Page 50 of Escape to the Sun

God, that had been a million years ago, and yet as she stared at him it felt like yesterday. She could almost feel him leaning on her as he limped out to the car, his foot wrapped in a tea towel.

‘And this is your daughter, I presume?’ Teddy said, making a better stab at normal conversation than Ruth was managing as he gestured at Millie, stood diligently at her side.

‘Oh, yes – sorry – this is Millie. I also have a son, Nathan, he’s in Basseterre somewhere. Being independent…’ She rolled her eyes and Teddy nodded.

‘My boy’s been independent for, gosh, such a long time. He’ll be thirty next birthday. Hard to believe.’ Teddy smiled wryly. ‘Make the most of your boy, Roo. Before you know it, they’re deciding you’re public enemy number one.’

Ruth grimaced. ‘Already there, I think. Tell me it gets better?’

She expected him to smile, to tell her that his son had come through his difficult phase with no permanent scars, was now happily married with a family, or maybe a baby on the way, and always ready to help his mum and dad with heavy lifting and trips to the tip. Instead, Teddy paused, pulling in a deep breath.

‘I thought things might get better when my wife was ill, hoped it might bring us closer, but then she died and… My son and I need to resolve things; it was my wife’s dying wish. I just don’t know how.’

Ruth hadn’t expected him to be so open. She’d expected him to brush her off, tell her it had been nice to see her after such a long time, but that he needed to get back to his perfect life. He began to wind his wedding band around on his finger, his thoughts elsewhere.

‘I’m sorry about your wife,’ Ruth said.

‘Yes. So am I,’ Teddy said, smiling wistfully. ‘She meant the world to me.’

Ruth swallowed, but the lump in her throat showed no sign of moving. In a way she was glad she’d been so successfully replaced. That had been the whole point of leaving, of cutting all ties with Teddy and allowing him to move on with his life. But to hear her plan had worked so effectively stabbed deeper than she’d thought it would.

‘Are you on the Ballygowan? I didn’t see another cruise ship docked. Although, you know, I’m not the most observant person in the world.’

Ruth’s heart jumped at the news he was on the same ship. ‘Yes, we are. It’s lovely to see you again. You look really well, Teddy.’

‘So do you, Roo.’ He pulled in a breath. ‘Well, I’ll let you get on with your day. Maybe see you on board?’

Ruth nodded, unable to say anything else as she watched him walk away. There had been so much she wanted to say, but none of it was appropriate, or fair, to say to him. And it didn’t seem as though he was desperately interested, either. It was all too late.

‘Who was that, Mum?’ Millie asked.

‘Just someone I used to know,’ Ruth replied.

27

Ruth swallowed hard as Teddy walked away from the art gallery. Millie had already lost interest, wandering away to look at another painting – the child had enormous fortitude for staring at pieces of art, far more than Ruth possessed. Or perhaps her inability to focus was due to the turmoil that had set up camp inside her brain. Teddy being here was too much to process.

The monkey man halted Teddy’s progress as he crossed the square and Ruth had a split second to decide. To let him go – again – or do something. Right now.

Even though she’d managed to run into Hannah on more than one occasion during the early days of the cruise, she didn’t fancy her chances of seeing Teddy again on board if she relied on luck. And this had to be a sign, didn’t it? Coincidences of this magnitude never happened – not to her, anyway.

Ruth took a breath, told Millie to stay put, that she’d be back in a second, and pushed out into the bright sunshine and bustling activity of the square. Her focus was entirely on Teddy, who was fending off an overenthusiastic monkey.

‘Teddy – could I talk to you?’ she said, her voice overly loud and startling the monkey back onto its owner.

Teddy turned, eyebrows arching as he used her interruption as a good excuse to step away from the hawker. Ruth side-eyed the monkey, reached for Teddy’s elbow and guided him away into the shade beside a stall covered in bottles of chilli sauce, the sign promising enough heat to blow your weave off.

‘That bloody monkey,’ she said, shuddering as she checked its location a final time. ‘Gives me the heebie-jeebies.’

‘Thanks for rescuing me,’ Teddy said. ‘I never was very good at saying “no”.’

Ruth smiled. ‘No, you were always very kind – there’s a difference.’

Teddy’s expression dipped in confusion. ‘How are you here?’ he said. ‘I never thought I’d see you again.’

‘Me neither,’ she said. ‘And I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to see, but I didn’t want… it’s a big ship and I don’t think…’ She huffed as she fumbled over her words, then straightened to look him directly in the eye. ‘I don’t want to let you get away again.’

His eyebrows arched again – an expression she thought she’d forgotten, remembered how much she loved it – as the corner of his mouth quirked.