The Beach

"You're not my dad and you can't tell me what to do!" Jodie saw David flinch at the all too familiar accusation, but she didn't care. It was true. Just because he was living here now, it didn't give him any rights. None at all. He was nothing to her, although, in her more lucid moments, she knew he wasn't so bad really.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do, we just—"

But Jodie wasn't listening anymore. She shoved past him, grabbed her phone, and stormed outside into the street slamming the door in her wake with a satisfying bang. The wind chimes hanging from the front porch twirled and sang their lilting song.

The path to the cove was deserted. A stiff salty breeze whipped the tall sea grass as she jogged along, and high above, gulls cawed hungrily as the last vestiges of the pale sun dipped low in the sky. It was still unseasonably warm for October, but there was an undeniable bite in the air and Jodie suddenly wished she had picked her coat up from the hall.

It was too late now. She had no desire to head back yet. Anger still scorched through her veins as she finally slowed down to a fast walk. Her scuffed trainers sank into the soft sand as the path meandered through the dunes. With the sun barely hovering on the distant horizon, the light was fading fast and the purple shadows reached out to her from the deep hollows and clefts between tufts of tough sea grass.

The sound of the surf grew ever nearer, but all Jodie heard were the voices clamouring in her brain. Again and again the argument played out like a scratched disc.

"The house needs to be sold. We can't stay here—it isn't going to be big enough."

Jodie couldn't bear the thought of leaving. It was her home. What if he came back and they weren't there?

"You can't make me leave." She screwed her face up and stared at David stubbornly. He and her mother exchanged glances before Annette spoke softly,

"Sweetheart, I know you love this house, but it's just not practical now we're expecting a baby." Annette stroked her bump distractedly and Jodie fought the urge to stamp her feet like a little kid.

Why did they not care what she wanted? It felt like she was irrelevant now—an irritating blip in their otherwise perfect lives. "My friends are here." She scowled petulantly.

"You'll make new ones." Annette sounded confident, but they both knew Jodie didn't make friends easily.

"Look Jodie, your mum's not doing this to spite you. We only want what's best for all of us." David crossed his arms impatiently and tapped his foot against the table leg.

Jodie had heard enough. She was tired of bloody David interfering. They had been perfectly happy before he came along and she wished he would stop trying to pretend that this decision was the right one. It wasn't. At least not for her. He wasn't her dad and the sooner he pissed off and left them, the better.

Steps meandered through the rocks and Jodie hopped down them easily, her feet finding the smooth concrete despite the wind blowing sand across her path. She tucked her hands deep inside the pockets of her hooded top as she walked across the beach, heading for the cliffs that loomed out of the dusk further along.

By the time she had reached the rocky promontory, white foam was crashing on to the jagged rocks. The wind caught her hair and plastered it across her cheeks like seaweed. It was cold now, but Jodie was oblivious. They didn't care about her, so why should she rush back? They were probably relieved to be rid of her for a few hours.

If only her real dad was around—then she could have gone to live with him instead of being forced to put up with stupid David. But her real dad was long gone. It had been several years since the last dog-eared postcard had slipped on to the front door mat with a few words scrawled on the reverse.

If you need me, I'll be there, love you xxx

Jodie had kept it, hidden carefully between the pages of an old notebook. From time to time she took the gaudy picture out and studied the note, trying to see if there was a hidden message between the lines. Surely her dad hadn't just dropped off the face of the planet? He had promised in a brief phone call the month before to send her a plane ticket so she could fly out and stay with him, but it had never arrived. For weeks she had waited patiently. Every time the postman walked down the path Jodie's heart had jumped a mile. Surely that day the ticket would arrive and then all the kids at school would stop calling her a liar.

But it never came. That had been the last she'd heard from him.

"He's probably been sent on a secret mission," she'd told the kids at school, but they had laughed at her openly, so she had shut up and retreated into her customary shell of sullen muteness.

It smelt of rank seaweed and cigarettes in the cave. Jodie wrinkled her nose up and climbed over the large boulder that partially blocked the entrance, relieved to be out of the wind. At the back of the cave, piles of soft sand had collected and she sat down and tucked her knees up beneath her chin.

She couldn't see much any more. Dusk had turned into night in the blink of an eye and the only light was from the houses on the headland far away. She could just about make out the remains of a fire in the damp gloom and she wondered who had been here recently. Probably Mikey Harris and his mates she thought with annoyance. They were all deadbeats.

At least there was no chance of them turning up tonight—Mikey had been arrested a couple of days ago for vandalising the village institute. He was currently being held on remand at a juvenile detention centre as far as she was aware. The thought of Mikey being banged up for a couple of years made her smile with sudden amusement. She had never forgiven him for making her life hell in junior school.

"You're so ugly, even your dad couldn't stand to look at you and that's why he left!" Mikey had cackled and all his mates grinned as Jodie's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Jodie stared at his shiny new Nike trainers and wished she could be like the other kids with their trendy clothes and endless supply of cool stuff. Instead she had to wear the same jeans, day in and day out because her mum couldn't afford to buy her anything else.

It was at times like that she hated her dad for leaving them. But she always forgave him again. It hadn't been his fault, she reasoned. Her mum had nagged him too much—that was why he had left in the end. She chose to ignore the niggling memories of him being drunk and her mum crying because her housekeeping money had been blown on the 3:15 at York.

Once David had appeared on the scene, things had been a little easier, but by then Jodie had been running wild and his attempts at discipline only led to arguments. Jodie didn't like being told to come in at fixed times. She was too used to wandering off for hours, walking for miles across the cliffs to watch the gulls nesting far below in the rocky outcrops that punctuated the coastline. She certainly didn't need her mum siding with him every time he picked a fight with her.

"It's not safe for you to be out all hours," he shouted as she stared at him in sullen silence. "I told you to be in at eight and now it's gone eleven. Your mum's been worried sick!"

"Yeah, right," Jodie muttered. Her mum was already asleep most likely.

There was a pulse throbbing wildly in David's temple and Jodie wondered for a moment if he might keel over from a heart attack or something. But it was doubtful. So she kicked her sandy pumps off and walked away, ignoring the look of anger that swept over his face.

"Don't you leave this room—"

The words washed over her like white noise as she climbed the stairs to her attic room and closed the door on him and the rest of the world. Jasper opened one yellow eye and contemplated her for a sleepy moment. His belly began to vibrate with purrs as she flopped down beside his fat body and stroked him gently.

The only one who ever gave a damn was the cat—and that was only because Jodie let him sleep on her bed at night, despite her mum's complaints about the grey furry patches he left behind on the expensive cream bed cover David had bought for Jodie. She hated the stupid cover anyway and took great delight in allowing Jasper to sleep on her bed. His slow, rhythmic purring soothed her, along with the sound of waves crashing on the beach in the small hours before dawn when she couldn't sleep.

"He's an arsehole," she told Jasper morosely. "I wish he'd fuck off and leave us alone."

The cat blinked at her before closing his eyes again. Jodie followed suit and within seconds she was sound asleep, her long mousy hair spread out on the hated cream bed cover.

She awoke with a start. Water was lapping at the entrance to the cave and the temperature had dropped considerably. What had previously been a soft pile of sand and turned into a hard bed of stone that dug into her body painfully. The luminous dial of her watch told Jodie it was late and she silently cursed. The tide had been turning when she first came here and now there was a very real chance she might find herself cut off from the path up the cliff.

She stood her mind still foggy with sleep. Outside the wind was howling and she shivered at the thought of wading through the icy sea. This time of year the currents were unpredictable and although she was a strong swimmer, she wasn't too sure if she would be able to hold her own, but she couldn't stay here and risk drowning. If the tides were higher than normal, the cave would flood. So she ventured out towards the mouth of the cave and peered into the night.

There was no moon, only black sky and a harsh wind that sucked the breath from her lungs. Waves crashed against the cliffs further up the beach and for the first time Jodie began to feel truly afraid. The water was up to her ankles all ready and she was a long way from the cliff steps. To reach safety would mean scrabbling across the rocks as the beach was under water by now.

Trying not to think about the possibility of drowning, Jodie began to climb across the large rocks that shielded her cave from the ever more encroaching sea. The wet lumps of granite were slippery with slimy sea weed and several times she nearly fell. Her jeans slapped wetly against her cold legs and her trainers squelched every time she moved.

A huge wave crashed over Jodie and for a moment she thought she was going to be sucked back into the water, but she clung on to the rock like a limpet, her heart thumping with fear. Eventually the water receded, leaving her frozen and shivering, but still relatively safe. Aware that every second she hesitated the tide rose further up the beach, Jodie waded through the pools towards the cliff face as fast as she could manage.

Finally she reached the beginning of the path just as another wave surged up the beach. It broke at the foot of the rocks and for a moment she was submerged in ice water, unable to breathe as the current sucked at her feet. She could feel her body being pulled by the force of the tide and her numb fingers began to lose their grip.

A sense of calm resignation descended as she felt her body floating free from the safety of the cliff path. She wondered if they would miss her. Probably not, she thought sadly. Now they wouldn't need to move to a bigger house.

Somebody grabbed Jodie's arm and yanked her from the water. Shock jolted her out of the chilly reverie and she felt herself being pulled upwards as her feet found the edge of the steps. Coughing and choking on the sea water, she tried to focus on her rescuer.

The familiar brown hair, the old wax jacket with the patched sleeve, and the gold signet ring he always wore. It couldn't be...could it?

"Dad?" Tears mixed with the rain as she struggled up the path half supported by her father's arms.

They reached the top and her beloved dad turned and smiled at her, his hand still holding hers tightly. "You're safe now," he told her, his voice almost lost in the howling wind.

By the time they reached the deserted car park, Jodie was almost dropping with exhaustion. She was cold, so cold. Her wet hooded top was doing nothing to keep the wind out and her teeth chattered violently. Only her dad's arm around her waist kept her moving and she concentrated on him fiercely.

They moved along the path along the edge of the lane, heading back towards the village. Jodie tried to ask him why he had come back, but every time she opened her mouth, the wind whipped her words away and eventually she gave up. She would have to wait and ask him once they were safe, back at the house.

By the time they reached the familiar white picket fence around Jodie's garden, she wanted to cry with joy. All the stupid arguments of late seemed unimportant. She loved her mum and David wasn't so bad really. He tried his best to make things better for them all and Jodie knew in her heart that her mum had been happy since she met him.

Now her dad had come back, maybe everything would work out for them all. Surely he would have had a good reason for staying away all this time. She turned to ask him, but to her surprise he wasn't there.

"Dad?" she cried, but her own voice echoed back hopelessly.

"Jodie!" David flung the door open and pulled her inside. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick about you!" His face was white and strained and Jodie burst into tears as the shock began to take hold. The words refused to come and she felt dizzy and sick. Her legs wobbled dangerously and she fell forward into David's arms as darkness enveloped her.

* * *

Sunlight was shining across the cream bedcover when Jodie opened her eyes again. Jasper lay in a hollow beside her, his soft furry belly exposed as he purred softly. The clock beside her bed told her it was nearly midday and for a moment she lay there puzzled, trying to work out why she had slept so long.

Then she remembered the events of the night before: the argument, storming off down to the beach, becoming trapped by the tide...her dad. Dad! She tried to move, but her legs felt like jelly and she fell backwards on to the pillow crossly.

Just as she was about to make a second attempt, her bedroom door swung open and her mum appeared with a mug of tea.

"How are you feeling?" she asked carefully.

Jodie could see the dark circles beneath her mother's eyes and she felt horribly guilty. "I'm okay," she replied, unable to look at her directly.

Her mum walked over, her swollen belly stretching the old tee shirt she was wearing. With a slight grimace she passed Jodie the mug and sat down on the bed.

"There's something we need to talk about," she began, but Jodie interrupted her.

"Where's Dad! He was here last night, he saved me!"

"No, no, that's impossible—"

"Why won't you believe me?" Jodie stared in disbelief at her mother's wan face. "I was caught by the tide and he pulled me out of the water..." Jodie clammed up when she saw her mum's expression of horror. "But I'm fine now," she added hurriedly. "Lucky Dad was there. So where is he? I want to see him!"

"Jodie," her mum began softly. "Your Dad couldn't have been there last night. After you ran off we had a phone call from Auntie Meg, your dad's sister." Her mum reached out and grasped Jodie's hand tightly. "Your dad was killed in a car accident two days ago. She only found out last night and then she called me."

"But he..." Jodie's mind refused to comprehend what she was hearing. It didn't make sense. He was there last night!

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but he's really gone."

The tears came without Jodie even realising she was crying. She didn't understand how, but Dad had been with her last night. He had been there when she needed him, just like she always knew he would be...

He loved her.