Page 35 of In the Same Boat

‘Okay, wherever we’re staying, I already know it’s going to be amazing,’ I blurt, practically pressing my face up against the glass.

‘We’re close,’ she tells me. ‘Really close.’

The butterflies in my stomach dare to flutter as we drive along the harbour road.

Then the car slows beside a yacht, eventually stopping. The driver gets out.

‘Mum?’ I say, my smile widening as I turn to face her.

‘Yep, we’re here,’ she replies.

The driver opens my door, and I step out of the car and straight into paradise. The sun warms my skin, and the sea air fills my lungs – I finally feel like I can relax.

‘We’re staying here?’ I check.

‘Yep,’ Mum says proudly. ‘There.’

I turn to look up at the yacht – theCarpe Diem– admiring its sleek finish, the size of the thing, the…

‘Ahoy,’ a voice calls out from the deck.

I look up and see a man in a captain’s hat. There’s something familiar about his voice. His face too. He takes off his hat and waves it at us. I squint to get a better look as the sun beams into my eyes, and… Oh. My. Gosh. It’s Hank! It’s fucking Hank!

He’s waving both arms like he’s trying to guide in a helicopter.

For a second, my brain refuses to connect the dots that are available – the picture they make is obvious, but I’m fighting it, as though that might make it not true.

‘No,’ I say quietly to myself. ‘No, no, no…’

I turn to my mum, and she gives me the kind of smile people show before they reassure you that something is okay that is absolutely not okay.

‘Sammie…’

‘No,’ I repeat. ‘No, no, no…’

I’m clearly going for quantity, not quality, but… no. What else can I say? What else can I beg but no?

Hank is grinning like a fool. He’s positively giddy – and obviously expecting us.

‘Mum, are you serious?’

‘It’s okay, let’s just climb aboard, see the place – I know you’re going to love it, trust me, okay?’

I don’t know what to say. I mean, I did trick her into going to a singles night but, as a response, this feels like a huge overreaction.

‘Chrissy! Sammie! You made it,’ he calls out. ‘Come aboard.’

I don’t really know what else to do but follow my mum onto the yacht.

Maybe the thing that is annoying me the most right now is that this – seeing Hank’s face – is ruining stepping onto a yacht for me.

‘Welcome aboard,’ Hank says grandly as we approach him. ‘This is my boat, theCarpe Diem.’

The first red flag is the way he pronounces it. Carp Dime.

‘Oh, it’s beautiful,’ Mum tells him.

‘Named her myself,’ he says proudly. ‘Because I love fishing for carp.’