‘Of course I’m loving it,’ I said at last, because anything else would have been an admission of failure. ‘I think we could have done with some more lifts or escalators at the railway stations, rather than having to heave our cases about or rely on strangers helping us. The sleeper train was fine, although as you know, I had a bit of a mishap.’
He laughed. ‘As long as you were okay, that’s all that matters.’
‘And we had a bit of a mix-up with the hotel in Nice, which is why we ended up doing that awful karaoke because there was a discount on the hotel room. That was Anna’s idea. I hope your eardrums have recovered?’
‘I thought it was terrific,’ he said, ‘and of course everyone loved it.’
‘We won a trophy,’ I said, ‘although we will have to share it between the three of us.’
‘Very unfair,’ he said firmly. ‘I thought you were tremendous, you deserve one each.’
I laughed. ‘I haven’t won anything since I was fifteen and won the school essay prize. And that was only a book token.’
‘How predictable,’ he said. ‘You should have had a flashy silver cup to put on your mantlepiece.’
‘Chance would be a fine thing! So what are you doing when you get to Venice? Will you stay at a posh hotel and drift around the canals singing “O Sole Mio”?’
‘I might if I had the time,’ he said. ‘I like the sound of that, I must say.’
‘You mean you’re going somewhere else first? To be honest, I don’t think I want to get on another train for a long time after this.’
‘No, I am going to have a week on a ship. TheAtalantahas been taken over by a new company and been completely refitted. I’m going to be like a secret shopper, finding out how efficient they are and what the food is like. These smaller boats are coming into their own, now that the large ships are banned from the middle of Venice. My job, hard as it sounds, is to check it out and report back.’
‘You’re not going down the Dalmatian coast, are you?’ I said, feeling a bit peculiar.
He nodded. ‘Yes, I am actually. I’m looking forward to it a great deal. It’s a beautiful part of the world.’
‘Leaving late this evening?’
‘Yes. Why, do you know it?’
‘We will be on it,’ I said faintly. ‘Looks like we’re not getting away from each other any time soon. Your employer could have saved themselves the trouble and the expense and just asked one of us to write the piece.’
He finished his coffee and shook his head slowly.
‘That’s great. I’m sure we will have fun. If I didn’t know better I would think some strange force was at work.’
‘Strange indeed,’ I said.
We chatted quite easily after that. He told me about some of the places he had been during his career, how he had taken some time out for unnamed personal reasons a few years back. The changes he had seen, the advent of massive planes and ships. The unending search for new, unspoiled places which people seemed determined to spoil when they got there. We made each other laugh, which was unexpected.
After a while I realised that the other two would be wondering where I was and without doubt coming to find me if I stayed away for much longer. I shoved the last bit of my cannoli into my mouth and slid down from my perch.
‘Thank you for the coffee. I’ll be seeing you, I expect,’ I said.
‘No doubt about it, Lizzie,’ he said with a rather disarming twinkle.
That made me feel rather odd. He seemed far too charismatic. I wasn’t used to men twinkling at me. He was much too confident and sure of himself. Years ago, it would have been Anna who caught his attention and yet she hadn’t.
I might be a bit battered around the edges, but I suddenly remembered all those funny little signals that showed when a man was interested. It hadn’t happened for a long time to me because, after all, I was in my sixties and past all that sort of nonsense, wasn’t I? But once I remembered, the signs were unmistakeable. That little silence, the turn of a head, a look exchanged. This was a bit of a turn up. And I had to admit to myself, I felt rather pleased.
I knew this boat we were going on was small compared to some of the massive cruise ships that were ploughing around the Mediterranean, and he would be there too. Which was unexpected.
On a big cruise ship, it might have been fine, but on theAtalantathere would be less chance of escaping him and his charm. But on the other hand, perhaps I didn’t want to. Maybe it would be interesting to hear some of his travellers tales, to find out more about him.
He had mentioned a granddaughter who had bought him Mickey Mouse socks, the fact that he didn’t have a wife. So, what had happened to her, I wondered.
He had been interested but not intrusive with me; he hadn’t really asked me anything much other than the most basic details. Perhaps he wasn’t that bothered after all. Maybe he was just being polite, and it was just a man thing.
