Page 85 of The Cruise Club

Carmen stood and grabbed the spare key card and barefoot, hurried into Betty’s room where she found her mother sitting on the bed with her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

‘Mum, shush, what’s happened?’ Carmen spoke softly, placing her arm around Betty’s shoulders. ‘Please stop crying and tell me what has upset you.’

Betty’s sobs wracked her body. Her silver hair was dishevelled with wisps clinging to her tear-streaked cheeks as her fingers clutched a crumpled handkerchief. ‘It’sHolden… but I can’t talk about it,’ Betty stuttered, ‘I don’t want to remember.’

Carmen slid to the floor and knelt beside Betty. ‘It’s all right,’ she said as she stroked Betty’s arms in soothing circles. ‘Please tell me.’

‘Oh, you won’t understand.’ Betty shook her head. ‘Just for once, I thought that a man really liked me,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ Carmen asked. ‘It’s obvious that something has happened with Holden, but Dad adored you.’ Carmen was puzzled. Surely, Betty hadn’t forgotten her marriage to Des already.

‘Oh, Carmen,’ Betty focused on her daughter with misty eyes. ‘You think that your father adored me?’ she asked in surprise. ‘You haven’t a clue, have you? Well maybe it’s time I told you the truth.’

‘I don’t understand, what truth?’

Betty let out a heavy sigh, folding her hands in her lap. ‘Your precious dad had an affair with Marion for most of our marriage. Why do you think he kept such long hours at the shop?’

Carmen froze, stunned into silence. ‘Marion?’ she asked.

Betty gave a bitter laugh. ‘Took you long enough. Have you only just put two and two together? I thought you’d worked it out years ago.’

Carmen blinked rapidly, staring at her mother. A part of her wanted to cover her ears, to block out Betty’s voice, but the quiet that followed forced her to sift through her memories of home and the hardware shop. Slowly, she processed what her mother had said and piece by piece, the reality sank in, followed by the realisation that Betty might be right.

Marion, a woman who worked at Cunningham’s Hardware, assisted in the shop, then helped Des with the books while her husband, a projectionist at the local cinema, worked evening shifts. Now, as Carmen slowly nodded her head, she understood that Marion had been helping herself to more than a few hours of bookkeeping. She remembered how Marion’s hand lingered on Des’s arm and the knowing glances they shared.

She thought of the late nights when Des came home, seeming preoccupied, and how Marion had started driving a newer car even though she always claimed that money was tight.

‘Marion?’Carmen repeated, remembering the woman she’d always been fond of and who had been kind to her. She’d trusted Marion and felt a warmth in her presence, but now, as the pieces began to fall away, Carmen wondered how the woman could have betrayed Betty and herself so cruelly.

‘I stayed for you,’ Betty said. ‘Having a daughter together meant that I could never leave your father, but he wanted more babies, and I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want to be the laughing stock of the neighbourhood. His lies tore me apart.’

‘But Mum, you could have left. I would have understood.’

‘Hardly, you were the apple of your dad’s eye. With him filling your head with silly ideas of making dreams come true.’ Betty sighed and spoke slowly. ‘His affair with Marion started soon after you were born and went on for years. They were different times, and I couldn’t blow up our lives, so I played the dutiful wife.’

‘Did Marion’s husband know?’

Betty snorted. ‘Yes, he found out all right. There was a huge row, and that’s why she left the shop abruptly, but for your father, old habits die hard.’

Carmen’s mind reeled. She’d always wondered why Marion departed so suddenly. What else was this strange evening going to reveal?

Betty began to cry again, and then, suddenly, threw back her head and yelled, ‘WHY, why does it always happen to me?’She reached for the brooch on her dress and tore it from the fabric.

Carmen’s eyes followed the flying pineapple, and suddenly realised what might have happened. Taking Betty’s hand, she gently asked, ‘It’s all right, Mum, thank you for explaining about Dad. You’ve had a shock, but I need to ask, did Holden take you to a party in Colin and Neeta’s suite?’

‘He most certainly did, and I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Betty bristled then recovered her composure, suddenly seeming more like her old self. She dabbed at her nose. ‘If only I could erase the memory,’ she sniffed.

‘Oh, I think I understand,’ Carmen said, resisting the urge to smile as she remembered Theo telling her about his unintentional visit to the Upside-Down Pineapple Pensioner Club.

Holden had given Betty a pineapple brooch. He was obviously a member of theUDPPC, as were others on the ship.

‘I thought we were going to a nice party,’ Betty explained. ‘It all seemed perfectly innocent, canapés, champagne andthe works, until Holden disappeared into another room, and someone asked me if I was a new member.’ Betty grimaced. ‘The next thing I knew, he was showing mehismember, and I told him I’d seen more meat on a toothpick…’

‘Where was Holden?’ Carmen bit her lip, suppressing a giggle.

‘He suddenly appeared in a pair of budgie smugglers with that Neeta woman hanging half-naked off his arm. She came over put her hand on my shoulder then offered me a glass of champagne, but I told her, “No. Thank. You!”’

‘What did Holden have to say for himself?’

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