Love (11 page)

Karen was surprised at the crowds
inside. There were all sorts of people; young and old, cool and out-of-date, New Age and hippies. She hadn’t seen so many hippies in one place before; she hadn’t realised there were still that many of them around. She thought to herself that it would make a funny story to tell her friends back in London. There were so many different stalls too: aromatherapy, herbal remedies for humans and animals, candles, organic foods, organic clothing, and more.

There were New Age stalls selling crystals and other mystical aids. Karen was fascinated by an antique crystal ball and toyed with buying it for a moment but the price was astronomical. Nick seemed to know tons of people and greeted them all enthusiastically, introducing Karen again and again. She could see what made him such a good salesman. She began to feel more cheerful, it wasn
’t so bad after all.

Nick tried to persuade her to have her tarot cards read or perhaps her palm. Karen steadfastly refused but since he was obviously quite keen, she suggested that he join the queue at Gypsy Lena
’s stand. She must be good if the crowds were anything to go by. They stood in the queue for a good quarter of an hour before Nick was admitted to the tented den. Karen said she would wait outside for him as she had no desire to be bullied into a reading by the gypsy.

Nick emerged some minutes later in high spirits.

“So, what did she say?” asked Karen.

“
I thought you didn’t believe in any of this,” said Nick smugly.

“
I don’t, but I would like to know what she said to make you look like the cat that got the cream.”

“
I’m not sure I should tell you Karen. Let me just say romance with a capital "R",” he said enigmatically.

Karen thought to herself, not with me it isn
’t. Some women might find his brash charm to their liking but she wasn’t one of them. “How about some food? That smell of curry is getting to me. I haven’t had any for ages and it’s supposed to be good for colds.”

Nick looked dismayed,
“I thought we might go somewhere later. I’m not sure what the food is like here. It’s probably just some grotty stalls.”

“
It smells good. Besides, I didn’t stop for lunch today so I am absolutely starving. Come on. Let’s go look.” Karen was determined not to extend the evening beyond the Fair with some ghastly intimate dinner. Especially not now that Nick had been promised romance by Gypsy Lena.

They went through to the side hall where there were a dozen or so stalls selling everything from wholemeal scones and Cornish pasties to
veggie burgers and the delicious smelling curry.

“
Mmm, it looks good to me,” said Karen surveying the tempting array of steaming pots presided over by two good-looking Asian men.

Nick had followed her to the curry stand still protesting that this wasn
’t at all what he had in mind.

Karen ordered herself a chicken curry with rice and three samosas which the men promised were better than any London ones. She was ravenous. Nick, with a fairly good grace ordered the same. They found spaces at one of the tables set up in the middle of the hall. Karen set upon her meal with gusto.

“See it is perfectly nice,” she said between hungry mouthfuls.

“
I suppose it’s okay,” agreed Nick reluctantly. “I just wanted to take you somewhere really nice.”

“Th
is is really good,” insisted Karen. “It’s just what I felt like. And that’s better than waiting around for ages in some fancy restaurant for food you don’t really feel like.”

Nick nodded. A small curly-haired woman stopped to ask Nick about a house she had seen advertised in the local gazette. Nick
’s office wasn’t actually dealing with the sale but he had sold it to the current owner so he launched happily into a full scale description of the property’s attributes and defects. Karen watched him swing into action. She looked about the hall and realised she was looking for Adam. No, he wouldn’t be here, and she shouldn’t be watching out for him. She was almost tempted by the fortune tellers. Would they tell her what her head wanted to hear or what her heart and her other senses wanted to hear?

The curry
was quite spicy and Nick went to get them some coffee and slices of the carrot cake.

“
I really like all this home-made stuff that you get down here,” said Karen as Nick placed the steaming cups and the thick wedges of the cake liberally spread with icing on the table. “In London you can’t even get cake this good.”

“
You could always bake something yourself,” suggested Nick.

“
I like cooking occasionally. I don’t want to have to cook every day and shop and clean up after it has all been eaten,” said Karen.

“So
unds like you need to marry a rich man to provide you with a cook, a maid, and a cleaning lady.”

“
I’m not actually planning to get married at all. Rich man or poor man. Anyway, I think I’d like to go back into the main hall and take another look at those crystals. One of my friends is having a baby and I thought she would have fun predicting whether it’s going to be a boy or a girl.”

They wandered back into the busy hall and strolled around the stalls until they came to the crystal seller. Karen had a long conversation with the bearded man about the different types of crystals and the
chance of predicting babies’ genders with them. She eventually bought a small clear crystal on a silver chain which the man assured her was a sure-fire indicator. He wrapped it carefully in tissue and warned Karen not to handle it too much as it would affect the vibrations and the crystal’s accuracy. Karen smiled, she didn’t have the heart to let him know it was more of a joke gift than a serious one.

They had been twice around the stalls and eaten and Karen thought that it was about time to head for home. Nick obviously didn
’t want to finish the evening that early but as Karen pointed out it was after eight o’clock and she had had a long day in the studio and she was beginning to feel distinctly fluey.

He looked a bit sulky so Karen said,
“Don’t worry I’ll get the bus. You don’t have to drive me all the way back. I should have brought my own car.”

“Do
n’t be silly Karen, I am happy to drive you home. I’m just sorry that we have to cut the evening short. Sure you don’t want a swift drink?” He didn’t look happy when she said no, and Karen felt she’d wasted his time.

It was cold outside the hall. The gale was beginning to blow in earnest and Karen was glad to reach the comparative warmth of the car. Nick turned the heat on full
blast as they sat for a few minutes, waiting for the windscreens to demist. He drove quickly through Penzance causing several pedestrians to leap from the path of his car.

Karen was surprised when Nick took the Marazion turn at the roundabout.

“
Why are we going this way? It’s faster to take the main road.” She remembered that he had said his house was in Marazion. She hoped he didn’t think she was going to look at his art collection.

“
It’s not so great in the wind,” replied Nick. “Besides this is one of my favourite routes and it’s not much different time wise, only a few minutes.” He smiled over at her rather insincerely.

Karen leant her head against the back of the seat. She was genuinely quite tired and would not be sorry to get an early night. She had had so many interrupted nights lately and her head felt thick. They sped alongside the railway line as it hugged the coast before turning inland. They had passed the Railway Inn and the beach cafe when Nick unexpectedly slowed down and turned into the deserted beach car park.

Karen’s heart sank. What on earth did he think he was doing? Surely he wasn’t going to try the old "car problems" line?

“
What are we doing here?” asked Karen as Nick stopped the car and turned off the engine.

“Th
e night is young and I thought you might like to look at the view.”

“
What view?” said Karen angrily. “I can’t see a damn thing out the window. It’s pouring with rain.”

“
Now isn’t that a shame Karen. We’ll have to snuggle up together to keep warm.” Nick leaned across and put his arm around Karen. With his free hand he reached up and pulled her face to his. He pressed his mouth against hers forcing his tongue in. She couldn’t breathe. Karen was squashed against the car door by his weight. She pushed him away and struggled to free her mouth. He was stronger than he looked.

“S
top it. Get off me!” she cried. “What the hell are you doing?”

Nick took no notice and reached a hand inside Karen
’s coat to. The unwelcome fumbling at her breast was the final straw. Karen shoved him back into the steering wheel with all her might. At the same time she grabbed the door handle. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. She pushed the door open and, in her haste to get away, half fell, half jumped out of the car into the dark parking lot.

“
Go somewhere and die, you sleaze!” she said pulling herself up and slamming the door behind her. She set off towards the main road. It was not a good night to be out, especially feeling ill the way she did. But rage pushed her on. She heard Nick’s car draw up next to her as she neared the exit to the car park.

Through his opened window he called to her,
“Karen, look I’m sorry. Don’t be an idiot! You can’t walk on a night like this. I’ll take you home.”

Karen walked on
faster without uttering a word and without looking in his direction. At that point in time she really didn’t know what she was doing. She only knew that she did not want to get back in the car with Nick. Perhaps she could get a bus from Marazion or even a taxi. She hurried on and turned onto the street leading into the village, not far now.

Nick followed her in the car and drew up beside her again,
“Come on, Karen, get in. It’s pouring. I hardly tried to rape you. No need to behave like you’re some kind of virgin. Just get in the fucking car and I’ll take you home.”

“
Go and die!” shouted Karen. “If I never see you again, it will be too soon!” She strode on into the rain. She clasped her coat around her tightly.

Nick shrugged his shoulders and shouted after her,
“If that’s the way you want it Karen. Suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t try!” With that he revved his engine and drove off into the night.

Karen made for the bus stop next to the village shop. She stopped under the streetlight to look in her purse. Empty! She had spent the last of her money on the crystal. She fished in her pockets and found three pounds. She would not be able to get a taxi with that, nor did she have any money at the house to pay for a fare. Still she had just enough for the bus.

Luck was with Karen for once that night. She had not been standing at the bus stop for long when the welcome lights of the bus appeared from around the bend. As the bus got closer she was a little dismayed to see that it was not going to Trelawney Cove but along the main road to the next town. The bus stopped for her and she climbed up the stairs, perhaps the bus driver would know when the next bus to the Cove was.

It was a relief to get out of the wind and rain but the driver had bad news, “Sorry my love, there’s no more buses to the Cove tonight at all. The last one went there at six. I do go past the top of the road to the Cove. It’s not more than a mile down the road from there.”

Karen hesitated for a moment and then decided to stay on the bus. At least she would be almost home and it was a downhill walk from the main road. Maybe the rain would let up a bit by the time they got there. Karen sat down thankfully as the water ran down off her coat leaving a puddle at her feet. Her shoes were soaked and her leggings clung damply to her calves. She sneezed and sneezed again. She felt completely rotten; her head throbbed and her cheeks burned. This was all she needed.

She wondered what on earth Nick had been thinking of, stopping in the car park like some desperate teenager. After all, he supposedly had a house in Marazion. But he would have had to persuade her to go in and she had been adamant about going home early. She supposed he could have made a pass at her when he dropped her off at the cottage but she would have had an easy escape route. Adam had been right about him being an opportunist.

She looked around the bus. Only
a couple of teenagers, more interested in each other than anyone else, sat kissing on the back seat. The bus trundled up and down the side roads to two or three little villages and then back to the main road. Karen couldn’t see why it shouldn’t stop in Trelawney Cove. How on earth did people without cars or who couldn’t drive get out? No wonder there was often a crowd of youths hanging round the shop looking bored. Eventually, the bus stopped in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

The driver shouted back to Karen,
“Here you go, love! Here’s your stop. Just cross over the road and mind how you go!”

Karen stumbled out onto the grassy verge. No pavement here and no street lights either. It took a few moments befor
e her eyes adjusted to the dark, though she could still barely see a thing. The wind and rain hadn’t let up, they seemed stronger and meaner if anything. Still, no use moping. Standing here was only going to get her colder, wetter and run over.