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She didn’t want to come to the beach today. I had to cajole and coax and hector her, promising her fish and chips and ice cream and a round of crazy golf. I sound like a parent, but that’s only because Evie can act like a child.
‘Are you hungry?’ I ask.
‘Starving.’
‘Let’s go and eat.’
3
Evie
Cyrus splashes vinegar on his fish and chips. The smell catches in my throat, making me want to gag.
‘That’s one way to ruin a meal,’ I say.
‘Don’t knock it until you try it.’
‘Pass.’
We look for somewhere to sit and eat, preferably in the shade, but the pier is crowded with randoms who stink of suntan lotion and range in colour from pink to parboiled. This is the hottest summer anyone can remember, and Cyrus says he’s worried about climate change, but most of the people on the beach seem to welcome the planet getting warmer.
‘Did you notice that woman looking at you?’ I ask. ‘In the café – she was trying to make eye contact.’
‘Was she?’
‘You never notice when women flirt with you.’
‘Maybe I notice, but I ignore them,’ he says.
‘What was she wearing?’
‘Apricot-coloured shorts. A cream camisole. White sandals. Sunglasses perched on her forehead.’
‘You’re an arsehole!’
He laughs. We finish our fish and chips and drop the bundles of greaseproof paper into a rubbish bin.
‘What would you like to do now?’ he asks.
‘Ice cream,’ I say, licking salt off my fingers and tucking my arm into his. ‘And then I get to choose.’
‘When is it my turn?’ he asks.
‘Never. White male privilege is dead.’
We leave the pier and cross the esplanade to a gelato parlour with a brightly coloured sign advertising twenty-four flavours. I order a double scoop and insist Cyrus does the same so I can taste his choices.
‘This way,’ I say, licking a creamy drip off my wrist. I lead him past an amusement arcade and a promenade of shops selling tacky souvenirs and blow-up beach toys. We stop outside a house that I noticed earlier, which has a red-painted door and dark curtains and a sign in the window.
Psychic Counselling – past lives, tarot, runes,
palmistry, numerology and intuitive healing.
It is not by chance that you have found this place.
You are here for a REASON and I am here to help.
‘You’re not serious,’ says Cyrus.
