Page 47 of The Cruise

‘A cross between a shag and a mullet.’

Anne laughed and stroked the tendrils that fell softly around her face, ‘Well, I love it, and I think it’s very glam-rock.’

‘We all look glamorous, with our make-overs, and I’m ready to rock into whatever activity you two girls fancy today.’ Jane picked up a copy of theDiamond StarDailyand began to browse. ‘Does anyone feel like a ukulele lesson?’ She grinned. ‘Or alternatively, Bridgette is hosting a talk in the Neptune Lounge,From Your Garden to Show Garden, which should suit Kath.’

‘My garden is badly neglected,’ Kath said. ‘It would take more than a talk from Bridgette to get it looking tidy again.’

As she listened to Jane call out the events scheduled for the day, Kath remembered Hugh and Harry telling their mother off for neglecting the garden since their father had died. She knew they didn’t want the property to devalue and would be pressing her to sign it over to them as soon as she returned. They’d assured Kath that she’d be comfortable in the annexe at Harry’s home, where, they said, she’d be safe, and they would manage her money and keep an eye on her.

Pah! Kath thought. She would not be cooped up with either of her sons. If her money was invested in their future, Kath knew that a council nursing home would be her next port of call, and she was determined not to let it happen.

‘I fancy the dancing class. Why not try our hand at merengue and mambo?’ Anne was on her feet and sashaying around the room.

‘The only meringue I would like is the one on top of a lemon pie,’ Jane snorted. ‘I’ll give dancing a swerve.’ But as the words left her lips, Jane thought of how she’d danced in Spirit’s bar and how free and alive it had made her feel. Was she brave enough to go and learn something new with a crowd of complete strangers? They’d all be as thin as rakes, and no one would want to partner her. Did she really want to embarrass herself?

Anne was moving back and forth. ‘I learnt how to mambo when I was in South America, in Rio, on a stop-over. The time I spent in Rio was wonderful, all sun, sea, romance and dance...’

‘Does it make you want to turn back the clock?’

‘Not really,’ she said and stopped dancing. ‘I have to face up to the future, not live in the past.’

Jane flung theDiamond StarDailyto one side. ‘That’s me sorted,’ she announced. ‘Jaden Bird is demonstrating in the cookery theatre,Treats of the Islands, and there’s a front-row seat with my name on it.’

‘Then I’ll go and support Bridgette,’ Kath said, ‘I’m sure I’ll enjoy her talk.’

‘And I’ll give ukulele a go, you never know who might be there.’ Anne reached for a lipstick and smoothed it over her pout.

‘Shall we meet up later for afternoon tea?’ Jane asked.

‘Good idea.’ Anne stood in front of a mirror and adjusted the straps of her sundress as she admired her reflection.

‘That sounds lovely,’ Kath said. ‘but I’ve put my glasses down somewhere and I can’t find them.’ She poked through her bulging bag.

Kath’s glasses were beside her at the table, and Jane held them up.

‘Oh, thank you, I’d forget what day it was if you weren’t here to remind me.’

‘What day is it?’ Anne asked.

‘The twenty-third of December,’ Jane said. ‘Almost Christmas and halfway through our holiday.’

‘Then let’s continue to make the most of it,’ Kath stood. She took hold of her friends’ hands and marched them out of the suite.

ChapterTwenty

Two glorious days at sea passed pleasantly for the passengers of theDiamond Starand, with an extra day to accommodate, the crew were kept busy providing additional activities to entertain their guests. One afternoon, an impromptu concert took place around the pool when the Marley Men provided calypso and reggae music, and rum punches flowed freely.

Harold, now accustomed to the sun, and wearing the shortest of shorts, threw himself into the limbo competition. Lubricated by several rum punches and ignoring Nancy’s cries of ‘Mind your lumbago!’ he was determined to limbo under the lowest horizontal bar.

Peter compered the competition and assured everyone that it was just for fun, as competitors stretched, flexed, and waited for their turn. The Marley Men played ‘Limbo Rock’ and chanted, ‘How low can you go?’ as Harold took his place in the final. Determined and with his face set, Harold eased back and bent his body under the bar. But he stopped halfway, and several guests said that they heard the bones creak in Harold’s back from the other side of the pool. His guttural cry of pain was heard throughout the deck.

Nancy fell into a faint, and it took Armani and three lifeguards to get her back on her feet as Harold was placed on a stretcher.

Bridgette, an observer, told Selwyn that Harold had been foolish to attempt such a feat. A man of his age should know better. The unbroken world record for the lowest game of limbo, she informed, belonged to one Dennis Walston, who, in 1991, squeezed underneath a bar six inches from the ground. This eye-watering information made Selwyn vow never to indulge in such a practice.

He’d stick to dancing and joined in with the Marley Men.

Before getting ready for dinner, Selwyn stood on deck and reached into his pocket. He stared out at the distant horizon as he emptied the contents of his plastic pouch into the sea. Flo had never liked to dance, but with her ashes in Selwyn’s pocket, unwittingly, she had.

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