CHAPTER 21
We made our way round the series of right turns Annie had advised, finally ducking down a back street behind the church we weren’t staying at, oh no, and in the dusk saw a small sea of canvas, a lot of which was glowing from within as people used torches or lamps to sort their bedding out. That had always been one of my favourite parts of camping with Dad, where I would walk back from the toilets or a shower, usually in rain, it being North Wales, and our tent would be glowing in just that way, a little jewel of warmth and shelter that was so much more than a bag of cloth hung on a framework of sticks.

We parked up next to the pub, and as I did the obligatory arrived-safely-no-Rhod-wasn’t carsick call to Mam, Blake started looking around for familiar faces while ensuring our little explorer didn’t go off seeking unfamiliar ones. I wandered over towards the church hall, which had lights and an open door, and realised there were young people everywhere, from toddlers to teenagers. Annie’s cousin was inside the building, shepherding people around a table of cups and hot drink makings. I got a blank look, immediately followed by a smile.

“Ah! You are the sneaky one! Diane, isn’t it? I will call my cuz”

I had to laugh at that.

“One afternoon sitting in a café and I get a nickname!”

“Well, wait there, and I will sort your en-suite accommodation”

She handed her apron to a tall girl with a rather large nose, gave her my tea order (how did she know that?) and trotted off out of the hall, and two minutes later Annie was wrapped around me in welcome, grin in place.

“How was the drive, butt?”

“Long!”

“Oh, try it from Pembrokeshire some time. Lainey and that lot aren’t here yet, but Jan and Bill have the Edifice waiting for you. Bring your tea”

She led me out into the gathering dusk, and there was indeed an Edifice there, and yes, the capital letter was appropriate. It was a tunnel tent big enough to stand up in, but what seemed like forty feet long, though I am sure my measurements came from surprise rather than sober assessment.

“Jan? This is Di. Di? My friends Bill and Jan. They’ve got a room for you in their hotel here”

The man, Bill, was grinning, and there was warmth in his smile. Any doubts I had about Rhod’s safety would have evaporated at that, if I hadn’t already realised that my old friend would deliver us only to people she really trusted.

Annie turned away, calling back to me over her shoulder.

“Got a lot to sort out, Di, a lot more arrivals, aye? The other two in the pub carpark?”

“Yes”

“I’ll get a drudge to bring them over, and see you later, aye?”

She was gone before I could reply, and Jan just smiled gently.

“So much energy in her now. Not like how she was…. You’ve known her a long time, she says”

“I have that. Um, before, well, you know”

Jan nodded. “Before she stopped being stupid, you mean? I suppose we were lucky, being there at the time. Oh, come in and sit down”

There was actually a dining room in the beast of a tent, with a table and proper chairs, and as we took our ease in apricot-coloured light with a warm mug each, a succession of teenagers came in, each laden with some of our bedding or one of the holdalls with our clothes and other necessities. My two men followed them in, Rhod’s mouth wide open as he looked at the size of his temporary home.

“Mam, can we get a tent like this?”

I pulled him over to stand by my chair, so that I could hug him.

“Why would we need a tent this big, son?”

“For camping, Mam!”

“Who would we be camping with, Rhod?”

“Sassie and Tone!”

Jan laughed.

“Hello, little man. Who might you be?”

He looked at me. “Can I say, Mam?”

I got a little look from Jan as she clearly put ‘careful’ together with ‘coppers for parents’, and I gave him a squeeze.

“This is Aunty Jan, and with Uncle Bill, this is their tent, love. You can say who you are”

“Hello Aunty Jan I am Rhodri Adam Sutton and this is my Mam and my Dad is bringing our stuff”

She smiled at him, as Blake carried in the last of our bags. “Well, Rhodri Adam Sutton, Sassie and Tony are staying with us in this tent. It has four bedrooms. That means we can have a choice of where we sleep”

“Mam can we sleep in a bedroom Sassie and Tone and me?”

“Calm down, love. Shall we wait until they get here with their Mams and see what they say? Now, has your Dad taken you for a wee yet? No? Dearest darling sweet, he’s starting to hop around!”

Off they went, and I tried to match Jan’s comment about drudges to collect our things, but it just turned into mutual laughter.

She gave me another smile, a soft one rather than a grin.

“You are so like her, you know, so like Annie. Born to be a Mum, weren’t you?”

I raised an eyebrow, but she just held up her hands. “No, not getting into any of that stuff. She was, and she is, so end of. How do you want to play the rooms? We can put the three little ones between you and the girls, if you want, so they can come in for a cuddle if they need to. Makes it an adventure for them. Shall we start sorting the bedding?”

The more I spoke to her, the easier it got, and I realised that if Annie had come over to Sussex for what were, in the end, completely bogus reasons, she had fallen on her feet in a way that was simply better than anything she could realistically have dreamt of. We sorted the beds, gathered our warmer clothing and ambled back to the hall, which was slowly filling with people as well as the smell of hot food. So many people, all of them, it seemed, needing to say hello to Annie as well as her cousin, and a tall redhead, who was eventually tugged over to me for an introduction.

“Diane, Steph. Steph, Di. No, she doesn’t play anything””
The taller girl laughed. “You’ll be the one staying with my in-laws, then? Jan and Bill?”

I nodded, somewhat blown away by the sea of strange faces, as well as a hubbub of conversation in at least three languages. She noticed.

“Don’t worry, Di. No harm here, and after a while you’ll get to know who’s who. Lainey’s texted to say she’s ten minutes off, so that’ll be someone you do know. There’s enough spare aunties to keep the kids safe, so don’t worry. We’ve got the cage and the satellite link set up ready”

“Uh?”

With a perfectly straight face, “Oh, we stream organised infant cage fighting n the internet for the gambling income, but that’s not till tomorrow evening”

Once again, a snort of laughter, and she was away to sort something else out as my two arrived for their tea. My little man climbed onto my lap, while my big one sat with an arm around my shoulders, and whispered into my ear.

“I think we made the right decision for Christmas, love, but I’ll be buggered if I can remember any of their names”

I sat up, speaking normally, but squeezing his hand first.

“What do you two think of the bedrooms?”

“Can I have a torch Mam?”

“Not tonight, love. It might keep other people awake”

As well as you, of course, so I set out to get him as tired as I could.

Shepherd’s pie, vegetable lasagne, hot drinks, and just as we settled down with our plates Rhod was off and squealing as Lainey and Siân joined us with their two. Greetings, grunts of satisfaction as cuppas were produced, and three smaller persons all but tied to their seats until fed and watered. After a long and clearly needed sip of her tea, Elaine smiled at the two of us.

“Good call with the bedrooms, Di. Darren and Shan have set everything out, and if we get all three worn down to exhaustion we’ll be able to get some sleep of our own. Tony’s Mam has agreed to babysit for tonight, and Alice will cover tomorrow, so we have a chance to let our hair down”

Blake looked up from his second bowl of lamb and mash.

“Rhod wants to see the planes, girls”

Elaine nodded. “Steph can advise on that one. Now, I need a wee, and these three need to make the rounds. Children! Can you see this badge I have?”

Three nods.

“If you go running about, you are all right near the tents, or in this hall, or in the church, aye? If you get lost, just look for anyone with a badge like this, and tell them who you are, and they will look after you. Got it?”

Three nods, and she looked at me for confirmation.

“Right, you three! Finished? Off you go!”

Peace, calm. I looked at her badge, and she shrugged.

“So many kids these days, so we set up a creche sort of thing, like one of those shopping centre lost child places. Now, the Dover crowd will be here in twenty, and Arwel and Kev’s in an hour, so the kid count will go hyperbolic. I hope you’ve brought your dancing shoes!”