Page 28 of Hold On

“I’m not easily fooled.”

This pair were fun. In another life, Ren might have been friends with them. They reminded him of him and Will at that age.

“We found the hidden garden,” Ren said. “The treehouse is brilliant. Dominic was telling me he used to make you a den in the backyard with a sheet and a clothes airer.”

Col’s wide-eyed smile at his brother was so joyful, it made Ren swallow hard.

“Yeah, you did. I used to take my imaginary friend in there and pretend we were on our way to another planet.” Col chuckled. “You brought us sandwiches and crisps.”

Theo offered Ren a glass of wine.

“Thanks.”

“Dominic? Do you want one?” Theo asked.

“A small one. Thank you.”

“Ready to eat?” Col carried a plate of fried chicken over to the table.

Ren sat next to Dominic who handed him a large bowl of salad. It was full of green stuff, a mix of different kinds of lettuce. The other was a rice salad with spring onions, peppers and sweetcorn along with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. It was exactly the sort of thing that Ren liked to eat.

“Is it okay?” Col asked.

Ren looked up, ready to reassure him, but it was Dominic that Col was looking at.

“There’s soy sauce in it,” Col said.

“Delicious.” Though Dominic had put far less on his plate than any of them.

Itwasdelicious. Before Ren took another forkful, he said, “What is there to do around here?”

“Where do you come from?” Theo asked.

“Cambridge.” Among other places.

“Then the sea’s the biggest attraction,” Col said. “The beaches near here are great. Theo wasn’t keen, but now he’s obsessed. We go at least once a week.”

“I’m making up for lost time,” Theo said. “Lazell’s beach is a really good one to go to. It’s never busy because it’s difficult to access and has limited parking. It’s too much trouble for families to get to with all the paraphernalia they need to cart. Ooh, I’ve had an idea. Why don’t we all go on Saturday. We could have a sand sculpture competition. Even take the metal detector. And a picnic, definitely. And chairs. Oh, the surf boards too. Maybe the kite. Plenty of towels. A ball. The badminton set. A frisbee! Oh, and an umbrella and a windbreak. Suntan lotion. I’ll drive.”

Ren held in his laugh until Col’s burst out of him. Even Dominic smiled.

“What?” Theo demanded.

“And that paraphernalia’s not too much for us?” Col asked.

“We’re four strong young men. Well, two of us are young.” Theo grinned. “But James has a handcart we can use. It’ll be fun.”

“Theo, I’m not sure making sandcastles is what Ren had in mind.” Col had put his hand on Theo’s and spoken gently but Ren could see the doubt on Theo’s face.

“Did you want arcade machines and sticks of rock?” Theo asked.

“I think a day at the beach sounds brilliant,” Ren said and surprised himself.

Theo’s smile lit up his entire face. He looked so young. Ren turned to Dominic. “Think you can build a better sandcastle than me?”

Dominic looked straight at him. “I can try.”

“I can lay my hands on a few buckets and spades,” Ren said.

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