Page 14 of The Winter of Second Chances
‘Shat on?’ he said.
‘Very much so!’ Annie replied.
A woman sat at the far end of the bar, nursing a pint of ale. She looked up from her book and over her glasses and said, ‘Happens to the best of us.’
Annie smiled uncertainly.
‘I’ll just go and clean up a bit, and then I’d like to order some lunch, if that’s all right?’ said Annie.
The landlord, a tall bespectacled man with grey thinning hair, nodded and pointed towards a sign which readMesdames.
‘Thank you,’ said Annie.
A broad black woman in a billowy orange blouse with a clichéd barmaid cleavage emerged from a doorway behind the bar and stood beside the landlord. Her long black weave was pulled up and wound around her head in two mounds like a cottage loaf. She looked at Annie.
‘Shat on?’ she said.
Annie grimaced.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’m just going to clean up a bit.’
‘Wait on,’ said the woman. She ducked back out of the door and returned seconds later with a bottle of shampoo and a towel, which she handed over the bar to Annie.
‘Residential hazard,’ she said. ‘I always keep a bottle of shampoo handy for the afflicted. I’m Pam,’ said the woman. ‘Landlady. That there is my husband Bill. And propping up the bar is our daughter, Emily, on her lunch break.’
The woman in the glasses raised her pint and nodded in Annie’s direction, her impressive afro bobbing gently of its own accord.
‘Now off you pop,’ said Pam. ‘And get that shit off your bonce and we’ll talk about getting you some lunch.’
‘Thank you,’ said Annie. ‘Thank you so much. I feel disgusting! I’m Annie, I’m going to be looking after Saltwater Nook—’ She didn’t get to finish.
‘You’re the lady Mari found!’ said Pam.
Annie had been under the impression it was she who had found Mari, but she smiled and said, ‘Yes.’
‘It’ll be strange without her here,’ said Pam. ‘She’s been here longer than most and outlived the rest. But it can be rough down there and she’ll be better off with a friend to share the winter days. You know the history of the place, don’t you?’
Annie was distracted; she touched her hand to her head and felt her hair hardening. Pam saw her and threw her arms in the air.
‘Oh, look at me!’ she said. ‘Talking about history when you’ve got a head full of shit!’ And Pam bustled Annie round to the ladies’ toilets and pushed her inside.
‘You’ll have to wash it in the sink,’ she called as she backed out the door. ‘But it’s a good size and you’ll dry off quick enough if you park yourself by the range to eat.’
The range did indeed kick out some heat and Annie’s hair dried while she tucked into a bowl of homemade mackerel pâté and half a loaf of toasted sourdough. She messaged the boys her new address on their group chat.
Do you need a hand packing?asked Peter.
What about moving all your stuff in?asked Alex.You can’t get everything in your little car. You’ll be backwards and forwards all day.
I’ll be fine, Annie reassured them.I’ll only take what I need. The place is fully furnished, so it’s just a case of packing a few clothes really.
You can’t move all by yourself, Peter wrote.That’s miserable. Let us come and help you. Alex, is Greg around at the weekend? We could use his muscle.
Greg was Alex’s partner.
No, he’s got a rugby tournament. You’ll have to make do with weedy me.
Honestly, boys, Annie typed.I’ll be fine. It’s no big deal. You can come down in a couple of weekends and see the place when I’m settled in. xx
