The Happiness Show (20 page)

‘Flick and Tom are down at the pool,' explained Becky.

‘Let's go down and say hello,' said Keith.

Lizzie panicked. ‘I might go up and change first.'

‘Don't be so uptight. Come and say hello.'

As they descended a wide teak staircase, Lizzie could hear kids playing and smell the frangipanis. They walked towards a glittering pool with a view of the ocean beyond. She took a deep breath and braced herself.

‘Oi, Flick!' shouted Keith. ‘We made it!'

‘Cuddle, Mummy. Cuddle!' Scarlet was tugging at her sleeve. Lizzie gathered her up and swung her onto her hip. Walking slowly towards the sun lounges she saw a woman who was obviously Becky's sister stand up and wave. Lizzie was surprised and slightly intimidated by how beautiful she was. Even prettier than Becky. Lizzie suddenly felt grotty and grubby and fat.

Then she saw Tom. In a pair of blue and yellow board shorts and a straw hat. She thought her legs were going to go from underneath her but, lo and behold, she kept walking.

Tom and Lizzie didn't know where to look. Thank God for Keith and Becky.

‘Lizzie and Jim, meet Felicity and Tom.'

Tom shook Jim's hand vigorously.

‘And you already know Lizzie, don't you?'

Surprising himself, Tom pulled Lizzie towards him and kissed her on the cheek. It felt like the thing to do. ‘Lovely to see you,' he said, trying not to beam. Lizzie smiled awkwardly but joyfully. She felt self-conscious, but no one seemed to raise an eyebrow.

‘So,' said Felicity as she tied a sarong around her waist. ‘The plan is to meet up in the restaurant around six. How does that suit?'

‘Sounds great,' Lizzie managed to squeeze out. ‘Where is the restaurant? We haven't even made it to our room yet.'

‘It's over there. It's called Coast. The food is rather marvellous. Why don't you lot sort yourselves out and we'll meet you there? It's almost six now.'

‘Come on, Keith, let's go upstairs and see if the twins are awake. You must be dying to see them.'

‘Yes, I almost forgot. I was so looking forward to seeing you,' said Keith, glancing apologetically at Lizzie.

 

Lizzie, Jim and the kids found their suite and it was perfect. White cotton sheets, ceiling fans and a balcony looking over the ocean. A day bed covered in lush silk pillows. On a coffee table sat a bowl of tropical fruit. The kids went mental, bouncing off the walls and jumping on the beds. Jim grabbed a beer from the fridge and necked it.

‘Jim, they cost a fortune from the mini-bar. We'll stock up tomorrow from a supermarket.'

‘Don't worry, I've got it all sorted. I'm going to drink the beer from here tonight and then replace it. Cold beer at a bargain price.' He strolled out to the balcony and rolled a cigarette. His voice was tired and she could tell he had another sore throat; he sounded like Bonnie Tyler. But he looked so happy with his beer, his cigarette and his life.

He coughed and spluttered and then turned and said, ‘This is magic, Lizzie. I feel like I'm in heaven.'

‘Quite something coming from an atheist.'

Lizzie opened her trusty old backpack and shook out a blue dress she had bought for this very moment. She pulled it over her head and washed her face. Then she put the kids into fresh clothes and threw the old ones into a corner of the bathroom. She didn't care what happened with Tom, she decided. She was happy. She didn't know what would come next, but she knew they would all have a great time.

They took the lift back down to the restaurant and joined the others, who were already on to their second bottle of champagne. Tom's head turned as she walked in and she couldn't help noticing a twinkle in his eye.

 

‘Mum! Muuuuuuuuuuum!' screeched Reuben over the dinner-table chatter.

‘Yes, darling, what is it?' Lizzie hoisted him onto her knee. He was so heavy, she thought. She couldn't remember the last time she'd picked him up.

‘Can I have some of your ice-cream?'

‘Sure you can. It's mango sorbet – I don't know if you'll like it,' she said, pushing the bowl towards him. ‘And anyway,' she interjected, returning to the adults' conversation, ‘how does gratuitous nudity subvert the dominant paradigm in a post-modern, uber-feminist world?'

Everyone stopped talking and stared at Lizzie. Keith broke the silence. ‘Does anyone understand what the fuck Lizzie just said?' They all laughed, including Lizzie.

‘I think she said she wants another drink,' said Jim, topping up her glass with champagne. ‘That's Lizzie code for “Would you please put these kids to sleep because I need to stay up and drink my body weight in alcohol?” C'mon, Reub, eat up the ice-cream and then it's bedtime.'

‘But I'm not tired.'

‘That may be so, mate, but I am totally knackered.' It was the first time Lizzie had ever heard Jim say ‘knackered.' He must have caught it from the English people, she mused.

‘I'll come up and give you a hand,' said Lizzie, gathering up her things.

‘I'm fine. You stay here with these English gits and keep up the good work. Someone has to fight off the threat of a global bullshit shortage.'

‘Don't you girls all start thinking what a great bloke he is, putting the kiddies to bed and leaving his wife here to continue the festivities. He's only doing it so he can watch the in-house porn,' quipped Keith.

‘You got my number, comrade,' said Jim. ‘C'mon, Scar, time for bed.'

Celia was sitting on the ground with Scarlet, plaiting her hair. The two were totally in love and neither Lizzie nor Jim had had to speak to Scarlet since she'd scoffed down her kids' meal of chips, sausages and lemonade. It had been hours and who knew what they'd been up to.

Or, quite frankly, who cared. The grown-ups were getting on brilliantly. A foreign country, a warm night, delicious food and the lubricant of travel. The sound of waves lapping and a gamelan being played somewhere upstairs. They'd ploughed their way through a seafood banquet and seven bottles of champagne and they felt happy, giddy and free. They were all on the same adventure.

Jim disappeared upstairs and they sat for a while in contented silence.

‘I wonder what the poor people are doing now,' said Keith eventually.

‘Serving us, I think, Keith. No coffee for me, thanks.' Lizzie waved away an imaginary waiter. ‘But I think the bald fat man over there would like a can of shut-the-fuck-up.' The table collapsed in drunken laughter. Fuck, she loved to make Tom laugh.

Not long after, Becky was beeped by the nanny and went upstairs to feed her little ones. Felicity stifled a yawn.

‘God knows what time it is. I'm still on London time.'

‘Well, Bali is two hours behind Melbourne time,' said Lizzie.

‘And London is nine hours behind Melbourne,' said Tom without thinking.

‘That's right, so that makes Bali seven hours ahead of London,' chimed in Keith.

‘Yesterday,' added Lizzie, to confuse things.

‘Well,' slurred Felicity, ‘I'm very impressed. I'm so bombed out I can't even remember my room number. Tom, how do you know something like that?'

‘Oh, Flick, you would be amazed by the crap I know for work. Did you know that when holding a meeting with a Polish person it's rude not to have your bollocks hanging out of your trousers?'

‘No, I didn't.' Felicity pulled a hot-pink wrap around her coffee-coloured shoulders. ‘By the way, I know this may seem insignificant, but where is our daughter?'

‘She's up with Becky and Helena, watching cable.'

‘Ah, the wonders of five-star accommodation.'

The four of them piled into a lift.

For Lizzie and Tom it was wonderful but weird to be so close. Thanks to the alcohol it was more wonderful than weird. Tom wondered for a millisecond how he could get a message to Lizzie to meet him downstairs after their spouses had gone to sleep.

‘Where are we all off to? We're on four.' Tom's finger hovered over the buttons.

Keith rummaged in his pocket for his room key. ‘I'm on three.'

‘Me too,' said Lizzie, looking down at her room number. ‘333. What's 668?'

There was a beat for a moment while everyone thought.

‘The neighbour of the beast.'

The lift stopped at three and Lizzie and Keith stepped out.

‘We'll see you in the morning,' laughed Felicity.

‘Yes, sleep well,' said Lizzie. And the lift doors shut.

‘Well, that was fun,' said Lizzie as they walked towards their rooms.

‘Yes, smashing,' said Keith. ‘You and Tom were both in good form.'

‘He was. And gee, Felicity is gorgeous.'

‘She is. But so are you, Lizzie.'

‘Thanks, Keith, you old pervert. This is me here. I'll see you in the morning. 333. 333. Please take me to 333,' Lizzie chanted quietly as she snuck into the room. As soon as she was inside, the cold seized her. She hadn't realised how warm the night was until she was engulfed by the magic of air-conditioning.

Jim was asleep in front of a documentary on Pinochet and the children were snuggled up together in one of the beds. Lizzie slipped off her shoes, padded into the bathroom and flicked on the light. She looked closely at her reflection and ran her fingers through her raging red hair. Her lipstick was smeared and the freckles on her nose had already started to get darker. She washed her face and wondered what Tom saw. What she saw was a little on the tragic middle-aged side. But very, very turned on. She closed the door, started the shower to muffle the noise, sat down on the toilet seat, put her hand between her legs and made herself come.

 

‘Well,' said Felicity as she got out of bed to have a shower, ‘that was fast! The tropics must stir up the hormones in you, Tom!' She bent down and kissed him. It had been months since they'd had sex.

‘Yes, I suppose,' said Tom, flicking on the television. Was it so bad that he'd thought about Lizzie the whole time?

When Felicity came out of the shower, she started pulling clothes on.

‘Where are you going?'

‘To get Celia.'

‘Oh yes. I'd forgotten.' Felicity closed the door and Tom came again.

 

Lizzie slept deeply and woke to Reuben shaking her. ‘Wake up, Mum,' he urged. ‘Bali's still here.'

It was a little past six and she thanked God for Nickelodeon. The sunlight bounced off the white walls and she was wired. She felt as if she'd woken up in a dream. She let Jim snooze as she stood on the balcony, breathing in the island air and watching some local women clean the beach.

Dressing, Lizzie felt self-conscious about her white freckly skin and her wobbly bits. Felicity and Becky had the bodies of very well-looked-after 21-year-olds. She put on her avocado-coloured bathers and wrapped Jim's sarong around her hips. She slapped on a hat and pulled on a large fuchsia T-shirt. Her idea was to peel off the layers as the day warmed up.

When she emerged from the bathroom, the kids were still watching television but Jim sat on the side of the bed, going blue in the face as he blew up a giant inflatable crocodile. They gathered up their things and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Tom, Felicity and Celia were already there and the seven of them claimed a table. Then they joined a clutch of shiny people in resort wear in the buffet queue, where a chef was cooking eggs to order.

Lizzie could smell Tom, all shower-fresh. She closed her eyes and breathed him in and felt as if she could die on the spot. It was the same deodorant he used to wear. The deodorant she'd searched for when she first came back to Australia.

‘If you listen very carefully,' said Tom quietly as he and Lizzie surveyed the food, ‘you can actually hear the buffet groan.'

‘It looks glorious. I feel like I'm tripping.'

‘I feel like …' Tom stopped himself short. ‘Never mind.'

‘Scrambled? Poached? Boiled?'

‘Hard.'

After breakfast they parked themselves by the pool. Helena the Danish nanny joined them with the twins, while Keith and Becky ate breakfast in their room. Really Helena had only one baby to look after, as Felicity held a twin on her lap at all times. She obviously loved babies and Lizzie wanted to ask why she and Tom hadn't had more, but thought it might seem too nosy. As it happened, however, Felicity brought the subject up herself.

‘So, two children, is that it for you and Jim?' Tom and the kids had wandered off to check out the kite-flying on the beach. ‘Your two are so adorable, you should have a zillion.'

‘I think two is plenty. Three seems like such a big jump. Knowing our luck, if we went for a third we'd get twins. Jim's had a vasectomy now, anyway, so if I wanted any more I'd have to go elsewhere.'

‘Wow,' Felicity said with admiration. ‘How did you get him to agree to that?'

‘I didn't. He just didn't want any more kids so off he went.'

‘Australian men are so sure of their manhood. I've been trying to get Tom to have the snip for ages. He keeps saying he will, he just never has the time. I think he's a bit scared, to tell you the truth. Instead we've been using the abstinence method. Although I must say, we had a rather good shag last night. I think it was the first time since Celia's accident.'

Lizzie felt her guts drop. At that point, Jim leant into the conversation.

‘I'm sorry, ladies, but I couldn't help overhearing and I hope you don't mind me suggesting that if you want him to hot-foot it down to the chop shop, just tell him you want to have another child.'

‘I've tried that,' said Felicity. ‘It didn't work.'

At that moment the children appeared, with Tom trailing behind them. ‘Can we have an ice-cream?' pleaded Reuben.

‘Please, please, pretty please on top with a cherry?' chimed in Celia.

‘Uncle Tom said it was okay if you said it was okay,' said Reuben.

‘What's with the Uncle Tom?' asked Lizzie as Tom reached their little spot next to the pool under the palm trees.

‘Ah, yes. Well, that was Celia's idea. Reuben asked what my name was and Celia said, “Well I call him Dad so you should call him Uncle Tom.”' He sat down on the sun lounge and pulled off his T-shirt.

‘And what's all this about ice-creams?' asked Felicity. ‘We've just had breakfast.'

‘Some guy on the beach is selling them. But I don't think the children will be so keen when I inform them that they have the choice of either red bean or sweet corn flavour. Have you seen the boys flying the kites? Rather wonderful, I thought. They do it every morning, apparently. I thought I'd bring my camera down and take some shots tomorrow.'

‘Great idea,' said Felicity, ‘Tom's a bit of a photographer.'

‘Yes, I seem to remember he took quite a lot of photos on the Trans-Siberian Express.'

‘Did you know each other well then?' Felicity asked, in a way that made Lizzie certain she knew nothing about them.

‘Not really. There was a whole bunch of us travelling alone and we became this big gang. A lot of people who taught English in Japan.'

‘Oh, that's right, did you tell Lizzie who we bumped into at the airport?' Felicity said.

‘No, I didn't. Remember Mad Will?'

Lizzie broke into a broad smile. ‘Mad Will who went AWOL back to Japan for some girl called Momoko?'

‘The very same. Excellent memory. We bumped into him as he was heading back to Tokyo with his two daughters and his wife, Momoko.'

‘No way!'

‘Would I lie to you? I told him I, I mean we, were meeting up with you.'

‘How was he?'

‘He hasn't changed. You know what he said when I told him I was going to be seeing you?'

‘No.'

‘He said, “Say hello from me and tell her she gave me herpes.”'

Lizzie laughed so much she almost choked on a seed from the watermelon she was eating.

‘Did you two shag?' Felicity asked.

‘Did we shag?' Lizzie repeated slowly. Then it dawned on her that Felicity meant Will. ‘Me and Will? No way. I wouldn't have touched him, Momoko or no Momoko.'

After lunch and afternoon naps they met up again at the pool. Keith and Becky finally joined them and were obviously not getting on. Becky and Felicity went for a walk along the beach and Lizzie stayed in the pool. Floating around with the kids, she couldn't help overhearing Keith and Tom.

‘So how's the relaxing going?' Tom asked. Keith bounced one of the twins on his lap.

‘Crap, if you must know, mate. Apparently I'm not attentive enough. Women – if they didn't have twats, we'd throw rocks at them.'

Tom laughed. ‘You are so wrong in so many ways, Keith. Oh look, it's after four. It must be time for a drink. Fancy a pint?'

‘Yes, I do, but I dare say it's Aussie beer here. Why didn't Britain colonise this place when they had the chance? It'd be egg and chips, spotted dick and a curry and a pint after the football. I think I'll just have a gin and tonic.'

Bobbing around in the water, it dawned on Lizzie that Keith and Tom actually had a relationship with each other. They talked about things. She wondered if Tom had told Keith about them. God, she hoped not.

‘Lovely. Lizzie, fancy a drink?'

‘Well, just to be social. What are you guys having?'

‘Gin and tonics.'

‘You are joking.'

‘No, it's true. We've turned into a couple of extras from a Merchant Ivory film. That or our aunties.'

‘Well, I'll have a beer.' Lizzie dunked her head underwater and then climbed out of the pool.