the doorway. “My aunt Sigrid and cousin Greta are over from Austria with some friends, and are coming to stay. You may meet them. They’re very charming.”
“Awesome!” I say happily. “And maybe I’ll have a little walk in the garden first.”
“Be our guest,” says Elsa, waving a hand at the French windows, and she almost sounds friendly. I can’t believe it. This visit has completely turned around!
* * *
—
The garden is quite large and complicated, with walled sections and orchards and grassy bits that look like other grassy bits. As I’m trying to find my way back, I get drawn into a WhatsApp debate between Sarika and Maud about vitamin C serum and perch on a bench to join in. So it’s quite a long time before I make my way to the pool complex, which is a glass-fronted wooden building.
The pool is stunning, all blue and glittering, just like something in a posh hotel. There are several sun beds and even a steam room and sauna. I can’t help giving a little whoop of exhilaration as I look around. Why didn’t Matt tell me about this in the first place? That is so typical of him.
Then I become aware that I can hear voices. I follow the sound, through a curtain, and find a group of women getting changed and chattering loudly in German. Three seem to be in their forties, and one is older. They look up in surprise as I enter, and I raise a shy hand.
“Hi,” I say. “I’m a friend of Matt’s. Ava.”
“Hello!” replies a beaming, athletic-looking woman with short curly hair. “I am Greta, Elsa’s cousin. This is Heike, Inge, and Sigrid.” She gestures to the older-looking woman. “My mother. We are visiting with our husbands, who will be joining us here shortly. We are conducting a short tour of the UK. A road trip.”
“After staying here for a few days, we go to Stratford,” chimes in Heike. “I have never been to Stratford.” She puts on a bathing cap with a snap. “Ready to swim,” she adds cheerfully. “Bring it on.”
“You all speak really good English,” I say in admiration.
“No, no,” says Heike modestly. “We do our best, but we are sadly lacking.”
Is she kidding?
“There’s no way I could say ‘sadly lacking’ in German,” I say frankly. “Not a chance. So you win.”
All the women laugh, exchanging pleased looks with one another, and I feel a glow rising through me. They’re nice!
“The pool’s amazing,” I say, starting to take off my clothes.
“Yes!” says Greta cheerfully. “We’re looking forward to our swim. See you there.”
They all disappear out to the pool, and I take a swimsuit from a basket marked Guests. As I put it on, I’m actually smiling to myself, because this is so not what I expected of today. A lovely lazy afternoon in the pool with Matt’s extended family! There are sun beds to lie on, I’ve already noticed. Or maybe we’ll sit on the side, dangling our toes in the water, and chat about stuff. Maybe they can tell me what happened to Ronald.
But as I head out, no one’s lying on the sun beds, nor dangling their toes. All the women are swimming hard. Like, seriously. Front crawl. Back crawl. The whole pool is like some sort of Olympic training session. Even Sigrid is performing a professional-looking breaststroke, and she must be seventy, at least. Who are these people? As I stand, flabbergasted, Greta reaches the near end of the pool and smiles up at me.
“It’s refreshing!” she says. “Come in!”
“Right.” I hesitate. “You’re all…really good swimmers.”
“We met through the swim team,” says Greta cheerfully. “Although our technique is not what it was!”
As she speaks, Heike thunders toward the edge of the pool, turns a somersault underwater, and streaks back in the opposite direction.
“Do you swim?” adds Greta politely.
“Well.” I swallow. “I mean, I can keep afloat….”
“Enjoy!” she says, and then pushes off into a deft front crawl.
I make my way cautiously down the steps into the water, which is colder than I expected, and try a few cautious breaststrokes. Then I hastily move out of the way of Inge, whose arms are like pistons in the water. Oh God, I can’t drift around with this lot thrashing up and down. It’s like the M1 in here. Maybe I’ll leave the swimming for now, I decide. Maybe I’ll try the steam room and the sauna. The relaxing stuff.