Katie Fforde - Going Dutch

Suddenly she said, 'Oh my goodness! There's a wind mill! We really are in Holland.’

Ed chuckled again. 'It really looks like the books we all had as a child, doesn't it? It's a great country, Holland. I like it a lot. We'll be all tied up in about half an hour,' he added. 'Any chance of a cup of tea?’

Jo nodded. 'I'll make you one now, but don't tell the others. Then I'll make sure dinner's hot.’

Although it was a bit chilly, they decided to eat up on deck so they'd appreciate how far they'd travelled. Tom helped Dora and Carole bring up the table and chairs which fortunately, as Carole pointed out, had been designed for outside in the first place, and so conveniently folded.

There was an air of celebration. For the first time Carole was remarkably cheerful, possibly because she'd dumped Marcus, or maybe because she'd made a contribution to the meal. Marcus was putting a brave and relaxed face on his broken heart, seeming more full of a sense of achievement than anything. Ed was full of beans, enlivened by his dip in the sea and their successful arrival. Dora and Tom were as friendly as ever, although Jo noticed that Dora didn't seem quite so relaxed around him. And Jo – well, she reflected that although they were not at their destination, the hard part was over. She had survived and even enjoyed the trip a little bit.

‘That was a massive lock,' said Dora, 'but it all went so smoothly, didn't it?'

‘They're very efficient on the Continent. Transporting cargo by water is much more part of their way of life,' said Marcus, 'and in a country like Holland, which is so full of waterways and rivers, it's the only sensible way to do it. Great salad, Carole,' he added with a smile that would have turned Jo's heart to mush had she been on the receiving end of it.

The women regarded him in disbelief. Carole had definitely said he didn't like salad and here he was, praising it with genuine appreciation.

Carole couldn't speak for a moment. 'Oh. Thanks.’

Was he trying to get into her good books again? thought Jo. Was this an attempt to win her back? Looking at him, it seemed unlikely. Maybe he just wanted to let everyone know he had no hard feelings about her and appreciated her efforts. If that was the case, he definitely earned a good mark in Jo's book.

‘Yes,' agreed Ed, unaware of any subtexts. 'I love thattouch of wholegrain mustard in the dressing.' He filled Jo's glass with wine. 'Do you remember, Marcus, when we came over here the first time? We were coming the other way, we'd picked that barge up in Rotterdam. We found a completely empty quay, went for a meal at the yacht club and then turned in. You'd have laughed, Jo…' Just the way he said it told Jo she would not have laughed. 'At about two in the morning, wasn't it, Marcus?' Marcus nodded. 'We were woken by a hell of a row! All these fishing boats came in and started discharging. We thought we might be in one of them's way, but they didn't knock us up or anything, so we sat tight. Oh, happy days.' Another well-loaded forkful went into his mouth.

‘Jo looks like a rabbit in the headlights of a boy-racer,' said Marcus with something that to Dora definitely sounded like tenderness.

‘Oh, Marcus!' said Carole, 'can't you just say she looks nice?’

Everyone laughed. 'She does,' went on Marcus, 'a very glamorous rabbit, but a frightened one.'

‘It's no good waiting for compliments from Marcus,' Carole confided. 'He just doesn't notice what you're wearing.’

Uncomfortable at being the centre of attention, Jo looked about anxiously. Was Carole addressing her remarks exclusively to her, or was it for general consumption?

‘Oh yes, we're in for a grand time,' Ed went on. 'When you see the size of some of those craft… it can put you off your breakfast, thinking what might happen if there was a collision.’

Jo sipped her wine, trying to feel better. Everyone around her seemed relaxed and happy. In spite of Marcus's efforts to make the journey seem like a luxury cruise, she still felt incredibly edgy, although she was forced to acknowledge that it wasn't only the thought of travelling on a huge and much-used waterway that was causing it. It was Marcus. She'd somehow lost her ability to resent him, and without the firm conviction that he was arrogant and bossy, other feelings that she had for him, ones she had tried so hard to blame on other things, held sway.

‘Still,' went on Ed, who was quite unaware of the turmoil going on in the woman on his right, 'Marcus has done it a few times, haven't you?'

‘Oh yes. It was quite impressive the first time, but then you get used to it. You see great big push-tows, huge square barges with two thousand tonnes of coal each, maybe two or three of them being pushed by very power ful tugs, and tiny French peniches going right down to the South of France.'

‘You make it sound positively romantic, Marcus,' said Carole.

‘My trouble is, I feel romantic about the wrong things. Moonlight and roses do nothing for me, but give me a tall ship and a star to steer her by and I'm all through-other.’

There was another smile. Jo hoped that Carole didn't notice it. The poor girl would definitely be thinking she'd done the wrong thing by dumping him. 'I really hope that's not true,' she muttered.

Unluckily for her, her muttering fell into a silence and Marcus heard. `Do you want me to be romantic, Joanna?'

‘No, not at all! I just don't want you being through-other, whatever that means. I want you able to concentrate when our lives are in your hands!' She realised this sounded a bit melodramatic but it was how she felt at that moment, for all sorts of reasons.

‘That's what I'm paid the big bucks for.' This time it was less of a smile and more just a roguish look, which made Jo turn away.

‘It's a shame to take the money sometimes,' said Ed. 'The fun we have!'

‘Falling in couldn't have been much fun,' said Jo.

‘Well, no. I should have remembered the old adage, "One hand for the ship, and one for yourself." '

‘I'd noticed that catch was a bit loose and not done anything about it,' said Marcus. 'I'm sorry, Ed. I fee] responsible.'

‘Oh, don't be daft. As I said, if I'd been paying proper attention, I wouldn't have had my hands full of mugs.'

‘Tom, you did really well rescuing him. And you, Dora, of course. But Tom, you were a star.’

Tom blushed, beamed and almost visibly swelled. 'Yes,' said Jo and raised her glass. 'Here's to Tom!’

‘Aye,' said Ed. 'Man of the match – or the trip, anyway.’

‘You have to clink with everyone,' said Carole, looking into Tom's eyes, 'otherwise it's unlucky.’

When everyone had done this, Marcus said, 'If you ever need a reference or anything, I've got quite a few contacts abroad, if you're going travelling and want a bit of work.'

‘That would be great!' said Tom. 'Thank you so much.’

Carole put her hand on Tom's in a congratulatory way. 'What a hero!'

‘Um…' said Dora. 'Does anyone want any more, or shall I get the pudding?'

‘Is there pudding?' said Jo, eager to stop Carole flirting with Tom so blatantly. 'What is it?'

‘Just because you haven't cooked it doesn't mean it doesn't exist,' said Dora. 'Carole and I have concocted something.’

Wishing she could go down below, just to get away from Marcus, whose foot she seemed to bump every time she moved hers, Jo accepted she had to let Dora and Carole get on with it. They had seemed to be getting on much better, although how Dora would feel about her now was anyone's guess. Whatever, she mustn't push in and be motherly and spoil it all.

Tom and Ed started talking about technical things that Jo was too agitated to concentrate on. Marcus sat in silence but whenever Jo looked even vaguely in his direction, he seemed to be looking right at her.