Clouds Below the Mountains

by Vivienne Dockerty

  The three women made sympathetic noises and kept their attention on their meals they were eating. None of them felt up to continuing a conversation while the man was feeling his loss.

  “Anyway, enough of me being morbid in such pleasant company, I should be thinking of the present not the past. What do you recommend I have to eat, that curry looks good, Doreen? Is it spicy or on the bland side, only I have to be careful of what I eat as I have a problem with my oesophagus?

  ***

  “Oh, here’s Daddy,” cried Emily, jumping up from her chair and rushing between the tables to meet Steve. “Where’s Mummy? Isn’t she with you and did you bring the baby with you?”

  “Give me a minute to get my breath back, Emily, sweetheart, then I’ll tell you about Mummy. I just want to go and thank Lucy for looking after you.”

  Steve walked up to Lucy and Jenni’s table, with Emily trailing after him, anxious that her daddy didn’t go out of sight.

  “Lucy, thank you for looking after Emily while I was away, I’ll take over now. Fiona should be out of hospital tomorrow, thank goodness and I’ll take Emily with me to pick her up in the taxi.”

  “I’m glad to hear that your wife will be out tomorrow, Mr. Golland. It is so near to you going home on Tuesday, that I was beginning to wonder if we would have a problem over your flight. Emily has been a joy to look after, she’s not been any trouble at all. Are you coming to join us while you have dinner? Emily has had her main course and she’s got her eye on some profiteroles.”

  “If you don’t mind Lucy, I’ve spotted some friends over there that we’ll sit with. Emily gets on well with Annabelle and they’ll probably be wondering where Fiona is. Once again,” said Steve, looking fondly at his daughter, “ thank you for taking care of my Emily.”

  Father and daughter walked over to Paul and Cheryl’s table, where Cheryl was spoon feeding Jack from a congealed plate of spaghetti, as he looked as if he was going to fall asleep.

  “Mind if we join you?” asked Steve.

  “Of course you can,” said Paul. “ We wondered why Emily was sitting at the rep’s table, but felt it wasn’t our place to inquire. Where’s Fiona, isn’t she up to joining us?”

  “Oh, so you didn’t know she’d gone into hospital?” Steve said, sitting down beside him, while Annabelle beckoned to Emily that she should sit beside her.

  “No,” said Cheryl looking alarmed, “ has Fiona started with the baby?”

  “No,” said Steve hastily. “ Forgive me for mentioning it while you’re eating your meal, but there seems to be a problem with her bowel. Seems its shut down or something and all the doctor can do is starve her and give her plenty of water. He would have opened her up to look at the problem, but as that could have endangered the baby, they are just giving her a mild purgative and hope that does the trick.”

  “Poor Fiona,” said Cheryl sympathetically. “ I suppose they can’t give her an enema in case it starts the baby off.”

  “That wasn’t mentioned. Anyway she’s fairly comfortable although she’s had to have a saline drip. But enough about us and our problems, what have you folks been up to today?”

  “Did you hear that lady over there screaming before, Emily?” asked Annabelle, as her parents were telling Steve of all the animals and birds they had seen at Loro Parque. Emily nodded, but said she didn’t know why.

  “It was because she found a caterpillar in her lettuce,” Annabelle said giggling, “ and did you know that caterpillars turn into butterflies eventually?”

  Emily said she didn’t know. “ Well, if she had eaten it, she would have had butterflies in her tummy!”Annabelle said beginning to shake with laughter.

  ***

  “So is there to be a standoff, you two?” asked Greg as he looked over to Paul and Cheryl’s table, then frowned at Kate and Sonya. “If you do that, it’s going to make life very difficult for the rest of the holidays.”

  “There’s no reason why we can’t just get on with our evening, go to the Mini disco with Evan, watch the comedian, then have an early night,” said Kate. “ They’ve got Steve with them anyway, so no doubt they’ll be thinking about Fiona now.”

  “Well, I for one will seek him out later and ask how his wife is and I will also have a drink at the bar with Paul, if he asks me to,” replied Greg firmly. “ Anyway Sonya, I suppose you’ll want to stay up late for the adult disco.”

  “Not particularly,” she answered, conscious that she had told Juan that they would be together tonight, but he hadn’t even looked in her direction that evening and they had been served their drinks by Miguel. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to give Juan any encouragement. If he was going to ignore her, he could go to Hell!

  “Let’s play it by ear and see how we feel as the evening wears on,” Kate said evenly. “ It’s our turn to baby sit Evan anyway, Sonya, so if you decide to go to the disco we’ll leave it up to you.”

  ***

  “I’m not going in that entertainment room, Gary,” said Tracy, as she emerged from the Ladies later, where she had repaired her damaged makeup. “I’ll be a laughing stock after making a show of myself over that caterpillar, so I want you to take me to one of the bars nearby, or I’ll go and read my magazine in our room.”

  “Darling, are you sure?” asked Gary, his face creased with anxiety at the evening’s events. “ I thought you would enjoy listening to a comedian. It will cheer you up, my princess.”

  “No, it won’t cheer me up, Gary, because I’m not feeling like being cheered up. Anyway, I think I overdid it with the sun today, I feel all red and itchy. You go and watch him if you don’t want to be with me. I’m not bothered, right?”

  “Oh, Darling, I want to be with you every minute of every night and day. Why don’t I buy us a couple of glasses of champers and we’ll go and make love in our bedroom. Or better still give me some money to purchase a bottle and then you’ll be as right as rain?”

  “You know, Gary, you’re going to wear me out with all these demands on my body and we’ve only been married since Thursday. Still, I suppose you’re entitled seeing as you are my husband now, but once I get to forty, all this pestering will have to stop!”

  ***

  “Are you not looking after the little girl this evening, Tina?”, asked Anna, as the two children’s rep’s came out of the restaurant where they had been sitting together.

  “Doesn’t look like it. As you can see Emily’s father has come back, so it looks as if I have a free evening,” Tina replied, shrugging her shoulders.

  “I thought that maybe he would go back to sit with his wife in the hospital,” said Anna. “ So now we have a choice of joining the kids at the Mini disco or going for a drink at one of the sea front bars.”

  “It will have to be joining the kids as I’m nearly broke again. I’ve got to spin my money out until next pay day.”

  “You’ve only just got paid, Tina,” said Anna, looking at the girl in amazement. “ Though come to think of it, you never have any money, what do you spend it on?”

  “I send quite a bit of it home, actually,” said Tina, feeling stung by Anna’s accusation. “ I like to give some money to my mother to get a few luxuries for her and my little brothers. I have no father as you know and things aren’t easy. That’s why I applied for this job, when I saw it advertised in the U.K . Because I get all my meals free and the rent’s not expensive, I’m not a drain on my mother’s purse.”

  “I too have to be careful, Tina, but I can always find some money to have a good time. Though I have been thinking recently that I might go back to Germany to work, as the pay is better there and I can live rent free at home again. There’s always work to be found in the kindergartens and now that I know that Miguel prefers the English girl, there doesn’t seem much point to staying here.”

  “Oh, Anna, it’s just a fling. He’ll have forgotten her by the time her ‘plane has landed in Manchester.

  Stick around, at least you’re here working in the sunshine. I bet it
’s freezing in Germany now, just like it is at home.”

  ***

  “I couldn’t help but notice that your dear wife was taken into hospital this morning,” said Mavis, as she spotted Steve sitting at a table with Paul and Cheryl, watching his little girl dancing with Annabelle, and Jack trying to copy them, “ I hope you don’t mind me asking how she is?”

  “Oh, she’ll be as right as rain tomorrow,” Steve replied, surprised that this white haired old woman should concern herself with the health of his wife.

  “Pregnancy can be fraught with danger to the unborn child,” said Mavis. “ I should know I’ve had three and a couple of miscarriages as well. Did they say what was wrong with her or will you find out tomorrow? It can’t be nice for your wife taking ill in a foreign land.”

  “She just needs to rest,” said Steve, not wanting to go into the bowel situation. “ Then when we get home next week, she’ll go and see her own doctor.”

  “Yes, she should do that. There’s nothing like the comfort of knowing you’ll be cared for by the N.H.S. Of course in my day you had to pay for your treatment. My parents had to put a few coppers away each week, in case one of us needed a doctor. There were seven of us and our mother and father and it was hard on a miner’s wages to put the money away.”

  “Can I get you a drink?”, asked Paul, seeing Steve’s eyes glaze over at Mavis’s reminiscences. She was going back nearly seventy years at least, until before the War.

  “No, no, you’re all right, I’ve got a glass of sherry on the go over there. I just wanted to put my mind at rest that his wife isn’t ailing. Such a nice young couple and a lovely daughter too.”

  She limped off back to where Fred was sipping on his second pint of Guinness, feeling a glow of well being because she’d put herself out.

  “Nosey old bat,” said Cheryl at Mavis’s retreating figure. “ Some people are only happy when they hear of other people’s misery.”

  “Oh, it’s all right,” said Steve smiling ruefully. “ Old ladies are like that. My grandma always wants to know what’s going on around her. Forgive me if I too sound nosey, but why has Greg and his family not joined us this evening? Poor Evan looks lost, watching what is going on from over there.”

  “Feisty women,” cut in Paul quickly. “ Do you fancy a drink at the bar Steve, I feel like having a cigar?”

  ***

  “Jenni, I’m off to get changed out of this uniform, I didn’t have chance with all the paperwork I’ve had to do this afternoon. Do you want to go ahead to the Sunlight Bar, or keep me company at my apartment?

  “I think I’ll get another coffee and sit here for a while, Lucy,” said Jenni. “ I’m hoping to have a quick word with Miguel, so I’ll see you in the bar later.”

  Lucy had only just gone out of the restaurant door, when Mikey slid into the chair that she had just vacated. It was as if he had appeared from nowhere.

  “Good evening, young lady,” he said, with a smirk on his face. “ I just came in to get a coffee while my minions are playing with the Minis and who should I see, but my favourite countrywoman sitting all alone. So I said to myself, I must go over and give her the benefit of my company. So Jenni, have you had a nice day?”

  “It was fine thanks. I just read my book and tried to get a bit more of a suntan,” she said politely, hoping that he would drink his coffee quickly and go.

  “I noticed you. Very fetching I thought, when I saw you in your skimpy bikini. Especially as peach really suits you. So, where do you live in England, Jenni? From your accent, I’d say from around Blackburn or Burnley. You don’t mind if I light up, by the way?”

  “ No, you go ahead, there’s an ashtray on the next table. I actually come from Bolton which isn’t too far away from Blackburn and I’d say you were from Liverpool listening to your accent.”

  “Well, your guess was easy seeing as I’m a Scouser,” Mikey said smiling engagingly. “ But my family has moved to Widnes, where we’ve got a very good rugby club.”

  “And Bolton has an excellent football club,” said Jenny, relaxing a bit more in the young man’s company as he was so easy to talk with. “ At the moment they’re at a place called Burnden Park, but they’ll be moving into a new stadium soon, at a place called Horwich.”

  “So, what do you do for a living in your piece of paradise?” he asked, trying to keep their conversation going, as up to now this pretty little thing hadn’t rejected his advances.

  “Oh, I’m still at school studying for my A levels. I’m not really sure what I want to do after I’ve passed my exams.”

  “Well, you do surprise me. I thought a sophisticated young lady like you, would work in a bank or a travel agency, or maybe on reception in a posh hotel.”

  “Give over,” Jenni giggled, blushing at the compliments Mikey was giving her. “I still wear a school blazer and when I have to, a straw boater for a hat.”

  “Well, you could knock me down with a feather, “ he quipped, then quickly looking at his watch said he must be gone. “Time and tide waits for no man,” Mikey said, getting to his feet, then after giving Jenni a friendly squeeze on her shoulder, was pleased that she didn’t shrug him off as he expected her to. Maybe he would give her his mobile number next time he had chance to speak with her. He would be going back to the U.K himself at Easter and there wasn’t so many miles between Widnes and her home town.

  “I hope that Mikey was not bothering you,” said Miguel, as he came over purposefully to collect the used coffee cups.

  “No, he was just being friendly,” Jenni answered casually, seeing the jealous look in the waiter’s eyes.

  “What time do you finish your shift?”, she asked quickly, in order to divert him.

  “I will be able to spend a little time with you later,” he said, his good humour restored as he looked at her tenderly. “I think I may have a plan that I can speak of.”

  Jenni picked up her cardi’ and prepared to leave the table. “A plan?” she asked, looking puzzled. “Oh, you mean a plan for us to keep in touch when I go back to England? You can tell me all about it, when I see you later in the Sunlight Bar.”

  She walked away from him feeling a sudden burst of happiness, Miguel was certainly insistent that this wasn’t a holiday fling.

  ***

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, Bingo in ten minutes. Last few tickets still on sale, come and get them before they disappear,” said Mikey into his microphone. “ Then later we’ll have the pleasure of listening to Ronnie Mc Fee, a comedian brought all the way over from England to entertain yer, at great expense to the management. A very funny fella, I hope you’ll all agree.”

  He moved out of range of his microphone and spoke quickly to Damion. “ Get amongst the punters will yer and get rid of these tickets, otherwise we’ll be down on our profits like we were last week.”

  ***

  “Evening gents,” said Greg, walking up to where Paul and Steve were sitting on bar stools enjoying their drinks. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Feel free,” replied Paul, pulling out a bar stool next to him and offering it to Greg.

  “I wondered how your wife was Steve. Kate heard that she had gone into hospital from the old lady over there. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

  “Nothing that can’t be put right when she gets home, Greg. She’s been off colour for the last few days, that’s why you haven’t seen much of us. Thank goodness there was the kid’s club for Emily.”

  “And Paul, I hear things didn’t go so well today,” Greg continued. “ Women eh, what can you do with them?”

  “I’m keeping out of it,” Paul said, then turned to Steve to explain. “A bit of a fallout between Sonya and Cheryl.”

  “Know what you mean”, said Steve grimacing. “ Sometimes it’s best to just let them get on with it.”

  ***

  “You’ll sit with me and your mother, Joanne,” said Ray Keegan sternly to his daughter, as she tried to slope off after dinner to play pool with the boys she had met th
at morning.

  “But I promised Andy and Kevin that I’d meet them and they’ll be waiting for me in the Games Room,” Joanne wailed, seeing a boring evening ahead of her, trapped alongside her parents.

  “I don’t care what arrangements you’ve made, you’ll come and watch this comedian chappie and like it, or I’ll take you straight up to the room.”

  “Oh, Dad, I’m not a child anymore. You can’t keep me by your side all of the holiday,” she pouted, folding her arms to hide the low plunge neckline of the top she had borrowed from her Mum.

  “I can and I will,” Ray retorted, his voice getting louder as he looked upon his daughter with anger. “You’re still a child, even if your mother lets you dress like you’re eighteen and that’s another thing, Tricia, what the hell is she doing wearing your blouse?”

  His wife glared at both of them. She was fed up with all the bickering and had been looking forward to a bit of peace. “Ray, cut her a bit of slack, will you?,” she said. “We came here to get away from all the upset we had at home and to try and repair the cracks in our little family. She’s got my blouse on, because she only packed one long sleeved shirt, the T’ shirt she had on today, a pair of shorts, a pair of jeans and the rest she wore to come in. I’m not going to spend my holiday hand washing her stuff every night, so she’ll have to borrow or you buy her some more.”

  “She can wrap you round her little finger, Tricia,” Ray said resignedly. “ Right, you’ve ‘til nine o’clock lady and then I want you in the Sunlight Bar. No going out of the hotel grounds or sneaking off to any of the boy’s bedrooms and from time to time I’ll be coming to check up on you.”

  “You know, I’m sure if I rang Childline they’d say this was a form of abuse. I’m on my holidays and I should be enjoying myself,” Joanne said cheekily, ready to start running in case her father gave her a slap.

  “I’d quit while you’re ahead, young lady,” said her mother warningly, as she saw her husband go puce in the face.