‘Ah, he’ll turn up; he always does,’ he said in broken English, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Kids! What can you do?’
As they strolled towards the quay, carrying their supplies, Lily gave a shout.
‘Look! He’s there!’
To Stella’s surprise, Meaty was sitting on a low wall, his legs dangling over the side and his bare feet almost touching the water.
When Stella told him his mother was looking for him and he’d better get home sharpish, he scowled and stuck out his bottom lip.
‘I’m not going to school. Ihateschool!’
‘But you have to; every child does,’ Stella said gently. ‘It’s the law.’
‘Can’t he come with us today? He’d love it at the beach. He’s probably too late for school now anyway.’
Lily’s question came out of the blue and Stella hesitated, frowning.
‘I don’t think?—’
‘Plee-ase!’ Meaty begged, fixing on her with his big, round, melting brown eyes.
Stella was powerless to say no.
‘Run and ask your mother. It’s up to her. Lily, you go with him. Be quick!’
It wasn’t long before the pair reappeared, with Meaty carrying a small rucksack and beaming from ear to ear.
‘She said I can come if I promise to go to school tomorrow.’
‘And will you keep your promise?’ Stella asked, giving him her best stern and masterful expression.
‘Yes,’ he replied solemnly, lowering his long, black lashes.
Having him with them turned out to be a good thing. He made everyone laugh and keeping an eye on him stopped Stella from dwelling too much on her troubles.
Hector seemed to enjoy having a small boy to tease and play silly games with, and it gave Lily and Stella some time to talk on their own.
‘What’s the matter with Louise?’ Lily asked, lying face down on her towel, tanning her back. ‘She’s gone all weird and cold. She won’t look you in the eye. It’s obvious she’s fuming about something.’
Stella decided there was no point hiding the truth now it seemed Jon would be leaving. She explained Louise had wanted her to tell him to go sooner, but she’d refused and they’d rowed about it.
‘I’m not surprised she has such a problem with him,’ Lily retorted. ‘Everyone does.’
Stella sighed. ‘I just feel so bad him being here has caused so much nastiness. I wanted to help him, for Harriet’s sake more than anything.’
‘It’s not your fault, Mum,’ Lily said kindly. ‘You didn’t know this was going to happen. He must’ve gone a bit mad.’
‘I fear you’re right.’ Stella scratched an old mosquito bite on her thigh, which had started to itch again. It stopped irritating, but the scab came off and a thin trail of blood dribbled down her leg. Annoyed with herself, she licked her finger and tried to wipe away the evidence.
Her legs were a mess, covered in scrapes and bruises. Al would have told her off.
Him again. She swallowed down the painful lump, which had wedged itself in her throat, like a hard, tight plug, and focused on the turquoise sea.
Will and Meaty were a little way out but still in their depth. They weren’t moving but appeared to be chatting. She smiled, wondering what about.
Thank God she’d found Hector on the beach and had the conversation with him, she thought. She was truly grateful for that.
The four of them ate their picnic, swam together and separately and snoozed in the sun. By about 3.30p.m., Stella’s skin was beginning to feel hot and tight, despite having slathered on high-factor sun cream and covered up for a while in her cotton shirt.
