Page 85 of In the Same Boat

‘We need to get kicked off for bad behaviour,’ I finish her sentence.

‘Exactly,’ she confirms excitedly. ‘And I know just how we do it, because this is our holiday too, right? It’s only fair that we do things we would like to do…’

‘We hijack the holiday!’

‘Exactly! So we keep pretending we’re together now – strength in numbers – and we say we want to do things, knowing they’ll hate them, and maybe they’ll give one or two things a go, but I know my mum, she’ll hate it. They seem pretty comfortable with each other, enough to not need us around, so they’ll definitely ask us to leave.’

‘I’d gone on a few nights out with my dad, to help him meet people, and he hated loud clubs – I mean, I hated some of them, to be fair, but I can stick it out long enough to drag my dad to a couple.’

‘My mum hates noise too,’ she says. ‘One trip to a club, and the suggestion we want to get rowdy every night, and she’ll pack my bags for me.’

‘Then we have a plan,’ I say. ‘It sounds sort of evil, but it’s for their own good.’

‘It really is,’ she echoes. ‘Because they want to be together, we don’t. They want to be here, we don’t. This way, everyone gets what they actually want. Plus, they’ll have a much better time without us. It is nice to see them so happy.’

‘Definitely – I wasn’t sure my dad would find anyone he liked.’

‘Mum lost Tony, my stepdad, two years ago,’ she says softly. ‘And obviously my dad before that. I think sometimes I forget how brave it is to keep trying after that. She once said how lucky she was, to have found love twice. I don’t know how high her hopes were for a third time.’

I stay quiet – not because I don’t know what to say, because I do. I’m just not used to talking about it.

‘Makes sense,’ I say.

‘It’s strange. After my dad died, I never really imagined her with anyone else. Then Tony came along and it was weird at first, seeing another man in the house and hearing someone else make her laugh, and then moving in. But after a while it just became… nice. Seeing her happy mattered more than anything else.’

‘I lost my mum,’ I say quietly. ‘Dad’s never really been with anyone since.’

Sammie’s expression softens instantly.

‘You must miss her,’ she says, placing a hand gently on my arm.

‘Every day,’ I confess. ‘It feels like forever ago now. But I think after Mum died, parts of Dad went with her – especially his romantic side. That’s why, when he said he wanted to get back out there, I was happy to help. I didn’t see it working out – I definitely didn’t imagine him meeting someone as lovely as your mum.’

She smiles.

‘I do really like your mum,’ I say, making sure she knows that. ‘And I think she’s perfect for my dad.’

‘I think your dad is great for my mum too,’ she replies. ‘I trust him, I trust he won’t hurt her.’

I can’t help but laugh.

‘Isn’t it weird how we’re sort of like their parents?’ I point out. ‘Taking care of them, vetting their dates, micromanaging their love lives…’

‘Well, when you put it like that, yeah,’ she replies. ‘But I do think the loss, the grief, it makes them vulnerable again, in a way they haven’t been since they were kids. My mum was so strong for me, while I was growing up, so as soon as I was old enough to take some of that weight from her, I was happy to do it – and she was happy to let me.’

‘She’s lucky to have you,’ I point out. ‘And for you to let her move in…’

She bats her hand.

‘Anyone would have done the same,’ she insists.

‘They wouldn’t – that’s the point.’

We fall silent for a second.

‘Blurgh, sorry, I feel like I really killed the mood,’ she says, trying to laugh it off. ‘Back to the plan – we get ourselves kicked off this holiday once and for all.’

‘That’s the plan,’ I confirm.