The water in Majorca

Chapter 2

 When the aircraft landed at Palma Airport, the clock was yet to strike 10am but the sun was already blisteringly hot. As the double doors to the outside world were slicked back, the thirty degree heat hit them like an unexpected punch.

"It's well hot" Noah groaned as a layer of sweat began to soak through his t-shirt.
Sarah immediately pulled her sunglasses down onto the tip of her nose, looking every part the 'future wag'. Moses didn't complain, at least not about the weather.
"When can I have an ice cream?" He asked, tugging Charity's shirt as he repeated himself.
"Soon, later, okay? Let's just get to the hotel first and check in" she insisted. Her suitcase had been slightly damaged on arrival, but she vowed not to let it affect her mood, in fact, she didn't care too much because she'd already decided to splash out on a new one once they returned home.
A private taxi from the airport to the hotel took a little less than an hour and cost just over €70. Charity was close to accusing the taxi company of daylight robbery when they pulled up outside. The Ocean Club Hotel and Spa was a four star, beachfront hotel on the east side of the Island. From the pavement it seemed just as clean and beautiful as it had looked online. Plenty of past holidaymakers had given it rave reviews and Charity had only hoped it would live up to expectations.
"Gracias" She said to the driver as he bundled their cases from the boot of the minivan onto the tiles at their feet, and with a small smile and a nod, she handed him a tip of €5. The older gentleman thanked her and jumped back into his vehicle and sped off into the distance. "I can't wait to put my feet up" She groaned as they made their way inside.
"I can't wait to change," Sarah added, pulling the fabric of her bodysuit away from her sweating torso.
"I can't wait to jump in the pool,'' Noah said, and Moses with no surprise shouted about how he couldn't wait to buy an ice cream.
The reception desk was manned by a young boy by the name of Antonio, and a woman of around fifty called Elena. Together, they checked the Dingle family in and had Charity sign all the relevant forms and documents. Each of them were then given a bright blue all inclusive wristband and a sheet of paper informing them of meal times and when each of the bars opened and closed. After that, all that was left to do was to hand over a keycard, and a spare.
"You'll be staying on the fourth floor, in room 428. You'll find it on the right hand side of the corridor when you exit the elevator, which is just behind you and to the left" Elena explained with a smile.
"Thank you, Gracias," Charity replied. Then she took the key and led the way towards the elevator.

Room 428 was spacious and bright. The family room consisted of two bedrooms, an en suite bathroom and a balcony. Noah and Sarah lay claim to the smaller bedroom. Inside it was two single beds and a flat screen television, a closet to hang their clothes in and a small circular table with two armchairs pushed beneath it. It was the perfect hang out for two teenagers. Moses was going to share the double bed with Charity in the main bedroom. As they all bundled inside, making various sounds of satisfaction and impress, Charity smiled to herself. The walls were a crisp white, so clean that it looked freshly painted. The bedding, also white, was thin and soft and was adorned with a turquoise-blue runner and matching cushions. Blackout curtains hung from above the sliding glass door that opened out onto the balcony, where they had been lucky enough to be met with an ocean view.
"Wow, look at that" Charity gasped, feeling all the same excitement that was running through the kids. The sun glimmered upon the top of the water, causing bright ripples of light. For a moment she watched as foamy waves rolled gently over the soft pale sand. To Charity, a day at the beach was what a holiday was all about. Kids building sandcastles and burying one another so that only their heads and feet poked through the sand, whilst she lay upon a lounger with an erotic novel in one hand and an ice cold sangria in the other. A gentle butterfly sensation made her stomach flutter as she thought about the coming seven days they were going to enjoy on this beautiful island. No punters, no drama, just sun, sun, sun.

Within the hour, every one of them had showered and changed into cooler fabrics. Charity slipped into a burgundy linen sundress that covered her shoulders and not much else. The hem of the dress skirted just above the knee. Flirty enough to catch the eye of any passers by, but still modest enough to wear around the kids. She took a good look at herself in the mirror. It had been some time since she'd gotten dressed up in anything other than jeans and a blouse, and although her dainty summer dress was no red carpet look, she felt good in it. The heavy fog of village life lifted like a weight off her shoulders. Here in the Spanish sun, she felt light, feminine and dare she say it, happy. This holiday was as much for herself as it was for the kids. She had finally allowed herself the break she was long overdue, and planned to enjoy every second of it. She raised an eyebrow in the mirror as she looked herself up and down.
"Still got it, kid" She whispered to herself with a definitive smirk on her lips, then she pushed off the countertop.

"You look nice, Gran" Sarah told Charity as she appeared out of the bathroom.
Her granddaughter had opted for denim shorts and a crop top, it made her look older than her 16 years but the excitement behind her eyes still showed the small remainder of the child she was growing out of being.
"Thanks, babe. You look beautiful too" Charity replied, touched.
"What about me?" Noah asked, looking down at his plain white tee and black shorts.
Charity glanced him up and down.
"Yeah, you look alright, I suppose" She told her son, shrugging her shoulders.
Noah's brows furrowed in disappointment.
"Oh, give over. You look great. Most handsome lad on the island" Charity added before the seventeen year old had the chance to fall into a sulk.
"And me," Moses cried as he jumped up from the ground with his crocs on the wrong feet.
"Yes, you too" Charity rolled her eyes, dropping to her knees to swap them over.
"Right, shall we get the hell out of here and see what Mallorca has to offer?" She asked, now that everyone seemed ready to go.

Back downstairs in the lobby, the elevator doors opened up to show that some families were still checking in. A large group of holidaymakers swarmed the front desk as Charity and the kids snaked their way through them to get to the front door.
Out on the street, the gentle ocean breeze tickled Charity's skin and caused a lock of hair to fly over her shoulder.
"Where are we going?" Noah asked as they began to stroll aimlessly down the road.
"I dunno, I thought we'd just take a little walk and see what's around, maybe stop and get a drink at a bar then make our way back for lunch" Charity explained.
"Can me and Sarah not just go off on our own?",
"Once we've got our bearings you can knock yourself out" Charity answered. She'd thought about letting them have time off on their own whilst on the plane over. They weren't adults yet, but she didn't want to molly coddle them. On this holiday she was going to be cool. At least, that is what she hoped. She decided a little give and take with the teens would work in her favour when Moses started to wear her out. If she allowed them adult-free time, then they would have to allow her childfree time, then everyone could be happy. Especially if she could disappear to a nice cocktail bar one night and check out the local eye candy. She highly doubted a summer romance would be on the cards but there was nothing stopping her from flirting with another consenting adult over a sex on the beach.
The beachfront was adorned with countless shops selling souvenirs and novelty t-shirts, bars, cafes and restaurants. A lot of people were walking around in swimwear, still damp and dotted with sand from spending time on the beach. Charity felt a little overdressed in her wedge heels, especially as she towered over a group of boys who gave her the once over as they came by. Noah ducked his head in embarrassment as Charity smirked at the wolf whistles she received.
"Can you stop encouraging them?" He gagged, not able to look his mother in the eye now.
"Well, I can barely help it if guys find me attractive Noah,"
"They were drunk, they'd whistle at anyone in a dress like that"
"I'm hardly naked Son. If this is too raunchy then I daren't bother putting my bikini on" She tutted, rolling her eyes.
Noah grimaced at the thought and pulled his cap down over his eyes to hide the redness in his cheeks.
"Ignore him Gran, he's only jealous because no girls will look at him that way" Sarah spoke up.
"Uh, yeah they do. One girl already couldn't get enough of me"
"When?"
"Earlier, back at the hotel"
"What girl? I didn't see anyone looking at you and we were together the whole time" Sarah argued.
Noah shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever, plenty more girls to come" He muttered.
"Of course, Noah", Charity said, painting a supportive smile for her fragile boy.

Almost two hours later they were back at the hotel. The dining room was open and filled to the brim with hungry hotel guests. Charity nabbed a table near the windows at the back of the room, keeping it saved for her and the kids by leaving her sunglasses on top of one of the napkins, which was the official-unofficial way of letting others know that a table was taken.
The buffet spread was as expected. One section of the room offered traditional Spanish cuisine, such as paella and other fish dishes. Whereas the other side was home to the more British palette.
Charity dished up chicken in some sort of tomato sauce and some rice for herself, and some chips and a slice of pizza for Moses. Sarah arranged a pretty looking salad for herself, and Noah opted for pizza and chips, as well as chicken skewers, rice, sweetcorn, beans and two sausages.
"Leave some food for the rest of the guests, Noah" Charity joked as her son took a seat at the table with his mountain of food.
"Shut up" He grumbled, immediately bringing a forkful to his lips.
Sarah sipped at her ice cold glass of coke and glanced around the room.
"Hey, Moses. There's Johnny, over there by the chips" Sarah said, pointing across the room.
Charity turned her head to follow Sarah's finger and found Johnny and his Mum making their way to a table nearby.
Charity scraped her teeth across her bottom lip as she took a good look at the gorgeous woman she had taken a shine to earlier that morning.
Vanessa had dressed casually in denim shorts and a white shirt, over a yellow bikini that was visible through the thin linen material.
"Can I go and sit with Johnny?" Moses asked excitedly, swinging his legs and kicking his mum in the shin.
Charity heard her son's question and had to pull herself back to reality to answer it, her mind far away as her eyes wandered over Vanessa's body.
"No, stay there. We'll go and say hello to them later" She replied, taking a gulp of water.
Noah and Sarah glanced at one another and sniggered, understanding perfectly the sudden awkward tension at the table. The two teens giggled into their dinner as they watched Charity steal multiple glances at Vanessa over the next half an hour.

After dinner, everyone changed into their swimwear and headed out to the hotel pool. All of the sun loungers had been taken already but a four seater table had recently been abandoned near the bar, so they set up camp there.
Moses stood looking out at the water, pushing absentmindedly at his spiderman armbands as Charity slathered his skin with suncream. The scent alone gave Charity a dopamine kick as she rubbed the remainder of the cream into the small boy's back and up his neck. The chlorine in the water made her eyes burn for a moment as she squinted and rubbed at them with her forearm, careful not to make it worse by getting any factor thirty in them too.
Noah set across the length of the pool in a slow run, careful not to slip on the wet tiles. Once he reached the deep end he glanced over his shoulder at a trio of older girls who were sipping on cocktails, then made an almost perfect dive into the cold water.
"Keep a close eye on this one" Charity instructed Sarah as she finally released Moses from her claws and allowed him into the shallow kids pool closest to their table.
"I will," Sarah replied, finally parting with her phone to sit with her feet in the water to entertain Moses.
Charity watched as they splashed one another playfully, then double checked that Noah was ok when she spotted him trying to chat up a girl who had swam up beside him. Then she headed to the bar.
"Hola, Senorita, what can I get for you?" The greasy, flirtatious barman asked as Charity pushed her sunglasses onto her head to get a good look at the drinks menu.
"I'll have a vodka lemonade, please...Juan" She replied, resting her elbows upon the bar, lightly flirting back.
"Ooh, I think I'll have one of those too" A woman spoke over Charity's shoulder.
Charity recognised the Northern accent and turned to find Tracy hovering over her.
"Oh, hi, again" Charity breathed, standing upright to greet her.
"You alright?" Tracy asked, heaving her heavy bag of towels and clothes onto her already slightly sunburnt shoulder.
"Another vodka lemonade, for my friend please, Juan" Charity called out.
"Make it three total, and a coke please. Better grab summet for V, and Johnny too" Tracy grinned.
Charity raised an eyebrow.
"Good job, it's all inclusive, eh?" She joked as Tracy added onto her order.
"How did you find the flight over? I tried to get some shut eye but the kid behind me kept kicking back'a my chair" Tracy blabbed as they waited for their drinks.
"Not bad. Moses freaked a bit when we took off but he was alright after that, kept pointing out every boat he spotted as we were going over the water"
"Oh, Johnny did that too," Tracy replied, all smiles and excitement.
"There we are, a coke and three vodka and lemonade for two beautiful ladies" Juan smiled, his very white teeth sparkling under his thin black moustache.
"Ooh, gracias" Tracy giggled, taking one of the glasses and sipping from the paper straw.
Charity picked up her own and the other vodka to help out as Tracy clutched the can of coke in her free hand.
"Where are you sitting?" Charity asked as she looked over to the sun loungers for sight of Vanessa and Johnny.
"Nowhere yet, couldn't find three seats together. I'm meant to be finding somewhere whilst V takes Johnny to the toilet" Tracy replied, half of her drink already gone from her glass.
"Sit with me if you like. The kids are swimming so I'm plonked over there on my own" Charity suggested, motioning to the table ahead of them.
"Ah, cheers. Yeah, thanks Charity" Tracy cooed, as she followed her, then sat in one of the hot plastic chairs.

They'd only been sitting together for five minutes when Charity realised Tracy was slightly annoying. There was nothing wrong with her so to say, but she did seem to have a case of verbal diarrhoea. So there was more than one reason why she was relieved to see Vanessa turn the corner a moment later.
"Eh, there's your sister there" Charity pointed out, interrupting Tracy mid sentence.
Tracy turned and looked over her shoulder and waved Vanessa over. Johnny ran on ahead, his face hidden under a hat that was much too big for him.
"Pull up a seat sis," Tracy encouraged as Vanessa found her way over to the table.
"Remember Charity, from the airport? She said we could sit with her," she added.
"Of course," Vanessa smiled shyly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Charity found herself half rising from her seat as she locked eyes with Vanessa, but played it off by turning her chair to the side, leaving enough of a gap for Vanessa to squeeze through and take the seat beside her.
Johnny jumped onto Tracy's lap and almost knocked her drink out of her hand.
"Careful Johnny, aw, I look like I've wet myself" She groaned as a splash of vodka began to seep through the material of her shorts. "I'm gonna have to change now" She added as she attempted to dab herself dry with a napkin.
"Just take them off," Vanessa shrugged.
"Eh?",
"Well, you're in your cozzie aren't you?" Vanessa asked.
"Well, yeah, but I doubt Charity wants to see me in my pants"
Charity shrugged. "I mean, everyone else is flaunting their cheeks so it's no skin off my nose" She replied, a small laugh coming out with her words.
"I suppose. I'm not as fit as some of these women though. They make me sick with their perfect bodies and perfect hair" Tracy mocked, slipping herself free of her shorts as she moaned.
Vanessa rolled her eyes and dropped her shirt from her shoulders.
Charity's eyes immediately fell onto Vanessa's chest, then she quickly looked away and threw back the last mouthful of her drink.
"Johnny" Moses suddenly squealed as he pulled himself up the small stepladder of the pool and ran over to the table. Johnny grinned, less nervous of the wild child than he had been in the morning.
"Hi, Moses," Vanessa said, leaning down to the children's level to greet him.
Charity copped another look at Vanessa in her push up bikini top and suddenly felt a little self conscious in her swimsuit. Her black linen shorts sat comfortably around her waist, hiding the bottom half of her black swimsuit. The top half had thin straps with a deep neckline that showed ample cleavage, but without the support of a bra she felt frumpy, so she leaned back in her seat and sprawled one arm over her chest in an attempt to cover herself up.
"Do you want to look for fish in the pool with me?" Moses asked Johnny.
Johnny was already nodding his answer when Charity spoke up.
"There's no fish in there-" She began, but Moses cut her off.
"There is, you just can't see them because you don't have x-ray eyes" He announced.
"Oh, right of course. Well, by all means go ahead and find those fish"
"We're gonna kill them," Moses replied.
Vanessa recoiled but laughed.
"We have to kill them before they kill us" Johnny said as if he already knew all about the game Moses had made up.
"Right, go on then. If I hear screaming I'll know you're being eaten alive" Vanessa replied. The boys laughed then ran off to the pool.
As the boys hit the water, Sarah came to the table.
"I'm not watching two kids" She sulked, picking up her phone.
"Oh go on," Charity said.
Tracy looked at Sarah, to the boys and back again.
"It's alright, I'll go" She announced.
"No, you stay put. Sarah, watch the boys and I'll give you five euros" Charity offered.
"Ten" Sarah demanded, testing Charity out.
They glared at one another but Charity gave in first.
"Alright, ten but I don't want to see any of you for at least an hour"
"She's got her head screwed on right, hasn't she?" Tracy gasped, amused.
"Got me wrapped around her little finger more like" Charity sighed.
Sarah smiled smugly as she took the money from Charity's purse and popped it into her own.
"The joys of having a teenage daughter, eh?" Vanessa joked.
"Granddaughter" Sarah replied, cutting a smug grin to Charity who had tried and failed to get her to keep that information to herself.
Charity ran her fingers along her face in defeat as they all watched Sarah slink off back to the water.
"Granddaughter? Blimey, I hope I look as good as you when I'm your age" Tracy scoffed.
"How old do you think I am?" Charity snapped, but she backed down and scoffed.
"I had her mother when I was really young," She added.
"Well, I would never have guessed. You don't look anywhere near old enough to be a grandmother" Vanessa said, patting Charity's knee as she laughed.
Charity's stomach did a somersault at her touch.
"Thank you, Vanessa. But let's not throw around the G word so loudly, yeah?"
Vanessa giggled and motioned to locking her lips.
"So, what brings you to Majorca anyway? Besides the obvious, of course" Charity asked before an awkward silence could settle over them.
"Just fancied a break really. Drinking in the sun and dancing the night away. What more could a girl want, am I right?" Tracy answered.
"I'll drink to that" Charity replied, but noticed her cup was empty.
"Ooh, my round. V, neck that" Tracy insisted, standing up to collect the glasses.
Vanessa initially refused but having caught Charity's smirk she threw her head back and drained the plastic beaker.
"Impressive" Charity gasped as Tracy headed to the bar, leaving them alone at the table.
"Didn't expect that from a forty-something single mum, did you?"
"I don't know about that, but single? I definitely didn't expect that" Charity answered, with a cheeky wink.
Vanessa blushed. It was only slightly, but Charity noticed it.
"I know right? Who wouldn't want a bit of this, eh? Well, no one wants it back home anyway" Vanessa laughed at herself and tucked her fallen lock of hair behind her ear again.
"Same here. I was starting to forget what it feels like to be flirted with, until Juan over there gave me the eye earlier".
Vanessa glanced over at Juan, who was making Tracy giggle at the bar.
"Er, he's not your type is he? Cause you could do better than that" Vanessa cringed.
Charity's laughter flowed out of her freely.
"No, no. I mean, I've been with some questionable looking guys in the past, but that's definitely not what I'm looking for at the moment"
"So you're looking? Seen anything, I mean, anyone, worth noticing around here?" Vanessa looked around jokingly.
"One or two" Charity spoke quietly.
"What about him?" Vanessa pointed to a man in speedos.
"What? The baldy in the budgie smugglers? No," Charity pulled a face.
"Not your type?"
"Far from it, Babe"
"What do you like then?" Vanessa asked
"Blondes," Charity replied.
Vanessa blushed again as Charity smirked at her, brow raised. Vanessa stammered, not sure what to say as she held eye contact with Charity, who was openly flirting with her.
Tracy reappeared with a tray of drinks before anything else could be said. Charity and Vanessa sat back in their seats as the silence was broken.
"Same again, ladies. And I got coke for all the kids. It was three you have right?" Tracy questioned Charity.
"Uh, four and two grandkids actually, but I only have three here with me"
Tracy's jaw fell slack.
"Wow," She replied, giving Charity a once over in her swimsuit.
"Tracy" Vanessa hissed, "She's not a piece of meat"
"What? It's a compliment. She's a beautiful woman, is she not?"
Charity half laughed, half groaned as she looked down at herself and the attention her body was getting.
Vanessa didn't know what to say, and luckily didn't have to say anything, because Noah threw himself down onto the last empty seat, exhausted from all the splashing around.
"Are one of them for me?" He asked as he eyed the unopened coke cans on the tray.
"Yeah, knock yourself out, mate," Tracy grinned.
"Cheers," Noah replied, as he pulled back the tab and sipped the cold pop.
"Noah, this is Tracy and Vanessa, we met earlier at the airport" Charity announced, introducing her older son to her new friends.
"Yeah, I remember. And I had a feeling we'd end up seeing you again" He grinned, looking over at Charity with a hint of laughter on his lips.
"Oh, yeah?" Vanessa asked, coy.
Charity kicked Noah in the shin under the table.
"Yeah, my brother wanted to play with your kid again," He replied with a wince in the back of his throat.
Charity seized her thoughts of pushing him in the pool and smiled up at Vanessa and Tracy, going along with Noah's words.
"Yeah, it's nice to make friends on holiday," Vanessa replied.
"It is," Charity agreed.
"Hey, we should make this a thing, whilst we're here. Us Northerner's sticking together" Tracy suggested.
"I'm sure you don't want to be saddled with my lot all week. I don't even want to be saddled with them" Charity joked.
"Oh give over, they're great," Vanessa smiled.
"Great at giving me a headache" Charity shrugged.
"And she's a great mum, and a great grandmother too" Noah announced with a cheeky grin.
"Great Grandmother?" Tracy gasped, almost losing control of her plastic cup again.
"Grandmother, just grandmother, not a great grandmother" Charity pointed out, almost shouting. "And nice try, but Sarah already beat you to it" She added, thwacking Noah over the head with the back of her hand.

The heat by the mid afternoon was sweltering and Charity was starting to regret wearing all black. The backs of her thighs had started sweating and sticking to the chair long before now, but she was starting to feel too uncomfortable to grin and bear it any longer.
"I'm gonna get back in," Noah announced with a nod towards the pool.
"I think I'll join you," Charity remarked. She spoke quietly, not really sure if ditching her shorts and walking away from Vanessa was really something she wanted to do.
"What? You never want to go swimming" Noah choked on his surprise.
"I've not really ever had the chance. It's not like we have a pool back home that I can dip my toes in",
"Are you serious?" Noah asked, getting excited at the thought of spending quality time with his Mum doing something he enjoyed.
"Oh, I can't really say no now can I?" She quipped.
"No," Noah grinned, getting up and holding out his hand for Charity to take.
She almost took it but with the conversation only just steered away from her grandmother status, being helped up out of her seat wasn't going to compliment her in any way, so she waved Noah's hand away and clambered onto her feet.
"Are you coming too?" Noah asked Vanessa who was looking over at the water.
"Um," She began, but Noah spoke over her.
"Actually, you'd better not, It'll probably be too deep for you," He joked.
Charity gasped and dug her elbow into his ribs a little harder than she actually meant to.
"What are you trying to say, Noah?" Vanessa sassed, standing and squaring up to the teen who towered over her.
The two of them laughed, and Charity was finally able to breathe again, with her breath coming out as a relieved chuckle.
Vanessa looked down at Charity's bag, which was slumped open on the ground, a plastic football poking out of it.
"That your ball?" She asked, nodding towards it.
"Moses',"
"Think he would mind if we borrowed it?"
"What for?" Noah replied.
"Volleyball"
"Volleyball?"
"Yeah, volleyball," Vanessa nodded.
"What, me vs you?" Noah smirked, sizing up the competition.
"Yeah, and your mum"
"What?" Charity blurted out, almost snapping her neck as she looked from Noah to Vanessa.
"Alright, you're on," Noah agreed.
"Go get Sarah, you're gonna need all the help you can get. I was on the school team"
"Back in the eighties was it?"
"Nineties actually, you cheeky blighter. But I reckon I've still got what it takes. What about you, Charity?"
"You're actually serious?" Charity laughed.
"Yeah"
Normally, this would be the point where Charity would refuse to join in and instead head to the bar, but Noah's face lit up and she felt herself smiling at his happiness.
"Alright, yeah. Count me in" Charity announced, pushing up pretend sleeves as she talked herself around to the idea.
Tracy giggled into her straw as her eyes swept from person to person, taking in the vastly different facial expressions happening in front of her.
Noah ran off to get Sarah, with Johnny and Moses marching alongside them.
"Grab a seat boys, this is going to be quite a show" Tracy squealed.

No matter how warm the air was, the first plunge into the pool was always going to be colder than anyone bargained for. Charity almost swore as the water seeped through her swimming costume and took her breath away.
"You alright?" Vanessa asked her, stifling a laugh as she looked up at Charity's open mouth.
"I'm fine, just give me a minute to get used to it" She replied, wiggling her toes to make sure they hadn't frozen off and floated away.
"You should dunk your head under" Noah called out from the other side of the net.
"I'll dunk your head under in a minute" She shouted back, holding her arms up in self defence as her son threatened to splash her.
"Don't let him get in your head" Vanessa muttered.
Charity nodded.
Sarah held the ball in one hand and blocked the sun from her eyes with the other. She'd thrown her hair up into a bun and was trying desperately to look as if she was having less fun than she really was.
"Ready?" She shouted, balling her fist, ready to start the game off.
"Ready," Vanessa cried.
"Ready" Charity nodded, still a little jumpy as droplets of water hit the parts of her that were still dry and warm.
The ball flew up into the air and drifted over the net. Vanessa dived for it and knocked it right back over to the kids.
Charity stood watching and flinching for the first few hits, but when the ball came whizzing towards her she attempted to punch it to the opposition, but it caught in the net and fell onto the surface and floated back towards her.
"What was that?" Vanessa groaned, turning to Charity to mock her.
"Sorry, I'm trying" She hissed, pulling a face.
But Vanessa broke into a smile. "You're gonna have to try harder than that," she replied.
"Here, have another go" Vanessa insisted, passing the ball over.
Charity took it from her and subconsciously ran her tongue over her top lip as she eyed the distance of the top of the net, then she made a fist with her left hand and launched the ball up into the air, hitting Noah in the face. The plastic came tight and made a ringing sound as it made contact with his nose.
"Ouch" Sarah giggled as Noah wriggled his nose.
"You'll pay for that" He shouted at Charity.
"Bring it on," she jeered.
The game went on for about fifteen minutes before they decided to call it quits. The score stood at a ridiculously high 9 all.
"Next point wins" Vanessa said, with an air of confidence.
Charity's arms were aching and she embraced the few seconds pause to catch her breath. Vanessa had mostly carried their team but she had surprised herself with a good few hits, saving them from two points behind a few minutes ago.
"What do we get, when we win?" Sarah asked, realising that they hadn't rallied for prizes before getting stuck in.
"What do you want?" Vanessa asked.
Noah and Sarah looked at one another and whispered suggestions in each other's ear.
"We want to go to the waterpark," Came their reply.
"Done" Vanessa said, nodding her approval.
"Oh, you're taking them are you?" Charity snorted.
"I wouldn't mind" She shrugged, "Besides, we're totally going to win".
"Alright. If you win, we'll all go to the water park. But, if we win, you have to look after Moses and Johnny, so we adults can go out" Charity smirked, proud of her choice of prize.
Vanessa laughed nervously at the thought of two teenagers she had just met looking after her son, but the glisten in their eyes brushed away any doubts.
Noah and Sarah nodded, "We accept"
"Okay, let's play ball" Charity grinned. 'Child free on night one' she thought to herself with a grin.
Noah delivered the last serve of the match, and the ball went back and forth under the most serious concentration this side of the olympics.
Tracy and the boys cheered from the sidelines as Charity and Vanessa ducked and dived to be beneath the ball.
"Get it, get it" Charity boomed as Vanessa rushed towards the net, just about managing to send the ball back before it could hit the water.
Noah leaped into the air and returned it with force. Charity took a step backwards and kept the game going with a good left hand hit, but a swift breeze carried the ball back towards their side.
"No, no, no" Charity screeched as she and Vanessa dived towards the football at the same time.
"I've got it" Vanessa shouted as she reached out her hand. As she brought up her fist, Charity lost her footing and slipped, and the ball hit the surface of the water just as the two women collided and fell beneath it.
Noah and Sarah broke into hysterical laughter and celebration as they declared themselves winners, high fiving each other as Charity and Vanessa came up spluttering and gasping for air.
Charity lifted a portion of wet hair that hung over her face and looked at Vanessa who was rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. Once the initial shock washed over them their blank faces turned to smiles and a smattering of laughter.
"I guess we're heading to the waterpark tomorrow," Vanessa shrugged.
Charity rolled her eyes as she watched Vanessa climb the ladder out of the pool.
"I thought you said you were good at this?"
"No, I never. I said I was on the team, but we only ever won once" Vanessa admitted, bumping playfully into her side.
"Well, you could have told me that before I shacked up with you" Charity scoffed as she nudged her back, but as she caught Vanessa's eye the two of them froze for a moment, their hands awkwardly brushing at their sides until the moment slipped by.
"Losers!" Noah joked, brandishing a large L on his forehead with his hand as he and Sarah came bounding over to flaunt their victory.
"It was a good effort," Sarah replied, "Now, which bikini should I wear to the waterpark?" She pondered aloud.
Vanessa laughed and walked ahead with them, leaving Charity behind.
"Come on Charity, don't look too defeated, there's a voddy here with your name on it" Tracy called out from the table, waving a plastic cup in the air.
Charity smiled at her family and new friends as they toasted each other over cheap booze and cola, and she knew that this holiday was going to be one of the best times of her life.