Leaning with his back against the hot metal of the bin, Tim scanned the grounds. A few wedding guests appeared in the distance, emerging after a late night, and he watched as they walked past Willem, who was bending over the open septic tank. The orange warning light flickered across Willem’s troubled face, shaded behind the flimsy pergola wall. Under the pergola, more guests lounged, chatting or napping, on white wicker chairs. A gust of dry wind carried the rancid sewage smell over to Tim, where it mixed with the cloying whiff of the bin juices.
Weddings at The Pearl were dreamy affairs which Tim watched from the sidelines, weekend after weekend. The resort was nestled in a soft sandy bay where a meandering river met the sea. To the east, the beach stretched for miles framed by dunes and twisted pine forests. To the west, tall cliffs rose up across the river, from where they cast long purple shadows in the evenings. Usually, the clear, flowing waters made the spit verdant so that, whichever way you looked, ferns and reaching foxgloves stood out against the unsettled background of the waves. This summer had been different. The sun and the heat, unbearable for weeks, had turned ferns into crisp, orange ornaments and shrunk the mosses to pitiful hairy patches.
Now a few months in, Tim knew what to expect from the wedding just from a glimpse of the happy couple. They often chatted about this at the end of the day, Tim and the other groundskeepers, tired from the heavy heat and the work. He would sit with Annie, Willem, and Julia, and rate the atmosphere of the wedding or try to decide which guests were the biggest assholes. Like the time Annie had to remake a cappuccino three times, first using the guest’s special supply of soy milk, and then again because it had too much foam, and again because it was too tall. Or another time, when a dickhead of a best man handed out tiny bags of coke to all the guests, so that by the end they were all dickheads. The mood of the grounds staff shifted with the wedding party, as if the bride and groom were the parents and they the children, swayed by the grown-ups’ caprices.
Though he complained with the others, for Tim this job was a chance for an escape, a change of pace. To find himself through working outdoors and imagine a simpler life. His back hurt less, that was true. But he wasn’t as sure about his knees, with all the heavy lifting. His skin was tanned. Working by the seaside, watching the birds every morning, the dawn breaking, soft mists coming in from the ocean, nighttime creatures he had never met before like tiny dormice and giant moths, all that was exactly what he had imagined. On the other hand, the power struggle with the manager, the owner turning up and screaming, the shifts given and taken away on a whim, he’d never felt vulnerable like this before.
This particular wedding had been a chore. On the first day, Julia overheard the groom make a request to the managers. “Can you fucking believe it?” She later raged. “They asked if the staff could be less visible. I better get into some camo and crawl through the bush.” This one tickled Annie in particular. Everyone, including herself, was surprised by her loud laugh. Tim watched her eyes light up. Yes, she was an easy girl to like, especially when she was laughing just like that.
Tim checked his watch. It was 11 o’clock, time for a break. The heat was becoming unbearable and he had given up on cleaning the maggot-riddled bins. The long-awaited rain was meant to arrive that evening and hopefully it would wash away the primordial soup. Just then he saw Annie crossing the grounds and waved at her. When she looked over he pretended to swim through the air. She checked her watch, then walked towards him.
“Ok, but just a quick swim. I don’t want Liam to get pissy about the timesheets again.” She said when she reached him, then wiped the sweat off her forehead. “It’s a hot one.”
They walked fast, taking the side path leading out of the resort and climbed up a low dune towards a secluded cove. Annie walked ahead, feeling lighter now she was with Tim. At first, she thought he was one of the posh boys, she met them often, especially in the summer after they graduated and their parents cut them off. Making a bit of cash before starting their jobs in the city. Or they were on a rebellious streak, carefree, knowing there’s a soft landing back at mummy and daddy’s. They were a careless sort of people. She didn’t like to think of this too much though, because it filled her with rage that made her dizzy, made her face contort. She didn’t like to look like that, preferred to always look pretty and carefree, laugh about the silly guests, with their tacky wedding decorations and ridiculous tan suits. Then, she thought Tim was different. He was slightly older than the other boys, older than her, though he did sound a bit like them, the way he rounded his vowels and used words like preposterous. They got on well enough, sometimes really well. She knew he was on a sabbatical, but she wasn’t sure why he was working here, a groundskeeper. Sometimes she thought those shifts could have gone to someone else. Money was getting tight. Not that she would have been allowed to drive the truck like the guys, and perhaps they were right, those laundry bags were heavier than she liked to admit.
The air became cooler once they reached the crest of the dune, their nostrils freed from the stench of the bins. A breeze softly evaporated the sweat off their drenched bodies. It was silent too. The birds were hiding, and tiny claw marks in the sand were the only clue of the plovers running to their shady burrows. Annie and Tim looked at the distant figures as they searched for breakfast.
The women walked around in bikinis and flowing sarongs, men wore patterned shorts and linen shirts, everyone showed off their sculpted bodies like a new luxury item. Annie saw the guests. She saw them, when they arrived in expensive cars, held champagne glasses with manicured hands, and told funny anecdotes about pilates classes. The chiseled jawlines mirrored the rock faces above the sea, and the plumped-up breasts were as delicate as the soft dreamy dunes. They were like paintings, hardly human. Yet, after the weddings, when she went in to clean the cabins marred with signs of their mortal bodies, they became real people again. Shy shit stains on the toilet, bloodied floss that missed the bin, yellowing edges of a sweat patch on the sheets. Perhaps a forgotten pair of underwear wilting under the bed. Some of them were messy, like helpless children. Others were tidy and pristine, so eager to hide their foibles that they would pre-clean the bathroom before leaving. Annie saw them just as they were.
When they reached the water, Tim stripped down to his underwear and jumped in. It was cold at first, a shock taking his breath away, and then pleasant as his body adjusted. Annie jumped in after him and they swam out to the middle of the bay. Her ponytail came out, and her long hair looked dark, spread out like kelp, undulating with the waves. Eyes green like the sea, she looked like a beautiful mermaid. She looked at Tim’s head poking out of the water, curious and large next to the undersized illusion of his body.
They hadn’t been alone like this before and Annie felt shy.
Tim felt lawless floating out in the ocean, hidden by the dunes, the cliffs, the forest. He liked this privacy. In fact, of all the beaches he had been to, even the tropical ones, this was the one he liked best.
“We used to swim here as kids, before The Pearl was built,” Annie said. “Funny, I’d forgotten that. It’s been almost twenty years.” Tim swam closer to her, close enough to see the marbled pink and white of her chest.
“But the beach is open to the public, right?” he said.
Annie frowned. Tim’s face was blank like a dumb fish. He had missed the point.
“Yes. It stayed open but there was something with the parking. I’ll need to ask my mum next time I see her.” She replied and turned towards the beach. She was surprised at how annoyed she felt at having to explain. “We better get back before Liam notices we’re gone.”
Annie and Tim returned just as Willem and Julia were cleaning up after the breakfast buffet. A low buzz of the flies rang out over the long table where most of the food had been left untouched. The bin maggots had hatched. Willem looked at Tim and stuck a finger in his mouth, miming a vomit. What a disaster, they agreed without a word.
“Anyway. Liam is looking for us, we better go,” Julia said. Tim and Annie exchanged a glance. Surely the quick swim wouldn’t be enough to get them in trouble?
Cool air embraced their damp skins as the four of them filed into the reception. A shiver ran down Annie’s back, her wet hair soaking through the uniform. The room was small and there was not quite enough space for all of them, so they stood pressed together. Behind the counter, Liam had more breathing room and he used it to stand with his legs wide and his arms crossed. His face looked as sour as ever.
“The owner called this morning, so this is not up for discussion.” There was an audible tension in his voice but Annie also sensed excitement. “We have the new perm staff starting on Monday, so we won’t be needing your services any longer. Today’s your last day. You’ll need to pack up by noon tomorrow.”
Annie felt a cramp grab at her stomach, but didn’t move. The room was silent. They all looked at Liam, forcing their faces into an unbothered expression.
“Ok, anything else?” Willem asked after a long pause. He sounded casual.
“Yeah, I’ll give you a list of stuff to finish up today,” Liam replied. Annie heard Tim exhale just a little harder. Willem smiled a false smile.
“Right, you know what to do,” Liam said as he went to grab his phone off the desk. He looked at them expectantly and they filed back out of the office.
Tim, Annie, Julia and Willem stood in the shade of a large pine tree.
“What the fuck was that?” Willem said. A pair of guests passed within earshot.
“It’s pretty messed up to fire us mid-season like this,” Julia said, displeasure building in her face.
“Don’t we have any rights?” Tim asked, indignant but also confused.
Annie watched the three of them as they got irate and said nasty things about the manager. She was upset too but mostly exhausted and depressed at the thought of looking for another job. Julia and Willem had their camper van, so they would pack up tonight and set off in the morning. Anywhere could be home. She didn’t think Tim looked worried either, mostly just pissed off and shocked. Annie frowned, kicked some dust up off the hard ground, and looked towards the choppy sea. No job, no lodging. She would have to move in with her mum again, back on the old sofa bed just up the road. No way she could get a room this time of year. A few rentals freed up over winter, but July was the cruellest month for the locals, uprooted from the flood of tourists. She could ask around the dairy farms, they might need an extra pair of hands for the ice cream stands if the weather holds out.
“We’ll do drinks tonight,” Annie said. She wanted the conversation to be over. Julia and Willem both nodded, still visibly annoyed. He looked up at the sky, and then at his watch. “Drinks, sure. It’s meant to rain later but doesn’t look like it.” The other three lifted their gaze to the clear blue above.
In the evening, they got drunk. On Willem and Julia’s patio, sat at a picnic table, the white paint peeling from the damp air, they talked about taking the camper van up to Scotland. Tim said he’ll go with them, or he’ll meet them there, or they’ll have to go next summer. Annie didn’t mind their chatter so much now, and even said she’d like to visit some day, though it’s a long drive up. By the end, everyone was happy and slurring their words, and Willem even cried a bit, because he was sorry to be losing them so soon. “People are shit,” he said, “but you’re not very shit and I’ll miss you. I love you guys.” This was their cue to leave.
Outside of his cabin, Tim brushed his hand gently through Annie’s hair, still salty from the swim, and drew her in for a kiss. His thoughts were confused. He saw her through a haze, like a dream, where she was a mermaid he needed to rescue from a horrible storm. Or was he the drowning sailor and the mermaid would take him safely to the shore?
The bed squeaked as they fumbled and thrust around. Noises came into the room through the open window behind the closed blinds. Some of the guests were still up, walking back from the beach, full of wine, their conversations drifting in and out, their voices getting clearer and then distant again, like the gentle lapping of the sea on sand.
Afterwards, Annie felt tired and light-headed from the alcohol as they chatted about nothing. A vague embarrassment grew in her chest and she felt like crying. They had been rushed into the romance. But it was a familiar feeling so she let it wash over her and breathed deeply until it passed. Once calm, she rolled over and put her head on Tim’s chest again, without looking into his eyes, afraid of what she’d see there, and, after he held her closer to him, they both fell asleep easily.
The sound of pebbles hitting the window came in waves.
When she woke up, Annie realised it was the rain, it had arrived. She was alone in the bed and the crumpled sheet next to her was cold to touch.
Through groggy eyes, she read Tim’s text, Gone for breakfast with Will and J. I’ll be staying at my parents place in town. Let’s have dinner tonight? A crack ran through the middle of the screen, splitting up breakfast and dinner. She smiled a sad smile and threw the phone into the bedsheets. He hadn’t mentioned his parents had a house here. Funny that.
Annie looked out of the steamed-up window. It seemed to have rained all night long so that water was now flowing freely through the resort, flushing out the litter and the debris in its way. Lazy bin bags floated down towards the patio and then the sea. The septic tank had given up, releasing all sorts of foul matter that festered around the pergola wall. She saw the queue of Range Rovers slowly creeping out of the resort, their tireless wipers clearing away the water again and again and again.
She laid back down. The bed was comfortable and quiet, the rain blocked out all other sounds. There would be plenty to do, and it seemed better this way. Annie imagined herself walking across the flooded, littered courtyard, going into the reception. What mood will Liam be in? She will ask him for a few more shifts, someone has to clean up this mess.
Yes, it’s just her, the others have gone. Will she tell them? How embarrassing. She covered her face with the pillow, and it smelled like Tim. The rain pressed on against the window. Just a few more minutes.