Page 54 of The Seaside Supper Club

‘Hold fire on that. I’ve gotta leave for a job in a few minutes. I could call at yours on my way back, in an hour and a half or so, if that works.’

‘Yes, perfect.’ Cath kept her voice low, feeling like an undercover cop.

‘Umm, are you all right there? It sounds kind of echoey?’ Nikki asked. ‘Are you hiding?’

‘Hah, something like that, I’m in Will’s downstairs loo.’

‘Brilliant. Make sure you flush. Make it sound authentic.’

‘Will do.’ Cath stifled a chuckle. ‘Bye.’

*

A while later, it was lovely to open her cottage door and see a smiling Nikki on her front step. Cath’d been so wrapped up in the build-up to the op and now looking after Will, that she’d had to step out of the norm and leave her own life behind.

‘Hi, hun. Oh, and these are for you, freshly picked from the garden.’ Nikki offered over a posy of fragrant and colourful sweet peas. ‘Kev’s made his own trellis and put in some seeds. They’ve gone crazy.’

‘Oh, they’re so pretty. Thank you. Hey, it’s good to see you,’ said Cath, suddenly feeling all emotional.

‘You all right?’ Nikki asked caringly, going in for a hug. Then adding, as she drew away, ‘Bless, you’ve had so much on.’

This was the first chance they’d had to chat face-to-face since Will’s surgery without anyone else around.

‘Ahm, so-so,’ Cath answered honestly, sounding shattered. ‘It’s all been a shock. And I’m trying my best to look after Will and the girls, but I have to confess, it feels a bit overwhelming at times …’ She chewed at her lower lip.

‘I bet. Hey, this sounds like the ideal time for a cuppa and catch-up, then. And after that you can hand over those beach house keys, ready for us to hit the hut.’

‘Of course. And that’s amazing … your offer of help.’

‘You’re more than welcome. We can’t wait to get started.’

They were soon sat on the back patio with mugs of strong tea, chatting initially about the plans for the bungalow.

‘Yep, we’re all primed to go over to the hut tomorrow, late afternoon,’ Nikki announced. ‘Me and Lily are looking at paint colours en route. And then, on Wednesday’ – that was the day after – ‘the lads have managed to organise some help in the shop, so we’ve got a full day to crack on with it.’

‘Oh, thank you so much for this. It sounds brilliant. But hey, please be subtle with the colour scheme, won’t you?’ Cath didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but was still remembering all the chitchat on their paella day about bright Hula-style florals and a grass-skirted bar. ‘Will’s far more conservative than Andreas and Dan. He’d want a relaxing atmosphere, I’m sure. Think coastal chilled, cool neutrals and easy-going tones.’

‘Never fear. I’m with Will on this. I’ll try my best to rein the lads in.’

‘Hah, that’s no easy task.’ Cath had to smile, whilst feeling a sense of trepidation. For the revamp to be a success, Will would have to like the changes to the decor they were about to make. She had to trust the team on this, though. And they were doing it from a place of kindness.

The Beach Hut Challenge, she now learned, had been Andreas’s idea initially. As soon as he and Dan had found out about Will’s cancer and surgery, they were determined to help in some way. Doing up the Low Newton bungalow had become their mission, with Nikki and Lily jumping on board as soon as they’d heard the lads’ plans. Nikki now promised to give the place a lighter, coastal yet still cosy feel. Ideal as somewhere to recuperate, she confirmed.

‘Okay, so tomorrow, Sophie’s seeing a close friend who’s just back from uni, so I’m holding the fort with Will.’ Cath was looking forward to having a little time to themselves to be frank. ‘But Wednesday, as long as Will seems fine, I’ll try and get over to help you. I can feign some last-minute extra tuition classes for my GCSE students, or something. I’m sure he’ll enjoy having a little father–daughter time with Sophie, anyhow.’ She had a feeling that Sophie would like that, too, with Maddie having had to go back home to work for a couple of shifts.

‘And how are things on that front? With Sophie?’ Nikki asked, with a note of conspiratorial caution, te pair of them having previously discussed some of the tricky moments Cath had had with Will’s youngest daughter earlier on in their budding relationship.

‘She’ll probably be glad to get rid of me for a few hours,’ Cath responded openly. ‘To be fair, it’s a tough time for all of us. I can’t blame her feeling a bit prickly towards me. She must feel like I’m trying to worm my way in to her dad’s affections … pushing her mother’s memory out. But it’s never that simple, is it. There’s room for love after loss; there has to be, or life would be just too damned sad. But she’s young, she’s still hurting.’

‘She needs to buck her ideas up, that’s what I say,’ Nikki retorted, feeling protective of her friend. ‘You do so much for them all. If she’s not careful and keeps on pushing, she might get some witch of a stepmother when you’ve had enough of it, and then she’ll know about it …’

Cath could never envisage walking away, but she loved hearing her friend’s support. ‘We’ll work through it, I’m sure. The important thing is that we concentrate on Will, right now.’ She paused, gave a sigh, and then added confessionally, ‘Though even that seems a bit of a bun fight between us all … trying to prove who can help him the best. It seems to have a very competitive edge, this care.’ It felt good to be able to open up about the stresses she’d been facing within the family home.

‘Oh, crikey. Families, hey …’

‘Yeah. But at least they care. We’ll get there in the end.’

Whatever the end might be. Cath couldn’t let herself dwell on that too much. For now, it was one day at a time.