by S M Mala
‘I see. So that’s why you leave to come here at lunchtime?’
‘Yes,’ she said, slowly coming out from behind another tree in the new swim suit, tugging at the legs. Jake did a double take as he saw how the low cut neckline enhanced her round breasts and he could clearly see her hour glass figure usually so evilly hidden under her dungarees. ‘Do you think it’s a little tight?’
‘No,’ he squeaked before clearing his throat. ‘It looks perfectly functional.’
‘Good. Well take your clothes off and teach me,’ she smiled, walking into the water and flicking her plait down her back.
Jake was stood rigid on the spot. He noticed the swimsuit exposed part of her bottom with the beauty spot and he was getting turned on. He took off his t-shirt and quickly walked into the pool, towering over her, before he ducked down and swam closer.
‘Now give me your hands,’ he said. Jake made sure his bottom half was below water because of what was stirring between his legs. Hatty stood up and she put her hands in his. His eyes immediately travelled down to the water dripping off her breasts and trickling down the insides of her costume, wishing it was his lips and tongue. ‘This is going to be hard.’
‘I’ll do as I’m told to make it easier,’ she said, looking up at him and he realised he’d have to really concentrate.
‘If you try and float on your tummy, I’ll hold your hands. Then all you have to do is kick your legs. That’s the first thing you’ve got to learn.’ He pulled away and she floated on her tummy, holding tightly onto his hands, kicking her feet, trying to not to let her face go under water. ‘That’s good.’
He dragged her further away from the side, knowing it was getting deeper, as his feet could just about touch the bottom. Jake saw her white foot bottoms flicker in the water. Momentarily he was distracted looking at her backside, as his hands went under the water to take a closer look and so did Hatty’s head. The next thing he knew, she was clinging on to him for dear life.
‘I can’t touch the bottom!’ she exclaimed, her arms and legs wrapped around his body. ‘I’ve never been out this far!’
‘Never?’ he said, his nose touching hers, feeling her cool slippery body in his arms as she looked around. ‘I thought it might be-.’
‘Can we go back to the edge?’ she said, genuinely concerned.
‘Okay,’ he said and swam a couple of feet back to the shallower end. ‘Let’s have another go.’
After three attempts, Hatty was just sinking forward into the water.
‘You’re not holding on to my hands tight enough,’ she accused. Jake was letting her drop into the water so she’d then cling on to him. The fourth time, she just stood up and shook her head. ‘I don’t think teaching me to swim is a good idea, is it?’
‘Why not?’
‘I keep sinking!’
‘You’re not concentrating.’
‘The question is, are you?’ she said, glaring back.
Jake just flung himself back in the water and swam away into the deep end. She walked round the edge, until getting to the layers of rock, and stood underneath the stream.
He smiled at her as he slowly breast stroked closer.
‘I’m not quite sure twenty nine days is long enough,’ he said, standing up to go under the small water fall, spreading his arms and back across the very cool rocks.
‘That’s all we’ve got,’ she huffed. He could see from the corner of his eye, she was trying not to laugh. Hatty stared out into the pool. ‘I didn’t know it was that deep.’
‘You just flit around the edge, I take it,’ he smiled and again, his eyes travelled up and down her body, before fixing on her nipples that looked like bullets.
He gulped and stood under the shaded part of the stream, knowing he needed a cold shower.
‘I have an idea, why don’t we have another go and I’ll place my hands somewhere else.’
‘Like where?’ he smirked.
‘All above the water,’ she glared back. They walked towards the shallow bit again. ‘Now crouch down.’
Jake bent his knees as if sitting down. She put either hand on his shoulders and kicked, constantly looking into his eyes as she did so.
‘I can’t move my legs,’ she said, an hour later rubbing her thighs, now fully clothed. Jake sat in the sun trying to get his shorts dry. ‘They hurt.’
‘That’s a lot of kicking you did,’ he said, closing his eyes and feeling the sun beat against his skin. He heard a spray sound and peeked at her applying mosquito repellent. ‘Won’t that stuff make your skin rough?’
‘Why should it? It’s got aloe vera in it,’ she said, spraying every exposed inch on her body then putting another cream on her face. ‘This smells nice, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, if you like the smell of strong antiseptic up your nose, it’s wonderful. You know they’ve invented creams that are odourless.’
‘Buy and post me them when you get back to New York,’ she replied, examining her elbows then rummaged in her satchel. Hatty pulled out a plastic bag with sandwiches and snacks, moving closer to him and placing them on the grass. ‘Lunch.’
‘I’m starving,’ he said, rubbing his tummy and noticed she was staring. ‘What are you thinking or shouldn’t I ask?’
‘I like you,’ she said quietly.
‘That’s good to know.’ Jake took a bite of his sandwich and stared back at her. ‘I like you, though you’re pretty odd.’
‘You could help me.’
‘How?’
‘I’ll tell you in a day or two.’
Hatty and Jake were sitting on a terrace by the beach, in one of the hotels, a few days later. Today’s swimming exercise went completely wrong when Hatty accidentally kicked Jake in the balls. He’d not spoken to her since. She knew he was trying to grope her when his hands slid down her stomach, nearly touching her pubic bone, while he was concentrating on supporting her torso as she floated, kicked and crawled.
‘A beer,’ he said to the waitress. Hatty silently put two fingers to gesture she wanted one as well. She noticed he glared at her for a second before blatantly eyeing up the girls sunbathing on the beach. ‘And this isn’t too close to the sea for you, is it?’
‘I know how high the sea comes and it never gets past the edge of the terrace,’ she said confidently, though the thunder in her ears from the noise of the water didn’t put her at ease. Jake wanted to stop, so she decided she’d keep his company. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’
‘That’s a lie and you know it,’ he said, automatically crossing his legs and flinching.
‘I thought you were trying to touch my bits.’
‘You slipped out of my hands and the next thing I know I get a kick in the nuts!’
‘Sorry, it’s just an automatic response,’ she squirmed and then smiled Even though he was angry, he looked absolutely gorgeous sitting by the table. She noticed so many women look at him as he obliviously scowled at her. ‘You look very handsome today.’ He made some sort of grunt before turning his head away. ‘Just think, twenty five more lessons and that’s it.’ There was another grunt. ‘Okay, don’t teach me how to swim.’ Jake turned his head sharply towards her. ‘Then at least you won’t have to endure twenty five days with the possibility of getting assaulted by me.’
She noticed he was trying not to smile as the beers turned up.
‘I ordered one,’ he said, looking up at the pretty, plump young waitress, giving her one of his smiles.
‘One’s for me,’ Hatty interjected, trying not to show her moment of jealousy, realising there was no point.
‘I thought you said you don’t drink alcohol.’
‘I don’t call this local beer alcohol and I said I didn’t drink gin,’ she said, sniffing at the bottle before taking a sip. Jake glared at her for the umpteenth time that day. ‘Cheers.’
‘You’re full of shit aren’t you?’ he blurted out as Hatty sat back, a little surprised by the outburst.
‘Depends on how you define �
�shit’,’ she said, taking another sip seeing he was pissed off. ‘I take it my kick to your balls has made you go a bit loopy or Glory’s not putting out.’
‘You don’t tell me anything about yourself but constantly ask questions about me. When I ask you anything you clam up and get all defensive.’
‘I don’t,’ she said calmly. ‘I know I won’t be able to tell you much, that’s all.’
‘If you want to learn to swim then you’ll have to answer some questions,’ he said, turning his chair to face her.
She could see he’d been thinking about it for some time.
‘I’ll try,’ Hatty said, feeling the panic rise.
‘Why were you upset the evening of the annual estate party?’
‘Are you practicing your investigative journalism on me?’ she smiled sweetly, knowing she was going to have to tell him something. ‘Am I interesting enough?’
‘Jesus!’ he said loudly. ‘Do I really care?’
He moved his chair to sit in the sun as she stayed put under the parasol. Hatty sat there, looking at the sea which was roaring in her eyes, hearing it tell her to tell him.
She closed her eyes.
‘I didn’t want to come and live here. When I was nine Delores told me we had to move and I loved my school, loved London but I had no choice. We came here and lived in the house which made me happy. Then something happened and we moved to your father’s estate.’ Hatty took another swig of her beer. ‘I don’t know much about myself other than what I accidentally hear. Some of the things they say are really hurtful.’
She looked out towards the froth spitting on the beach and shuddered.
‘Like what?’ asked Jake and she noticed he was frowning at the view.
‘Like if I was Murray’s love child. That went round a lot and, as you can see, the only white I’ve got are in my eyes, my teeth and on the bottom of my hands and feet. Plus the mosquito bites where the pigment has gone.’
‘Obviously,’ he mumbled.
‘They talked about my mother’s death and my father drinking himself into a stupor and dying. I know I fell in the water but I don’t know how. I know your father is kind to aunt and me. When I ask anyone, even Philip and Louisa, they tell me nothing. They say don’t worry about your past but some people, the older people, tell their children and they whisper.’ She put her head in her hands, hearing the muttering of the sea grumble at her. ‘They say I’m a witch for surviving falling into the sea, being the death of my mother then ultimately my father.’ Hatty took a deep breath, pulling her hands away and noticed Jake’s perfect profile. ‘And killing Simon. He was a friend and we got on really well. We’d become very close before he died. Simon told me so many things, taught me many things too. One day he went out to sea in a fishing boat. We’d spent the evening together and I’d given him a gold necklace Murray got for me. I wrapped it around his wrist to show I was committed to him. I don’t know what happened, the next thing I heard, he died at sea. A wave came and knocked him out of the boat when he was on his way back. He was with his uncle who survived but Simon didn’t. Glory hates me because Simon was her half-brother. She screamed at me saying I was cursed and everyone who knows me eventually dies.’ Hatty took another deep breath before continuing, ‘She has a point.’
‘No she hasn’t,’ he said, turning to look at her.
‘That’s what people think and what’s worse they never found his body. I never got to say goodbye. You know your father and aunt make sure no one tells me anything about my past, my life and my parents. I don’t know if I have family on the island or in the world. I think aunt regrets bringing me back here now. She wants me to go back to England, America, anywhere. I don’t want to leave because then I won’t have anyone else. I’d really be alone.’
‘Have you tried to find out about your mother and father? It’s very easy on the internet,’ he said, moving closer.
She noticed the concern in his eyes.
‘I’ve tried and failed. No record of anything.’ An awful dark cloud started to appear in her heart. ‘And the most recent rumours about me are even worse, really bad.’
‘What?’
‘I can’t say.’ Hatty felt anxious. ‘I’ve talked too much. Please don’t tell Murray or Aunt Delores I said anything. They get really upset.’
‘Tell me what they say about you now?’ Jake’s green eyes were staring hard at her.
‘They say I’m sleeping with your father.’ She noticed he flinched and grabbed her hand, which took her by surprise. ‘That’s not true. It’s not like that between me and him. He’s like a father to me and a friend. I don’t know why people are really nasty.’
‘Why don’t you leave the island if it upsets you this much?’
‘I’ve got no-one else. I’ve got no-.’
‘What does my father say about all this? Surely he can’t let people say these things.’
Jake was anxiously looking at Hatty. She gently touched his face but he immediately recoiled.
‘Sorry,’ she said, realising he was annoyed. Hatty had got the wrong impression by him holding her hand. ‘I’m sorry.’
Hatty stood up and walked off the terrace to her bike, pedalling home fast, due to the rejection and embarrassment of placing her grubby hand on Mr Logan Junior.
The following day she realised there would be no swimming lesson as Jake wasn’t around. She daren’t ask anyone about his location so she went into the kitchen and put together her pack lunch.
‘Ya gat a good life!’ said Monica, who was gutting and skinning a fish for lunch. ‘Doin’ nuttin all day while me ‘ave to work.’
‘I’ll help you, if you like,’ she said, putting the bread down before pulling a face at the dead fish on the side. ‘But not the fish.’
‘Me not want ya blood in the kitchen,’ sniggered Monica, chopping the head off as Hatty stepped back. ‘Where ya takin’ Master Jake today?’
She noticed Monica raise her eyebrows.
‘Nowhere,’ she said. ‘I’m going off on my own.’
‘Ya tell ya aunt?’
‘She’s busy doing something,’ sighed Hatty, knowing she hadn’t seen her the previous evening and she wasn’t in the house when she woke.
‘She went early to town. Say she back late.’
‘Who did she go with?’
‘Mister Murray.’
‘Do you think she’s having regular sex with him?’
‘Hatty!’ shouted Monica, instantly putting her knife down and looking shocked at her. ‘What a ting to say!’
‘I’m just asking a question. I can ask that question can’t I?’
‘Child, go an’ ride ya bicycle. We don’t want to get in trouble talkin’ nonsense,’ said Ethel, walking slowly into the kitchen. ‘An’ ya should know better dan to ask.’
‘People say stuff about me. I’m only finding out the truth,’ she shrugged, secretly stealing a roll of large sandwich bags before heading off on her travels.
All day she carved, sanded and waxed, until her fingers hurt. She couldn’t get out of her mind the shocked expression on Jake’s face when she touched him. It was like he recoiled in horror. She looked at her grubby hands and wondered if they were so rough they scratched his skin. There was a callous on her left hand under her index finger where she put pressure on the file but everything seemed soft enough. She hadn’t tended the garden since Murray told her he’d prefer it if his plants stayed alive.
This she knew was his hint that she was fired.
She took out the roll of large sandwich bags and polished her finished items before wrapping them gently in tissue paper, then putting them into the sandwich bags to keep them safe and dry. Hatty looked at the medium sized mirror glass and thought of a gift for Jake before she started to tidy up.
When she walked out of the house, just before five, the strong sun was beating down. She looked at her arms and the sunlight was picking up the fragments of wood. Slapping her tongue against the roof of her mouth, even that tasted of sa
w dust. Hatty knew Delores wouldn’t get home until ten so she had enough time to dither around. She dragged her satchel along the ground through the bushes and stopped dead in her tracks.
Jake was sitting under the tree, tapping away on his tablet computer pad.
‘What are you doing here?’ she said, in alarm.
He turned and gave a massive smile which unnerved her for a moment.
‘You missed your lesson,’ he replied.
‘You weren’t there this morning so I thought you were busy doing something else.’
‘I over slept,’ he sighed.
‘She didn’t nudge you out of bed?’ Hatty walked to the tree and glanced at the screen. ‘They really make them small nowadays, don’t you think?’
‘They’re useful to have,’ he said, tapping away on the screen of the small keyboard. ‘You missed your swimming lesson so we might as well do it now.’
‘I can’t.’
Hatty looked at her clothing realising she wouldn’t be able to go for a dip.
‘I dread to ask…’ he said, letting out a little sigh while reading something. ‘…but why are you covered in sawdust?’
‘Making a coffin for your local lover. She’s going to need one when your girlfriend finds out what she’s been up to,’ she said quickly and wondered if he knew she had been in the house. ‘Shouldn’t you be going out with your friends?’
‘Dad called to say he won’t be back until late. The kitchen is closed in the house so I have to feed myself which means I have to feed you.’
‘I know how to raid that place,’ she said confidently, with a desperate urge to bathe. ‘And I can’t do a swimming lesson because I haven’t got a swimming costume.’
‘I have a proposition for you, several actually,’ he said, still concentrating on the gadgetry on his lap.
‘Fire away.’
‘I’ll be your eyes and ears on this island before I go home.’
Jake stood up and looked at her with a smile.
She wondered what he was up to.
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I, an up and coming journalist, will use my skills to uncover as much as I can about your life and all the secrets you need to know.’
