all know what that husband of yours did. He might have got away with it, but I’m surprised they let you walk free.’

It wasn’t the first time she’d received this kind of comment, of course, but hearing it here, in the place she’d hoped would be a safe haven for her and Freya while she put the pieces of her life back together, was a horrible shock. There was one thing she’d learned over the past months, though, and that was not to let anyone know when they’d scored a blow. Adopting the cold,blank expression she’d developed as a protection mechanism, Anya straightened her spine and walked away.

‘Nothing to say to defend yourself, eh?’ the woman called after her. Anya could feel eyes on her, and she wanted to shrink in upon herself, but somehow she kept her head up and her gaze dead ahead.Keep moving. Every step would take her further from whoever that awful woman was and closer to the safety of Issy’s café. Thankfully there were no footsteps on the pavement other than her own, so at least the woman had decided not to pursue it, having won whatever victory she had felt the need to score. The urge to hurry beat at Anya, but she fought it down. Running would only draw more attention, would make her look vulnerable and perhaps tempt others who heard and shared the gossip about her to toss in their two pennies’ worth.

It felt like it took forever to reach the café, though in reality it couldn’t be more than a couple of minutes. The smile of delight on Issy’s face when she spotted her coming through the door was almost Anya’s undoing, but she held it together enough to make it to the table where Chloe was already waiting. ‘Don’t hug me,’ she warned her cousin through a smile threatening to wobble. ‘I’ve had a run-in with someone and if you’re too nice to me I might cry. I’ll be damned if that’s going to happen.’

Chloe’s warm, friendly expression immediately darkened into a deep frown. ‘With who? What happened?’ Her gaze swivelled towards the door as though she expected a mob to be following at Anya’s heels. Given the fierce glow in her eyes, Chloe would no doubt fight them all off if there was such a horde.

‘It was nothing really, just let me sit for a minute and catch my breath and I’ll tell you and Issy about it when she joins us.’

There was an older woman Anya didn’t know also behindthe counter, so it wasn’t long before Issy was sliding into one of the spare chairs holding two mugs, one of which she set in front of Anya. ‘Hello, hello! How’s work going? Has Davy driven you around the bend yet?’ As though sensing the atmosphere, Issy’s smile dimmed. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’

Feeling a bit more in control, Anya managed a smile and a casual shrug. ‘Nothing really, just a run-in with some woman in the street who felt the need to tell me what she thought of me.’

‘Oh my God!’ Chloe exclaimed. ‘Who the hell was it?’

Anya shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I mean, I think I recognised her but I couldn’t place her. A blonde woman around our age with three kids, the youngest were twins, I think, though I didn’t pay that much attention.’

Chloe’s lip curled. ‘Shelly Dean.’

The name triggered something in Anya’s memory. Shelly had been part of the big gang who’d hung around together on the beach during her summers in the Quay. Part of the group, but not part of their inner circle, just one of the many classmates of her cousins and their cousins who’d gravitated towards their favoured spot on the beach. ‘Yes, that’s her.’

Issy reached across the table to cover her hand with a comforting gesture. ‘What did she say, Annie?’

Anya screwed up her nose. ‘The usual stuff about Drew and how I must’ve known what was going on.’ She managed a wry smile. ‘Oh and I got a side order of being called a snobby cow.’

Chloe rolled her eyes. ‘She always was jealous of you.’

‘Of me? What on earth for?’

Issy and Chloe exchanged a knowing look.

‘Come on, guys, what am I missing here?’

It was Issy who spoke. ‘All I can say is that if you weren’t one of my best friends, I might have been a bit envious too of all the attention you received.’

When she looked between the two of them, no idea what Issy was talking about, Chloe tilted her head to one side, her expression a mixture of amusement and disbelief. ‘Come on, Annie, you can’t tell me you didn’t know that you turned the head of half the boys in village!’

Anya raised a hand to her cheek. Was it hot in there, or was it just her? She supposed, if she thought back, there were one or two fumbling attempts to ask her out, but she’d been too shy to accept. Plus her mother had issued nothing but dire warnings about how men weren’t to be trusted, so Anya had avoided them for the most part. Perhaps if she’d listened to her mother’s advice things wouldn’t have turned out the way they had. ‘Oh, that. Come on, that was nothing, and if any of them did think they liked me it was only because I was something of a novelty. Look at the way they used to chase after the girls who were down here on holiday.’

Issy pursed her lips. ‘If you say so.’

‘You really have no idea of the effect you had, do you?’ Chloe asked, shaking her head. ‘The summer you turned up with Drew in tow, I’m surprised the local lads didn’t all start wearing black armbands. Especially Rick.’

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