‘Jo,’ Rex said sternly, giving her a warning look.
‘Well, I – er, if I can find my friends, I’ll ask them if they want to come,’ I said, ignoring Jo-Jo’s question and answering Rex’s. I was visibly shaking now and Rex, having clearly noticed this, edged closer to me and put a reassuring arm around my waist – which while welcome, only seemed to make matters worse, and I shook more than ever.
‘So tell me, Izzy,’ began Jo-Jo, ‘what is it that you do again?’ She had reclined on to her side now, a position that I felt sure she knew accentuated her delicately slim curves, and was resting on her elbow.
‘I’m at uni, studying to be a vet,’ I said, quickly, trying to remember if I’d ever told her this in the first place and wondering why she was asking.
‘A vet?’ she said, pulling a face. ‘You mean animals and stuff, right?’
‘Yeah, animals and stuff,’ I said, my voice trailing off towards the end.
‘Sounds hideous,’ Jo-Jo said, lighting a cigarette, ‘having to stick your hand up cows’ bums and all that messy business. Hardly a glamorous vocation, is it?’ She began to laugh.
‘Shut up, Jo,’ Steve said, waving the smoke away from his face in annoyance. ‘Has it ever crossed your champagne-addled mind that some people think there’s more to life than fashion?’
Jo-Jo glared at him and turned back to face me.
‘So how old will you be when you graduate?’ she asked, looking at Rex, then Steve and finally, at me again.
I was rooted to the spot. I knew I would have to answer such a direct question – I was cornered. Call me, Willow. Please, dear God, phone me now and save me! But despite my best telepathic efforts, my phone didn’t ring.
‘I’ll be twenty-five,’ I said finally.
‘Uh-huh,’ Jo-Jo said, boring holes into me with her eyes. ‘Couldn’t do all that university stuff myself, being skint for years. Much better to be out there earning money. Me – well, as a part-time model and fashion designer, I don’t get out of bed for less than —’
‘Twenty quid,’ Steve interjected, sarcastically. Rex started to laugh.
‘Get stuffed, Steve,’ Jo-Jo shot back, venomously.
‘Guys, guys . . . please,’ Rex intervened. ‘If you can’t say anything nice to each other then don’t say anything at all.’
I shifted uncomfortably on the blanket. I was worried Jo-Jo was fishing for information because she didn’t believe me. I suppose I couldn’t really blame her. I had thought it was pretty amazing myself that no one had rumbled me already, because even though I knew I did look a bit older than sixteen, especially with the assistance of make-up and Ellie and Co.’s wardrobe additions, I felt sure I didn’t look twenty-two either.
I had to think of something, an excuse to get away. Ellie would be starting to stress now and it would only be a matter of time before the search party would commence.
‘Can I get anyone a drink?’ I said, starting to get up, but Rex held me back slightly.
‘It’s OK, Iz,’ he said softly, ‘I’ll go. You stay here. Steve will look after you.’ He nodded at Steve, who nodded back in assurance. ‘Beers all round, is it?’
I would have to leave while he was gone. I was out of my depth and I was convinced Jo-Jo knew it. Besides, the last thing I needed was for Ellie to catch me drinking beer.
Rex kissed me lightly on the cheek as he got up to make his way to the bar, and I wanted to leap into his arms. I would be safe there, away from Jo-Jo’s persistent questions. I knew there was no going back now. It was bad enough that I had lied so blatantly about my age to him, but to do it in front of all his friends was the point of no return. He would be a laughing stock if they ever found out.
As soon as Rex disappeared into the crowd I made my excuses.
‘Just nipping to the Ladies,’ I said, mainly to Steve. ‘Be back in a bit.’
‘OK, darlin’,’ Steve said, and I felt a bit weird that he’d called me darlin’, as if he knew me really well.
I could feel Jo-Jo’s eyes on my back as I turned away, making it difficult for me walk normally, and I had to seriously concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.
I could only have got a few steps when I saw Ellie striding towards me.
‘There you are!’ she said loudly. ‘We’ve all been looking for you – again. Where have you been?’
I tried to edge her forward so that the others wouldn’t be able to get a proper look, or worse, hear her.
‘Just chatting to some people. What’s the big deal, Ellie?’ I said, crossly, my emotions beginning to spill over.
I glanced back over my shoulder; Jo-Jo was watching me. She had a wry smile on her face as she blew cigarette smoke from her mouth in an over-accentuated manner and mouthed to me, ‘Everything OK?’ I quickly smiled back and nodded.
‘Who’s that?’ Ellie snapped, spotting Jo-Jo.
‘Oh, er, just this girl I met. She’s dead nice,’ I said, clocking up another lie for the list.
‘Aren’t you going to introduce me then?’ Ellie said, her tone relaxing slightly.
For a second I wished I had drowned when I had dive-bombed into the sea earlier, then I wouldn’t be here, in this unbearable mess.
But it was too late. Before I could answer Ellie, I saw Rex making his way back towards us. He was carrying beers in both hands and trying to wave. There was no alternative. I had to make a run for it.
‘Need the loo,’ I said quickly, beginning to half-run in the other direction, leaving Ellie standing there, mouth open in confusion.
‘Izzy!’ I heard him calling my name. ‘Iz, your bee—’
But I was already halfway down the stairs.
aught up in the excitement of the past few days, I’d almost completely forgotten about Edie. That was until she came looking for me. We were all having breakfast at the café by the swimming pool the following morning when I saw her purposefully striding our way. Frantic she would come running over and say something about the time I had cancelled on her, I had stuffed the remains of my croissant in my mouth and gulped the dregs of my orange juice and made my way towards her before she could reach us.
‘Hey, Edie,’ I said with a breezy smile and she kind of half smiled back, which worried me a little as I figured she was more upset with me than I thought.
‘Listen, I’m so sorry about the other day. I’ve been feeling pretty poorly – food poisoning or something. Anyway, I’m better now, so if you fancy it, I thought maybe we could hang out a bit today?’
She had a blank look on her face. I could tell she didn’t believe me.
‘Yeah, OK,’ she said, her expression changing from grim to a grin. ‘I’m going to the games room now.’ And by that I presumed she meant to add, ‘So you had better come with me.’
Ellie had questioned me a little about my rushed exit on the boat the previous evening, but I had talked my way out of it with quite some aplomb. I’d told Ellie I had come over all sick again and for fear of maybe throwing up there and then on the top deck in front of everyone – which even Ellie had to admit would’ve been simply hideous – I had run off to chuck up in the loos. Ellie had eventually found me and taken me to the captain’s quarters, where I was able to lie down (or rather, hide) for the duration of the trip. When we docked at the marina, I had rushed off the boat so fast that Ellie had struggled to keep up with me. As a result, she had sworn she would take me to a doctor first thing this morning, but I had assured her I now felt one hundred per cent better and ate two helpings of pancakes with maple syrup to prove it.
Explaining to Rex, on the other hand, was going to be another matter entirely. He had left me three messages from last night. The first sounded almost jovial: ‘Hey Iz, where are you? You just zipped off. Your beer’s getting warm. I’m still on the top deck waiting for you.’ The second sounded more urgent: ‘It’s been over half an hour. I’m worried, Iz. I can’t find you. Are you OK? Did I do something? Please call me.’ His third and final message had a different
, more sombre tone and it had made me feel sick when I heard it: ‘Iz, it’s me. I’ve searched the boat and I can’t find you anywhere. I guess you must still be here – if you want to be found, let me know. But you know, if you don’t, well, that’s fair enough.’ He had sounded upset, even a little angry. Who could blame him? I had disappeared without trace, leaving him standing there looking like a chump in front of his friends, wondering what the hell had happened.
‘We’re off to the games room for a bit,’ I said to Ellie.
‘OK, babes, we’ll be round here until late if you need us,’ Ellie said, gesturing towards the sun loungers by the pool that might as well have been emblazoned with their names, given the amount of time they had spent on them.
So Edie was on one side of the Daytona machine and I was on the other. We were racing against each other and she was thrashing me. Driver One Wins flashed over our screens and she gave a little ‘whoo-hoo’ as she punched the air in victory.
‘So,’ Edie said, as she began inserting coins into another of the games machines, ‘that time you cancelled when we were supposed to go to the beach, it didn’t have anything to do with a guy, did it?’
I was dumbfounded. How had she guessed? I mean, there I was, lying my face off to my sister who had known me all my life and who was that much older and supposedly wiser, and here was Edie, this goofy fourteen-year-old who I’d only met a couple of times in my life, who had sussed me out completely.
‘How did you know that?’ I asked, trying to keep my cool and not give too much away.
‘You’re a terrible liar,’ she said, although not maliciously. ‘So is that why you looked like you were going to choke on your croissant when you saw me coming over, because you thought I might say something to your sister? Doesn’t she know about him or something?’
I was beginning to wonder if Edie was psychic.
‘Listen, Edie,’ I said, moving my chair closer in to hers in a conspiratorial way, ‘I’ve met this amazing man and I can’t tell my sister about him because, well, it’s complicated, so you know, I kind of need a good alibi and I was hoping . . .’
I had nothing to lose by asking her outright if she’d cover for me. She’d pretty much guessed my game anyway and I figured it would be best to have her on side rather than lie to her, because all this lying business was becoming massively stressful and complex.
‘Well, the thing is, I would, no problems, but we’re going home tomorrow,’ Edie said, looking a little crestfallen.
‘Oh,’ I said, matching her expression. I was gutted, because all the time I could say I was with Edie I knew Ellie wouldn’t worry. Edie was here with her parents, so Ellie knew that wherever Edie was, they weren’t too far behind and therefore I was safe.
I felt a bit sad too, because now I knew she was going home, I wished I had managed to spend more time with Edie. I sensed I would like Edie more once I got to know her better and that she was probably a lot of fun, as well as intuitive. I vowed to try and squeeze in an afternoon at the beach with her by way of saying goodbye.
‘But you know, you could always still say you were with me . . . You’re desperate to see this lad, right?’ she said, seemingly enjoying the whole subterfuge of the conversation. ‘So, it’s simple: don’t tell your sister we’ve gone home. Just pretend I’m still here and everything’s normal and that you’re still hanging out with me!’
I stared back at the face opposite me and felt like grabbing it and planting a kiss on each plump, pink cheek.
‘Edie – Edie . . . ?’ and I realised I didn’t know her last name.
‘Price,’ she said helpfully.
‘Edie Price,’ I announced, ‘you are an absolute genius!’
‘Thanks!’ she said, smiling wickedly. ‘I reckon that’s worth holding on to that Dude Sound CD, don’t you?’ And I had to admit that it was.
t had taken all the courage I had to call Rex when I went back up to the apartment. I was terrified he would be upset, or worse, angry with me for running off. I had to try and explain, to make it up to him and apologise.
The conversation had started off uncomfortably. ‘Well, hello stranger,’ he said, in measured tones. ‘What happened to you last night?’
‘Oh Rex, I’m so sorry,’ I said, panic rising in my throat. ‘I was taken ill suddenly – must’ve been food poisoning or something. I had to rush off because I thought I was going to be si— well, you know, ill.’ I didn’t much relish the distinctly unattractive idea of Rex imagining me bent double over a toilet bowl, throwing my guts up, but I preferred it to the truth. ‘I’m so, so sorry to have just left you there like that – will you forgive me?’
There was a pause before he said quietly, ‘You should have called me. I was so worried. I spent the rest of the night searching for you. I thought I’d done something to upset you. Why didn’t you call?’
I braced myself. I had rehearsed this lie over in my mind before phoning him, but still I was scared I would stuff it up and trip over my words.
‘I couldn’t call. I was so sick that I had to go and lie down in the captain’s quarters until we docked. I could hardly speak for being ill and my friends were so worried they thought they might have to take me to a hospital.’ I winced as I said it, horrified at my own ability to tell such blatant lies.
There was another pause and I held my breath, waiting for his response.
‘Well, I’m just glad you’re OK. You are OK, aren’t you?’ he asked, concerned.
‘Yes, much better, thanks. I’m sorry,’ I said again. I felt terrible.
‘Stop saying you’re sorry,’ he said, softly. ‘It couldn’t be helped.’
‘I’m sorry. I’ll stop saying I’m sorry,’ I replied, and we both laughed a little shakily.
‘Forgive me if my last message sounded harsh,’ he said. ‘I had no idea you were ill. I just thought you’d gone and left me and, well, all sorts of horrible stuff went through my mind. I wracked my brain trying to remember if I’d said or done something that would make you run off like that, but I couldn’t think . . .’
He sounded so insecure, and I wished I was standing in front of him so I could hold him and reassure him.
‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry about,’ I said. ‘You weren’t to know.’
‘Maybe it was the lobster,’ he said.
‘The lobster?’
‘That made you ill. You’ve got to be careful with seafood, you know – botulism.’
‘Maybe I’m just lovesick,’ I said quietly, not sure whether I should push it because he might still be a little annoyed with me, even if he didn’t sound it now.
‘Nah, can’t have been that,’ he said.
‘Why not?’ I asked.
‘Because then I’d have got ill as well,’ he said.
I felt a wave of relief and happiness. When he said things like that, I felt sure that he loved me as well. And it felt so good I wanted to bathe in the warm glow of his words, let them surround me and caress me and fill me with hope and confidence.
‘If you’re feeling up to it, perhaps you’d like to come to the market with me later?’ he asked tentatively. ‘Or, I could always come to you and nurse you better . . .’
‘The market sounds perfect,’ I said, quickly. ‘I’d love to come.’
I put the phone down and smiled. It was going to be OK. I was forgiven.
The hippy market at Es Cana was buzzing with shoppers that afternoon. Enticing smells of freshly-cooked food wafted out from various stalls and the place was awash with colour. Rex took my hand as we strolled past the many people selling exotic batik clothing and handmade leather goods, and I breathed in the thick smell of joss sticks in the air.
‘Only ten euro!’ a trader shouted, holding up a pink leather handbag that had a long strap on it. ‘Look good, look good,’ he called to me as we walked past.
Rex waved his hand, ‘Non, gracias,’ he smiled at him kindly. ‘Hey, Iz, I want to show you something,’ he said, pulling me over towards this li
ttle stall that was full of beads and bright trinkets, A very old, skinny, dark-skinned man, sat by it, his face all leathery-looking and wrinkled from the sun. ‘Hola Juan Pablo, me allegro de volver a verle,’ said Rex, holding out his hands, and I gathered that this must be the hippy guy he had told me about. They embraced warmly, and the old man said something in Spanish to Rex and Rex laughed a little and pulled me closer to him, proudly.
‘Si, si . . . una chica muy guapa!’ Rex beamed, and I was desperate to know what this meant, but didn’t like to ask. Either way, it had sounded like Juan Pablo had paid me a compliment so I wasn’t too worried.
‘Choose something you like,’ Rex said, gesturing to the piles of silver jewellery displayed on the table.
‘No, I couldn’t!’ I replied, embarrassed.
‘Don’t be daft. Please, I want to buy you something, anything – just choose something you like.’
‘No, really.’
The old hippy guy looked at us, amused by our squabbling. But Rex was insistent, so he picked out this amazing little bracelet with tiny silver bells on it and it was just so beautiful and unusual that I fell in love with it instantly, just like I did for him.
The sun was beating down on us and we decided to take shelter in a small outdoor café that had huge red-and-white striped umbrellas, and Rex ordered us two strawberry lassis.
‘I love my present,’ I said, turning my wrist to the side slightly to inspect my new gift. ‘It’s really beautiful.’
‘The bells make a little jingly sound whenever you move. That means I’ll be able to tell when you’re sneaking up on me,’ he laughed.
‘Sneaking up on people is your job!’ I protested, thinking of all the times he’d popped up from behind me this holiday. ‘Thanks for bringing me here today,’ I said, being serious for a moment, ‘for being my own private tour guide.’
‘It’s been my pleasure.’ He smiled. ‘But there are so many other places I want to take you to. There’s so much I’d love you to see. The mountains, for one thing – they’re absolutely breathtaking. And then there’s Pepe’s Bar – this tiny little restaurant just north of Es Cana. It serves the most amazing food: fresh paella and mussels and shrimps . . .’
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