Page 12 of The Love Game

Someone was banging on Violet’s skull.

‘Stop,’ she mumbled, pulling the soft throw her mum had given her last week over her head on the sofa. She’d settled there with her cuppa and book in the middle of the night, and she must have finally managed some sleep for whoever it was knocking on her door to have woken her up.

‘Oh, crap,’ she whispered, her eyes still closed. ‘Wait for me.’

She wasn’t talking to whoever was at her door. She meant her dream, even though it was already sliding away from her; she couldn’t remember the details, just the delicious feeling of enjoyment and she wanted to stay there and enjoy it some more.

‘Hello?’ a loud female voice fired through the letterbox. ‘Anybody home?’

It was the kind of voice you didn’t ignore, school-headmistress-like and official. Sighing, Violet untangled herself from the blanket and folded it on the end of the sofa before padding barefoot into the hallway.

‘Just a second,’ she said, throwing the bolt. ‘I’m here.’

Opening the door a few seconds later, she found herself confronted with a woman whose voice matched her appearance perfectly.

Boxy suit, overpowering floral blouse, stout-heeled shoes and an unnaturally red rinse on her helmet of hair.

She looked curiously as if she’d come in battledress; Vi looked warily around her to make sure she hadn’t arrived with an army of pitchfork-waving locals hiding behind her skirts.

‘Rumours are true then,’ she said by way of introduction, looking Violet up and down as if PJs after nine in the morning was a crime. Her eyes settled on Violet’s blue-tipped hair.

‘Word clearly travels fast here,’ Vi said, still wishing she was asleep.

The woman didn’t introduce herself, just reached into her large black briefcase-style handbag and pulled out a stiff white envelope, holding it out like a bailiff serving up a summons.

‘You’re cordially invited to a council consultation on the future of Swallow Beach Pier.’

The words seeped in slowly, making Vi’s brow furrow. ‘A consultation?’ She blinked a few times, trying to wake up. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.’

‘I didn’t give it to you, dear. I’m the Lady Mayoress of Swallow Beach, and given that you’re laying claim to our pier, I suggest you might want to attend the meeting in the parish hall at six sharp.’

That was a lot of words for a girl who’d been asleep five minutes previously to process, and Vi had stopped listening at the clearly antagonistic ‘given you’re laying claim’ bit.

‘Excuse me?’ She pulled herself up to her full height, which given she was barefoot, brought her up level with Mayoress No-name’s violently patterned bosom.

‘It’s all in the letter.’ The silver chains attached to the woman’s large specs rattled as she reached out and tapped the envelope.

‘And was this meeting already arranged before I arrived?’ Vi asked, battling to bring herself up to speed.

The sudden set of the woman’s jaw suggested not.

‘I see,’ Vi said. ‘Well, thanks. I’ll think about it.’

She retreated, closing the door on the woman, whose gaping mouth suggested she didn’t like the idea of being dismissed before she’d got what she wanted – in this case clearly the upper hand over the bay’s newest resident.

‘Great,’ she murmured, ripping the envelope open as she headed for the kettle.

Her eyes skimmed the words after she’d set the water on to boil.

Town meeting … suggested uses for Swallow Beach Pier …

council compulsory purchase application …

the words blurred; Violet was shocked to find herself suddenly tearful.

‘Bloody sodding hell,’ she muttered, dashing the back of her hand over her eyes.

She wasn’t a crier, and she wasn’t going to let this less than warm welcome reduce her to one.

It was just a shock to wake up to, that was all.

She could always just not go to the meeting, she reasoned.

It had clearly been called with the sole intention of putting the wind up her.

She could call Mayoress No-name’s bluff and stay away.

It would likely be just the two of them anyway; given how hastily the meeting had been called, there was every chance no one would even know about it.

A brisk walk along the seafront half an hour later changed Vi’s mind about two things. One, every last resident of Swallow Beach would know about the meeting before the morning was out, and two, she was going to the bloody meeting after all. With bells on.

Neon-green A4 placards had been stuck on every lamppost for as far as the eye could see, and a dozen or more others were tied to the gates of the pier.

Vi sunk down onto the low sea wall, watching the signs flap around in the sharp breeze.

What was wrong with that bloody woman? Why was she suddenly getting her knickers in such a twist about the pier now, when it had stood silent and overlooked for so many years?

Yanking the signs down from her beautiful pier gates, she shoved them in the nearest bin and headed back to the relative safety of the Lido.

‘You must be Violet.’

Vi looked up at the grinning blonde girl who’d just opened the entrance door to the Lido.

‘I’m Keris from number 2. You met my granddad, I think?’

‘Ah, Barty,’ Vi said, smiling. ‘Yes, yes, we met.’ Glancing down, she saw the telltale flash of neon in Keris’s hand. ‘You heard then.’

Keris nodded, unabashed. ‘You’ve ruffled a few feathers all right.’

‘I don’t know how.’ Violet’s shoulders slumped. ‘I only arrived a couple of days ago and I’ve hardly been out of the building. What do people think I’m going to do, bring the town into disrepute?’

‘Someone said you’re a showgirl,’ Keris said, her blue eyes merry. ‘I didn’t believe them, for the record.’

It was such a false and ridiculous claim that Violet almost laughed along. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

Keris looked rueful, as if she wished she was. ‘’Fraid not. Go-go dancer, I heard. I was rather hoping they were right, to be honest, we could do with some excitement around here.’

‘Who’s a go-go dancer?’ Cal appeared, heading down the stairs two at a time, bringing with him the scent of shower gel, and again, warm leather. ‘Morning ladies.’

‘Me apparently,’ Vi said.

‘Great stuff,’ he said, rubbing his hands together. ‘When’s the show?’

‘Tonight at six o’clock,’ Keris said, handing Cal the neon poster. He eyed it, frowning.

‘Oh.’

A look passed between her neighbours, and Vi didn’t know them well enough to be able to interpret it. ‘What?’

Keris put her hands up, backing away towards the door. ‘I’m just running out to work. I’ll leave this one to you, Cal.’

She leaned in and kissed him quickly on the cheek. ‘See you guys at the meeting.’

Vi watched Barty’s granddaughter skip off down the steps towards the pavement, bouncing with energy. She seemed around Violet’s age, and even though she’d met her for only five minutes, Vi felt hopeful that she’d just made a new friend.

‘She’s nice, Keris,’ Cal said, watching her leave. ‘You’ll like her. Everyone does.’

Vi digested his words, thinking about the way Keris had kissed him just now.

‘Are you trying to change the subject?’

‘Not exactly … I—’ his mobile interrupted him, loud in the pocket of his jeans. ‘Sorry, Vi,’ he said, apologetic as he pulled it out and glanced at the screen. ‘I need to take this. Customer.’

He lifted his hand in a distracted goodbye, handing the poster back as he turned and left in the opposite direction to Keris, leaving Vi alone and perplexed on the top step of the Lido.

‘See you later,’ she muttered, watching him head across to a black jeep parked over by the sea wall.

‘Violet?’

She swung back to find Barty standing in his open doorway.

‘Hi,’ she said, glad to see his familiar face.

‘Thought I heard voices,’ he said.

‘Keris and Cal. You just missed them.’

‘And you? Have you any grand plans today?’

‘Well, I hadn’t,’ she sighed. ‘But it seems I’m expected to go to a town meeting about the pier this evening.’

She held the poster out for Barty to examine, watching his face carefully. Very few people had known she was here – just two, actually, Barty and Cal. She liked them both, but it would appear that one of them had been talking about her arrival in the bay, or else how would anyone know?

‘Oh dear.’ Barty leaned against his doorframe, downcast. ‘I rather think that might be my fault, Violet. I mentioned your arrival in passing last night at Zumba.’

The idea of Barty at Zumba had Violet half laughing despite herself. ‘Zumba?’

‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,’ he said. ‘You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my hip gyrations. Snake-like, if I say so myself.’

Vi looked down at her boots, smiling. ‘Will you come to the meeting?’ She swallowed. ‘Please?’

His eyes softened. ‘Of course. We’ll go together, shall we? I’ll be the envy of the place.’ He checked his watch, regretful. ‘I better get on, tea dance at the town ballroom at eleven. Need to polish my dancing shoes.’

‘You have a better social life than most twenty year olds,’ she said, shaking her head. Swallow Beach had a ballroom?

‘Life in the old dog,’ he said, waggling his eyebrows as he stepped back inside his flat and closed the door.

All neighbours off about their business, Violet trudged off up the stairs, screwing up the neon poster as she went.