Poppy Blake - The Windmill Café - Summer Breeze

‘Suki’s promised to perform a couple of songs before we go out for dinner tonight.’

‘Oh, goody!’ said Felix, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. ‘Can’t wait for that unexpected treat. Yes, coffee with a wee dram should see me through one of Suki’s gigs. I thought we were here to chill out, not to be subjected to another “I love Suki fest.”’

Rosie carried a tray of mugs and two huge cafetières of industrial-strength coffee outside and poured one for everyone. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, sending a kaleidoscope of salmon and indigo streamers across the sky on what had turned out to be one of the most exhilarating and exhausting days of her life – and it wasn’t over yet.

The early evening air retained its warmth and the aroma of freshly mown grass and crushed lavender excavated painful childhood memories that Rosie had banished into the crevices of her mind and had not examined for a while, nor was she about to now. She checked her watch. It was 8.15 and there was still no sign of Suki getting ready to entertain them with a tune.

‘Where do you think she is?’ murmured Mia.

‘Relax. Stars always take ages to polish their shine!’ said Matt. ‘And she did have rather a lot to drink this afternoon. She’s probably sleeping it off.’

‘Well, I’m not sitting here like a faithful lapdog!’ declared Felix, tipping the final dregs of coffee into his mouth. ‘If Suki insists on dragging out her microphone, the least she can do is be on time.’

‘You’ve got to be kidding me! How can you say that when you’ve just arrived over six hours late?’ said William. ‘Look, I’ll go and…’

‘No, you won’t!’ said Nadia, pushing William back down into his seat. She obviously hadn’t forgiven him for his lack of support in the ice bucket incident. ‘I will.’ She made her way to the edge of the terrace, but stopped next to the door of the café where Rosie, Matt and Mia were sitting. She glanced back over her shoulder at William, clearly hesitant about disturbing Suki on her own and regretting her refusal of his assistance. She recovered well, and smiled at Rosie and Mia. ‘Would you mind coming with me?’

‘Sure.’

Rosie and Mia got up from the bench and followed Nadia. Matt rolled his eyes and joined them as they made their way across the field to Suki’s lodge. They paused on the veranda, Rosie and Mia exchanging anxious glances, fearful of what they could be interrupting after the afternoon shenanigans and the potential fallout it would produce.

‘Don’t you think we should knock?’ asked Matt.

Nadia shot a quick look at Rosie and Mia, also uncomfortable about disturbing her friend’s beauty nap.

‘What are you all waiting for?’ demanded William, as he came up behind them and elbowed Nadia to one side. He strode to the door of the lodge and knocked. ‘Suki? Come on. Have you forgotten that you promised to sing for us on the terrace before we go out for dinner tonight? Everyone’s waiting for you – including Felix! Suki?’

Silence.

Rosie met Mia’s eyes. If Freddie was still in there, surely he would have opened the door to shoo them away. William knocked again, this time jiggling the handle and pounding on the door.

‘Suki, wake up !’

Matt stepped forward, lines appearing in his forehead. ‘Is there a duplicate key, Rosie?’

‘Yes, of course, but…’

‘Can you fetch it?’

Rosie’s stomach lurched at the tone of Matt’s voice and the genuine concern etched in his eyes. For what seemed an interminable few seconds, her feet felt like they were encased in concrete and she couldn’t move.

‘I’ll go,’ said Mia, sprinting off towards the café where they kept the spare keys.

William was now frantically banging his fist on the sturdy, panelled door. ‘Suki!’

‘What’s going on?’ asked Jess, joining them, with Felix not far behind her. ‘William?’

‘We can’t wake Suki. Mia has gone for the spare key.’

Ripples of anxiety surged through Rosie’s veins as a myriad of possibilities spun through her mind, each one more dreadful than the next. Within minutes, Mia was back, clasping a brass ring of dangling keys, pausing on the wooden steps of the lodge as she fumbled to select the correct one.

Felix snatched them from her. ‘I’ll take those. If anyone’s going to intrude on Suki’s privacy, then it’s going to be me. And if she wants to have a snooze before we go out for dinner then surely that’s her prerogative. Stop gawping!’

Matt moved to let Felix pass but William held his ground.

‘We just want to make sure Suki is okay.’

Felix opened his mouth to deliver an angry retort, but the look on William’s face prevented him from continuing. Instead, he slotted the heavy iron key into the lock and turned, a loud thud telling the gathering that the key on the inside of the door had dropped to the floor.

‘Suki, darling, I’m back. Sorry about being so late, but you know how the guys get when… Oh my God!’

Rosie closed the space from the steps to the front door in record time and pressed into the room behind Felix, William and Matt. The sight that met her eyes would remain seared in her mind’s eye for a long time. Suki lay on her king-sized bed, her legs curled into her chest, groaning in agony, her face as white as the windmill’s walls.

‘Call an ambulance!’ screamed Felix, sprinting to the bed and cradling Suki’s head in his lap.

‘Suki!’ cried Jess, rushing to her sister’s side.

Suki’s face held a waxy quality, her eyes glazed as though she had indulged in more than just an afternoon of alcohol. Perspiration bubbled at her temples and her groan had morphed into the heart-rending whimper of an injured animal. As Rosie watched on in horror, a spasm of pain gripped Suki and she crunched forward, vomiting on Felix’s lap before relaxing back against Jess, some of her earlier colour returning to her face. A few moments later, her eyes seemed brighter and she managed a weak smile for her sister.

Rosie felt a movement at her elbow and turned to look at Mia. She was so pale she looked like she’d just rolled off a pathologist’s slab. Her lips were moving but Rosie couldn’t hear what she was saying so she tipped her head towards her.

‘Mia?’

‘Oh my God, Rosie! I think we might have just poisoned our first celebrity guest!’

Before Rosie could think of a suitable reply, Mia’s legs gave way and she crumpled into Rosie’s waiting arms. With Matt’s help, she settled her friend on the sofa, loosening the buttons at the neck of her jumpsuit and wafting her face with a magazine. A few seconds later, Mia started to come round, her kind, chestnut eyes wide with anxiety.

‘I’m so sor…’

‘Shush. Just take it easy.’

Satisfied that Mia was going to be okay, Rosie turned her attention back to Suki. Felix was still cradling her head against his chest and Jess lay next to her, their fingers laced, sobbing uncontrollably. Nadia and William hovered nearby, their expressions reflecting their shock of discovering their friend in such agony. Suki herself, however, had recovered her usual pallor, but continued to wince as the occasional spasm of pain erupted in her abdomen.

Relieved that the worst seemed to be over, Rosie surveyed Suki’s bedroom. Even in such traumatic circumstances she had to fight to staunch the sudden compulsion to start tidying up. Apart from the wardrobe that was crammed to bursting with an assortment of glittering cocktail dresses more suited to Las Vegas than the Norfolk coast, there was a jumble of toiletries and a huge purse of cosmetics tossed on the dressing table. Foundation, blusher, eyeliner and lipsticks were scattered over the glass top, as well as a hairbrush, heated tongs and a glass bottle containing a pale golden-brown liquid – probably her precious throat spray. Suki had clearly been in the middle of fixing her makeup and preparing for her approaching performance when she became ill.