“Except that we’ve already got one.”
“What?”I exclaimed, turning to look at him.
He pointed at the underside of the roof, where there was a small green lizard gazing at us.
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered.“Wonderful.”
“There must have been lizards in Jamaica,” he said, placing the lantern on the table and twisting the key to increase the amount of light.
“Aye, but they generally stayed out of our house.And Carago was quick to get rid of them if they came in.”
Dinesh watched me for a moment.
“He took good care of you.”
“Aye,” I said, feeling a lump rise in my throat, but I pushed the emotion down.
“Well, I suppose I shall have to do the job, then,” he said with resignation.
He looked around the space and saw a rudimentary broom in a corner.I anticipated what he would do and moved to a spot farthest away from where the lizard blinked its beady eyes at us.
“Careful.If that thing starts skittering across the floor towards me…”
“Shhh.I’m trying to concentrate.”
He unlatched and opened the door and used the end of the broom to coax the small creature down the wall, then swept the pest outside with a decisive swish of the implement.He shut the door and replaced the latch.
“There.Happy now?”
“Yes.Thank you.Perhaps I’m not used to being on land.”
“Have I made a dedicated sailor out of you?”
“Aye, seems so.Among other things,” I said, walking over to him and circling my hand around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.
He opened his lips and let me have my way.He was usually the one to take control, but he let me kiss him until my yawn broke us apart.
“Sorry.I’m worn out,” I confessed.
“As am I.Let’s go to bed.”
As exhausted as I was, I fought to fall asleep.
We had placed our sleeping mats next to each other, but the temperature was too hot to cuddle.I heard the captain’s soft snoring after a short time.The man could sleep and keep sleeping in any circumstance.Must have been all that time in the navy.
I listened to the sounds of the jungle and the skittering of small creatures that I prayed weren’t in the ceiling above us, because if something fell on me, I would not be pleased.
Eventually, rain began to fall that, whilst loud, was regular enough to drown out the random noises from the trees and also brought a break in the stifling humidity, and I was able to drift off.
I opened my eyes in the morning to shafts of sunlight coming in the window and forming designs on the smooth wood floor.For a moment, I didn’t remember where I was, and I sat up with a start.Dinesh’s familiar grip closed lightly around my wrist.
“Nightmare?”he asked.
“No.”I hadn’t dreamt at all.“Where are we?”
“Talamanca, remember?”He gazed at me with a sleep-warmed smile.“Good morning.”
“Oh, fuck.For a moment I’d forgotten.”
