November-Charlie (5 page)

The whole way back, he argued with himself about leaving the girls behind. With Staci going back to boarding school, she’d be safe. OK, it wasn’t what she wanted, but it was for the best. And Lou…well, she’d be fine. She had Deefer and her mum and Staci at the weekends.

Yes, he told himself firmly. This was for the best. It was the only way to go.

~*~

Stacey crept into the bedroom. “How are you?”

Lou opened her eyes feeling better than she had earlier. “Slightly human, now. Those new painkillers are great. They actually work. How did school go?”

“Don’t ask. Honestly, if it didn’t mean being sent away, I’d be thrilled to be going back to Holdran. Especially now Jim’s moving out.”

Lou grunted and turned over, burying her head under the duvet again. She waited until the others finished dinner before getting up and going into the lounge.

Only her mum went out to the midweek church meeting, leaving Jim in charge until she returned. Normally, this would irk Lou, but tonight she didn’t care.

Making the most of having the place to themselves, Jim did his shopping via the Net. Arranging for the lorry to deliver the items to the boat tomorrow sometime between twelve and three, Jim then checked his e-mail and printed off the replies before deleting them.

“According to this. The Atlantic can’t be crossed from June until September”--Jim read to them--“because of the danger of hurricanes. The easiest route is south to the Canaries, then taking the favorable trade winds across to Jamaica. UK to Canaries takes two weeks, then the Canaries to Jamaica a further four weeks.”

Lou looked at him. “Then go that way. But you can’t sail all the time.”

“Single handers snatch small amounts of sleep at regular intervals, say, ten minutes every two hours or so. Radar gives warning of impending collisions with other craft or land. Sleep would be impossible in shipping lanes or busy areas such as the Dover Strait. Also, the boat can’t anchor mid-ocean as it is too deep. Single handers use autopilots almost all the time. Sleep is taken within easy reach of the cockpit.”

“Cockpit?” Staci asked.

“Bridge—as in navy or science fiction.”

“So where are the Canaries?”

“Off the coast of Africa. My only concern is the warning about hurricanes between June and September,” Lou said. “That’s going to make it hard on all of us.”

Jim glanced at her. He’d been very careful to use the word
I
in all his planning and not
we
. Surely, no matter what the girls said, they didn’t think they were coming too? Because they weren’t. “I don’t have much of a choice. Seeing as how June starts on Sunday, and that’s when I have to go. Besides, I can’t leave it any longer. It’ll take a while to get there and every day counts.”

“Will you be all right?” Staci asked.

“I’m boldly going where lots of people have gone before, how could I not be all right?”

Lou giggled as she rolled her eyes. The misquote was from a science fiction television show they all loved. “Wondered how long that would take you. When are we leaving?”

“
I
can’t leave too late,” Jim said. “The yard closes at half past eight.”

“I was thinking that if we pad the beds out, make it look like we have gone to bed, Mum won’t know we’ve gone until morning. That way we’d have time to clear the Solent at any rate. Or at least get a few miles between us.”

“Since when do you
ever
go to bed before eight?” Jim logged off and shut down the computer. He swung the computer chair round. “You do know I’m going alone, right?”

Lou scowled. “Why?”

“Because it’s too dangerous. I have no idea what’s going to happen either on the crossing or when I get there, or how long it’ll take me to find them. Staci will be safe at school and
here
with you.”

“No…” Staci whispered.

For a moment, her shattered look almost broke through his steel reserve. “I’ll text you every day. You’ll be so busy at school, you won’t miss me. And I’ll bring them home, I promise.” He hugged her. “You’ll see. I’ll be home before September.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“You’re an idiot.” Lou stood. “I’m off to bed. Night.”

“Night.” Jim watched her go. What was wrong with her? She knew he was right. This was the only thing to do.

~*~

Thursday dragged.

Lou stayed in bed with her headache, which was there, but only half the story. She was incredibly mad at Jim. He was determined to go off on his own. Couldn’t he see that was a sure fire way of getting himself killed? It’d take two to sail safely, especially to the other side of the world. She
had
to go with him.

Soon, Jim went to the boat yard to wait for the shopping.

Staci went to school under protest, her argument being there wasn’t any point if she were starting a new school the following week.

Her mother went to work.

Lou slowly rolled out of bed and started to pack what she thought she might need. She tried to keep to two bags, but found it incredibly difficult. She hated to admit it but it was one thing Jim was right about—women always over pack. She crammed as much as possible in the way of clothes into one bag, and started to fill the other with things she thought they might find useful. The only thing she wouldn’t pack yet was her mobile phone or charger.

She crossed to the bookcase and pulled several books off the shelves. These went into the bag, along with a pack of cards, the tin opener from the picnic basket, and the spare first aid kit.

Then, she shoved in another pair of jeans and a thick jumper.

Deefer jumped onto her bed and worried her hand.

“Hey, don’t worry, you daft dog. I’m not going anywhere without you.” She put the bags inside the wardrobe, then raided the medicine cabinet and took more of her headache pills. She got back into bed and tried to read for a bit with Deefer lying heavily across her feet. When she woke it was evening. She sat up and looked at Staci. “What time is it?”

“Six o’clock Friday evening.”

“No, it’s Thursday.” She pulling on her dressing gown and stood.

“Friday. You slept for almost a whole day. Feeling better?”

“Hungry.”

“Your mum just dished up.”

Lou followed her into the dining room.

“Hey, it’s sleeping ugly,” Jim said.

Lou poked her tongue out at him and sat down next to Staci. She looked at the plate of food in front of her. “Thanks, Mum. So what did you guys get up to today?”

“This and that,” Jim said. “Staci went to school. I walked the dog, read a book, walked the dog, unpacked a case to find something and then re-packed. Walked the dog again...”

“Fun filled day then.”

After dinner, Mum insisted she’d do the dishes on her own, so the three of them went into the lounge. Staci shut the door.

“So what did you really do today?”

“Walked the dog and just looked for something,” Jim said.

Lou nodded. “Are you still going ahead with this stupid scheme of yours to go alone?”

“I have to. Everything’s set for Sunday. I’ll go after Nichola and Staci leave for Holdran. Staci’s fine with the idea, and I’ll keep in touch by phone.”

“That’s all right, then.” She shoved her hands into her robe pockets. “Doesn’t matter what I think.”

“Why should it?”

Anger flared through her, and she almost told him why it mattered. But he didn’t like her the way she wanted him to. If he did, he wouldn’t be leaving her. Instead, she reigned in her annoyance. “No, you’re right.
It
doesn’t matter.
I
don’t matter. I’m going back to bed. Do what you want.”

She headed out, shutting the door firmly. She’d take one bag tomorrow when Jim put his stuff on the boat. He’d never notice an extra bag amongst all of his.

~*~

“Can I borrow the car, please? I want to take my stuff over to Matt’s.”

Nichola nodded at him. “Sure, so long as you’re back by lunchtime. I have tickets for the cinema this afternoon. I have a couple of errands to run. So don’t be too long.”

Jim picked up some of his bags and took them out to the car. When he came back, there were three left. He frowned slightly. He didn’t remember packing the blue rucksack.

Lou glanced at him. “Something wrong?”

“Did I really pack this much stuff?”

“That blue one I packed for you. Stuff from the kitchen I thought you might need.”

He hefted it in one hand. “This is heavy. What did you put in it?”

A faint smile crossed her face. “Everything up to and including the kitchen sink.”

“Won’t your mum miss the kitchen sink?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Shall we go?”

They piled into the car, the dog included, and Jim drove them to the boat yard. He carried all the bags aboard, while the girls walked along the towpath with Deefer. He gave the boat a once over and went across to the office to make the final arrangements for his departure with Matt.

“Are you sure about this?” Matt asked.

Jim nodded. “Yeah. Staci is going back to boarding school tomorrow afty, and I can’t just leave my parents out there. I’ll sleep here tomorrow night, and leave first thing Monday.”

Having done that, he rejoined the girls and suggested that they set off back to the flat. The afternoon passed quickly as the film was one they had all wanted to see. They decided on pizza for tea and ate it in the lounge in front of the TV.

When Lou decided to go to bed at nine, Jim said he’d go, too.

“No, I’m not sick,” he told Nichola. “Just tired.” He followed the girls out of the room with a chorus of goodnights. At the door of their room, he paused. “Sleep well,” he told them. “Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives.”

“Not quite,” Lou said. “That’s the day you turn forty. Tomorrow is the day I lose both of you. Nothing to look forward to at all.”

4

Sunday, June first, dawned grey and overcast.

Lou decided that was just fine as she was losing both Jim and Staci. Or at least she had to act as if she was. Her bad mood persisted through church and the traditional Sunday roast.

Jim tossed her a tea towel to dry up with. “What’s up with you?” he asked.

“What do you think?” she hissed. “Staci’s going to boarding school this afternoon and you’re going off on a sea trip. I’m staying here. On my own.”

“You’ll have Deefer.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t talk to him, can I?”

“Sure you can. He just won’t answer back.”

They did the dishes in silence for a bit, while Staci went to finish her packing. As he dried his hands, Jim sucked in a deep breath. “How about we play a game?”

Lou shrugged. “Whatever.”

He looked at her. “Fine. Stay mad at me, but don’t ruin this for Staci.”

She nodded. He had a point. She went into the dining room to deal the cards. It soon turned into a game of Lou-picks-on-Jim-and-skips-him-lots.

Jim was still only on his second hand when Staci won.

Just as the game finished the phone rang.

Nichola went to answer it.

Jim picked up the cards. “You’re lucky I like you. I’ve never lost that badly before.”

“Get used to it, loser.” Lou told him. “Oh, wait, you can’t. You’re moving out.”

Nichola came back in. “That was work. They need me to go in and cover the night shift. It means I can’t take you to school until tomorrow evening, I’m afraid, Staci, as I have to be there at eight PM. I’ll ring and let them know. Jim, are you able to stay tonight?”

Jim shook his head. “I can’t I’m afraid. I’ve got a job at the yard starting at five in the morning. Sorry.”

Lou glared at him. “We’ll be fine on our own tonight, Mum,” she said, an idea forming in her head. This would just make everything so much easier. “Do you want some help getting tea?”

“No, but you lot can wash up afterwards.”

Lou looked at Staci, needing to fill her in and quickly. “Stace, let’s leave Jim to lay the table. I want to show you something in the bedroom.”

Shutting the bedroom door, she turned to her friend. “How about we stow away?” she suggested.

Staci’s eyes grew wide. “Go on the boat with Jim?”

“Yeah. He can’t go alone, it’s too dangerous, and we’ll never have another chance like this. And I know you don’t want to be left behind any more than I do.”

“No I don’t, but how do we do it?”

“Easy,” Lou said without thinking it through. “We leave when he does. Walk Deefer to the boat yard with him and sneak on board when he goes to see Matt. We’ll just hide until he’s left.”

“What about our stuff?”

“I put a bag on the boat yesterday with some of my stuff in. We’ll take a rucksack each when we go for the walk. And you have clothes on the boat already, don’t you?”

Staci nodded. “Mum always keeps some on there. And if he asks why we’re taking rucksacks for a walk?”

“Then we tell him its girls stuff and to mind his own.”

Staci smiled properly for the first time in days and then hugged Lou. “Thank you.”

Just before seven fifteen, Lou’s mother stuck her head in the bedroom.

“I’m leaving.”

“OK.”

Mum nodded. “I’m sorry I have to work. I should be back before you leave for school, Lou. Make sure everything is locked up before you turn in.”

“Will do.” Lou hugged her mother. “”Bye, Mum.”

“Night, love. See you in the morning.”

She looked at Jim. “Hope work goes OK.” Mum gave him a long hug. “Will you be here over the weekend?”

“If that’s OK.”

“Of course it is.” Mum hurried off to her car, leaving Lou to consider for the first time if she should leave her Mum alone. She hadn’t stopped pondering when Jim tapped her on the shoulder.

“I should go, too. I’m spending the night in the boat yard and sailing first thing tomorrow morning.”

Lou looked at him. “You’re what?”

“I already said I can’t leave until morning because of the boat yard rules. So sleeping there is the only option. Besides, I’m meant to be living at Matt’s.”