Summer With My Sister (49 page)

‘No way,’ Clare had argued, trying to press the cheque into her sister’s hand again. ‘You worked flat out for me all those evenings. Please, I want you to take it.’

After much toing and froing Polly
had
taken the cheque, but had got her own back by ordering her sister the most stupendously comfortable sofa that Clare, Leila and Alex had ever had the joy of resting their bottoms on. As it turned out, Clare still had enough money to book them a week’s holiday in Fuerteventura this coming half-term. Leila and Alex were already wild with excitement.

Alex trailed through into the hall, shoes still off, eyes glued to the new Nintendo DS she’d bought him for his birthday.

‘Alex, come on, you should be ready by now,’ Clare scolded. ‘Polly will be wondering what’s happened to us. Leila, where are you? Hurry up!’

She glanced back into the mirror again, peering at her skin this time. It definitely looked fresher and pinker these days, now that she was sleeping so much better. And her face actually looked a tiny bit slimmer too. Must be all the swimming she’d been doing lately with the new club she’d joined at the leisure centre. It was hardly Junior Dolphins – Middle-Aged Whales was more apt – but she’d rediscovered the breathless joy of diving, the exhilaration of butterfly, and the endorphin rush she always got when she hauled herself, dripping, from the pool at the end of a hard session. What was more, she knew Michael would not have begrudged her any of it. He’d have been pleased for her.

‘Done!’ Leila said, coming through with a gaudy card in her hand. ‘Do you think she’ll like it?’

The card had a picture of a small rodent on the front cover. ‘Is that a guinea pig?’ Clare guessed.

‘No! A hamster, of course,’ Leila said, stuffing her feet into her favourite sparkly baseball boots.

‘And you’ve made Aunty Polly a Moving House card with a hamster on because . . . ?’

Leila grinned. ‘She’ll know. Just a reminder about something. Are we going then?’

‘We are,’ Clare said, snatching the DS from her son and putting it in her bag. ‘Don’t moan, you can play on it when we get there. Come on!’

She grabbed the bag of potatoes Agatha had dropped round for Polly, then they set off down the road towards Polly and Jay’s place.
Polly and Jay’s place!
Clare was absolutely thrilled that her sister had decided to stay in Elderchurch for keeps. Who would have foreseen
that
at the start of the summer?

Her phone beeped with a new text message as they walked along.
Still on for tonight? Will pick you up at 8. Lx

Warmth flooded through her at the simple sentences.
Definitely
, she texted back. She and Luke had met for drinks and dinner several times since that first heart-pounding date. He’d even come out with her and the children for a long, bum-aching bike ride through the gorgeous autumn countryside the previous Saturday. Clare had been worried that they wouldn’t like him, or might start making pointed remarks about how wonderful their dad was, but it had been a day full of laughs and fun. The two of them were going to Roxie’s farewell bash in The Fox and Goose tonight – her last weekend in the UK before she set off travelling around South America with her mates. The surgery wouldn’t be the same without sparky, funny Roxie, but she’d promised Clare postcards galore ‘And his-n-hers sombreros, if you’re
really
lucky.’

‘Oh, I’m feeling lucky all right,’ Clare had replied, grinning. ‘Very lucky.’

She smiled and pulled her coat tighter around her as she and her children walked through the village together. It had been a strange old summer, all in all. A summer of sisterhood, new business ventures and the first flush of love; a summer when she’d finally faced up to what had haunted her about the past and let go of the guilt. With her family all around her, and Luke in her life, she had a feeling that the future was going to be even better.

Lucy Diamond’s Summer Cocktails

Whether you’re sharing these with a sister or not, a cool, colourful cocktail can be the perfect drink at a summer party. Here are some suggestions:

Classic Pimms and Lemonade

(Serves 6)

250ml Pimms No. 1

1 litre lemonade

Half cucumber, chopped

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 orange, sliced

3 strawberries, sliced

Handful fresh mint leaves

Mix all ingredients in a large jug. Serve chilled, or with ice
.

Mint Julep

70ml Bourbon whiskey 4 fresh mint sprigs

1 tsp powdered sugar

2 tsp water

Muddle the mint leaves, sugar and water in a glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add Bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw
.

Raspberry Champagne Cocktail

(Serves 8)

3 tbsp Crème de Cassis

1 bottle of champagne, chilled

A few raspberries

Divide the Crème de Cassis between 8 champagne flutes. Carefully add the champagne. Just before serving, add a few raspberries to each drink
.

Citrus Peach Cooler
(non-alcoholic)

(Serves 8)

2 lemons (juice only)

2 limes (juice only)

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

Peach juice (or peach nectar)

Cloudy lemonade

3 sliced strawberries

Sparkling water

Mint sprigs

Put the lemon and lime juice into a large jug. Add the sliced lemon and lime, and a handful of ice cubes. Add peach juice to fill about one third of the jug, then add the lemonade until the jug is two-thirds full. Add the strawberries, then top up the jug with sparkling water. Garnish with mint sprigs
.

Lucy Diamond’s Home-made Beauty Products

For Clare’s storyline, I did a lot of enjoyable research into making beauty products. Here are a few easy recipes you can try for yourself:

Rose-petal Bath

1 cup of rose petals

½ cup of rose water (you can buy this from health-food stores)

½ cup of coconut milk

Mix the rose water and coconut milk, then pour into a warm, running bath. Add rose petals for extra scent
.

Avocado, Carrot and Cream Face Mask

1 avocado, mashed

1 carrot, cooked and mashed

250ml double cream

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp honey

Mix all the ingredients until smooth then spread gently over your face and neck and leave for 10–15 minutes. Rinse with cool water and pat dry
.

Packed with vitamin E, avocado also makes a great moisturising hair mask. Simply mash one into a smooth paste and spread on clean damp hair for 20 minutes, then rinse
.