Clouds Below the Mountains

by Vivienne Dockerty

  “Cindy,” he said, putting his arms around her quickly. “ I thought you understood I can’t abandon them just like that. If I don’t have any input into my kid’s lives, what kind of person would I be then?”

  “I suppose, but it gets so annoying when you put them first.”

  “Well, I’ll try and put you first in the future, you know that you’re the one I love.”

  ***

  “You don’t mind if I sit with you, do you?” asked Jim, as he saw Nobby and Betty sitting with Meggie at a table in the Sunlight Bar. “ Only I said to our Terry, I’d rather sit with the old un’s, than sit all night listening to what ever young men talk about nowadays.”

  “Less of the old un’s,” said Meggie teasingly. “ You could give us a few years, couldn’t he, Betty?”

  “On tonight, are yer?” said Jim unnecessarily to Meggie, as the woman was all dressed up in a sparkly black trouser and blouse outfit, with a long silver jacket. She had put silver combs in her hair and wore big silver earrings that made her look like a fortune teller at a fair.

  “Aye, I am,” she said, “ it’s my romantic songs evening. I’ve decided to ditch the comedy act and put on a more refined kind of show.”

  “My son was telling me you’re from Blackburn. I’m wondering if I’ve ever been to any of the clubs you work in, but I have to admit I haven’t been up to going to any recently?”

  “Well, I used to sing at the The Weavers Working Men’s about once a month and Hart’s Common occasionally and sometimes I’ve sung at the Wellington. You know that pub’ on Regent Road? So, what part of Blackburn do you come from?”

  “I used to live near King William Street, but we got rehoused up Whalley way, back of Langdale Road.”

  “What a coincidence, we’re nearly neighbours! You must give me your address and I’ll pop in fer a cup of tea.”

  ***

  “Last go at Bingo?” asked Mikey, as Sonya came to buy some tickets for the family.

  “Sure is, you never know we might just get the winning line.”

  “Fond farewell tonight, Sonya, then are you and me going to get it together when I get back to Widnes?”

  “I’ll see you later, Mikey, we’ll have a natter then.”

  ***

  “Do we have to go to bed early?” whined Annabelle, as Cheryl began to pick up her handbag and cardigan and told Paul to get Jack, who was running around with Evan.

  “I told you at dinner, Annabelle,” her mother said crossly. “ I’ve still got all our packing to do and your father has to get our passports from Reception.

  “It’s not fair, Jade and Olivia aren’t going to bed and I’m older than they are.”

  “Please yourself then. If you don’t come with us now, you’ll have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight, because we won’t let you in.”

  Annabelle followed after her mother meekly, she knew when she was beat.

  ***

  “How’s the nerves, Meggie?” asked Mikey, as the pair of them stood behind the stage curtain. “Okay.,” the woman said purposefully. “ You’ve got my list, are you sure you’ve got all the backing tracks ready?”

  “Damion’s on to it now. Right, I’ll announce you then?”

  Meggie nodded, the songs she had chosen would serve her well.

  ***

  “She was a lot better than last time,” said Kate, as Meggie finished her act and those who were leaving in the morning got up to leave the Sunlight Bar. “ Don’t be late, Sonya, we’ve an early start in the morning.”

  “I won’t, Mum,” Sonya replied, still humming “How am I supposed to live without you?” that Meggie had sung with great aplomb.

  “I thought she sang my favourite, “Crazy” beautifully,” Kate continued. “ I remember you used to sing that to me, Greg, when we were courting.”

  “ Did I?” he replied, picking a very tired Evan up in his arms and saying goodbye politely to the foursome on the next table, where Anthea was yawning delicately behind her hand. “We’ll go via Reception and pick our passports up. I hope they give me Sonya’s as well.”

  ***

  “I suppose we’d better make a move,” said Nobby, getting up to pull Betty up from the chair and put her into the wheelchair. “ Might not see you in the morning, Jim, as we’ll be having an early start. Enjoy the rest of your holiday, do you want to go back to your son?”

  “Pleased to have met you both,” said Jim, standing up politely, “ and thanks for your company. No, I’ve arranged to have a night cap with Meggie. Ah, here she is, she’s a right bonny un’.”

  “Someone’s clicked,” said Betty, as they waited in the foyer for the lift, “ and it seemed to knock years of him just being in her company.”

  ***

  Kate came out of the bathroom later, Evan had been asleep for twenty minutes and Greg was sitting reading in bed. Her nerves felt shot at, even though she’d tried to calm them with a good quantity of gin and tonic that evening. Somehow life seemed against her and she was looking for a row.

  She looked at Greg, a picture of complacency, sitting there smugly, not caring that when they got back to England tomorrow, it was divorce on the horizon time. What effort had he made towards her on this holiday to ensure that she’d enjoyed it? No hugs, no loving, no holding of hands. He hadn’t even paid for an excursion, they’d just sat around for two whole weeks. She wanted to swipe that contented look off his face and let him feel a little hurt for a change.

  She climbed into bed and hissed at him. “Do you know, I don’t know why I bother buying sexy nighties. I may as well come to bed with a high necked winceyette on, for all the notice you take of me?”

  “Don’t start, Kate, you know when we’ve got Evan sleeping in here with us we can’t make love.”

  “Make love, is that what you call it? The last time you had a leg over was when we were in Cyprus!”

  “Oh, not that old chestnut. When we get back home we’ll sit and sort things out together, see how we’re going to go forward in our marriage and don’t forget you promised to invite our Andrew.”

  “Leave him out of it,” she replied, feeling a little shaken as she had put her son out of her mind again. “ What do you mean, how we’re going to go forward in our marriage? If you gave me a bit more attention, there’d be no need to sort anything out.”

  “Kate, I’m tired. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Why don’t you take one of your pills and get some rest?”

  “I can’t take one of my pills, I’ve had too much alcohol. Anyway I’m not going to settle until we’re on that plane. And put that book down when I’m talking to you, you’ve had one eye on it since I started this conversation.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” he said, throwing the book onto the floor, causing their grandson to jolt in his sleep with the whack it made. “ I’m not going to get any sleep myself now, you’ve wound me up like a spring. I’ll go and get our Sonya, she can sleep on a washing line. I’ll get my eight hours now if I go and sleep in her bed.”

  “Well, do that then, I don’t care, but think on, we’ll have all this out when we get home.”

  “Whatever,” Greg replied, getting out of bed and putting his on dressing gown. He had heard his daughter flushing the toilet next door, so he knew she wouldn’t be asleep. If he had to stay another minute there with Kate, he knew he would probably throttle her.

  “ Sonya, are you awake?” he said, tapping softly on the bedroom door, while Kate stood with a furious face in their doorway, keeping the door open with her foot so it wouldn’t shut.

  “Sonya!” Greg said louder, rapping on the door irritably.

  “What!” she cried, opening the door a crack so that she could speak to her father.

  “I’m coming in,” he replied, pushing past her angrily.

  “Why you bloody little…………”

  He couldn’t get the rest of his sentence out he was so dumbstruck, because there lay a naked Mikey on Sonya’s bed!

  Cha
pter Twenty Six.

  There were clouds swirling below the mountain, as Lucy shepherded the passengers aboard the airport coach next morning. It felt chilly, with none of the warmth that had been enjoyed the last couple of days. She shivered with just her jacket and skirt on and wished she had remembered to bring her rep’s coat with her.

  “Good morning, everybody,” she said into the microphone after everyone had settled in their seats and were looking at her expectantly. “ I trust you have all picked up your passports, settled any outstanding accounts and given your key cards into Reception.” She noticed that Sonya turned around quickly to her father questioningly, but was met with a hostile stare as he nodded his head.

  Trouble brewing there, she thought, as she turned back to the matter in hand.

  “So now you can take the hated wristbands off, if you haven’t done so already,” she said, looking meaningfully at Paul, who grinned back at her. “ It’s just a case of bending the plastic back to the stud and then pulling hard, or you might like to wait until you get home and attack it with the scissors.” That brought a titter at her attempt at a joke and most people held their bare wrists up to show her.

  “Now, I hope you have all enjoyed your holiday and are sad to be going back to rainy old England, but just think when you’re staring out on a winter scene through your windows, you could always book on line with Periquito Travel and come back again.”

  That brought groans or smiles from the passengers.

  “Now I’ll leave you to wish a fond farewell to Costa Adeje, as we travel down to the airport in the capable hands of Ramon and I’ll give you details of check- in, later on.”

  She let out a sigh, as she switched the microphone off and sat beside Lesley as the coach began to move, causing her friend to look questioningly at her.

  “I forgot I promised Adam, I’d put in an appearance at his travel desk next time I was on airport duty,” she explained.

  “So?”

  “He’ll be expecting me to go for a coffee with him, but I’d rather not, as I’ll have to explain about Uwe.”

  Lesley smiled sympathetically but said nothing. Lucy was lucky to have two men interested in her, when she would give anything just to have her husband back.

  “Everyone looks a little glum, even Meggie, who you’d think would be the live and soul,” Lucy whispered. “ In fact, I don’t think the Lewis family are speaking, because before when I was on the microphone, the father gave Sonya a dirty look.”

  “Nerves maybe,” said Lesley, “ it must be difficult with a little one.”

  “Yes, you’re probably right, but do you know the kids on this bus have been no trouble? That little one with her mother and grandma has been a little sweetie, the Cooper children are charming and Evan, what a cutie. It makes me all broody when I see kids like that, not like some. Oh, Lesley,” she said, putting her fist to her mouth, “ I was only speaking generally.”

  “No offence taken,” Lesley replied. “ You must remember I sometimes teach really horrible kids.”

  They fell into a comfortable silence between them, while Lucy checked the list on her clipboard and Lesley looked out at the passing buildings and occasionally a glimpse of the turgid sea. “You will keep in touch and let me know how things develop?” Lesley suddenly said, as thoughts of taking up her old life came crashing into her mind again.

  “Course I will, I’ve got your number and I’ll ring you in a couple of days or so.”

  Lucy stood up again a little later, as the airport came into view. She looked around the coach at all the faces she had come to know, before she began to speak into the microphone.

  Mr. and Mrs. Christian were still holding hands, so nothing had changed there then. Norman Walsh and his disabled wife, Betty, looked better than when they first came; Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield, bronzed from their week in the sun, looking more like a loving couple than they had first done. Though that couldn’t be said of the Lewis’s, who looked angry and tight lipped as they stared ahead.

  “ So, if I could have your attention everybody,” she said, as the coach pulled up outside the terminal. “ If you could just wait a few minutes, while I go to find out the numbers of the check in desks…”

  The sound of overhead lockers crashed as she clambered down the steps.

  ***

  Lucy stood outside the automatic doors of the Arrival Lounge