Chapter 8 On Wave Dancer

When Anna woke the next morning, she forgot that Stephen wasn't in bed next to her until she turned over to touch him. She looked at her watch - eight o'clock. He'd be on his way to the office now, probably caught in traffic. Poor thing. She lay there for a while thinking about him and wondering how much today would change their lives.

'Coffee,' she thought. 'And I think I'll go and get the newspaper. I can do the crossword before I go on the trip.'

On her way down to the shop, she started thinking about last night's dinner with Tristan. She wondered if today they'd be as easy with each other as they'd been last night. The woman in the shop said, 'Morning. Did you have a nice dinner last night?'

'Yes, thank you,' said Anna in a surprised voice.

The woman continued, 'I saw you when I was walking my dog. You can't keep anything secret in this place for long!'

Anna laughed. 'I must remember that,' she thought.

Back home, she tried the crossword but it was too difficult, so she left it for later. She could see Tristan's boat below with Tristan on board. She noticed there was more movement on the sea today. It wasn't rough but the boats were moving up and down a little.

She went inside to collect her backpack from the cottage and went down to the harbour. Tristan was by the boat, talking to another man.

'Morning, Anna,' said Tristan. 'Everything OK? This is

Gary — he works with me on the boat trips. Anna's staying at Dolphin Cottage,' he said to Gary.

They smiled at each other. Gary looked at her quite closely and she wondered if they'd been talking about her when she arrived.

'I haven't got a ticket or anything for this trip,' said

Anna. 'Do I need one?'

'No,' replied Gary. 'You pay on the boat. Have you got a jacket or something with you? You might need it today. We were just saying that the sea'll probably be a bit rough on the other side of the island.'

'The water comes over the boat in certain places. Sit near the front on the right side if you don't want to get wet,' Tristan added.

'Right. Thanks.'

He jumped onto the boat and then turned to help Anna.

He held out his hand and took hers very firmly. He kept hold until she had sat down. Other people were now arriving and getting on the boat. Most of them seemed to know Tristan. Perhaps they went on his trips often. Anna

recognised one or two who she'd seen on the beach or in the village somewhere. Everybody seemed very well prepared - jackets, extra sweaters, binoculars, cameras.

Ready for a trans-Atlantic expedition, she thought. Then she looked at Tristan and Gary in their shorts and T-shirts and wondered which group had got it right.

Tristan started explaining to everyone where they were going and what they might see on the trip. This gave her a good chance to look at him carefully. He told a few funny stones and the passengers laughed in the right places. Anna found herself thinking how attractive he was - and not just physically. He had an air of confidence about him that she liked. But then, he must have felt Anna's eyes on him because he turned towards her and she blushed! She could feel her cheeks going red! Just like a schoolgirl caught doing something wrong! How embarrassing!

As soon as they left the harbour, the sea became much rougher but nobody seemed to be worried. In fact, it was quite fun trying to move your body with the movement of the boat - a bit like riding a horse, Anna thought. Once or twice, when the boat went into a wave, water came over the side, and again, people seemed to think it was all part of the fun. They passed the island and moved on towards the rocks. From Polreath, you couldn't really see very much beyond the island so Anna was surprised at the size of some of the rocks - almost like mini-islands. Tristan took the boat close in and slowed the engine.

'There are very often seals around here. In fact, we might see some young ones - the first ones are usually born around this time,' he said quietly.

'Look!' said a man at the back of the boat. 'There are two in the water over there.'

Everybody focused their binoculars where he was pointing. The heads of two adult seals appeared and then disappeared behind a wave. Someone tried to take a picture.

Tristan took the boat in and out of the rocks. They managed to see some seals out of the water - lying on rocks, almost sunbathing - but no young ones. They were about to turn for home when Gary saw something white on the rocks just above the water. It was a very young seal.

'Don't make too much noise,' said Tristan. 'We don't want to frighten it, or worry its Mum, wherever she is. This is the first one I've seen this year. I guess it's only a few days old;

Not many people on the boat had ever seen a young seal before so they were really pleased. Anna thought how helpless it looked, all by itself on the rock. And as if he knew what she was thinking, Tristan said, 'The first few days are dangerous ones for the young. Some of the bigger seabirds attack them - they go for their eyes.'

The boat was moving up and down quite a lot and it was difficult to stand. Suddenly, the boat was caught by a bigger wave and an elderly woman fell sideways. In trying to save herself, she hit her arm on the side. Immediately, people crowded round her, and started talking:

'Are you all right?'

'Here, let's get you up onto a seat.'

'Just sit quietly for a minute. What a nasty shock!'

Tristan moved the boat out into deeper water, away from the rocks. He looked at Anna and his eyes seemed to be asking her 'Could you?' She went over to the woman.

'Would you like me to look?' she said. 'I'm a nurse.'

'I'm all right,' she said. 'I think I just hurt my arm, that's all.'

Anna moved the woman and her husband up to the front of the boat. She looked at the arm which was quite red and already beginning to get bigger. Very gently, she pressed and the woman made a small sound.

'Well, Mrs . . . er . . . ' Anna began.

'Taylor . . . Sheila,' the woman said.

'Sheila, I don't think you've broken it, but it'd be a good idea to have it X-rayed when we get back, just to make sure.' Anna looked up. 'Tristan, where's the nearest place for that?'

'The Cottage Hospital in Kingham - it's not far. I'll take you in the car, Mrs Taylor.'

Anna found a bandage in the First Aid box and tied Mrs Taylor's arm up. The poor old woman had gone a bit white now and was shaking. Someone passed her a cup of tea. I was right, thought Anna, they came prepared for anything!

By the time they reached Polreath, Mrs Taylor looked better but her arm was clearly giving her a lot of pain.

Fortunately, Tristan's car was near the harbour and Mr and Mrs Taylor got in the back.

'Would you like me to come too?' asked Anna.

'Please,' said Tristan. He looked more worried than anybody. I wonder if he's insured for accidents, she thought. I suppose something like this is not good for his business.

The X-ray showed bruising but the arm wasn't broken.

'I'm really sorry, Mrs Taylor,' said Tristan.

'It's not your fault,' she replied. 'You're not responsible for the sea. I shouldn't have been standing up.'

'Well, let's go back home. I'll buy everyone a drink when we get back. I think we all need one,' Tristan said.

The Taylors didn't want a drink, so Tristan and Anna left them at their hotel.

'Your arm will hurt a lot tonight,' said Anna. 'So take some aspirins before you go to bed - they'll help with the pain.'

'Thank you for your help,' said Mr Taylor. 'We’ll probably see you around somewhere in the next day or two.'

'Poor old thing,' said Anna, drinking her beer in the Fisherman's Arms. 'She was lucky today. But I don't think she'll be doing much for the next couple of days. That arm'll hurt for a bit.'

'I was lucky,' replied Tristan, with a shake of the head. 'It's fortunate she was so nice about it – someone different might have complained and spread the word about. People would soon begin to think I was a bit careless with my passengers, and there are one or two people in this village who would be quite happy to see me lose business.'

'Really? Why?' asked Anna.

'Oh, jealousy, I suppose,' Tristan replied. 'It's a small place, Polreath; feelings get a bit strong sometimes.'

'Have they got reason to be jealous?' Anna asked, remembering the conversation that she and Stephen had heard in the bar the other day.

'Well,' he laughed, 'I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer that! You should ask them! People might think I've got a good life - what with the boat and two cottages.'

'And maybe a third cottage to come?' Anna added.

'Why do you say that?' Tristan asked sharply.

'Sorry, I shouldn't have. I was just repeating something we heard about you in here the other day,' Anna said, wishing she hadn't asked. A guy called Jack was saying that you were interested in another cottage in the village.'

'Ah ha, Jack! There you are, you see. The stories that spread in a small village!' Tristan looked a bit angry.

'Look, I'm sorry,' Anna said quickly. 'It's none of my business. Shall we change the subject? I meant to say earlier how much I enjoyed the trip - except for the accident, of course. You made it interesting for everyone.'

'Thanks.' There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence.

Tristan stared into his beer and then said, 'I don't want another cottage. I was interested in the price because it's more or less the same size as Dolphin Cottage. And I wanted to know how much I might be able to sell that for.'

'You want to sell Dolphin Cottage?' said Anna in complete surprise. 'Oh don't! It's too lovely to lose.'

'I don't really know whether I want to or not - I might need to, to get some money. It's got some rather mixed memories for me - Jill, you know. And as you now understand, owning two places can cause bad feeling.

'Anyway, I've got to go. Believe it or not, I've got another trip to do — a quick one-hour up the coast.' He waited a second or two before continuing. 'But I was wondering, if you're not doing anything tonight, can I buy you dinner — to thank you for dinner last night, and for Mrs Taylor?'

He looked at her carefully to see what she would say.

Would she think he was just being friendly or more than that? He meant it to be friendly, but he had an awful feeling he wanted more.

'Thank you. I'd like that,' she said returning his look.

'I thought we could drive to a place in the next village - it'd be a change. Meet in the car park at eight?'

‘Fine. Have a safe trip this afternoon!' She ordered a coffee and sat there, wondering what she was doing, and feeling guilty because she hadn't really thought about Stephen all day.

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Date: 2015-04-20; view: 822