The Beach

‘That’s the spirit.’

‘Yeah…’ I paused. ‘…I suppose if I’ve got to leave the fishing detail then I’d rather I was working with Jed than anyone else.’

‘Uh-huh. I wouldn’t wish the garden detail on you.’

‘And the other option was carpentry. For a moment I thought that’s what Sal was suggesting and I nearly had a fucking heart attack. I got this sudden flash of working with Bugs all day, so when Sal said it was with Jed…I don’t know…I almost had to feel relieved.’

‘If you say so, Rich.’

‘I think I do.’

We turned a corner on the path and saw the longhouse through the trees. There were figures around the kitchen hut, so I guessed the other fishers were back with their catch. I couldn’t see any of my detail. They probably weren’t back from the corals yet.

Just as we were about to enter the clearing, someone behind us called our names. We both turned round and saw Jesse jogging along the track with a bag of vegetables from the garden.

‘Hey, man,’ he said to Keaty, as he reached us. ‘Hear you’re leaving the Jar Dan.’ It took me a couple of seconds to translate his Kiwi accent to jardin.

‘Yep. I’m moved to the fishing.’

‘I heard, you lucky bastard.’ Jesse looked at me. ‘Not you though, mate. You must be pissed off, losing that cushy number. You’ll be sweating with us now.’

‘I’m not going to the garden.’

Jesse grinned. ‘Carpentry! With Jesus!’

‘No. Jed.’

‘Jed?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Blow me. What’s all that about? Not enough weed to go round?’

‘Maybe. I’ll find out soon, anyway.’

‘Yeah…You will.’ He nodded thoughtfully, then he patted Keaty on the back. ‘You’ll be sorted, anyhow. Get to watch Francoise swimming all day. I could do with a bit of that.’

Keaty shot me a quick glance, which puzzled me, and said, ‘Watch it, Jesse. You don’t want Cassie to hear you.’

Jesse laughed. ‘Too right. Skin me alive.’ He winked at no one in particular, then looked into the clearing. ‘So. Looks like the cooks have got food on the way. Better get the veg down there.’

‘Sure,’ said Keaty, and Jesse jogged off. Keaty watched him go, then turned to me. ‘He’s the one person I’ll really miss out of the garden detail.’

‘Seems like a decent guy.’

‘He is. You’d like him and Cassie a lot. Especially as they aren’t exactly Bugs’ biggest fans.’

‘Oh?’

‘I used to bitch about Jean being a tough boss, but Bugs…he drives Cassie nuts.’

‘I’d picked up on that before.’

‘…I guess you’ll miss working with your detail too.’

‘Mmm.’ I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Probably too deeply and too slowly, because I noticed Keaty giving me another curious glance. ‘I’m sure I will.’

? The Beach ?

53

Dislocation

It was a long walk from where I entered the clearing to where Etienne, Francoise and Gregorio stood talking. I had plenty of time to think about how much the change of work detail would affect my life on the beach. Mainly I thought in rapid slide-show images, different shots of the four of us chatting and having fun: diving off our favourite fishing boulder, taking bets on who would catch the biggest fish, swimming for spears that had missed their mark or found their mark, or re-enacting throws that were comically bad. The image I lingered on the longest was, unsurprisingly, of Francoise. Francoise as an Amazon, frozen, with a spear poised above her head, concentrating fiercely on the shapes beneath the water. Even now it’s a picture I can clearly recall.

It seemed to me, as I got nearer, that they must have heard the news. They paused in their conversation and all turned, watching me with quiet and serious expressions. But it was simply that they’d read the look on my face. That and my posture, and the speed I was walking. If someone walks unhurriedly towards you, head bowed, you have to know that something’s up.

There was a strange moment when I reached them. They remained silent, waiting for me to speak, but I felt like I’d already been isolated from their group. It reminded me of the first morning after my fever, discovering that Etienne and Francoise had made themselves a part of the new world while I had been asleep. When no words came I frowned and put a hand on the back of my neck, then shrugged helplessly.

‘What is it, Richard?’ said Etienne apprehensively. ‘There is something the matter?’

I nodded.

‘What? Tell us.’

‘…I’m off the fishing detail.’

‘Off?’

‘Moving to another detail. Sal…She just told me.’

Francoise gasped. ‘But why? How can she do that?’

‘Something to do with Jed. He needs a work partner. Keaty’s going to replace me.’

Gregorio shook his head. ‘But wait, Richard. You do not want to move, yes?’

‘I like the fishing detail…’

‘Then OK. You will stay. I will find Sal and talk to her now.’ Then he marched off towards the longhouse.

‘Gregorio will stop this,’ said Etienne a few moments later. ‘Do not worry, Richard. You will not have to move.’

‘You will not have to move,’ Francoise echoed. ‘We are a good team, Richard. Of course you will stay with us.’

I nodded, pleased by my friends’ display of solidarity, but at the same time I was entirely unconvinced. I knew that Sal’s decision would be final, and as if to force the point home, the sound of her low voice began to drift across the clearing, telling Gregorio that this could be the only way.

¦

Although I was feeling sorry for myself, unsure of the sudden way in which things had developed, as the day went on I felt more sorry for Keaty. After Gregorio’s failure to change Sal’s mind, the four of us spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in a circle, getting stoned and bitching about the way things had turned out. Keaty, however, sat by the entrance of his tent. He was apparently engrossed in his Gameboy, but he looked miserable. I think he felt responsible for everything, and it must have been depressing to feel that his new workmates were so unhappy with the circumstances of his arrival. Eventually, Keaty’s obvious discomfort became intolerable. Sensing that the onus was on me, I called over to him and suggested he join us. He sheepishly put down his Nintendo and came over, immediately launching into an apology for the situation he felt he’d caused. All of us protested at once, but it did nothing to cheer him up. He also told us that he’d spoken to Sal himself, insisting that he didn’t mind remaining on the garden detail, to no effect. This, at least, provided a topic of discussion that didn’t make Keaty’s discomfort any more acute, because it raised the underlying reason for the job switch.

‘Perhaps,’ Francoise said, ‘there is something happening on the island. Something to do with the drug farmers.’

Keaty muttered his agreement, but Gregorio looked doubtful. ‘So maybe the Thais are putting new fields on this side of the island. It would be a problem, but why would Jed need a partner? If he had ten or fifty partners, he could not stop them. There is no difference.’

‘Is there ever any talking with the Thais?’ Etienne asked.