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Chapter 4
‘Is Wales a different country?’ Jake, Annabelle’s eldest child, asked, as she indicated to turn off the motorway.
‘Not really. Kind of. It’s complicated,’ she replied. ‘Think of it as going from one state to another, like Queensland to New South Wales.’
‘Will there be sharks?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Crocs?’
‘Definitely not.’
Jake nodded, processing the information. One good thing to come out of her agreeing to take the kids on holiday was that they were finally talking to her.
‘Can I surf?’ he asked.
‘I’m not sure.’
They were a bit late to this particular party, because everyone else had arrived on Saturday and today was Monday, but with only about fifteen minutes to go until they arrived at the house that Kate and Brett had rented, Annabelle was suddenly feeling decidedly nervous.
‘Why are the houses so small?’ Izzie asked, not for the first time. It was an endless source of wonder to her daughter.
Relocating to the UK had been a culture shock for her kids in more ways than one. The sprawling yards and wide roads of home had been replaced by terraced houses with small gardens and narrow streets. Even Annabelle had taken some time to adjust to how crowded and higgledy-piggledy it was, compared to where they’d lived in Cairns.
The car’s satellite navigation system was taking them through a housing estate and Annabelle eyed the houses they passed with trepidation; none of them looked large enough, and she worried that she’d plugged the wrong postcode into the machine. But then she slowed down to negotiate a sharp bend and abruptly the housing estate was left behind and the vista opened up.
‘I can see the sea!’ Izzie exclaimed, bouncing up and down, and Annabelle’s heart lifted.
The ocean had always had that effect on her, and even though today was overcast and the water was a metallic grey and not the blue she’d envisioned, she could already feel some of the tension draining away.
It drained away even further when she noticed the houses lining the coast road. They were big, and one of them was very large indeed, and she let out a whoosh of relief when the Satnav told her she’d arrived at her destination.
Annabelle brought the car to a halt on the drive, feeling incredibly nervous. The rest of the family was already there, everyone else having arrived two days ago, and for a moment she was tempted to turn the car around and go home. But Mum and Dad were already on their way to Southampton. If she went back now she’d only be rattling around the house with a couple of kids who wouldn’t be speaking to her again.
With slightly shaking fingers, she switched the engine off and sat there.
Her children were not so reticent. They were out of the car like a shot and Annabelle forced herself to move. When she uncurled her stiff limbs from the driver’s seat, the fresh sea breeze slapped her in the face and smiling ruefully at the typical British summer weather, she sucked in a deep breath, tasting the ozone and feeling glad that she’d invested in some Pac-a-Macs. She had a feeling they were going to need them.
Taking a moment to get her bearings, she gazed out to sea, noting the white caps racing across the water and the scudding clouds in the sky. It wasn’t cold, despite the stiff breeze, and she took another deep breath. The tide was in and she could see spray rising into the air as the waves crashed against the dark rugged rocks. It looked wild and beautiful, and she was suddenly glad she was here.
In between the sea and the road was a wide strip of land which was covered in grass and gorse, across which people were strolling, many of them with dogs, and as she wondered how far she’d be able to walk, she realised she couldn’t wait to go exploring.
That would have to wait, because right now she had her family to meet, so she turned around to face the house, liking what she saw. Large and detached, it was set back from the road, its nearest neighbours a good couple of hundred feet away, and she liked the sense of space the distance gave. It reminded her of Cairns, of home, where land wasn’t at a premium and houses weren’t crowded together.
The house itself was three storeys high. The top one had Dorma windows, and the middle floor had huge panes of glass, floor to ceiling, and she imagined the view from there would be magnificent.
Only one other car sat in the driveway, besides hers (or should she say, hermother’scar, because Annabelle had borrowed it for the duration), and she recognised it as belonging to Aunt Beverley.
It was Jake, on overhearing his grandma tell his mum last night that it wasn’t too late to change her mind and it would do the children good to have a holiday before they started school in September, that had persuaded her to come, because Jake had actually spoken to her without her having to say anything first. Since she’d dropped the bombshell that they weren’t going back to Australia, he’d not said a word to her unless it was in response to a direct question, and even then his replies had been as brief as possible.
Izzie had followed his lead, although being that much younger she hadn’t been able to hold out as long, and had been desperate for Mummy cuddles and reassurance. Make the most of it Annabelle had told herself, as she’d held her daughter close – in a few years Izzie would be a teenager and then she’d hardly want to bother with her mum at all.
With Jake finally talking to her of his own volition, Annabelle didn’t want to jeopardise that, so here they were, about to meet a family they only knew through anecdotal stories and snippets of news over the phone.
Suddenly, the children seemed shy, their initial exuberance replaced with wariness as the pair of them hung back. It was up to Annabelle to take the lead, and she did so by retrieving her handbag from the passenger seat, smiling brightly at her offspring, then marching up to the front door and knocking loudly.
It was opened by Aunt Beverley, who took one look at her, let out a cry of delight and spread her arms wide.
