Summer Season on the Seafront. Katie Ginger

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СКАЧАТЬ seat and watched in wonderment as Dean continued to clear the remains of her dinner. ‘So,’ she said, trying to fill the awkward silence and cover the noise of Dean masticating like a cow. ‘What other things do you like, Dean?’

      He finished chewing and swallowed, his cheeks pink from the effort. ‘Well, I like football and you know …’ He shrugged. ‘Blokey things.’

      ‘Do you go for long walks along the beach? You said on your profile you take your dog.’ She loved strolling along the beach and wanted to know if and when Dean went so she could avoid him.

      ‘Nah, that was another cheeky fib. I normally take Ted to the dog park near my house. I like being near home in case he gets a bit humpy and I have to bring him back, sharpish. Last week he tried to hump a pug and I can tell you, that pug was not happy about it at all.’

      Knowing Ted was a huge Labrador, Sarah was tempted to enquire about the mechanics but thought better of it. Right on cue her phone rang. ‘Sorry, Dean. I won’t be a minute.’ But Dean was scraping his fork across his plate gathering up a stray noodle. ‘Hello?’

      ‘Not going very well then?’ asked Lottie. Sarah could hear the smile on her face.

      ‘Oh, no,’ she replied dramatically, with an exaggerated gasp. ‘You’re where? The hospital? What’s happened?’

      ‘Is it the worst date you’ve ever been on? Even worse than three-teeth Terry?’

      ‘That’s terrible.’ Sarah glanced up at Dean who was oblivious to her feigned distress and gave her a gummy smile. ‘Are you okay?’

      Lottie giggled. ‘Are you going to pretend that I’ve broken my leg again?Because seriously, Sarah, people are going to cotton on sooner or later. According to you, I’ve broken my leg about twenty times this year.’

      Sarah felt a slight pang at Lottie’s words but only because they were true. She had been on more bad dates than good ones. Why did people have to lie on their profiles? Life would be much easier if they didn’t. She let her mouth form a circle of surprise. ‘How bad is it?’

      ‘Oh, it’s terrible. Terrible! It hurts! I think it might need chopping off! To be fair though, it’s a pretty useless leg, what with it breaking all the time, so I probably wouldn’t miss it. Perhaps we could turn it into a prop. Does anyone in The Tempest get their leg chopped off? Either that or I could bash Sid over the head with it whenever he annoys me.’

      Sarah heard a muffled ‘Oi!’ in the background and had to bite her lip to stop a smile from creeping out. Sid was Lottie’s boyfriend. Soulmate, really. And a nice guy. They were the cutest couple ever.

      ‘I’ll be there right away,’ Sarah said, her voice full of concern. Lottie giggled.

      ‘Okay. Byeeee!’

      Sarah placed her mobile in her bag and looked at Dean who couldn’t have cared less if she was there or not. He was busy watching another video on his phone, guffawing and snorting with laughter. Sarah couldn’t see what it was but found the donkey noises quite disturbing.

      ‘You off then?’ he asked, looking up from the screen. She stood up and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair.

      ‘Dean, I’m so sorry, but my friend’s broken her … arm and she needs me to go and get her from the hospital.’

      ‘Christ, that’s bad luck. Hey, are you still gonna pay your half before you go?’ He picked up his beer but paused, putting it to his lips. ‘Hang on a minute. You can’t drive, you’ve had too much to drink.’ A flicker of suspicion passed over his eyes and was instantly replaced by a flash of hurt. ‘You’re not trying to make a run for it, are ya?’He was joking but his tone was uncertain and the way his expression changed made Sarah’s heart twinge with guilt. Poor Dean. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t her type. Sarah ardently believed there was someone out there for everyone, even first-date disasters like Dean. Someone, somewhere, was waiting for Dean to find them. Someone who hated black-and-white movies, dog walks on the beach, and from the smell of grease hitting her nostrils, nice food. But that person wasn’t her.

      ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to get a taxi,’ she added hastily. ‘I just can’t leave her there all on her own.’ The excuse seemed to work and he smiled.

      ‘Right you are then.’

      Dean’s balding head glistened in the light and Sarah felt a wave of unutterable sadness. Was this really what her life had come down to? Escaping second-rate dates with men who had no real idea how to treat a woman? With an inward sigh, she laid some cash on the table. Sarah always carried cash for first dates just in case she needed to make a quick getaway. No one wanted to wait around for the waiter to bring a card machine and then faff about. She’d learned those lessons long ago. ‘Here you go. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.’

      ‘I’ll probably finish up here and nip along to The Bell for a swift one with the boys.’ He rested his hands on top of his belly. ‘Are we doing this again, then?’

      A drop of Hoi Sin sauce had stained his chin. It was a round, fleshy chin, not like Dr MacDonald’s which was smoothly chiselled and sometimes scattered with blond stubble. He was the only thing that made working at the doctor’s surgery manageable. Stunned that Dean even thought a second date might be on the cards, Sarah was momentarily unable to speak. Then checking her phone again for dramatic effect, she said, ‘I’ll call you sometime,’ before darting out of the door just as Bewitched were cracking into ‘C’est La Vie’. Sarah rounded the corner and hurried on until she was away from the Szechuan Palace and its overpowering aroma of spicy fat.

      A cool sea breeze blew on to her face and eased the heat from her cheeks. It was early July but the sun had been shining since the end of May. Temperatures were higher than she’d ever known and even at nine-thirty in the evening it was still warm. The sun set slowly behind the pier painting the sky in streaks of gold, and the few clouds that were dotted about were like patches of purple velvet. The waves lapped gently on the shingle beach and music carried on the air from the pubs that lined the promenade. As the relief subsided, Sarah’s heart became heavy. Once again, she’d have to trawl the dating sites and go through all the hassle of arranging another date. The nervous excitement she used to feel at the prospect of a date was now replaced by a bored drudgery. All the magazines said she had to get out there to find the one, but she was quite fed up of it now. And what did you do if the one you thought you were supposed to be with had no idea you existed? Sarah had been single for ages, until Vince, but that hadn’t ended well and she was still unable to think about it without a stabbing in her heart. Their relationship had been the best three months of her life, but she’d misjudged the cheating git completely. She’d learned her lesson then that whirlwind romances didn’t work out and there was no such thing as love at first sight. To cheer herself up, Sarah concentrated on the thought of taking her make-up off and getting into her pyjamas as soon as she was home.

      A beep resonated from her pocket and she read the message from Lottie. ‘I’ve got half a bottle of wine with your name on it and Sid saved you a Cornetto if you want to come round?’ A grin lifted the corners of her mouth. She was so lucky to have Lottie, but wished she was as lucky as Lottie and Sid had been in finding each other. They were one of those couples who were just meant to be together. Sarah gave a heavy sigh and pushed her brown hair back. There was something decidedly miserable about being 31 and single in a town like Greenley-On-Sea. As much as she loved her sweet little home town by the sea, she was running out of men to date. It was another reason Dr MacDonald was just so perfect. He wasn’t from around here and was clever, funny and a great doctor. Everyone loved СКАЧАТЬ