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‘Yes, it is.’ She smiled.
‘Do you want a go?’ He nodded towards the oars.
‘Me?’ She grimaced.
‘Go on. I’ll teach you what to do.’
‘Uh, okay then, why not?’
As he passed the oars to her, the boat bobbed up and down on the calm water.
‘What do I do?’ She dipped the oars into the water and pulled back as the boat pushed backwards. ‘Is this right?’
‘Yes, that’s right. You’re a natural.’ He grinned. ‘Okay, I have a question for you.’
‘Oh dear, I asked for that, didn’t I?’ Tammy bit down on her bottom lip. What was he about to ask her?
‘Ha, you did.’ He leaned back in the boat, relaxing his shoulders. ‘What is your best achievement in life?’
‘My best achievement?’ She widened her eyes. ‘That’s a deep question.’
‘It is.’ He nodded.
‘Okay, umm, my best achievement, the one thing I’m most proud of?’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I guess it’s the time I stepped in and kept my gran’s bakery running when she was admitted to hospital.’ She looked out across the lake. Three ducks were dipping in and out of the reeds to their right.
‘Was she okay?’
‘Umm. No. Well, yes, she was after that, but she had to give up the bakery a few months later, which had been her life’s passion.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Leaning forward, he laid his fingers on her hand, gripping the oar with her.
‘I was only eighteen at the time. It had been the summer before I went off to uni.’
‘Wow, that’s impressive.’
‘Not really. I knew what I was doing. I used to help during the holidays from school. My gran had taught me everything I needed to know. I was only doing what she’d taught me.’ She looked down at their hands.
‘Still, it’s impressive and I can understand why you chose it as your biggest achievement.’
She shook her head. She missed her gran. It had been two years after she’d been discharged from the hospital, almost to the day, that she’d passed away. ‘How about you? What’s your biggest achievement?’
‘To date, it’s probably moving here. Taking that leap of faith and moving somewhere on my own. I’ve moved around a fair bit with the job, but of course, I wasn’t alone. This move, though, to Penworth Bay, I was.’
‘You’d always lived with your ex and she’d moved with you?’
‘Exactly. I’m embarrassed to admit that I almost didn’t come. I almost thought it would be easier to stay at my old job.’
‘The one you hated?’
‘The one where everyone hated me, yes.’ He grimaced.
‘I can’t imagine anyone hating you.’ She shook her head.
‘Well, I bet you would if you’d thought I’d moved in and replaced Ian without a reason.’ He shrugged and leaned back again. ‘It sounds pretty daft after your answer.’
‘Not at all. It’s a big thing to move somewhere you don’t know anyone. A place you’ve never been to before.’
‘You’ve done just that. Coming to Elsie’s to volunteer.’
