The Love Resort

by Faith Bleasdale

  ‘Sorry.’ He didn’t sound sorry. He looked at Todd, and then at Katie. Todd noticed Marcus looking Katie up and down, and his face said that he knew she was trying to seduce her husband. In her tiny designer dress—was it Valentino? Her killer heels—Blahniks? The G-string that was just hinting at its presence, La Perla? As Todd felt he was reading Marcus’s mind, he refused to meet his eyes. He couldn’t bear to meet his eyes.

  ‘We should sit down to eat,’ Todd suggested, grateful for the interruption but also uncomfortable at its instigator.

  As they sat, Todd felt Marcus push something into his hand. Still unable to meet his gaze, he put it in his pocket. He knew that over dinner he would be thinking of the note, desperately wanting to read it.

  ‘Marcus, you can go,’ Katie snapped.

  ‘Katie...’ Todd started, as soon as they were alone. He was unsure where he was going to go with the conversation, but he knew he had to have it. He also knew that he should have had it a long time ago. He had to take some of the blame.

  ‘Todd, I have never been as happy as I am now.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You know I love you. I have loved you from the moment I saw you. I wanted to marry you. This whole studio thing, that didn’t matter to me. I wanted you.’

  ‘But, Katie, you have to understand—’

  ‘No, Todd, I don’t. Because I know, I know that deep down you feel exactly the same way.’

  Momentarily dumbstruck, Todd knew he was in big trouble. He took a deep breath, ‘Katie, I’m gay.’ Could he be any more succinct?

  ‘Well, yes, you say that, but a lot of men are bisexual, and I don’t mind that. I’m quite happy for us to be together, knowing that you’ve slept with men. I mean, a lot of women are bisexual as well. I might even be. You never know, because I’ve never slept with a woman.’

  ‘So we have something in common then.’ He laughed; she didn’t.

  ‘We have so much in common, Todd.’ Katie edged closer. Todd was at a loss. It seemed that reason didn’t work with his new wife. But he had to do something.

  ‘Katie, I’m gay.’ He looked at her, begging her to understand.

  ‘Why?’ she pouted.

  ‘I just am.’ He felt he was banging his head against a brick wall.

  ‘But you might—’

  ‘No, Katie, no. We will never be more than friends. I like men.’ He was shouting and he felt awful. She seemed so hurt. He felt guilty and mean, but what could he do? Over the last few days he thought he understood her, but now she’d come back with this whole seduction routine. He met her eye apologetically, but she didn’t say anything. She just started crying.

  ‘Katie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.’ He felt terrible; his emotions were murdering him.

  ‘Todd, no one has rejected me for years. I don’t understand it. Why don’t you like me?’

  ‘It’s not that I don’t like you.’ He reached over and took her hand. Wondering if that was a smart move or not, he squeezed it briefly then dropped it. ‘I do like you. Although, if we’re being honest, I don’t always like the way you treat people. Like Mary.’ It was time to try to get her to understand; time for honesty.

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Yes, and the hairdresser and everyone that works for you.’

  ‘Mary was really sweet to me.’

  ‘And maybe you should be sweet to her, at all times, not just when you need something from her.’ David would have a field day when he told him how he actually felt sorry for his wife.

  ‘So, if I was nicer to people, which I can be, then you’d fall in love with me?’ Her eyes sparkled with hope; Todd put his head in his hands in despair. ‘I’ll go and call Mary right now. I’ll apologise and explain everything. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her forgiveness.’

  ‘That’s great, Katie, but it doesn’t change things.’ What could he do? She was determined to interpret things in her own way. He couldn’t win.

  ‘Not right now, Todd. I understand you’re angry with me for being so horrible, but once I’ve put things right, then you’ll feel differently.’ She trotted off on her heels.

  As soon as she’d gone, he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. There was no harm in reading it; he didn’t have to act on it. As he read the note, confusion swept over him.

  ‘I can’t wait to see you again,’ it said. ‘Please meet me tonight by the north entrance to the beach. There’s a shack there used for storing equipment. We can be alone. Be there at nine thirty. Please. Marcus.’

  Harriet’s words about being careful flooded his mind. But then Katie’s determination to seduce him knocked them away. The shack would be deserted. Marcus probably had keys so he could lock it. If anyone saw him he would say he was taking a walk. He’d check around that no one was there. He would be careful. Being careful didn’t mean he couldn’t go.

  Making a decision, Todd stood up. He had to be gone by the time Katie came off the phone. That way, there was nothing to stop him.

  *

  Todd stood nervously at the shack. He knocked on the door and was relieved when Marcus opened it and pulled him inside. He was sure no one had seen them; he’d been extra vigilant. He kissed Marcus, long and hard.

  ‘I was afraid you weren’t going to turn up,’ Marcus said.

  ‘So was I,’ Todd replied, kissing him again.

  *

  Tim paced the room he was now sharing with Jimmy.

  ‘Tim, what’s the story with you and Thea?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, I just found out today that you’re not even a couple, so I just wondered, really.’

  ‘Hmm. If I say that I never think about Thea and me does that make it clear?’

  ‘As mud.’

  ‘What I mean is, well, I don’t think about us because we just are. She’s always been there, like a twin really, and I love her but not in that way, and I think she feels the same.’

  ‘So there’s nothing sexual in it at all?’ Jimmy was having a job processing the revelations of the day that had just passed, and he wasn’t sure he ever would. It was more bizarre than anything he could have imagined.

  ‘God, no, it’d be like incest, and I believe that’s still illegal. You know I really didn’t want to come here. When she told me she’d won a competition, I said that if I had to act like her boyfriend for two weeks I’d mess things up.’

  ‘Well, you did.’

  ‘Anyway, Jimmy, let’s just put aside the whole awful incident for the moment.’

  ‘How can I?’

  ‘For the greater good, man, for the greater good.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Look, we cannot stay cooped up in this room together, only being allowed out for dinner. It isn’t on.’

  ‘I don’t see what choice we have.’ Jimmy didn’t care where he was. He just wanted to crawl into bed and wake up when the nightmare was over and he was back inspecting the underside of a car.

  ‘Look, Thea hates me; you hate Emily and Lee, as does Carla, blah blah. But we still have to be here for another week or something like that.’ He stopped and started counting on his fingers. ‘Anyway, the point is that we are on holiday, not in prison.’

  ‘That’s true.’

  ‘And, Jimmy, did we or did we not travel a very long way to get here?’

  ‘We did.’

  ‘Therefore, do we not want to have some fun before we go back, despite everything?’

  ‘Well, I suppose so.’ At this point in his life, fun had never been further away.

  ‘Right then, we call a truce. For now, we must all stick together. We can hate each other later.’

  ‘Well...’

  ‘Now, what’s the number of your room? We need to come up with a plan.’

  *

  Thea and Carla had painted each other’s nails and pampered themselves in a vain effort to cheer themselves up, both refusing to talk about what was really happening. Then they’d received the phone call.

 
; ‘I really don’t think it’s a good idea to listen to Tim,’ Thea said.

  ‘No, although Jimmy seemed quite keen, and he’s usually the sensible one.’

  ‘Who has just been dumped by his fiancée. No, he’s not in his right mind. We can’t listen to him either.’

  ‘But then what about us? We’re both really hurt by this. God, I even had a fight with Emily, and I haven’t had one of those since primary school.’

  ‘You mean maybe we’re not in our right minds and we should listen to Tim?’

  ‘Well, the thing is, he does have a point. I know we won these holidays on false pretences, and I know that we have caused problems for the resort—well, some of us have—but it’s still our holiday. And although this is probably the maddest, worst holiday we’ll ever have in our lives, maybe, just maybe, we should do something. I mean, well, either we sit in here and get bored, or we have some fun. We can’t get into more trouble than we’re already in. Can we?’

  ‘We probably can, but I’m not sure I care any more.’

  *

  ‘So, we’re all in,’ Tim said.

  ‘I’m not sure I can face Lee and Emily.’

  ‘I know, mate, but I couldn’t not ask them. Anyway, when we make our escapes we can go separate ways. I’m not sure Thea wants to be near me, to be honest.’

  ‘So what did Lee say?’ Despite his feelings, Jimmy couldn’t help but be curious.

  ‘He said they’d come only because Emily didn’t want to. I heard him tell her that he wasn’t going to be told what to do all the time.’

  ‘I should have done that.’

  ‘Um, you probably should.’

  ‘Tim, are you giving me relationship advice?’

  ‘Shit, I hope not. If I was, I didn’t mean it.’

  *

  Ed opened the office door and walked in carrying a bottle of brandy.

  ‘I think we deserve this, after the day we’ve had.’ He poured three glasses. Anne-Marie smiled. There was an uneasy truce between the three of them.

  ‘The shoot went really well, which is the most important thing.’

  ‘Lily, you’re right. And those little upstarts can be dealt with.’

  ‘What are we planning for during the day?’

  ‘I thought we’d send them on excursions for the rest of their stay. They come back, and then they change, go to dinner and then to bed. I can’t think of anything else for it,’ said Anne-Marie.

  ‘As long as I don’t have to go.’

  ‘Oh, Ed, I think you’ve done enough babysitting. No, we have sufficient staff here; we’ll sort it out.’

  ‘So, what shall we do about dinner?’ he asked.

  ‘Well, I’m dining with Abigail, so perhaps you could help Lily with our little problem children? God, I know they’re not children but it makes me glad we never had any, eh, Ed?’

  Ed smiled weakly, desperately trying not to think about what the offspring of him and Anne-Marie would be like. He was glad his wife was dining with Abigail, although he was a little worried about her. She was highly strung at the best of times, without the drama that had occurred. However, Abigail was the better comforter, and he would rather be with Lily.

  *

  Anne-Marie opened the door to Abigail and fell into her arms. Abigail stumbled backwards before tentatively putting her arms around her and trying for a comforting pat.

  ‘Oh, Abigail, it’s all so, so terrible,’ Anne-Marie said, pulling her publisher inside and giving her a drink before she recounted the goings-on to her.

  ‘Jesus,’ Abigail whistled as Anne-Marie brought her up to date.

  ‘Quite.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Well, apart from keeping a close, close eye on the horrible young people, I don’t know.’

  ‘What about the book?’ Abigail’s eyes bulged.

  Anne-Marie looked at her, shocked. ‘How can I write when these people are intent on destroying me?’ She took another drink and looked at her publisher again. How could she think of the book at a time like this?

  ‘Of course you can’t, darling, of course,’ Abigail comforted. Anne-Marie’s face was covered in relief, but then she began to cry.

  ‘Is everything else all right?’ Abigail asked awkwardly.

  ‘Abigail, I’m a writer, I live for my work, but this resort...well, I’m beginning to think I made a mistake.’

  ‘You know, it’s a lot of responsibility. I always wondered why you didn’t just buy a beautiful house here.’

  ‘Looking back, I wish I had.’

  ‘It’s not too late,’ Abigail started.

  ‘I think it might be. My book, the one that I was so excited about, has been tainted and I don’t know if it’s irrevocable.’

  ‘Oh, darling, I’m sure it isn’t. Now, how about we order some supper to soak up some of this champagne?’

  *

  ‘So, we get to babysit tonight,’ Ed said, as he stood in Lily’s bungalow, getting dressed.

  ‘At least we’ll be together. Ed, you know despite the fact I can’t stand her, I did feel a bit sorry for Anne-Marie over all this.’

  ‘That’s why I love you; you’re so compassionate.’

  ‘But they have caused destruction ever since they’ve been here, though that hasn’t been very long. Do you think she’s going to be all right?’

  ‘I thought it was quite funny at first, but now we have to keep them out of harm’s way, it’s not, is it? And I am worried about her too, she seems a bit unhinged. But I’m not sure that we’re to blame for not stopping Emily and Lee last night.’

  ‘That would still have left Tim. Anyway, what can we do?’

  ‘She only wants Abigail, my darling. We can’t do anything.’

  ‘No... Ed, why did you and Anne-Marie never have children?’

  ‘She didn’t want them. She wanted to be the centre of attention at all times. Anyway, I realised early on that she’d be a terrible mother.’

  ‘But you would be a great father.’

  ‘I know and I do want children.’

  ‘Well, so do I.’ Lily reached over and began unbuttoning his shirt again.

  He looked at her and grinned. ‘We’ll be late for the baby-sitting.’

  ‘They can wait. This can’t.’

  *

  The six of them stood behind a bush like fugitives. Tim was dramatising the situation and enjoying it.

  ‘Do we all have money?’ Tim asked.

  ‘Yes,’ they answered in unison.

  ‘Right, so what we do is we get to the front of the resort, and get the security guard to order us a taxi, and we go and find a local bar.’

  ‘Sounds really daring,’ Thea said sarcastically.

  ‘We’ll have broken free of our chains, Thea, remember that,’ Tim retorted. They looked out from the bush and saw that the resort was deserted. ‘Now, Lily said she’d pick us up at eight thirty, so that gives us half an hour to be clear. Jimmy?’ He spoke with the authority of a man commanding an army. Carla giggled despite herself.

  ‘All clear,’ he whispered.

  ‘Right, troops, go, go, go.’ Tim took off and ran across the grounds with five people hot on his heels.

  They managed to get the guard to hail them a taxi, and they all squashed in. There had been protests for separate cabs, but Tim, who was their commander, said there was too much risk involved in that. Instead, they were all to go into town together, then go their separate ways, to avoid arguments. The truce was on very shaky ground.

  They got out of the cab and readjusted themselves, standing awkwardly on the pavement by the main stretch of bars. Thea took Carla’s arm protectively. Emily did the same to Lee, and the pairs glared at each other.

  ‘Right, let’s go,’ Tim said. ‘Meet back here at midnight. Synchronise watches.’

  ‘Tim, you don’t even have a fucking watch,’ Thea retorted before she and Carla walked away. They went in one direction, Emily and Lee went in another.

  ‘Well
, it’s just you and me,’ Tim said cheerfully before leading Jimmy to the nearest bar.

  *

  ‘There’s no answer,’ Lily said, as she tried Tim and Jimmy’s room again. Ed looked at her, and then they rushed to the next room.

  ‘No one’s answering.’

  ‘And I can’t hear anything in there.’

  ‘You don’t think...?’

  ‘We are a bit late.’

  ‘Right, you take the Coral Restaurant and I’ll go to the Lovers’ Bistro. Meet at the main bar.’ They both rushed off.

  Twenty minutes later they stood at the entrance of the bar.

  ‘Nothing.’ Ed said.

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘We’ll have to get keys and check the rooms. They could just be playing silly beggars with us.’

  ‘Let’s hope so.’

  They went to the main desk and got a set of keys. Ed and Lily opened each room and found them empty.

  ‘Oh shit!’ Lily exclaimed. They looked at each other. ‘We are in so much trouble now.’

  They rushed to the main gate, and approached the security guard.

  ‘Did six young Brits leave here by any chance?’ Ed asked.

  ‘They asked me to get a taxi and they all got in. I didn’t know that wasn’t allowed.’

  ‘Of course you didn’t,’ Ed soothed. ‘Listen, please let me know the minute that they come back, and then don’t let them out of your sight.’

  ‘What now?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Let’s have a stiff drink, and then we’re going to have to tell her.’

  ‘You realise she’ll kill us?’

  ‘Of course, darling, but at least we’ll die together.’

  *

  ‘I almost feel sorry for him,’ Thea mused, over a cocktail with Carla. The bar was dark and half empty; music played quietly in the background. It wasn’t the best bar they could have chosen, although their choice was limited.

  ‘Tim?’

  ‘Yes, he says that I suffocate him. Do you think I do?’

  ‘Thea, I don’t know, but do you think so?’

  ‘We’ve been together for so long—obviously not that kind of “together”. I think of him as part of me, but the thing is, neither of us has had a relationship for ages, and I’m not sure why.’