Sunrise By the Sea by Jenny Colgan

Chapter Seventy-two

Marisa gasped when she saw the beach, as they lugged huge boxes of ingredients down a sandy path. It was absolutely perfect, like something out of a magazine. Young guys were going up and down, raking the sand. In the middle was an actual real life circus tent, next to an entire funfair, complete with big wheel, waltzers and, indeed, a candyfloss machine, if not technically a waterfall. The sun shone brightly down on everything.

‘Okay,’ said Polly. ‘This is going to be just fine.’

‘’Scuse me,’ said a cheerful voice, and two young women walked past them on the narrow pathway, carrying between them the longest snake Marisa had ever seen in her life. She jumped and nearly dropped the cake.

‘Not scared of a snake, are you?’ said the first woman quite aggressively.

‘Yes. A bit,’ said Marisa, as the first woman sniffed contemptuously. Polly, meanwhile, was looking on with horror.

‘Don’t listen to her, Janice.’

‘Aren’t they meant to be in a . . . cage or a box or a linen basket or something?’ said Polly trying not to look scared but sidling slightly to the side of the path nonetheless. Oh God. Poor Daisy.

‘Actually, we believe in freedom for animals? Not caging them?’ said the woman at the back end of the snake. ‘Janice is free range.’

Polly took out her phone and texted Huckle, telling him under no circumstances to let Neil come, however much he liked being in the sidecar. And then she told him not to tell Daisy, and to stay away from the animals’ tent. It would be fine. It would be fine. There were a million other things here to distract children, yes?

The girls marched on towards the circus tent, unabashed, even as the snake opened its vast jaws in something Marisa very much hoped was a yawn.

‘Daisy is not going to want to see this,’ said Polly.

‘As long as they don’t have any free-range tigers,’ said Marisa with feeling. ‘She’ll probably be all right. It looks like there’s plenty for them to do.’

Two men came by with a huge box labelled with several hazard warnings and a lot of exclamation points in Chinese writing.

‘What are those?’ said Marisa.

‘Definitely not fireworks,’ said the man in a low voice.

‘Sssh,’ said the other guy as they gingerly crept by.

‘Why can’t they have fireworks?’ wondered Marisa. ‘Is it the beach?’

‘Nope, it’s normally fine,’ said Polly. ‘Unless they’re some terribly vast military-grade illegal fireworks.’

‘Near a loose boa constrictor,’ said Marisa. ‘Absolutely nothing is going to go wrong at this party.’

Down in the main staging area, all was choreographed mayhem. People were running about with headsets barking serious orders into them like they were organising a war rather than a party for an unbelievably spoilt eight-year-old. The kitchens were superb – Reuben liked to cook too and used the beach kitchen all year round – and Polly was familiar with it, so she started to unpack the food.

‘I have to ask,’ said Marisa. ‘I get the pizza element but . . .’

She looked around. There was an entire old-fashioned sweet stand, and an ice cream van giving out free ice cream in every imaginable flavour. Marisa felt a sudden rush of pity for any other kid in Lowin’s class at school having a party after this. There was also a fish and chip van parked up, and a fancy-looking plating station.

‘Why are we doing smoked salmon canapés? Are kids different these days?’

‘Oh no,’ said Polly. ‘There’ll be a lot of grown-ups at this party.’

Marisa raised her eyebrows. Then she thought.

‘It has been so long since I’ve been to a party.’

‘I bet. Well, you can join it when we’ve finished serving the little brats. They’re here two to four but the party will carry on rather longer than that if my experience of these things is correct.’

‘I won’t know anyone.’

‘Alexei’s coming,’ said Polly, smiling to herself.

‘Is he?’

‘Yes. Didn’t I say?’

‘When I was spilling my guts in the van?’

‘Sorry,’ said Polly. ‘I didn’t think it would help.’

‘No! Oh my God.’

Marisa looked down at the simple black and white outfit she was wearing.

‘Why is he even invited?’

‘He’s playing “Happy birthday”. Only a proper concert pianist will count to play his boy in.’

Marisa bit her lip.

‘This is money, huh.’

‘I know,’ said Polly. ‘Exhausting, isn’t it?’

Kerensa didn’t look in the least bit exhausted, however, as she came down from the house, dressed in beautiful beige draped trousers and a top, and hugged Polly. ‘Hooray! How’s it going?’

‘Don’t you know?’ said Polly. Kerensa waved her hands. ‘Oh, I’m sure Reuben’s got it sorted.’

They all stopped talking and turned around as a platoon of people dressed as stormtroopers marched in formation across the sand.

‘Wow. Do you think they’re hot?’ said Polly.

‘Christ yes,’ said Kerensa, grinning. ‘Please come and drink Champagne with me, otherwise it’ll be the school mums and if the WhatsApp is anything to go by they are all completely deranged.’

‘You read the school WhatsApp?’ said Polly.

‘Ha, not any more,’ said Kerensa. ‘I told them I was coming off it for the sake of “self-care for my own screentime wellness” and none of those beyatches could do a thing about it. HA!’

Polly laughed too.

‘Well, a small one. Huckle can drive home. I’m so tired these days I’d be unsafe whether I have a drink or not.’

‘I heard,’ said Kerensa. ‘You’re quite the talk of the region. Reuben wants to talk to you about buying you out for a franchise.’

Polly rolled her eyes.

‘Unfortunately that only works if you can duplicate the secret ingredient, and there’s only one Marisa here.’

Marisa smiled and looked embarrassed.

‘It’s lovely to have you here,’ said Kerensa. ‘Welcome.’

Marisa thought the woman who lived here would be terrifying, but she wasn’t; she was nice.

‘It’s amazing,’ said Marisa honestly. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

‘Welcome to Reuben’s world,’ said Kerensa, rolling her eyes as if you ever got used to it.

Polly turned round at a sound on the water.

‘You are kidding,’ she said.

‘Oh,’ said Kerensa. ‘He didn’t tell me about this either.’

‘Didn’t tell you about what?’ came a loud American-accented voice. ‘Hey. You know they didn’t bring the tigers! How are you meant to have a birthday party without tigers?’

‘Um, on that?’ said Polly, stunned. She went over to Reuben and kissed him. ‘Happy eighth dad half-birthday.’

Round the point was sailing, astoundingly, a proper schooner, flying a Jolly Roger.

‘You’re having a party with a real pirate ship?’

‘Yuh,’ said Reuben, as if this was both obvious and reasonable.

The boat tacked around, to be hidden until it was properly needed.

‘Are you sure this party is for Lowin?’ said Polly, teasing him.

‘No,’ said Reuben, who had no ear for sarcasm whatsoever. ‘It’s for me. Lowin would rather be playing on his Xbox.’

‘Is that where he is?’ said Kerensa. ‘I should get him into his knickerbockers.’

‘You’re not,’ said Polly. ‘Kerensa!’

‘What?’ said Kerensa. ‘I am still waiting for my baby girl and I haven’t got her yet, and until then I shall dress up my baby boy how I please.’

‘Quite right,’ said Reuben, putting his arm round her. ‘Look at all this bay.’

‘It’s fabulous,’ said Kerensa, kissing him.

Polly smiled. ‘Okay, come on, back to the galley, worker ant,’ she said to Marisa, who still hadn’t quite recovered from the pirates.

‘This is . . .’

‘It’s just his way.’

‘Why don’t you sell him the bakery?’

‘Because he’d only be doing it as a favour,’ said Polly. ‘And we’re friends. And I want to keep it that way.’

At two p.m. people started to arrive; not in dribs and drabs, like at a normal party, but all at once, in a massive rush, as if everyone had been waiting in the car park on the other side of the dunes until they got the signal to enter, which was in fact exactly what had happened.

Kerensa’s mother, who worshipped Lowin quite as much as the rest of his relatives and not entirely to the benefit of Lowin, ushered the boy down. He was indeed in velvet pantaloons which made him look, like his doting father, rather more padded in the bottom area than you’d expect from a young boy, and a billowing white shirt.

‘He looks like a little prince!’ said Kerensa, clasping her hands to her mouth.

‘This is a STUPID outfit,’ said Lowin. ‘I want an Arsenal kit.’

‘Darling,’ said Kerensa. Lowin went up to Polly who gave him a kiss and a cuddle.

‘Hello, bruiser. Happy half-birthday.’

‘Did you get me an Arsenal kit?’

‘I didn’t. But Daisy and Avery are bringing your presents.’

‘Is there one between them or two?’

‘There’s two.’

Lowin brightened at this information.

‘I think they might be snake-related. Well, Avery’s is.’

‘Oh, snakes are super boring, Auntie Polly,’ said Lowin. ‘I like pirates now.’

‘Okay,’ said Polly, smiling rather tightly.

‘And you’re going to make me pizza?’

‘As much as you like. As long as you keep on the trousers your mum picked out for you.’

His face twisted.

‘For a bit,’ Polly whispered. ‘It’s a beautiful day: why don’t you lead everyone in swimming?’

She’d already checked: there were about forty lifeguards and an RNLI boat already stationed to look over everyone’s special darlings.

His face brightened immediately.

‘And I have red swimming trunks.’

‘Those sound like Arsenal swimming trunks.’

‘They kind of are!’

‘Well then.’

They exchanged a high five and the boy went off to do his unfortunately dull duty of greeting all his guests, and the slightly better duty of watching the pile of gifts grow exponentially in the afternoon heat, to be borne off by staff to a room in the big house used more or less solely for unwrapping presents.

There were so many people. This was not, Marisa surmised, the kind of party where parents dumped their children and ran, pleased for a couple of hours’ freedom. There were huge extended families roaming about, as well as lots and lots of glamorous people who didn’t seem to have children at all, strolling around in long silk kaftans or white suits, with glasses of endless Champagne served by waiting staff – even the waiting staff, Marisa noticed, were unbelievably attractive. It was the most ridiculous party ever.

But, she was amazed to notice, she knew almost everyone there. Everyone who came in for pizza; who had waved and said hello up and down the hill. All of the friendly fishing crew. Mrs Bradley and Mrs Baillie, complaining about things as usual. Linnet and Denys were there, Denys in his wheelchair down by the water.

‘Oh my goodness,’ said Marisa. ‘I married those two. I thought Denys was . . .’

‘In remission,’ said Polly. ‘Some kind of Stevie Wonder miracle, I heard.’

Marisa blinked, as more and more people smiled and waved.

But there was only one person she wanted to see.

No. She was here for work. was already feeling sweaty and the ovens were only just heating up. She put her hand to her cheek and took a long pull of water. Children were coming up to explore, and Polly was patiently explaining that yes they did have lots for everyone, and no there weren’t any vegetables on them, and yes they did gluten-free and yes they would do one without tomato sauce and yes they would make sure the cheese wasn’t too gooey and no there weren’t any hidden vegetables in the sauce and, finally satisfied, the children then caught sight of the full-size sweetshop and the ice cream van and the funfair, and were struck more or less dumb.

‘I think I’m going to get Daisy and Avery on the waltzers before they start eating,’ said Polly with the hard-earned wisdom of one who has spent an astonishing amount of the last five years cleaning up vomit.

She was actually slightly worried, even beyond Daisy seeing the snake. The twins were of course invited because of the closeness of the two families. But everyone else was eight going on nine; strapping children who were perfectly safe to run in and out of the water, clamber up to the top of the helter skelter or grab hot fish and chips.

She was also concerned that while the two families spent a lot of time together and Lowin deigned to play with them when there was nobody else around, he was with his own peer group now. She didn’t blame him, but he was absolutely the King of the Eight-year-olds today. She hoped Daisy and Avery’s cheerful insistence as to how much he was going to love the cards they had specially made for him because he was their very most special friend wasn’t going to make them too downcast.

Everyone in the school, from the reception babies up, knew all about Lowin’s party and Daisy and Avery were the only chosen few not from year three actually getting to attend, so their status and excitement levels were sky high. Polly made a mental note to tell Huckle yet again that he couldn’t take his eyes off them for a second, however much he himself would be looking forward to seeing his own friends and having a lovely day at the beach. It was a running joke that he was the laid-back parent and she was the fretter, but even on a glorious day like today, she absolutely couldn’t relax.

Of course, Kerensa had a horde of spare nannies she’d hired for the day so people could enjoy themselves, but the idea of having to ask – never mind expecting the twins to cheerfully accept a nanny when none of the other children had one – was a completely unlikely scenario. She couldn’t deny she was worried.