by Shari Low
Packing done, she popped into Eliza’s room to make sure her daughter was organized. The first thing she saw was a tower of three huge suitcases, and the second thing was a sixteen-year-old with a skin colour that closely resembled radioactive material. ‘Eliza! What happened to you?’
‘Double Fake Bake at the salon then an overlay of gold shimmer. What do you think? Isn’t it, like, so cool?’
Sarah bit her tongue. What was the point? Eliza was clearly thrilled with her metallic hue. Would anything be gained from arguing that it was actually, like, so extra-terrestrial? She must glow in the dark. It was a small comfort that if there was a night-time disaster on the ship, Eliza could be put on deck to guide in the emergency helicopter. Sixteen years of bringing up a girl had taught her when her opinion should be left unsaid.
‘Yes, love, it’s, erm, cool. Are you all packed?’ She had to be. Given the pile of cases, there couldn’t possibly be anything left in her room.
‘Ready to go, Mum. And I’ve looked up the ship online. It’s amazing. There are nine bars!’
‘You’re sixteen.’
Eliza rolled her eyes, clearly rejecting this biological fact, and went back to crimping her hair to the shape of a large herbaceous shrub. “But I look, like, much older. I’m sure dad would let me have like a spritzer.”
“I highly doubt that but good luck trying, darling.”
Sarah decided that she’d leave the alcohol battle for Drew to fight. It was about time he learned to say no to his daughter.
Back in her bedroom, she texted her son to remind him that she’d meet up with him in Barcelona. John and his wife, Penny, had flown out a day early to get their babies, Lawrence and Lavinia, acclimatized to the heat. She was thrilled she would soon see them all. Since her grandchildren had been born three years ago she’d had them at least a couple of days a week to give Penny a break and she loved every moment of it.
The phone beeped almost immediately with a message from John confirming the plans. Great. She was glad they would all be going aboard together. Safety in numbers. A lot of water had passed under the bridge between her and Mona and they’d come to the point where they could rub along together in relative harmony, but that didn’t mean she welcomed spending time with her. They had absolutely nothing in common except several years spent sleeping with the same man, at least one of them over-lapping.
As for Tess, she always seemed quite sweet. Harmless. Although given the age difference, Sarah did occasionally feel like she slipped into a maternal role. How the wives of those polygamists in America did it, she’d never know.
Kicking off her slippers, she climbed into bed and grabbed her Jackie Collins bonkbuster from the bedside table. It would usually totally consume her as she slipped into the pure escapism of the decadent glamour and scandal, but tonight a recurring thought kept niggling at her: Tess would be going on this trip with Drew; Mona would be with Piers; Patsy had now met someone to share the fun things in life; and she was alone.
It had been the case for a long time and it had never occurred to her to mind, but for some reason tonight she was bothered by it.
Maybe Patsy was right. Maybe it was time that she got back out there and opened her mind to a new relationship.
She realized that the thought excited and terrified her in equal measure. Actually, if she was being honest, it was probably eighty: twenty in favour of terror. But what was the alternative? A lifetime of wearing bad knickers because no-one ever got close enough to notice? Another ten years at the coalface of novelty cakes? There had to be more to life. The book slid back on to the nightstand as she snuggled down under the duvet. No more thinking tonight. She’d worry about it tomorrow.
Hours later, as the sun began to rise, she gave up on the sleep that refused to come.
3.
All Aboard
Tess
‘No, Mum, not yet. We’re in the taxi on the way to the ship now. It’s blistering hot here.’
Tess had to shout to be heard over the noise of the taxi and her phone felt like it was melting in her hand. The Spanish driver took the hint and opened the windows just as the first rivulets of sweat ran down her back. Sweat marks were going to be a great look for embarking on a swanky cruise. She returned her focus to the conversation just as her mum said… no, her mother did not say that!
‘Mum, can you repeat that please?’
As she listened, she realized with a sinking feeling that yes, her first take on the conversation had been the correct one.
‘No, Mum, I do not need tassels for my…’ She stopped there, suddenly aware that the driver might possess more than a smattering of English. ‘I don’t care if all the girls wear them at carnival time. No, I don’t need to know you have them too.’ Until that moment, Drew had also been chatting on his iPhone to the office, but he paused and was now staring at her with obvious curiosity. The combination of his puzzled expression, the sweat, the apprehension about the trip, the anxiety of the last few days and the absurdity of the conversation caused a complete descent into hilarity. ‘Oh, Mum…’ There were no words. At least, none that she could get out. The driver was looking in his rear-view mirror now at the crazy Scottish lady who was laughing uncontrollably.
Tears streaming down her face, she eventually managed to say goodbye and ask her mum to pass on her love to her dad. Although by the sounds of the conversation, her dad was getting quite enough loving these days.
For the millionth time she thought to herself how much she missed them. Other than an auntie in Kirkcaldy, they were the total extent of her family. Sometimes she thought how great it would be to have sisters and brothers and to have big chaotic family dinners. The expression ‘be careful what you wish for’ came to mind, as it now looked like she was about to find out. Drew finally finished his call – the sixth one he’d taken in the twenty minutes since they’d left Barcelona airport – and turned to face her as she struggled to compose herself despite recurring waves of borderline hysteria.
‘Are you OK?’ he asked, bemused at her behaviour. And no wonder. Weren’t fits of the giggles supposed to end with puberty? It was amazing how one call from her mum could lift her mood and completely distract her from the stresses and worries.
‘My mum’s nuts.’ The laughter started again, but this time she got it under control after a few moments. ‘Honestly, Drew, if I’m like that in thirty years’ time you have my permission to ground me. Or make a reality show about my exploits.’
Was it just her imagination or did a weird look flicker across his face when she said that? No, she was being paranoid. Urgh, she had to shake this off and get herself into her usual positive, happy state of mind. Only optimism and a sense of humour were going to get her through the next week, so she might as well start now.
‘The sheep,’ the driver said suddenly. Tess immediately looked out of the window expecting to see gambolling lambs and woolly ewes, but instead she realized they were about to go over a long bridge to… There it was. The ship. Or to be more accurate, several ships: huge cruise liners all lined up in a row to her right-hand side. The bridge dipped down and to the right as they merged onto the pier at Port Vell, and drove past one magnificent spectacle of engineering after another. She read the names of them as she passed. Norwegian Epic, Voyager of the Seas, Ruby Princess, Allure of the Seas, Carnival Magic, Thomson Destiny, and finally, right at the end, Vistatoria.
Wow, it was grand. Tess had already checked it out online and knew that it had fifteen decks and carried three thousand passengers at full capacity, but to actually see it was breathtaking. And they were going to circle the Med in it! She tried to remember the itinerary off the top of her head. Barcelona. Palma. A day at sea. Sardinia. Messina. Naples. Rome. It took her a moment before the others dropped in. Livorno. Genoa. Monaco. Barcelona.
For the first time, she felt a little bubble of excitement, and she automatically turned to her husband to gauge his reaction, only to realize that he was dialling another number on his phone.
Irritation replaced excitement. If she was a betting woman she wouldn’t put her last tenner on his iPhone making it to the ship. A carefully orchestrated nudge and it would be condemned to forever swim with the fishes.
He’d promised that as soon as they boarded he was officially off duty. If she so much as caught him asking for the Wifi password she was going to be furious. Come on! Didn’t he realize she was struggling here? Of course he didn’t. He thought everything was just wonderful. It crossed her mind if she was a premiership footballer or a reality TV star, then he might be a bit more observant about the state of her marriage.
Conveniently, he only hung up when the taxi drew to a halt at the port. She tried not to be irked that there was no time for last minute whispers or kisses before they met the others.
The embarkation process was surprisingly swift, much more efficient than an airport. A porter took their bags from the car, and after showing the boarding passes that were in the ever-efficient Jorja’s itinerary pack, they were ushered through security, issued with ship passes, had their photographs taken, and then made their way across the gangway.
Stepping into the foyer was like entering a different world. The atrium stretched up from their level and burst through the top of the ship, only a domed glass ceiling between them and the blue of the sky. The walls on every side were punctuated by gold and glass bullet-shaped lifts shooting from top to bottom.
Tess could do nothing but gaze around in wonder. Perhaps ten days on here wouldn’t be so bad after all, even in the company of two ex-wives.
‘Good morning, sir, can I help direct you?’ A happy soul in a smart blue jacket and white trousers, who was, according to his shiny gold name tag, ‘Arnie, Nigeria’, welcomed them.
‘Good morning,’ Drew replied with a charming smile. ‘Are the rooms ready?’
‘They’ll be free in about an hour, sir. Can I just check your Sea Pass?’
Drew held out the credit-card-like pass that was to be used for opening doors and charging goods to the room account.
Arnie, Nigeria’s smile widened even further. ‘Actually sir, you’re in the Destiny suite and those rooms are already open. If you’d like to make your way to deck twelve, someone will greet you there.’
Ooooh, the Destiny suite. Tess liked the sound of that.
On level twelve, the ping to signal the opening of the doors had barely subsided when ‘Colita, Brazil’ greeted them with yet another beaming grin. Forget Disneyland. This was clearly the happiest place on earth and it was beginning to rub off on her
‘Ah, Mr and Mrs Gold, welcome to the Vistatoria. Your suite is ready, if you’d just like to come this way.’
Tess tried to absorb every detail so she could relay it all to her mother next time they spoke… if she could get the whole nipple tassel scenario out of her head. Carpets. Stare at the carpets. The thick, navy pile with the gold ‘V’s embroidered in a regal pattern. She glanced upwards. The pale cream walls with subtle antique gold band running along at waist-height. The stunning artwork on the walls. It was like the poshest hotel she’d ever been in.
‘This is so beautiful,’ she whispered to Drew. He squeezed her hand and she realized that his iPhone was out of sight. Good to start the cruise on a miracle.
Colita, Brazil opened a mahogany door and led them inside. ‘Here we are. The porters will bring your luggage up shortly and in the meantime there is a magnum of champagne cooling on top of the bar.’ She gestured to the silver ice bucket on a black marble semicircle in the corner of the room. ‘I will leave you to get settled, but if I can be of any assistance at all, please press six on your telephone.’
With a smile, she was off, gently closing the door behind her. Tess waited until she was sure she was out of earshot before whistling, ‘Oh. My. God. This is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen.’
The carpet looked like it was made of shimmering copper and contrasted beautifully with the pale cream silk paper on three of the walls. It was almost like the designer kept the decor elegant but simple because he or she knew that it could never compete with the most stunning feature of all – a whole wall of glass overlooking the glistening blue of the ocean. The suite was at the front of the ship so they could see for miles. Plopping her bag down on the exquisite chrome and glass dining table, she spun around. The mirrored dressing table, with matching bedside units, were the perfect accessory to the overstuffed pale blue sofa. Facing the sofa, next to the bar, was a giant flat-screen TV. In the opposite corner, a glass staircase rose up to a glass-balconied mezzanine floor with a huge king-sized bed.
Her experience of luxury holidays was limited. When she was growing up, Evelyn and Alan’s idea of upgrading meant packing away the tent and going for a caravan instead. Not that she minded. Her whole childhood was bursting with memories of fantastic times spent rock-pooling and dancing at holiday park discos. She’d only experienced luxury travel after she met Drew. On their honeymoon they’d stayed in a beautiful hotel in Venice that oozed old-school class but, if she was completely honest, it felt a bit intimidating. Much to her husband’s amusement, she had never been able to get out of the habit of cleaning up before the cleaner came.
Other than a couple of long weekends in New York, that was the only holiday they’d had until now. They’d booked several times only to have to cancel it because of one breaking story or another.
But now they were here. And this was truly spectacular. If only Cameron could see… She froze.
‘What’s wrong?’ Drew asked, as he handed her a flute of champagne. ‘You look really serious.’
‘Nothing at all,’ she shrugged. ‘Just blown away by this. I’m not going to ask, but I bet it cost more than I earn in six months.’
Drew leaned down and, for the first time in ages, spontaneously kissed her. ‘You’re worth it.’
‘Ah, that would be really impressive, if L’Oréal hadn’t got there first,’ she said teasingly, sliding her free hand around his neck and kissing him slowly. His hands circled around her face and she felt the heat of his body as his hips pressed against her. A surge of bliss swept over her. Their sex life had definitely cooled off in the last year or so, and lately it had become, well, a little mechanical. Functional. But this deep, lingering kiss and his gentle touch felt the way it used to do when they were still in the honeymoon period. Now, he could lift her up and carry her upstairs and…
He broke off and looked at his watch. ‘Bugger! I said we’d meet the others down in the main bar at two o’clock.’
He didn’t even have the consideration to react to her stunned expression. ‘Can’t they wait? They won’t notice. They’ll be having a great time. And anyway…’ she moved in to kiss him again with a smile, ‘we don’t have to be too long.’
It was just as well her eyes weren’t closed or she’d have ended up kissing thin air because he ducked – DUCKED!!! – out of the way, then said, ‘Come on, honey I’ll make it up to you later.’
His words had all the emotional depth of a Doggie Doo bag. He leaned down and kissed her on the nose. The nose. Not what she had in mind, but there was no point saying anything because he was already heading to the bathroom with a jaunty, ‘Let me just go and wash my hands and we can head down.’
She slumped down onto the edge of the sofa, conflicting thoughts threatening to bring on a migraine. It was the first day. He was just being a genial host. He was excited to see his children. Don’t read too much into it. As he relaxes, things will get back to the way they used to be. Don’t freak out. Do. Not. Freak. Out. It will be fine. Great.
A noise at the door caught her attention and she watched as a white envelope appeared on the carpet. Probably a note to say the rest of the family were looking for them.
Checking the front, she saw that it was addressed to her. Strange. Mona was prone to pretending she didn’t exist and Sarah wasn’t the pushy type, so it must be from one of the others.
She slid her finger along the seal, and pulled out a sheet of paper with the Vista
toria’s heading at the top, and a couple of lines of type underneath.
Tess, I’m sorry about that conversation but I meant every word I said. Require future discussion. I hope you agree. Am owed some time off so have decided to take a break. Checked the ship’s itinerary and have an idea. Meet me in Monaco on the day you dock there. I’ll be in the square at noon. Cx
The lock on the bathroom door clicked and Tess quickly stuffed the paper into her bra, hoping that her purple kaftan concealed the bulge. What was Cameron thinking? Was he nuts? Drew could have easily been the one to spot the note first? She couldn’t even work out how she felt about it because her heart was beating so hard it was drowning out rational thought.
‘Ready?’ he asked breezily.
Shoulders back. Big grin. Act normal. ‘Ready.’
He held open the door and she grabbed her bag and passed him by. In the old days, he’d have put a hand on her back as they walked. Or even felt her up a little.
Her heart escalated to ‘hammer’ setting when she realized that Colita, Brazil was standing in the lift area, obviously waiting for her next arrivals. Would Colita mention the letter? Check they’d received it?
Like a Formula One driver heading for a brick wall, diversion mode kicked in and Tess practically ambushed the poor girl. ‘Hi, Colita, the room is great, and the view is spectacular. Isn’t it spectacular? Thank you so much. We must go now, big rush, family waiting.’ And without another word of gibberish, she grabbed Drew’s hand and as the doors pinged open, she pulled him into the lift. Now, he was definitely looking at her strangely, and no wonder.
As the elevator rose, the irony of the situation dawned. The nipple tassels, Drew’s knock-back, the incredible ship, the major wobbly caused by that outrageous note… The one person she’d usually want to call and share all this craziness with was Cameron.
Mona
