Page 50 of The Pearl Sister
‘Wow,’ I murmured. ‘Kitty Mercer sounds amazing! Moving to the other side of the world, marrying a man she hardly knew and inheriting what sounds like a mother-in-law from hell.’
‘I suppose that’s what a lot of women did in those days, especially those who had a life they didn’t want to go back to.’ Ace looked off into the distance. ‘Like Kitty’s,’ he added eventually.
‘Yeah, her father sounds like a real jerk. Do you think she made the right choice, marrying Andrew over Drummond?’
Ace studied Kitty’s picture on the front cover. ‘Who knows? We make so many choices every single day . . .’
His face closed off then, so I didn’t push him on what decisionshe’dmade that had led to him hiding out here in the palace. ‘The question is,’ I said, ‘what’s she got to do with me? I don’t think we’re related – we look nothing alike.’ To illustrate the point, I held up the book to my head and tried to put on the same stern expression as her. Ace gave a chuckle then brushed a finger over my cheek.
‘You don’t have to look alike to be related. Take me – my father is European, and I’d bet you’re mixed race too. Haven’t you ever wondered?’
‘Course I have. To be honest, I always just accepted it – people would try to guess where I was from if I told them I was adopted. They’d say all sorts – South Asian, South American, African . . . It’s like everyone wants to put you in a box and stick a label on you, but I just wanted to be me.’
Ace nodded. ‘Yeah, I get that too. Here in Thailand they call usluk kreung– literally “half child”. But even though I know where my blood comes from, it doesn’t mean I understand who I am or where I belong. I feel out of place wherever I am. I wonder if you’ll feel like you belong in Australia?’
‘I . . . I don’t know.’ I was beginning to feel flushed and hot, all the questions he was asking me making my head spin. I stood up. ‘I’m going for a last swim and sunset,’ I said as I walked across the terrace to the stairs. ‘I want to take some photos.’
‘What do you mean, a “last” swim?’
‘I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m going to get my bikini.’
Arriving at the gate a few minutes later with my camera, I found Ace already hovering beside it in his swimming trunks, shades and baseball cap.
‘I’ll come with you,’ he said.
‘Okay.’ I tried not to show my surprise when he pressed the red button and I handed my camera to Po as Ace legged it at top speed towards the sea with me trailing behind him. We swam out a long way, much further than anyone else, and he held me in his arms and kissed me.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving before?’
‘To be honest, I’d lost track of the days. It was only when I looked at the plane ticket in my rucksack this morning that I realised.’
‘It’ll be strange without you, CeCe.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage. C’mon,’ I said as we waded out, ‘I need to get my camera and take some pics of the sunset before it’s gone.’
I collected my camera from Po and went back onto the beach to capture the sunset, as Ace lurked in the foliage watching me.
‘You want photo? I take it,’ Po offered.
‘Would you mind being in it?’ I asked Ace. ‘With the sunset and stuff behind us? Just for the memory?’
‘I . . .’ There was a flicker of fear in his eyes before he reluctantly agreed.
I instructed Po on which button to press, and with our backs facing the beach, Ace put his arm around me and we posed in front of the setting sun on Phra Nang. Po snapped away eagerly until Ace put up a hand to stop him before pressing the code on the gate and disappearing through it. I followed in his wake, stopping to collect my camera.
‘Madam, I take to shop and print for you? My cousin, he run good place in Krabi town. I go there now, pictures back tomorrow morning,’ Po offered.
‘Okay, thanks,’ I agreed as I ejected the roll of film from the unit. ‘Make two sets of prints, yes?’ I gesticulated with my fingers, thinking it would be a good memento to leave for Ace.
‘No problem, madam.’ Po smiled at me. ‘My pleasure. Three hundred baht for two set?’
‘Deal.’ I walked away wondering why he was being so helpful and thought that maybe his guilty conscience was still plaguing him. Perhaps, just occasionally, human beings wanted to make up for past misdemeanours.
That evening, I wondered if it was me who was not myself, but the conversation that usually flowed over dinner was now stilted and unnatural. Ace was weirdly quiet and didn’t even laugh at my jokes, which he normally did no matter how bad they were. As soon as I put down my knife and fork, he yawned and said we should get an early night, and I agreed. In bed, he reached for me silently in the darkness and made love to me.
‘Night, CeCe,’ he said as we settled down for him to sleep and for me to lie awake.
‘Night.’
