‘We turned the resort around last year,’ she said. ‘We can rebuild it.’
‘No.’ Her mother shook her head. ‘We’ll have to stay. We can’t just abandon you. Rebuilding is different from refurbishing—it’s a much bigger undertaking. No,’ she declared again with a determined shake of her head. ‘With Luke gone we’ll stay as long as it takes to get the resort on its feet again.’
Luke’s mother nodded wildly in agreement. ‘Of course, we really don’t know anything about the kind of high-end stuff you’re talking about doing so we may have to...modify some of the things you were talking about. I mean, the Tropicana clientele really don’t expect to be pampered like that when they’re here with their kiddies. I’m not sure we should be so...exclusive. We don’t want to put anyone off.’
Claudia could feel it all unravelling as Gloria and her mother nodded in unison. She glanced at Luke to find the same kind of alarm written all over his face.
‘We’re hoping to attract a different clientele,’ Luke said through a forced smile.
‘Well, of course, darling,’ Gloria said. ‘But it’s not really the spirit of the Tropicana, is it?’
‘I agree,’ Harry said. ‘One of the resort’s charms is that it’s not pretentious.’
‘And surely the objective is to get the place up and running as soon as possible?’ Gloria added. ‘We can do that blindfolded if we keep it the way it was. Creating this whole new...concept will add a lot of burden to the process.’
‘I think your mother’s right,’ Brian said, sliding his hand on top of Gloria’s. ‘I think the resort is a little too old to be changing its spots now. It’s increasingly difficult to attract the tourist dollar. I surely don’t need to tell an ad man that, do I, son? I think if we stay we’re better off sticking with the devil we know.’
‘I guess we could turn one of the rooms into a massage parlour,’ Lena added. ‘We could employ some of those lovely commune people down at the markets who offer fifteen-minute neck and shoulder massages. You know how we feel about local employment.’
Claudia watched as her shiny new dreams disappeared slowly into the ether; her shoulders sagged a little. ‘Well, of course...it’s still your place,’ she said carefully. ‘We can’t do any of it without your support. If you’d prefer we keep it as is...then, of course, that’s what we’ll do.’
It had been a long shot anyway. Pie-in-the-sky stuff. And their parents were right—why mess with a winning formula?
Luke could feel Claudia’s dismay without even having to look at her; it rolled towards him on a heavy cloud of doom. She’d started the day, her eyes sparking with possibility and now she was practically hunched over her untouched meal.
He looked at his parents, then at hers.
They had to go.
In one brief conversation they’d sucked all her joy away.
‘Or you could place some faith in us and let us do our thing. Go back to your holiday and trust us,’ he said.
‘But it won’t be your thing, will it?’ Lena said. The rebuke was gentle but Luke heard it nonetheless. ‘You’ll be in London and it’ll just be poor Claude left to cope and carry all the responsibility. No.’ Lena shook her head. ‘She’s twenty-seven years old—she’s too young for that kind of pressure. We’re not going to let Claude start from scratch all on her own, not with such a big venture.’
It was on the tip of Luke’s tongue to remind them they’d already left her all on her own. But of course they hadn’t, had they?
He had.
‘Mum, I’m fine,’ Claudia dismissed.
Lena smiled at her daughter. ‘Of course you are, darling. And you will continue to be so because we’re going to be here every step of the way.’
Claudia smiled at her mother wishing she didn’t feel suddenly trapped and smothered by their love and thoughtfulness. She’d never felt it before, but then she hadn’t had this much freedom before. She’d been running things solo since their parents had taken off and that had been really freeing.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back.
Claudia’s head throbbed at the thought. ‘Actually, if no one minds, I think I’m going to turn in. I’ve got a bit of a headache.’
‘Of course not, darling,’ her mother said as Claudia stood. ‘Have you got some tablets you can take?’
Claudia nodded. ‘Yes...thanks.’ She smiled at the group sitting around the table, deliberately avoiding Luke’s gaze. ‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ she said.