Day at the Seaside

It was so hot. Temperatures were soaring. Emily couldn’t take anymore - being stuck in an office was no fun. So when lunchtime came, she picked up her bag and made her way into town.

While in town, she saw a bus and noticed where it was heading - the seaside. That was it. She wasn’t going back to work, she was going to head to the coast for the afternoon.

Once at the bus station, the bus she saw earlier, was set to leave, so she got on and bought a return ticket.

Once at the back of the bus, she started to eat her sandwiches. When she got to the beach, she was going to get herself an ice cream. Then she was going to hire a deckchair and laze in the afternoon sun. Her job would be still there the next day. She’d just tell them she’d got sick during her lunch break and went home. It wasn’t as though she made a habit of it. She’d never been late since she’d been there.

When she reached her destination, Emily went for a walk around town. They ad a few shops that the town she lived in hadn’t, like, Primark, New Look and a few others, and they certainly didn’t have a Starbucks, only a Costa, and the nearest Multiplex was miles away. She was beginning to think she was living in a very boring place.

Once out of Starbucks, after eating a toasted sandwich and drinking a cup of cappuccino, it was off for a stroll across the promenade.

On arriving on the promenade, she had an idea - to hire a deckchair - that was after she had ice cream. But when she got the deckchair and took it on the sands, she had trouble putting it up. No matter how much she tried, it was either upside down, inside out or flat on the ground. She was going to get one of the coastguards to help her, but he was busy chatting some girl up, so she never bothered. Then, when she was about to give up she heard:

‘Having trouble? Do you need a hand?’

Well, that was an understatement. Of course, she needed a hand.

‘It’s not that hard when you get the hang of it,’ he said to her.

Emily was getting annoyed.

‘I know what I’m doing,’ she said to him in a cross manner.

‘ Yeah, course you do,’ he said after putting the deckchair up before walking away, leaving her to get on with sunbathing or whatever else she intended to do.

Emily sat in the deckchair, and then totally chilled herself out. She thought it was better than being stuck in a stuffy office answering calls to people who seemed to get pleasure in shouting at her over the phone. Well, they could shout at someone else for the afternoon, she thought to herself while eating a bar of chocolate she had bought at the same time she had bought the ice cream.

Emily stayed for a few hours. In fact, she had fallen asleep at one stage. She then took the deckchair back and carried on along the prom, until she ran into someone.

‘Been sunbathing have we?’

‘What’s it got to do with you?’ she answered.

‘You should be nicer to me. After all, I did help you put the deckchair up.’

‘Yeah, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have been nasty to you.’

‘What are you doing now?’

‘Was going to go in Costa before catching my bus home.’

‘I’ll buy you a coffee, if you want?’

‘No, I’ll get them. You deserve a coffee. You helped put my deckchair up and all I did was moan.’

So that is what happened. They made their way to Costa. This town was fortunate. It had two Costas - one in the town itself and the other was just on the outskirts.

Once in Costa, true to her word, Emily went to the counter and bought two Americanos and a couple of toasted sandwiches.

‘You are being generous, arent you?’ he said after Emily had put a plate with a sandwich on, next to his coffee.

‘Keep quiet and eat your sandwich,’ she said to him.

While eating their food, they started talking about things in general. He was surprised when she told him that she lived twenty miles away. He was under the impression she lived in the same town.

After they had finished, they left Costa and made their way to the bus station so she could get her bus home, but on the way, she spotted someone.

‘Oh, no,’ she said to the boy.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘My boss is over the road.’

So? He doesn’t bite, does he?’

‘He will if he sees me.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m supposed to be at work.’

‘You mean, you are skiving off?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Do you think he has seen you?’

‘I’ll find out tomorrow morning. But I’m not worried about it at the moment.’

Emily caught her bus home. But before she got on the bus, she had agreed to see the boy again at the weekend. He was travelling to see her, so she didn’t have to bother about getting any more buses for a while.

The next morning, Emily got ready for work. She’s still not worrying if the boss had seen her the day before. As soon as she had finished her breakfast she started her walk to work, taking her time about it. She even stopped for a cup of coffee on the way.

When she finally got through the office door she heard:

Miss Evans, my office, now!’

‘You wanted to see me, Mr Jenkins?’

‘Are you looking to get the sack, my girl?’

‘No, why?’

You are thirty minutes late, and yesterday you were by the seaside.’

‘So, what?’

‘So, what? You are suspended. You’ll be hearing from me soon to what sort of action will be taken.’

‘OK,’ she replied before walking towards the door.

‘Miss Evans, before you go, haven’t you got anything to say for yourself.’

‘No, only, how is Mrs Jenkins these days?’

‘What has she got to do with anything?’

‘A lot actually. The woman you were holding hands with yesterday looked twenty years younger than the Mrs Jenkins I know, and she had blonde hair, And she seemed to be a few inches taller.'

Her boss’s face turned white, and for some reason, he forgot all about the suspension. His face was a picture as Emily made her way out of his office.