‘Come on, then, tell me about Seth the Wanker,’ he prompts after a while. ‘You said you would.’
‘Only if you really wanted to know.’
‘I really want to know.’
‘Urgh.’
We both fall silent. A moment later he says, ‘All right, then, tell me more about your mum. Why does she annoy the fuck out of you?’
I can’t help laughing.
‘What?’ he asks, grinning at my reaction, even if he doesn’t understand it.
‘Those stories are kind of interlinked,’ I reply drily.
He looks intrigued. Bugger it, if he wants to know, I’ll tell him. It’s not like it bothers methatmuch anymore.
‘Seth was a Canadian officer on the cruise ship when Mum and I were doing Japan,’ I say. ‘He and my mum already had a bit of a flirtation thing going on when I joined the cruise. Seth was right smack in the middle of both our ages. I was twenty-seven at the time. He was thirty-eight. When he started paying me attention, Mum sulked. I wrote her moods off as jealousy and thought her behaviour was pretty pathetic.
‘Seth was very, very charming and I fell for him hard. Iwantedto fall for him. Mum almost always had a man on the go, but, at that point in time, she was single. In the past, she’d often prioritised her boyfriends over spending time with me, so I guess I wanted to rub her nose in it. We have a complicated relationship.’
I glance at Charlie, but he’s gazing down at his cider, listening.
‘Anyway,’ I say with a sigh. ‘Seth turned out to be a real player. Mum had warned me he had a reputation, but I hadn’t wanted to hear it – or believe it. He cheated on me with one of the entertainment coordinators. When I found out, I was crushed, but what hurt even more was how Mum carried on being friendly with him after we’d broken up. I wanted her to be furious with him, but, when I had a go at her for being nice to him, she said it wouldn’t be professional for her to get involved in romantic disputes between staff. This really pissed me off, but she just said, in a really patronising voice, “I did warn you about him, Bridget.” I was so angry with her – and him – that I got off at Otaru, the next port. Mum managed to convince the big boss not to sue me for breach of contract.’
‘That was decent of her,’ Charlie says acerbically.
‘It took me a while to forgive her, though,’ I continue. ‘To her credit, she apologised. And apologised. And apologised. But I haven’t been on a cruise ship since.’ I finish off my drink.
‘Want another one?’ he nods at my empty bottle.
‘Go on, then. Better be quick, though: I think they pack up soon.’
He comes back with four bottles.
‘Are you trying to get me shitfaced?’ I ask with a laugh.
‘You don’t have to drink them tonight,’ he replies with a grin.
‘I definitely don’t want a hangover tomorrow.’ I take one from him.
He gazes up at the field. The long grass is cast in orange light from the setting sun.
‘I remember how nice the sunsets are from up there,’ he says. We can’t see it from where we’re sitting.
‘Go and have a look, if you like.’
‘Won’t you come with me?’
‘What, and leave April?’ I ask.
‘We won’t be long. When she goes down, she’s out like a light.’
‘You can seeHermiefrom up there, actually,’ I tell him.
‘Come on, then.’
He stands up and stretches his arms over his head. I look away from his exposed navel. I should be thankful that he doesn’t take his T-shirt off when he’s working – I’d never be able to concentrate.
