Page 47 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘Wow,’ I exclaim as I find myself standing next to Charlie in a tiny hollow of smooth stone that cuts into the side of the cliff. ‘This is amazing!’
But it’s not only our little viewing platform that’s astounding me – remarkable though it is, hidden away down here – but our view.
From our hidey-hole tucked into the side of the cliff, we can see nothing but deep blue sea and pale blue sky extending for miles and miles into the distance.
‘What an incredible view,’ I tell him as I stare out at the never-ending seascape. ‘How on earth did you find this? By accident?’
‘Yeah.’ Charlie sits down cross-legged on some dry bracken that’s obviously been left here on purpose for people to sit comfortably for long periods and gaze out at the view, so I sit down next to him. ‘When my mum died I needed somewhere to come to get away from everything, and one day I found this place while I was out wandering, not knowing what to do with myself.’
‘That was lucky,’ I say, and immediately feel stupid. Why could I never say the right thing in these situations? ‘I mean, we all need somewhere to go when we lose someone close to us.’
Charlie looks across at me.
‘Haveyouthen?’
‘What?’
‘Lost someone close to you?’
I hesitate for a moment. ‘Yes, my grandmother,’ I say swiftly. ‘That’s why I’m here in St Felix, isn’t it?’
‘Ah yes, of course.’ Charlie nods. ‘Your grandma. I forgot. Sorry.’
We sit and watch the gulls for a few minutes as they circle over the sea, waiting for the chance to dive down and snatch a fish from the waters below.
‘So why don’t you like crowds then?’ Charlie asks. ‘You were obviously having problems in the shop earlier.’
‘I had an incident involving a big crowd when I was younger. I’ve had a bit of a phobia ever since.’
‘Oh.’ Charlie pauses to think. ‘Is that why it was so easy for me to persuade you to leave?’
‘Maybe. That and some other stuff.’
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ Charlie asks, sounding as awkward as I’d felt earlier when he mentioned his mum. ‘That’s what people always ask, isn’t it? I’m not sure they always want to listen, though, when they say that.’
I smile at him. ‘No, not really. I’ve done too much talking over the years, to be honest. Not sure it ever helped that much.’
‘Me too,’ Charlie says. ‘After Mum, we all had counselling – lots of counselling.’ He pulls a face. ‘I think it helped Bronte, but she was younger. Not too sure about Dad, he kept everything hidden. But then he’s like that about most things. I reckon Miley helped him more than any counsellor ever did.’
‘Really?’ I think about Jake and Miley, and how they seem to dote on each other.
‘Yeah, thank God for Aunt Kate and Uncle Bob in the US, that’s all I can say. Dad was in a real bad way before they asked him to take Miley. Once she became a part of our family, life seemed to start getting better – not just for him, but for all of us. It was a real turning point in our recovery as a family. We have a lot to thank that monkey for.’
‘She’s a lovely little thing.’
‘Miley?’ Charlie pulls a face. ‘You want to try living with her! Stroppier than Bronte ever knows how to be is that one.’
I grin. ‘Your sister isn’t so bad. You should have known me when I was young.’
‘Bit of a rebel, were you?’ Charlie asks, winking at me. ‘You seemed to like it when I called you that before.’
‘Definitely. I was much worse than your sister.’
‘I can’t believe that!’ Charlie looks sceptical.
I hesitate. ‘Well, apart from messing up all my GCSEs, and getting into alotof trouble at school, I got in trouble with the law too.’
Charlie looks surprised. ‘How bad?’
