by Shari Low
‘The only thing puzzling me is why the change of heart? Why are you suddenly coming over all Mother Teresa and looking to patch things up? What happened? Between the American and the way you’ve been hitting on Drew all week, I’d have thought our marriage was the last thing on your mind. Did Drew knock you back?’ He clearly meant the last comment as a parting dig, but immediately saw by her reaction that he’d got it absolutely right. ‘My God, that’s what happened. He did.’
In her head, Mona could hear the noise a slap would make when it hit his face. This couldn’t be happening. She burned with fury and fear. It couldn’t be. There was too much at stake. Too much to lose. She had to have one last try, even if it would shred every last piece of her dignity.
‘Piers, I know I’ve been stupid. I know I have, and I’m so sorry. But you have to forgive me. I heard you on the phone the other day, calling it off with her, saying that you knew what you wanted and you just hoped it wasn’t too late. It isn’t too late for us, Piers.’
There. She’d said it. However, this just seemed to completely baffle him. It took a few seconds for comprehension to enter the picture, and then it quickly turned to weariness.
‘You’re right, Mona, I do know what I want now. But I wasn’t talking about you.’
Sarah
Sarah lay awake, fully engrossed in the last few chapters of her book. She’d wandered around Genoa for a few hours in the morning, then had a panini and strong coffee for lunch in a quaint little street cafe. After returning to the ship, she had spent the afternoon in the peaceful surroundings of the library, where she’d finished her Tasmina Perry and then come across a Marian Keyes novel that she hadn’t read. That solved the question of what to do for the rest of the day. It had been absolute bliss. No drama, no tension, just the quiet calm of Sarah, Marian and a sodding big comfy chair in a gorgeous room full of silent people.
Now, lying in bed, a niggle interrupted her thoughts and she checked her watch. Midnight. Eliza was supposed to have been back half an hour ago. Her daughter had loved every single minute of this holiday, and she was obviously trying to wangle a little more enjoyment time. Sixteen was a tough age. Old enough to marry. Mature enough to make most of her own decisions, yet still having to work within the parameters set by her parents. Sarah had hoped to spend more time with Eliza this week, but she’d been rejected on almost every request. She knew it was nothing personal. She and Patsy had spent hours staring at the telephone at that age waiting for the boys of the moment to call.
Back to the book; she read another couple of chapters and then checked her watch again. Twelve thirty. This wasn’t good. Eliza occasionally wandered in five minutes late, but this was taking it too far. She tried her daughter’s mobile phone – straight to answering machine. Trying not to panic, she ran through a list of plausible explanations, the first one being that the mobile phone was out of charge. Yep, that explained it. Eliza never wore a watch, so used her phone to check the time. If it was off, then she wouldn’t realize it was so late and therefore wouldn’t think to call. A perfectly logical explanation. Utterly reasonable. And while she was telling herself that, she was out of bed and throwing on clothes, while fighting to regain some semblance of calm.
Pulling on her Uggs, she listened for the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor. Nothing. OK, this wasn’t the end of the world. It would be fine. Absolutely fine. She’d find Eliza and in an hour’s time they’d be tucked up in bed laughing about this… after she’d murdered her for making her worry.
Grabbing her phone, she jotted down ‘Gone to look for you – call me on mobile if you get in before I’m back’ on a piece of paper and left it on her pillow.
Outside the cabin, she realized she had absolutely no idea which way to go. Think logically. Where would she be? And why hadn’t she got one of those satnav chips put in her daughter when she got the Labradoodle done?
Think. Think. Nightclub! Eliza had been going to the teen nightclub every night. Sarah ran to the elevator bank and checked the ship map. Deck ten. Inside the lift, she banged on the number and then whispered ‘Come on, come on,’ as the lift rose at the slowest possible pace. Or maybe it just felt like that.
When the doors opened she was already in motion, sprinting out and down the corridor in the direction she’d memorized from the map. Finally the silver doors of the Venue were in sight and she checked herself. Take a deep breath. Do not go running in there, or Eliza will never forgive you. Be calm. Act nonchalant. Threaten her with a lifetime locked in her bedroom only when you get her to a place of solitude and safety.
Just as she was about to pull the door open, a huge man pushed out from the inside and Sarah realized what was missing. Music. ‘Can I help you?’ the Incredible Hulk asked her nicely.
‘I’m looking for my daughter. Eliza.’
His brow furrowed in thought. ‘Very tall, blonde, Scottish, usually comes in with a guy called Kai?’
‘Yes!’ Oh, thank God. Thank God.
‘Sorry, but they weren’t in tonight. We’ve just closed, so I don’t expect they’ll show up now. Can I help you search for her?’
Sweet guy, but the last thing she wanted to do was turn this into a full-scale ship drama. ‘No, it’s fine. Thank you. I’m sure she’s just off enjoying herself and didn’t notice the time.’ Yes, that was it. For sure.
Turning on her heel, she realized that her brain was now completely ignoring the direct order not to freak out. Breathe. Breathe. Right, start from the top. Literally.
Not prepared to wait for the lift, she ran up to deck fifteen and checked the Ocean View. No Eliza. She scoured the rest of the deck. No sign of her. Deck fourteen. She checked the wave pool, all the loungers (interrupting a couple who definitely were not playing Scrabble under that blanket), the obstacle course, and even peeked in the church. No sign, but she did say a quick prayer for holy intervention while she dangled down to look under the pews.
No deck thirteen – unlucky for some. It would be bloody unlucky for Eliza when she found her. Her heart immediately wrestled control from the bravado section of her brain. Please be OK. Please be OK. The public areas on deck twelve were practically deserted, making the search quicker, but just as fruitless. On deck eleven, she popped her head into every restaurant, bar, and even the gym. Nothing.
Deck ten. Deck nine. Deck eight. Deck seven. Deck six. By deck five, she was close to passing out. Eliza was nowhere to be found. She must have gone to that boy’s cabin, despite strict instructions not to. Surely his parents wouldn’t allow that? What was his cabin number? Eliza had definitely said something about Deck twelve. Hadn’t she?
Back in the lift, she counted to a hundred as it rose upwards, then darted out as soon as the doors opened. ‘Good evening, madam, can I help you?’ said a girl behind the desk whose name badge said she was called Colita, Brazil.
‘Yes, I’m looking for my daughter, Eliza Gold.’
‘Ah, Mr Gold’s daughter.’
‘You’ve seen her?’ Yes! Oh, yes! Yes!
‘Yes, ma’am, she stayed with Mr Gold a couple of nights ago. When we left Naples, I believe.’
Oh. Not the answer she was looking for, but it was a start. ‘Have you seen her tonight? I believe her boyfriend, Kai, lives on this floor?’
‘Yes. But I’m afraid they haven’t been here tonight. Mr and Mrs Latham are in their suite, but Kai has not yet returned this evening. Shall I call Mr and Mrs Latham for you?’
Sarah weighed that up for a second, before shaking her head. No point in worrying another set of parents just yet, but if she hadn’t found Eliza in the next twenty minutes, she would.
But they had to find her. She’d be fine. She was here. She wasn’t overboard. Or kidnapped. Or… Oh God, this was getting worse by the minute.
‘No, thank you. I’m just going to pop along to see Mr Gold.’
‘Of course. Please let me know if I can help you…..’
Sarah didn’t even hear the rest of the sentence. She was already
flying in the direction of Drew’s room. She hammered on the door, forgetting that it was now 2 a.m. Eventually a very dishevelled Tess answered the door.
‘Tess, have you seen Eliza? I’ve searched the ship and she’s not here and she could be overboard. Oh shit, what if she fell over? What if…’
‘Sarah, hey, hey, it’s OK.’ Tess’s arms wrapped around her and gently pulled her inside. ‘We’ll find her, don’t worry. Let me get some shoes. I’ll help you. Drew!’
Her husband was already halfway down the stairs from the bedroom. ‘What’s up?’
‘It’s Eliza. She didn’t come home. I’ve searched everywhere, Drew. The whole ship.’ Tears were now flowing down Sarah’s face. If anything happened to Eliza she’d never forgive herself. She shouldn’t have let her go out alone. She should have stayed with her every minute of the holiday. She should definitely have got her bloody microchipped.
He was already pulling on his second shoe and a sweatshirt over his bare chest. His urgency panicked her even more.
‘Hang on, I’ll phone Max,’ Tess said, picking up the handset. ‘Max, it’s Tess. Have you seen Eliza? No? OK, I’ll buzz your dad. Oh. Well, can you ask him then? Thanks. Are you sure? That would be great. We’re just about to start searching now.’
She placed the phone back in the cradle. ‘Piers is staying the night in Max’s room for some reason and neither of them have seen her. He’s going to call Mona to check if she’s seen her and then they’re coming to help us look for her.’ Sarah couldn’t compute half of that statement but she didn’t have time to ponder it.
By the time they got to Colita’s reception desk, the other two men were there, worried and eager to help.
‘Right, let’s be organized about this,’ Drew said. ‘How long is it since you left your room, Sarah?’
‘I don’t know – about an hour? More?’
‘OK, give me your key. Max and Piers, can you start at fifteen and work your way down. Tess, you go with Sarah to five and work your way up. I’ll check the room and get John out to come help us search.’
‘She won’t be there, Drew. I left a note telling her to phone if she got back and she hasn’t. Drew, where is she?’
‘We’ll find her. Trust me.’
It was so stupid, but just hearing him say that made her feel just a little bit better. They’d find her. Drew said so.
They all ran in their designated directions. All the way down the stairs, Tess held Sarah’s hand, repeatedly reassuring her that this was going to end well. It had to. God, it had to.
At deck five, they ran along the so-called ‘Main Street’ between the shops. No sign. They were about to head up to six when Sarah’s phone rang.
Drew.
‘Sarah, I’ve got her. She’s in the cabin.’
Relief, huge big bloody tsunamis of relief washed over her until her legs jellified and she slumped against the wall. ‘But why didn’t she…’
‘I’ll explain when you get here.’
‘She’s in the cabin. Drew’s got her.’
Tess hugged her, both of them with faces flooded with tears.
‘You go and I’ll call off the others. Go, go!’ Tess urged her.
She didn’t need to be told twice.
She ran all the way, bursting in the door of the cabin to see a concerned Drew, standing over a horizontal Eliza, who was lying face down on Sarah’s bed, sound asleep.
‘But she didn’t call…’
‘Sarah, can you smell that?’
Sarah stopped. Sniffed. ‘Booze.’
Drew nodded. ‘I think our little darling has had her first boozy night out.’
Sarah rushed over and checked Eliza’s vital signs, her pulse, her pupils. She was about to switch her panic from “missing teenager” to “alcohol-poisoned teenager” when Eliza smiled in her sleep, before adjusting herself into a comfier position.
‘I don’t think she’s in too bad a state. She managed to get her pyjamas on.’
‘Backwards,’ Sarah noticed, a smile finding her lips for the first time in hours. ‘Drew, I was so scared.’
‘I know,’ he said, wrapping his arms around her. ‘Do you remember when John did the same thing?’
‘School disco. He was fifteen. Cider.’
He grinned. ‘I’ll phone Tess and tell her I’m staying here tonight. I’ll take Eliza’s bed. I’ve got a feeling we might have a sick girl at some point during the night.’
And as Sarah pulled a blanket over her daughter, she couldn’t help but feel thankful that he was there. Just like he used to be.
Tess
Tess found Max and Piers at the entrance to the casino on deck ten.
‘They found her,’ she told them, grinning. ‘Drew just called to say that she’s asleep and they think she might have had one or two drinks.’
‘Ouch,’ Max replied. ‘I’m thinking that’s not going to seem like it was such a good idea in the morning.’
‘I remember the first time you got pissed,’ Piers interjected, before turning to Tess. ‘Brought a team of pals up to my house, then drank my bar dry. I grounded him for a month.’
‘I was twenty-two at the time,’ Max joked.
They made their way down to deck twelve and suddenly going back to an empty cabin didn’t hold much appeal. ‘Do you two want to come in for a drink? Don’t feel much like sleeping now – too much adrenalin. Drew’s staying with Sarah and Eliza so it’s going to be beer for one if you don’t join me.’
‘Was that a shameless attempt to guilt us into coming with you?’ Piers said cheekily.
‘Absolutely.’
‘Then make mine a Budweiser. Purely to help you out, you understand.’
In the suite, the three of them lounged on the sofas, swapping stories about the week. Tess was dying to ask why Piers was staying with Max, but it was none of her business. She made a mental note to ask Drew in the morning – Mona didn’t sneeze without him knowing about it.
‘Right, you two, I’m off to make some phone calls. I’ve got a pal in New York I want to speak to, so I might as well take advantage of being up at this bloody time of night.’
How much her opinion of Piers had changed this week. She’d gone from being slightly intimidated by him to discovering that he was one of the loveliest, most generous, funniest men she’d ever met.
‘I’ll be along shortly, Dad. I’ll just finish my beer and let you get your call over with.’
As the door closed softly behind Piers, Tess poured another drink, before curling back on to the sofa and pulling her feet up under her. ‘I searched a ship in my pyjamas tonight,’ she said, gesturing to her grey marl jersey trousers and white T-shirt. ‘That’s not a sentence I ever thought I’d say.’
Max’s nose crinkled up when he smiled. She liked that about him.
‘So how are things going with Drew? Did you work stuff out?’
She stared into her wine. ‘Nope. It’s not going great.’ She tried to flavour her reply with a light-hearted tone, but it didn’t work and she could see that Max didn’t want to probe. ‘I wanted him to work less, and he’s agreed to that now. Should be a win, right? It’s what I’ve been wanting for a long time. But now other things have come up that I didn’t expect. When we met I knew he didn’t want more children and I agreed to that, but now I’m not so sure. I thought I was happy, but I don’t think I am. I thought we were perfect together, but…’ That one hung in the air, a foregone conclusion that she couldn’t quite bring herself to say out loud.
‘What do your family and your friends think?’
‘I haven’t said anything to my mum and dad. I don’t want them to worry and my mother would. She’d have Bolivian customs officers phoning me to check how I’m doing.’
‘What about your friends?’
She shrugged. ‘All my girlfriends love him because he’s got that charm that just wins everyone over.’
Max nodded at that. Drew’s charisma wasn’t exactly a closely guarded secret.
&n
bsp; ‘Only my friend Cameron has… reservations.’
‘Why?’
‘He thinks he doesn’t treat me well enough. He thinks…’ She stopped herself.
‘Thinks what?’ he asked. The pain as her teeth sunk into her bottom lip made her flinch. Must stop doing that. Must stop doing that. Suddenly she felt exhausted with the weight of the whole situation. If only her mum was here and she could discuss it with her. Or a girlfriend. Or Cameron, before he turned all secret-admirer-borderline-stalker on her. But they weren’t here, Max was. She made a split-second decision, based on nothing but optimism that she knew him well enough to judge his character. He could keep a secret. She was sure of it. He was trustworthy and he was smart. And right now he was the only person who could make sense of all this before twelve noon tomorrow when a good-looking Scottish bloke would be standing in the middle of a square in Monte Carlo, waiting for her.
Decision made, she reached into her bag and pulled out the notes, then handed the first one over to Max and watched as his face shadowed with confusion.
‘Cameron has been my best friend for years. We spend almost every day together. The day before we left to come here, he told me that he loved me. Wanted me to leave Drew, that we weren’t right for each other, that he could make me happier than my husband.’
‘What did you do?’
‘Asked him to leave. Raged. Denied everything. But he was partially right. Then we came on board and I got that.’ She gestured to the note.
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
‘And then this one arrived a couple of days later.’ She handed over the second note.
Tess, I’m sorry to do this but I had to write again in case you thought I’d sent yesterday’s note when I was confused. Or pished. I hope that you’ve had time to think about what I said. Meet me when you dock in Monaco. I’ll be in the square at noon. Cx
