Chapter 15 #2
The old woman contemplates my offer, and her face softens into a begrudging smile. ‘Yes, please.’ She turns to Emir and while she asks him if he is excited to be on the boat, I slip away to help out.
‘About effing time,’ snorts Garry Gee. I glare at him. There is simply no need for this level of rudeness.
‘What is your problem? Would you prefer me to go back to babysitting, and leave you and Astrid to it?’
He relents a fraction. ‘No. Just pull your weight, that’s all.’
The cheek! I’m so riled up I can’t even speak.
As I stomp over to the buffet, I vow to report him to head office for unprofessional conduct.
I load up a couple of plates with lamb koftas, adding the salad in an act of defiance.
I am sick of men and boys dictating to me.
If only there could be a global movement to force the male population to treat females with respect…
or even (crazy thought alert) as their equals.
I put the plates down in front of Emir and his grandmother. Emir looks on aghast but before he opens his mouth I say, ‘Eat the salad or we won’t go snorkelling to the forbidden island this afternoon.’
‘Forbidden island?’
I nod. ‘They say there are ancient monsters that lurk in the sacred waters, guarding the treasure. You have to be very brave, very strong and very full of salad. The monsters hate salad.’
His little mouth makes a perfect round shape as his eyes fill with excitement. ‘Do these monsters eat humans?’
‘Oh, yes. They’re vicious. But they can’t eat you if you are full of salad.’
‘And I get to kill them? And steal the treasure?’
So feral. So caveman-like.
‘Uh-huh. You sure do.’
He begins stabbing at the salad and forking it into his mouth. As I turn to leave, his grandmother gives me a tiny nod of respect.
* * *
After an hour of rushing back and forth, serving drinks, food, desserts and more drinks, finally Tiffany and Shaun rock up giggling away as they haul crates of wine on board from the speedboat.
They do not look like they rushed to get back.
The telltale sign is a smudge of what looks like pizza sauce on Shaun’s top and Tiffany’s skirt is twisted sideways.
I notice her lips have a blue tinge, so they clearly took time out to sample a bottle of the expensive wine while they were at it.
Astrid is behind the bar, clearly unimpressed.
I go over to explain how I’ve taken a record of who drank what.
‘I’ve numbered the tables like a three by four grid starting at the end of the boat in the covered section.
I’ve written down what each table have ordered over the course of the lunch, okay?
It should make it easier to tot up how much each person has consumed.
’ She stares blankly at me. ‘How do you normally do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘How do you work out how much to charge each table? Each person?’
‘I haven’t,’ she says, looking at me as though I’ve gone mad. ‘Gee Man does it at the end.’
‘How?’
She holds out her palms. ‘How should I know? Ask him.’
I’d rather gouge my own eyes out.
‘Ask the Gee Man what?’ he says, approaching.
‘Maddie is just asking how you work out all the tabs for the drinks,’ Astrid says.
‘Leave that to me,’ he snaps.
‘Well, here are the totals for the tables I served,’ I say, showing him the workings out.
He barely gives it a glance before shoving the paper in his shorts pocket.
Shorts that are too tight and too short, I might add.
‘So how do you know what individuals have drunk? I know guests can drink what they like but what if Emir’s parents want a breakdown of their bar bill?
Or, like that lady over there who just had water.
I mean, do we charge for water or is it free? Where’s the price list?’
Garry seems incensed at this simple and, frankly, obvious question. ‘Can. You. Please. Stop. Bloody. Interfering. All-the-sodding-time!’
I jump at the hard tone, as does Astrid. ‘Come on, Garry. She’s only asking because she’s new. Anyway, how do you work out how much to charge them?’ she asks him. ‘I can’t see a till to ring anything up. And we get commission, don’t we? So, it makes sense to know how much the bill is.’
Garry’s eyes bulge before he simmers down, his mouth a tight line.
‘Girls, girls, girls.’ He drags the palm of his hand roughly down his cheek.
‘I said do not worry. I have it all in hand. Now, please, just do your fucking jobs. It’s enough that the new boss is planning a secret spot check when we call in at the port of Palamutbuku.
What an arsehole. I bet he’s not checking up on the Bodrum North team.
Yet, it’s okay to surprise us with a visit only one day into the trip. ’
‘How do you know Jackson is coming to check up on us if it’s a secret?’ Astrid asks.
Garry rolls his eyes. ‘A source warned me.’ Then it’s as though he remembers how much he hates me and growls, ‘Not a word about this to anyone, okay?’
His words float around in my head. Jackson. Here on this boat. Tonight.