The dining room was exceptionally quiet. Dawn scanned the room. Most of the guests were decidedly Saga-age. Is this what it has come to? Massage oils for flatulence, no energy for sex and eating in silence? We might as well be in a nursing home.
Their waiter came over and poured the wine. Dawn knocked it back in one, then grabbed the bottle from the cooler and refilled her glass swiftly. She didn’t want to associate herself with the other diners. She and Eric were young. They were going to be – what did Suzie say the other day? – ‘happening’.
Dinner was lovely, if a little small on the portion side. She and Eric both had dover sole, followed by an apple crumble with home-grown apples from the hotel’s garden stored over the winter, the waiter had told them - and double cream. It was nice. It was lovely. It was bloody boring. Something inside her snapped a little. Suddenly an idea came to her. ‘C’mon, let’s go.’ She stood up.
‘What? Where? I haven’t finished my pudding,’ he muttered as he followed her to the lift.
‘You’ll see.’
Once the doors closed, they descended to the lower ground floor. ‘Not another couples’ massage?’ Eric looked at her in the lift mirrors, terrified.
‘No. Don’t worry!’
Dawn wobbled out of the lift and got her heel slightly stuck in the space between the lift doors.
Eric laughed. ‘Steady, old thing!’
‘Less of the old, if you don’t mind!’ Dawn giggled. She grabbed Eric by the hand and yanked him into the spa area.
‘Darling, this is closed…’
‘Not for us, it isn’t!’ she said as Eric’s eyes widened.
He yanked the lapels of his dinner jacket together and looked at her. ‘What are you up to?’
‘C’mon, Eric, let’s have a dip!’
‘But we’re not wearing our swimsuits.’
She reached out and touched his cheek. ‘Eric, let’s stop doing all the “we should” things, shall we? Let’s try some “maybe we could…” Who cares about swimwear? Let’s be old a bit disgracefully, eh?’ She winked at him, but he didn’t wink back. ‘Come on, Eric, where’s the guy I used to know, the one who couldn’t take his hands off me behind those rhododendron bushes all those years ago?’
He did smile then, a twinkle of the old Eric returning. ‘All right then!’ He looked around. ‘I suppose so, the place is dead.’
They slipped under the wide burgundy rope across the pool entrance. Taking off her clothes, she felt a shiver of excitement. Thank goodness she’d put on her matching set of undies. Pale pink lace with tiny rosebuds sewn onto the straps of the bra, Eric used to like this set…
They both slid into the water at the deep end and she smiled encouragingly at Eric. He started to swim breaststroke and she watched his broad shoulders plough through the water. He’d always been a good swimmer. She took the plunge herself, but didn’t want to thrash about too much and make a lot of noise, just in case.
Dawn looked up at the mural on the ceiling – a beautiful Grecian mosaic. There were tiny birds, gushing turquoise rivers, dark-haired women, smiling with rosebud mouths, intertwined with other (oh my God) women, hands all over each other’s breasts. There were muscly men and golden snakes circling the picture. She looked over at Eric in the shallow end and waved. She could make out the large rubber plants in terracotta pots in the dim light and the deckchairs were scattered with white cushions. The atmosphere was balmy and relaxing.
She swam over to Eric and enjoyed the feeling of the water all over her body. When had they last taken a dip together? Maybe Joyce was right, they just needed some time. She could pull this off, couldn’t she? Standing next to him in the pool, she rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her comfortingly. ‘This is nice, darling,’ he said. ‘Hope nobody’s about though.’ And he kissed her on the top of her head.
‘No, there’s no one here, just us!’ She leant in closer to him and looked at his dewy face, then reached out and touched his lips, made little circles across his cheek.
‘What are you doing? Have I got some food on there?’
‘No, darling!’ She laughed. She slowly lowered the straps down over her shoulders.
‘Dawn, for goodness’ sake, what are you doing?’
‘Shhhh.’ She giggled, then reached out behind her back and undid the clip. She enjoyed the sensation of release, of being free, the soothing feeling of submerging herself in the warm water as it rose above her breasts. She felt a tingling sensation go down her spine. She felt young. This is what the website was talking about!
‘Eric, here you go…’ she said, feeling for his hand underwater and moving it up to her breasts. Eric moved towards her, a curious mix of shocked horror and excitement on his face.
‘Dawn… I don’t really…’
‘Come on, Eric.’ She giggled, wading in closer. She was definitely feeling a bit tipsier than normal. She reached for Eric’s leg, hauled it up and hoped she looked seductive, wanton. ‘Put your leg around my waist, like this, now hold on to the edge of the pool.’
‘No, Dawn, I really don’t think we should.’
‘Eric, what can go wrong? There’s nobody here!’ She pouted at him.
But as he lifted his leg up with her helping, he let out a cry. ‘Ahh!’
‘What is it?’ She panicked. ‘Eric?’
His face was contorted in pain. Helplessly, she watched as her husband bent double in the water and let out a muffled gurgling yell, his face half underwater.
‘It’s my bb-back Dawn. I slipped; it’s my leg – moving it up too far… It’s just, ahh, gone… Oh Christ!’ He held on to her, clutching her elbow, as she thrashed about unable to steady them both.
With that the lights flashed on as her heart thudded in her chest. Dawn froze, half submerged in the pool, hair dripping, terrified and naked from the waist up, her husband bent double in the bright lights. Eva stood and looked curiously at them until the penny dropped. She marched over to the towels, threw two at them. ‘We see you on CCTV – so much noise! Now get out ze pool.’