Life's a Beach and Then... (The Liberty Sands Trilogy Book 1) (9 page)

Robert was worried. He wasn’t sure that he should be leaving
his wife for a whole day in the company of someone they had only met five days
ago. And was it really fair on Holly? What if Rosemary became ill?

The alarm was due to sound in three minutes so he needed to
make a decision. He could turn it off and tell Philippe he had overslept.
Philippe had been very precise about the time when he had suggested the fishing
trip over dinner last night. They needed to meet at 7 a.m. to catch the tide if
they were to go out for the day with his fisherman friend.

‘I’m awake, Bobby,’ Rosemary said. ‘And I know what you’re
thinking.’ She turned to face him in the bed. ‘It’s only a few hours. I’ll be
fine and I’d like to spend some time alone with Holly. I think it would be good
for both of us.’

Robert wondered which ‘both of us’ Rosemary was talking
about. Did she mean herself and Holly, or the two of them?

‘I hate the thought of being away from you for a single
minute, Rosie,’ he said.

‘Well I’m not coming fishing,’ she teased. ‘You know I get
seasick on anything smaller than twenty thousand tons and anyway I wasn’t
invited.’

She had noticed how Robert’s eyes had lit up when Philippe
had suggested going fishing. He deserved a break, some time to simply enjoy
himself, and she needed a break too. He had been with her twenty-four seven
since she had come off the medication and although his intentions were good she
was occasionally irritated by him constantly asking if she was feeling okay.
Guilt overcame her at the sadness she was causing him and yet there was nothing
she could have done to prevent this cancer, or was there?

When she had first been diagnosed she had asked the
consultant what he thought might have caused it? He had no answers for her.
Unlike lung cancer, where there was a connection with smoking, or breast
cancer, where some researchers had made a connection with drinking too much
alcohol, the only suggested cause for this type of leukaemia was exposure to
high levels of radiation.

The shrill sound of the alarm made them both jump.

‘Come on Bobby,’ she urged, getting out of bed. ‘You know
you want to and if all goes well out on the ocean we’ll be able to enjoy a
fresh fish supper.’

Within twenty minutes they were showered and dressed and
waiting outside the reception area with Holly for Philippe to pick them up in
his car. Unsurprisingly he was late even though he was the one who had
emphasised the need for punctuality in order to catch the tide.

The plan was for Rosemary and Holly to spend the day at
Philippe’s house while the boys were out fishing and then to cook the day’s
catch for supper. There had been an awkward moment when Philippe had said they
would ‘eat what they catch’, and Rosemary had reminded him that Holly was a
vegetarian. Holly had quickly said, ‘I have eaten fish before just not for a
while and freshly caught will taste very different from supermarket frozen, I’m
sure.’

‘Are you a pescatarian then?’ Rosemary had asked.

‘I suppose I am,’ said Holly evasively. ‘But just an
occasional one.’

Philippe was only five minutes late and he was smiling
happily as he pulled up in his old BMW.

‘Sorry I am late, my friends,’ he said. ‘I made a quick
detour into town to buy fresh croissants for Holly and Rosemary to have for
breakfast, and a crate of beer for us lads,’ he continued, winking at Robert.

‘Don’t you go getting him drunk,’ Rosemary said. ‘We don’t
want him falling overboard.’

‘Don’t you trust me?’ Philippe asked, directing his question
at Rosemary, but looking at Holly.

‘I know you would never hurt anyone who is precious to me,’
Rosemary answered meaningfully.

Light, flaky crumbs were all that remained of the breakfast
croissants. They had been buttery and delicious, enjoyed with Mauritian guava
jam, and strong French coffee.

The simple things, thought Holly, and then laughed at
herself as she looked around at her beautiful surroundings. The view from the
balcony of Philippe’s house must surely be one of the best on the island and
the house itself, although small, was perfectly formed.

Small compared to what? Holly asked herself. It’s at least
twice the size of my little two up two down back in England. I’m clearly
becoming too accustomed to the five-star resorts I’m frequenting for work, she
thought.

‘Did Robert design this house too?’ Holly asked, admiring
the view from the colonial-style balcony. ‘Is that how you met Philippe?’

‘We did meet Philippe because of the house,’ Rosemary
replied, ‘but no Robert didn’t design it, and Philippe doesn’t own it.’

She explained to Holly that they were considering buying the
house and how by suggesting to Philippe that he should rent it for a year they
had been able to postpone the decision.

‘But why would you want to delay things if you love the
house?’ Holly asked. ‘Surely you must be concerned that someone else may come
along and steal it from under your nose?’

‘It’s... complicated, Holly,’ the older woman said. ‘I just
need to be sure that it will be the right move for Robert.’

Holly didn’t want to pry. There was obviously a very good
reason why Robert and Rosemary hadn’t yet clinched the deal on this wonderful
find. It’s none of my business, she thought. I’m sure Rosemary will tell me
more if she wants me to know. She decided to change the subject.

‘You mentioned at dinner you used to be a dancer,’ Holly
said. ‘What type of dancing did you do, and how did you and Robert meet?’

‘I met Robert twenty years ago,’ Rosemary said with a
wistful smile, ‘and I can honestly say it was the best thing that ever happened
to me. I was working for a cruise line and my ship came in, here in Mauritius,
in more ways than one.’

Rosemary told Holly of the wonderful life she had enjoyed as
a dancer for one of the most prestigious cruise companies in the world. Over
the course of the fifteen years she had worked for the Italian-owned Goddess
line, she had been a dancer, progressing to head girl and for her final five
years with them she had taken on the role of choreographer as well as still
performing.

Her eyes sparkled as she told Holly of all the glamorous
ports of call they had visited, from the Caribbean to the Far East and most
places in between. She had mixed with rich and famous clientele who could
afford the five-star cruises and also celebrities who would be on board to give
talks about their autobiographies, or filming for a TV holiday channel.

‘I was very, very lucky, Holly, doing a job I loved and
being paid for it. There’s a saying isn’t there? If you love your job you’ll
never work a day in your life.’ The older woman’s face was animated telling
Holly about her dancing career, but then her expression changed. ‘There was
just one drawback,’ she said. ‘Because I was travelling around so much I never
had the opportunity to meet someone and settle down to have a family.’ She had
a look of regret now as she continued. ‘Goddess line had a very strict policy
of not fraternising with the guests and relationships with crew members were
frowned upon too. Being on a cruise ship for months on end is like being on a
floating island,’ she explained. ‘Everyone knows each other’s business, and
besides most of the crew had wives back home and I’ve never wanted to be the
“other woman”.’

Holly nodded in agreement.

‘So I was living this dream lifestyle but there was
something missing. Love.’ She looked Holly directly in the eye. ‘And a life
without love is really no life at all.’

Holly didn’t respond to the comment which was clearly
directed at her. If only Rosemary knew how close to home that remark was. No
one knew better than Holly what it was like to live for years without a
meaningful physical relationship. Forget the sexual act, just to have someone
touch her hair or caress her back in a protective ‘you are my woman’ kind of a
way. Someone to tell her how beautiful she looked in a party outfit or how
great her bum looked in tight jeans.

She had lavished her love on her growing child and relied
upon Harry’s unconditional love in return to fill the space in her heart. She
had made excuses for not having boyfriends when Harry was growing up, adamant
that there wouldn’t be a string of ‘uncles’ coming and going through his
childhood, driving a wedge between their special relationship. She knew it
wasn’t ideal for him to not have a male role model but she was determined he
should have a happy, stable childhood, not like her own, where her mother had
seen her as a competitor for her father’s affection. But had it all been an
excuse? Was she just too afraid to fall in love in case she got hurt again?

‘And then I met Robert,’ Rosemary said.

Having been lost in her thoughts, Holly started at the sound
of Rosemary’s voice.

She told Holly about the chance encounter in the restaurant
in Port Louis and how they had spent the evening laughing and chatting
together. They had spoken on the phone every day for the following month until
the ship arrived back at its home port of Genoa. Robert had flown in from Hong
Kong and was waiting on the dock side with a huge bunch of pink roses, her
favourite flower.

‘I walked down the gang plank to meet him knowing that I
wouldn’t be renewing my contract with Goddess lines,’ Rosemary said, her voice
full of emotion. ‘I knew I’d finally met my soulmate.’

‘How did you know he was the one?’ Holly asked, her voice
almost a whisper.

‘You just do, don’t you,’ Rosemary replied, shrugging her
shoulders slightly. ‘It must have been the same for you with your husband?’

It was a probing question that demanded more than a
monosyllabic response.

Holly took a deep breath. She knew that what she was about
to do was risky, and might cost her her job if Rosemary decided to reveal her
true identity to the hotel, but she just couldn’t bear to continue with the lie
to this woman who was starting to feel more like a mother to her than her own
mother had ever been.

‘I want to tell you something,’ Holly said. ‘In fact, I feel
like I need to tell you, but you must promise me something first.’

‘What’s wrong, Holly?’ she asked, reaching out for the
younger woman’s hand. ‘What do you need to tell me?’

‘Please promise me you won’t repeat this to anyone, not even
Robert.’

‘All right, Holly,’ she agreed reluctantly. ‘I usually tell
Robert everything, but I won’t breathe a word to anyone – not even him – if you
don’t want me too.’

Holly felt a pang of guilt. Of course, a couple as deeply in
love as Rosemary and Robert were would keep no secrets from each other. But
this was her secret to tell, and the fewer people who knew about it the better.
Looking into Rosemary’s eyes, she felt that this was someone she could trust.

Holly’s shoulders relaxed slightly and her head dropped
forward as she closed her eyes momentarily, then she lifted her chin to look
Rosemary in the eyes. ‘I’ve been lying to you,’ she said quietly.

‘I don’t understand. Why would you do that?’ asked Rosemary.

‘To protect my identity,’ Holly replied.

‘So your name isn’t Holly?’ Rosemary questioned, looking
confused.

‘No... I mean yes... my name is Holly,’ she stammered, ‘but
the story I told you about my husband being dead is a lie.’

She could see the shocked expression on Rosemary’s face and
fully expected an angry response but none came. Instead she asked, ‘So why
would you lie about a thing like that?’

Holly could hear the incessant rumble of the waves crashing
against the reef, unable to stop. She felt just as powerless to stop now that
she had made her decision to tell Rosemary the truth.

‘I work for Soleil Resorts as an undercover travel blogger,’
she said. ‘It’s my job to go into their resorts and write honestly about my
holiday experiences, good and bad. Not even the managers know that I am
anything other than a paying guest. I usually travel alone so I need a
convincing cover story, one that people won’t question.’

Holly couldn’t read Rosemary’s expression so she ploughed
on.

‘When I tell people my husband is dead most of them are
considerate enough not to ask for details so I can get away with telling a
minimum of lies. I hate lying, it’s the worst part of the job for me.’

Rosemary had still been holding Holly’s hand but she let it
drop.

‘Well you’re very good at it.’ There was disappointment in
her voice. ‘I’m usually a very good judge of people, Holly, but you certainly
fooled me with your anguished look and the depth of hurt in your eyes. I could
feel your pain. I felt totally devastated for you. Perhaps you should have been
an actress rather than a writer?’

Silence fell heavily between them. Holly felt dreadful as
the level of concern Rosemary had felt for her became apparent.

‘My mouth can lie but my eyes can’t,’ said Holly. Rosemary
was watching her intently but she remained silent so Holly stumbled on. ‘When
the love of my life left me, I felt my life was over,’ Holly said, stifling a
sob.

‘Your husband left you?’ Rosemary asked, finding her voice
again.

‘He wasn’t my husband. I’ve never been married. He was my
boyfriend at university.’

‘Oh, Holly,’ said Rosemary, putting her arm around the
younger woman’s shoulder to comfort her. ‘Everybody has their heart broken when
they are young. It’s part of growing up.’

‘It was different for me,’ Holly said. ‘I was pregnant with
our baby.’

‘So did you have a termination?’ Rosemary asked, unable to
look Holly in the eye.

‘No, of course not. How could I kill my baby?’

‘Your family stood by you then?’

Holly let out a small hollow laugh. ‘Quite the opposite,’
she said. ‘I discovered I was pregnant while my boyfriend was away in America
for the summer studying American football in preparation for his masters
degree. I was waiting for him to come home so that we could tell both lots of
parents but... he never came back,’ she said, her voice faltering. ‘I had to
face my parents alone two days before I was due to start my second year at
university. I had never seen my mother so angry. She called me a selfish
ungrateful whore and she raised her hand to hit me, but my dad caught her arm
before it made contact. Then my mother turned on Dad and accused him of
spoiling me and this was how I’d repaid him.’ Holly was crying now, huge
gulping sobs in between her words. ‘Then her voice turned to ice and she told
me that if I didn’t have an abortion she would never speak to me again.’

Rosemary had both her arms around the distraught Holly now,
rocking her like a baby and stroking her hair away from her face to try and
soothe her.

‘But your mum calmed down and changed her mind surely?’
Rosemary asked, ‘once she realised you wanted to keep your baby.’

Holly shook her head sadly. ‘No,’ she said, ‘and to make
matters worse she forbade my dad from having any contact with me.’

‘So she has never spoken to you since?’ Rosemary asked
incredulously.

‘Just once,’ Holly said. ‘At my dad’s funeral.’

Holly could still remember the venom in her mother’s voice
when she had spat out the words.

‘I wish it was you and that bastard child of yours in that
box instead of him.’