Page 26 of Escape to the Sun

‘I’ve just come off duty. Decided I’d take a walk and chat to a few passengers.’

His father nodded in an approximation of approval. ‘Can I walk with you?’

‘Of course.’

The words sounded genuine enough, Louis thought, although the last thing he wanted was to engage with his father. He wanted to be aimless, chat about nothing of any importance with a few passengers while he considered his options with Hannah. And yet, his mother had wanted this. Would have been ridiculously pleased to have seen the two of them walking beside one another – a thought that bit deep into Louis. Somehow, they needed to sort out their differences.

‘I wasn’t sure about these sailing days,’ his father said, ‘Couldn’t see the point of them if I’m being honest.’

‘Apart from them being the only way to get a cruise ship from one side of the Atlantic to the other?’ Louis said, aware he was being obtuse.

His father paused, a sideways glance perhaps heralding an equally sarcastic reply. Instead, his father said, ‘Well, obviously, there’s that. I meant for the passengers, Louis. As I’m pretty sure you had already worked out. But there’s so much to see and do on board, I can understand why people do it. This is quite some ship.’

It was the first positive comment Louis had heard from his father’s lips – certainly to do with anything he was involved with – for longer than he cared to remember.

‘Yes, it is. Thank you.’

He met his father’s gaze and held it for a moment, intending to say more, but then they were being assailed by passengers keen to say hello and ask him questions. His father stepped back as he chatted, the confidence he’d gained on stage during the Q&A holding firm as he explained about shipping routes, how radar worked, how much fuel the ship needed to get across the Atlantic, and so on. Their attention turned to his father, one of them apologising for crashing in on their conversation.

‘Let me introduce my father,’ Louis said, ‘Edward King.’

‘First-time cruiser,’ his father added, with a self-conscious grin.

‘Oh, honey, we can help you with that,’ one of the women said. ‘We all popped our cruising cherry years ago.’

‘You must be so proud of your son,’ said another.

‘He’s so young, too,’ one said in muted tones to another, doing her best to hide her words behind the flat of her hand.

‘Just because you’re old, Freida, doesn’t mean everyone is,’ came the friend’s reply.

‘Rude,’ said Freida, rolling her eyes at Louis’ father. ‘He is though. The last captain I met was sixty if he was a day. Your son must be half that?’

‘Louis is almost thirty,’ Edward said. ‘So, yes. Very young to have made captain, without a doubt.’

After another round of ‘you must be so proud’, the ladies moved away, and they walked on.

It was the longest they’d spent in one another’s company without everything going wrong since the funeral.

Louis pulled in a deep breath. If they were going to do as his mother had asked when she was fading fast in the hospital, then someone had to make the first serious move.

‘The first of my Captain’s Dinners is coming up tomorrow evening. Would you like to attend?’ he asked.

‘Do I have to dress up like a penguin?’ his father asked.

‘Only if you want to. Suit and tie will be fine. All the officers will be in full dress uniform, but the expectations for guests aren’t as formal as they used to be.’

‘Right.’

‘I’ll get someone to make sure you have an invite, then it’s up to you,’ Louis added.

‘You want me there, do you?’

It was Louis’ turn to pause. Did he? Not really. But also yes, if it would go some way towards dissolving some of the guilt he felt at how their behaviour had played out for his mother.

‘I’m inviting you, aren’t I?’ he said.

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