Chapter 20
Louis was handling the docking into Philipsburg Harbour when they arrived at St Maarten, having decided that with plenty more islands on the itinerary, there was time for other members of the bridge crew to have their turn.
He reiterated his point when the east coast of the island came into view and they began to make final preparations to take on board the harbour pilot to guide them into port.
Officer of the Watch Maria had been one of the first to grin and agree.
‘Sounds like a plan, Captain,’ she said.
But Louis couldn’t fail to notice the flicker of something else in her smile as her gaze darted across to where Tim stood.
Studiously checking readings, it looked as though Tim couldn’t have been less concerned by what Louis was saying, and yet…
There was a hyper-alertness to his stance which had Louis frowning.
As the harbour pilot arrived on the bridge and the docking process began, Louis focused on the job in hand, ensuring the entire manoeuvre was completed without a hitch. He wasn’t about to have something go wrong on his watch. Which was the entire trip, he reminded himself. No pressure.
But he was also aware that once they had docked, even though it was early morning, passengers would begin to disembark, to make the most of their day on the stunning island of St Maarten.
And he still hadn’t contacted Hannah.
His shift pattern ensured he was on the bridge whenever they were due to arrive or leave one of the ports on the itinerary, so he did have the lion’s share of the day as rest time. In theory, if he was always contactable, there was nothing stopping him spending a few hours on shore.
And he had promised to accompany Hannah, if she wanted him to.
When he’d made the offer, she’d seemed interested.
She’d also been way past tipsy, halfway down the road to legless.
Subsequently, he had taken the coward’s way out, had buried himself in work, tried to convince himself he was making the right choice while also hoping – if he was being honest with himself – that she would be the brave one, that she would come to the bridge and tell him she wanted nothing more than for the two of them to explore the island together…
Now it was probably too late. She would have made plans that didn’t involve him, and he couldn’t ignore the crushing feeling that this time he’d made the wrong move.
Normally he was quick to move in on someone who showed interest. His latest ex accused him of seeming desperate on the final evening they’d spent together.
This time, with Hannah, he’d done the opposite and now they were docked at an island that measured little more than thirty-seven square miles, where he would never be more than a thirty-minute drive from the ship, it looked as though he would be spending the day on board. Alone.
Idiot.
With docking complete, he was thanking the harbour pilot before he left, when a small figure wandered her way onto the bridge.
Every time Millie came to check on Portus – which had been with devoted regularity – she edged into the space as though worried someone would bellow at her for being in the wrong place.
Even though he knew Millie to be feisty, she was still a twelve-year-old girl and needed to be allowed to build her confidence.
‘Hi, Millie,’ he said, wandering across to her. ‘You’re here early this morning.’
‘Did you know there’s somewhere called Fort Louis on this island, Captain Louis? The guidebook says it offers great views of the whole island, so we’re going to get a rental car and go. But I wanted to check on Portus first.’
Louis grinned, glancing around to locate the cat, busy with his daily ablutions in front of the ECDIS machine. ‘He’s over there.’
Millie crooned a welcome, and Portus responded with a yowl, clambering to his feet and giving a flick of his tail as he marched towards his bowls.
‘He thinks I’m his slave,’ Millie said, but she couldn’t have looked happier about the job title as she lifted his water bowl and headed to refresh it.
With the cat fed and watered, Millie sidled across to Louis. ‘Are you working all day today?’
‘Well, not all the time, Millie. I’m not sure how my day will go, yet.’
Millie nodded. ‘Thing is, Hannah’s probably coming with us, because otherwise she’ll be all on her own.
’ The last few words were enunciated with an emphasis it was impossible for him to ignore.
‘And she’s too kind to say so, but I think she’d rather spend the day with someone her own age. Someone like you, for example.’
Before Millie headed for the corridor leading away from the bridge, she added, ‘We’re all meeting up in the Harvest Basket restaurant, then we’re going to leave there at about ten. If you’re interested.’
Ruth gave Millie one of the hardest stares she could muster when her daughter had finished explaining how she’d invited the captain to join their trip to St Maarten.
Secretly she was incredibly proud of her; it was the kind of thing she’d have liked to have done herself.
Regardless of the pride she felt bubbling, Ruth remembered only too well how her own unfettered youth had ended up undermining the life she should have had – the life she’d wanted, until she’d messed it all up.
So, she gave Millie a hefty dose of ‘what on earth were you thinking?’, mixed with a dash of ‘you’re a child; stop meddling in grown-up stuff’, holding her face with poker rigidity until she saw Hannah approaching their breakfast table.
‘Shall I tell Hannah what I—’ Millie said. It was as though she’d not heard a single word Ruth had said. Which, to be honest, wasn’t usually too far from the truth where kids were concerned.
‘Christ, no. Millie – think about it. What if he doesn’t turn up?’
‘Language, Mum,’ her daughter piped up.
‘Oh, for f—’ Ruth started. This time Millie returned the favour, cutting her off before she could finish.
‘I know all the cuss words, by the way – I’m twelve, not two.
Just because I don’t say them, doesn’t mean I don’t know them.
Sasha at school calls her mother the “c” word all the time.
Anyway, Hannah’s almost here, and I get it.
Even though I hope he comes, I shouldn’t have said anything to Captain Louis. I’m sorry.’
Ruth gave her daughter’s arm a squeeze. ‘Truth be told, I hope he comes, too. But in case he doesn’t—’
‘I get it, Mum.’ Millie mimed zippering her mouth.
With the morning greetings complete, and Hannah installed at their table with some toast and a coffee, Ruth began to check her watch, and the entrance to the restaurant.
‘What time is Nathan getting here?’ Hannah asked, assuming that was who Ruth was looking for.
And she was, partly. Her son had told her he would be at the restaurant by ten as promised, and that she wasn’t to fuss.
In fact, he’d gone on to say that if she could leave him alone he would be very grateful because it was hard enough having to sleep in the same room as his mother and shitty little sister without having to spend every sodding waking moment with them as well.
And if he was going to have to hang out with them all day, he could do with a bit of time to himself before they disembarked. If that wasn’t too much to ask.
But Ruth also found herself hoping with every fresh arrival to the restaurant that it would be a familiar, tall, dark figure who would conjure the kind of smile from Hannah likely to herald the pair of them riding off into the metaphorical sunset, to live a life of bliss, with never a cross word spoken.
Well, now she was being ridiculous – but she could hope for a perfect life for someone, couldn’t she?
Nathan finally sloped into the restaurant, heading straight for the hot food counter without looking to see where they were.
He slid into a seat beside Hannah with a plate loaded so high with bacon and hash browns that the baked beans he’d poured into the centre of the plate made the whole construction resemble an active volcano, about to blow.
‘Forgot ketchup,’ he said by way of a greeting, clattering cutlery onto the table and straightening away from the seat he’d only just claimed. He turned back to Hannah before he walked away. ‘Want anything?’
Ruth bit at the edge of her lip to stop herself grinning. Her son – although he might be all kinds of a pain in the posterior – seemed to have developed a mid-teenage crush on Hannah, one in which he didn’t really have a clue what to say to a pretty woman, or how, but was determined to have a go.
‘Why would Hannah want ketchup?’ Millie said, incomprehension writ large as she stared at Hannah’s half-eaten slice of toast.
‘I meant anything, idiot. Like coffee, or more jam, or… well, anything. That’s why I asked if she wanted “anything”. Clue is in the word.’
‘I’m all good, thanks, Nathan,’ Hannah said, earning herself a brief smile as he pushed hair from his eyes and turned away.
Millie leant forward, towards Hannah. ‘He’s got a crush on you, you know?’
Hannah smiled, but her lips were pressed together. ‘I know, Millie. You said.’
‘He’ll get over it,’ Ruth said, brusquely.
‘Do you think we should get a jump on the day and head ashore once he’s finished eating?’ Hannah said. ‘It’s only half nine, and having seen the way Nathan can wolf down meals, he’s not going to take long to eat, is he? We could get some extra time on the island.’
‘No! We can’t go early… Because if we do that… Oh…’ Millie huffed and swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Ruth squeezed her daughter’s arm. ‘I don’t think we need to rush, Hannah. How about we look at the map while we’re here, make a proper plan of what we want to see – then when we get the car, we’ll be ready to go straight away. What do you think?’
She could feel Millie relax beside her as Hannah agreed to the plan. And Ruth resumed her watch on the restaurant door, realising she was as hopeful as Millie.