Page 6 of The Seaside Cocktail Campervan

He’d not written any poetry in a while now. It used it be his thing, he remembered … not daft stuff like this, but finding the words, needing to spill out his hurts. He’d used it a bit like a therapy, when he couldn’t talk to anyone else. When his soul was in the sorest of places.

Jack fixed once again on the road ahead. Just him and Ruby, the hum of her engine and the rhythm of the night drive; the adrenaline of the evening gradually starting to dissipate. The sky above was an inky black, with an arc of a new moon that just caught his gaze.

Chapter 4

It was a bright morning, and Lucy woke early with the light filtering through her bedroom curtains. She reached out to find Daisy there in her favourite spot, curled up by Lucy’s side on top of the double duvet.

‘Morning, Daisy Doo.’

Daisy gave a contented doggie sigh.

‘I think we’ll go and have a walk on the beach first thing.’

Daisy snuffled and buried herself a little deeper into the covers as if to hide, which made Lucy laugh out loud.

‘Hah, maybe after some tea and toast then.’

Ten minutes later, and Lucy was sat on a stool in her kitchen – Daisy was still snoozing upstairs – munching wholemeal toast with peanut butter, with a big polka-dot mug of tea beside her. A message buzzed on her mobile phone.

So, how did it go last night? Are you all pizza’d out? X

It was from her friend, Becky. Lucy smiled. It was great that her close pal was so interested in her new venture, that she supported her in this. In fact, she had done so with all the twists and turns of Lucy’s life these past few years. When the bombshell hit that Liam was having an affair behind her back, when she’d thrown him out of their lovely new house, when Lucy had had to find a new place to live all alone, Becky had appeared with hugs, chat, cake and a cuppa, sometimes prosecco and pizza, sensing exactly when and what was needed.

Yeah, it went off really well, thanks. X

She didn’t think she’d mention the delayed arrival, or … her mind drifted to the antics with Daisy and the Cocktail Campervan guy.

Thinking of popping around this aft for a coffee and a catch-up? You about? Becky asked.

Yes, why don’t we meet at Driftwood? Lucy typed.

It was their favourite little coffee shop, right here in Lucy’s village, with a cosy sea view, that did the most amazing cakes and traybakes.

2 p.m.? was fired back without hesitation.

Perfect.

See you later then. Xx

Finishing her toast, Lucy then nipped upstairs to shower and dress, choosing a striped Breton top and jeans for her Sunday beach stroll. Adding a swipe of mascara and a smudge of pink lipstick to finish her casual look, she headed towards the bed to shift a still reluctant Diva Daisy downstairs ready for her morning walk.

The tide was out this morning, and the beach was a crescent of golden sand, backed by marram grass dunes. A line of twisted, shiny brown kelp marked the high tide. Towards the shoreline, the sands had shifted into smooth pale-brown ridges with little pools. Frothy-topped waves rolled in. Sea and sky met on a horizon that was azure, with puffs of fair-day white clouds up above.

Taking in the salty sea air plus an array of other scents, Dachshund Daisy gingerly stepped over the seaweed to reach the flat sands of the bay. She wasn’t a huge lover of water but enjoyed her treks on the beach with her owner, meeting many four-legged friends on their way and barking merrily in greeting as she went. Size didn’t matter to her – she was as happy meeting a Labrador as a terrier. They’d do a quick spin around her, a greeting sniff or two, and then she’d be off again, her nose pointed in the air, her short legs trotting along. Then she’d watch them haughtily, especially those crazy spaniel types and the border collies, whizzing off after balls and sticks like loonies, when all you had to do was walk and sit nicely now and again to receive a pat on the head and a tasty biscuit.

Lucy sighed, taking in the fresh air and the rhythmic sounds of the sea. It was lovely to live so near to the coast. She was pleased that she’d gone with her heart and bid for the old stone cottage at Embleton; though very small, it was within walking distance of the beach. It didn’t quite have a sea view. Well, not unless you were on tiptoes and craning your neck out of the double bedroom window to catch a tiny glimpse of ultramarine below the skyline. But it was hers, it was home. With a small mortgage to her name and half the furniture from her house with Liam, she’d set off on a brave and slightly wobbly new path.

It wasn’t where she’d expected to be at the age of thirty-one. Newly single, a proud owner of a dachshund and a tiny cottage by the sea, no longer working at the accountancy office she’d started in after her A-levels, but CEO (hah!) of the All Fired Up horsebox pizza-catering company. Crikey, life took you off in all sorts of weird and wonderful directions at times. It was a journey, hers a pretty bumpy one of late.

But she had her friends, her family: brother Olly who lived in Alnwick with girlfriend Alice and their gorgeous toddler, Freddie; her mum who was still at the family home in Rothbury; lovely Nonna nearby, and her dad living not too far away in Whitley Bay with his new partner – another explosive twist in the family tale that had happened many years ago now.

Thoughts of a partner and family of her own that she’d once harboured were now very much on hold. To be honest, she wasn’t sure if she could put herself through all that relationship heartache and stress again. Romance was definitely overrated. Life moved on, your dreams shifted, some of them shattered and you had to let go of them, but then new goals and opportunities came to light.

‘Morning, Luce.’ Cathy from the village store was walking nearby on the beach with her beagle Max, who was now eagerly greeting Daisy in a twist of leads and tails.

‘Oh, hi.’ Lucy snapped out of her reverie and offered a warm smile.

‘Getting out early, before the crowds descend,’ Cathy grinned.