Page 38 of Escape to the Sun

‘Language, Mum,’ her daughter piped up.

‘Oh, for f—’ Ruth started. This time Millie returned the favour, cutting her off before she could finish.

‘I know all the cuss words, by the way – I’m twelve, not two. Just because I don’t say them, doesn’t mean I don’t know them. Sasha at school calls her mother the “c” word all the time. Anyway, Hannah’s almost here, and I get it. Even though I hope he comes, I shouldn’t have said anything to Captain Louis. I’m sorry.’

Ruth gave her daughter’s arm a squeeze. ‘Truth be told, I hope he comes, too. But in case he doesn’t⁠—’

‘I get it, Mum.’ Millie mimed zippering her mouth.

With the morning greetings complete, and Hannah installed at their table with some toast and a coffee, Ruth began to check her watch, and the entrance to the restaurant.

‘What time is Nathan getting here?’ Hannah asked, assuming that was who Ruth was looking for.

And she was, partly. Her son had told her he would be at the restaurant by ten as promised, and that she wasn’t to fuss. In fact, he’d gone on to say that if she could leave him alone he would be very grateful because it was hard enough having to sleep in the same room as his mother and shitty little sister without having to spend every sodding waking moment with them as well. And if he was going to have to hang out with them all day, he could do with a bit of time to himself before they disembarked. If that wasn’t too much to ask.

But Ruth also found herself hoping with every fresh arrival to the restaurant that it would be a familiar, tall, dark figure who would conjure the kind of smile from Hannah likely to herald the pair of them riding off into the metaphorical sunset, to live a life of bliss, with never a cross word spoken.

Well, now she was being ridiculous – but she could hope for a perfect life for someone, couldn’t she?

Nathan finally sloped into the restaurant, heading straight for the hot food counter without looking to see where they were. He slid into a seat beside Hannah with a plate loaded so high with bacon and hash browns that the baked beans he’d poured into the centre of the plate made the whole construction resemble an active volcano, about to blow.

‘Forgot ketchup,’ he said by way of a greeting, clattering cutlery onto the table and straightening away from the seat he’d only just claimed. He turned back to Hannah before he walked away. ‘Want anything?’

Ruth bit at the edge of her lip to stop herself grinning. Her son – although he might be all kinds of a pain in the posterior – seemed to have developed a mid-teenage crush on Hannah, one in which he didn’t really have a clue what to say to a pretty woman, or how, but was determined to have a go.

‘Why would Hannah want ketchup?’ Millie said, incomprehension writ large as she stared at Hannah’s half-eaten slice of toast.

‘I meant anything, idiot. Like coffee, or more jam, or… well, anything. That’s why I asked if she wanted “anything”. Clue is in the word.’

‘I’m all good, thanks, Nathan,’ Hannah said, earning herself a brief smile as he pushed hair from his eyes and turned away.

Millie leant forward, towards Hannah. ‘He’s got a crush on you, you know?’

Hannah smiled, but her lips were pressed together. ‘I know, Millie. You said.’

‘He’ll get over it,’ Ruth said, brusquely.

‘Do you think we should get a jump on the day and head ashore once he’s finished eating?’ Hannah said. ‘It’s only half nine, and having seen the way Nathan can wolf down meals, he’s not going to take long to eat, is he? We could get some extra time on the island.’

‘No! We can’t go early… Because if we do that… Oh…’ Millie huffed and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

Ruth squeezed her daughter’s arm. ‘I don’t think we need to rush, Hannah. How about we look at the map while we’re here, make a proper plan of what we want to see – then when we get the car, we’ll be ready to go straight away. What do you think?’

She could feel Millie relax beside her as Hannah agreed to the plan. And Ruth resumed her watch on the restaurant door, realising she was as hopeful as Millie.

21

Hannah checked her watch, then double-checked with the large clock on the wall, hands ticking within their tinsel-decked surround. It was almost ten o’clock, and yet nobody else seemed remotely prepared to move.

Nathan had more toast and was ladling on as much chocolate spread as was humanly possible. She supposed it made sense to allow him to fill up in the ship’s restaurant. But she glanced at Millie, wondering why the girl was biting the edge of her lip as she stared at the restaurant entrance, while Ruth cradled the very end of a cup of coffee, as though her mission in life was to make it last as long as possible.

‘Has everybody got everything they need to take on shore?’ Hannah asked.

Ruth smiled, patting a rucksack beside her on the bench seating. ‘Got everything Mils and I need. Nathan, did you bring all your stuff?’

A muffled, chocolate-spread-laden reply seemed to indicate a positive response.

For want of knowing what else to do while she waited, Hannah unzipped her own cross-body bag, which nestled beside her, and checked the contents. Her bikini, particularly racy and chosen with honeymoon vibes in mind, nestled alongside sun cream, a small towel and a guidebook for the area. She was fastening the bag when Millie stiffened in her seat, suddenly alert. Hannah glanced up, then frowned.