Short Story Dolphin Watching t’s a tricky walk down. heila grabbed a clump of seagrass to steady herself. feel like a mountain goat. he had picked up a leaflet for a dolphin-watching boat trip that set off from the harbour, but oyce had turned his nose up. f we sit on a beach that boat will sail past, he’d said, parking on the coastal road’s narrow erge. hate er they see on the boat, we can see from the shore. ou’re such a cheap-skate, oyce, heila had snapped crossly. e’re on holiday for goodness sake ’m not being cheap, oyce had replied sulkily. ust thought you’d en oy it more on a beach. ’m sorry. heila backed down when she saw she’d offended him. t’s a lo ely idea. uite right, oyce had shrugged, ’m ust trying to gi e you a nice holiday. ith the air not completely cleared between them, heila had a oided the slightest complaint while stumbling behind oyce down the two miles of nettle-lined track to the beach. he ne er said a word when she got a splinter in her bottom from a si -bar gate, and cheerfully skidded on lose shale down the sheer cliff face.
knees and nettle stings they finally stood on the shoreline. he wa es shimmered in the hot sun, and the sand of the little co e was the colour of clotted cream. t was also co ered in beach towels. ’m ama ed it’s so popular, heila obser ed. t’s so dicey to get to. eryone’s had the same idea, said oyce. o point wasting money on pointless boat trips. hey found a rock to perch upon, where they could see the sea o er rows of colourful windbreaks. can’t belie e all these families ha e made it down here, heila mar elled, and there are no facilities for miles. es, it’s ery secluded, oyce said. ook, they’ e got a double buggy down here. heila was staggered. nd those teenagers ha e brought body boards. ncredible, oyce agreed, peering through his binoculars.
ust ha e brought them with them, oyce said, feigning interest in a seagull. girl walked by licking a cornet. cuse me heila called, here did you get that from he ice cream an in the car park the girl said. hat car park he girl looked at heila as though she’d landed from ars. p there, she pointed, it’s a two minute walk. hy did we park miles away, oyce heila turned to her husband. here’s a car park. ook, here comes the dolphin-spotting boat. oyce said, pretending not to hear. ow much does the car park cost heila asked. t’s quite dear, ow much hree pounds, mumbled.
oyce said. heila insisted. oyce
ell, you know what you can do heila said. ou can heila looked around. go back up the cliff and bring here were families building the car round. he took the sandcastles, some eating binoculars out of his hand. ice lollies, some leaning o er nd then get me an icerock pools with crab lines. cream. ’ll let you know if see any dolphins. here’s e eryone getting their lollies727 from To advertise call: 01928 165 or email: helsbytohand@btinternet.com y ackie rewster fter an4hour of scraped