Perhaps because of, or maybe even due to, the weird events that had been happening to both Chas and Nics over the past day or so, neither of them had any weird dreams at all.
The next morning, Nics was up early, cleaning the house. When Chas got up, sometime in the midmorning, they decided, that as it was a nice day, and a Saturday to boot, they might as well take a trip down to the beach.
They took a trip down to the local supermarket to pick up some picnic stuff but left rather quickly and got their supplies from another shop nearby.
"Honestly!" Nics grumbled. "I don't see why they have to try and keep the supermarket open when they're trying to film a remake of 'The Italian Job' in the middle of it!"
"Still though," grinned Chas, still very amused. "The chase scene on roller skates was well cool!"
The bus to the shore was packed full of people, carrying their sunhats and buckets and spades, and screaming children. Each and every bus stop seemed to have a queue at it a mile long, all waiting for the bus.
Looking out the back window as yet more people tried to cram into the already packed insides of the bus, Chas counted five other buses following close behind. All had the same number as the one they were already on, and all appeared to be empty.
"I really wish sometimes that people could be logical," said Nics. "What's the point in getting somewhere half a minute earlier when you have to endure large amounts of discomfort to do so. It just doesn't add up."
Chas nodded, wishing he had something that he could use to scratch the maddening itch on the back of his right hand. Scratching at the plaster just wasn't helping at all.
Nics shifted the bag that was balanced precariously on her knee.
"At this rate we'll be having our picnic in the dark" she grumbled.
To distract her Chas told her of the previous night's computer adventures. She shook her head in amused despair at Spud's computer set-up, and furrowed her forehead at all the stuff about the locket. Almost absently she reached out and touched the pocket of the bag in which the locket rested.
The bus pulled up to another stop.
"You have got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Chas.
For, waiting there with what appeared to be all seriousness was a man and an instrument case. The instrument case was the size and shape of a normal sized upright piano. It was black, and had a normal sized, but totally inadequate looking handle on top of it. It had very small wheels on the bottom that squealed in protest as the man pulled it towards the open door of the bus.
A good few minutes of time was then spent waiting as the bus driver and man with piano had a conversation which went something along the lines of:
"Oi, you can't take that on the bus."
"Yes I can, don't worry, it'll just fit under one of the seats."
"No, you bloody can't mate, there's no way it'll fit."
"Look, let me tell you, I've taken this piano on airplanes before and it's the perfect size to be taken as cabin baggage, so don't you tell me that I can't get it on a poxy bus."
"An' I'm the bus driver, and I'm in charge of this bus, and I say there's no way you're getting that on my bus, mate."
The to-ing and fro-ing continued until eventually the bus driver, fed up with the conversation shut it off abruptly by closing the door in the other man's face.
The driver pulled away from the kerb, muttering to himself, as the man, still dragging his piano behind him, chased after the bus for a few steps, shaking his fist.
Unsurprisingly, none of the other buses bothered to stop at that bus stop.
The bus finally reached the stop just at the strand and disgorged its passengers with a sigh of relief. You could practically hear the suspension springs moaning as all the passengers piled off and flooded down onto the sand.
Not that there was much room there either. The beach was covered in umbrellas, wind blocks, deck chairs, blankets, people sunbathing, children building sand castles and people generally doing whatever people do on the beach, which never seems to be much. Down at the waters edge there was the usual assortment of children trying to drown each other or their parents, further out were a few surfers in wet suits, trying to catch what miserable waves there were.
Aside from the heaving crowds, it would have been really nice.
"You know," said Chas, as they elbowed their way down to the water's edge looking for a patch of unclaimed sand where they could sit and have their picnic. "I remember when all this round here were sand."
Nics had her sandals held in one hand, bag in the other. The waves washed around her toes.
"There's a spot," she said, pointing. "Quick, before someone else gets it."
And sure enough, there it was, almost at the water's edge. Nics shook out the blanket and laid it down quickly, before it could be usurped by yet another lobster coloured sun-worshipper.
"Tide is going out, isn't it?" she asked, almost absently. Chas shrugged.
"Guess we'll find out soon enough," he said with a grin.
Almost as if he'd called it in with those words, a wave rushed up the sand towards the pair, stopping a scant few centimetres from the edge of their picnic blanket. It receded, leaving faint lines in the sand. A second wave came in, covering the lines, but when it went out again a word could be seen, looking for all the world like it had been freshly drawn in the sand with a stick.
"April," read Nics. "What on earth?"
Chas paled, and quickly scuffed out the word with one foot. Nics' attention quickly switched from the sand to him.
"You alright?"
"Yeah," he lied. "Hand just twinged there a minute." And he sat heavily down onto the blanket.
The small brown terrier that was in the process of surreptitiously trying to grab Nics bag, pulled his head back quickly, before it could get squashed by Chas' backside. The dog turned away quickly and innocently pretended to be busy, digging industriously in the sand near to Chas and Nics' blanket, before sauntering off.
"Why did you scuff out the..." began Nics but she was interrupted by an inflatable banana flying through the air and bouncing off the end of her nose.
She blinked in astonishment, temporarily lost for words, as from the water a pair of children of indeterminate age and sex came running towards her.
"Sorreeee..." they chorused.
"Can we have our banana back?" asked one.
"Please?" added the other hurriedly.
She handed them the inflatable banana wordlessly. Chas nudged her in the ribs, pointing out to sea.
"Hey babes, is that a pink plastic flamingo out there?"
It was. Nics' forehead creased with confusion, and she rooted around in the bag, pulling out a thermos. She opened it, sniffed the steam rising from its contents and made a face.
"That's your coffee," she said, handing the flask to Chas. She pulled out a second flask, identical to the first and opened it, poured herself a cup of its contents which she knocked back like it was vodka.
"Hey, go easy on that stuff," warned Chas, only half joking. "That herbal tea is powerful stuff."
Nics pulled a face and sneezed. Out to sea a surfer fell off his surfboard.
"Chas," she said.
"Yes babes?"
"This is all getting far too weird."
"No argument from me, babes." He rooted through the picnic bag, pulling out ice cream tubs and packets of crisps in his search for something. "But I know something that'll make the world a better place regardless."
Triumphantly he pulled out a large bar of chocolate from the recesses of the bag and brandished it in the air.
"Would you like some chocolate?" he asked.
A football flew past both their noses, narrowly missing spilling the remnants of the herbal tea onto the ground.
"Yes please," said Nics, reaching for her bag. "But let's go home, it's too crowded here."
The trip back was relatively peaceful, the bus being practically empty. The stop before they got off, the bus driver pulled over, obviously to pick someone up. Neither of the two noticed as a duck calmly flew up the bus steps and waddled down the aisle. It jumped up onto an empty seat, and settled its head down on its chest for a nap.
Nics didn't notice, because she was too busy staring at her own reflection in the window and biting her lip with concern. And Chas didn't notice, because he had his arm around her and was watching her with a mixture of worry and pain on his face.
Both of them got off the bus on autopilot, lost in their own thoughts. The duck opened one eye to watch them go past.
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