Rosie by Alan Titchmarsh Read Free Book Online Page B

prodded the net into the pool at her feet. ‘It’s not very good. Worse than the last one, actually. But it was all we could afford.’
    Alex brushed down her shorts and shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Sorry about this. She’s a bit annoyed with me for pranging the car.’
    ‘Not your fault when your brakes fail,’ said Nick.
    ‘It hadn’t got an MOT,’ Victoria chipped in.
    ‘Oh. I see.’
    Alex lowered her eyes. ‘Sorry. I should have said . . . only I was due to take it in to the garage the following day. I hadn’t noticed . . .’
    ‘Daddy came round and she got in a bit of a state. She always does.’
    Nick felt uncomfortable. ‘I’d better get back to my painting.’
    ‘Fancy a coffee?’ Alex pointed towards the café.
    ‘I really should get back. The light . . .’
    ‘Ah, yes. The light,’ she teased.
    He saw the look in her eyes and gave in. ‘Just a quick one.’
    Alex turned to her daughter: ‘Shall I bring you back an ice-cream?’
    ‘No, thanks.’ She was concentrating on the rock pool, and bent down to pick something out of her net. ‘I’d rather have a drink. Diet Coke, please.’
    ‘OK.’ Alex shot Nick one of those apologetic looks used by parents who are embarrassed by their children, and by children who are embarrassed by their parents, and began to walk towards the café.
    ‘She’s quite a character,’ he remarked.
    ‘You can say that again.’
    ‘How old is she?’
    ‘Ten, going on twenty-nine,’ she said, with a smile, as they crossed the warm sand.
    ‘I had no idea you had children.’
    ‘Yes. But it’s just Victoria and me. I’m a single mum.’
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘Most of the time anyway. He keeps coming back – or trying to. We’re over here for a few days to get a break. A breath of air.’
    Nick said nothing, unsure how to respond.
    Alex covered the awkward moment. ‘Oh dear! This is all getting rather intense, isn’t it? Too much information.’
    ‘No – please, go on. I wasn’t . . . I mean . . . well . . . Would you like that coffee?’
    She laughed and broke the tension. ‘Yes. And I’d kill for a biscuit.’
    He ordered two coffees and some tartan-wrapped shortbread biscuits, then sat down opposite her at a little table on a sun-bleached deck among some old fishing-nets. ‘Shall we start again?’ he asked.
    ‘Third time lucky? Sorry. You must think I’m a complete wacko.’
    He tilted his head from side to side. ‘Only a bit of a wacko.’
    ‘And Victoria?’
    ‘Oh, she’s far more sensible.’
    ‘Enough sense there for both of us. Good thing, too, I suppose.’
    ‘Have you had a difficult time at home?’
    ‘Yes. It’s better than it was, but it’s still a bit iffy. I hope he got the message this time.’
    ‘How long have you been together?’
    ‘Eleven years, off and on. Classic, really. We married too young and stayed together because of the child. He’s not a bad guy, but we’re just not suited, and the rows seem to get worse.’
    ‘What now, then?’
    Alex shrugged. ‘Who knows? Next week he’s going abroad on business for a few months. I thought if we came here we’d be out of the way until he’s gone.’
    ‘Won’t he come and find you?’
    ‘Oh, I don’t think so. It was all pretty final this time. I wanted to be out of the way. Have a change of scene, and I like it over here.’
    He looked out towards the sea. ‘Nobody knows about it, really.’
    ‘About the island?’
    ‘England’s best-kept secret.’
    ‘It’s supposed to be for old folk, isn’t it? White-haired ladies and men with fawn anoraks.’
    ‘Who says?’
    ‘Public opinion.’
    ‘Well, we all know about public opinion. I love it here. But, then, I’m not your typical thirty-something.’
    ‘That’s a relief.’ Alex grinned.
    ‘Thank you!’ He sipped his coffee.
    ‘So what are you?’ she asked.
    ‘Almost thirty-nine.’ He grinned.
    ‘And never been kissed?’ she asked with a wry smile.
    Nick frowned. ‘Another disaster area, I