Page 42 of The Summer Island Swap
I jumped as something furry rubbed against my legs. Sultan’s soulful eyes stared upwards, into mine. I picked him up and put him next to me, on the bench.
‘Sultan wants to hear too.’ I tickled him behind his ears. ‘Is it something to do with Amy?’ The dirty dancing she was doing with Benedikt must have piqued his jealousy. Perhaps he was worried she really did fancy his shack mate.
But to cry? Something didn’t add up. It had to be deeper than that. Jonas hadn’t wanted to come to Seagrass Island but must have been made of strong stuff to go along with it.
No, those tears had to be about something really close to his heart.
‘Is there someone you’re missing back home?’ Maybe he was yearning for the Maxi friend he’d mentioned. Perhaps he hadn’t wanted the breakup and was hoping they’d get back together.
Jonas shook his head.
‘You like someone here then, don’t you?’
He met my eyes before groaning and holding his head in his hands, dreadlocks falling forwards across his face. Sultan jumped under the table and bobbed up next to him. He whined. Jonas lifted his head and stroked the dog whose tail immediately wagged.
‘I know you like Amy.’ There. I’d blurted it out. Sometimes that was the best thing. Growing up with Dad had taught me that. As the teen years passed I noted how he’d use his charm to try to pass off insults and mean comments. As my confidence grew, I’d cut through that nonsense and call him out for the bully he was. He didn’t know how to respond to me being blunt.
‘You’re jealous of Benedikt. It must be hard to watch them together – I know they are such good friends, but you’ve no reason to be, you see—’
‘Whoa! What? No.’
‘It’s okay – you don’t need to feel embarrassed.’
His eyes widened. ‘What on earth makes you think I like your sister?’
‘The looks you shoot her and Benedikt when they’re together. It’s obvious – to me anyway. That night, in the Games Room, when they were having fun playing chess you really didn’t look happy. Then you and I did that piggyback race on the beach. As soon as Amy appeared you ran even faster as if trying to impress. I don’t blame you,’ I added hastily. ‘We all do those things when we like someone. But Jonas – you’re a great guy. There are lots of other women here and—’
‘You don’t understand,’ he said quietly, and stroked Sultan again.
‘Then talk to me.’
His shoulders bobbed up and down.
I reached across and squeezed his fingers that were resting on the table. ‘I won’t push but I’m always here if you need a chat. I don’t like seeing you unhappy.’
‘Thanks. I mean, it’s not as if you’re used to seeing my miserable face because I’ve beenthatcheerful since having to empty compost toilets and eat rice three times a day, right?’
We exchanged smiles.
‘Come on,’ I said, briskly. ‘Let’s head back. The conga drums are calling us.’
We stood up. Sultan jumped down and scampered off towards the bar. Jonas hesitated. Sat down again. I joined him where Sultan had been, right by his side. Arms linked, we sat in silence.
‘It’s not Amy,’ he muttered.
I didn’t say anything.
‘The moon’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Think of everything it’s looked down on over the centuries. Dinosaurs. Ancient Egyptians. Wars.’ He smiled. ‘Bruce Springsteen concerts. Yet night in, night out it stays the same, hanging in the sky, watching clouds waft past. I wish I was like that. I wish external factors didn’t have such an effect on me.’ He stared me straight in the face. ‘The person I like. You’re almost right. My sulkiness when they played chess. Me running my hardest on the beach. It was all to try and make an impression on…’ He swallowed. ‘Benedikt.’
I stared back at him, unblinking. Digesting his news.
‘But Maxi… you said you’d broken up withher. I assumed…’
How could I have been so stupid? Of course. It made sense. That’s why he gave Benedikt one of his precious chocolate bars for the turtle trip – and why he’d been surprisingly disappointed not to be going with us. I thought back to the rapt look on Jonas’s face when he’d talked about the silly selfies Benedikt took with the moth on his head.
‘I think I’ve been, what you’d call, a Dummkopf.’ I paused. ‘And you know what… with this fresh perspective I reckon Benedikt feels the same about you. Amy says he’s into long hair. He often shoots me disapproving looks. And the way he told you off when you raced and fell in the sand – I thought it was because he was worried Amy could have got injured. Thinking back, he didn’t check she was okay. It was you he focused on.’
Jonas shook his head. ‘Nein. He seems really into Amy. I hate to say it, but they look good together, especially when they sing their awful songs.’
