Chapter 7 – Welcome Party with a Twist

Richard leant back as Florence excused herself because her phone rang. Actually, her handbag began to vibrate – and she hastened to take out the phone to switch it off, but then she saw who was calling and apologised to Richard. She got up and went a few steps away.

She was a nice girl, and from how she had spoken, she appeared to be a smart and devoted DS, Richard mused. Of course, she couldn't compare to Camille. Nobody could. But then, she was younger and less experienced – she would learn with time, and she definitely had potential.

They had laughed about their encounter in the airport hall – she had apologised once again for dropping all her stuff in front of his feet, and he had replied drily that a handbag might be the solution for her problem – although given the size of her water bottle, it would have to be a rather large one.

She had shown him the tiny bag she carried this evening and said "That's just about the size of bag I can bear to carry with me. I hate bags. I have five brothers, you know, and when you want to climb a tree, play cops and robbers, or try that new skateboard trick, bags are in the way, so I learnt to put everything in my pockets from an early age. It's become more difficult, though, the older I got… But I still don't like bags. As it is, I keep forgetting them, you know, and it's always such a fuss to remember where you put them…"

That was interesting – Camille loved bags. In all sizes! But it was good that people were different, wasn't it.

He watched his father chatting with the Commissioner, his mother was engaged in a conversation with Catherine – about food and recipes, as far as he could gather, and Camille was talking to Dwayne. JP and Fidel were exchanging experiences in regard to working with Dwayne. Everybody seemed happy. He was happy, too, and he smiled contentedly.

Juliet watched him for a few moments, then she addressed him by saying "So, how have you been faring since your return to the UK, sir? We were all so terribly shocked when you were attacked back then. Fidel was devastated… until we finally heard that you'd make it. And you're looking good, if you don't mind me saying so."

She smiled and continued "Fidel said it hasn't been the same around here without you, and so he didn't hesitate to accept the position on St. Lucia – of course, it was an excellent opportunity for him as it came with a promotion, but I know how much he liked working with you, and I'm fairly sure he would have stayed on if you had still been here."

Richard raised his eyebrows inquiringly, and Juliet said hastily "That doesn't mean DI Goodman isn't a good boss, sir – don't get me wrong. I just think that the job lost its lifeblood for Fidel after your departure."

Richard thought that Juliet was maybe exaggerating a little, still he was flattered by her remark. He decided to focus on her question, though, and responded "Thank you, Juliet. It's been a long way in rehab, but fortunately, everything turned out well. I started working part time again in September last year, and six months later, I went back full time. I'm in a different line of work now, though…" And he went on to explain – without going into much detail as he (correctly) assumed it wouldn't be of much interest to her, anyway.

Their conversation was interrupted by Camille with a "Sorry, darling… Juliet, would you mind… I've got to abduct my husband for a moment…" Richard got up with an apologetic smile and followed Camille. Florence stood by the bar and looked over to them, apparently a little nervous.

"What's up, Camille – problem?" he asked, leaning on the balustrade. She seemed upset. "Humphrey…" she said, with a decidedly annoyed undertone in her voice. "Ah." His eyes wandered to Florence at the bar. Camille said "Yes, exactly. Florence just told me that he called her. Apparently he's sitting somewhere on the beach, feeling sorry for himself… for whatever stupid reason!"

She rolled her eyes and continued "The thing is that he wonders if he's still welcome to join us here." She imitated a toff accent as accurately as she could, and Richard couldn't help but smile. She went on "I don't know what it is that bugs him, but I find it incredibly rude of him to act like that."

Richard agreed, but pointed out that this wouldn't help to solve the problem or answer the question. "It's pretty much up to you, Camille – do you want him here or not? And what would the consequences of your decision be? As I understand, you want to make peace with him or whatever, so maybe it's a good idea to invite him over. If you say he should go and jump off a cliff, it's okay with me, but he might be offended, and you'd have to deal with a conflict that's as pointless as a hole in the head…"

She was obviously seething, but his answer made her think. Eventually, she nodded and said "You're right. No point in making a racket about his silliness. JP said that his father has been here recently, and that has apparently been a bit challenging so maybe he's in a crisis… still no good reason to let everyone else suffer, but well… I'll let Florence know – she has promised to call him back. Thanks, Richard. I love you, you know?" She leant over to kiss him, they were both momentarily unaware of the surroundings… and then they heard it: "Aaaaah!"

There was a snigger from Dwayne and suppressed laughter from Fidel as a reaction to Dwayne's indiscretion. Camille whispered with a smile "Sorry, I forgot… but we're married, we are officially allowed to do this… and more!" Richard had turned crimson, but his voice was tender when he replied "I guess so… and as long as there's no catcalling or demand for an 'encore', I think it's okay…"

Camille tenderly touched his hand once again and turned around – with a swing of her hips as well a meaningful smile and a frivolous glance over her shoulder that almost made him choke – to walk over to Florence and let her know about the outcome of their little consultation.

Richard returned to his chair, following her with his eyes and smiling to himself – that swing of her hips, the smile and her glance had brought back some memories!

In vain, he tried not to think of the evening that had followed the little 'do' at the station when everyone had congratulated them upon their engagement….

Part of the gift the department had given them had been a somewhat risqué music CD… and surprisingly, it had brought about an unforgettable experience.

He had been tempted to let it 'disappear', but Camille had grabbed it before he had had a chance to do so, and much to his embarrassment, she had insisted on 'listening' to it on the same evening.

The cover (obviously home-made, though thanks to excellent software, it looked rather professional) had already been somewhat suggestive, though not clearly explicit, and the title had made him shudder… "Hot Love"!

It had turned out to be a compilation that someone had made for them, the entire department had signed the inside of the cover – and Richard couldn't help but look at his co-workers with different eyes after that evening. Camille had had a look at the list of songs before she had put it into the CD player. The amused smile that had curved her lips just before she had gently put her hands on the small of his back, pressed herself against him and kissed him had spoken volumes.

And so, Richard had had to listen (with painfully burning ears at first – eventually, though, his ears didn't bother him any more as he focused on other things) to Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin sighing and moaning "Je t'aime... moi non plus" in an extended version, to Donna Summer going on about "Ahaaw, I love to love you, baby" in a special remix version… and a few others he couldn't remember now…

Granted, after a while he hadn't listened any more at all – he had been too preoccupied with what Camille had been doing to 'entertain' him… and with returning the favours.

He was grateful for the dim lighting in Catherine's bar now - he felt his face flushing at the memory. But admittedly, they had had fun together that night…

On the next day, he had ignored all the curious glances and appeared just as tight-lipped and buttoned-up as always. Much to everyone's disappointment, he had seemed completely oblivious to the curiosity around him. And Camille hadn't reacted to the prying peeks around her, either.

Only Liz Andrews had seen the warm glow in Camille's eyes and that particular little smile when she had nodded briefly in response to her question if they had had a nice evening together…

If she had noticed the love bite on Camille's neck that was sparsely concealed by a fluffy scarf, she didn't tell anyone… she could keep a secret, as she had proved before.

Ten minutes later, Humphrey appeared. Camille was behind the bar, gathering drinks, and Richard was in the back room with JP, ready to bring out the second course of food platters. Margaret was having an eye on the oven where Catherine had put some of the food to keep it warm. Dwayne was just telling Robert about Richard's first encounter with the sidecar of his motorbike, and the Commissioner added his two cents to how adventurous it was to be in this particular position… He had made his own experiences with Dwayne's driving style, after all…

Catherine got up to greet Humphrey who smiled sheepishly and made excuses for his late appearance. His eyes wandered around until he finally saw her behind the bar – there she was, as beautiful as ever… His eyes lit up, and forgotten were the thoughts he had entertained earlier today. How could he ever have doubted that she was the one... How had it happened that he had almost forgotten about her sometimes over the past months? She looked wonderful in her sleeveless red blouse with the ruffled front and the black pencil skirt. A little conservative, maybe, but he didn't care. Her hair was shorter now… what a shame… but never mind – she still was amazing.

He didn't see Florence's hurt look. She had hoped he would be thankful for her paving the way for him – and express his gratitude. After all, he had ignored all her previous phonecalls – so why had he expected her to pick up the phone when he had called her? Not to mention that she had been here all these months while Camille had been away and pursued her own life in the meantime… How self-absorbed he was!

She sighed. She knew that kind of behaviour from her brothers, so it didn't really surprise her – but it still hurt. Considering his age, she had thought Humphrey was more mature – but apparently not.

Camille furtively lifted her head and saw Humphrey standing there, looking at her. She sighed inwardly. Oh no, he was wearing those puppy eyes again… Catherine felt the tension and said smoothly "Well, Humphrey, it's nice that you have managed to come after all – we all were a little worried."

She had hardly finished her sentence, when JP and Richard came out of the back room, food platters in their hands. Humphrey didn't notice, but Richard had the chance to observe his successor, and he didn't really like what he saw. This man was perhaps a brilliant detective, but he had no manners, his attire was appalling, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at Camille was clearly inappropriate and could only be categorised as "ogling".

Determinedly, he put the platters on the table and then went to join Camille behind the bar, helping her with loading the trays. Together, they carried them to a bench that was placed near the balustrade behind the big table, then they turned around, well aware of everyone's gawping. Camille went up to Humphrey and said softly "Hello again, sir – good to see you!"

Before he could make a move or a reply, Catherine took a deep breath and said "Well, Humphrey, since you haven't been here when the introductions were made… I don't have to tell you who Camille is, obviously, but let me introduce you to Richard Poole, Camille's husband. Richard, this is Humphrey Goodman, as you may have gathered…"

Richard came closer, extended his hand and said with more friendliness than he felt "Hello, Inspector. Nice to meet you. I also happened to be your first case here on Saint Marie, so let me thank you for solving it." He didn't want Humphrey to call him by his first name at this point, so he set the standard by addressing him with "Inspector".

Humphrey failed to take the proffered hand – he clearly was at a loss for words, so after an embarrassing pause, Richard continued "Let me also introduce my parents – I think you have briefly met my mother," - he nodded in her direction, and Humphrey smiled automatically – "and this is my father." He gestured in Robert's direction – his father took the cue and said politely "Hello Mr Goodman – nice to meet you!" Humphrey reacted robotically and replied "Ahem… yes, thank you, Mr Poole – glad to meet you, too."

It took Humphrey a while to get over the shock, but his upbringing helped him. He sat down and managed to exchange inane chit-chat with everyone, automatically talked to Fidel and Juliet, teased Dwayne and JP and made conversation with Margaret.

Catherine's 'introduction' had had the effect of an ice-cold shower – undoubtedly, that had been what she had intended. After the second course of platters was finished off, she got up to get more drinks, and Humphrey followed her to the bar. He had not noticed what he had eaten, and he had no idea what he had talked about. He was clearly shocked. With big, desperate eyes he asked her "Why didn't you warn me, Catherine? I thought we were friends…"

She looked at him and said compassionately "We are, Humphrey. But it was none of my business to let you know in advance. Besides, it has only just happened – they got married right before Christmas."

"But you must have known..." he said and added as an afterthought, "... and of course, they haven't only just met and reunited – they must have been in touch for a while... why didn't anybody tell me?"

Suddenly, Camille stood next to him and said softly "Sorry, sir... but nobody knew, only Maman. I – I asked her not to tell anyone. And when I left, I didn't know what would happen, so..."

"Camille, I... I don't know what to say..." he stuttered.

Richard watched them from his seat, argus-eyed and with a good portion of irritation. He hardly knew Humphrey Goodman, and it made him uncomfortable that Goodman knew quite a bit about his own past – although Camille had assured him that it had been her who had read his diaries back then, not him... she had only passed on relevant information, but still... it was disconcerting.

And he remembered only too well how difficult Humphrey had made it for Camille to take time off, how he had made her unwelcome advances, how he had asked her indecent questions, how he had wanted to know whom she spent her time with, how he had thrown sticks and stones in her way when she had wanted to leave for France...

No, he wasn't too keen on getting to know Humphrey Goodman any better.

But he knew that it was important to Camille to sort this out. And at the end of the day, he wanted this chapter to be closed, too, so he had to let her go ahead and get it done... It wouldn't be good to have this unfinished issue hovering over their heads. As long as this wasn't resolved, Camille would feel that she owed Humphrey something – and Richard didn't want that. It would only make things difficult for her – and for him.

He was well aware that this all would imply a private meeting of the two of them, and he wasn't excited about that – but there was no way around it. And then again - Camille was married to him, after all, so it was not like there was any kind of competition going on between him and Goodman… It was just that he didn't want her to get hurt. Goodman looked shocked, and who knew what he'd say…

With a frown and an inward sigh, he decided to stop worrying. But he still felt uncomfortable as he watched her touching Humphrey's arm and talking to him – in a soothing way, apparently.

As the evening went on, Catherine decided to have a little music in the background – not to the extent that it would disturb the conversation, but loud enough so people could get up and dance if they wanted to. Fidel and Juliet had gone to dance a little, and Dwayne, JP and Florence had followed them.

Florence had exchanged a few words with Humphrey, but she was so peeved with his behaviour that she had distanced herself a little and turned to other people. It wouldn't do any harm to show him the cold shoulder for a while… Not that Humphrey noticed – he was so caught up in his own little bubble that he didn't realise how upsetting and offensive his conduct was. To him, it only counted that he had been left in the dark regarding Camille's commitments and engagements, and he felt hurt, humiliated and vexed – instead of feeling ashamed, worried and doubtful about his own actions, like he had felt earlier on. All in all, he still was miserable, though – so that hadn't changed.

He decided not to let it show, though, and tried to join the conversation around him. He felt curious about Richard Poole and what Camille might see in him – during his investigations, Camille had put great emphasis on respecting Poole's private sphere – she had read his diaries, Humphrey had only had a look at the e-mails Richard had exchanged with Angela Birkett, and he had seen the photo albums that Mrs Poole had sent. The diaries had been off limits for him – and he had respected Camille's adamant attitude there. Not that he would have had any other choice – she could be rather stubborn, after all, and at that time, he was still trying to find orientation and get a feeling for the island and the atmosphere in the station. He had understood that the team had been shaken up – they hadn't only lost their Chief, but also a good friend, as it had seemed… although he had looked like a stuffed shirt on the photo Humphrey had seen – and he still looked the same way now.

Listening to Richard explaining to the Commissioner how the international department was structured and organised and how the cooperation with the French unit was managed, he couldn't help but wonder what everyone saw in this man. As far as he was concerned, he could only see a pedantic, nitpicky, overly accurate middle-aged man who wasn't even really attractive. He wasn't tall, he wasn't fashionable, he wasn't smooth in his behaviour… good grief, what on earth was it that made Camille choose Richard over him? Had she completely lost her mind? She was so lively, so adventurous, so funny… why would she want to be with someone like Richard – if she could have anybody else, including himself?

But they were clearly devoted to one another… Humphrey swallowed hard when he saw the look in her eyes when Camille came over to join the conversation. Or did she come over because she wanted to be close to her husband? She briefly touched Richard's shoulder, and Richard turned to her, giving her a tender smile – the intimacy of this moment and the obvious love in their eyes was too much for him, and he got up abruptly to get another drink.

Camille furrowed her brow. She was honestly displeased with Humphrey's behaviour. She had always thought Richard could be fairly childish when he was in his worst mood, but he was clearly surpassed by Humphrey tonight.

The Commissioner – who just had stood up and made ready to leave - made a remark about Humphrey being a bit beside himself and said sotto voce "His father has been here recently. Made a big ruckus about how he wanted the Inspector to leave Saint Marie and all that. Even showed up at the Government House to convince me to release him. It's obviously none of my business, but it really made me wonder a bit."

He shook Richard's hand again, patted Camille's cheek and promised to come to their blessing. Then, he left, and Richard sighed with relief. He liked Patterson, but he still felt slightly uncomfortable in his presence. That feeling would most probably never go away…

Humphrey was now approaching the dance floor. He had decided that he might just as well have fun – and Catherine's cocktails helped, so he had just asked her for another one. He would pick it up later, though – now it was time to dance…

Richard watched the scenario with mixed feelings. This was developing into a farce, and if things continued like this, disaster would strike. He was upset with Humphrey for making a mess out of Camille's welcome party. He didn't care so much about partying, and he knew that his parents had come along because of Camille and him only, but he worried that Camille might be hurt – and she hadn't deserved that.

Margaret saw the look on his face, and she understood that he wasn't too happy.

Florence wasn't happy, either. She felt that Humphrey was making an idiot of himself, but there was no way of stopping him… And she was upset with how he had not even acknowledged her presence. How selfish of him.

The little group on the patio danced for a while, and there was some singing along, bantering and good humoured exchanging of jokes. Dwayne laughed out loud at a silly remark that JP made, Juliet and Florence danced and talked about Saint Marie and their respective memories of school – they had found out that Juliet had gone to school with one of Florence's brothers, and so Florence was familiar with a lot of names that Juliet remembered from back then – and Humphrey mostly danced by himself. He had clearly had to much to drink, and his movements became less controlled by the minute.

Before anything too drastic could happen, though, the Latin rhythms suddenly stopped, and Catherine switched to a mix of pop, classics and crooners. Soon, the air was filled with standard dance music. As she had hoped, Humphrey fell on a nearby chair while Fidel and Juliet began to dance and Dwayne set his beer on a table and took Florence's hand, leading her to JP and saying merrily "Show him how to dance with a lady," before sitting down next to Humphrey.

At first, JP was embarrassed and flustered, but Florence smiled at him and said "Come on, JP – let's go… it's not that difficult, you know. I promise I won't bite!" And she showed him a few steps, the two laughed together, and it was clear that they were having fun. Dwayne was pleased – JP really needed to loosen up a little, and Florence obviously appreciated the distraction – and turned to Humphrey who suddenly looked very glum and appeared almost fossilized. "Look, Chief – why don't we…"

He didn't get any further, though – Humphrey fell to the side and landed on the floor with a muffled thud.