After the Storm (12 page)

‘So what gives when we get to Roatán? Do we say goodbye to them there?’ she said.

‘I guess we let them live on the boat until they fly back, don’t you think?’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘We took their holiday money didn’t we? Do you have a problem with that?’

She handed the joint back to him and their eyes met.

‘Would it matter if I did?’

‘They’re good people.’

‘Rob is and I like him. He makes an effort to help out. Anna less so.’

‘Kimmie,’ he reached for her hand. ‘Don’t be cross…’

‘We coulda lost the boat last night.’

‘We coulda, but we didn’t. It was a scare that’s all.’

‘I’m tired of living on the edge, Owen. I’m all worn out with it.’

‘You had a bad night. You’ll feel better tomorrow.’

She threw the joint stub over the side of the boat.

‘I’m turning in.’

She went down into the saloon. Owen stayed in the cockpit. She must have been more shaken by the incident of the night before than he’d realised. Usually she bounced back more quickly. Anna seemed to be copping it as a result. And he knew that once Kim started to dislike someone then it followed that everything they did started to annoy her. He looked over to where Anna and Rob were floating in the sea. They looked happy he thought.

They swam back and he helped them aboard. He put the washboard down.

‘Kim’s turned in already. Last night took it out of her. There’s a towel under the seat if you guys need one.’

Rob reached under the seat and pulled out a threadbare towel. He handed it to Anna.

‘Don’t you need it?’ she said.

He shook the water from his hair the way a dog does who’s been in the sea.

‘No need, it’s such a lovely warm evening.’

Anna dried her face and wound the towel around her long hair.

‘It’s beautiful and so calm. I would love sailing if it was always like this,’ she said.

Owen started to roll another joint. He licked the Rizla paper along its sticky edge and rolled it neatly into place. His joints always looked remarkably professional Anna thought watching his long fingers at work. He lit it and passed it to Anna.

‘Give it a try. Perfect night to get gently stoned and look at the stars,’ he said.

She took the joint from him and this time she took in a breath and let the smoke travel down to her lungs.

‘And lo the lady hath inhaled,’ Rob said.

She raised her eyebrows at him and with a defiant toss of her towelled head she took another draw. This time she could feel something. This must be strong dope; it was making her feel woozy. Usually she felt nothing which was why she’d always thought it was all a big fuss about nothing. Owen watched her blow the smoke out through her lips. With her hair knotted up in the towel the mole between her eyebrows became more prominent, almost as if she had a mono-brow like Frieda Kahlo and it made her look kind of exotic. She was still in her bikini and seawater was trickling between her breasts. The moonlight caught the outline of her collarbones. She handed the joint to Rob with a giggle.

‘I’m definitely feeling something.’

She was the one who got them started on the subject of
The Wizard of Oz.
They had all seen it of course, and it was part of their shared mythology. Anna seemed to have watched it many times.

‘I want you to say which character you like best and why: Tin Man, Scarecrow or Cowardly Lion.’

‘You go first,’ Rob said.

‘Well I should probably identify with Cowardly Lion because I’m a great big coward myself,’ she said.

‘A Great Girl’s Blouse,’ Owen intoned solemnly and they all laughed for an age at this quip. Rob liked Anna being more relaxed like this. The others had only seen the uptight Anna up till now.

‘What was I saying? Oh yes. Well, I’d have to give my vote to Scarecrow.’

‘Why?’ Rob asked.

‘He’s such a great character. He thinks he’s dumb and needs a brain but he’s the smartest one of them all.’

‘They’re all lacking something, aren’t they,’ Rob said. ‘Yes, your turn now, Owen’ she said.

‘Tin Man wants a heart right?’ Owen said.

‘Yes, even though he’s the soppiest of the lot of them.’

‘I like him,’ Owen said.

‘So why do you like him?’

‘Because he knows something is missing and he needs it to be complete so he goes looking for it.’

‘Yes and when he does get a heart he starts to cry and then he’s worried that his tears will make him rust up. Rob’s turn,’ she said.

‘Can I choose Toto? I like him the best,’ Rob said.

‘Shall we allow that?’ she leaned in towards Owen conspiratorially.

‘I think we can bend the rules on this one occasion. What kinda dog is he anyway?’ Owen said.

‘I think he’s a terrier isn’t he, clever little dogs,’ Rob said.

And their conversation meandered on to dogs and what breed they would choose. Rob said he loved Fox Terriers. They had such boxy faces and were intelligent. Owen said he liked bigger dogs, a dog that you could pat on the head as it walked along by your side. A Collie or a Labrador is what he would choose. Anna said no it had to be a Spaniel. They had such beautiful silky ears and the sweetest temperament even if they occasionally acted loony.

‘You know I always wanted a dog since I was a kid but I never had one yet,’ Owen said.

Kim was lying below in the saloon and she was wide awake. She had heard Owen slide the washboard into place to keep the sound out but she could hear them anyway. They sounded like they were having a good time. Anna was laughing along with the men. It was too late to join them and anyway she was in no mood for it. She wished they’d shut the fuck up.

Shortly after sunrise, the
El Tiempo Pasa
started to roll and the motion woke Rob. He dressed and joined Owen up on deck. The sea was getting rougher and Owen pointed to clouds building in the east.

‘The barometer’s dropping and it looks like we’re in for a blow. Just a short summer storm I reckon but let’s get a move on.’

The two men hauled the sails up and sailed towards the anchor and pulled it up. Kim was stirring below, putting water on to make coffee. Anna was in the forecabin and she rolled onto her stomach and pulled open the curtain covering their porthole. She saw a square of darkening grey sky and rolled onto her back again.

They were sailing away from the Cay when they were hit by a sudden vicious squall. There was a ripping sound and Owen swung round. The mainsail had caught the full force of the gust and to his horror he saw that some stitches had given way and the sail had started to rip along one of its longer seams down near the boom.

‘Goddammit!’ he shouted.

They could do nothing and had to stand and watch while the next gust of wind caught the tear and ripped at the rotting sail stiches until the mainsail was gashed open from side to side at its widest point. The torn sail flapped madly in the wind. Kim had hurried up from the saloon. She’d recognised that sickening staccato sound; their sails had ripped before.

‘We’ll have to sail back to the Cay,’ Owen shouted above the noise of the wind and the flapping sail.

It was hard work sailing back to their anchorage of the night before with the ripped sail giving no drive to the boat. The wind lashed the boat and they struggled to stay on course with only the foresail intact. Owen, Kim and Rob worked in unison and after forty minutes they reached the Cay. They dropped anchor and it took the combined effort of the three of them to take down the damaged mainsail. Finally the boat was anchored and the immediate crisis was over. Anna had got dressed down below. She had heard the sound of the sail ripping and Owen’s despairing shout. She wondered if she should go up, but knew that she would probably only get in the way. She put the kettle on and got the mugs and the coffee out. She joined them on deck now and saw their serious faces. Owen looked the most upset.

‘I’m making some coffee,’ Anna said.

The dark storm clouds were directly overhead and large rain drops started to fall so they went into the saloon and sat around the table. They sipped the hot coffee.

‘I’ve got the kit to mend the sail. I’ve done it before. It’s gonna be a big job. It’s a big bugger of a sail and the whole damn seam has gone,’ Owen said.

‘How long will it take?’ Anna asked.

‘A day and a half I reckon. I’m gonna reinforce all the seams. I don’t want this happening again. We’ll moor here while I work. It’s a good enough mooring.’

‘We’ve got plenty of water and cans and rice,’ Kim said.

‘This bad patch of weather should pass soon,’ Owen said.

‘Let’s have pineapple for breakfast,’ Kim stood up. ‘There’s one rather over ripe pineapple left.’

They were trying so hard to be cheerful in the face of yet another disaster.

‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ Anna said.

‘Course it will,’ Rob said. ‘We have food and rum and Kim’s magic pot.’

Rob actually liked the thought of being stranded on the unpopulated Cay. It would give them time to explore it. And he was relieved that Anna seemed to be taking it well. Owen was right about the storm; the rain lashed down and the boat pitched for about forty minutes while they ate slices of sweet ripe pineapple. Then the storm moved on and the sea settled.

Owen wanted to spread the sail out on land as it would be easier to mend it that way. He and Rob undid the clips and detached the main sail from the mast and the boom.

‘Could do with some help now,’ Owen called out.

Anna joined them on deck. They folded the sail and put it into its bag so they could transport it. They got into the dinghy and Rob rowed them the short distance to the Cay. They spread out the ripped sail on a clear stretch of beach. It was a big bugger as Owen had said, and heavy to carry. A weak sun had started to filter through the clouds. Anna and Rob stood and watched as Owen took out a sailmaker’s palm which he pulled onto his right hand and secured. He selected one of the thick sail needles and took out the white waxed thread and a pot of beeswax. He sat down with his back to a palm tree and waxed the needle. Then he started to stitch the seam with his strong needle, using the existing holes. Anna and Rob watched him working for a while and then wandered away.

As he worked Owen thought about how often he had done this. Every inch of the
El Tiempo Pasa
had seen his loving care at some point over the last three years. He saw the boat as his life companion that needed his unique love and attention. He hated the thought of having to sell her to a stranger. What worried him most though was the delay this latest problem was gonna cause. They should have reached Roatán by now. Raul and Money Joe would be questioning why Owen hadn’t showed up with the package. They might think he’d done a runner. He’d have to call Money Joe as soon as they reached Roatán, let him know he had the goods, let him know he hadn’t reneged on the deal.

Kim stayed on the boat. She wanted to assess the food situation properly and work out what could be eaten each day. She took everything out of the food locker and the cold store and put them on the saloon table. This was fine, they wouldn’t starve. When a problem like the ripped sail happened she and Owen would slip into a default position of making the best of it. They had their familiar roles and it was moments like this when she felt a strong sense of purpose and unity with Owen.

Rob and Anna explored the Cay. It was about a mile in length and it had a sandy beach and the clearest water. Mature palm trees bordered the shoreline.

‘It’s our very own paradise island,’ he said.

‘You and your Robinson Crusoe fantasy.’

It was a perfect spot, the sort of place you see in holiday brochures and never quite believe that the sand can be that white or the sea that turquoise. Even the palm tree leaves were a glossy brilliant green. It was getting hotter. The sun had burned through the clouds and was now high in the sky. They both stripped off to their swimming things and swam in the warm shallows.

When they came out of the sea they noticed that there were a lot of dead palm fronds that were lying crisp and dry on the sun-baked sand. Rob kneeled down and examined one.

‘You know I think I could make us a windbreak out of these,’ he said. ‘Back where Owen is working.’

Anna helped him drag some of the large dead fronds back. Owen looked up when they arrived.

‘I need a break from this. What are you gonna do with those?’

‘I want to build a shelter between two of the trees. Maybe these two?’

For the next hour Anna handed the dead palm fronds over to Rob and Owen who wove them into a passable roof between two of the shorter palm trees. They stood back and surveyed their work.

‘I need to get back to the sail. But if you and Anna want to go snorkelling I’ve got a mask and fins on the boat,’ he said.

‘Yes maybe I’ll do that. Thanks Owen.’

Owen went back to his sewing and Rob continued to weave and improve the roof of his shelter. Anna went to see how Owen was getting on. He showed her how far he had got.

‘Your stitches are so neat.’

‘It comes with practice and I’ve had a lot of that.’

She left him to walk up the beach to look for driftwood, on Rob’s instructions. He told her he wanted to build a fire on the beach that they could light that evening.

‘I’m glad you created this shade,’ Anna said when she arrived back with her arms full of driftwood. ‘It’s so hot and I’m getting quite burnt.’

She pulled down the top of her bikini pants and showed Rob her tan line.

‘Nice,’ he said.

She stretched out on the ground and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Rob’s next task was to stack the wood that Anna had collected. He built a small neat bonfire, a pyramid of twigs and branches, ready to light that evening. He was in his element. With these tasks completed, he swam back to the boat and got Owen’s fins and mask and had a long lingering swim along the shoreline.

Later, Kim joined Anna under Rob’s roof and they sat opposite each other each with their backs against the trees.

‘It’s good to have this shade,’ Kim said.

‘It is. When we were travelling down on the coach from Mexico there was this woman with her three little girls and a new-born baby. She’d draped this white cloth from her shoulders to her knees so that the baby was lying in a clean white tent on her lap. Her three little girls were so excited and they kept getting up from their seats to take a peek at the baby. She would lift the cloth for them to look in and it was so sweet to watch. And I wondered whether the new baby was a boy or a girl. She already had three daughters and she probably wanted a son.’