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There was an excited squeal from the bunk opposite. Olivia was shocked it came from Annalise, who had barely cracked a smile since she’d stepped on board. ‘Look at that!’ She leaned over the small desk in between the bunks, pushing back the curtain from the porthole.
Through the wave-splashed glass, murky with dried sea spray, they stared at the vast swell of the ocean. It was like they were floating on mercury, grey and molten, the sea was the same colour as the sky, and everything seemed almost unnaturally calm.
There was something out there, on the horizon. A shadow. Another ship? Were they already approaching land? Olivia rubbed her eyes.
As she stared, the cloud lifted off the grey slate tile of the ocean, and her breath caught in her throat. An iceberg – her first sighting – a triangle of stark white snow bulging from the ocean’s surface. Her immediate reaction was visceral terror – she hadn’t realized she would feel that way, but there was something about icebergs, the thought of how much more bulk lurked beneath the depths. Too manyTitanicrewatches maybe. It brought home that she was on a ship in an ocean cold enough to sustain a floating island of ice and that if they were to sink, death would be slow, painful and inevitable.
She took a step back from the window to allow the others to take a closer look. Annalise snapped away with her camera, intent on capturing it from every angle. It was the most spark Olivia had seen from her since they’d met. People were like icebergs, weren’t they? Only allowingthe tips of their personalities, their histories, to rise above the surface. Everything else was hidden beneath, masked from view.
Olivia had never let anyone beneath the surface. Not even Aaron, she realized with a start. It was below that she carried the memories of her childhood. Of her dad – watching him at the helm of a yacht, cruising through the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, learning to tie knots or how to paddle a kayak. Of her mother, who had been so different back then too – always carrying a sketchbook with her, disappearing for hours into her shed-turned-artist-studio to paint. She’d been so vibrant and carefree. Olivia hadn’t seen that person in a long time. Even before her mother’s illness had stolen her memory, that side of her had been locked away.
‘Our first iceberg. Wow,’ breathed Annalise.
‘Let’s go out on deck,’ said Patty.
‘I think some fresh air would do me some good,’ said Janine. But then her expression changed as she looked at Olivia. ‘Oh my God. You’re bleeding,’ she said, her brows knitting together.
‘What?’ Olivia lifted her hand to her forehead. ‘Oh. My bandage must have come off. I had a trip to the medical bay last night. I took a tumble on the stairs,’ she explained.
‘You went out last night? In the storm?’ Annalise raised her eyebrows.
‘Honey, no!’ said Patty. ‘I could barely walk straight – I’m not surprised you fell. We’ll take you down to get you a new one.’
For the first time since she got on board, Olivia felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Changing cabins had been the right decision. She might even come out of thiswith some good friends. It had been a long time since she’d made friends – and not pushed them away. With a pang, she thought of Tricia.
Their last conversation had not been good.
She’d have to write to her, explain why she’d acted so out of character. Maybe when she got back to London, they could laugh about it.
‘I’ll be fine,’ Olivia said.
As they stepped outside the cabin, Annalise began to walk in the opposite direction.
‘Aren’t you coming outside with us?’ asked Patty after her.
‘No. I’m going to the library. I have some work to do.’
Olivia stopped in her tracks. ‘Mind if I come with you? I need to see if there’s been any word from Aaron.’
‘Whatever.’ Annalise shrugged.
‘Well, have fun, you two,’ said Patty. ‘I for one am going to avoid the internet all this vacation. Have a proper switch-off. Come on, Janine.’
As they walked to the library, Annalise chewed her lip, deep in thought.
‘What are you working on?’ Olivia asked, to break the silence.
‘What?’
‘You said you need to be in the library for work …’
‘Oh, my dissertation for my MBA.’
‘Wow. What’s it on?’
‘The travel industry post-Covid 19.’
‘Sounds fascinating!’