Looking down from the top of the steps by the pitch and putt, Maddy can see that there’s quite a crowd on the beach already and, even from here, she can sense the jolly mood as the swimmers start disrobing for the round-the-pier swim. There’s a smell of doughnuts and candyfloss in the air.
The lifeguard boat bobs in the foam and she can see the markers out in the water. She was worried that it would be odd for Jamie coming back here and now she follows his gaze as they walk down the steps. The counsellor Dominica has recommended for Jamie has been working wonders and she’s happy to see him getting stronger every day, but she knows difficult stuff comes up all the time. The counsellor has told Maddy to acknowledge it when it does.
‘Wow. It’s a long way down.’ He’s sombre as he nods to the end of the pier.
She nods. ‘I know.’
‘If you hadn’t …’
He turns to her and she sees the gratitude and the fear in his eyes. ‘I know. It’s OK.’
‘But you saved my life, Mum.’
She smiles at him and his eyes twinkle in the sunshine and she shudders, because what if she hadn’t saved him? Because she’s only a beginner at going in the sea? She’s only a beginner at saving lives.
‘Anytime,’ she says, smiling back.
He nods and carries on down the steps and, as she watches him and the scruffy hair on the back of his head, which was the first thing she noticed when he was born, she knows he’s going to be OK. That they’re both going to be OK.
It’s been a whirlwind twenty-four hours getting the boxes out of the Airbnb and moving into Helga’s cottage and helping her pack up for her trip with Linus. But it’s meant that she hasn’t had any time to train for the swim and, now she’s here, she’s nervous about the challenge ahead.
‘It’s really far,’ Maddy tells Jamie, now reaching beach level and seeing the crowds of swimmers getting ready. ‘I have no idea if I’ll make it.’
‘You will. You can do anything. You’re my super-mum.’
He hasn’t called her that for years and she laughs. She’s going to have to try her best to live up to his expectations.
‘Where are Helga and Linus?’ she asks, and Jamie looks along the crowded promenade.
‘They were just behind us.’
Her phone pings now. It’s a text from Lisa.
I’m stuck in traffic, but I’m on my way. Good luck with the swim. Can’t wait to be there.
Jamie gives her an enquiring look and she explains that Lisa is coming down and will be here in time for the party. Because she’s hoping that’s what today will turn into, once they’ve done the swim. Dominica is bringing loads of beers and Claire and Pim have offered to do the catering. They’re all determined to give Helga and Linus a good send-off.
Maddy and Jamie spot Tor, who is already in her costume. She’s with Lotte and another girl and waves Maddy over. Tor introduces Alice, her twin sister. Alice has the kind of polished look that Maddy used to have, she thinks, recognising her Botoxed skin and pristine eyebrows and highlights. But, next to Tor, who is so natural and fresh, she looks older and somehow more pinched. She’s a good-looking girl, but all her interventions haven’t actually enhanced her beauty, but rather ruined it. She smiles, her teeth whitened and straightened.
‘Oh my God,’ Alice says. ‘Tor has told me all about you. You’re the Maddy. Maddy from @made_home?’
‘Yes.’
‘I love what you do. Honestly. When I decorated my house, I followed all your advice.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’m not joking,’ Tor says, as Maddy puts down her bag. ‘She’s, like, a super fan.’
‘I can’t believe I’ve only just found out that Tor is friends with you.’
‘I’m flattered,’ Maddy says with a laugh. She talks to Alice for a while who wants advice on her new conservatory plan.
‘I loved that fern-shaped shelf you featured.’
‘I’ve still got it. I’ve just moved it.’
‘I’d happily buy it off you.’
‘Really?’
Maddy has been wondering what to do with all of the stuff she couldn’t bear to put in storage and is now in Helga’s conservatory, but this exchange suddenly sparks her interest. She could sell it all. To people like Alice. Why hasn’t it occurred to her before?
When Alice turns away to talk to Lotte, Maddy leans in close to Tor. ‘How’s it going with those two?’ She knows how nervous Tor’s been about Lotte meeting Alice.
‘They seem to have hit it off. Just like that. She came yesterday without Graham and the kids and it feels – I don’t know – like we’re all a family already. And Lotte thinks she’s great. It feels as if we can move on to the next stage. Lotte and I have been talking about finding a flat together, for just the two of us.’
‘That’s great, Tor. Honestly. I’m so pleased for you.’
She waves now as Claire and Pim arrive with their boys, who are loaded with a table and cool boxes.
Jamie is soon chatting to Claire’s boys and he helps them set up the table and deckchairs.
‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ Claire says to Jamie. ‘I want to ask you something.’
‘Oh?’ He looks at Maddy and then at Claire curiously.
‘Pim and I have been talking,’ she announces. She sounds giddy with excitement. ‘We’ve decided on a new direction. We want to run a café. Tutors and Tea we’re calling it. A place where students can come and have a coffee and a half-hour tutor session.’
‘There’s a place that we’ve been looking at by the station,’ Pim says. ‘It’s a bit run down, so we’re going to need help getting it up and running. We need someone young and fit to help us deck it out. And tutors.’
‘And we thought of you, Jamie,’ Claire says.
‘Me?’ Jamie is surprised, looking between them and then to Maddy.
‘Yes. We need a hand setting up.’
‘That’s a fabulous idea,’ Maddy says. She’s genuinely touched that Claire wants to help Jamie get back on his feet. ‘And you know, Jamie would make a good tutor too. You did that once in the holidays, remember? When you started your A-levels,’ she says to him.
‘Yeah,’ Jamie says. ‘I’d forgotten, but yeah, I liked it. Helping the kids with maths.’
‘Perfect,’ Pim says. ‘Even better.’
She leaves Pim and Claire talking to Jamie and runs to help Dominica, who is carrying a heavy cool box. Luna is tucked under her arm and she lets her down on the pebbles.
‘Here, let me help,’ Maddy says.
‘What a day for it,’ Dominica exclaims. She’s wearing a long kaftan and a floppy hat. She looks like she’s on a photoshoot for an exotic holiday destination.
‘Well done for lugging this lot down. It’s going to be a lot easier doing the swim knowing there’s a cold drink at the other end.’
Dominica hugs Tor and says hello to Lotte and Alice, Pim and the boys. It feels like a party already, Maddy thinks, pleased to see that Jamie and Pim are getting on so well.
‘Oh look,’ Dominica says. She points to the steps. ‘Here comes love’s young dream.’
‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Maddy says, looking at Helga and Linus. She’s always thought of Helga as so independent, but she and Linus really do look like the perfect couple. She’s talked to Linus quite a bit whilst they moved in and she had no doubt that Helga’s feelings for him are entirely reciprocated. They are as giddy as kids going on holiday preparing for their trip on the boat.
The swimmers are gathering now by the water and Claire gets changed and walks down with Tor and Maddy to the water’s edge. A girl is standing by herself looking at the sea, her arms wrapped around her body.
‘You OK?’ Maddy asks.
‘I was going to swim with my friend, but she hasn’t come.’
‘Come with us,’ Maddy says, and the girl tags along gratefully. It feels good to be the one gathering her to the flock, just like Helga gathered her all those months ago.
‘It’s cold,’ the girl says, as she dips her toes in the water.
‘Yeah, but it’s only cold water,’ Helga says, arriving and grinning at Claire. ‘Just walk in slowly and remember to breathe.’
The girl walks in nervously next to them, glad to have company.
‘Do you really think there are eels?’ Maddy asks Helga, nodding to the dark water under the pier.
‘No,’ she says. ‘Not today. It doesn’t really matter what’s underneath. It’s not going to drag you down. You’ve learnt that by now, right?’
‘I know, but I should have trained more. I’m nervous.’
‘Don’t be,’ Claire says. ‘We’ve all got each other’s backs. You’ll be fine.’
Maddy looks at the glittering water ahead, hearing the cries of the swimmers as they start the swim. She hates it when people crow on about feeling blessed when they’re humblebragging on social media. Since she’s stopped doing it herself, she’s noticed how false it sounds, but nevertheless she feels gratitude, like it’s a physical force, as she watches the powerful, amazing women stride into the waves. She feels part of a tribe. Part of a revolution.
‘Here we go,’ Tor says. ‘Let’s do this thing.’
She follows Helga, who slips into the water, and Dominica skips in beside her, splashing her arms. Tor’s next to her, laughing with Claire, and Maddy thinks that nothing needs to be any different to how it is right now in this moment with her friends and the horizon, as she plunges into the cool embrace of the sea.