Table For Eight

by Tricia Stringer

  With Ketty’s help Celia shifted to a sitting position, and pulled her dress down from where it had scrunched around her hips. She glanced up, the heat of humiliation seeping over her as the crowd dispersed, some still muttering, others throwing backward glances; and there was Ed, his back ramrod straight, one arm around Debbie guiding her away. Celia dropped her head and groaned again.

  “You probably should let the doc check you.” This time it was Bernard.

  Celia risked glancing up again. Now it was only the maître d’, Ketty and her remaining table companions who stood around her, their faces full of concern.

  “I just need to sit somewhere a moment.”

  “Of course, if you’re sure.” Carlos’s strong arm and Ketty’s gentle hand helped her to her feet.

  “You go on,” Ketty said to the others. “I’ll stay with Celia.”

  “I’ll be fine, Ketty, don’t stay on my account.” Her cheeks were burning, partly from embarrassment and the right one from its collision with the hard floor. Of all people to witness her spectacular idiocy it would be Ed and Debbie.

  “I’m not leaving until I know you’re truly all right,” Ketty said.

  “We’ll head off to the show but let us know if you need anything.” Bernard shepherded Josie and Leo away but Jim remained.

  “You should put some ice on your cheek,” he said gently.

  Ketty leaned in closer. “Oh yes. You’re going to have a shiner there.”

  “I hope you’re okay.” Jim’s calm look was encouraging.

  “I’ll look after her.” Ketty put her arm around Celia’s waist.

  Carlos despatched a waiter for an icepack then guided them back to a quiet corner of the dining room where he sat Celia down and produced a glass of water. “Are you sure you’re not hurt, Mrs Braxton?”

  “Only my pride.” Celia looked up. His face, usually set in a firm smile, was softer and his look full of concern. Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Damn.” She looked around, blinking frantically. “My bag.”

  “I have it.” Ketty took the chair next to her and offered a tissue.

  “Damn,” Celia said again. “I can’t bear to sit here and make a bigger fool of myself by crying.”

  “If you’re up to it I can walk you back to your room.” Ketty put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You probably should have someone with you, just in case.”

  “Maude won’t be there.” Celia dabbed at her eyes and winced as her cheek throbbed.

  “Would you like to come to my room then? We can sit for a while, take it easy, let you regain your composure.”

  A waiter arrived with a neatly wrapped icepack.

  “Thank you.” Ketty took it from him. “Let’s settle you upstairs and get this on your cheek.” She put a guiding arm around Celia and helped her to her feet.

  “Let me know if you need anything more.” Carlos saw them to the door.

  Celia let herself be led away. It was strangely comforting to give herself over to Ketty’s care. Her cheek still throbbed and she’d probably be a bit sore in the morning but she knew she was lucky she’d done no real damage. It was the spectacle she’d made in front of Ed that truly hurt.

  Ketty ushered Celia into her room and was met by the disarray she’d left behind in her endeavour to find the right thing to wear. There were dresses and scarves on the bed, several necklaces on the desk and shoes around the floor. Peter had left her chocolate on the only clear space near one of the pillows.

  “Sorry about the mess.” She scooped a wrap and a jacket up from the padded armchair, settled Celia into it and handed her the icepack.

  “This room is so much more spacious than mine.” Celia looked around while Ketty returned the dresses to their hangers, flicked on the kettle for tea then began to fold the wraps.

  “Oh, that looks gorgeous.” Celia was admiring the black lace wrap Ketty had picked up.

  “I always bring it with me and never end up wearing it but someone else usually does.”

  Celia spread it across her lap with her free hand. “What exquisite lace.”

  Ketty took it and wrapped it around Celia’s shoulders, leaning in close as she did, holding the other woman’s gaze. “It looks lovely on you.”

  “Even with my battered face?” Celia grimaced.

  Ketty lay a hand over Celia’s clutching the icepack. “Even with that.” She smiled then turned away to set out cups in their saucers. “Tea or coffee?”

  “Tea, please, weak black.”

  Celia lowered the icepack and brushed her cheek over the wrap. “It’s so soft,” she murmured. “This is kind of you, Ketty. I was a bit shaken up but I’m feeling much better already.”

  “It would have been a nasty shock.” Ketty placed the cups of tea on the stool-come-coffee table and sat on the edge of the bed beside Celia’s chair.

  “I’ve kept you from the show…and…and Leo.” Tears brimmed in Celia’s eyes again.

  Ketty reached for the tissue box and placed it beside the cups of tea. “Please don’t worry, Celia. I’m not. I’ve seen plenty of shipboard shows and Leo will still be here tomorrow.” He had given her a forlorn look before he’d left with Bernard and Josie but Ketty had been too concerned for Celia to worry about Leo’s feelings.

  Celia groaned and gripped her head in her hands. Ketty watched in silence.

  When she finally looked up Ketty passed her the cup of tea. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Celia shook her head. Ketty didn’t press her. The air conditioner hummed overhead, a background noise to the soft rattle of china and the gentle sipping of tea. After several minutes, Celia placed her cup and saucer back on the table and picked up the icepack, pressing it back to her cheek.

  “Is it hurting?” Ketty asked.

  “Throbbing a bit, that’s all.”

  “You may get quite a bruise out of it.”

  “Nothing compared to what I feel inside.”

  Ketty studied Celia, who was staring at the curtains drawn across the glass door.

  “I hope Leo didn’t offend you, Celia.”

  Celia remained silent. She fiddled with the icepack, shifting it to another position, gripped the arm of the chair with her other hand then let it go again. Next, she stood and paced the tiny space between the chair and the balcony door, the lace wrap slipping from one shoulder.

  “I’ve made such a fool of myself.”

  “It was an accident.”

  “Not just my tripping on the stairs.” She stopped pacing and stared down at Ketty, eyes brimming with tears again. “Ohhh!” She slumped into the chair and put the icepack on the table. The cheek where it had been pressed glowed red. “I’ve got to tell someone or I think I’ll go mad.” She turned to Ketty, desperation on her face. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “Have you committed a crime?” Ketty was sure Celia hadn’t but just in case.

  “Only the one of stupidity.”

  “Surely it’s not that bad.”

  Celia took a tissue from the box. Dabbed gently at her eyes then crushed it between her fingers. She took a breath. “My ex-husband is aboard ship with his new wife.”

  That wasn’t quite what Ketty had been expecting her to say. “That must have been a bit of a surprise.”

  “No.” Celia ripped the corner off the tissue. “I knew they were going to be here.” She ripped a bit more. “I’d always wanted to cruise and Ed wouldn’t go, said it wasn’t his kind of holiday. Next thing he’s married for five minutes to the new woman and he takes her on a cruise. When I found out I was so angry I decided to book myself on the cruise as well.”

  Ketty watched as the poor tissue was shredded into tiny pieces.

  “I devised a plan to make Ed jealous, to show him I could make a new life just as well as he could.” Celia snorted and reached around to drop the bits of tissue into the bin. “You should see his child bride. She’s gorgeous, almost young enough to be his daughter. I don’t know how I thought I was ever going to make Ed even half care
if I was alive let alone be jealous. Anyway, back home it seemed like a good plan. I asked Maude to come with me. I play bowls with her and she’s so at ease with men and such a flirt, I thought I could find a good-looking man, learn how to be a flirt and then…” She flung her hands in the air and the wrap slithered down her back. “There I would be looking glamorous on the arm of a handsome man enjoying myself beyond measure, rubbing Ed’s nose in what he’d given up.”

  Ketty kept a serene look on her face but Celia’s tale certainly explained a lot about her behaviour. First, she’d tried to attract Bernard and then Leo. The poor woman must have been having a terrible holiday.

  “So when you tripped down the stairs…”

  “I nearly ran into Ed and Debbie.” Celia plucked another tissue from the box and went to work on it with her fingers. “The only impression I gave Ed was of his tipsy ex-wife spreadeagled across the floor.”

  “Perhaps he didn’t notice.”

  Celia’s mouth fell open. She pressed her fingers to her lips but couldn’t stop the laughter erupting. Ketty laughed too.

  Celia paused to catch her breath. “There’s no avoiding it. Ed could be vague but even he couldn’t have missed my slide across the floor with my dress around my waist and my underwear on show for all to see.”

  “He might have seen someone fall but did he know it was you? We all surrounded you very quickly and Carlos moved people on.”

  “Oh thank you, Ketty.” Celia gripped her forehead with one hand. “You’re so kind to try to make me feel better but he saw me. I’ve been such a fool.”

  “You’re not the first and you won’t be the last.”

  “I can’t imagine you doing something so stupid.”

  “I’ve been a fool over a man.”

  “I don’t believe it. You seem so self-assured, as if nothing would faze you.”

  Ketty smiled inwardly at that. A month ago she would have described herself as such but with the worry of her business, and now meeting Leo again after all these years, her confidence was in a perpetual state of flux. “I’ll admit it was a long time ago but when I look back I still can’t accept how stupid I was.”

  Celia shook her head as if she still didn’t believe Ketty.

  “He was a married man.”

  Celia gasped, a frown crossed her face.

  “Trust me, I had no idea he was married. I put our erratic meetings down to our busy lifestyle. We were both working and studying nights. How naive do you think I was? I was so in love and then…well, then I found out and I ended it immediately.” Ketty shook her head. She’d only meant to empathise with Celia. “Anyway, I’m glad you’ve told me what you were doing.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes, you see I thought your behaviour a little odd. You acted like a person who wasn’t being themselves.”

  “I did?”

  “Shall I make us another cup of tea?”

  “Please.”

  Ketty truly was relieved. Beneath the pretence there was a different Celia and Ketty suspected it was that Celia she’d like to get to know. She made them a fresh cup each and settled back on the bed.

  “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, Celia, but do you still love your husband?”

  “Good heavens, no. My love for him was destroyed when he left me for Debbie.”

  Ketty understood the response. “But you still feel anger, resentment?”

  Celia frowned. “I did once I got over the shock of his leaving me but it’s been three years and I thought I’d left the worst of it behind.”

  “Grief affects everyone differently.”

  “It was when I heard from our sons that he was going on a cruise I…well, the bitterness returned and I couldn’t let it go.”

  “You mentioned you’d made a fresh start in the country.”

  Celia sighed. “Yes. I really do like it there and I’ve made new friends, not all of them like Maude but she’s a good stick, and I’ve got plenty to do. After the divorce I realised there was little to keep me in Adelaide. Our friends were mostly Ed’s friends and my old girlfriends are flung around the state. My eldest son had just won his first job in Western Australia and the other had headed overseas. Now at least when they come to stay I feel I have more time for them and them for me. Ed always dominated the conversation, the house, our lives in general. Now I’m rediscovering my boys and the men they’ve become. I like that. In fact, life is more interesting than it was. Being married to Ed I spent time alone but I had little time for myself, if that makes sense.”

  Celia’s face had lit up when she spoke of her sons. Ketty’s stomach twisted but this wasn’t about her. She reached out and gripped Celia’s hand. “I think you must ask yourself why you care what your ex-husband thinks?”

  “I suppose I wanted to show him that I’d moved on.”

  “Do you need a man on your arm to prove that?”

  Celia gave a shrug that turned into a shiver.

  Ketty leaned forward and tucked the lace wrap back around her shoulders. She kept her gaze firmly locked on Celia and went on, her voice slow and even. “It sounds to me as if you’ve settled in to your new life, you’ve made friends, you’re busy, content. You’ve always wanted to cruise and now here you are doing it. Forget about Ed.” Ketty squeezed the warm hand clasped in hers. “Make the most of it, Celia.”

  Celia’s eyes widened and she shook her head slowly. “I truly have been a fool.”

  “Put it behind you. Don’t waste what’s left of this cruise. Enjoy yourself.”

  Celia sagged in the chair. “I feel exhausted.”

  “No wonder. You probably haven’t relaxed since you came aboard. Why don’t you lie on my bed for a while? You shouldn’t be alone, just in case, and I’ve got a bit more tidying up to do.”

  “I don’t want to impose.”

  “Nonsense. I don’t mind.”

  Ketty helped Celia to get comfortable and put the icepack in the freezer for later.

  “I’m going to change out of this dress.” Ketty loved it, but after the large dinner she’d eaten it was feeling very tight around her middle.

  Celia looked at her watch. “Maude will probably be back to our room soon. I’ll head off in a while.”

  “No rush.” Ketty took her baggy pants and loose top and went to the bathroom. By the time she’d changed, washed her face and let herself back out again, Celia was asleep. She crossed the room and stared at the sleeping woman a moment. Her cheek was red and her eye make-up smudged but she looked peaceful, the wrap clutched in her fingers. Ketty took out one of her large pashminas and draped it over Celia. It was a lovely aqua blue and the colour looked so much better against the younger woman’s skin than the drab dress she was wearing.

  Ketty turned out all but one of the lamps. Then she moved quietly around the room finishing the tidying she’d started when they’d arrived. Once she was satisfied all was where it should be she took her book and sat in the chair to read. After a few minutes she tossed the book aside. She wasn’t ready for sleep herself but she found it hard to concentrate.

  Everything she’d talked about with Celia had dredged up her own feelings for Leo. She’d been comfortable chatting over drinks but at dinner she’d been reminded there was another side to him. She suspected he’d been annoyed at Celia’s attempts to claim his attention but was too polite to ignore her. It was at the end of the meal when she’d sensed both his arm and his manner were claiming her that had made her bristle. It had been a while since she’d been in a man’s arms. Perhaps she was too set in her ways.

  There was a tap at the door. Ketty hoped it wasn’t going to be Leo. She wasn’t sure what to make of her feelings for him tonight. She put her eye to the peephole and opened the door with relief. Carlos, wearing casual clothes now and his old cap, stepped inside. She put a finger to her lips and he glanced over towards the bed.

  “Is she all right?” He kept his voice low.

  “She’ll have a bruise on that cheek but otherwise she seems
okay. I think she’s very tired and I don’t have the heart to wake her.”

  “Shall I find you an empty room?”

  “Oh no. That bed’s huge. We’ll be fine but her friend, Maude, might worry if she doesn’t come back. Could you possibly have a message delivered to her cabin? I don’t know the number.”

  “Of course.” Carlos nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” He remained just inside the door studying her. “This group of people is keeping you busy.”

  “I’ve so much to tell you but I don’t think I could face another drink tonight. I could make you tea or coffee though, and we could sit out on the balcony.”

  “No, no. You look tired yourself. I’ll go and organise a message to Celia’s cabin. We’ll catch up another night.”

  Ketty smiled. She could always rely on him for help. She wanted to hug him but that would not be appropriate. “Thank you, Carlos.”

  “Goodnight.” He let himself out, softly closing the door.

  Ketty made sure Celia was covered by the pashmina, turned out the lamp and slid under the sheet on the other side of the bed. Celia’s confession replayed in her mind for only a short time before she too fell asleep.

  Sixteen

  Day Five – Alongside, Port Vila, Vanuatu

  Christine was awake early. Frank’s back was to her. She lay still listening to the gentle sound of his regular breathing. Last night when he’d eventually returned to the cabin she’d lain rigid in the bed. She’d hoped he would want to talk, to make up, beg her forgiveness, and they’d make love and everything would be right again. Instead he’d removed his clothes, fallen into bed and begun snoring almost immediately. Another lost opportunity. She’d simmered with anger for a while and then had given him a shove. He’d rolled over and she’d managed to go to sleep.

  This morning she would have the upper hand. He had made a fool of himself last night and he’d realise that in the light of day. She would forgive him, of course, perhaps they’d finally have sex. But first she needed the bathroom. She eased herself from the bed and let herself into the en suite. The fluoro above the handbasin threw a harsh light over her face. She cringed at her own reflection. Her hair was lank, her eyes puffy and her skin sallow. No wonder her husband wasn’t interested in her. She leaned against the bench and took a deep breath. Somehow she had to make things right between them. She turned on the shower and stripped off, twisted away from her reflection in the mirror and stepped under the steaming jet of water.