I hug her again. Even though she has her ups and downs, I’ve never seen her as upset as this before. ‘Lola, calm down. You’re talking nonsense, you idiot,’ I say. ‘Everyone loves you here, you know that. If you don’t want to get Antonio sacked, how about we at least get you moved into a different cabin? Give you some time to think at least. I’m sure that can be arranged. You could talk to Mara about it – I’m sure she’d be happy to help. Maybe you could do that and then see how you feel? Sleep on it. Wait till tomorrow, at least, before you make anything official. New day, new year, and all that. It will probably feel better in the morning.’

There is a pause as she continues to cry. Poor Lola. And what a bastard Antonio has shown himself to be.

As her sobs subside, she pulls away from me again and swipes at her eyes.

‘And I know you hate it when I ask this …’ I say, hesitantly, as given her current state she may not thank me for the question, ‘but have you been taking your meds?’

She nods and replies, testily, ‘Yep.’

‘Maybe it’s time to ask Stuart for a review?’ I suggest.

Suddenly, she is calmer. ‘No. I’m fine now,’ she insists. ‘I know what I need to do. Thank you for listening. Please don’t tell anyone what I’ve told you. Especially not Antonio. Promise?’

‘OK,’ I say, ‘though if he hit you, I think—’

‘Alice! Please! You must promise. No one. No one at all. Whatever happens. It’s really important.’

I sigh. I don’t think she should keep something like this a secret, but I get the impression that she doesn’t have many close friends she feels she can rely on. I want her to be able to trust me. ‘OK. I promise,’ I say, somewhat reluctantly. ‘But if it happens again …’

‘Thank you,’ she says, before turning on her heel and walking out without another word.

52

Lola

New Year’s Eve 2021, 21:40

The Caribbean

‘All done at your end?’ Rick asks. His boss Danny is shouting at him every five minutes through the radio, but I’ve turned the volume right down. Rick won’t care and the constant noise is getting on my nerves. What we’re doing is much more important than whatever it is Danny wants done, I’m sure of it.

‘Yep,’ I say. ‘I told Antonio I was leaving. I made sure to shout as much as possible and I picked a time between shifts when there would be other people in their cabins. Someone will have heard me, I’m sure. It worked even better than I could have expected – I even goaded him into hitting me.’

Rick looks shocked. ‘He hit you?’