Chapter Twenty-One
The next day, very bright and very early – so they’d miss the tourists – they all boarded the boat or yacht, whatever it was called, and headed over to piggy island – as Ellie was calling it in her head. Everyone except Richie; he had some work calls that day and had settled on a sun lounger with a Bloody Mary in hand. Ellie had been relieved, as she still hadn’t forgiven him for the money-waving.
Yes, she held grudges.
The boat had a little kitchen below and Ellie watched in surprise as Eddie and his team steadily filled it with plenty of ice, food, wine and general supplies. You’d think they were going for a fortnight and not a day trip.
Ellie had her straw beach bag with a change of clothes, a sun hat, dark glasses and sunscreen. She wore her swimming costume beneath another one of her maxi-dresses. The one-piece, of course – she wasn’t sure if she was ready to reveal her teeny-weeny bikini just yet. Looking at the real-life Barbies skipping onto the boat, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready. Next to them she was like the BFG – Big Friendly Girlfriend. All those years of training herself to be body positive were threatening to get washed away by a single flood of well-waxed Californian women in designer bikinis. But wasn’t that always the way?
And it wasn’t just their bodies, although that played a huge part. They genuinelybelongedhere, to this life of yachts, champagne, celebrities and luxurious islands.
She, frankly, didn’t. This was a holiday, not a lifestyle. She couldn’t allow herself to believe otherwise; it would only make the return home to her real life even harder.
They all piled onto the boat, comfortably stretching out across its full length with plenty of room between the different groups. Alex’s parents, Liam and Tony stood at the wheel – she wasn’t sure what you called it, but it was definitely the part that ran things and so she knew to steer clear of it. Savannah and her gaggle of girls sat at the very front of the boat, while she and Alex perched midway between the two. Oddly, she found herself relaxing significantly when she realised Alex must feel just as out of place as she did.
The day was glorious, but when wasn’t it in the Bahamas? Ellie could have happily spent the whole day sailing around to nowhere in particular, but the boat skipped through the ocean and they arrived at Pig Island in no time.
As they came close, she was surprised to see how sparse the island was. Shaped like a straggly horseshoe, it had very little in the way of shelter, just a few bushes and some low wispy trees. They anchored at the entrance to the beach, where the water was so clear you could see the white sand beneath, tinged by only a hint of the turquoise water.
In the distance, little four-legged bodies began to emerge from the shrubs and trees of the island. Smudges of pink, black, brown and orange happily trotted out into the water. Soon she could see the wild troop of pigs more clearly. Some were huge, others clearly no older than a few months. All were adorable.
The boat became a frenzy of activity as people chucked off their clothes and handed around vegetables to feed their hungry porcine guests, who were now halfway between the beach and the boat. Ellie dumped out the contents of her beach bag and filled it with carrots, lettuce and apples. Everyone was making their way down the steel ladder and into the water. Alex, bless him, was waiting patiently for her, eyeing up the loaded bag with amusement.
‘I don’t want them to go hungry.’
‘Oh, believe me, they won’t.’ He stripped off his t-shirt and shoes and headed to the ladder.
Ellie stared at the half-naked Alex. Her heart skipped, then stalled like a broken-down car, then jump-started back to life again, all in a matter of seconds. He was truly breathtaking, just like a Hollywood star –he is a Hollywood star, you doughnut!
The grunts and snorts were getting closer. Ellie went to the side of the boat. Everyone was now swimming towards the pigs. Liam had managed to swim far enough in to be able to stand and was wading through the shallows, greeting some of the faster pigs with a head of lettuce.
‘You best get down there.’ Alex grinned. ‘It’ll only be a matter of time before they realise they should have carried more food with them. And, as much as I’d like them to eat Liam, I think my mom would be pretty heartbroken.’
After a deep breath, she threw off her own dress with a muttered, ‘Fuck it.’
She clambered down the ladder gingerly, her straw beach bag slung over one shoulder. Alex followed after, and she was treated to the sight of strong thick legs and a pert bum as he descended.
The sea was a pleasantly balmy temperature and Ellie blissfully treaded water and waited for Alex. The swim didn’t take long, just a few minutes doggy-paddling and then they were wading over to the others. A few piggy stragglers came paddling over towards them.
She couldn’t get over the variety of their rough coats. A mottled black, tan and ginger pig with tusks came towards her, snorting. She reached in her bag and drew out a long carrot.
‘Do I just throw it at them?’ she asked nervously, eyeing up the tusks of thelittle piggy, who suddenly looked more like a very big, very feral piggy. She was going to call him Motley.
‘They’ll take it from your hands. Just hold it out, like this.’ He took the hand that held the carrot and offered it to Motley.
Motley took a huge bite, barely pausing in his paddling as he gulped it down with an appreciative snort and slobber.
‘Bahamians take the wellbeing of these pigs very seriously. You should only feed them healthy food, and only in the water.’
‘Why only in the water?’
‘Some pigs were found dead from ingesting too much sand because of eating on the beach.’
‘Oh, how sad,’ Ellie gasped, then quickly delved into her bag for more treats as they were rapidly surrounded by more happy pigs nuzzling at them with varying degrees of force.
‘Some tourists are complete trash, trying to feed them alcohol and picking them up for photos. But the tour operators have clamped down on that sort of thing.’
‘Good.’
