Page 12 of The Cruise

‘May I walk you back to your cabin?’ Selwyn was concerned and placed his napkin on the table.

‘Goodness, no!’ Jane was flustered, and before Selwyn could rise to his feet, she picked up her bag and lumbered away.

‘I knew I shouldn’t have come on this cruise,’ she announced to Nathaniel as she squeezed past the diners.

Nathaniel, fearing that something she’d eaten had been upsetting, showed concern. ‘Is there anything I can do?’ he asked.

‘Put me on a diet and send me to confidence classes.’ Jane sniffed, and as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, she hurried from the room.

ChapterFive

The following morning Kath woke early. It took her a few moments to remember that she wasn’t waking up on one side of the sagging mattress she’d shared with Jim for many years. This bed was comfortable. It hugged in all the right places, and Kath realised that she’d just experienced the best night’s sleep she’d had in a very long time.

The room was dark as she pulled the duvet aside and inched her legs over the side of the bed until her toes touched the soft carpet. Kath sat still, enjoying the quiet. It was peaceful in Hibiscus, with only the gentle hum of air-conditioning.

A ray of sunshine peeked out from behind heavy drapes, giving enough light for Kath to see Jane in the next bed, a rhythmic mound, slumbering soundly. Anne, also asleep, lay on top of her covers, a shortie nightie covering her hips – arms and legs akimbo. Kath stretched out and rotated her head. Despite the comfort, she ached after all the travelling. She missed her daily walk, and her body told her she needed to move. Stiffness in her joints was progressing with every year that passed but Kath’s regular exercise of walking at least five miles a day helped keep her upright and robust. Her mind might be playing tricks, but her body behaved itself.

Easing from the bed, Kath tiptoed across the room to the balcony. TheDiamond Starwas still in port and wouldn’t leave until early evening and they had a whole day in Barbados. Kath remembered that Anne had suggested that they disembark after breakfast and, if possible, experience an island tour.

Kath stared out at the Caribbean. The black starry night had melted into the horizon, and sunshine washed over the sea. The light was as pure as she’d ever seen, and the endless sky all blue and bright, with puffs of drifting cloud. She held the rail and tilted her face to the sun.

What would Jim think of her now? He’d be turning in his grave if he could see her standing in her pyjamas on the balcony of a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Imagine his horror at the expense. Barbados replacing Bournemouth.

It was eight months since her husband had died, and Kath had spent her days clearing necessary paperwork, sorting bills and accounts, and sending a mountain of Jim’s clothes to charity shops. She opened her eyes, stared out, and remembered that it was also a sunny day when Jim had left their house and suddenly fallen on the steps down from the front door. As his feet, encased in soft leather brogues, scrambled to grip the weathered undulations of stone, he catapulted through the air. Both hands responded too late and his body, a dead weight, dropped alarmingly face-down on the pathway. Kath had raced to his unconscious side and kneeling, grabbed Jim’s wrist, to feel for a pulse.

Their postman appeared at the gate. He was ashen-faced as he phoned for assistance. Jim’s breathing had slowed, his skin cooled, and Kath had swallowed rapidly as she stared at the man with whom she’d spent all her adult life. Blood pooled around a cut on his head, and she’d held her fingers to the gash with a shaking hand, feeling the warm sticky fluid. The minutes dragged as Kath tried to make sense of what had happened. She’d looked around in confusion, ‘But … he….’ She spoke in fragments, her voice shaky.

Kath recalled the sound of a distant siren and the postman touching her arm. ‘Help is here,’ he’d said. Then, all hell broke loose as a rapid responder appeared at the scene, followed by paramedics in an ambulance. Anxious neighbours gathered by the gate and what followed was a blur. In the house, Kath’s fingers, still sticky, left a brownish-red print on the embroidered cloth on the kitchen table. She sipped a mug of sweet tea, and a paramedic gently told her they were sorry, but her husband had passed away. Then the local police arrived to query the nature of Jim’s death.

Now, rubbing her eyes and swaying as she gripped the rail, Kath vaguely remembered them speaking to the postman before offering sympathy.

‘Don’t blame yourself,’ the postman had said, ‘I told the police that the steps to your house are steep, and I often have a wobble myself as I push mail through the door. Your old man came a right cropper when he tripped, it was no one’s fault.’

Tears dripped down Kath’s face, and she brushed them away. She turned as the door slid back and Anne stepped onto the balcony.

‘You’re an early bird,’ Anne said and yawned. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and stared at Kath. ‘Are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.’

‘I was remembering Jim’s accident and feeling guilty about this holiday. Jim will never have a holiday again.’

‘But you mustn’t,’ Anne said. Her voice was soft, and she reached out to put an arm around her friend. ‘His fall wasn’t your fault; accidents happen all the time.’

Kath sighed. She reached into a pocket and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘I suppose I’m still suffering from shock,’ she said, ‘it was all so unexpected and now, as you know, the boys want me to go and live with one of them and sell the house.’

‘But why? You’re happy there, it’s been your home for a lifetime.’ Anne eased herself onto a chair.

‘I’ve already given them a comfortable sum.’ Kath sniffed. ‘But I think they are hoping I’m developing dementia and if I sign the house over to them, they can sell it and put me in a nursing home.’

‘Oh,please…’

‘Maybe I should.’

‘Let’s not discuss this subject again while we’re on holiday.’ Anne sighed. ‘There is absolutely nothing wrong with your mind, other than the normal signs of ageing.’

‘That’s what my doctor said. Do you remember the memory test I did, at Hugh and Harry’s insistence?’

‘The doctor said your memory was better than his!’ Anne smiled. ‘So you’ll remember that last night we agreed we will do a tour of the island today.’

‘Yes, and I’m looking forward to it.’ Kath felt brighter. ‘Should we arrange something through the concierge?’

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