‘Sorry,’ he shouted then and prepared to tell his biggest lie of the day. ‘I didn’t see anything, don’t worry. I’ve… got terrible long-distance vision.’
‘Well that’s good.’ Elizabeth laughed and he had a feeling she was right behind him now. Still, he didn’t dare turn around. ‘For you at least, I suppose; the last thing you’d want is to see me in all my glory traipsing about.’ She giggled then – a girlish, infectious sound that if he hadn’t met her before would have portrayed her as someone very different. ‘It could be enough to put a man off his dinner, entirely,’ she said warmly, although he had a feeling there was a slight shiver to her voice. ‘Almost there,’ she said then.
He could hear them, scrambling into clothes, probably still wet. There was a jumping sound to their voices as if they were hopping about, trying to get dry and pickle themselves into clothes that were not meant for this kind of carry-on.
‘Isn’t that Lucy’s dog? Dora?’
‘Is it? She joined me halfway along the beach for a little stroll and we got a bit carried away, I’m afraid, but it’s such a lovely night and even when it gets dark here the lights of the village are enough to guide us back.’
‘She normally comes with us, but Lucy had to cry off tonight so I assumed she would stay back at the cottage,’ Jo said. ‘Dora will walk for miles with you, but she won’t come near the water when it’s dark.’
‘For my money it’s even nicer in the dark, otherwise there wouldn’t be much point in being the Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club,’ Elizabeth said softly. She was at his back. She tapped him on the shoulder to let him know he could turn around now. She was dressed for home, the only tell-tale sign of her swim a faint wet shadow about her shoulders where her hair dripped in a snitching patch of moisture. ‘It’s funny, because when my husband was alive, I’d never have come down here at night-time. I’d never have gone swimming, certainly not…’ She smiled then – a playful twist of her lips. ‘This one…’ she nodded towards Jo ‘…she’s a terrible influence, always was.’ She bent to pat the dog’s head. The little dog sat quietly, as if she knew that this bit of attention had to be savoured. It was unlikely it would come her way if she was not well behaved.
‘My hat, just because you look like butter wouldn’t melt – don’t be heeding her. She’s the one who’s out here as naked as Gypsy Rose Lee on a Saturday night at the Palladium.’ The two women giggled again. ‘Even Lucy when she comes has the decency to wear a swimsuit,’ Jo ribbed her friend.
‘It must be…’ he tried to think of a word that could capture the essence of joy that seemed to envelop everything about her appearance now; he settled on the perfectly inadequate: ‘bracing… in these temperatures.’
Elizabeth turned and they fell in step together as they headed back for the village. ‘I suppose it is, but it’s more than that.’ She looked out to the water, as if giving some kind of secret salutation to it at the end of a long journey. ‘It has made me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before.’ She smiled, turning her face towards him. ‘Those probably sound like the words of a woman on the edge of madness, but it’s the only way I can describe it.’
‘It doesn’t sound mad at all,’ Dan said softly. ‘In fact, it sounds completely reasonable to me.’ And it did. Somehow, he could feel the aliveness of it, the sea breathing in its fresh full body towards the waiting shore and at this hour, the cold and the sound of crackling rocks and shingle only added to the energy of the place. ‘Still, I don’t think I’ll be following you in, just yet.’ He laughed at that and they walked on a little in silence.
‘You probably already feel as if you’re living life to the full,’ Jo murmured and she glanced at him shyly. ‘I mean, you’ve done so much. I’ve looked you up. You’re all over the internet.’ A nervous laugh fell out on the air before them. ‘Is it okay to say that?’
‘Of course. It’s what people do, isn’t it? Look each other up? See exactly what the global village has already shared on the bush fires.’ He smiled at this. He had looked up Lucy – Jo’s daughter, no particular reason, just curious. ‘I hope you didn’t unearth any dark secrets I’ve been hoping to hide.’ They all laughed at this.