A Little Sun

“…so that’s all settled. And perhaps we can find you a rich Sheik there.”

Oh god. I hope she’s joking, She’s got to be joking.

The thing about Marnie is you never quite know what she’s going to do next, and I like that in a person, generally. I just don’t want her to matchmake for me, and especially not with a rich sheik. Or anyone really. I can’t imagine being an enhancement to anyone’s life right now.

Also, this started out with me wanting to go off somewhere – on my own. Something simple – a little house on a beach perhaps. I’m not fussy about anything else, so long as it’s hot enough to burn my face, and it has internet access.. I just want to lie somewhere with my eyes shut and feel the sun on my face, and write a bit. I want to start my book. That’s all.

I only told her about my plans to take her mind off other things – she was worrying whether her email had got to him. She’d sent it to three different addresses, twice, and she was just about to send it again. She gets muddled on computers – always losing things, and she can’t see the screen very well. I said, “Why don’t you wait Marnie. I’m sure he must have got one of them at least. Give him a few days to reply. He must be really busy if he’s chucking it all in like he said he would, and coming back here.” I think what was worrying her most was that he mightn’t think she cared.

So that’s why I told her about going away – to take her mind off him, and - I’m really not sure what happened next. I don’t honestly know – but somehow I ended up asking her if she’d like to come too and she jumped at the idea – said she could be my chaperone and shout at people to go away if they looked as if they might want to hassle us.

Up to that point I was okay about it still, so long as she didn’t mind if I didn’t do stuff – I said I didn’t want to go and see art galleries, or churches or points of interest. It isn’t going to be that kind of holiday. And she assured me that would be fine – all she wanted was some sun on her face too. Then she lowered her voice and said that for reasons she wasn’t going to go into on the telephone she would actually quite like to leave the country. I have no idea what she’s talking about – money probably – so I told her would be my treat – and that was how we left it.

But the next day I’m clicking on the BBC weather – trying to see where’s hot right now. I was kind of hoping Santa Monica might be – it would be so relaxing there – laid back, easy to get around. She could go off and do her own thing; and the phone rings and it’s Marnie and she says “I have an idea!” She sounds so excited. – you’d never think she was pushing eighty. I listen while she tells me about this gay friend she has who lives part of the year in an Arabic country - - one of the nice ones - where it never gets below 75 degrees even at night. Anyway, he’s close friends with the Sultan there, who’s also gay, and I’m just about to say we could definitely put that on the list and ask her what she thinks of California, but it’s hard to get a word in - and by the time she finishes talking I can see that there is no list - it’s all fixed up – we can have his house and his houseboy, or a five star hotel – my choice, and he will arrange the flights – everything – I’m not to worry about any of it.

So that’s that. It’s not exactly the kind of thing I had in mind, but there is a beach I can sit on, and it’s not one of the countries where women have to cover themselves up and can’t drive. It would definitely be interesting - especially if we meet the Sultan in his palace. I’ve never done that before. I’m pretty sure it’ll be fun to travel with Marnie – at least I hope it will. As long as she leaves the Sheiks alone. We go the week after next.

Five minutes after I’ve put the phone down, he emails me. I’ve already apologised for telling him to go and fuck himself and he says he’s also sorry (a bit) and hopes I understand how difficult things are for him right now, but that all will be much clearer when part three of the email arrives, which should be any day now.