There seemed to have been a shift in the status quo. Ed was full of life, animated when he talked about sailing, about how much he’d learnt from Greg. He was also busy getting all his modules finalised for university. Adity was still in Bali helping her parents with her granny’s estate and clearing out her small house. Granny G had slipped away quietly last month, but had left a mountain of possessions to sort through. Adity would be here in four weeks. They were waiting for news on a small one-bedroom flat he’d been to see on the high street and in six weeks the two of them would start uni.
She looked up at Ed’s smiling face in the doorway, the way his fringe flopped over his forehead – just, she realised, like Greg. She noticed the promise in his eyes and almost winced. She remembered that feeling – having a life ahead of you to live. She sighed, hauling herself up on her elbows – she needed all her energy for the day ahead.
Maybe today would be a good chance to try and build some more bridges, to make sure they were friends, before she left Brightwater Bay and moved on. She had nothing to lose.
He came and sat down on the bed. ‘What do you think? Mum?’
‘Yes, of course, that would be great.’
Ed shifted on the bed and smoothed down a section of the duvet cover.
‘How’s it going with Greg?’ Maddie leant on her elbow. ‘You’re getting on with him, now, aren’t you?’
Ed nodded. ‘Yeah, I am. He’s taught me a lot. But, well, yeah, he’s all right. I can see why you guys used to be close. He’s cool.’
Cool. That would do.
‘Right, let’s get going.’ She reached out and ruffled his hair. ‘Oh, but what about Taffie?’
‘Greg says bring him!’ Ed grinned, jumping up from the bed and looking out the window. ‘He says we should be all right if we get going now, because the weather looks a bit iffy for later.’
Maddie threw her feet out the side of the bed, took a quick shower and spent rather longer than normal on her hair and make-up. She tried on about three pairs of shorts before deciding on her cut-off denim ones, then scolded herself for spending so long on something so trivial. He doesn’t care, Maddie. Nevertheless, she shook her hair down over her shoulders, smeared some tinted sun cream over her face, a bit of mascara, some blusher and then she had a word with herself in the mirror: Stop it, she said, as she looked back at that hopeful face.
*
They took the costal road to the sailing club further along the bay. The sun was out overhead, shining on the sea, and as Maddie looked out ahead of her, the waters appeared calm and shiny. Glints of the sun’s rays reflected back at her as she took in the water’s edge snaking round the shore’s contours like a lace ribbon. It looked very inviting from this distance.
When they pulled up at the sailing club, Maddie glanced out at the horizon again. There were a few mushroom-coloured clouds gathering, but it was still bright. As they hopped out the car, a large cloud eclipsed the sun for a moment and she shivered, then it popped back out again and she could feel the warmth on her shoulders as she hauled their belongings from the boot. She clipped a lead onto a very excitable Taffie, who was wagging his fluffy tail and barking. They made their way to the entrance.
The sailing club was a hive of activity: people were rushing from place to place, using terms she didn’t understand, talking about the weather, last week’s racing and what was on in the bar that evening. It was a world that Ed clearly seemed to be enjoying as he chatted to a few people as they rushed past. Hi, Ed. Hey, Ed, good to see you. Good morning, winds are strong. You taking the thirty-footer? She stood next to him, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She yanked down her T-shirt and smiled at a few people passing by.
‘This way, Mum,’ Ed said, taking the lead from her and pulling Taffie away from a patch of carpet he was sniffing intently.
Ed led her down a pontoon to where the boat was moored. Taffie was straining at the lead, his little feet making clip-clip noises on the wood. The wind had picked