David, and for that reason I wish you a safe and speedy journey. I hope that one day we'll meet again under different circumstances.
D
Rachel’s emerald eyes were fixed on the chequered, plastic table cover.
‘Rachel, why didn't you …’
‘I received it a month ago. It’s the first I’ve heard from him since he disappeared,’ she said, turning her eyes from the table to me.
‘I can't do it alone. I have to find him.’
‘Don't you think your mother ...’
‘I don’t want my mother to know,’ she said. ‘I still hear her sitting in her bedroom crying at night and getting up before sunrise to hide her empty wine bottles.’
‘Of course I’ll help you.’
She hugged me, knocking the salt off the table. Once she'd calmed down and we'd gathered up our stuff to leave, I made sure to take a pinch of the salt lying on the floor and throw it over my shoulder. A large trucker received a thorough dusting on his shaven, tattooed head, with some of the salt settling in the hairy folds on his huge neck. He stood up and towered over me, at which point I apologised and explained that we had just received some bad news. All I could think of was how much his head looked like an egg. Rachel apologised, while I offered to pay for the trucker's breakfast by holding out a tenner, which he snatched out of my hand. Two kids on a nearby table began throwing salt at each other, much to the chagrin of their mother. I said sorry to the diners and the staff for the disturbance, and left amid the surprisingly harsh reprimands of an old lady who hit me with her cane on the way out.
Crew Only
The sea air was bitter on the top deck of the ferry, so we huddled together for warmth.
‘Do you want to go inside and sit in the bar?’ I asked.
‘No, I love it out here,’ Rachel replied.
It was easy to see why. The cityscapes on either side of us looked much more romantic from this perspective. The sun was setting behind the snow-covered observatory to the south, and to the east, stars were already becoming visible above the glow of the city. From the streets, it was impossible to see the stars once the bars and nightclubs opened. The neon fog of debauchery descended on everyone, whether they were out partying or not.
‘You never did tell me where you got to last night,’ I said.
‘I went to Doyle's house,’ she said. ‘With the girls from Cosmetics.’
‘Tell me Graziano wasn't there.’
‘He wasn't there.’
I held Rachel close and imagined that the ferry was transporting us to another reality where strangers smile at each other for no reason, where the air always smells salty and fresh, where the music of gulls and old jazz records through barnacled speakers blends in key and where secret lovers could lose themselves in each other without fear of discovery.
When the great ropes had been tossed from the deck to the dock hands and the announcements had been made by the captain, the other passengers began heading towards the exit. We followed the crowd to the lower deck, whereupon I saw the police waiting on the dock. They were face-checking everyone who was disembarking from the ferry, even asking some for identification.
‘Rachel, you have to go. If I try to get off this ferry now, we might never see each other again.’
She looked at the police checking IDs and held my hand. ‘What is this about?’
‘There's no time for this. You have to go. Please.’
‘I'm staying with you,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘Christ. Down here,’ I said, opening a metal door which read Crew Only in stencilled spray paint. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all too busy trying to cram themselves into the bottleneck of the gangway. Satisfied that we had gone unnoticed, I followed Rachel into the darkness.
The hot stink of diesel was nauseating, but we had no choice other than to stay put until the ferry began its return journey. We
D
Rachel’s emerald eyes were fixed on the chequered, plastic table cover.
‘Rachel, why didn't you …’
‘I received it a month ago. It’s the first I’ve heard from him since he disappeared,’ she said, turning her eyes from the table to me.
‘I can't do it alone. I have to find him.’
‘Don't you think your mother ...’
‘I don’t want my mother to know,’ she said. ‘I still hear her sitting in her bedroom crying at night and getting up before sunrise to hide her empty wine bottles.’
‘Of course I’ll help you.’
She hugged me, knocking the salt off the table. Once she'd calmed down and we'd gathered up our stuff to leave, I made sure to take a pinch of the salt lying on the floor and throw it over my shoulder. A large trucker received a thorough dusting on his shaven, tattooed head, with some of the salt settling in the hairy folds on his huge neck. He stood up and towered over me, at which point I apologised and explained that we had just received some bad news. All I could think of was how much his head looked like an egg. Rachel apologised, while I offered to pay for the trucker's breakfast by holding out a tenner, which he snatched out of my hand. Two kids on a nearby table began throwing salt at each other, much to the chagrin of their mother. I said sorry to the diners and the staff for the disturbance, and left amid the surprisingly harsh reprimands of an old lady who hit me with her cane on the way out.
Crew Only
The sea air was bitter on the top deck of the ferry, so we huddled together for warmth.
‘Do you want to go inside and sit in the bar?’ I asked.
‘No, I love it out here,’ Rachel replied.
It was easy to see why. The cityscapes on either side of us looked much more romantic from this perspective. The sun was setting behind the snow-covered observatory to the south, and to the east, stars were already becoming visible above the glow of the city. From the streets, it was impossible to see the stars once the bars and nightclubs opened. The neon fog of debauchery descended on everyone, whether they were out partying or not.
‘You never did tell me where you got to last night,’ I said.
‘I went to Doyle's house,’ she said. ‘With the girls from Cosmetics.’
‘Tell me Graziano wasn't there.’
‘He wasn't there.’
I held Rachel close and imagined that the ferry was transporting us to another reality where strangers smile at each other for no reason, where the air always smells salty and fresh, where the music of gulls and old jazz records through barnacled speakers blends in key and where secret lovers could lose themselves in each other without fear of discovery.
When the great ropes had been tossed from the deck to the dock hands and the announcements had been made by the captain, the other passengers began heading towards the exit. We followed the crowd to the lower deck, whereupon I saw the police waiting on the dock. They were face-checking everyone who was disembarking from the ferry, even asking some for identification.
‘Rachel, you have to go. If I try to get off this ferry now, we might never see each other again.’
She looked at the police checking IDs and held my hand. ‘What is this about?’
‘There's no time for this. You have to go. Please.’
‘I'm staying with you,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘Christ. Down here,’ I said, opening a metal door which read Crew Only in stencilled spray paint. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all too busy trying to cram themselves into the bottleneck of the gangway. Satisfied that we had gone unnoticed, I followed Rachel into the darkness.
The hot stink of diesel was nauseating, but we had no choice other than to stay put until the ferry began its return journey. We
Similar Books
