Read Laughs, Corpses... and a Little Romance Page 35

  ******

  The next day I still didn’t know if I had any more work at the boatyard, but I went over there anyway. The yacht I’d been working on was gone. The place seemed very quiet. I went ashore and called out “Hullo? Johno? Eric? Maria? Hullo?” There was no answer. I looked in the workshop but there was nobody there. I went over to the house and listened. There wasn’t a sound. I summed up my courage and knocked on the door. No answer. I didn’t dare try the knob. I got back into Lizzie and headed for home. Jack was intrigued when I told him about the deserted boatyard, and came up with half a dozen explanations as to what had happened, but that was anybody’s guess.

  I worked the next trip on Annabelle. The tide was running out fast but the wind was blowing hard the opposite way, sucking the water up into little peaks. It looked as if the whole river was covered in shark teeth. Jack nudged me and said, “Look at those two.” He tipped his head towards a young couple in the stern. They were wrapped around each other, with hands going everywhere, and they gave each other a long passionate kiss. Jack walked over there. “Have you got a big kiss for me too?” The girl glared at him, “You must be joking!” “I’m not asking you dingbat, I’m asking him.” The couple sat there looking a bit shocked, as Jack walked off grinning. I couldn’t figure out what he was on about at the time, although I figured it out later.

  Straight away we had just the opposite sort of couple come aboard. He was a skinny little man, looking very miserable, with a big straw hat, tan shorts down to his knees, and white socks up to his knees. In the gap between shorts and socks was a pair of scrawny lilywhite knees, peeping out, a little surprised at being able to see the outside world. His wife was a big beefy woman wearing a pink two-piece suit and pink hat. The husband said to Jack “We want to take a trip to the Island please.” “Single or return?” “Return of course” she said in a loud sandpapery voice, “do you think we want to stay there forever?” “Don’t ask me lady, I just collect the fares." The man asked Jack “Can we get lunch on the Island?” “We won’t be paying good money for expensive food Cecil, I’ve brought our own sandwiches” she said. “Perhaps we could get a cup of coffee then dear." "You know coffee’s not good for you. I’ve brought a flask of cold lemonade, and for heaven’s sake pull your socks up.” Jack said “That’s eighteen dollars please.” The woman pulled a purse out of her bag and thrust a twenty-dollar note at Jack. “Here, and don’t think you can cheat me. That’s two dollars change if you don’t mind, and I don’t want it all in small coins.” Later we watched the woman stride off down the gangplank, with Cecil trotting along behind. “Poor bugger,” Jack said to me, “his missus reminds me of a rose bush in winter." "What d’you mean?" "Ugly and very prickly.”