After lunch, Gavin went upstairs, Lorna and Eddie went to play tennis, and Grace, Alice and I went back to our sunloungers.
‘That was a great idea,’ said Grace. ‘I’m glad you two were able to fix things for Gavin.’
‘Hey,’ said Alice. ‘We’re not finished yet. That was only the beginning. We’ve got lots more to do.’
‘Like what?’ I asked.
‘Well,’ said Alice. ‘Clearly Gavin doesn’t feel good about himself.’
‘Why do you say that?’ asked Grace.
‘Because if he felt good about himself, he wouldn’t have let that awful Leah person treat him so badly,’ said Alice.
‘And now that she’s dumped him again, he must feel even worse,’ I said.
‘Exactly,’ said Alice. ‘So our next job is to make him feel better about himself. As soon as we’ve managed that, we’ll find a nice girl and get them together. It’s time he moved on.’
‘Hey,’ said Grace. ‘Hang on a sec, Alice. Don’t you think you’re getting a bit carried away here?’
‘No,’ said Alice.
‘You’re just going to find some randomer, and hope that Gavin falls in love with her?’ asked Grace.
‘Sure,’ said Alice. ‘And anyway, don’t forget that everyone in the world is a randomer until you get to know them.’
Grace was looking at Alice like she should argue with her, but I shook my head, warning her that she’d only be wasting her time.
‘Let’s worry about the love story of the century later,’ I said. ‘Before we get to that, we’ve got to make Gavin feel better about himself. How do you suggest we do that, Alice? Are we all supposed to sit around taking turns saying nice stuff about him?’
‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ said Alice.
I’d only been joking, but I like when Alice goes with one of my ideas, so I didn’t argue.
‘Gavin’s up in his room,’ said Grace. ‘And there’s no way I’m sitting on the landing saying nice stuff to him through his bedroom door. That’s just weird.’
‘And I want to sunbathe,’ I added.
‘Calm down, you two,’ she said. ‘I’m not suggesting that we stalk the poor boy. That would be crazy. We can take the afternoon off to catch some rays, but at dinner-time, we have to get going on part two of the plan. Everyone has to help, so I expect you two to have lots of good things ready to say about Gavin. OK?’
Grace and I nodded obediently.
‘Yes, Boss,’ I said. ‘Whatever you say, Boss.’
Alice rolled her eyes. ‘Sometimes you are sooo immature, Megan,’ she said.
Whatever,’ I said. ‘Now pass me my suncream, I’m wasting precious sunbathing time.’
* * *
That evening, when we were sitting enjoying the delicious barbecue that Eddie had prepared, Alice went into action.
‘Hey, Gavin,’ she said. ‘I totally love that shirt you’re wearing – and those shoes are great. What do you think, Megan? Doesn’t Gavin look well tonight?’
The table was lit by lots of flickery candles, and I hoped that no one could see how red my face had gone. As usual, Alice was going completely over the top. Also, I was kind of starting to think that Gavin looked really well all of the time, and there was no way I wanted anyone to know about that.
Alice wasn’t happy with my silence. ‘Hello? Megan? Don’t you think Gavin looks great tonight?’
‘Er, yes, I guess he does,’ I said, not looking up from my dinner.
‘And your hair is totally cool, Gavin,’ said Alice. ‘I love the way the sun has started to bleach it at the ends. You look like a Californian surfer or something.’
Eddie gave a sarcastic laugh. ‘It would be a miracle if the sun managed to bleach Gavin’s hair. We’ve barely been in Lanzarote twenty-four hours, and Gavin has spent most of that time in his bedroom.’
I’d have been embarrassed, but Alice wasn’t even listening to what he said.
She turned to Grace. ‘What’s your favourite thing about your brother?’ she asked. Grace hesitated, and then I saw Alice kick her under the table. I felt sorry for her. Alice’s kicks are usually kind of painful.
‘Er …’ said Grace, ‘I guess he … well … he … he’s … he’s funny. He’s good at telling jokes and … stuff …’
That was fairly pathetic, but Alice didn’t seem to notice.
She turned to Lorna. ‘What’s your favourite thing about Gavin?’ she asked.
Lorna leaned over and put her arm around Gavin. ‘He’s my son,’ she said. ‘And I think every single thing about him is perfect.’
Grace rolled her eyes and pretended to vomit into her serviette. Before anyone else could say anything, Alice turned to Eddie. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘What’s your favourite thing about Gavin?’
Eddie looked up from his dinner and stared at Alice. ‘That’s easy,’ he said. ‘I think my favourite thing about Gavin is that he doesn’t keep on and on asking stupid questions while I’m trying to enjoy my food.’
Ouch. That was direct enough, even for Alice.
‘I’m just trying to make conversation,’ she muttered. ‘Is there a law against that in Lanzarote? And would someone mind passing me the salad?’
Gavin picked up the salad bowl and passed it to her. She smiled at him, like he’d just given her a bowl full of diamonds. ‘Thank you so, so much, Gavin,’ she said. ‘You’re always really, really helpful.’
Lorna gave Alice a funny look. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘Is this an official “be-kind-to-Gavin” night?’
This was a bit close to the truth, and I hoped it was the kind of question that didn’t expect an answer. Alice suddenly seemed very interested in cutting up her steak, and Grace started to tear her serviette into tiny shreds.
Suddenly Gavin stood up. Alice had done her best, but he didn’t look like he felt better about himself. Mostly he just looked embarrassed, which wasn’t really part of the plan.
‘I’m finished my dinner,’ he said. ‘And I’m kind of tired. May I be excused?’
‘Of course you may,’ said Lorna. ‘Good night, and sleep well.’
As soon as Gavin had gone inside, Alice leaned over to me. ‘OK, so maybe that wasn’t a huge success,’ she whispered. ‘But don’t worry. Tomorrow’s another day, and we’ve got the whole night to come up with a bigger, better plan.’