‘Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting’
(Henry V)
Determined to arrive at work early that morning, Kelsey had wolfed her breakfast and thrown on her uniform, but with jeans this time, leaving her blow-dried hair wild and loose and remembering to open the window wide to stop her bedsit turning into a sauna after her shower.
Thinking of how frazzled her skin had been yesterday she slathered on sun cream, loving its scent. Even in the depths of winter on rainy days at home she’d been known to smear on her summer sun lotion. You simply can’t have the January blues when you smell like banana daiquiris and coconut.
Passing the rainbow-striped strap of her camera over her head and across her body she felt instantly complete, her mind abuzz with thoughts of the beautiful photographs she might capture today.
There on the floor beside the camera bag was Fran’s envelope brimming with cash. Crouching down to lift it, thoughts of Fran flooded back, and she felt the wind leave her sails again. She hadn’t called him yet and even though she didn’t really know what she’d say to him if she did, she knew she’d have to, and soon. Yes, she missed her family and Mirren, but there just wasn’t that same tug of homesickness when she thought about Fran. Instead there was overwhelming guilt and another, more subtle feeling, still too new for her to recognise fully: the growing glow of self-reliance. Shoving the money into the zip compartment of her camera case, Kelsey rushed for the door. There were errands to run before meeting Will.
First, she made her way to the bank on the high street and hurriedly paid in the money, relieved to get rid of it. It simply wasn’t safe having that kind of cash just lying around, but it certainly made the prospect of a summer away from home a lot more enjoyable. It meant she needn’t worry too much about paying her way and it was going to make her second errand a lot more fun.
Kelsey made a beeline towards the smart shopping arcade near the river, scanning the rows of shops for a clothes store. She passed the florists, art galleries, hair salons, jewellers, patisseries, and coffee shops before spotting the little cluster of quirky independent clothes shops with cutesy names like ‘Flora and Frieda’, ‘Watermelon’, and ‘Boo and Blue.’
I’ve got to come back here on my days off, it’s gorgeous.
Her heart was beating faster. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d shopped for herself. Fran always noticed on the rare occasions she wore something new and he’d sulk about it, asking how much it had cost. Well, today she was going to shop, or rather, speed-shop.
The boutique was smart if rather tiny and sparse inside. Kelsey was the only customer and the girl behind the till looked surprised to see someone in the shop so early. She closed her magazine quickly and greeted Kelsey politely. ‘Come on in. Are you looking for anything in particular?’
Kelsey eyed the rails of expensive-looking clothes. ‘I was looking for boring work trousers, but now I’m here…’
Twenty-five minutes later Kelsey was running as fast as she could towards Will, two large bags bumping up and down on her hips. And she was laughing like a maenad. Her working summer holiday in this shopper’s paradise had got off to the perfect start.
‘Ciao, bella,’ Will called out. He was leaning on the lamp post opposite the agency doors.
‘Eh? Oh, ciao, I guess. You’re very chipper this morning.’
‘You’re looking pretty happy yourself. And, I must say rather sexy too, except…’ He was eying her new cropped dark grey pants. ‘Perhaps ditch the price tag?’ Reaching a swift hand down towards Kelsey’s hip Will yanked the label from her trouser pocket.
‘Oh my God. Thank you, I think.’ Blushing again? She cursed inwardly, exasperated at Will’s ability to fluster her. Trying to collect herself, she pressed on. ‘Can I drop these bags at your hotel this morning?’
‘Of course, let’s go.’
Will slipped on his sunglasses, his hair falling messily around their dark frames. He looked just as good as she remembered but she couldn’t help fulminating over how this posh-boy stranger could make her feel so attractive and so young and silly at the same time. What frustrated her even more was her suspicion that he knew exactly what he was doing, in fact, he seemed to delight in it.
‘Doing a bit of swanky shopping then? Good for you. You’re a beautiful girl; you deserve nice clothes, especially if they make up for having to wear this godawful uniform.’
Walking on, chatting about the day ahead, Will told her they were hosting an Italian group all day and they wanted the exact same tour the students had yesterday. Kelsey waited on the busy pavement as Will ran up to his room in the Osprey Hotel.
Unexpectedly, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder as she was greeted with an enquiring ‘hello?’ Startled, she spun around to be met with the bright smiling eyes of two women, both wearing the Norma Arden Agency uniform.
‘Hello! More tour guides? I’m Kelsey. Lovely to meet you.’
Trying to read her new colleagues’ name badges, she made out only one, ‘Valeria’, belonging to the petite, glamorous woman with the long glossy brown hair who was already hugging her.
‘Welcome to Stratford,’ she was saying in a soft accent that Kelsey couldn’t place. ‘I’m Valeria, and this is Myrtle.’ She placed a hand on Myrtle’s back and pulled her into the conversation. Myrtle, a little older and broader than Valeria, with cropped pixie-cut dyed white hair, leaned forward to shake Kelsey’s outstretched hand.
‘Glad to meetcha, Kelsey. Is that an Irish name?’ she said in a slow American drawl that reminded Kelsey of Jerry Hall.
‘It’s Scottish, I think. Do you know, I’m not sure? But I’m Scottish.’
‘What we really want to know is why you’re hanging out outside Will’s rooms.’ Valeria’s voice crackled wickedly. ‘Shall we all set off and leave him wondering where you are?’
‘Depends where you’re going,’ Kelsey replied.
‘Same place as you, honey. We’re all doing the Italian tours today,’ Myrtle drawled.
I really bloody must memorise that rota! ‘Fabulous!’ Kelsey compensated for her embarrassment with enthusiasm. ‘We’d better wait for Will, though. He’s stashing my shopping in his room.’
Her fellow guides glanced at one another with a flash of amusement and slightly raised eyebrows. The look lasted a millisecond, but Kelsey knew what it meant. They were thinking that Will had his hooks into the new girl already. A tiny pang of offense pulsed through her and she felt her cheeks redden. She wanted to have them know she was newly single – well, possibly, sort of single – and not about to fall for just any old Flash Harry, but instead she looked down at the street, lost for words. Myrtle had her arm around Kelsey’s shoulders in an instant..
‘Yep, let’s wait. He’s a sweetie, all right. Showing you how it’s done, is he?’ Myrtle’s voice was kind but Kelsey still felt stung and flustered.
‘Kind of. I hope I can do it. He’s pretty good, isn’t he?’
‘Honey, you ain’t seen us at work yet,’ Myrtle said with a laugh, just as Will stepped through the hotel doors and out into the sun. He was carrying four bottles of mineral water.
He kissed Myrtle and Valeria twice – a friendly smacker on each cheek – and handed out the bottles.
‘Just one of the perks of having your own bar.’ He flashed that Cheshire cat grin again. ‘We’ll need them this morning; it’s set to be the hottest day of the year so far. Right, let’s do this. I’ll take the church first. Myrtle and Valeria, start by the river? Then we’ll swap, yeah?’
They walked down the wide curving road to the church where three large coaches were lined up. Tourists were pouring out onto the street. Kelsey had no idea what they were saying. Will casually took her hand and pulled her towards the front coach.
‘This is us, Kelsey Anderson. Watch and learn, kid.’
Will produced a clipboard from his backpack and started rhyming off names in a thick Italian accent, calling the group to order with nothing but charm and an obvious love of being the centre of attention. Soon they were under his spell, listening intently to their guide’s perfect Italian as he led them through the shady churchyard.
Valeria winked at Kelsey as she walked briskly past, her group rushing to keep up with her as they made their way down to the riverside. In the distance Myrtle was trying to herd her group off the bus and onto the safety of the pavement, her voice raised to a loud shout over her gabbling crowd. ‘This way, folks.’
She seemed to have less command over her lot than Will and Valeria, but Kelsey was still in awe of her courage and that loud voice. Soon she’d be trying out her own voice in front of the crowds. The quick dread flooded her body, suspending her breathing and quickening her pulse.