When Oxana gets there, she finds Inci doing her make-up by the light of a theatrical dressing-room mirror. She’s wearing a nightgown of pearlescent silk. As usual, the blinds are drawn, and the air is suffused with a powdery, perfumed stuffiness that Oxana can almost taste.
‘I’ll be ready for you in just a minute,’ Inci murmurs, gazing into the mirror. ‘Would you like a matcha tea?’
Oxana seats herself on the bed. ‘No thanks.’
‘Frappuccino?’
‘Honestly, I’m fine.’
‘I’m sorry about last night,’ Inci says quietly. ‘I had to go. I really had no choice.’
Oxana smiles. ‘I understand.’
‘You’re such a sweet girl, Oxana. You’re the only thing, theonlything, that’s made this trip bearable. My husband spends more time with Atlas than he does with me; the two of them might as well be married. Then there’s Defne sulking around the place with that awful Çetinkaya girl. Notat allthe companion I would have chosen, but of course I’m not Defne’s mother, so I’m not consulted. And now Buse has got her claws into Emir.’ Sheshrugs. ‘I could havewarnedthem, Oxana. I saw it coming. But would anyone listen?’ She checks her face carefully from several angles, then rises and crosses the cabin, sits next to Oxana on the bed, and gently lays her head on Oxana’s shoulder.
‘I’m a bit sweaty-haired,’ Oxana says. ‘I was sunbathing, but now there’s no more sun.’
‘I like you sweaty-haired.’
‘OK.’
‘I’m doing a tour, soon. The Far East and Japan. Theyloveme in Japan.’
‘I’m sure they do.’
‘I want you to come with me. I’ll pay you whatever you like. It’ll just be us. Just you and me. We’ll have all the time in the world.’
Oxana turns her head to look at her. ‘Why do you like me, Inci?’
‘You make me feel safe. I trust you.’ She raises her eyes anxiously to Oxana’s. ‘Please say you’ll come?’
Oxana holds her gaze for a moment, then lowers her head to kiss Inci softly on the lips. ‘I’ll come. But right now, I have to go.’
On deck, she gulps the salt air. The sky is steely now, and theMedusarocks at anchor. Buse is standing alone at the rail, and something in her stillness encourages Oxana to approach her.
‘You’ll be happy to know he chucked me,’ Buse says, not looking at Oxana.
‘Emir?’
‘Of course Emir. It’s been fun, he told me, but now he has to – quote –move on.’
‘I’m sorry, Buse. That’s?—’
‘It’s unfair,’ she says in a cold, low voice. ‘And fucking cruel. Because I love him. I always have. And it’s worse than ever now, because I know there’s no chance.’
‘Like I said, I’m sorry, Buse. Life can be really shitty.’
Buse sniffs. Her eyes shine and her mascara is smeared. ‘How do you do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘Let people push you around. Bully you. People like me.’
‘It’s just how things are.’
‘So do you hate me?’
‘No. You were playing your part, and I was playing mine.’