She ignores him. ‘Does your grandmother play bridge? Bingo? Does she like to scrapbook?’

I shrug as the woman tells us about a bridge competition taking place at this very moment.

‘What does the winner get?’ Alex asks, as bowls of creamy soup are placed in front of us. ‘A trophy?’

‘A keychain,’ she answers. ‘With a picture of the ship.’

I try to suppress my grin and take a tiny mouthful of soup, burning the tissue-thin skin inside my mouth.

‘You okay?’ Alex asks, and I realise I must have flinched. My eyes are watering. I can feel a flap of skin on the roof of my mouth that has peeled away. I nod and glance at Grandma. She is still deep in conversation with the captain.

‘Sorry about the seating,’ Alex whispers, his breath warm against my ear. ‘I didn’t know she was coming, and, well…’

‘Don’t worry,’ I whisper back. ‘Just keep talking, please.’

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 16

They are whispering, their heads together, and there is colour in Hannah’s cheeks, probably from the wine. It bothers me that she does not recognise her own loveliness, that she does not know that she will look back in twenty, thirty, forty years and wish she had enjoyed her beauty while it was so vivid. I am glad to see her flirting with Alex. I would have done the same at her age; he has that quality of looking you straight in the eyes when you speak, as though he is listening closely, considering what you say. And of course he is handsome. Part of me wants to tell her to beware of handsome men, or those who know that they are, but I have to remind myself that things are different now. There is less at stake. I envy the freedom she has to spend a decade sleeping with different men, deciding which one is right for her. Practising living together, playing at keeping house.

The captain is telling me about his children, who are Hannah’s age—in their twenties—and he sees me watching my granddaughter and Alex. He smiles, and I can tell he understands but does not want to say anything in case they overhear and are embarrassed.

‘When I was Hannah’s age I travelled from Sydney to San Francisco on a ship full of war brides and their children,’ I tell him.

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