Page 9 of The Pearl Sister
‘Yeah, great.’
‘Don’t think you’ll be sleeping out here tonight, mind you. We’re in for a storm.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed.
‘Well, see ya around.’ He gave me a wave and wandered off.
Back up on the terrace a few minutes later, I saw Jack was setting up breakfast. Nam normally did this, but she still hadn’t been seen since Christmas Eve.
‘Morning,’ I said.
‘Morning.’ He gave me a guilty look before he said, ‘Sleep well?’
‘Not bad, Jack.’ I beckoned him towards me and pointed to the retreating figure on the beach. ‘Do you know him?’
‘No, but I’ve seen him a coupla times on the beach late at night. Keeps himself to himself. Why?’
‘Just wondered. How long has he been here?’
‘I’d reckon at least a few weeks.’
‘Right. Is it okay if I go up and take a shower in your room?’
‘Sure. See ya later.’
Having showered, I sat on the floor in Jack’s room and sorted through my rucksack. I divided clean and dirty clothes – the dirty pile being the vast majority – and decided I’d drop them off at the laundry on my way to find a room. Then if the worst came to the worst and I ended up outside in a storm tonight, at least I’d have some clean, dry clothes for tomorrow.
Even though there was no such thing as Boxing Day in this part of the world, everyone wandered along the narrow alleyway of shacks that passed for shops, looking as they did in Europe: like they’d over-drunk, over-eaten and were fed up because they’d opened all their presents and the excitement had passed. Even the normally smiley laundry lady looked grim as she separated the darks from the whites and shook out my underwear for all to see.
‘Ready tomorrow.’ She handed me the ticket and I trudged out. Hearing a vague rumble of thunder in the distance, I began my hunt for a room.
I walked back onto the hotel veranda later, hot and sweaty and not having found anywhere that could offer me a room until tomorrow lunchtime. I sat drinking a coconut water and ruminating on whether I should move on – go to Ko Phi Phi perhaps, but there was no guarantee that I’d find anything there either. Well, one night out in the rain wouldn’t kill me, and if it got really bad, I could always shelter under one of the restaurant verandas.
‘Found a room yet?’ Jack asked hopefully as he passed me, carrying a tray of beer to the neighbouring table.
‘Yeah,’ I lied, not wanting to put him in a difficult position. ‘I’ll go upstairs and collect my rucksack after lunch.’
‘Don’t fancy giving me a hand behind the bar for a while, do you?’ he asked. ‘What with Nam going AWOL and the hotel full, I haven’t been able to get along to the rock. Abi’s just called to say they’ve got a queue as long as a python down there. And about as angry.’
‘I don’t mind, though I wouldn’t trust me carrying trays,’ I joked.
‘Any port in a storm, Cee. It’ll only be a couple of hours, I swear. Free beer and whatever you want to eat is on the house tonight. Come on, I’ll show you the ropes.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, and stood up to go with him behind the bar.
Four hours later, there was no sign of Jack and I’d had enough. The bar was heaving and there was a rush on juices – presumably sparked by people using vitamin C or Bloody Marys as a hangover cure. None of the drinks were as simple as just pinging the cap off a beer, and I’d ended up splattered with mango juice when the blender had exploded all over me because I hadn’t screwed the top on properly. The previous high spirits of the customers had disappeared overnight with the wrapping paper, and I was fed up with being shouted at for being slow. On top of that, I could hear the rumble of thunder getting closer, which meant that later, probably when me and my rucksack had to make camp on the beach, the heavens would open.
Jack arrived back eventually, full of apologies for being away for so long. He looked around the now almost empty veranda.
‘At least you haven’t been too busy. It was heaving down at the rock.’
Yeah, right . . .I didn’t say anything as I finished my noodles, then went upstairs to collect my rucksack.
‘Thanks, Cee. I’ll see ya around,’ he said as I arrived back downstairs, paid the bill for my room and trudged off.
I walked along the beach as a couple of lightning flashes appeared almost directly above me. I reckoned I had about five minutes before the downpour, so I upped my speed and turned right along an alleyway to a bar I knew, then saw that most of the shack-shops had closed up early because of the impending storm. The bar was also pulling down its shutters as I approached.
‘Great,’ I muttered as the owner gave me a curt nod, and I carried on. ‘This is totally crazy and ridiculous, CeCe,’ I groaned. ‘Just go back to Jack and tell him you’ll share his bed . . .’
