Christine Lawrence
We queued on the pier in the hot sun, ate ice creams in tubs with little plastic spoons to keep our
hands clean. We sat and stared at the long beach which swept into the distance, the light dancing on
the waves; people, dots in the water, far, far, away.
I had raspberry ripple and Jennifer chose chocolate chip. That was how different we were,
even then, when we were so young and before our tastes were fully formed into maturity.
It was Jennifer who saw the fortune teller’s booth as we strolled along, me looking through
the slats in the wood at the ocean below, she with her eyes to the future as always.
‘Madame Fortune,’ she said. ‘Let’s go in. Maybe she’ll tell us whether there’s a handsome
man waiting around the next corner.’
I laughed. Well, snorted but turned it into a laugh, not wanting to hurt her feelings. ‘I won’t
be meeting anyone,’ I snapped. ‘I’ve already met the boy of my dreams.’
‘Boy? I don’t want a boy. It’s a man I’m looking for, and so should you be.’ Jennifer
grabbed my arm. ‘Come on,’ she said as she pulled me to the entrance.
‘I’ll go first,’ and she pushed through the curtains into the dark interior, leaving me outside
on the decking, between the booth and a candy-floss stall.
I tried to stop myself from grinding my teeth, a bad habit I had whenever I was frustrated
with her. She always had to have her own way.
To distract myself I wandered past the different stalls, those which sold hotdogs and
doughnuts, or a variety of tacky end-of-the-pier wares. It used to be ashtrays and cigarette lighters,
stamped with scenes of Southsea or the Isle of Wight, now it was coloured vapes, mobile phone
cases and selfie-sticks that were popular, along with cheap looking charm bracelets and brightly
coloured crystals.
Engrossed in thoughts of wondering who would buy glitter covered picture frames I didn’t
notice him. He was leaning on the railings, looking across at me when I glanced up. Tall, hair as
black as the night and with eyes a bright sky blue that bored into me with a look I can only recall as
delightful. I felt myself flushing red and quickly turned away to hide my embarrassment,
pretending to ignore him as he made his way closer to me.
‘Are you here on your own?’ He asked. ‘Come for a drink with me?’
Of course I was going to say no thank you, but at that moment Jennifer appeared in the
doorway of the booth and seeing us there, made her way towards us, a huge smile on her face. As
soon as he spotted her, his attention turned away from me. It was as though I’d become invisible. I
sighed and shrugged my shoulders. ‘No thank you,’ I said, and before Jennifer could ask to be
introduced, I walked away towards the booth and made my way into the darkness of the interior.
When the mysterious Madame Fortune told me I was about to meet a dark haired, blue-eyed
stranger who would be important to my future, I couldn’t stop laughing.
‘Mark my words,’ she said. ‘Mark my words.’
I left the booth wondering whether this dark-haired stranger was still hanging around, or had
he taken the opportunity to swoop on Jennifer instead? She always got the attention that I craved. I
was used to it. Looking around I could see neither of them so I shrugged my shoulders and made
my way back down the pier.
I have to confess I was feeling a little sorry for myself so when I came across another candy-
floss stall I thought, ‘I might as well drown my sorrows in something sweet,’ and I ordered the
largest stick of pink sugar delight that I could. I paid the lady and wandered on, engrossed in my
world of pleasure, picking lumps off the floss with my fingers, and cramming them into my mouth.
It was as I was passing the bar on the pier that I glanced in through the window to see
Jennifer sitting inside. She was waving furiously at me. I looked in, amazed to see that she was at a
table with two young men. I was shocked to say the least. How could she rub my nose in it like
that? One was enough for most women, but not Jennifer, she had to have it all.
Just at that moment the wind whipped up, blowing the candy-floss straight into my face,
wrapping it’s stickiness in my eyes and hair. I was a mess and could no longer see where I was
heading. Not wanting to be seen like this, I stumbled away, trying to find the way off the pier. I
must have been heading in quite the wrong direction because the next thing I realised was that I was
being grabbed from behind.
I felt a pair of strong arms holding me, pulling me back at the same time as Jennifer’s voice
was screaming at me, ‘Look out, you idiot! You nearly went over the side!’
I wiped the sticky mess from my eyes as I managed to struggle free from the arms that held
me so closely, feeling a complete fool. First to be passed over by a gorgeous young man, then to
have been manhandled by him whilst covered in candy floss. What a fool.
That’s when I realised that Jennifer was standing with the young man, who had a look of
concern in his eyes, blue and sparkling though they were. But who was this holding me? I wriggled
out of his arms and took a look at him. Tall, yes, blue eyes, yes, hair as black as the night, yes and
good looking too. And of course, a stranger. Had he save my life? Perhaps he had.
I smiled at him and he smiled back. ‘Come for a drink?’ he asked.
