Page 20 of The Cruise Club

Peter handed Fran a glass of wine, and she noticed everyone had a jar of honey on the table. The old man had enjoyed a profitable day.

‘I propose a toast to the honey seller,’ Fran said.

‘The best things in life are un-bee-lievably sweet,’ Don added.

‘What did you get up to?’ Fran turned to Carmen.

‘I went for a walk and found some ruins of Venetian buildings,’ Carmen replied. ‘A local man called Jimmy told me where to go and explained that an earthquake in 1953 caused a great deal of damage, but the ruins have been left as a reminder of the island’s history.’

‘How interesting,’ Fran sipped her wine, ‘and did this Jimmy sing to you?’

‘Yes,’ Carmen said, ‘did you hear him too?’

‘The whole village did, he has a wonderful voice,’ Fran grinned.

Spiros appeared with an assistant, whom he introduced as his sister, and they loaded plates of delicious food onto the table. ‘Eat, eat…’ he instructed, and everyone began to tuck in.

To Fran’s surprise, Betty was the first to reach out and dig deep into a bowl of moussaka, filling her plate and adding fluffy yellow potatoes bathed in olive oil.

‘Your mum is hungry,’ Fran commented as she helped herself to a stuffed vine leaf. ‘Does she like Greek food?’

‘Not to my knowledge, but she’s been drinking ouzo for the last two hours and seems to have worked up an appetite.’

Fran looked at Betty, whose bonnet had slipped to one side. Several strands stuck out from her ordinarily neat hair and her cheeks were pink as she called out to Spiros to turn up the music. As ancient folk melodies sounded throughout the taverna, Betty closed her eyes and held up her arms to sway in a Zorba.

Fran turned her attention to Colin and Neeta.

‘I like your headgear,’ she said to Neeta, who wore a pink baseball cap with a pineapple motif. ‘I wouldn’t mind one of those for myself.’

Fran noticed that Colin’s shirt had a pineapple print. ‘Do you like pineapples?’ she asked, remembering that the couple had a similar motif on their togas at the Greek night.

‘Oh yes,’ Neeta butted in. Wearing a tiny halter top, she leaned across the table and ran her pink-tipped nails softly along Sid’s arm. ‘Are you into pineapples, Sidney?’

Fran giggled as she watched Sid’s eyes almost bulge out of his head. Neeta’s pert breasts were threatening to spill into his souvlaki.

‘Sid loves them, don’t you dear?’ Fran said.

‘Really?’ Neeta’s eyes were wide, and she moved closer to Sid.

‘Well, er… I like pineapple rings that come in a tin,’ Sid spluttered and edged away from Neeta, ‘and I’m quite partial to a pineapple chunk if Fran goes to the sweet shop.’

‘Interesting…’ Neeta smiled.

‘Oh look,’ Fran said, pointing to a figure coming out of the water. ‘Isn’t that man from our ship?’

Everyone turned to stare at the nearby figure on the beach.

‘I think it’s that writer fellow, Ruskin Reeve,’ Sid said. ‘What a good idea to have a cooling swim on such a hot day.’

‘Have you heard of him?’ Fran asked Carmen as she forked a cube of saganaki.

‘Oh yes,’ Carmen said, ‘Ruskin Reeve is the reason I’ve come on this cruise.’

Fran noticed Carmen’s eyes gleam. ‘Really, dear, why’s that?’ She forked another cube of the crisp golden cheese.

‘He writes novels and is a bestselling author. Have you heard of the TV seriesDetective Inspector Blake Investigates?’

‘I certainly have. Sid and I love the series and save them for my night off.’

---