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‘Sorry, but who’s Mark?’ interrupted Graham. ‘Whoever you are, can you go away? I’m having a private conversation with my wife.’
‘Hannah, darling,’ said a loud voice, as Elena wafted into view. She’d clearly been on the fringe of this drama long enough and needed to get involved, particularly now Rob had joined the party and added a new layer of intrigue.
‘Mum,’ said Hannah breathlessly. ‘Can we talk later?’
‘You look wonderful,’ said Elena, patting her daughter on the arm. ‘The Mediterranean sun agrees with you, you should spend more time with your family in Crete.’
‘Yeah, sure,’ said Hannah. ‘But right now I need to . . .’
‘Luke is here too,’ Elena said, stepping to one side to make room for Luke and a mutinous-looking Dan, both clutching bottles of beer behind her. ‘He’s brought his friend Dan.’
‘I know, Mum, I saw him ten minutes ago.’ Hannah could hear the strain and exhaustion in her own voice, but she couldn’t let this go. ‘And Dan’s his boyfriend, not his friend.’
‘Well, it’s all the same,’ said Elena airily, as Luke gave Hannah a glare and a shake of his head.
‘No, it isn’t,’ said Hannah. ‘It’s not the same at all.’
‘I don’t think now is the right time to talk about this,’ said Graham.
‘Shut UP, Graham,’ said Hannah. ‘This has nothing to do with you, and you’re just as bad as Mum.’
‘It’s fine,’ Luke mumbled.
‘NO,’ shouted Hannah, holding her hands up. ‘None of this is fine. I can’t deal with all this SHIT. ANY. MORE.’
Elena gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth. ‘Hannah,’ she shrieked. ‘What’s happened to you? Why are you talking like this?’
‘I’ve fucking had enough,’ said Hannah, tears spilling over. ‘This trip was supposed to be about ME, taking some time for MYSELF, and I CANNOT FUCKING DEAL with ALL. YOUR. SHIT.’
Everyone stared at her, not knowing what to do. Graham moved first, reaching out to touch her arm, but she snatched it away.
‘Luke,’ she said softly, turning to her brother. ‘I’m really glad you’re going to see Dad, but I can’t come with you right now. Mum, go with Luke and talk things through as a family; it’s long overdue. Rob will give you his address.’ Everyone turned to look at Rob, who cleared his throat awkwardly. Graham’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
‘Graham,’ Hannah continued, ‘please go home to Lucy. You’ve got a baby on the way and that’s a huge deal whether you like it or not. Our marriage is over, and that’s my final decision. You’re wasting your time trying to talk me out of it.’ Graham stared mutinously at his shoes as Hannah turned to Rob.
‘Rob, I’m sorry, but I need some space right now. Hang out with your mum and dad, sort out everything with Mark, but I’m taking some time out on my own.’ He gave her a look of such calm and understanding, for a moment she felt like she’d been hollowed out.
‘OK,’ he said with a firm nod. ‘I’ll put your bag back in your car.’
‘Thank you,’ said Hannah, breathing out slowly as she addressed the whole group. ‘I’m sorry to leave like this, but I’ve been on a crazy journey for the past month, and I just need some time to process it all.’
‘But . . .’ said Elena, glancing at Graham. ‘Don’t you think . . .?’
‘No,’ said Luke firmly, putting his hand on his mother’s arm. ‘We can go and see Dad tomorrow, we don’t need Hannah there. Let her do whatever she needs to.’
‘I’ll call you in a few days,’ said Hannah, leaning forward to kiss her mum and her brother on both cheeks. She touched Graham briefly on the shoulder, but he wouldn’t even look at her, so she gave Luke a helpless glance before heading through the hotel to the car park. She waited by the car, taking deep breaths until Rob appeared with her bag.
‘Are you OK?’ he asked, putting it in the boot and handing her the keys.
Hannah nodded, her arms wrapped around herself in a way that probably looked defensive to Rob, but was actually more about physically holding it together. ‘I’m sorry to run away like this. It’s not you, I promise. I just need some time out.’
‘That’s OK,’ he said. ‘I understand. Are you coming back?’
Hannah looked at him and swallowed, her eyes tracing his face in the hope of committing it to memory. ‘I’ll say goodbye before I go,’ she said. ‘What did Mark say?’
‘He’s offered me my job back,’ said Rob. ‘I guess I should probably take it.’
Hannah nodded. ‘That’s good news. And yeah, you should.’
