Emir is transfixed, a bemused look lighting up his face.
‘Oh, that reminds me.’ His grandmother gives me a serious look and murmurs in a low voice out of Emir’s earshot, ‘My daughter wants you to organise something for a birthday bash the day before the end of the cruise. Obviously, we’re here for their wedding anniversary, but they all clean forgot it’s Emir’s birthday too. We’ll need you to do a party for him.’
Seriously? They couldn’t have mentioned it beforehand?
‘When we get to Selimiye Bay, there’ll be a delivery coming on board. All of his presents, balloons, cakes, and anything else you think we need. Just let my daughter know by tomorrow, and it will be waiting as we dock.’
As in the same day that I get off this boat and secretly run off into the distance(i.e. head office)with Jackson?
I nod my head rapidly, feigning enthusiasm. ‘Of course. Leave it all to me.’
Bugger.
‘Think big. Money is no object. Give him a birthday to remember. One like no other.’
I bite my lip, feeling very torn. On the one hand, Jackson doesn’t want me to let slip, yet on the other, how can I commit to organising Emir’s birthday party if I know I’ll not be here?
‘Emir.’ I swing him up onto my shoulders. ‘Can you see any haunted ruins?’ I ask, changing the subject as we make our way across the slim stretch of beach towards the forest and the ancient remains of a fortress poking above the treetops.
As he squeals with delight, his grandmother walks alongside. ‘Are you familiar with the family business?’
‘Not really. Is it a chain of restaurants called Hello Chicken and More?’
‘Yes. Emir’s half-brother, Mehmet, runs it at the moment. And then when Emir is old enough?—’
‘In a year’s time you mean,’ I joke, making her guffaw with laughter.
‘Yes. Yes. Quite right.’ She catches her breath as we begin hiking through the forest. ‘He’s so wise and focused for one so young. But Mehmet is the opposite. His head is elsewhere. Always with the ladies. It drives his father to distraction. And you can see why, can’t you?’
I shake my head.
She rolls her eyes. ‘The ladies chase him all over the place. No wonder my daughter, Cassandra, is keen for Emir to take over the business as soon as he’s old enough. She doesn’t trust Mehmet not to run their empire into the ground.’
Like father, like son, I think to myself. Emir’s parents behave like newlyweds whenever I see them.
Suddenly, the image of the woman on the plane holding her giant baby with its shock of wig-like, jet-black hair pops into my head. Didn’t she say she met her baby-daddy working in a Hello Chicken and More?
22
Finally, the hike to the ruins and the picnic on the beach draw to a close. The sun is beginning to set, and it is imperative that we get everyone back to the boat before dark. I’m exhausted as we pack up the remains of the packed lunches. Astrid has stopped speaking to me entirely. Especially after she bit into her sandwich and it was full of sand. I was nowhere near it, so I have no idea what is going on, although, when I catch the overly innocent looks that Emir is sharing with his grandmother, I have my suspicions.
‘I thought you said this island was unin… uninhab…’
‘Uninhabited?’
‘Yes.’ Emir nods.
‘It is.’
‘Well, what’s that?’ He points to an object lying on the beach but before I can stop him, he races over to it.
‘Don’t touch it!’ I yell, watching as he lifts something black into his arms and runs back to me.
He throws it down, disappointed. ‘It’s just a stupid flipper. I thought it might be treasure.’
I pick it up and turn it over to see that it belongs to the gulet. I show him the peacock-blue Love Ahoy! logo printed on the underside. ‘Someone must have lost it while diving. We’ll take it back with us. Good find, Emir.’
* * *
