A Cornish Affair

On The Beach

Rosie didn't sleep well that night. She tossed and turned in her bed. Sticky with the heat of the night.

She had heard the others fall into the apartment just before twelve o'clock. So much for not being out too late! But Rosie had pretended to be asleep when Clair had drunkenly whispered her name. She didn't want to explain the evening she'd had.

Her dreams had been unusual to say the least. She had dreamt that she'd been in an ambulance, bleeding profusely from her foot. But rather than in the back, Rosie had been sat in the front,  in the passenger seat. And the driver had been Rick. They had discussed the price of new sofas before parking up outside a juice bar and ordering themselves an orange squash. A whole jumble of her evening played out like a film in her mind.

And now Rosie lay awake,  just before eight o'clock going through the conversation she'd had with Rick last night. Thinking of those sparks she'd felt when he had....Lee! She hadn't rung him back. She sat up in bed, then remembering her toe, gingerly got to her feet and left Clair to sleep off their night out.

Lee would be up now and off out on his first job. She dialled his number.

"Hello," he was on his hands free.

"Hi, it's only me." Rosie smiled at hearing his voice.

"Hiya darling. How's your head?" he asked,  quietening his voice ever so slightly.

"Fine." She wondered what he was talking about.

"Were you in bed when I rang?"  Of course, he was talking about last night.

"Yes, I was. But how did you know?"  Rosie was puzzled.

"When you didn't answer, I rang Clair's phone.  She said they were off out without you and that you'd probably be in bed."

"Ok. Yes, I had an early night." She was shocked at herself at how easy the lies were falling from her mouth. Well, no, she'd had an early night. Just perhaps not as early as she was making out. "How are you anyway?  Are you missing me?"

"Cause I am. You back Friday?" he asked,  before Rosie heard him shout something she'd rather not have heard at another driver.

"Yes, we'll leave around ten, so hopefully back around teatime. Shall we get a takeaway?" 

"Sounds good.  I don't think I'm going out." Rosie really hoped that he wasn't.  She was looking forward to seeing him.

They talked a little more about his mum and her latest doctors appointment. He told her about his nights out over the weekend and how he thought he'd lost his wallet, but some kind soul had handed it in.

Their world carried on without her there, but all too soon she'd be back to the mundane life that was school.

As she finished her conversation with Lee, the girls started to appear one by one.

"My mouth feels like the bottom of a budgie cage," Clair complained, heading towards the fridge. "Were you bored last night?" she asked, looking among the fridge shelves and then to the sink.

"I passed the time, then had an early night," she told them whilst flicking through a magazine.

"You should have come," Clair continued. "We got talking to these blokes. Turns out they're the ones giving us our surfing lesson today."

"Oh about that..." Rosie began.

"Sorry Rosie,"  Clair interrupted, "I'm desperate for a drink.  Where's that jug?"

It was at that moment Tina noticed the plasters around Rosie's foot.

"When did you do that?" Tina asked, looking confused.