She consulted the map she had bought at the station.
‘This is Chungkai Cutting, I think. This was all done by hand. I wonder if Dad ever worked here,’ she mumbled to herself. Luke was still asleep.
After the cutting, the train ran beside the river for a while and then slowed right down to walking pace as it eased itself along a stretch of track that ran along a trestle platform raised on stilts above the river. On one side, vertical black cliffs towered above the track; on the other, many feet below, the river flowed, fast and strong. Leaning out of the window, Laura could hear the wooden struts straining under the weight of the train. She had an image of half-naked men chopping down jungle trees for the platform with primitive pickaxes and carrying the tree trunks on their shoulders to the river bank, all the time under the watchful eyes of Japanese guards.
The train ran beside the river for several miles. It was beautiful. The lush green jungle spilled over the banks on the other side. The occasional rice barge or long tailed boat passed them in the opposite direction, moving quickly downriver with the speed of the current. Then the track parted from the river and plunged into the forest, through dense foliage where thick creepers hung over the track. The train chugged on through the craggy jungle-covered hills for miles, rattling over embankments, through cuttings, over rickety wooden bridges.
Laura began to feel annoyed again, as she watched Luke’s head lolling on the seat. Why had he bothered to come along at all if he wasn’t going to make any effort?
They reached the end of the line at Nam Tok, a tiny market town. The place was no more than a shanty town really, with the inevitable stalls and shops for day-trippers. Laura shook Luke awake and they got off the train.
‘This is a bit of a shit-hole, isn’t it?’ said Luke, looking around. ‘Hardly worth the trip really.’
‘The trip isn’t about this place. It’s about the railway. Not that you saw anything,’ she couldn’t resist adding.
‘No need to rub it in. Come on. Let’s look around, now that we’re here.’
They wandered around aimlessly, pursued by touts trying to sell them day-trips into the hills.
‘I’m feeling like death warmed up,’ said Luke. ‘Let’s see if we can get a drink and then get the next train back.’
They bought themselves bottles of Coca-Cola in a tiny run-down café behind the station and waited in the shade.
‘Sorry, I’m a bit the worse for wear,’ said Luke, sipping his drink, then lighting a cigarette.
‘It doesn’t matter. I can’t expect you to share my interest in the place,’ said Laura, looking down at the scarred table. ‘We’ve only got one more day here anyway.’
‘Yeah. Then we can hit the beach. That will be cool.’
She tried to smile. She was beginning to regret having agreed to spend a week in Phuket. If all he wanted to do was get drunk or stoned, there were bound to be even more opportunities for doing that there.
‘Have you thought about what you’re going to do when you get home?’ he asked.
‘To do?’
‘Hmm. When are you due back at work?’
‘I’m not sure I want to go back to work. Not that work, anyway.’
He frowned. ‘What are you going to do then?’
She took a deep breath. ‘Well, I thought I might do something different. Get a job in a legal aid firm or a law centre. Defending you in the magistrates’ court that day gave me a bit of a taste for it.’
He was staring at her, still frowning. He drew on his cigarette and blew the smoke out in a long stream.
‘You are joking.’
‘No, perfectly serious. It’s time I gave some thought to where I’m heading. I got a job in the city because I thought it would please Dad. But he didn’t know what it was really like. I’ve never enjoyed it. The money’s nice, obviously. But that’s not everything. Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘I can’t really picture you in that role, that’s all.’
‘Well, thanks. You were happy enough for me to help you out when you needed me.’
‘You’re not the sort of girl who can get by on a small salary. You’re used to earning loads of money. You’ve got expensive tastes.’
‘I could get used to it. If I felt I was doing something worthwhile, the money wouldn’t be so important. Anyway, what’s it to you?’
He ground the fag end into the sandy floor and looked away.
‘Nothing. It’s your life, Loz. Look, the train’s coming. Let’s get out of here.’
On the way back, Laura stared out of the train window at the darkening tropical sky. She was puzzled by his attitude. Surely, considering his political views, he would support her plans. She watched him as he sipped a bottle of Chang Beer moodily and stared out of the opposite window.
She suddenly remembered the conversation they had about selling the house, about how he had been so keen to persuade her to evict Ken and Marge. Then an uncomfortable thought struck her: perhaps she was attractive to Luke precisely because of her earning capacity and prospects, rather than in spite of them. He had spent months ribbing her for her champagne lifestyle and yuppie tastes. Yet he’d been happy enough to stay in her flat and let her pay for everything they did together. And now, when she had told him that she was planning to abandon her well-paid job, he was sulking.
