Chapter 40
Greg was working again and by now Naomi had tired of asking when he’d deign to join them for dinner.
Her parents had taken to eating in their suite in the evenings, preferring the resort’s simpler in-room dining options to the changeable variety of buffet and restaurant choices.
As for her sisters, Naomi had no idea where or how they were this evening, and in truth she didn’t care.
Mom-guilt aside, it seemed that Sam was about the only one in their ragtag group enjoying herself on this trip and Naomi was once again grateful to her best friend for always having her back.
That evening, once they’d finished eating, Sam headed off to bed early so Naomi wandered out onto the beach, reluctant to head back to the room. She was still more than a little … unsettled by Greg’s explanation for his so-called business meeting, or more to the point, whether to believe it.
‘It wasn’t a business meeting as such,’ he’d said when back at the room Naomi had queried him about it.
‘It was this couple I met in the restaurant while getting lunch. We got talking, they told me what they did for a living and gave me a brochure they had with them. I was just being polite but really didn’t give a damn one way or the other, which is why I left the brochure behind once they’d left. ’
It kind of made sense on a surface level but for some reason …
As Naomi made her way along the shore, she could still hear the hustle and bustle of the resort in the background and catch the delicious aroma of the food being prepared at the various restaurants, but right then nothing but the sound of the ocean held her attention.
The water was only steps away and if she were a more spontaneous kind of person, she would have stripped off her dress and dived in to enjoy a late-night swim.
But she wasn’t that kind of person and she was also pretty certain she wasn’t alone.
‘Care to join me?’ Will’s voice drifted across the sand in her direction as he waved a greeting. She thought she’d seen him sitting on a lounger a little way ahead, but hadn’t wanted to intrude. He looked so peaceful there, stretched out beneath the cloudless night sky.
Naomi sighed as she looked up. The stars were so bright and brilliant, they shone like jewels against a canvas of black. She almost felt as if she could reach up and pluck several down to wear around her neck, but like so much in her life lately, they seemed out of her grasp.
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ she replied as she headed in his direction and took a seat on the lounger beside him. ‘Where’s Holly? Didn’t she want to see the night sky again?’
‘Babysitter’s keeping an eye on her for the evening. I’m taking a breather tonight.’
She could see the fatigue on his face as he lay there, arms behind his head and knees propped up on the lounger. His gaze like hers, was on the sky.
‘I can’t imagine it’s easy,’ she ventured.
‘What isn’t?’
‘Doing it all yourself. Parenting, I mean.’
A weary look spread across his face. ‘No. No, it isn’t, to be honest.’ Will sighed deeply.
‘Especially when you never thought you’d be doing it alone.
Christine and I had great intentions for how we were going to raise our brood.
We wanted them to experience the world, learn about new people and cultures and teach them the value of what they had.
Give them perspective in the hope they’d make good choices for their future.
Like I said, great intentions. We honestly never figured one of us would have to fulfil them all on our own. ’
Naomi’s heart almost broke at this admission. ‘How do you do it?’
‘I have to. Holly is my whole world now. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Nothing I wouldn’t forgo. Sleeping in late or going out early. Missing a football match to paint by numbers. It doesn’t matter. Raising her well is all that does.’
‘I wish everyone saw things the way you do. Some people see kids as a nuisance, an impediment to their happiness, even.’ At this, Greg immediately popped into her mind. Thinking about it, he’d never been great around children.
‘Then those people aren’t as fortunate as me,’ Will quickly countered.
He was so earnest that Naomi’s heart melted and she smiled. ‘I agree.’
The conversation paused momentarily as they both got caught up in the stillness of the night and the cool of the breeze off the water.
‘Naomi?’ Will said suddenly. ‘May I ask you something?’
‘Sure, go ahead.’
‘I’ve seen you around the resort several times since we arrived and you’re often by yourself or with your parents and your friend.
Your mum mentioned you were here with your boyfriend, but I’ve never actually seen him, or you with him.
I suppose I was wondering if everything was OK?
’ She looked at him quickly and sensing her surprise, he quickly backtracked.
‘I’m sorry, that was none of my business. Forget I asked.’
‘No, it’s fine actually. I’ve pretty much been asking the same question,’ she admitted, as a swell of inexplicable sadness began to take hold.
She sat up a little, tucking her legs in front of her.
‘I’d decided for some stupid reason that this trip was going to change everything,’ she divulged.
‘After the pandemic, and maybe because of my age, I was starting to feel that I’ve wasted way too much of my life. ’
‘Erm … you’re not exactly old. And I think that time forced a lot of us to re-examine our priorities.’
‘You think so?’ It was strange to hear Will say this because all throughout Greg behaved as if that major world event was a mere inconvenience, a nuisance even.
Whereas for Naomi, it sometimes felt like the end of the world, especially being separated from everyone she loved.
And all she could think about was how little she had done with her life and how much she wanted, or rather needed, to do.
This trip was supposed to mark the beginning of all that. Goodbye to the old Naomi, and in with the new.
‘Maybe it made me realise that I need to better focus on what I want from life.’
‘And what do you want?’ Will asked.
She didn’t have to think too deeply about that.
‘I want someone who loves me for me, and sees a future for us together. I want someone who, when we come on holiday, isn’t going to spend every minute focused on work and be completely inflexible, unwilling to deviate from some rigid life plan.
I want someone who makes me not only part of, but central, to that plan.
’ Now that she’d started to articulate how she was truly feeling, Naomi was on a roll and it was as if there was nobody else present, she could just as easily have been talking to herself.
‘I want someone who is a true partner, someone to support and encourage me to be myself, and do what I want to do, not be a slave to some stupid algorithm.’
‘You mean your social media presence?’
‘Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It’s stupid and vacuous and I actually think I hate it now. Granted it served a purpose – an important one – at the start, but once it became all about making money it seemed … wrong.’
‘I don’t know much about this stuff so I wasn’t thinking anything actually. But if you no longer enjoy it, why don’t you give it up?’ Will asked. ‘You mentioned before that you’re a teacher by profession.’
‘Yes, and I love that. But Greg thinks my online profile is far too lucrative and going back to being a boring old teacher would significantly hamper our financial goals.’ She made a face.
‘Your Greg is sounding like a very … special kind of guy,’ Will remarked with heavy derision and Naomi immediately felt guilty.
‘Sorry, I’m probably being a bit unfair to him too. Especially when he’s the one who turned it into the success it is; he had all the knowledge and the business contacts. I was just some idiot with a phone.’
‘Hmm, I may not know you all that well, Naomi, but as you know my daughter is a keen social media connoisseur,’ he joked. ‘Holly looked you up and seems to think you have excellent fashion sense.’
She laughed. ‘I knew she’d do that.’
‘She doesn’t have a phone yet though. I’m holding out on that for as long as I can.’
‘I think you’re right.’
‘But, hey, try not to worry. Sounds to me like you know better than anyone what’s right for you and what you want. Don’t let money confuse that. Life is short, as I know too well.’
She looked at him. ‘Thank you for saying that. It helps a lot.’
‘It’s no trouble. I rather like helping people. And while I don’t know the first thing about fashion, anything else you might need, please ask.’
She smiled. He really was so easy to spend time with.
‘Will?’ she whispered then, her eyes fixed on the place where the ocean and the sky became one.
‘Yeah.’
‘I know you probably need to get back but …’
‘I don’t. Holly has the babysitter’s night all planned out. Poor woman.’
‘OK.’ Naomi hesitated a little, hoping it wouldn’t sound weird. ‘Would you mind maybe sitting out here with me for a while? No talking, just sitting? I know that probably sounds a bit bananas but that’s what I’d like right now.’
‘As you wish,’ he responded and made himself comfortable on the lounger once more.
She stared at him wide-eyed. ‘What? Don’t tell me you’re a Princess Bride fan too.’
He grinned. ‘I thought you said no talking.’
Naomi duly unfolded her legs and lay back, unable to keep the grin from her face. She tried not to think – about anything – as she and Will lay side by side watching the stars, not another word passing between them.
Neither felt the need to disrupt the comfortable silence. It was a sort of timeout in both of their lives, she supposed – a moment to let any chaos pause for a moment and fade into the background.
Ironic really that even here, in one of the most idyllic places in the world, the two were still seeking an escape.