Page 76 of Summer at Harbour View House
Paul scowled. ‘I had no choice if I wanted to witness this mayhem first hand, did I? I bought one off a tout outside. Or should I say … tart.’
‘He’s talking about Hannah,’ Natasha said, balling a fist. ‘She’s out by the road selling day tickets. If you won’t give him a dead arm, I will—’
Ben stuck out an arm to block her as she started off towards the TV crew. He took hold of her balled fist and gently lowered her arm to her side.
‘How many times have you told your pupils that violence doesn’t solve anything?’
‘I’m a teacher,’ Natasha said through gritted teeth. ‘I’m paid to lie.’
‘I used to be in an amateur dramatics society,’ Paul said. ‘Just in case there’s anyone out there watching who’s looking for the right kind of face for an upcoming production. Obviously, I’d rather play a hero than a villain—’
‘Let’s go get our faces painted by Albert,’ Ben said, pulling Natasha away. ‘You can be a lion or something. I’ll be a giraffe.’
Evening fell over the festival. With the weather turning balmy at the eleventh hour, the field and its sea of partygoers was bathed in warm evening light. The last support band said good night to the audience and the crowd began to press forward, eagerly awaiting the return of eighties hair metal legends, Cowslip. Natasha and Ben, with their organisers name cards getting them into a side stage area, waited nervously with Jago, Lizzie, and Davey as the backing band came on to the stage.
A cheer rose from the crowd as Danny hit the first beat on the drum. Mikey, Ryan, Carly and Mandy waved to the crowd. Hannah blew Davey a kiss before turning to give a wave before heading for her microphone.
‘No sign of them,’ Natasha said, squeezing Ben’s hand.
‘I think you just dislocated my thumb,’ Ben said. ‘Don’t panic.’
Lights flickered across the stage as Danny began to play the extended drum into to the song that had traditionally opened Cowslip’s live shows in the latter part of their career. Mikey and Ryan joined in, then the backing singers added some sighs for effect.
‘Never seen so many mullets in me life,’ Jago said as the front rows of the crowd began to bounce up and down.
‘They’re not going to do it are they?’ Natasha, gripping Ben’s hand so hard he winced. ‘All that effort, all these people and they’re not going to—’
‘Weeeeeeeell, hellooooooooo Penkoe!’
The crowd roared. Twin spotlights hit either side of the stage as The Curve and Eddie James Willard made their entrances. The Curve, all in black, stalked to the front of the stage, leaned back, and fired off a rapid guitar lick. From the other side, Eddie, now wearing a black wig and sunglasses over a denim jacket and jeans, marched up to The Curve and made an awkward dance move with his microphone stand that made Natasha cringe. The crowd, luckily all fans, went wild.
‘For one night only,’ Eddie roared over The Curve’s wailing guitar, ‘Cowslip are back in town!’
The crowd roared again. Eddie and The Curve stalked across the stage like two old masters, the crowd lapping up every moment.
‘Wow, they’s quite something,’ Lizzie said, giving a little chuckle.
‘I hope his wig don’t fall off,’ Jago said, as Eddie executed a dramatic ballet spin. ‘He’ll look a right plonker if it does.’
Natasha, grinning, wrapped an arm around Ben’s waist and let him pull her close.
‘Well, thank God for that,’ she said.
29
The Days After and a Last Goodbye
Natasha putdown her case in the hall and took a deep breath. Two days after the concert—and one day after a massive cleanup and takedown effort that had culminated in a memorable night in the pub she wouldn’t forget for a long time—and the world was coming down, as she prepared to head back up to Brentwell and resume normal life. Jago was picking her up at nine to take her to St. Austell train station.
Hannah, as fresh as ever, came bouncing down the hall, Charlie held in her arms. ‘We came to see you off,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe you’re going. But you’ll be back soon, won’t you?’
Natasha smiled. ‘Absolutely. If you’ll have me.’
‘That room at the top of the stairs will always be Natasha’s Room,’ Hannah said, then reached forward and pulled Natasha into an embrace, Charlie squawking as she was crushed between them. ‘Thank you so much for everything. When I met you, I was in the gutter. Now all my dreams are coming true. Davey, the little one, and now this house….’
Natasha hadn’t really expected anything when she called Tina and asked if she would try to persuade her sister to sell the house to Davey and Natasha. Irina, however, hadn’t really wanted to keep it, and Natasha’s emphatic sob story about a young family desperate to find a home in a peaceful place to raise their—potentially—five children, and in a village that needed a few more people to boot, had worked. Irina have given them a very competitive price.
‘How about green for the hall?’ Hannah said, stroking Charlie’s feathers as the chicken gave a contented cluck. ‘Or orange? What do you think, dear?’
