Page 21 of The Pearl Sister
‘Nope,’ I said, then drained my glass as quickly as I could.
‘Jay say he know man you were with. Bad man. Famous.’
‘Then Jay needs a new pair of glasses, ’cos it wasn’t me.’ I counted out sixty baht with a ten baht tip and put it down on the bar as I stood up.
‘Jay in later. He tell you.’
I shook my head and rolled my eyes at her again as though I thought she was crazy, then left, trying to act casually. Instead of turning right along the beach back to the palace, I turned left, where I’d told Nam my hotel was, just in case she or Jay, or anyone else for that matter, was watching. I dumped my shoes and towel on the beach in front of the hotel I’d said I was staying at, and walked into the water for a swim and a think.
What had she meant when she’d said that Jay had called Ace a ‘bad man’? In Nam’s book, that probably meant he was a womaniser, nothing more. I knew Ace hadn’t been short of girlfriends when he’d lived in London – he was forever mentioning different women he’d shared good times with. As for him being ‘famous’, maybe he was, but I wouldn’t know because I never read newspapers or magazines, due to my dyslexia.
I waded out and lay back on the sand to let my skin dry in the sun, and I wondered whether I should tell Ace. It was obvious he was paranoid about his privacy . . . What if he was some famous celebrity? I could always ask Electra – that was the world she lived in every day. And if he was, that would make her shut up for once – the ugly D’Aplièse sister, bagging herself a famous boyfriend. It was almost worth texting to ask her just for her reaction.
But I knew that if I did tell Ace someone was on to him, it would only worry him. And besides, Jay didn’t know where he lived – or, at least, I hoped he didn’t.
Perhaps Ishouldtell Ace . . . but I only had a few days left here before I had to make my way to Australia and I didn’t want to spoil our time together. I finally decided that once I was back inside the palace gates, I’d stay put and not come out until it was time for me to leave for the airport. And today, I just had to hope that no one was watching as I went back in.
Choosing a time just before sunset when Phra Nang Beach was beginning to empty but I could still remain inconspicuous amongst the throng, I went for another swim, then sat on my towel very near Po, who, when he saw me, immediately tried to press the keypad to let me in. I ignored him and lay down a few metres away. I’d slip inside when all eyes were turned on the sunset in front of me.
Twenty minutes later, the show began and I scurried up to the palace gates like a hunted animal.
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked up the path to my room, but at least if Ace had suddenly gone off me and asked me to move out that night, the New Year rush was over and there was plenty of room in the hotels along the beach. Opening the door to my room, I smelt a flowery scent wafting on the air.
‘I’m in here, come and join me.’
I walked into the bathroom and saw Ace lying in the huge oval bathtub, which was surrounded by numerous tea lights giving off a softly scented glow. On top of the water floated hundreds of white and pink flower petals.
‘Join me?’
I giggled.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘You look like a surrealist’s version of that famous painting of the dead Ophelia.’
‘You mean a hairier and uglier version? Cheers,’ he said with a grin. ‘And there was me trying to be romantic. Granted, the maid went over the top with the flowers, but never ask a Thai person to run your bath or you end up picking petals off yourself for days afterwards. Come on, climb in.’
So I did, and lay there with my head resting upon his chest and his arms holding me tight around my middle. It felt fantastic.
‘Sorry about earlier,’ he whispered into my ear and then gave it a soft kiss. ‘I just had some stuff to sort out on the phone.’
‘No need to apologise.’
‘I missed you,’ he whispered again. ‘Shall we eat in tonight?’
‘We always do,’ I replied with a smile.
Much later, when we’d finally made it out of the bath and had tucked into a fresh fish in tamarind sauce, we took a stroll down to the beach and lay there looking up at the stars.
‘Show me which one your star is,’ Ace asked me.
I located the milky cluster and pointed to it. ‘I’m the third one down from the top, at about two o’clock.’
‘I can only count six.’
‘There are seven, but it’s really hard to see the last one.’
‘What’s her name?’
