Chapter Nine
Nine
My stomach lurched as Esmeralda motored on out to sea.
The heavy thrum of the engine was no longer registering, but the up and down, upppp and downnnn was starting to take its toll.
Abi and Sara told me to keep my eyes on the horizon and take ginger for the nausea, so I had a second slice of carrot cake and tried to distract myself.
‘How about “A Whole New World”?’ Heidi suggested, looking up from her notepad. ‘We could superimpose celebrities and influencers onto a magic carpet and fly them from ship to ship, then film it with a drone?’
I nodded encouragingly. There was no such thing as a bad idea when it came to brainstorming, but a Disney song and a flying carpet would send our production manager into a spin.
I could just imagine her face. Besides, there was no way Walt Disney would let us use that song.
We’d end up with the Katie Price and Peter Andre version – not quite the vibe Brooke had briefed us on.
‘Love it!’ I lied. ‘The whole world at your fingertips. Excalibur Cruises – where the world is your oyster… and lobster… and whale… We could shoot big, then zoom in on the food, the chefs and the marine life? Under-deck, over-deck, out on the sea. The cruisers of cruising-don, common are we.’
Heidi nodded thoughtfully. ‘There could be something in it, write it down. What about: You’re never too young to start cruising?’
I sniggered and Heidi looked at me blankly. ‘Erm… could that be misinterpreted?’
‘OK, what about: holidays for the modern, multi-tasking family. See it all. Do it all. At once.’
‘Travel the world. Efficiently.’ I scribbled, then crossed it out with a frown. ‘No.’
‘Around the world in eighty cruises?’
I laughed then whispered in a throaty voice, ‘The ultimate threesome. You, Esmeralda and Phileas Fogg.’
‘Would young people be familiar with Phileas Fogg?’ Heidi mused, sitting back in her chair.
‘Unlikely,’ Zach said, walking past with a coffee.
Heidi snapped her notebook shut. ‘Do you mind? This is a private conversation.’
Zach rolled his eyes. ‘I’d want to keep those ideas private, too. Is this your big pitch plan? Phileas Fogg?’ he scoffed. ‘The brief is about modernising cruising, remember.’
‘Come on now, Zach – nothing says modern and fresh like an old man from the eighteen hundreds,’ Leo chipped in with a smile.
‘Go away, please. We’re just throwing ideas around.’ They were getting on my nerves.
Leo whistled. ‘Charming.’
‘Believe me, we don’t want to hang out with you either,’ Zach said, following Leo over to the window. ‘But it doesn’t look like we have much choice. Dahlia’s got the four of us whale-watching after lunch.’
‘Back together so soon,’ I said, drolly, but I could feel the excitement bubbling up.
I’d never seen a whale before and couldn’t believe we would be so close to them.
I’d always loved animals, marine life especially, and been devastated when my fairground goldfish had gone belly up.
Goldy Lookin’ Fins had been off-colour for a few days and in my seven-year-old wisdom I’d popped half an aspirin in his water.
Dad wouldn’t let me get another one after that, but once I had my own place, I bought a colourful tank and three fluttery goldfish to keep me company.
They didn’t give much back, but they were the only pets I had space for. From that to this, I was beside myself.
‘Will they be blue whales?’ Heidi asked.
I nearly choked on my cappuccino. ‘They’ll be blue, but not the blue whale.’
‘Of course not,’ she said, quickly.
‘An accidental flick of the tail and we’d be full steam to Honduras, otherwise. They’ll be humpbacks I’d imagine.’
‘But we don’t have to swim with them?’
‘I bloody well hope not. I’m committed to my job, Heidi, but not enough to swim in whale-infested waters. However good the photo opportunity might be.’
‘Write that down too,’ she said, nodding.
My notebook was a mess of scribbles but there was a thought or two worth exploring.
I glanced across at Leo and Zach deep in conversation and wondered what they were talking about.
It all just seemed like such a laugh to them – I suppose they had nothing to lose, whereas we had half the agency on our minds.
Twenty people back in the office with mortgages and children, and lives to pay for, relying on me and Heidi not to fuck it up.
***
Arlo revved the engine as he traversed the catamaran across the waves at full pelt. The boat seemed quite small in comparison to a whale – and presumably there’d be more than one – so I hoped they were friendly.
‘How far out do we have to go?’ I shouted as I held on to my hat. The boat bounced aggressively over the waves and my plait whipped me on the back.
‘Twenty minutes,’ he said, pointing towards the horizon. The five of us held on tight to the cool leather seats, inadvertently jumping out of them every time the boat bounced. Zach was filming through a GoPro, while Brooke tried to hold her skirt together, which was flapping about in the wind.
‘Shall we go inside before your parachute takes off?’ Leo said, standing up and offering her his arm.
Oliver was behind the bar pouring out glasses of elderflower spritz.
‘Is there room in there for a vodka, Oli?’ Brooke cooed.
He grinned. ‘Sure is, Ms Harris. Anyone else?’
Everyone nodded except me. Adding alcohol into the mix was not a good idea. Arlo had dished out the seasickness tablets as we’d got on board and all this focus on vomit prevention was making me feel queasy.
‘Looking a little green around the gills there, Kat,’ Zach said. ‘You feelin’ alright?’
I gave him a tight smile as the boat lurched forward, then ran into the toilet and locked the door behind me.
There was a small mirror above the sink and my face was pale and clammy, with mascara smudges under both eyes.
I splashed my cheeks with cold water and tried to hold it together.
I’d rather be sick and get it over with than carry this constant feeling of nausea, but my body wouldn’t play ball.
Come on, Kat, sort yourself out. Breathe and focus.
Breathe and focus. The pep talk helped a little and I prised myself out of my safe space to rejoin the group.
Leo and Brooke were engrossed in conversation while Heidi and Zach stood by the window with their cocktails.
‘Hey, Kat, you OK?’ Leo asked as I staggered over.
Brooke looked at him adoringly. ‘Ain’t you just the cutest? Looking out for the competition. You didn’t slip something in her coffee now, did ya?’
He laughed. ‘No chance. I always like a clean fight. There’s no pride in winning otherwise. Let me get you some water.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, my voice weak. ‘Any whales yet?’
‘Not a sausage,’ Heidi said. ‘And the more of these I drink, the less I care!’
There was a kerfuffle above us on deck and the klaxon sounded.
‘Jesus, is that a… a shark!?’ Zach stammered, and we all ran to the window.
A sharp fin was slicing through the inky water, heading straight towards the boat.
My stomach roiled with fear before a bottlenose poked out.
‘No, it’s a dolphin, two dolphins… three!
’ Snouts were popping up all over the place as a pod of dolphins propelled themselves through the water.
We had a clear view as they chased each other alongside the boat, taking it in turns to bob up and down and occasionally leaping in the air.
The five of us stood mesmerised.
‘Are they talking about us?’ Leo whispered. It did look like they were gossiping, giving us the side-eye with their big, cheeky smiles.
‘It’s all part of the show, I reckon. Putting on the ol’ razzle-dazzle for the tourists,’ I said. ‘Being paid in fish by Greg.’
‘First come the dolphins and then come the whales,’ Brooke squealed in delight. ‘Shall we go up top to watch? I’m sure Arlo will let us into the captain’s cockpit, or whatever it’s called.’
There were maybe twenty people on the boat in total, taking photos – or trying to – of the dolphins. Brooke went upstairs with Heidi and Zach, but I wasn’t keen to be stuck in another enclosed space, so I knelt up on one of the seats to get as close as I could to the action.
‘Mind if I hang down here with you?’ Leo asked, appearing next to me.
‘Do I have a choice?’ I said, irritated.
He turned and frowned. ‘Have I done something to upset you?’
‘No.’ My cheeks reddened as he called me out on it.
‘I saved your life last night, remember?’
‘True. Thanks again for that,’ I said, embarrassed. ‘Sorry, I’m feeling seasick and salty – and we’re back in competition mode, remember.’
‘It’s a friendly competition though, right? PR is a small world, there’s nothing to gain from being enemies – we probably know a lot of the same people. Can’t we just be friends?’
It was ridiculous and small to say no. ‘Sure, why not.’
I wondered how many more people we’d both know if I’d have got that job at Engelman instead of him.
Posh old Leo would have walked into a job with Daddy’s contacts anyway, but no, he’d snatched the opportunity from under my nose and it had taken me a while to reboot.
And now he was a CEO, and I was a dispensable employee.
He’d taken one job from me and there was no way he was going to do it again.
The chattering caws of seagulls reached a crescendo as the boat started to slow. Gulls sat on top of the water, watching as their friends skidded in, taking it in turns to dive underwater and grab a fishy lunch.
‘The whales must be close,’ Leo said, pulling out a pair of binoculars. ‘The seagulls know what they’re doing.’
‘Ooooooh,’ a lady next to me let out a piercing cry. ‘I can see one!’ There was a shimmer in the water as a whale broke the surface, and then another and another.
‘Humpbacks,’ someone shouted, among the whoops of excitement. The enormous blue lumps were way ahead of the seagulls, gliding through the water, then taking it in turns to disappear, before bobbing back up.
‘Oh wow,’ I said, too stunned to take a photo. They were so much bigger than I was expecting. I thought I could see the whole thing, then realised it was just his head; his tail was miles away. The dolphins were tiny in comparison.
‘The size of them!’ Leo said, offering me his binoculars. ‘They must be permanently hungry.’
I could see the whale’s eyes and long nose snorting out of the water, the ridges across his back undulating blue and grey. I’d never seen such a huge creature in real life.
‘Is it a family, do you think?’ I asked, spotting the second whale who was slightly smaller and then the third who was half the size.
‘Looks like one. I can’t imagine you can leave your giant whale baby at home while you go out to find a shoal of fish for dinner.’
One of the whales waved his flipper, then nosed up and twirled in the air, splashing down into the water below and sending waves in our direction.
‘Breaching in the wild,’ Leo said, with a low whistle. ‘Incredible. You don’t see this every day.’
‘Are you into… whales then?’ I asked.
‘Not whales per se; I’m into all animals. I wanted to be a vet when I was little.’
‘You wouldn’t have seen many whales as a vet, I wouldn’t think?’
‘Then I changed my mind to marine biologist, and then good old PR.’
I frowned. ‘I don’t see the connection.’
‘There isn’t one – they’re my two passion areas. I’ve always been good at telling stories and getting attention. Editor of The Mancunion at uni, wasn’t I?’
‘Were you? Is that a local fanzine?’
He gave me a withering look. ‘The student newspaper. Animals are more of a hobby for me now. I’ve got two dogs, three cats, a cockatoo and a tortoise.’
‘Two cocks, eh? No wonder you’re always smiling.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘You could start your own petting zoo with that lot. Sounds noisy.’
‘Not at all. They all get along. The cats and dogs are rescues and they kind of look after each other – almost like they know, you know?’
‘No?’
‘The shared trauma binds them together and now they’re safe, they like to stay close. All in the same bed and all that.’
I wrinkled my nose. ‘You let them sleep in your bed?’
‘No, just one big cat and dog bed for all of them. Not the tortoise, obviously.’
‘A blended animal family.’
‘I think if you’ve been abandoned in life, it makes you cling onto the good stuff when you find it.’
‘Like this…’ I said, as another whale appeared.
‘Exactly. Underwater life is something else. We don’t even know for a fact that the blue whale is the biggest animal on earth. There could be loads of other things down there.’
‘I hope not! The blue whale is plenty enough to worry about without imagining anything bigger. We all know what happened to Geppetto.’
Leo laughed. ‘True. Although he survived in the end.’
I sighed. ‘I thought PR would be fun and glamorous. Not the hard slog it is these days.’
‘Yeah, it’s relentless,’ he said, swiping us fresh martinis from Oli’s tray as two whales breached simultaneously to rapturous applause.
‘Obviously this kind of thing isn’t difficult, but this is the first PR trip I’ve been on in a while,’ I said, taking a swig.
Oof! This one tasted like it had a large gin in it.
‘This can’t be a normal workday for you either, surely?
I’m usually either glued to my laptop or trying to get across London on a sweaty tube. Not exactly living the dream.’
‘It’s much more fun than that at our place,’ Leo said, with a wink. ‘If we win the pitch, you can come and work for me – how’s that?’
I laughed. ‘Yeah, right.’ The audacity of this guy. He was so obviously used to getting everything he wanted in life. He just had to ask for it. ‘You couldn’t afford me.’
‘With an extra couple of million coming in, I’m sure we could.’
‘Sorry, but I’m taken.’ I turned my back on him, my gaze laser-focused on the whales.
All three whales breached at the same time and there was a collective clicking as everyone tried to get the shot.
Except me. I watched as these magnificent beasts propelled themselves out of the water, then smashed back down, sending waves in our direction.
Why were they doing it? Were they putting on a special show for the cruise ship?
Was it some sort of dance or were they just playing?
This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that could only happen right here and right now.
Being this close to breaching whales with a cocktail in hand, was nothing short of magic. An Unimaginable Moment.