Page 14 of Escape to the Sun

Millie wrinkled her nose. ‘Really? Might have to become a lesbian in that case.’

Hannah stifled a laugh and despite further mortification at her daughter’s lack of reserve, Ruth had to grin, her spirits lifting further as they discussed Millie’s painting, the fact that with Hannah’s help, she’d created a seascape with more movement in its waves than ever before. Then Millie explained to Ruth what was so good about Hannah’s piece, that even though she’d barely started adding paint, Millie was already learning loads about how to be, as she described Hannah, a ‘proper’ artist.

‘No such thing as a proper artist, Millie,’ Hannah said. ‘Everyone who picks up a pencil or a paintbrush is an artist – the rest is down to practising hard to increase your skills, and people’s semantics.’

‘What’s semantics?’ Millie said.

‘Nitpicking,’ Hannah said and then smiled as Ruth asked if she would like to join them in one of the all-inclusive restaurants, the Harvest Basket, for an early supper, and they agreed to meet there at half six to try to beat the rush.

9

Hannah wasn’t sure what had happened over the couple of days she’d been aboard the Ballygowan. It wasn’t that she had reinvented herself – one of the avenues she had told herself she could explore should she so wish – it was more as though she’d placed her real life on hold for a few weeks while she inhabited an alternative world. She wasn’t different, but everything else was.

She now had her mobile constantly on silent. It was too big a leap to leave it switched off – and anyway, she wanted contact with her family, or at least certain members of it; needed to be able to reassure them that she hadn’t jumped overboard or killed herself with a shuffleboard puck.

And while Ian was still ringing, messaging and texting, it was becoming easier to ignore. In a strange way, Hannah felt relief at not having to speak to him. They’d been together one way or another for getting on for a decade – he had been her only serious boyfriend – and when she’d found out what he’d done, Hannah thought she wouldn’t be able to function without him.

And yet here she was, walking and talking and breathing – and right now she was heading for the Harvest Basket for dinner with her new friend Ruth, her new painting buddy, Millie, and a decent appetite that wasn’t the result of lack of food, but could quite possibly be to do with the amount of fresh air she’d imbibed on her recently completed wander around the promenade deck.

She might be doing nothing more than deflecting reality, but for now that would do very nicely.

‘Do you mind if Nathan joins us as well?’ Ruth said as Hannah took her seat at the table.

‘Of course not,’ Hannah replied.

‘You say that now,’ Millie chipped in, ‘but you haven’t met him.’

‘I’m sure he’s lovely,’ Hannah said, picking up a menu and glancing at the choices.

‘He’s hungry,’ Ruth said, her words weighted. ‘I expect that’s got more to do with his decision to join us.’

A gangly teenager wandered across the restaurant, all sloping shoulders and longish curly hair, hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. Nathan, Hannah assumed, when he flowed into the vacant chair next to Ruth and crossed his arms.

‘This is Hannah,’ Ruth said, gesturing across the table.

A bounce of reddish-brown curls covering most of his face with the merest of nods was as much of a greeting as Hannah was expecting, but then he scraped his hair back and stared at her, before mumbling more of a greeting and grabbing for a menu card.

‘Nice to meet you too, Nathan,’ she said, watching with interest as his cheeks flared with colour and he sank further behind the menu.

‘Mum, can I have the “Toboggan blue-cheese burger” and fries as well?’ Millie said.

‘Do you even like blue cheese?’ Nathan said from behind his menu card.

‘I’m sure I do. Plus, I’m especially into blue at the moment, aren’t I, Hannah?’ Millie nudged Hannah’s elbow and grinned.

‘That’s as may be, but that type of cheese has got a strong taste,’ Ruth said.

Hannah wondered how long it had taken the captain to become aware of the splodge of blue on the back of his shirt. Wondered if she should have said something at the time, to have made him aware. She felt a bubble of guilt at having stayed quiet.

As it turned out, Millie enjoyed her burger, complete with Stilton melt, and Hannah watched with fascination as Nathan packed away more food than she’d ever seen anyone eat, even Ian when he’d been at the height of his rugby training. As Nathan perused the pudding choices, Ruth suggested coffee, then said, ‘Would you come with me to the captain’s Q&A thing tomorrow evening? I’d love to go but I don’t know that I fancy sitting there on my own. Also, can I just say, have you seen the captain? He isn’t exactly difficult on the eye, is he?’

Nathan shuffled himself further down in his chair, looking like he wished the floor would swallow him.

‘You know Hannah’s seen the captain, Mum,’ Millie said. ‘I told you she knows him.’

Ruth blushed. ‘Yes, I know that, Mils. It was more of a turn of phrase, rather than an actual question.’

Nathan flapped the menu down. ‘What Mum’s saying is she thinks he’s “leng”, which is really cringey. He’s, like, a fraction of her age. It’s toe-curling.’