Page 44 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
‘Have any of us been able to getanythingto work?’ Charlie called over, laughing.
‘Well, the boat, over there—’ Finn pointed, and Thea followed his finger to where the boat had clearly had its own mini sand-slide, and now looked like a small mole hill. ‘Fuck.’
‘I haven’t got anything to work either,’ Ben said, shrugging.
‘I’m having a nightmare trying to make sand look like sea,’ Meredith added.
‘My ghost looks like a person covered in a white sheet,’ Lila said, ‘if that person had crouched into a ball, and the sheet didn’t have any creases in it.’
‘So a blob, then?’ Daniel said, and Lila grinned.
‘And you know what’sreallyhard?’ Thea piped up.
Everyone turned to her. ‘What’s that?’ Finn asked.
She lifted clumps of sand and let it run through her fingers. ‘Making sand look like a bloody beach, which isliterallywhat it is.’
There was a moment of silence and then Ben started to laugh. It was quiet to begin with, but he soon got louder, leaning over and pressing a hand to his stomach. It wasn’t long before Meredith joined in, and then Charlie and Lila on the other team, and after a big, heaved sigh, Finn started laughing too, rubbing a sandy hand over his face.
Thea’s own laughter came on a wave of satisfaction. She stretched her legs out and lay back on the sand, as Lila had done earlier, staring up at the blue sky, a few, meek clouds drifting across it as the wind picked up and added another complication to their task.
Both teams gave up after that, and when the competition ended and neither of their efforts got a mention, none ofthem were surprised, or even – she was sure, now – bothered.
They sat next to their two failed sand sculptures, clapping the intense teenagers who had won with their secret garden, and Lila and Sam went to get iced coffees from the Cornish Cream Tea Bus, which they all accepted gratefully.
‘I shouldn’t have taken Crumble and Scooter to Laurie’s house,’ Finn said. ‘They would have done a better job than we did.’
‘Not my Yorkipoo Marmite,’ Charlie replied. ‘He would have destroyed all of our attempts. It’s best that he stayed on the bus.’
‘Marmite would have destroyed the entire beach,’ Daniel pointed out. ‘No sand sculptures would have survived his curiosity. That dog could wreck an entire country fair – and almost has, in the past.’
‘Hey,’ Charlie said, laughing. ‘You’re right, though,’ she admitted with a shrug.
Meredith looped her arm around Finn’s shoulder, bringing their heads close. ‘It was fun, and that’s all that matters.’
‘I suppose,’ Finn said. ‘Though the cream tea was the best bit.’
Charlie gave a sitting-down bow. ‘My work here is done.’
‘It’s not an afternoon I’m going to forget in a hurry,’ Thea said. ‘My friend Esme will be impressed – and envious – that I’ve taken part in a sand sculpture competitionandmet some genuine, prime-time actors.’
Sam gave her a sheepish smile, and Lila blew her a kiss, her eyes twinkling.
‘I might not send her a photo of our finished design, though,’ she added.
‘Send her a photo of the secret garden,’ Ben said.
‘Ben! That would be lying,’ she replied through her laughter.
‘Aren’t holidays about being the opposite of proactive?’ Finn said. ‘Do some good day trips, sure, but in as lazy a way as possible.’
‘Oh no.’ Thea shook her head. ‘Esme and I have a list of everything we were going to achieve. Walks, sea swims, festivals and fairs, trips to Trebah Garden and the Eden Project. None of it was going to be as much fun on my own, but it turns out that hasn’t been a problem since you adopted me. And it’s been really lovely to meet you all,’ she added, smiling at the other team, who had begun to pack up their things.
‘It’s been a fun afternoon,’ Charlie said. ‘And great to meet you, too. I’d better go and give Hannah and Noah a break.’
‘And I need to call the hotel,’ Daniel said. ‘See how Sunday lunch service has gone.’
There were goodbyes, heartfelt thanks for the cream teas, and Lila insisted on giving them all a hug, her sweetly floral perfume engulfing Thea. ‘Come and see the bus in Porthgolow if you have time,’ she said. ‘Sam and I are filming at the moment, but we get occasional days off, and the bus will be open all summer.’
