The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club(46)

‘Okay, fair enough,’ she said and she had a feeling that she’d enjoy his book once it was published.

‘I was only there a few weeks and I ran into Sir Roger Oxley one afternoon. He’d popped in for a radio interview and some angel had sent me on coffee rounds. When I plopped his coffee down before him, I hadn’t a notion who he was, but we got chatting and one thing led to another and by the time he was leaving, he’d given me his email address and asked me to send on a script I’d written the year before about the Paralympics in London.’

‘And the rest, as they say, is history?’

‘In a nutshell, I suppose it is. Sir Roger liked my script. There was more work to do on it, but by the time we were in the lead-up to the next games, it was ready to go and again, we were very lucky, because he managed to secure a fairly big name from the soap opera circuit.’ He waved his hands as if conducting a light orchestral chorus.

‘It sounds like the stuff of fairy tales to me,’ Lucy said and probably, she thought, to plenty of starving, success-hungry writers all over London.

‘I suppose so. The show went on to be a critical smash – the people in the Times and the Observer loved it…’

‘And the ratings?’

‘Oh, no, they loved it too, but halfway through the series, our leading man ended up before a magistrate for being drunk and under the influence of drugs behind the wheel of his Range Rover.’ Dan shrugged his shoulders. ‘You win some; you lose some. It turned out from then on, we got more publicity in brackets behind his name as he walked into court each day and then was sentenced to a stiff turn of community service and a lifelong ban from the soap opera that he had planned to return to later that year.’

‘Ah, it still managed to roll around okay for you in the end.’

‘Yes, I suppose it did. My next script was the one that really set me up and the rest, as they say, is history…’ His voice drifted off, as if the notion of London had robbed him of his enthusiasm. ‘So, that’s me.’

‘And then you decided to come here to write your novel…’

‘Yes, that’s the plan.’

‘Why here, of all places?’ she asked.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Most people, well, the rock stars and the Hollywood faces, all settle for nice tame locations on the east coast. How on earth did you settle on this end of the country?’

‘Oh, I don’t know, I suppose, it just sort of popped out at me.’ He looked away, as if he was embarrassed. ‘Here, we shouldn’t let this wine go to waste,’ he said draining the bottle into their two glasses.

‘I really shouldn’t have any more. I’m not used to alcohol – too many night shifts; you get out of the habit.’ She laughed, but still, she thought, one more glass, not so much to drink, as an excuse to stay here a little longer. It was comforting and relaxed, sitting here, with the wind beginning to howl up outside. ‘You know, I can’t remember the last time I felt so chilled out,’ she said softly, as she turned to look at the stove where a flame had taken flight and now, a river of sparks rushed up towards the chimney. She watched as Dan bent before it and opened back both doors so they could watch the flames dancing around the long sods of turf in the grate.

‘Here.’ He patted the wing chair before the fire. ‘Sit here; you won’t believe how comfy it is.’ Lucy brought her glass with her and watched as Dora made short work of a remaining pizza slice before coming to rest against her leg where she sat half dozing off before the fire. Lucy found herself almost dozing off too, as they sat in companionable silence with only the glow of the flames throwing light and shadows about the walls.

‘I can see why you’ve stayed here.’ She wondered if she were in his position whether she would ever want to leave. No, she decided, she would never leave this place for the bustle and clamour of London.

‘What?’ he asked her and she realised he’d been watching her.

‘Oh, nothing.’

‘Go on, a penny for them.’

‘They’re not even worth that,’ she said softly. ‘But, well, I was thinking of you here and something struck me.’

‘I’m almost sorry I asked now,’ he said, but his smile was easy and his voice gentle.

‘No, it’s not about you; it’s actually thrown up something I hadn’t thought of.’

‘Right, now I’m interested.’

‘It’s just, I’ve had this thing in the back of my mind, where I assumed that when I took time out of work in the hospital that I’d travel. See the world? You know, I never really got much of a chance before; I was in college and then we settled into jobs and there was a mortgage and…’

‘We?’

‘Oh, sorry, my husband and I…’ She paused for a moment. ‘But since the divorce, well, that’s bothered me. You know, the idea that life is passing me by and there’s so much more that I’d hoped to have done by now.’

‘Ah, far-off fields and all that jazz?’

‘Maybe.’ She smiled then, sipped some more of her drink. She could feel it making her woozy, but it was a pleasant, happy feeling. It was almost as if she had sunk into a cradle and a gentle loving hand was lulling her into a lovely feeling of repose. ‘But then, I thought of you and…’ She laughed. ‘Why would anyone want to leave here? What on earth could be better than here?’ She shook her head at the realisation. ‘I mean, you said it yourself, even the people, there’s just decency about everything and it…’ She nodded towards the meal they’d just shared.