Page 27 of Strawberry Moon
“Yes, but think of the feel-good endorphins.”
“The pub and shopping give you those too. It’sshockingthat you’re not listening to me.”
He chuckles as I put the boots on. They come up to ankle height and look a bit like something my nan wears in the winter. They’re just missing the little frill of fur on the top. Then I follow him out.
“Don’t look at me,” I whisper as we step onto the beach. “If we are to have any future together, I don’t need this image in your head.”
He smirks. “But I saw you in your boring bank manager’s gear.”
“That was infinitely better than this.”
He laughs and walks towards the sea. I’m happy to find out that even he looks faintly ridiculous in the boots. I shiver. It might be June, but the mornings are still cool, especially when the breeze blows in across the water. I look at the waves dubiously. They’re grey in this light and even the white tops look cold.
I rub my arms as Harry looks around. “We call this Starfish Bay,” he says.
“Is that the name of the beach?”
“No, it’s our name for it. One winter loads of starfish washed up on the beach. There were dozens of them.”
I stop dead. “You brought me to swim on a beach where starfish come to die?” He laughs, and I shake my head. “This is a starfish burial ground. LikePet Sematarywith extra legs.”
“Itoldyou not to read that book. Anyway, it wasn’t a burial ground. We got them all back in the sea. We had to use our spades because Ma said our touch might hurt them. I like to think somewhere in the sea, Grandad Starfish is telling his children the story of his adventure and how his dignity was damaged when he was scooped up and put in a bucket.” He chuckles and I watch him affectionately. He was born to tell stories and work with books.
He claps his hands together. “Ready?”
“In a spirit of complete honesty, which I have to warn you doesn’t happen often, I would say a resounding no.”
He holds his hand out. “With me?”
I consider him and then laugh and put my hand in his. “Bring it on. The sooner we’re in, the sooner we die of hypothermia.”
“You know, Clem, your positive spirit glows like a light in the darkness. We mustneverlet others know your superpower.”
I roll my eyes, and letting his hand go, I take a deep breath and race into the water. The instant chill on my legs makes me stop and shout out, and I try to backpedal, but Harry runs past me.
“Get in,” he shouts. “It’s easier.”
“Easier thanwhat? Dissection using a butter knife?”
He does a Tarzan cry and dives under the waves. I roll my eyes but duck and submerge myself in the water. It’s so cold it’s like a slap in the face, and I rise to the surface spluttering and rubbing my eyes from the salt.
“Fucking hell,” I breathe.
Holly laughs. “Swim, darling. It gets worse if you stand around.”
I nod and break into a flashy crawl. Within minutes, I can feel the cold retreating and heat running through my muscles.
A splash makes me tense in surprise, and then I relax as Harry rises in the waves. He looks a little like how I imagined Poseidon when I was reading Percy Jackson, and I look at him appreciatively. Lucky,luckyme.
“Alright?” he asks, swimming over.
I roll onto my back kicking my feet to keep my head above the water. “I’m not sure whether it’s early onset hypothermia, or I’m just getting warm.”
“Swim to make sure.” He winks. “See if you can catch me.”
I grit my teeth and launch after him. I’m quick, because I can swim like a fish, but I lack Harry’s shoulders and body mass. Helets me catch him, though, and we play and laugh, tussling like children.
Finally, his parents get out, with Graham shouting that he’s putting breakfast on.
