Twenty-Five

"What do you have around your neck?" I stared at the black bow peeping out of Tony's starched collar. "Shouldn't you be wearing a tie?"

He straightened it nervously. "It is a tie – a bow tie. Mum said I should dress up properly and you...you look beautiful."

I blushed. It wasn't a word I'd heard often to describe me.

"Where did you get that necklace? The beads are pretty."

I gulped. I'd asked Charles to set a string of pale blue pearls for me and he'd done a beautiful job. This was the first occasion where I'd worn the pearl choker – or any necklace at all – and I kept reaching up to touch the strange thing at my throat. I managed to smile and avoid answering by focussing on fastening my shoes.

I called goodbye to Merry and she croaked out, "Enjoy yourself." It sounded like she started to say something else, but a coughing fit kept her from saying more. I promised I'd do as she said. Quietly, I closed the door behind me and followed Tony out to the street.

"Where's your truck?" I asked.

He grinned. "I thought we'd take the tram tonight. From your door to South Beach, without making you climb into truck cabs or soil that pretty blue skirt in the dust kicked up by my motorcycle." A pause. "Thank you for going to get those parts for me. I think some have to come by ship, so I'll be waiting a while. When you come back from visiting your mother, I'll have to take you for a ride."

"Sure," I replied. If and when I returned, I'd have my own motorcycle and we could go for a ride together.

We boarded the tram, Tony paid our fares, and he followed me to one of the few remaining seats. It looked like there were a lot of people headed to the Hydrodome tonight – and Tony wasn't the only one wearing a bow tie.

The end of the line was South Beach, just outside the huge, open, two-storey building that was the Hydrodome. The crush of people spilled out and we made for the tearooms, as Tony wanted to treat me to dinner. Tony ordered something with chicken, but I insisted on the fish because I knew we'd sold her fresh fillets that very morning.

"You spend every day working with fish – don't you grow tired of eating it? I know if I never saw another fish again, I wouldn't miss it." He laughed.

I tried to smile. "I don't know how long it will be until I eat fresh fish again. The food on the ship might not be very fresh at all. To me, this will always be the taste of home." I carefully forked a morsel into my mouth. Dhufish, I was certain.

His chicken arrived and food monopolised our mouths for some time. The sun slowly set over the ocean as I heard the faint sounds of the band tuning their instruments in the dance hall upstairs. Soon it would be time to dance.