Page 12 of On The Edge

After a few hours of retail therapy, Cat stocked up on supplies, had gathered paints, canvases, as well as food and wine to see her through the night. Her backpack was full by the time she had crossed off the final item from her shopping list. On her way back to the small bus station, she was distracted by the sound of a ship's horn blasting close by. She followed the piercing sound, which took her down another cobbled street lined with more shops and people. She continued on through a battered alleyway, which opened up to a sprawling harbour before her. A giant cruise ship slowly glided across the water leaving it's destination, like a slow, graceful whale. A few spectators stood nearby, waving cheerfully to passengers on deck. Smaller yachts and ferries clustered around the bay in pops of colour, dwarfed by their brother ship. The smell of fish and chips drifted past as Cat strolled along the waterfront strip, feeling a buzz in the air, of the energy from people coming and going to and from this lively harbour. She thought of the generations who had passed through here, some leaving for America and beyond during the gold rush, some making their home a stone's throw from the houses in which they had been born. Just then, a small ferryboat swiftly sailed into the harbour bringing in a large party of hooting women. The ladies stepped onto the pier, adjusted their pink sashes and began walking Cat’s way. Linking arms and laughing together, the mass of blondes, brunettes and redheads passed her in a perfumed haze, heading purposefully towards the nearest pub. Smiling as the hen party disappeared, Cat stepped into a quiet café. She dropped her heavy bag on the floor and fell into a table seat by a window to watch the lapping water.

Later that evening, a sharp thump at Cat’s door startled her; she was deep in a trance painting a midnight sky on canvas. She lay on the floor with sprawled paints and brushes on top of a makeshift carpet of old newspaper and tissues. She had wanted to paint desperately, and thought she could sneakily do it if every part of the carpet was covered. She opened the door a crack, hoping it was not Monique, and saw with some relief a smiling Jess.

“Hey sweety!” Her fresh face beamed.

Cat couldn’t help but whisper, “Is it just you?” She glanced down the hallway.

“Of course” Jess looked around, more than happy to be part of any new conspiracy. “Who are you avoiding?” Cat let her friend in and Jess gasped at the mess on the floor.

“What’s this?” She tiptoed over the newspapers and gave Cat a quizzical look.

“Oh I’m just experimenting, that’s all.”

“You paint?” Her eyes fixed on the shapes on the canvas and thick pads of sketches.

“I did, I’m just... I gave it another go the other... Anyway I - I'm not sure where I'm going with it just yet.” Cat felt her cheeks grow hot.

“I feel bad interrupting you now,” Jess looked a little downcast, “it’s just that it’s Friday night, and I think we should go out!”

“I had planned to stay in and paint,” Cat confessed, looking ruefully at her sketches.

“I’m sorry, I know how important it is to work…” Jess hesitated, “but please…it’s Friday night! Look, I received a commission today which will pay me VERY well, and I want to celebrate!” She batted her eyes.

Cat giggled slightly, knowing there was no point in arguing. “That’s great, good for you! Anyone I know?”

“He’s a tourist… he’s American.” Jess gave a girlish snigger.

“Yeah...and what else?” Cat knew there was something.

“OK OK - he’s really cute! I made him a coffee at the gallery while I got more details on what he was looking for. And, Cat - he’s just…dreamy!”

“Tell me more, tell me more did you get very far?” Cat broke into jazz hands and laughed.

“Tell me more, tell me more - like does he have a car?” Jess twirled around on the spot “Oh I totally could sing, if only there was karaoke in the pub tonight!”

“Yes well, thankfully there’s not!” Cat hated karaoke, especially after her last work night out where she had tortured Bonny Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, and one of her colleagues videoed her. She was pretty sure it was still kicking around on the Internet somewhere to this day. Jess’s eyes sparkled like a hopeful puppy, and Cat sighed. “OK let’s go out!”

“Yes!” Jess screeched at the top of her lungs.

“But, I’ll need to borrow an outfit…I’ve nothing dry to wear.” Cat pointed to the stash of dirty clothing in the corner.

“Of course darling,” Jess winked, “come to the gallery in an hour, and I’ll sort you out”.