Page 124 of Sunrise By the Sea

As he took the stage in front of hundreds of people there came a large cheer; he taught many of the children and was a familiar figure at school assemblies and church services, and they all adored him.

He smiled and sat down and played a massive ripple of ornate opening chords, before announcing, ‘And now . . . for a very special boy . . .’

Lowin had somehow been wrangled back into the embroidered shirt, but the red shorts, dripping wet, were staying stubbornly on. He was sitting on a throne erected at the very front of the crowd, blocking everyone’s view.

‘I would like everyone to sing with me . . .Happy birthday to you. . .’

Hundreds of people – children, models, gymnasts and Backstreet Boys – happily joined in with Alexei’s flamboyant interpretation, as Lowin sat on his chair, fidgeting madly, Mum and Dad either side and the official photographer, a bullet-headed trendy type, thrusting a camera in his face to do ‘reportage’.

Marisa, shy, had hovered near the back of the crowd, but Polly wasn’t having that, and steadily pushed her forwards until she was practically eye level with the stage. Alexei, looking to Marisa’s eyes extremely dashing, was just reaching the end of the last line, ‘Happy birthday to . . .’

And at that exact moment he looked up, and caught sight of Marisa, and his voice completely trailed away to absolutely nothing, and the crowd had to finish it for him.

BOOM!

As Alexei crashed some very dramatic chords and arpeggios in an attempt to justify his fee for turning up and playing one song, there was the sound of a cannon going off out at sea.

The crowd’s attention turned, and the children’s jaws genuinely dropped at the sight of the high-masted pirate schooner coming round the headland, the Jolly Roger flying high.

As one, they charged to the water, screaming and yelling.

At the very front of the gang were Daisy and Avery, Avery having made a speedy recovery as he had heard something in the air about ‘pirates’.

Huckle was desperately chasing them, but it was so bright and so sunny he could barely make out their silhouettes.

Polly caught him on the way. He grinned to see her.

‘This is barmy,’ he said. ‘That’s a British word, isn’t it?’

‘It is,’ said Polly, grinning. ‘But it’s the right one too.’

He smiled and hugged her.

‘Goodness. I thought you were working?’

‘Taking a short break,’ said Polly. ‘I’d better get back to it.’

He kissed her. ‘When the crowd thins out, I have a proposal involving dumping the children in the movie theatre, grabbing a bottle of fizz and a picnic blanket and taking a long quiet walk in the dunes,’ he murmured in her ear.

‘I like that idea,’ said Polly, nuzzling in. ‘I like it very much.’

More cannons went off and they separated, Polly to return to the stall, Huckle to chase the munchkins. He couldn’t see a thing in the crowd, the sun was right in his eyes.

‘Daisy! Avery!’ he called out, although as the ‘pirates’ started throwing ropes over the side and dismounting onto rowing boats, his shouting went unheard.

‘Daisy! Avery?’

They weren’t down by the water. They weren’t splashing around trying to reach the boats.

Neither were they on the now-ignored funfair, or the candyfloss machine.

Huckle was not a man who lost his cool easily. But his shouting got a little louder.

‘Daisy! Avery!’

Alexei was waiting in the wings as Marisa tentatively approached the stage. Everyone else had charged off to watch the pirate ship. He didn’t look remotely uncomfortable in his peculiar get-up; in fact, it rather suited him, gave a certain distinguished look to his heft.

‘You look . . . very nice,’ he said shyly. ‘I thought you workink?’

---