Chapter 6

Family Ties and Catching Up

Alison and Richard hadn't really spent much time together as children – they both went to their respective boarding schools, so they only saw one another at family gatherings every once in a while. With Alison being a few years older than him, there hadn't been much of a connection, anyway, although they always got on pretty well when they met. Maybe the reason was that both of them stuck out like sore thumbs during their school days – Alison with her striking looks, her height, and her unpopular interests (nobody cared for reading Jane Austen back then, and while everybody else in class was bored to tears, Alison read all her books unprompted by her teachers and then indulged in her newly-found love for the classics by exploring George Eliot, Dickens, Trollope and all the other writers that were considerd dead-boring by her class mates), and Richard with his scholastic achievements, his cleverness and his social awkwardness. Both were loners and outsiders, and both had had to develop strategies to induce respect from others.

As they got older, their paths separated even further – Richard went to Cambridge, Alison finished her degree in Literature and moved to Wales to attend the Library College in Aberystwyth and become a librarian. She worked in Manchester for a while, but got bored there, applied for positions in the capital and landed a job as librarian in the children's department of the public library where she still worked now. When the head of department retired, she got promoted – that had happened shortly before she and Richard met again. It was not until they bumped into each other at a classical concert in London that they got back in touch. Since then, they had discovered that they had the same dry sense of humour, and they shared the love for classical music, literature and other cultural things. They went to museums and exhibits together, when the opportunity came up every once in a while, and usually, they had a good time. They also had heated arguments sometimes, but Alison knew how to deal with a self-opinionated Richard, and eventually, they often just agreed to disagree. That worked fine for them.

It was not that Richard had ever been very chatty with her when it came to his emotions – that just wasn't how he was wired. It just was nicer for him to spend time with Alison every once in a while than do literally everything on his own. And she didn't ask any curious questions, make inappropriate remarks or poke around in his privacy, she just accepted that he didn't want to talk about anything personal. She wasn't keen on people asking her nosey questions, either, so she understood.

That kind of acceptance was just what he needed after the turbulent years at university… he had had a couple of short-lived flings then (yes, some girls had indeed fancied him), and a small group of friends… One of his friendships with a girl in his clique had become fairly serious – at least from his side – and he had even considered taking it further. Then, however, the girl in question married someone else in their circle of friends. Richard was devastated. He obviously had misread the signs she had been sending. How could he have been so wrong?

He was terribly hurt and couldn't get over it for a long time. Eventually, he came to terms with it, but he felt that Aunt Margaret was right – it wasn't worth it, and he'd be better off on his own. He had always been a bit of a loner, but this experience paved the way for his future life – it was mostly about work, a few hobbies that he could do by himself (things like running, listening to music, reading, going to museums and concerts, solving puzzles and crosswords – and the like). The outings with Alison were fun – she was good company. Their conversations sometimes helped him to find a new perspective and understand certain communication mechanisms a little better. He tended to be very literal, and Alison had shown him that there were many other ways to see things than only his own. That had been a very valuable insight for his job – it made his investigations deeper and less one-tracked, and it made him a better detective. She never tried to match him up with anybody – she didn't think there was anything wrong with him and just let him be. That was a very pleasant change from all the people who thought the exact opposite and made him feel like an outcast.

Over the last few months on Saint Marie he wished he'd have an opportunity to talk to her. Very rarely in his life had he felt the need to get advice – usually, he figured things out by himself. But his current situation was different. He was not entirely sure how he'd bring up the topic that bothered him – he wasn't even sure if he wanted to do it at all given the fact that he felt rather stupid about his own inability to cope with the situation, but he felt that if anybody could help him out of his dilemma, then it would be Alison.

It was not that they didn't keep in touch – they e-mailed from time to time, but it was always about general things, about work, about the weather, about current events, a joke and some banter here and there… and the e-mails never were very long – a paragraph or so. So, when Richard learnt that he'd be going to the UK for a week, he was determined to take the time to see his cousin so they could catch up on their respective news… and maybe there'd be a chance to broach a particular subject that he couldn't quite get his head around.

As they were waiting for their lunch to be served, Alison eyed up her cousin and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could actually utter a word, he lifted his hand and said "Don't say it!" "What?" "That I'm as sallow as a worm." Alison laughed and responded "That was not what I wanted to say, but now that you bring it up – you really aren't very tanned! Let me guess – sunblock factor 50?" Richard nodded and elaborated "You know how I don't tan – I just burn and freckle eventually… but who am I to tell you? Your skin is even more sensitive." That was a generous remark – usually, Richard didn't admit that there was anybody with more sensitive skin than his. He then added inquiringly "So, what did you want to say then, if it wasn't anything like that?"

"Well, I was going to ask what you're doing here! I thought you were on that sunny island of yours, sweating away and solving murder cases! Are you on holidays, or are you back for good?" Alison demanded.

"Neither, I think…" was Richard's cryptic reply. A curious glance met his eyes, and he explained "Well, I had to escort a suspect to the UK – she actually could help us to find the money that disappeared in a fraud case, and her cooperation might have a favourable effect on her own sentence. She killed someone, so she'll need all the help she can get, I suppose. I had to give evidence and report about our investigations, obviously. Since I had not had a holiday since I was sent to this sweatbox of an island, the Commissioner suggested I'd take the chance to spend a week at home and relax a little in the rain! So, it's partly work-related." "Ah – I understand. But what do you mean by 'you don't think you're back for good'?"

They were interrupted by the waiter who brought them their food – a large pizza for Richard and a pasta dish for Alison. When he disappeared again, Richard continued "I'll have an appointment with HR tomorrow, and I'm not sure what that means…" He explained "Originally, I was supposed to talk to them on the day after my arrival, but then they let me know they'd have to postpone it to Thursday - tomorrow. It just makes me nervous, you know. They had left me hanging for the second year of my assignment – actually, after the first year, they only prolonged the assignment for three months, and it continued like that over the entire year. They always told me there are no vacancies over here, so they would prolong the assignment for three more months, promising me that they'd – erm - inform me rightaway if they had any available positions here. Well, that never happened, but when I left for the UK before the weekend, the Commissioner on Saint Marie informed me that HR wanted to talk to me while I was here. I wonder what's up, and it worries me. I don't know what they want from me, and I'm not sure I want to know." His voice got a bit unsteady here, and so Alison didn't ask any further questions. She sensed that there was more to this than the obvious, but she knew how hard it was for him to talk about personal matters, so she didn't probe any deeper.

So, they talked about family news and general stuff during their meal. Richard mentioned that he had seen his parents over the weekend, and the big sigh that he let out at the end of his little tale indicated his relief that it was behind him. He loved his parents, but it was more out of duty than out of real affection. They lived on a different planet, and their relationship was characterized by mutual lack of understanding and not knowing what to say to each other. The years at boarding school had estranged him from his parents to a certain extent, and since he had left school and started university, it had not really become any better.

It was not that they argued or anything like that… it was simply that they did not know what to talk about, other than small talk. His mother kept fussing over him without really having any idea of Richard's likes, interests and needs, and his father was uptight, almost priggish at times, and appeared to be grumpy by default. Richard always felt that his father was disappointed with him, although he could not really put his finger on why he felt this way as neither of his parents ever really expressed any sentiment like that verbally. He couldn't help but remember Camille's remark that he might be like his dad as he had difficulty in expressing emotions… that was not a very happy thought for him. He didn't want to be grumpy and aloof! Yet, he had to admit that he might come across exactly that way – and that was a downright depressing thought. But how do you change something that is so rooted in your personality? Or was it just a habit? He hadn't always been as fastidious and uptight as now… It surely was part of his personality to a certain extent, but he had cultivated it – and maybe taken it too far, at least in his private life. He never had questioned his habits the way he did now…

He decided not to dwell on the topic of parents as it was just too frustrating, so he asked Alison what she had been up to lately. She surprised him by saying "Oh, I got engaged." His incredulous look made her laugh. She had not mentioned it in her last e-mail to him as it had still been so fresh that she didn't want to share it, not even with him. She showed him an unflashy, rather non-prestigious ring now. It looked good on her but was completely inconspicuous and didn't look like the typical engagement ring. Richard thought that choosing something like that was just so characteristic of her and her partner. "Here, look! Yes, I know – we all thought it would never happen, including Sid and myself. But he had a couple of health issues last year, and it turned out that it was a bit of a struggle for me to get info on how he was doing and what they were planning to do with him in hospital as I'm 'only' his partner, not his wife. I think that made us both re-consider. Also, we realised how fragile life can be, you know… whatever… he popped the question last month, and I said yes. We'll get married next summer. Shouldn't be a big deal, it won't be one of those weddings with fancy dresses, hats and penguin suits - and all the frills and trimmings. Mum was shocked when I told her – she had always taken great pride in having a 'spinster daughter', as she called it. – Oh, thank you…" She looked up to the waiter who took away her empty plate.

"Well, I'll let you know what comes out of it all eventually. And of course, if you can make it possible, I'd love to have you there for the wedding!" They ordered dessert and coffee, then Alison took up the thread of conversation again. "So, how's life in the Caribbean, Richard? What is working on a tropical island like?" His face lit up and he set off into a long lecture about how different the police work was over there, how they had to do without forensics and ballistics and all the things he had taken for granted in the UK. It was obvious that he was proud of his work there, and he emphasised several times how lucky he was to have such a supportive team.

"Mind you, they are amazing. They are so devoted to what we're doing, and they're very loyal. If it wasn't that hot over there, I don't think I would have any serious quibbles about the island. You know, obviously, it's not England, but you get used to it. I had a horrible time over the first half year or so, but well, I think I learnt to live with most of the downsides in the meantime. I found some good insect repellent, so that has made a huge difference. I got eaten alive by the bugs at first, but not anymore now. Can't blame them, that lotion smells awful – luckily the scent wears off after a while, but by then the bugs have obviously lost interest... The food can be challenging sometimes, rather spicy, but again – you get used to it, and you learn what combinations are good for you and what you'd rather avoid. And the fruit… really, really marvellous. You know how much I always liked bananas – well, the bananas you get there are wonderful. Compared to that, the ones you can get here are just a sorry excuse of fruit! I also love the mangoes – oh, and there's more. I'm obviously less excited about the seafood, and unfortunately, the island is full of that. I try to avoid it, but it's not always possible!"

He then took out his phone and showed her a couple of snapshots that he had taken during his time on Saint Marie. There were pictures of his shack – inside and outside, several of the beach and the palm trees, the general scenery, even a photo of Harry. Then there were photos of the station and the team, even one or two of Catherine and the Commissioner – he had taken a bunch of pictures at their after-work gatherings and special events happening at La Kaz.

Alison looked at them and commented on how beautiful the scenery was and how amazing his shack looked ("Oh, is that really a live tree next to your bed? How wonderful!"). Dwayne's photo made her laugh out loud – he was wearing one of his colourful shirts, holding a bottle of beer and smiling broadly into the camera ("I bet he knows how to party, huh!") -, and she commented "Wow, what a looker" on Fidel's picture. Then a photo of Camille popped up… and another one… and a third one. Alison looked up and her gaze met Richard's eyes as the colour rose in his cheeks.

She realised that there was more behind the whole thing than he wanted her to know, but it was obvious that he was in turmoil about something, and his addled brain couldn't find a way out of the maze. After having known him for so long, she was well aware that his privacy was sacred to him and he didn't appreciate people asking questions, but she knew that this was not the moment for leaving him alone.