Rush of Blood (3 page)

Before anyone has so much as picked up a menu, Ed volunteers to order for them all. If anybody has a better idea, they keep
it to themselves. They kick things off with pints of local Landshark lager for the men and a jug of frozen margaritas. Then
a few minutes later, the waitress – who tells them her name is Traci, and scribbles it on the paper tablecloth in case they
forget, dotting her ‘i’ with a heart – delivers an enormous platter of mixed appetisers. A dozen buffalo wings and a mountain
of nachos covered in salsa and melted cheese; battered oysters, clam strips and popcorn shrimp.

‘The portions are always so enormous,’ Marina says.

‘That’s why it’s best to wait,’ Ed says. ‘Just order your starters.’

Barry helps himself to a chicken wing and says, ‘Well, you’re the expert.’

They’re seated at a large table on the balcony, near the bar. The bar itself is decorated with dollar bills – hundreds of
them, each with a message scrawled on it in marker pen by satisfied customers:
Best margarita in town! Love Bob and Marsha
;
Thanx for the warm welcome and the awesome fish tacos xx
. It’s no more than a degree or two cooler than it was at midday, and the few fans scattered about aren’t helping
much. In the far corner, a guitarist – white, with dreadlocks – sits on a stool, swapping banter with the customers closest
to him and playing an inoffensive selection of songs rather well: Paul Simon, Bob Marley, the Beatles. It’s loud, so they
all need to lean in close to one another and raise their voices to make themselves heard.

‘You ask me, the trick is to take it that bit easier before the holiday starts,’ Ed says. He slaps his belly through a salmon-pink,
short-sleeved shirt. ‘Go on a diet for a week or two, then make sure you get some exercise while you’re out here. Play a bit
of golf or tennis or something.’

‘I try and swim every day,’ Sue says.

‘Me too,’ Dave says.

Ed leans towards him. ‘You a swimmer then? See you in the pool.’

‘I prefer the sea,’ Dave says. ‘But yeah …’

‘You don’t need to lose any weight,’ Angie says to Sue. ‘There’s nothing of you.’

Sue is wearing a plain white halter-neck which accentuates her slender figure and shows off nicely tanned shoulders. Her long
brown hair is held up with a clip. She tucks a loose strand behind her ear and smiles. ‘I just like swimming,’ she says.

They all clap politely as the guitarist finishes a song and announces that he’s taking a short break. Marina insists she likes
the music, but says it’s good that they don’t have to shout any more. Barry has finished his beer, so Ed signals to Traci
as she passes and orders him another.

‘Right.’ Ed drums his palms on the edge of the table and looks from one face to another. ‘Where did everyone meet? That’s
always a good way to kick things off.’

Angie looks at Barry, who is sitting at the other end of the table. ‘No point in couples sitting together,’ Ed had said when
they’d been sorting out the seats.

‘It’s a good story,’ Barry says.

‘We met when I was having some work done on my house.’ Angie reaches for the jug and tops up her glass. ‘Ten years ago, was
it?’ She
looks at Barry again and he shrugs, unsure. ‘Barry was my builder.’

The others at the table make suitable noises of surprise and interest.

‘She was looking for a quotation, so you gave her one.’ Ed laughs at his innuendo and winks at Barry. ‘Right?’

‘We just started seeing a lot more of each other as the job went on,’ Angie says. She stares into her drink, stirring it with
a straw. ‘We’d both been through bad break-ups, both had kids, what have you. We both needed shoulders to cry on, I think.’
She looks up. ‘So, anyway.’

‘At the end of the day,
I
got a second wife …’ Barry leaves it hanging and looks towards Angie, having set up a punchline that has obviously been trotted
out many times.

Angie picks up her cue. ‘And
I
got fifty per cent off my extension.’

Everyone laughs. Marina says, ‘
Fifty
, is that all?’ then everyone laughs some more.

Dave and Marina are holding hands across the table. He signals to her and when she passes him her handbag he reaches inside
and pulls out a blue inhaler. Ed watches him shaking it and says, ‘You an asthmatic or something?’

Dave nods and takes a puff.

‘That like a steroid?’ Barry asks.

‘Sort of …’

‘They shrink your balls, don’t they?’ Ed says. ‘You end up with bollocks like Maltesers.’

‘Can’t say I’ve noticed,’ Marina says, and all the girls laugh.

‘So, what about you?’ Angie says to her. ‘How long have you two been married?’

‘We’re not married,’ Dave says, quickly. ‘We are
planning
to, when we get ourselves a bit more organised.’ He leans towards Marina and blows a kiss. ‘Right, babe?’

Marina nods and smiles, then turns back to Angie. ‘Boring really,’ she says. ‘We met at a party. God, when was that, Dave?’

‘It was almost exactly two and a half years ago,’ Dave says. He smiles at Marina, tugging at his scruffy goatee. ‘October.’

‘I’m impressed,’ Angie says, pulling a face at Barry.

Sue leans across the table and pokes Ed’s arm. ‘Can you remember what month
we
met?’

‘I know it was your lucky day,’ Ed says.

‘Well, I suppose it
was
a long time ago.’

‘I think Sue and I have got you all beaten,’ Ed says. He takes a mouthful of beer and smacks his lips. ‘We’ve been together
twenty-five years.’

‘You’re kidding,’ Marina says.

‘Married for twenty-two.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Barry says.

Ed sits back and folds his arms. ‘Now, if that’s not worthy of some kind of long-service medal, I don’t know what is.’

Sue looks at Angie and shakes her head. Says, ‘Cheeky sod.’

‘You must have been kids,’ Angie says.

‘We were both in the sixth form.’ Sue puffs out her cheeks. ‘Long time ago.’ She picks up a nacho, carefully bites it in half.
‘He’d already gone out with most of my mates.’

‘Only because she was playing hard to get,’ Ed says.

‘Where were you at school?’ Marina asks.

‘Birmingham,’ Sue says, then pops the rest of the nacho into her mouth.

‘Oh, I thought I could just make out the accent.’

Ed leans forward and raises his voice. ‘Yow alroight, our kid?’ Angie laughs and he leans across her for the last chicken
wing. ‘This grub’s bostin’ ay’ it?’

‘We moved to London twelve years ago,’ Sue says. ‘Ed got a job with a company down there.’

‘What do you do, Ed?’ Dave asks.

Ed licks sauce from his fingers. ‘Publishing.’

‘Sounds interesting.’

‘I’ve just got one of those Kindle things,’ Angie says. ‘They’re fantastic. Do you do those?’

Ed does not appear to hear the question above the chatter from
adjacent tables and the clink of glasses. He nods back at Dave. ‘So, what game are you in, then?’

‘Computers,’ Dave says. He snores and chuckles. ‘Very dull.’

‘Not dull at all.’ Marina turns to Angie. ‘Your kids play computer games?’

‘Can’t get them off the bloody things,’ Angie says.

‘I bet Dave helped design some of them.’

‘Wow,’ Angie says.

‘What about you?’ Ed nods across at Barry. ‘Still in the building trade?’

‘It’s his own company,’ Angie says. ‘A family business, you know?’

‘Do
you
work?’ Sue asks her.

Angie shakes her head. ‘Well, only if you count running around after two kids.’ She laughs, reaching for the jug again, and
pours what little is left of the margarita into her glass. ‘I’m a kept woman.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Sue says.

‘Don’t get any ideas,’ Ed mutters, looking to Barry and Dave for a reaction.

‘You?’ Angie asks.

‘I teach,’ Sue says.

‘Infants or juniors?’

‘Well, it’s a private school, so it’s years four to eight. Nine- to thirteen-year-olds.’

‘Sounds like hard work.’

‘Sometimes.’

‘Nice long holidays, though,’ Angie says. ‘Right?’

Sue just nods and turns to look at Marina. It takes a few seconds before Marina realises that she is being invited to say
her piece.

‘Oh … I’m sort of looking around a bit at the moment,’ Marina says. ‘I’m working part-time as a dental receptionist, but it’s
not exactly my life’s ambition.’

‘Marina writes and acts,’ Dave says. ‘That’s what she
should
be doing.’

‘Shut up,’ Marina says. She pushes him playfully in the shoulder,
but looks happy enough to talk about it. ‘I take some acting classes, that’s all, and I’ve written a few short stories, which
nobody’s ever seen.’

‘I’ve seen them and they’re great,’ Dave says.

‘You’re biased though, because we have sex.’

Angie and Sue laugh and Angie points to Ed. ‘Well, now you’ve met a publisher,’ she says. ‘You never know, you might end up
being the next J.K. Rowling or whatever.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Marina says.

‘What kind of stuff do you write?’ Ed leans towards her. ‘Obviously, I can’t make any promises, but I might be able to point
you in the right direction. Get it in front of a few people …’

Traci arrives at the table and asks if everyone is enjoying themselves. Ed says that everything is great, as always. Traci
says that’s awesome and cheerily asks if she can clear some of the empties. When she moves away again, dirty plates and bowls
stacked on one arm, a young girl is standing next to the table.

She is wearing shorts and training shoes and a glittery pink top that doesn’t quite cover her belly. Her dark hair is tied
back with a glittery pink scrunchie. She stares at them and tugs at her ear.

‘Hi,’ Marina says.

Angie says, ‘Hello,’ recognising the girl they had seen earlier, in the pool at the Pelican Palms.

‘Everything all right?’ Sue asks. She looks around and eventually sees the girl’s mother down below them on the pavement.
The woman is talking to a dark-haired man whose back is to the restaurant. He looks well built and Sue can just make out tattoos
creeping beneath the sleeves of his T-shirt. The woman gesticulates lazily – an unlit cigarette between her fingers – while
the other hand is casually laid first on the man’s arm, then across on to his chest. Sue nudges Marina, cocks her head towards
the street and quietly says, ‘There …’

‘Where you from?’ the girl asks. Her voice is high-pitched and nasal.

‘We’re from England,’ Angie says. ‘What about you?’

‘I’m from America,’ the girl says, frowning. ‘I’m not from England.’

‘OK …’

The girl steps forward and holds on to the edge of the table. ‘I saw England on the TV though.’ She nods slowly, eyes down,
and when she looks up again, her face breaks into a beaming smile. ‘When the prince and the princess got married in the church
that had the trees growing inside and all the kings and queens from everywhere in the world came there to watch.’ She looks
towards the group, but as she speaks, her eyes are fixed on a spot six inches or so above the head of Dave, who is sitting
at the furthest end of the table from her. ‘That was my favourite show of all time, and we have it on the DVR, so I can watch
it whenever I want.’

‘That’s good,’ Marina says.

As Ed refolds his paper napkin and Barry slowly drains his beer glass, Sue looks past the girl and down towards the street.
She watches as the girl’s mother begins peering frantically up and down the street, and Sue opens her mouth to shout. At the
same moment, the woman looks up, so Sue and Marina wave, and when the woman spots her daughter, she raises her hands in relief
and shakes her head.

There is no longer any sign of the man she was talking to.

She jogs up the steps on to the balcony and walks quickly across to the table. She puts her hands on the girl’s shoulders.
Her daughter is several inches taller than she is.

‘Hey, baby.’ The woman’s voice is low and smoky; a Southern accent. ‘I told you to stay close to me, didn’t I?’ She nods towards
Sue, who is closest to her. ‘I hope she wasn’t disturbing you.’

‘Not at all,’ Sue says.

‘She gets over-excited, you know?’

‘It’s fine.’

‘We don’t get out of Georgia a whole lot, is the truth.’ She smiles and rubs the tops of the girl’s arms as though she might
be cold. ‘Anyway, thanks for being so nice about it, and have a great evening … and now we’ll let you get back to your dinner,
won’t we, honey?’

‘They’re from England,’ the girl says. ‘Like in the show we like.’

‘OK, then.’ The woman grins, and reddens, then turns and leads the girl away from the table and down the steps.

Before anyone can say anything, Traci reappears to take orders for the main course. Ed recommends the fish tacos, which Dave
is happy to go along with. Angie and Barry order burgers and sweet potato fries, while first Sue and then Marina declare that
they want to skip the main course and leave room for pudding. Angie asks if anyone else is moving on to wine, so Ed chooses
one and they order a couple of bottles. Barry wants another beer.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Traci says.

‘So.’ Ed leans forward and lowers his voice a little. ‘Anyone else think that girl was a bit …’

Dave grunts and nods.

‘I don’t know what the word is,’ Angie says. ‘What you’re supposed to call it these days.’

‘Retarded,’ Barry says.

‘I don’t think you can say that,’ Angie says.

‘Don’t look at me,’ Ed says, shrugging. ‘We called them a lot worse than that when I was at school.’

‘I think that’s what Americans
do
call it,’ Barry says. ‘I saw something on TV, somebody talking about “mental retardation”.’

‘It’s another one of those stupid made-up words,’ Ed says. ‘Like relevancy or burglarisation.’

‘Right,’ Dave says. ‘I hate that.’

‘You’ve got to feel sorry for the mother though,’ Angie says. ‘Doesn’t look like there’s a husband around.’

‘Looked like she was doing fine to me,’ Sue says.

Nobody says much else until the drinks arrive. Ed tastes the wine, tells Traci it’s fine and starts to fill the glasses. ‘Say
“when”,’ he tells Marina, then, when she does, he laughs and proceeds to ignore her.