In the weeks following Tony’s heart attack, the usual Sunday rituals were a rather watered-down affair.
For the first couple of weeks, there was no meeting at the bench. It somehow seemed wrong to continue without Tony. Instead Olive went to the Gin Shack to meet Richard for him to okay the gin choices.
When they were there he was always busy, sorting deliveries, doing paperwork, cleaning the bar. It was lovely seeing him doing so much to get to grips with the bar. She just hoped he didn’t overwork himself.
The usual gathering of dishes had been reduced to a fish and chip dinner (although it was equally as lovely) because everyone had been caught up helping with the Gin Shack as necessary. It felt like they were missing a limb in those first weeks with the entire Salter family not able to come.
But today, for the first time, it felt like the rhythm of normal life was beginning to return. The meeting still took place at the Gin Shack, their traditional picnic was still going to be fish and chips, but today there would be special guests in attendance. The Salter family were going to be back.
The boys were already here: TJ, Aiden and Noah playing their normal game of cricket. It was a sound Olive had missed.
‘Are you not joining in today, Lucas?’
The young boy was in the chair next to Olive. It was most unlike him not to be occupying himself with something more active.
‘I’ve got a whoopsie. Do you wanna see?’ Lucas was already beginning to pull up his trouser leg even though Olive hadn’t replied. When the material was above his knee it revealed a nasty, scabbed-up scrape.
‘Oh, gosh. How did you manage that?’ It was a good job falling was something people did less of as they got older. Olive would have been stuck at Oakley West with a graze that size.
Lucas smoothed a hand over his wound and introduced germs in the way only seven-year-olds could. He glanced over at his mum, but said nothing.
Olive guessed there was something amiss. That there was something Lucas didn’t want his mum to know. ‘You don’t have to tell me now. You can tell me when we go for an ice cream later, if you like?’ There were times when a boy needed to talk to someone who wasn’t his mum.
Lucas nodded.
Whether that was at the opportunity to talk or the thought of ice cream, it didn’t matter. What was important was being there for him, in the same way Skylar was there for Olive.
Skylar, with her beautiful long dark hair, was Olive’s closest beach-hut friend. In theory, it should have been Esme, seeing as they were much closer in age, but she was always busy with Tony and the boys. So, even though there were more than four decades between them, Skylar and Olive were besties. Not that Olive would ever be cool enough to use that term or fully understand what it meant.
They were similar in lots of ways. Although in different circumstances (ones Skylar rarely made reference to), they were in essence a mother and son trying to get by in the world, much like Olive and Richard had been way back when. It was the reason Olive had a particular soft spot for the pair. She knew herself how every bit of help and friendship she was able to offer was appreciated and was sometimes needed. And Olive enjoyed her occasional babysitting duties when she would keep an eye on Lucas so that Skylar was able to pop to the bank or the shop. It was always a pleasure to watch him make sandcastles or help him with his homework in her hut.
‘Here he is,’ Richard said, standing and starting a round of applause.
Tony and Esme were walking hand in hand down the slope towards them all. And when one person clapped, every other person joined in, way beyond their row of six huts. The applause and cheers came from all the beach-hut owners. Every person there, most of whom had witnessed Tony’s near-death episode, stood and clapped and whooped.
Tony was home. Equilibrium was being restored.
For the rest of the gathering, Olive was able to catch up with Esme. Even though there wasn’t much time to organise it, they decided the Gingle Bells retreat weekend should still go ahead. Partly because Tony was adamant he didn’t want what had happened to him to affect any of the Gin Shack plans, and partly because Esme whispered that having him home all the time was driving her potty and she figured if Tony had something to do on the computer related to the bar, it might stop him from mithering so much.
That wasn’t the only thing whispered to Olive that day. When she eventually got the chance to take Lucas for his ice cream, she was able to ask him more about his injury.
‘What did happen then? You know I won’t tell anyone.’ The café being closed was a real inconvenience. Rather than the short walk along the prom, they were having to wander all the way up the slope to the ice-cream van that had been quick to jump in on a business opportunity. It was a good job someone had, because, however great a bay with a Gin Shack was, what would any beach be without ice cream?
‘It happened at school.’ Lucas was holding Olive’s hand and was being incredibly patient with her lack of speed.
‘Was it an accident or did something happen?’
‘I got pushed.’
Olive stopped in her tracks. ‘That’s not on. Did you tell your mum?’ It would be easy to understand if he was embarrassed by the fact, but if he was being picked on, Skylar should know about it.
‘No, she thinks I tripped.’
There was relief in knowing Lucas was happy to talk to her. It meant she was doing an okay job in whatever role it was she played in his life, but it was important he spoke to the right people if he was having trouble. Olive brought herself to his level. Thankfully it wasn’t a hard task, given that their height difference could be measured in inches rather than feet. Honestly, what were they feeding the youth of today? ‘If they do it again, you come and tell me, okay?’ She could make him tell his mum or tell Skylar herself so she could talk to the school, but if he wasn’t brave enough to say something to his mum in the first place, there was every chance he would clam up. ‘Is this the first time?’
There was a possibility it was a problem that had been going on for a while. In which case, Olive would have to really consider what she should do.
‘They were just mucking about.’
Olive nodded. In her experience, small lads were prone to doing that. Richard had been a master in mucking about. Just as long as Lucas knew he had someone to talk to, if it was anything more. ‘Okay then. You just tell me if it happens again. Now, I’ve heard ice creams are a good cure for poorly knees.’
And years of experience meant Olive also knew that it was categorically the best way to wash down fish and chips.