Day Four (20 page)

Gave up.

Never fuck with the nuts too much.

8.30 p.m. Lined up for food. Took an hour.

Here are the choices:

Cold hotdogs

Deli meat sandwiches and wraps

Pre-cooked (and now defrosted) lobster tails & shrimp. Fucking buckets of the stuff. People were falling over themselves to get bowls of them. Guess they have to get eaten. Not risking that shit after getting sick.

Sliced tomatoes

Potato salad

Bread, olives, sliced peppers

Piles and piles of desserts. Melting cheesecake and chocolate gateaux leaking cherry blood.

The desserts were gone in thirty seconds.

9.30 p.m. Sat with the singles group, who have all decided to sleep up on the deck. Think Donna tried to hit on me. They were passing round a bottle of cheap vodka. I didn’t have any.

Felt gross again so returned to my cabin. I’m the only person on this deck. It stinks, but too tired to move for now.

Night.

DAY 6

The Witch’s Assistant

The lavatory in Celine’s suite had packed up at around four a.m., signalling its demise with a disconcertingly human-sounding groan. Maddie had held off for as long as she could, but eventually she’d had no choice but to relieve herself in the shower. Thankfully the water was still running, and she stripped off her clothes and doused her skin with Celine’s body wash, the cold water doing nothing to clear her head.

She hadn’t been able to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time, despite taking one of Celine’s sleeping pills. She couldn’t stop obsessing about what the hell her boss was up to.

Unable to stand the happy-clappy atmosphere in the Starlight Dreamer Lounge any longer, she’d returned to Celine’s suite at around six p.m. last night (there was no way she was going to brave her own cabin in the rank depths of the lower levels – she’d made an attempt to go down there to retrieve her stuff, but only made it halfway down the corridor before the stench sent her scurrying back to the higher levels). Maddie had tried to speak to her boss several times during the day, but Celine kept blanking her, concentrating her energies on encouraging the Friends to go out and find others ‘who might need our special kind of support’. Others like Helen, who had clearly been deeply affected by whatever pernicious crap Celine had been spouting. Because that was the thing – Maddie had no clue where Celine was getting her information from. It was possible that she’d convinced Jacob and Juanita and the gang to go fishing for facts for her, but Maddie doubted her boss would take a risk like that. It couldn’t be Facebook or Zoop – they were still offline. But somehow, Celine managed to trot out a series of disturbingly accurate readings for the random strangers the Friends collected on their outings. And her group was growing – by the time Maddie left, it had almost doubled in size. Among the new arrivals were a honeymooning couple from Kansas (‘Know this, your grandmother forgives you for not coming to the funeral’); a morbidly obese woman, whose petulant ‘go on then, entertain me’ expression had slowly morphed from shock to wonder (‘Know this, your husband wants you to have the surgery’); and a man in a wheelchair accompanied by a woman who wore a perpetual mask of martyrdom (‘Know this, your sister doesn’t blame you for the accident’). A few, Helen among them, didn’t stay long, but the vast majority settled in for the long haul. Part of it was the atmosphere. The Friends worked hard to make the newcomers welcome, handing out water and sharing snacks, and even a couple of the waiting staff had hung around well after their shifts. Celine – the old Celine – knew how to work a crowd, but this was taking it to a whole new level. She seemed to be genuinely interested in what she’d always professed to do – helping people.

She didn’t bother to towel off, and wrapped in one of Celine’s robes, she stepped out onto the balcony. The sun was limping into the sky, the hazy light revealing a sea livid with the red bodies of used plastic bags.
A jellyfish shit swarm
.
Lovely
. She slumped into the plastic balcony chair and put her feet up on the railings. She needed to run – she was always cranky if she didn’t exercise every day – but there wasn’t any hope of that with the jogging track being used as a campsite. The ship was quiet: the catcalls and shouts that drifted from the Lido deck above had died down at around three a.m.

Her thoughts returned to Celine. Her boss never did anything without a reason or the promise of a payday. And Maddie was honest enough with herself to admit that she was hurt. Why hadn’t Celine told her what she was planning? Maddie had been her confidante for three years, but for some reason Celine was cutting her out.

Maybe this was what she needed. The final push; the nudge she needed to quit her bloody job. Yeah. She’d hand in her notice when they finally made it back to port. She’d go back to the UK – she didn’t need to return to Nottingham, she could live in any city she chose; she had enough saved to keep her going for a couple of months. And if she got lucky, maybe her next employer wouldn’t dig too deeply into her background and unearth the two years of probation she’d got for basically being a dumb bitch – another woman who’d fucked up her life by falling for the wrong man.

Yes. She was done with being Celine’s lackey.

She put her head back and shut her eyes.

She was woken by a spattering sound. She jerked and opened her eyes in time to see a stream of liquid arcing over the balcony. Some arsehole was urinating off the top of the Lido deck above her.

‘Oy!’ she yelled. ‘Stop that!’

A burst of derisive laughter.

She gagged and went back into the room, slamming the balcony door behind her. Disgusting. How long could this go on for? People on land must know that something was amiss – no way could Foveros hide it for so long. She checked the time on her phone – it was getting on for nine a.m., later than she thought it was – and downed a slug of tepid water from the bottle next to the bed.

There was a knock on the door, followed by: ‘Housekeeping,’ and Althea entered the room. Maddie wasn’t surprised to see that she was more subdued than usual. A situation like this must be hell for the staff. Maddie couldn’t imagine what the conditions must be like in the crew quarters. At least here she could breathe. Down there it must be stifling. It must be intolerable.

Maddie tried to smile at her. ‘Good morning.’

‘I am sorry, I can’t bring you any clean towels as we cannot use the laundry.’ Althea placed a bottle of water next to the table, along with a pile of red bags. Christ. Maddie prayed it wouldn’t come to that. It had been revolting enough peeing into the shower. ‘Where is Mrs del Ray?’

‘She’s in the Starlight Dreamer Lounge. She’s been there all night.’

‘She is feeling better?’

I have no fucking idea what she’s feeling
. ‘Yes. Thank you.’

‘She was sleeping in there?’

‘I have no idea.’

Maddie had no clue if Celine had slept at all. And, come to think of it, she hadn’t seen her drinking anything other than water. That alone should have set alarm bells ringing if they weren’t already screaming in her head. Her stomach rumbled. She’d had nothing to eat since yesterday apart from a packet of shortbread biscuits that she’d found in the bottom of Celine’s suitcase. ‘Is there any news about when we might get moving again?’

‘I am sorry. No news.’

Maddie didn’t question Althea further. She looked beyond exhausted. Distracted and wan.

Althea began straightening the bed. ‘Don’t bother with that, Althea.’

‘You are sure?’

‘Yes. You must have loads to do with all this going on.’

‘Yes.’ A sigh that seemed to come from the pits of her soul. ‘There are two people who are sick on this deck.’

Maddie swallowed. Oh God. ‘There’s a virus going around?’ Xavier had been ill for several days. It was possible. And she knew from her reading how quickly something like that could spread.

‘I think so. The old woman in V25 is very sick.’

‘Which woman? You mean Helen or Elise?’

‘Yes. The fat one. The American.’

Elise. ‘Has the doctor been to see her?’

‘I think the nurse came yesterday.’ Helen and Elise had been there for her when she needed them. The least she could do was see if they needed anything. The last thing she wanted to do was expose herself to the virus, but she could take precautions. As long as she didn’t actually enter their cabin she should be fine. ‘Many people are getting sick,’ Althea continued. ‘But you will be okay if you are careful what you touch. I would advise you to keep some cutlery that only you use. As well as a plate. Just in case.’

‘Thank you, Althea. I appreciate that.’

‘It is not a problem.’ She began spraying and wiping the top of the mini-bar cabinet.

‘You don’t have to bother cleaning in here.’ Maddie wasn’t just being altruistic. She didn’t like to think about the germs that might lurk in the cleaning rags.

‘You are sure?’

‘Yes. And I’ll make sure you’re reimbursed for all your hard work.’
Christ, way to sound patronising
.

‘Thank you.’ Giving Maddie a tepid smile, Althea left the room.

Maddie perched on the bed. What now? Checking on Helen and Elise was her first priority, and then she supposed she should go and find something to eat, although Althea’s mention of a virus was making her feel even more bilious. She couldn’t wear yesterday’s clothes, and she still didn’t feel up to retrieving her belongings from her cabin. Which reminded her, she hadn’t seen Ray since their altercation the day before – he certainly hadn’t been in the creepy group in the Starlight Dreamer Lounge. He’d have to move out of his cabin sooner or later. Without air-con, it would be stifling down there.

With only a moment’s soul-searching, she dug through Celine’s closet. She found a lilac shirt embossed with jewels in the shape of a cat – six sizes too big, but so what? – and pulled it over her head. Her jeans would have to do for another day – Celine’s slacks and skirts would fall off her. In the drawer, she found a pair of black leather gloves ready for when they returned home to the cold weather. She wrapped one of Celine’s silk scarves around her neck: she could use it to cover her mouth. Germs could get through it, but at least she’d be able to block out the smell of the ship. She must look ridiculous, like the invisible man. But rather that than spend the next few days projectile vomiting.

She left the suite before she lost her nerve, and knocked on Helen and Elise’s door.

It took Helen a while to answer it, and when she did, Maddie had to step back and put her hand to her mouth. She could definitely detect the stench of vomit coming from the room. ‘I’m sorry. I’m not good with . . . you know, illness, smells.’ That sounded terrible. ‘Sorry.’

‘I understand.’ Helen’s mouth twitched as she took in Maddie’s outerwear.

‘Althea said Elise was ill.’

‘Yes. A virus of some kind.’ Maddie was shocked by her appearance – she looked as if all the moisture and colour had been bleached out of her skin.

‘How is she?’

‘Not good.’

‘Can I do anything to help? Get you something to eat, maybe?’

Helen touched her throat. ‘I’m not very hungry.’

‘You should try to keep your strength up.’

‘Perhaps just a sandwich. If that isn’t too much trouble?’

‘No trouble.’

Maddie hesitated, unsure if she should mention Helen’s encounter with Celine yesterday. She decided against it. Helen would have brought it up if she wanted to talk about it. She didn’t strike Maddie as someone who was afraid to speak her mind.

Tightening the scarf around her mouth, Maddie made her way up the staircase and out onto the main deck, which was now a sprawl of makeshift tents and mattress enclaves, spreading all the way up onto the jogging track and mini-golf course. The queue for the meagre buffet – again there appeared to be only a couple of stations open – snaked out of the door of the indoor seating area and reached almost to the pool. She joined it, trying not to think about the germs that were flying everywhere. Under her gloves, her palms were wet.

The queue zombie-shuffled forward. The man in front of her – a British guy with a wide, plain face and a sunburned nose – turned and gave her a grin. ‘Nice gloves. Smart. The virus, right?’

‘Yeah.’

‘My girlfriend’s got it now. It’s bloody horrible. Doctor says the best thing for her is to stay in the stateroom. We’re lucky we’ve got one of the suites on the upper deck. It’s them buggers down below I feel sorry for.’

Maddie nodded in agreement and half listened to his theories on why the ship had broken down as the queue inched forward. Maddie took two plates from the denuded stack, jumping as someone tapped her shoulder.

‘You can’t do that,’ the woman behind her snapped.

‘Do what?’

‘Hoard food. You can only take one plate.’ She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Maddie.

Maddie attempted a conciliatory smile. ‘I’m not hoarding. I need to take some food to a friend of mine. She can’t leave her cabin.’