Sofia felt sorry for him. ‘It’s not your fault, Stuart; you’re not his babysitter. He can’t have gone too far. Anybody got his number?’
They all checked their phones.
‘How do I not have his number?’ Patricio exclaimed, frustrated.
‘We all live together all the time. It’s one of those weird quirks of yachting – it never seems the right time to exchange contact details,’ Petra said as she scrolled through her contact list. ‘Jack might have his number?’ She glanced over apologetically at Sofia as she said this. ‘I’m going to give him a call and see.’
As the phone rang they stood outside in silence, waiting for the pick-up. Eventually Jack’s voice rattled through. ‘It’s three o’clock in the morning, Petra. What’s going on?’
Petra got straight to the point. ‘We’ve lost Dec. Do you have his number?’ Rustling on the other end and then a sigh.
‘I’m coming to find you guys. Where are you?’
‘There’s no need, Jack. We don’t need a knight in shining armour; we just need his number.’ Petra raised her eyebrows at Sofia knowingly as she spoke.
‘I’ll send it over to Stuart now. Stay on the line with me. I want to see if he picks up.’ Even in absentia, Jack was taking control of the situation. Stuart’s phone pinged, and he dutifully dialled. All Sofia could hear was their steady breathing and the continuous ring. Declan didn’t pick up before it went to voicemail.
‘OK, I’m on my way. Send me your location.’ Jack hung up before Petra had the chance to respond. She did as she was told.
‘What if he’s hurt?’ Patricio asked, his voice full of genuine worry. ‘Declan! Declan!’ he yelled up and down the street.
Petra put a comforting hand on his shoulder ‘I’m sure he’s fine.’
It was hard to believe her. If his phone was off and he was drunk and wandering back towards the marina alone... Sofia shook the thought from her head.
Everyone was restless, and having to wait for Jack felt like a waste of precious time. ‘I’m going to go look for him,’ Patricio declared, marching off.
‘Wait...’ Petra tried to call after him, but it was useless. ‘Great now we’re two down.’ She checked her phone again. ‘Where is he, dammit?’ she muttered under her breath.
Her phone rang just then and the three of them jumped. Petra checked the caller ID, waving Stuart and Sofia away as they peered over her shoulder. ‘It’s just Jack.’
‘I’ve found him,’ Jack said simply. They all let out a sigh of relief. ‘But you better come meet me. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to talk to me.’
‘Where are you?’ asked Petra.
‘Literally just byLady Shelly. He’s sat right here, legs swinging off the pontoon, no idea where he got a bottle of vodka from...’ Jack tailed off.
In the background of the call, Sofia could faintly hear Declan yelling, ‘You betrayed me, man. You lied to me!’
‘What’s he talking about?’ Petra was hearing it too.
‘I don’t know.’ Jack’s tone was defensive, clipped. ‘Can you just come and help me out with him?’
‘On our way, Captain Jack.’ Petra hung up. ‘Now where the hell is Patricio?’
Earlier it had seemed like such a long way, but sobered by the events of the evening, Sofia noted that the walk was only about fifteen minutes.
When they got to the boat, Declan was wailing incomprehensibly into the dark, bottle in hand, legs swinging over the water. Jack stood to one side a few feet behind him, talking furtively with Patricio, who’d found his own way back to the harbour. As Sofia, Petra, and Stuart approached, Jack and Patricio stopped talking abruptly, both crossing their arms. Side by side like this, Sofia’s drunk brain thought that Patricio looked like Jack in miniature.
‘There you are, Patricio. We thought we’d have to send out another search party!’ Petra exclaimed.
Jack caught Sofia’s attention and she searched his eyes for any sign of the tenderness they had held the night before. But the green was frosted and he looked away quickly, addressing Stuart. ‘We can’t let the captain see him. Can you help me get him on board?’ Jack was all business.
Stuart and Jack flanked Declan, each bending to grab an arm. Declan flailed like a wild animal. ‘Get off me, man. I mean it.’ The venom directed at Jack took everyone by surprise.
‘He’s only trying to help,’ Sofia said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Declan sniggered, but there was a meanness in it. ‘Oh of course, the two lovebirds sticking together. What a surprise.’
