Page 51 of Just the Beginning

‘We’re not so different, you and me.’

She laughed and clapped a hand to her chest. ‘Don’t say that!’

They left their mothers to do battle with the fridge and went back outside. Rick handed a second beer to his father, who had taken up post behind the huge gas barbeque next to Ryan. Rick beat a retreat and went to join Chloe as she sat down with Matt at the table. ‘No Ed?’

Matt shook his head. ‘Nope. He had a better offer.’ His cousin air-quoted the last two words.

Rick grinned. ‘Have you worked out her name yet?’

The three of them were still laughing and speculating about who Ed’s love interest might be when Anya and Shelly emerged from the summer house with Freya and Leo. The children immediately broke off to go and sit at a little table under a tree while Anya and Shelly joined the rest of them on the patio. Shelly set a baby monitor on the table in front of them. ‘Hopefully they’ll sleep for a couple of hours.’ She looked as much in need of sleep as anyone.

Chloe reached for a bottle wine in an ice bucket. ‘Anyone want a glass?’

Shelly half-laughed, half-sighed. ‘I’d love one but I’d better not.’

‘We’ve got some sparkling water and loads of ice – how about a spritzer?’ Chloe offered.

‘That sounds good,’ Anya said, scooping her hair off her neck and tying it up with a scrunchie she’d been wearing on her wrist. ‘I swear it’s getting hotter by the minute.’

It was pretty close. They could normally rely on a breeze off the sea to freshen the air, but there hadn’t been a breath of it all day. Rick raised the bottle of beer to his cheek, enjoying theshock chill of the cold glass. ‘It’s only supposed to get warmer over the next few days.’

She smiled at him. ‘Good for business.’

‘Depends what your business involves,’ Matt said with a grunt. ‘Dad and I have a loft conversion project starting on Monday.’

They all shot him looks of sympathy. Working on the beach might be hard but Rick couldn’t imagine trying to function in the trapped heat of a roof space. ‘It’s great that you’re busy, but that doesn’t sound like anyone’s idea of a good time.’

‘You’ve got that right.’ Matt clinked the neck of his beer bottle against Rick’s. ‘Shouldn’t complain, though, because we’ve never had so much work. We’re almost at the point where we might have to start turning jobs down.’

Chloe returned with a large bottle of sparkling water, Helen and Rachel behind her carrying several tall glasses and a tray of ice cubes. While they made spritzers, Rick turned his attention to Shelly. ‘How long is Jason away for?’

She scrubbed a hand through her thick curls. ‘Don’t ask.’ Rick winced but before he could apologise, she did. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump down your throat.’

‘It’s fine, it can’t be easy on your own with the kids.’

Shelly glanced over her shoulder to check the children were still occupied with their crafts. ‘Jason wants us to join him.’

Anya reached out to her. ‘You never said anything.’

Shelly wrinkled her nose. ‘Because I’ve been trying not to think about it. I don’t want to move away from the Quay, it’s all I’ve ever known. I want the kids to grow up here not in a city, but it’s not fair on Jason either, never getting to see them while he has to go where the work is.’

It was a growing problem for their generation, for the village as a whole. If they didn’t find a way to keep the young familiesaround, the place would slowly die. Rick was reminded about the conversation he’d had with Morwenna about dwindling pupil numbers. He wished he had the answers.

‘Creating our own business is all about trying to preserve our future here in the village,’ Chloe said, raising her glass towards Anya. ‘And now the workshop is ready, we should celebrate our new start.’

Anya raised her glass. ‘To us. It’s going to take us a long time to build it into anything significant though.’

‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,’ Rachel said, also raising her glass. ‘At least the two of you are giving it a go.’

‘Exactly!’ Chloe said, then turned to Shelly. ‘Hey, you used to be pretty good at art when we were at school. Do you still paint?’

‘The only painting I do these days is finger painting with the kids,’ Shelly said with a laugh. ‘I can’t even find the energy to repaint the kitchen walls.’ Her smile faded. ‘Not that I’ll have to worry about that if we move.’

Rick’s heart went out to her. There must be something he could do. He’d have to do some scouting around, see if he could dig anything up.

‘Well at least have a think about it,’ Chloe urged Shelly. ‘And if inspiration strikes, we might be able to sell prints of anything you paint on our website. It wouldn’t make you a lot, but it’d be a start.’

‘And it would be nice to do something for yourself,’ Anya added. ‘I know it’s hard to find time. I struggle and I only have Freya to look after, but it’s important to make time for a little bit of creative self-care if you can.’

---