‘Well, you certainly know how to celebrate a birthday,’ I say, looking around at the views over Nice. Andrew knows his stuff when it comes to picking venues for a special bash.
We are perusing the menu, trying to decide between sea bass, octopus or cod fillet, when the waitress comes back with a fancy champagne bucket.
She removes the white napkin from the side and wipes at a bottle of very expensive-looking champagne.
‘I don’t remember you ordering any drinks yet?’ I say to Soraya.
‘Isn’t that the stuff celebs drink?’ says Carol, looking at the bottle.
‘Excuse me, we haven’t ordered anything. I think it might be the wrong table,’ says Soraya.
‘No, no. It’s the right table,’ the waitress assures us.
We all look a bit baffled and then conclude that Andrew must have bought it for us all as a surprise.
‘Bless him. How amazing is he?’ I say.
Soraya takes a photo of the three of us with the backdrop of Nice and the champagne glasses in our hands and sends it to Andrew, thanking him for the surprise.
It is only when Soraya is biting down on her octopus that Andrew answers her thank-you message. She almost chokes and starts coughing as she reads it.
‘Andrew says he hasn’t sent any champagne. He’s confused now, saying it must be some mistake.’
We make eyes at each other and then look at the half-empty bottle. This is the really good stuff, and there is no way I could afford to even contribute to it. As the waitress walks past, Soraya stops her.
‘I’m sorry, but was the champagne already paid for, or has it been charged to our bill? I think there’s been a mistake.’
‘It’s paid for, madame.’
‘Umm, by who?’
‘Ah, he wanted it to remain a surprise for you.’
Carol and Soraya both stare at me.
‘Elias!’ says Carol.
‘What? Why Elias?’
‘Well, it must be. Who else would it be? He’s the only person apart from Andrew who knew we were coming here tonight. I told him when you two were looking in the galley. He asked me where we were going for dinner tonight. He said he’d been here.’
‘Oh, Carol! Maybe you shouldn’t have told him,’ I say.
‘Of course I should have. I was asking him what it was like. Then you two came back upstairs, and that was the end of the conversation. Well, now, I don’t know about you, but I really want to meet Elias again. Maybe we should try and find his boat tomorrow to say thank you,’ says Carol, her nose getting redder by the minute with the combination of sun and alcohol.
‘I’ve no idea where it was. Do you?’ says Soraya.
‘Nope. I could never find it again. I was too busy singing along to Take That to watch where we were going, and now I don’t even know his number. Oh no. I feel bad now. I wish I could thank him.’
‘Well, if I know anything, it’s that a man does not spend that much on champagne for someone and then disappear. He’ll be wanting something.’ Soraya waves her champagne glass in the air as if she is giving me a lecture.
‘And ifIknow anything, it’s that free champagne tastes even nicer than when you pay for it yourself,’ laughs Carol, taking a sip.
As we sit back, I can’t help feeling a glimmer of hope that Elias will be in touch. I also feel slightly smug that, for once, it is I who has brought something glamorous to the table and not Soraya. I may not have met the miraculous director who can turn my unwritten book into a movie, but I have met the Mysterious Mancunian of Monaco who has treated us to the finest champagne, something I never thought he could have afforded, if I am honest. Although, the terrible thought occurs to me that he could have put it on his expense card and Lady Jane and her husband will have to pick up the tab. If that is the case, then I would be horrified.
‘Actually, sorry to say this, but do you think Elias could be some fraudster who is trying to woo us all?’ says Soraya.
‘Well, I wasn’t expecting that one,’ says Carol.
