‘Ruth! You look great.’
Ruth is wearing a smock top over cotton trousers. She hated this style when it first came in because it makes everyone look pregnant. Now, of course, this is an advantage.
‘Are we eating here?’ Ruth gestures at the pub, which certainly looks inviting in the evening light. The tables are starting to fill up and swans are venturing up from the river in search of snacks.
‘Here? No. A bit further along.’
To Ruth’s surprise he leads the way to his car.
‘Where are we going?’ she asks suspiciously.
‘You’ll see.’
They drive past houses set on the hill with smooth gardens stretching down to the river. Has Max got a house here? He must be earning more than most archaeologists if so. But Max drives past the residential area and along an unmadeup road. Ships’ masts rise up in front of them.
He parks at the end of the road where there are several other cars as well as a low building marked ‘Showers’. In front of them is a small marina, crammed with shiny boats. Some of the owners are having a barbecue and there are children and dogs running around. It all looks very jolly but Max doesn’t give the boat owners a second look. He strides along the pontoon, making it wobble alarmingly. Ruth follows more carefully. The last thing she wants is to fall in the water and to be pulled out by a drunken holidaymaker. They are at the end of the marina now and Max pauses by a small wooden gate. ‘Not far now.’
Through the gate is another pontoon, far more rickety than those in the marina. As they walk along in single file, Ruth sees the river flowing swiftly past them, smooth as silk. Fields rise up on either side, the corn as tall as they are. It is getting dark and the birds are flying low over the reeds. Ahead of them the river divides into two, like an illustration in a storybook. Which path will you take?
‘Here she is!’ shouts Max suddenly.
Bemused, Ruth looks round for the ‘she’. Maybe Max has brought her all the way here to meet his wife? Then she sees that Max is gesturing to a boat moored at the end of the pontoon. It is small and compact, blue and white with a striped awning.
‘This is yours?’
‘Welcome aboard the
‘Is this where you’re living?’
‘Yes.’ Max leaps lightly on board and holds out a hand to Ruth. ‘It’s great. I can moor at a different place every day but I keep her here mostly. Bit of a drive to Swaffham but it’s worth it. It’s just magical at night, sleeping out under the stars and listening to the river.’
On deck a small table has been laid for two, with candles and wine in a silver bucket. Ruth looks around her. Although they are still fairly near the marina, there is not a sound apart from the water slapping against the sides of the boat. Swallows swoop over the water and, on the opposite bank, she can see cows, knee deep in the wet grass.
Max is looking at her, rather anxiously. ‘Is this OK? I thought it would be nicer than a restaurant. And I don’t often have a chance to cook for anyone.’
‘It’s perfect,’ says Ruth. Now that the initial surprise has worn off, she finds that she is relaxing for the first time that day, allowing the beauty of the evening to sweep over her. Max pours them both a glass of white wine (Ruth doesn’t like to refuse) and offers to show her round the boat. ‘She’s very small so it should only take a minute.’
‘Is it… she… yours?’
‘No, she belongs to a friend who lives near here. When he heard I was coming to Norfolk for the summer, he offered me the boat as my base. It’s an ex-hire boat, a bathtub they call them round here. Very handy for getting through low bridges.’
The boat is very small but Ruth is fascinated by the evidence of Max’s life on board. Below deck is a stove with something delicious-smelling simmering in a saucepan, and ropes of herbs and garlic hang from the ceiling. Opposite is a bench seat and a narrow table. At the pointed end (the prow?) there is a bed piled high with cushions. Ruth notices a dry-looking classical book on the bedside table and, more surprisingly, a stuffed toy on the pillow. Perhaps Max is not as assured and grown-up as he seems. Over the bed are windows which must open out onto the front of the boat. There is also a shower and a tiny loo which, to Ruth’s embarrassment, she has to use.
They sit on deck drinking wine (in Ruth’s case very slowly) and talking about Max’s dig.
‘I think it’s going to be important. It’s a significant site. Several buildings grouped around a temple. Could be a vicus.’
‘Vicus?’ Ruth feels she should know this word.
‘A small settlement, usually near a military site. A garrison town, really.’
‘Have you found any more skeletons?’ asks Ruth.
‘No. Some more pottery. A few coins. Some other metal pieces, possibly from a game. A signet ring with seal.’
‘That reminds me.’ Ruth tells him about the ring found on the Norwich site. Max is silent for a minute, pouring more wine. ‘Sounds like Hecate. Were they human heads?’
‘I think so.’
‘Because sometimes Hecate is depicted with three animal faces; a snake, a horse and a boar.’
‘They looked human to me.’
‘Is there any other evidence of a Roman settlement on the site?’
‘Not yet but we found some pottery. Samian ware.’
‘Really?’ Max looks genuinely interested.
‘Why don’t you come and have a look one day?’
‘I will.’ He disappears below to check on the food which, when it appears, is absolutely delicious – chicken in red wine, saffron rice, green salad.
‘You really can cook,’ says Ruth, smiling.
‘I like to cook but… living on my own…’ There is a small, charged silence.
‘Have you always lived on your own?’ asks Ruth, aware that it is a rather personal question.
But Max answers easily. ‘I lived with a girlfriend for a while but we split up, amicably enough. Now I think it would be hard to go back to living with someone. You get used to your own space. What about you?’
‘I lived with a boyfriend for a few years. When we split up I remember being quite relieved to have the house to myself. I guess I’m just not cut out for living with someone.’
‘Do you have a boyfriend now?’
‘No.’ Ruth knows that now is the time to tell Max that while she doesn’t have a boyfriend, she does have another, rather permanent, commitment. She hesitates, trying to find the words.
‘Ruth,’ Max reaches out to touch her hand.
‘I’m pregnant,’ Ruth blurts out.
‘What?’ Max sits back. It is dark now and Ruth can’t see the expression on his face. She takes a deep breath.
‘I’m pregnant. I’m not with the father. It’s complicated.’
‘Wow, Ruth…’ Max seems completely at a loss. Ruth eats a last piece of chicken and instantly feels ashamed to be thinking about food in the middle of such an important declaration. It’s very good though.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ says Max at last.
‘It’s OK,’ says Ruth through chicken. ‘You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you ought to know, that’s all.’
‘When’s the baby due?’
‘November.’
‘I’ve got cheese for afterwards,’ Max says suddenly, ‘soft cheese. You’d better not have any. It’s not good when you’re pregnant is it?’
Ruth laughs, touched that he is thinking of her welfare, relieved to have got the announcement over with. ‘I’m full up anyhow.’
‘I’ve made chocolate brownies.’
