Table For Eight

by Tricia Stringer

  “Have you had an interesting morning?” Ketty asked.

  Celia nodded at Jim and sat in the empty chair beside Ketty. “You might describe it as that. The rest of the group are having a quick bite to eat here then heading to the main street.” She looked expectantly from Ketty to Jim. “What are you two doing?”

  “We’ve had a stroll on the beach.” Ketty smiled at Jim who seemed calm again. “I was thinking I’d have a swim. Leo, Josie and Bernard are coming here but not till later. I said I’d have a late lunch with them. You’re both welcome, of course.”

  “A swim sounds lovely.” Celia looked towards the ocean. “It looks divine here.”

  “That boat keeps coming and going from the end of the jetty,” Jim said. “Do you know what that’s about, Ketty?”

  “For a few dollars you can go over to that little island just offshore. There’s a resort there and you can swim. It’s rather pretty, lovely lush gardens and a beach even nicer than this one.”

  They all looked around as loud voices and laughter carried from the other side of the tables.

  “Celia!” Maude beckoned her. “We’re having a quick swim here before we eat.”

  Celia turned back to Ketty, a look of dread on her face.

  “I wouldn’t mind going for a look at the island,” Jim said. “Would either of you like to join me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Lovely idea.”

  Ketty and Celia spoke at once.

  “There’s a boat coming now,” Jim said.

  They all stood up.

  “I’ll tell Maude not to wait for me.” Celia set off to where her party were dropping their towels and bags on the sand.

  “Perfect. We’ll meet you on the jetty,” Ketty said.

  Eighteen

  Christine was feeling more relaxed as she sat in the shade, watching Frank splash around in the water at the base of the waterfall. It had been a bit of a hike to get there but worth it; the tension between them as they had toured the island in a taxi had been dispersed by the refreshing swim. The constant sound of the water, the fine misting spray and the earthy smell of the tranquil setting stirred something primal in her. Pity they didn’t have it to themselves or perhaps she and Frank could have enjoyed exploring that feeling further.

  “How good is that water?” Frank came towards her grinning, his bathers and hair spraying drops on her as he reached for his towel.

  Christine flinched away, the water cold on her warm skin, her racy thoughts dampened. Frank sprawled on his back in the sun, eyes closed. Even though he had a desk job he was fit and lightly tanned from his regular walks and gym workouts. He looked so handsome, and she felt so dowdy in the loose top she’d put on to cover the bulges her bathers didn’t hide. When they got home she would get back into exercising and be more careful about what she ate. She stared at his tanned chest as it rose with each breath. She badly wanted to reach out and trail her fingers over his skin. Warmth flooded through her at the thought of sliding her hand further.

  Squeals and laughter came from the family group splashing each other in the water nearby.

  Christine sighed. “We should get going, Frank.” She packed her book and phone back into her bag. “I’d like to stop off in Port Vila on the way back. Have a look at the shops and markets we passed.”

  “If you like.” He didn’t say it with any enthusiasm.

  “Everyone says they have the best duty-free shops here. I thought I’d look for a pearl.”

  “We’re on a budget, Chrissie.” He rose to his feet and shook out his towel.

  She studied her husband as he gathered his things. They hadn’t mentioned the job or moving again. If her planned chat with her father went the way she hoped, they’d have plenty of money for renovations. Frank could have his job if his heart was set on it but they wouldn’t need to move from the family home. “I’ve been thinking I might see if Dad will have dinner with me one night, just the two of us.”

  “Why?”

  “Now that he’s spending most of his time with Josie I hardly see him, and dinner is busy with such a large group.”

  “And I’m not included in this little get-together of yours?”

  “He’s my dad and I rarely spend any time with him. You don’t mind, do you?”

  He stared at her then slowly shook his head. “No.”

  “Good. I’ll organise it soon. It won’t be a late night.”

  Frank hefted his backpack over his shoulder. “Let’s go.” He set off ahead of her down the track.

  She bent to pick up her towel and at the same time lifted her big beach bag. An intense pain stabbed in her lower back. “Oww!” She couldn’t help the expletive that followed. She was rooted to the spot, breathing quick shallow breaths like she had in childbirth. The pain radiated across her lower back then gradually eased to a dull ache. She straightened cautiously and slipped her feet into her sandals.

  Frank was now out of sight. She set off down the rugged path, carefully placing her feet but her back jarred with every step. She hadn’t gone far when he appeared further down the track. He paused, then, noticing her slow hobble, he strode back.

  “What happened to you?”

  “I’ve hurt my back,” she grumbled. “You shot off and left me.”

  He took her bag carefully from her shoulder. “I thought you were right behind me. How did you hurt your back?”

  “I don’t know.” She let out a long sigh. “All I did was bend over to pick up my things.”

  He offered his arm, she leaned into him and they set off again.

  “Perhaps we’d better go straight back to the ship,” he said.

  “I’ll be all right,” she said quickly and in a voice that held just the right amount of stoicism. “It will be better once we’re on flat ground I’m sure.”

  She’d heard about the pearls in the duty-free shops and she was keen to have a look. The ache in her back wasn’t so bad now and a bit of pain was worth it if it made Frank more solicitous.

  Jim sat on the beach on the little island in the sun, drying his shorts. He was glad of his hat. He hadn’t come prepared to swim and had simply slipped off his t-shirt and swum in his shorts.

  Celia and Ketty were still in the sea. They were several metres away standing in water nearly up to their shoulders. He couldn’t hear their exact words but the rise and fall of their voices reached him as they chatted together. He allowed himself a smile. If someone had told him a week ago he’d be swimming in a tropical paradise with two women he’d have told them they were mad, and yet here he was and it wasn’t that terrible. Except for the odd upset like he’d had earlier, each day he felt a little more relaxed with them. The other people from his table were easy enough to get along with now that he knew them better.

  Jim wondered what Jane would have made of them. The two of them would have joined in the conversation, been a part of it, especially Jane, and then when they got back to their cabin they would have discussed everyone. Ketty’s presiding over the table and the surprise arrival of Leo who she’d known before. No one else had seemed to notice her shock and discomfort. Bernard’s flirting with the women, which Jane would have enjoyed and laughed at. Christine’s jealousy and poor Frank with his hangdog look. Jane would have had them all summed up in an instant: she was far better at understanding people than he ever was.

  How she would have loved all of it, the whole experience from the cruise itself, to their fellow passengers, to the destinations like this beautiful beach.

  “Jim!”

  He looked up. There had been fear in Ketty’s call. She was beckoning him but her movements were slow. Celia was wide-eyed, her elbows in the air. He was on his feet immediately and striding into the water.

  “What’s the matter?” he called.

  “There’s a snake.”

  Ketty’s response hissed over the water. Jim frowned, trying to remember all he’d heard about sea snakes. All he could think of was their venom was deadly. He arrived beside the two w
omen. Ketty was holding one of Celia’s hands above the water line and Celia’s face had lost all colour.

  “It’s at Celia’s back.” Ketty’s voice was a whisper now. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought if we stayed still it would swim away.”

  Jim looked behind Celia who was wearing a brightly coloured sheer shirt over her bathers. There was indeed a small snake nudging up against her back. Jim took Celia’s other hand. Her fingers gripped his.

  “It’s being inquisitive.” He kept his voice calm. “I’m sure it will swim away.”

  “I can feel it.” Celia’s eyes were shut now and her voice came out in a sob. “Tapping against my back.”

  “You’re fine.” Jim recalled what had been said about inquisitive sea snakes; small mouths, not likely to bite. It all came back to him from the shipboard presentation about Vanuatu. “Listen, Celia, Ketty and I will hold your hands and we are going to walk slowly with you towards the beach.” He glanced across at Ketty and gave her a nod. “The snake will lose interest and swim away.”

  Celia’s eyes were scrunched shut now, her brow deeply furrowed and her jaw rigidly clamped. “I can feel it.”

  “Look at me, Celia.”

  Her eyes opened. Poor woman was terrified and who could blame her?

  “We’re going to start walking.”

  Celia tried to look back.

  “Celia.” Jim gripped her hand tighter. “Keep looking at me. Ketty and I are with you, you’re going to be fine. Walk with us.”

  “I can’t. If I move it might bite me.”

  “It can’t bite you on the back, Celia.” Jim kept his voice low and steady. “It only has a very small mouth.” He had no idea what the snake was capable of but somehow he had to get Celia to move slowly out of the water. He took a small step forward so that he was in front of her. “Keep looking at me. You’re going to start walking now.”

  She took a step, gasped and stopped.

  “Celia.”

  She looked at him.

  “Keep your eyes on me and keep moving forward. Ketty’s going to tell us when the snake loses interest and swims away. All you have to do is look at me and keep moving.”

  Celia took another step and he kept his gaze locked with hers. He could see the fear in her eyes. He kept talking to her softly, willing her to be brave.

  From the corner of his eye he saw Ketty look behind. She grimaced and gave a slight shake of her head. The snake was obviously still following. He felt the slope steepen beneath his feet.

  “Nearly there,” Ketty said.

  “You’re doing well, Celia.” Jim gave her a reassuring smile. “Keep walking steadily.”

  Finally, they were out of the water. Celia collapsed against Jim’s chest and he held her tightly, watching the snake swim away. It had followed them almost to the shore. Behind him, he could hear worried voices. There had been people sunning themselves on chairs further up the beach and they had come to see what was going on.

  “Thank you, Jim.” Ketty said. “I couldn’t get her to move.”

  “What’s happened?” A man in a white shirt and khaki shorts strode along the beach towards them from the direction of the resort, a manager’s badge on his chest.

  “Everyone’s all right,” Jim said. “There was a sea snake.”

  “No one’s been bitten?” The man glanced at each of them with a worried expression.

  “It was nudging Celia’s back,” Ketty said and several people gasped. “I’m sure that’s all it did though. I saw it immediately and kept an eye on it.”

  Jim was acutely aware that Celia was still clamped to him. He eased her away and held her at arm’s length. “You’ve not been bitten, have you, Celia?”

  She shook her head, her eyes bright and her skin pale. “I…I don’t think so.”

  The manager urged the onlookers away then turned back to take a closer look at Celia. “But what happened? How did you hurt your face?”

  Celia, still wide-eyed, put a hand to her cheek.

  “She fell yesterday,” Ketty said. “That’s fine, nothing to do with the snake. I think she’s a bit shocked, that’s all.”

  “Is there somewhere we could sit in the shade for a moment?” Jim asked the manager. “And perhaps we could have a cup of tea.”

  “Of course. Follow me and I will see to it straight away.”

  He seated them in comfortable chairs in the shade of a huge umbrella. Ketty helped Celia to remove her wet shirt and replace it with a dry one and Jim dragged a footstool closer so she could put her feet up. A pot of tea was delivered, with some sweet pastries and a large jug of iced water.

  Ketty passed Celia a glass of water and they both watched her drink with shaking hands.

  When the glass was empty, Celia settled against the back of her chair and let out a long sigh. “Thank you both,” she said. “It’s silly but I have a morbid fear of snakes.”

  “Not silly,” Ketty said. “I don’t like them myself.”

  Ketty handed out cups of tea and sat back in her chair. Jim was pleased to see the colour returning to Celia’s cheeks.

  She rested her cup and saucer in her lap and stared at him. He found it hard to look away. “Jim, I was a mess.” She leaned a little closer. “I don’t know what I would have done out there if you hadn’t been so courageous.”

  He shifted in his chair. “Glad to be of help.”

  There was a brief silence then Celia shivered. She put the cup back on the table. “I don’t think I’ll be going swimming again.”

  “Not today anyway.” Ketty’s voice was warm and reassuring. “I think we should catch the boat back, see if Josie and the men are at the bar. We could probably all do with food and I think maybe a glass of something stronger to fortify our nerves.”

  “Thanks for organising this visit to the waterfall, Ketty.” Josie stepped carefully over the rough path as she followed Ketty down the rugged incline later that afternoon. Leo and Bernard followed a few steps behind. “So refreshing in the water, and part of a small group rather than aboard ship with two thousand people.”

  “This one’s a bit more out of the way. It doesn’t usually get so many tourists.” Ketty stopped and glanced down at the ground in front of her. She was relieved Celia and Jim had decided to go back to the ship after lunch.

  “Are you okay?” Josie asked.

  “The ground’s a bit slippery here.”

  “How about taking my arm?” Leo moved down beside Ketty, stuck out his elbow and gave her one of his charming smiles. “If one goes we both go.”

  Ketty slipped her hand around his arm. “Thanks.”

  “You seem very strong to me but it’s wise to be cautious.”

  “Oh, blast.” Ketty shook her head. “Am I showing my age? I’ve become cautious.”

  “We’re still thirty inside.” He grinned. “It’s only the bodies that are a little older.”

  They moved on together. He was right. Ketty didn’t normally dwell on thoughts of old age but there was no denying she would be sixty-five in a few days and the face she saw in the mirror reminded her more and more of her mother. And yet today she felt like the young woman she’d been. It had been a pleasant afternoon with just the four of them. She was pleased to be able to spend time with Leo, not on their own, because Josie and Bernard were with them, but under less scrutiny. No deep conversations, simply easy banter between the four of them, not discussing anything too personal. She was losing the reticence she’d felt in Leo’s presence. He was being courteous and attentive. She even felt comfortable with his arm in hers as it was now.

  They stepped from the bush and the shaded path into the bright sunshine. A group of taxis and an ecotour bus waited in the carpark.

  “I’m a little disappointed with my choice of taxi driver,” Ketty said. “I don’t think this chap has been doing it very long.”

  “He said he was experienced.”

  Josie and Bernard stepped out of the bush and came to a stop beside them. They all looked across
to where their driver, Delmar, lounged against a car. He was talking to a group of drivers.

  “They all say that,’ Ketty said.

  “It’s getting late,” Leo said. “We’d best be on our way.”

  Delmar hurried to his vehicle as he saw them crossing the carpark.

  “You enjoy?” he asked in his broken English.

  “It was beautiful,” Josie said and moved to the other side of the battered four-wheel drive.

  Bernard and Leo stowed their bags in the back and Ketty had barely had a chance to climb into the backseat when Delmar shut the door. She yelled and then swore as a pain shot through her arm.

  “What’s the matter?” Josie cried.

  Ketty leaned away from the door as Delmar whipped it open again.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he stammered. “Are you okay?”

  “Ketty?” Leo bundled the driver out of the way. “What’s happened?”

  She drew her arm to her chest and cradled it with her other. “It’s my arm. It got caught in the door.” Her words came out in rasps. The pain made her nauseous.

  Josie leaned in from the other side. “You do look pale.”

  Bernard squeezed into the open-door space beside Leo. All three of them studied her. She leaned back, and took a long slow breath to keep the nausea at bay.

  Josie lifted Ketty’s good arm gently to her side and peered at the injured arm. “It’s got black around the elbow.”

  Leo inspected it too. “Probably grease from the car.”

  “There’s some broken skin and some blood but it doesn’t look misshapen,” Josie said.

  “I think it caught me on the funny bone,” Ketty gasped. “That always hurts like hell when you bump it.”

  “Does it hurt to move?” Leo asked.

  Ketty tried to lift her arm but the pain shot up to her shoulder like a jolt of electricity and she gasped again.

  “I think that’s a yes,” Josie said. “Can you get my bag please, Bernie?”

  “I’ll be all right.” Ketty put her head back against the seat. “Took my breath away that’s all. Give me a minute.”

  Bernard came round behind Josie and handed in the bag. He gave Ketty a reassuring smile.