Page 27 of The Suite Life
‘The oxygen masks dropped,’ I point out in my defence.
‘By accident,’ Nathan replies.
‘Which we didn’t know untilafterwards,’ I clap back – for what it’s worth.
‘So, who is looking forward to the wedding?’ Lucy asks, changing the subject. ‘Other than me and Rick, obviously.’
‘I can take or leave it,’ Rick jokes, shrugging casually.
‘Yeah, right,’ Alfie, Rick’s brother, interjects with a playful smirk. ‘She’s got you wrapped around her little finger. You would be lost without her.’
‘Yes, I suppose I would,’ Rick admits. He wraps an arm around Lucy, planting a sweet kiss on her cheek.
A waiter silently distributes menus around the table as we all coo at Lucy and Rick’s PDA. I notice when he gets to me that he gives me a warm smile, so I smile back.
It’s lovely here this evening. Outdoor dining is one of the best things about going on holiday somewhere warm. The breeze keeps creeping past and is just enough to keep us cool on a warm evening like tonight. String lights delicately drape above us, illuminating the night with a soft, warm glow, but if you look closely you can see that the sky is full of stars.
‘So, what is everyone having?’ Rick asks the table.
‘I think I’ll have the tuna,’ Dad announces. ‘Gigi, fancy the tuna?’
Dad knows I hate seafood so I pretend to stick my fingers down my throat, making a sicky noise.
‘Gigi hates fish,’ he tells everyone, to make sure it is a joke for absolutely everyone.
Flying, heights, fish – I am such a catch. Oh, God, no, I’m not making dad jokes, that one was an accident.
‘You hate fish?’ Sunshine squeaks – she obviously finds this one even more unbelievable than flying.
‘Yeah, tuna especially, though,’ my dad answers for me. ‘She says it’s a bit off-key.’
Sunshine looks at me.
‘What?’ she asks.
I look to Dad, because I have no idea what that means either.
‘She finds it off-key,’ he says again, slower this time. ‘Because you can’t tuna fish.’
Lord. Have. Mercy.
‘Ridiculous,’ Lucy says with a laugh. ‘Well, there are two things I can’t choose between.’
‘So let’s get both and share,’ Rick suggests.
‘Aww, babe,’ Lucy says, kissing him again.
‘We really have bagged ourselves some great ones, haven’t we?’ Sunshine says – clearly devastated that we haven’t been talking about her for a few minutes – with a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes as she takes Nathan’s face in her hands and kisses him on the cheek. Nathan, of course, smiles in acknowledgement. He never seems to stop to think whether or not any of this might be awkward for me.
‘I arrived at our room to find out that this one had arranged for a bouquet of flowers for me,’ she continues, sighing contentedly.
My mum lets out a sigh.
‘Oh, give over,’ my dad says to her jokily, noticing her reaction, before turning to address the table. ‘She’s always complaining that I don’t buy her flowers – I didn’t even know she sold flowers.’
Everyone laughs. Dad’s on top form tonight.
My mum may roll her eyes but there’s no way she would have married my dad, and stayed married all this time, if she didn’t like his naff dad jokes.
