by Liz Kessler
“They’re ours,” Aaron replied before either of them had a chance to answer. He pulled my chair out for me and quickly sat in the other one.
The guy held his palms out. “My apologies. I didn’t mean any offense,” he said. “I’ll leave you to your —”
“I’m sure we can find another chair somewhere,” Millie broke in. She scanned the room and pointed at the table next to ours. “Look, there’s an extra one there. I’m sure they won’t mind if you borrow it.”
“Only if you’re sure. I don’t want to intrude. I just saw a couple of beautiful ladies and couldn’t believe your husbands had left you alone.”
Aaron looked at me and made a face. I stifled a laugh.
“I’m single!” Millie trilled. “Come on. Grab that chair. We can all fit.”
A moment later the guy was back with the chair, which he proceeded to squeeze into the gap between Mom and Millie.
“That’s better,” Millie said once we’d all shuffled around to let him in and introduced ourselves.
“I’m Noah,” he said. “I must say, it’s kind of you to let me join you. I’m here on business, and it’s rather lonely when you’re traveling solo.”
“I know how you feel,” Mom said wistfully.
Noah turned to her. “You’re single too?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I refuse to believe that!”
Mom laughed as her cheeks reddened. “My husband is . . .”
“My dad’s on business too,” I cut in. “We’ll be back with him soon. Very soon.” I wasn’t going to let an overgrown teenager try to make a move on Mom. Yuck!
“Thank you, Emily. I can speak for myself,” Mom snapped. She turned back to Noah. “What was I saying?”
Noah smiled at Mom. “I think you were saying that your husband is away and there’s nothing to stop me from having the pleasure of a beautiful woman’s company for the evening.”
Millie coughed loudly. Noah twisted in his seat to face her. “The pleasure of two beautiful women’s company,” he added quickly.
I glanced at Aaron and rolled my eyes as Millie flicked her hair and blushed.
“What business are you in?” Aaron asked.
“Diamonds,” Noah answered quickly. Then he turned back to Mom. “And might I say, I couldn’t help noticing your stunning necklace.”
Mom reached up to her neck. “It was a gift from my husband,” she said. “He gave it to me so I wouldn’t feel alone.”
Noah put a hand to his chest. “Oh, I love a bit of romance.” Then he got up. “Well,” he said, “if your husband isn’t here to object, I shall have to dance with you.” He pushed his chair back and held a hand out to Mom. “Come on. Please,” he said. “Take pity on a lonely traveler.”
As Mom stood up, Noah turned to Millie. “Promise you’ll dance with me next?” he asked.
Millie shrugged. “Maybe. Unless I get a better offer.”
Noah took Mom’s arm and they made their way to the dance floor.
“Is that guy for real?” Aaron asked through his teeth as Millie got her makeup bag out and started reapplying her lipstick.
“I hope so,” she replied as she pursed her lips into her compact mirror. “He’s hot.”
Aaron and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“What?”
“Millie, he’s probably half your age!” I said.
Millie shrugged. “So what?” she asked. “Nothing wrong with a bit of flirting and a dance or two, is there?”
We watched Mom and Noah for a while. Noah was a good dancer — apart from one point when he suddenly jumped back from Mom as if he’d tripped over something.
Aaron nudged me. “Looks like he’s got two left feet, like me,” he said with a laugh.
Just then, the song finished. “OK, folks, we’re going to slow things down a little,” the singer said. “Who knows how to waltz?”
A cheer went up in the far corner and some of the older couples got up and made their way onto the dance floor.
“Shall we give it a try?” Aaron asked.
“A waltz? Are you serious?” I asked.
Aaron shrugged. “Why not?”
“Didn’t you bump into me enough times during the chicken dance?” I joked.
“Hey!”
I turned to Millie. “Do you mind? Will you be OK on your own?”
Millie jabbed her thumb at the dance floor. “Oh, I won’t be alone for long,” she said. “It’s my turn next.”
“All right, then,” I said, and followed Aaron to the dance floor.
When the music started, we tried to dance in time but didn’t do a good job of it. “OK, I officially hate the waltz!” Aaron declared once the song ended. “Please, let’s promise never to try doing it again.”
I laughed. “If I ever want to use my toes again, I think that’s a good plan.”
The band was still playing slow tunes, so we stayed on the dance floor and just kind of swayed together to the music.
“Are you having a good time?” Aaron asked as he slipped his arms around my waist.
“Of course I am. It’s amazing,” I said. “Are you?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess.”
I pulled away so I could look at him. “You guess? I thought you’d love this trip.”
“I do. The ship’s amazing,” he said. “And I can’t wait to check out the rides on the top deck tomorrow. Just. Well . . . us.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Yeah,” I said.
“I’m going to miss you, that’s all,” Aaron said. “After this trip, Mom and I will be getting ready to leave, and then that’s it. I mean, I want to go and live on Forgotten Island. But, you know.”
He didn’t need to explain. I knew what he meant.
“Aaron,” I said carefully. “Do you think we should . . . ?”
I didn’t want to finish the sentence. I couldn’t bring myself to say the thoughts out loud.
“We should what?” Aaron asked.
“Well, with you going to live somewhere else. Maybe it’s not fair that you feel tied down. You should be free to go off and do your thing without worrying about me.”
This time it was Aaron’s turn to pull away from me. He held my arms. “Emily, are you breaking up with me?” he asked. “You want us to split up? Is that what you’re saying?”
Was it? Did I want us to break up? I was so busy trying to figure out what would be the right thing for Aaron I hadn’t even stopped to think about what might actually be best for me. One look at Aaron’s face told me that now wasn’t the time to start thinking about it.
“No,” I said. “Of course that’s not what I’m saying.”
“You’re sure?”
“I just don’t want to be selfish,” I mumbled. “Holding you back. If you want to break up, I guess I just wanted you to know that it’s OK to say so.”
Aaron grinned as he put his arms around me again. “You’re not being selfish and you’re not holding me back,” he said. “And I don’t want us to break up,” he said. “Unless you do.”
“No,” I replied. “Unless you do.”
Aaron laughed. “Good. That’s settled.” He took my hand and led me off the dance floor. “Come on. I need a drink.”
Mom had come back from the dance floor, too, and was chatting with Millie. Noah had gone over to the bar. “I haven’t danced like that in years!” Mom said as we joined them at the table. “It was quite exhilarating.”
“Mmm, I suppose it must have been,” Millie said tightly as a young guy who couldn’t have looked more different from Noah lumbered across the room. I couldn’t help watching him — he looked so out of place. He was wearing a ragged T-shirt and ripped jeans, and his hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a lifetime; it was sticking up in every direction.
He tripped over a chair leg at the edge of the dance floor and nearly landed in an elderly man’s trifle. “Sorry, sorry,” he muttered, patting the man’s arm to check if he was OK.
The man flicked the boy
’s hand away, as if swatting a fly. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Yeah, he was a bit scruffy, but the way people were looking at him, you’d think he was radioactive or something.
As he crossed the dance floor, I noticed him look down at the floor and stop walking. He glanced around, then bent down to pick something up. I couldn’t see what it was as there were still people dancing and he went out of sight. When he straightened up, he glanced around again, then put his hand in his pocket before carrying on walking. He sauntered in our direction.
As he came toward us, I smiled. I didn’t want him thinking everyone in the place was a snob who looked down on him just because he might not be dressed as nicely as them.
He gave me a rueful half smile back and walked past us.
“Want some more dessert?” Aaron asked.
I laughed. “Aren’t you full?”
“The dancing is working it off,” he replied.
“Good point,” I said, getting up from my seat. “Maybe a bit more chocolate fondue.”
“And maybe one last bowl of mint chocolate-chip ice cream,” Aaron added as we got up from our seats. “Anyone else want anything?”
“Could you fetch me a strawberry meringue tartlet?” Millie asked.
“Will do.”
The scruffy boy was in front of us at the buffet table. As we lined up behind him, he picked up a plate.
I watched him pile it high.
“You having some sort of contest?” I asked, laughing.
He turned sharply, his eyes glaring at me. They were piercing blue. “What do you mean?” he snapped. “Who said I’m having a contest?”
I held my palms out in front of me. “Hey, chill,” I said. “I just meant . . . that.” I pointed at the people in front of him in the line, plates piled with food almost as high as his. “It was a joke.”
The boy smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” he said. Then he glanced at his plate and laughed. “And, yeah, good point. I do have quite a bit, don’t I?”
Aaron leaned over my shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll probably end up with just as much ourselves.”
The boy laughed. “OK, start again?” he said. “I’m Sam. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Emily.”
“And I’m Aaron. Emily’s boyfriend,” Aaron said pointedly. Not that Sam noticed the emphasis. He was more focused on carefully holding his marshmallow under the fondue so every bit got covered in chocolate.
“You having a good vacation?” I asked.
Sam looked at me quizzically. “Huh?”
That was when it occurred to me. Perhaps he wasn’t on vacation. Maybe he worked on the ship, in maintenance or something. He might have come fresh from fixing something. That would explain why he looked so out of place.
“Oh. Do you work on the ship?” I asked.
“I — no, well, yes, I . . .”
I laughed. “OK, whatever,” I said. I grabbed a couple of cookies and looked around for the strawberry meringue tartlets for Millie.
“My dad,” the boy was still mumbling. “He’s, um . . . he’s quite important. So, that’s why . . . you know. That’s why I’m here.”
I found the tartlets and put one on my plate for Millie. “He’s important, is he? What is he, like, the captain?” I asked, joking.
Sam put a thumbnail in his mouth and chewed on it while he thought. It wasn’t really a difficult question. Either his dad was the captain of the ship or not. What was there to think about?
“Yeah,” he said eventually. “My dad’s the boss.” Then he turned away.
And before I had time to say anything else, he’d disappeared across the room.
I turned back to Aaron. “Well, that was weird,” I said, laughing.
“Very,” Aaron agreed. His face was serious.
I squeezed his arm. “Aaron, you don’t need to be jealous,” I said. “He’s only —”
“I’m not jealous,” Aaron said. “That’s not it.”
“What, then? Why the serious face?”
Aaron’s eyes were following Sam as he spoke. “Because I chatted to the captain for a bit when we were at that reception before dinner,” he said.
“And?”
Aaron was still looking away. “And I told him how cool I thought all the gadgets were. I said I bet his kids loved coming on the ship to visit.”
I waited. Aaron carried on staring across the room. “And know what he said?”
“What?”
“He laughed and agreed his children would love it. But he doesn’t have any, so he wouldn’t know.” Aaron turned to me. “Emily, Sam was lying. The captain doesn’t have a son.”
Which left two questions. Who on earth was Sam, and why had he lied to us?
Don’t look now,” Mom said, nudging Millie. “But I think someone is heading our way.”
A moment later, Noah appeared at our table. He was holding two drinks. Handing one to Mom, he placed the other on the table and then held his arm out for Millie. “Apologies for the delay,” he said. “Two mojitos, with an extra twist of lime. Hope I’ve got that right.”
Mom raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’re observant, aren’t you?”
“I try my best,” Noah replied. Then he turned to Millie. “You can drink yours after the next dance.”
Millie took a couple of sips of her drink. “Well, if you insist,” she said as she got out of her seat.
We watched them dance for a bit. At the end of the song, the lead singer spoke over the mic. “We’re going to take a short break now. See you all again soon.”
Noah and Millie came back to the table. Millie didn’t look impressed.
“One dance,” she complained as a woman in ship’s uniform approached our table. She had a stack of papers in her hands.
“Evening, folks,” she said with a bright smile. “Can I give you one of these?”
“What are they?” Mom asked as the woman handed her a sheet of paper.
“The Sunbeam quiz,” the woman replied. “Just a bit of fun for you while the band takes a break. First correct set of answers wins a prize.” She reached into her pocket and put a pencil on the table. “Good luck!” she trilled as she moved on to the next table.
Noah was fiddling with a napkin. After pulling it out of the ring, he wiped his mouth then scrunched it up and put it back down on the table. He rummaged in his pockets as if he were searching for something, then he leaned forward to get out of his chair. “Well, I’ll leave you to —” he began.
“No you won’t,” Millie replied sharply, tugging on his sleeve. “You can help.”
I stifled a laugh, and so did Aaron. Noah glanced across at us and raised his eyebrows as he smiled. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, after all.
“Your brain might be handy,” Millie went on. “Come on. Gather around folks. Let’s see if we can win the prize.”
“OK, go for it,” Mom said.
“Right.” Millie cleared her throat. “Question one. Travel awhile through the mist, if you will. You may find a king on this semi-dark hill.”
Millie stared around at us all. “What in the name of the goddess is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“It’s a cryptic clue,” Mom said.
“You’re not wrong there,” I agreed.
Aaron leaned in to whisper his answer. “It’s Halflight Castle.”
Of course! Halflight Castle was where Aaron had spent most of his life, until he came to live in Brightport this year. One of the reasons his mom had agreed to try living at Forgotten Island was because it was near to her old home.
Noah stroked his mustache. “Impressive,” he said, appraising Aaron as he leaned back in his seat. “How did you know that?”
“I used to live there,” Aaron said.
Noah almost fell forward as he straightened his chair. “You what? You lived at Halflight Castle?”
“Yep. For more than thirteen years. Have you heard of it?”
Noah nodded. For a moment, his smoot
h facade seemed to have disappeared and he looked different. Younger, and more like the excited teenager he probably was.
“My dad told us about it just before — before we — I — left,” he stammered. “I’ve been trying to find out more. I guess you know the area around here pretty well.”
“I know enough,” Aaron said. “What I haven’t seen in real life, I know from my old bedroom at the castle.”
“How’s that?” Noah asked.
“I used to have stuff all over my walls.”
“Stuff ?” Noah’s eyes were wide. “What kind of stuff did you have on your walls?”
Aaron shrugged. “Maps, diagrams, pictures — I used to study it all.”
Noah seemed to have recovered himself a bit; he slowly nodded. “Well, I take my hat off to you,” he said. “I’m impressed. Very impressed.”
Aaron tried to suppress a smile. Even he was falling under Noah’s spell now.
“OK, next question,” Millie said.
“Sorry, guys,” Noah said suddenly. Something across the room seemed to have caught his attention. “Got to go.”
“You can’t leave,” Millie protested. “We’ve only just —”
“I’d love to, but duty calls,” he interrupted. “Well done again, Aaron,” he said. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”
For some reason, his words made me shiver.
I didn’t get to think about it for long. A moment later, Noah pushed his chair back, got out of his seat, and left.
“Well, I —” Millie began.
“Come on. Never mind him. What’s the next question?” I asked. “With Aaron’s brain on the case, I think we might have a chance of winning this.”
We put our heads together and worked our way through the rest of the quiz.
Twenty minutes later, the quiz was over. Greta said they’d be announcing the winners later. In the meantime, the music had started up again.
I took Aaron’s hand. “I’m ready for another dance. You coming?”
“Sure.” Aaron said as he followed me to the dance floor.
We’d been dancing for a couple of songs, goofing off and laughing just like earlier, when the music suddenly stopped.
The band looked as shocked as the rest of us. They were still on the stage — still playing their instruments — but there was no sound coming out.