The Summer Theatre by the Sea by Tracy Corbett

Author:Tracy Corbett
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008221935
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Friday, 29 July

Charlotte flicked through the TV channels just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. She hadn’t. God, she was bored. She checked her watch. Ten past nine. The evening was dragging. After a long day on her feet, she’d expected to feel tired. The kids had broken up for the summer holidays and, as Lauren had an early shift at the café today, Charlotte had offered to take Freddie and Florence to the nearby trampoline park. She’d even been persuaded to have a go herself – another attempt to relinquish control and ‘drop the stick’. But bouncing around on the springy contraption had been painful and exhausting. It had also served as a reminder of bouncing around with Barney Hubble at the jousting challenge, so she gave up and resigned herself to watching her niece and nephew from the sidelines.

The three of them had enjoyed fish and chips at the Coddy Shack, followed by a walk up to Morholt Castle to tackle the maze. Another mistake. The impressive castle ruins had evoked thoughts of a different kind of ‘bouncing’. The memory of which left her feeling slightly stunned. Had she really done that?

Lauren had arrived home from work looking tired, and complaining of a headache. She’d gone to bed early, leaving Charlotte to feed the kids peanut butter sandwiches, and oversee bath time. By seven-fifteen both kids were tucked up in bed, worn out from their day. She’d taken the opportunity of a quiet night to work on her bundle for the upcoming employment tribunal hearing. Even though it had taken her nearly two hours to draft a witness statement and schedule of loss, she’d finished the task. With nothing else to occupy her, she was now feeling somewhat bored. Not the most exciting way to spend a Friday night.

She got up from the lumpy sofa and washed her cup in the sink. The flat was eerily quiet. Last night, she’d been disturbed by the sound of her sister crying. It had felt too intrusive to knock on her door and ask if everything was okay. She couldn’t imagine Lauren welcoming an audience, so she’d stayed put, relieved when, in the early hours, the crying had stopped. Lauren had appeared for breakfast wearing dark sunglasses, looking drawn and subdued. Something was very wrong. But Charlotte was at a loss as to how to get her sister to confide.

Drying the cup, she hung it back on its hook. She wasn’t ready for bed. She’d finished her latest book, painted her nails and folded her laundry. In London, entertainment was on her doorstep – not that she’d had much time to enjoy it, but that was beside the point, it was there if she’d wanted it. But in Penmullion, unless it was a rehearsal night, there didn’t seem to be much else to do. And there’d been no rehearsal last night: it had been cancelled following Jonathan’s heart attack. Everyone was still in shock, even though he’d miraculously survived … just.

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