After the Storm (16 page)

‘How long will it take to cook?’ Rob asked.

‘Twelve hours straight. Not long now and it’ll be worth the wait. The meat will be awesome.’

Rob was amused. It had just been a polite enquiry on his part. Anna was standing at his side and they exchanged tolerant smiles. The guests were getting steadily drunker as they waited for the meat to be ready and the feasting to begin. They saw Vivienne standing under a tree talking to a tall man with coarse ginger hair that stuck up at all angles. Vivienne looked stunning in a simple black wrap-over dress which accentuated her curves. They joined her and she introduced Doug to them. He had that true redhead skin, pale and covered with freckles. Turned out he was from Virginia and ran diving courses out of Oak Ridge. Rob started talking to him and they quickly established that Doug had Scottish heritage.

‘My ancestors were from the highlands,’ he said.

‘And you’re a diver?’ Doug asked Rob.

‘Yes, I’ve got my PADI qualification. I’ve done a few sea dives and I want to do more.’

‘There are some pristine sites along the Eastern reef here. I run a three-day live aboard course if you’re interested.’

Rob shook his head.

‘I’d love to but we’re only here for another week.’

‘If you fancied a day and a night on the boat we could do that.’

Rob looked over at Anna who was talking to Owen. One night away was possible.

‘Can I have your number? I’ll call you tomorrow.’

Vivienne and Kim were talking about Gary.

‘He has this big old house all to himself,’ Vivienne said.

‘He must rattle around. He needs to find himself a woman,’ Kim said.

‘It’s not so easy on the island, Kim. You know what it’s like here. It’s either long-term couples or people passing through.’

‘But he’d be a catch, wouldn’t he?’

Vivienne shrugged.

‘Of course,’ she said and then Vivienne’s eyes widened in surprise and Kim looked round. A slightly older couple had arrived at the party. The man had dark blond hair brushed back from a high forehead and a slightly wolfish face. He was tall and thickset and had a presence about him. He was dressed more formally than most of the people there, in a cream linen suit. The woman with him was exceptionally well groomed. She wore a cerise pink dress, sleeveless with a peplum at the waist and a ruffle around the neckline. They watched Gary walk over to the couple to greet them. He seemed delighted to see them both.

‘That’s Barbara and Gideon Carter, richest couple on Roatán. He made his money in natural gas, an absolute fortune,’ Owen said to Anna.

‘They have this huge villa at Port Royal, in one of the best positions on the island,’ Kim said.

They watched as the Carters worked their way around the knots of people in the garden and were fêted wherever they went.

‘He’s got other properties here too which he rents out. You could say this is his little Kingdom on Earth,’ Owen said.

‘And hers too. She’s real friendly though,’ Kim said.

Owen turned to Vivienne who was also watching the Carters.

‘Viv, I need a man with a car tomorrow. I’ve got a few things to transport.’

Vivienne pointed to a man standing by the food table.

‘Ask Cesar over there. You can hire him for the day.’

‘Did you see Barbara Carter’s dress? I bet it’s designer. She spends a fortune on clothes and gets them flown in from the shows,’ Kim said.

‘It’s kind of dressy for a barbecue though,’ Anna said and Vivienne nodded her agreement.

Owen came back.

‘I’ve hired Cesar. Tomorrow I can sell the liquor.’

‘I’ll be glad to see the back of those crates,’ Kim said.

‘I’ll come with you,’ Rob said.

Gary was hitting a fork against a glass. He called everyone to gather round and partake of the hog. Two men were stationed ready to serve the meat. On a second table there was a tower of baguettes and bowls of potato wedges and green salad and a bewildering array of hot sauces and pickles. The party guests loaded their plates with the tender pulled meat. Bottles of beer floated in a plastic barrel of melting ice cubes.

They sat on the chairs ranged around the garden and ate the sweet meat and the salty fatty crackling. It was very good. After she had eaten Anna left the others and walked up to the verandah of Gary’s house. She had spotted a lovely old wooden garden swing seat with fat cushions, surrounded by plants in pots. She sat on the swing seat and rocked herself back and forth with her eyes closed. She could hear a faint rustling from the trees in the garden and the hum of voices from the guests. It was so peaceful and so comfortable here. She couldn’t resist it, she had to lie down.

Gary came over to Kim and Vivienne with a tall woman and introduced her to them as Gail.

‘I’ve seen you around the island a few times,’ the woman said to Kim.

She had an Australian accent and clear hazel eyes. Kim remembered seeing her at Gary’s place once before. Gail was working as a waitress in Port Royal.

‘I used to work as a waitress, in Florida,’ Kim said.

‘Who did you hate the most – the ones who challenge the bill and never say sorry when you show them the total is right? Or the creeps who leave their phone numbers wrapped in their dollar tips?’ Gail asked.

‘The cell-phone creeps. They honest to God think you’re gonna ring them. And they’re always ugly, with paunches and loud voices.’

The three women laughed. Gary was watching them, especially Gail, and he joined in the laughter and stroked his small beard nervously. At the end of the garden he had set up a wooden platform for dancing and a sound system with big speakers. This was now playing classic dance tracks at full volume. People were waiting for the first couple to take to the floor.

‘Can I persuade you lovely ladies to dance?’ he said.

‘You go with Gail,’ Vivienne said.

They watched as Gary and Gail took to the floor and the stage started to fill.

‘She’s probably out of his league in the looks stakes,’ Kim said to Vivienne.

‘It’s a shame. Gary’s a decent guy.’

Owen had wandered off and Kim wanted to dance now. Rob was standing nearby but there was no sign of Anna. She waited out another track but when Shakira’s ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ came on she had to dance to that, so she asked Rob if he’d be her partner. They got up on the stage and started to dance.

Anna woke up. She had had the most delicious sleep. How long had she been here? There was music coming from the garden and small lights twinkled all around the grass, making it look enchanting. She lay on the seat and swung herself a bit more as she came to. Below her she saw a group of people, about ten of them, standing in a circle. The group lifted their glasses at the same moment and drank their Jägerbombs and whooped. To their left she saw Vivienne talking to that man in the cream suit, Gideon something. Vivienne looked beautiful, her eyes shining as Gideon said something that made her laugh in delight. Beyond them she could see a stage and guests were dancing. She headed towards the music and saw Rob was dancing with Kim on the stage. Owen was standing under a tree, tall and aloof, looking on. She had noticed that people treated Owen with respect, or maybe it was caution. He certainly had an innate authority about him. She joined him by his tree.

‘Where did you get to?’ he said.

‘I fell asleep on this old swing chair.’

‘You can’t beat a swing chair.’

‘It was lovely. You not dancing?’ she said.

‘Not my thing.’

‘Can’t I persuade you?’

‘I wouldn’t if I were you. I have two left feet.’

They watched the dancers on the stage. Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ came on the sound system. The Jägerbombers were trying to moonwalk to it on the grass and one of them fell over and they all laughed raucously.

‘Oh come on, I’ll take my chances,’ she said.

They joined the dancers on the stage. Kim had her head thrown back in ecstasy with her eyes closed. She opened them and seeing Owen and Anna she laughed and moved towards them, her hips swaying. Rob moved over too and the four of them danced and circled each other on the stage as the music throbbed louder and the scents of the trees and the plants grew stronger on the night air.

Rob and Anna were still asleep and Kim had joined Owen up on deck. They sat cross legged and watched people stirring on the adjoining boats.

‘You know what struck me at Gary’s party last night, there’s a lot of money in Roatán these days. I’m thinking we could sell the boat here instead of in Belize.’

‘That wouldn’t work Kimbo,’ Owen said.

‘Hear me out hun. We’re gonna be here for the next couple of weeks so I’ve been thinking we can use the time to smarten up the boat. I’ll make new drapes for the portholes. I can paint the lockers too. And maybe you can re-varnish the saloon floor and table; they’re both looking very scratched.’

‘That can’t be done while we’re living on the boat.’

‘I thought about that. Maybe we can get some cabins on the cheap for a few days. I’m sure Rob and Anna would welcome a bit more privacy. We do the boat up and sell her here.’

Owen was unprepared for this conversation. Kim had obviously been thinking this through, planning their move back to Florida.

‘I don’t wanna talk about this right now Kimbo.’

‘Why not?’

‘We just got here. Let’s enjoy a few days without worrying about money.’

When Anna woke up Rob was sitting up looking out of the porthole with a regretful expression on his face.

‘What’s up?’

‘We’ve only got eight days of our holiday left. And there’s no way we can sail back in time so we’ll have to get a flight out of here,’ he said.

‘I guess so,’ she said.

‘Are you feeling like I’m feeling?’

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Sad at how little time we’ve got left.’

He sighed. She leaned forward and put her arms around his middle.

‘We’ll make the most of it.’

Over coffee in the cockpit Rob mentioned their need to buy air tickets to get them to Miami in time to pick up their flight connection to London.

‘The airport’s a mile from Coxen Hole. That’s the capital and you need to go there to buy your air tickets,’ Kim said.

‘I can’t go today. I’m going with Owen to sell the booze,’ Rob said.

‘Cesar will be here any minute,’ Owen said.

‘I could check the flights out of Roatán and book our tickets,’ Anna said.

‘I’ll go with you. We can take the bus to Coxen Hole,’ Kim said.

Cesar arrived and the three men loaded the ten cases of booze into his battered saloon and they set off for West Bay on the other side of the island.

Kim and Anna were sitting at the back of the bus as it trundled along a paved road. It was seven miles to Coxen Hole from French Harbour and it was hot and sticky in the crowded bus. They had passed the busy harbour and were now driving through the centre of French Harbour. Anna saw a basketball court, a supermarket, a library and four churches. The churches were modest white clapboard buildings with spires rising from squat towers and a picket fence around each of them. It reminded her of the churches you saw in Westerns. Four churches and this was a small town. They all looked cared for and recently painted. Religion must still be a potent force in this community she thought. It often was in poor communities. She saw a scooter chug by the bus with a family of four somehow hanging onto it. They passed a shanty town which sprawled from the road into the interior. She saw makeshift dwellings with corrugated roofs and washing strung on lines between them. Two little girls were squatted on the earth playing some kind of game with stones. They were throwing and catching the stones on the top of their hands. Anna pointed them out to Kim.

‘See those two little girls? No shoes but their hair plaited so neatly. It makes you feel sad, doesn’t it?’

‘Yep it’s a sad old world. Why bring a child into that?’ Kim said.

Now they were moving through a rural district. Wild orchids grew on the banks of earth like daisies.

The bus pulled into Coxen Hole and stopped at the post office on Main Street, which was a busy, dusty street with weather-beaten shop fronts. Kim showed Anna where she could get the air tickets and they arranged to meet back at the post office in an hour.

Kim made her way to a small hotel on the edge of town where she knew the proprietor. She paid him to use his phone to call Florida. This time she got through to her mom.

‘Oh thank heavens you called sweetie. I’ve been so worried as I haven’t heard from you for a while.’

‘Didn’t Jared tell you I called a few days ago?’

‘He didn’t mention it, hun.’

‘I don’t believe it!’

‘He’s a bit unglued at the moment.’

‘I know but… but he shoulda told you Mom. He knows you worry.’

‘He’s drinking too much and he’s messing up at work and your dad and I are worried about him.’

Kim bit back her irritation. Jared had always got the lion’s share of their parents’ attention.

‘He’s just adjusting to the break-up mom and whatever you say I think it’s good he’s seen the back of Shelley.’

‘But she’s not letting him see much of Taylor and you know how he dotes on that child.’

Kim wished she could like her niece Taylor more than she did, but she found the child long on demands and short on thank-yous.

‘It’ll work out, you’ll see.’

‘I sure hope so. How are things with you sweetheart?’

‘All good. We’re back on Roatán again and we brought some nice English folks here. How’s Dad?’

‘He’s missing you so much. You will be back for Thanksgiving won’t you?’

‘I hope we will be. We’re gonna have to sell the boat soon.’

‘And how is Owen?’

Her mom always sounded stiff when she asked after Owen.

‘He’s good. Did you see Cally recently?’

‘A couple of weeks ago, in town, and she said she’d heard nothing for a while.’

‘It’s not so easy to get in touch from out here.’

‘I know, I know. We can’t wait to see you, darlin’.’

As Kim headed back into town she was seething. Sure her brother Jared had his problems and his horrible ex-wife Shelley wasn’t letting him see his little girl, but he should have told her mom she’d called. She was sure this was partly Jared’s mean way of getting back at Owen. Her brother had made a bad choice in his wife Shelley who was a lazy, needy do-nothing kinda woman. It mattered a lot who you chose as your life partner. Choose a lazy-ass like Shelley and there was bound to be trouble.