Page 88 of A Colourful Country Escape
‘Right,’ said Sky, adding it to the list. ‘Then get you a new SIM card?’
‘At some point,’ Lexie conceded. She did think better with the world at her fingertips. And she had a lot of things to de-pickle.
‘Charge our phones. Get food supplies.’
‘And water.’ Lexie nodded.
‘And get drunk!’ said Sky, with a flourish.
Lexie took a deep breath and tried to exhale some of the tightness that had been building in her chest. ‘One drink. Maybe two.’
‘Drunk, drunk, drunk. Drunk, drunk, drunk,’ Sky sang in time to the raindrops, as she danced around the boxes looking for another welly.
‘You’ll be a total lightweight after all that abstaining in the commune.’
Sky pulled a face. ‘You think I stuck to the no-alcohol rule? Don’t be a dimwit, Lexie. When you want something, there’s always a way.’
Lexie hoped her sister was right. Although, quite what she wanted for them both was yet to be decided.
Chapter 44
‘Everyone knows everyone in the country,’ the barman said with a laugh, pointing towards a stout, ruddy-faced man sitting further along the bar, a sleeping dog at his feet.
He was apparently the farmer whose field Lexie and Sky were squatting on, where Penny Two was now stuck in the mire.
‘Don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere soon if you’d rather get some Dutch courage before you approach him.’ The barman winked and handed them two menus. ‘He probably won’t kill you.’
Lexie looked at the decorative pitchforks hanging on the wall and hoped he was right. People with dogs were always nice, weren’t they?
The country pub they’d stumbled upon, just a few hundred metres from their mudbath of a field, was as perfectly quaint as the rest of the village appeared to be. Apart from the slightly imposing ornamental farm equipment, it was one of those pubs that seemed to hug you in with its low oak beams and cosy rustic feel. Just the ticket when you were cold, soggy and down in the dumps. The Traveller’s Rest was the perfect name.
‘A bottle of rosé and two of your largest wine glasses, please,’ asked Lexie. Well, she wouldn’t be using the rest of her holiday spending money in Morocco now, so she deserved a treat.
‘Bad day?’ the barman asked.
‘Bad life,’ Lexie confirmed, and then immediately felt like a drama queen. People had gone through worse than being exposed as a liar, ditched, made homeless, jobless and wedged tyre-deep in a farmer’s field. It just didn’t feel like it right then.
‘And two lots of bangers and mash with extra gravy would be great,’ Sky added, having made light work of the menu.
The scary landlord farmer seemed to be nodding his approval in the distance, and Lexie hoped he hadn’t heard too much.
‘Beautiful camper van, by the way,’ said the barman. ‘I noticed it from one of the top windows this morning. Worth a packet, those things. Been looking for one myself, if you ever want to sell it. You’re lucky ladies.’
Lexie did not feel lucky.
The girls hid themselves in a wooden booth and Sky poured the wine. ‘What are we going to do if that guy wants us to get off his land?’ she whispered.
‘Pray for a miracle,’ Lexie replied. ‘Because the camper won’t budge and I plan to be too drunk to drive anyway.’
They clinked glasses and agreed not to think about it until they were at least merry enough to find it funny.
Before long, the girls were one glass down and tucking into their sausage lunches. With the lack of food and sleep, Lexie was already feeling her wine working its magic. Every swig was making her three millimetres bolder.
‘Did you actually love Billy-Nob?’ she heard herself asking.
‘Yes!’ Although Sky was bristling. It was a definite no.
Lexie pointed to the wine bottle. ‘You’re allowed to let the drink talk. In fact, that’s kind of the aim.’
