Harry kicked the pebbled pathway moodily as he strolled down to the sea front. Hastings was pleasant but he could think of better places to be. Like on a Greek island. He'd already considered ice cream, pottered about the fisherman's museum and the seaside still looked the same from one end to the other.
Apart from one thing. That hadn't been there an hour ago. Harry peered at it, heart suddenly racing. It should have looked out of place on the English coast but somehow it didn't. It was him, he was sure of it. It was his boat. He daren't risk calling out to him this time. He walked right up to it and when Bill turned around, he could see that it was.
'Fancy seeing you here.'
Bill stopped and stared. His smile was blinding.
'Harry! So good to see you.'
Harry couldn't really explain why the air suddenly felt lighter or the sun shined more radiantly. At that moment, it just did.
'What brings you here? Hasting is hardly the Balearics.'
'Stopped off for some ice cream. Maybe a museum. What's good around here?'
Such impulsiveness baffled Harry. It didn't make sense to him and knowing his luck, would never work for him as it effortlessly did for happy go lucky Bill.
'The ice cream looks good. The fisherman's museum isn't too bad. Was thinking of the smuggler's cave.'
'That sounds great. Let's go.'
Harry was taken back.
'Alright.'
'I'd like a quick tour around the fisherman's museum' Bill announced.
Harry decided that he didn't mind going again. This time he braved the stairs up to the boat where Bill amused them both by pretending to be in the Titanic.
'Come and join me. Be the Jack to my Rose' he cajoled and Harry grinned properly for the first time that day. A teenager down below valiantly took pictures of them doing their best Titanic impressions and the resulting pictures were something Harry secretly loved.
'Hey, we look good. Send me the photos' said Bill, flicking through the selection. Harry sent them immediately.
They picked out a double cone of ice cream each and devoured it quickly. Bill kept naming the seagulls (Clarence, get off my shoe) and they spent a long while traipsing around the smuggler's tunnels. Bill's cheerfulness and childlike enthusiasm was irresistible and Harry felt better than he had done in a while.
'So, how come you're here?' Bill asked as they munched away on fish and chips.
Harry gestured around him aimlessly. The gloom settled back in.
'Took a week off work. Decided on a day trip here. Spontaneously.'
Bill tried not to smile.
I'm spontaneous' Harry said defiantly to the tune of the other man's pitying glance.
'No, you're not' said Bill softly.
'I can be…'
Bill was grinning. He knew him very well by now. Just the same old Harry Bright with the air of enquiring after a trouser press. Bill was ecstatic to see him. But Harry wasn't altogether happy and that concerned him.
'Why are you sulking?'
'I'm not…sulking.'
'What is that phrase in English that Rosie said once?'
'That Sam, mooching around. Got a face on him like a slapped arse' said Rosie, bustling past them. Bill had roared with laughter, thought it was the funniest thing he'd heard that day. Harry had grinned reluctantly. He was fond of Sam. They all were.
Harry got there before Bill just as he remembered.
'I do not.'
'Well, something is bothering you.'
Harry weighed his options up.
'More salt?' Offered Bill.
'I saw you in London a couple of months ago' Harry blurted out.
Bill frowned.
'Walking on the Southbank. I called after you but you didn't…stop.'
'Couldn't have been me. I haven't been to London in a couple of years' said Bill in astonishment. Harry looked crestfallen.
'I could have sworn it was you...I thought if you had come to London you'd look me up. Come and say hello.'
Bill didn't like how small Harry's voice was. How hunched his shoulders were. He could sense dashed hopes swirling in the breeze.
'Don't you think that I would have let you know if I was coming to London?' He said gently.
Harry looked up blankly.
'I thought you would.'
Bill had an idea.
'What was I wearing?'
'Erm, a red shirt. With a blue necktie.'
Bill wasn't a necktie kind of man. That seemed to settle it.
'You've been bamboozled by my doppelganger.'
Despite his despondency, Harry liked the way that Bill pronounced such a British word.
'Pardon?'
'You didn't know I have one, do you?'
Harry stared at him in alarm.
'You're not cursed are you?'
'No, no. I will ring him to confirm but I'm certain that it was him that you saw and not me.'
'You're good friends with him?'
'Certainly. He's my brother.'
Harry hadn't known that.
'My twin, to be precise. Kurt.'
Harry spluttered with indignation.
'You could have bloody well told me!'
'Well he never came up in conversation…'
Harry almost felt offended that he had not been told. But the relief was cool and welcoming, knowing that the man who looked like Bill hadn't turned around and stared at him in confusion, rejected his greeting. That would have been even worse. Bill saw it and stored that thought away for safekeeping.
'Good to know in case I ever see him again. Watch out for the necktie' muttered Harry. Bill felt like a bit of an idiot for not mentioning that very important piece of information. He was determined to make it up to him.
Harry had fond memories of Bill's boat. It was a place of safety and comfort. He wished he'd spent more time on it over the last couple of years. They sat out on the deck sharing a jar of olives, toothpicks at the ready.
'So where have you come from?'
'A quick stopover to Estonia. Their food culture is up and coming.'
Harry considered Estonian food culture. He wasn't sure what that actually was. That seemed to be more Rosie's forte but Bill seemed to adapt to anywhere.
'I haven't had a real holiday since Greece' Harry complained.
Bill slapped his forehead.
'I'm so stupid. I should have asked you to come with me. You haven't lived until you've swum in the lakes at midsummer.'
'Haven't I?' Harry wasn't sure how to feel about that.
'You need to take more holidays. Travel to a different place each opportunity.'
'I've travelled for work.'
'Not the same thing. Chilling out in your suit in an overpriced tourist bar? Never the same thing.'
'Haven't you ever been to the same place twice?'
'Of course I have, I just make sure I see and do something different each time. One island is not the same as another. And you can have different adventures in the same city.'
'I do wish I'd stayed in Paris longer' Harry grumbled 'but I was so focused on Donna when she arrived that I never really took in the city. My fault for being so besotted with her.'
'Have you never been back?' Asked Bill in surprise. Paris was a safe bet. Conventional. For lovers. Except that Harry had never really been a romantic sort. Bill was hardly that either. His breakup with Rosie proved that.
'I've never had a holiday with someone. Like that before. What I had with Donna doesn't count.'
Bill observed the resigned slump of Harry's shoulders and felt for him. He'd become to rely on Harry's friendship and hated to see him so down. He made a quick decision.
'Well come aboard and make yourself comfortable. I have such sights to show you' he teased.
'Like what?'
'Let's start with the basics, shall we?'
Harry stomped down the steps and put his bag down, glanced into the sunny cabin. It looked much the same.
'Did you rearrange the chairs?'
A soft tut from Bill.
'Not that.'
Harry looked towards where Bill was motioning to. Then he saw it in all its sturdy glory.
'A trouser press!'
'I thought you might like it.'
'It's marvellous! I could kiss you right now.'
Bill had missed Harry's wonderment at the simple things in life.
'Best not, I can't get distracted when I'm steering us to Paris' he said lightly.
Harry turned around so fast he nearly toppled over the press.
'Paris?'
'Right now if you want to.'
Harry's face was a picture. Bill liked that although Harry could be surly and reserved, his true feelings really did shine through his eyes. It was a pretty spontaneous trait, for Harry Bright.
'Croissants for breakfast, The Eiffel Tower as the backdrop, we can stroll around the city, museums, whatever you want. No point wasting your holiday here when you could be lounging by the River Seine with a bottle of wine and a smoke with me.'
'You mean it?'
'You've already accepted the ride, there's no going back now' said Bill roguishly. After all, he'd got the trouser press in hopes of Harry being onboard again at some point.
Harry looked truly ecstatic.
What could the answer be but yes?
