They ordered espressos and Harriet weakened and had a strawberry and pistachio ice cream, which she said was delicious. It was still nice to be sitting in the sun in such a beautiful place, but somehow the atmosphere had changed. I had gained confidence being a part of a group, part of a gang of three, but perhaps it was time I developed the same level of self-assurance within myself.
‘It’s nearly eleven o’clock,’ Harriet said as she finished her ice cream with a pleased smile, ‘we are going to be late for the guided tour. I got the last three spaces.’
‘It’s only five minutes back to the ship,’ Anna said, ‘we’ve got ages. I might still have time to go back to that shop.’
‘I’ll see you all later,’ Jack said, ‘and this is my treat. Enjoy your day.’
I watched as he went to give some cash to the waiter, thinking again how attractive he was. What a pleasant character.
‘Well, he’s nice,’ Harriet said.
‘Do I detect a teeny tiny crush going on?’ Anna chuckled, tapping me on the knee.
‘Absolutely not,’ I said, feeling my face heat up. ‘We met up by accident, that’s all it was.’
‘Of course it was,’ Anna purred.
‘You’re making something out of nothing,’ I said with unnecessary vigour, because to be truthful, I probably was developing a bit of a crush. And that was not like me at all.
I’d had a bit of a thing for Tom Conti back in the day, but during thirty years of marriage I hadn’t looked at another man. I’d certainly never found any appealing.
But then Jack was so attractive and friendly. It was a long time since any man had spoken to me at length about anything other than the state of my car, how vital it was to have new double glazing or possibly solar panels. And by the way, was my husband at home so he could talk to him?
For a man to ask me about myself and actually be interested was quite a novelty. And I liked it.
19
There were twenty of us booked in to the guided tour, and we met up with our guide Iris exactly on time. I recognised some faces already. Don standing at the front in a battered Panama hat with his wife Belinda. Everyone else was clustering around chattering about the ship and what they were hoping to see on the trip.
Iris switched on her microphone and there was a screech of feedback, which alerted everyone.
She started off with a brilliant smile. ‘Welcome to the town of Opatija. The word means “abbey”, which is because of the abbey of St Jacob which was built in the fourteenth century and dedicated to St Benedict. The Romans were here of course and the Venetians. Many people have invaded and fought for Croatia over the centuries, and each have left their mark. But as we say in Croatia,Bez muke nema nauke, or as you would understand, no pain no gain. The Villa Angiolina, which we will see later, was built in the nineteenth century, and it made the town a place where people wanted to visit. The lovely climate and the beauty of the surroundings made it popular with royalty. Particularly the Hapsburgs. Many kings and emperors have come here for the health benefits…’
‘I’ve found a few people who might like to play bridge,’ Don murmured behind me. ‘I don’t suppose you ladies would like to join us? Make up the numbers?’
‘I don’t think so, thanks anyway,’ I said, turning back to Iris.
‘Don, take the hint,’ Belinda muttered.
‘The town became a health resort, and the Lungomare walk was created as a health benefit. We will be strolling along a part of it in a moment, so you can see the most famous landmark, the Maiden with the Seagull. The town is also famous for the wonderful flowers. There are camelias, bougainvillea, lavender. My name is of a flower which is now the national flower of Croatia, the iris. So if you would like to follow me.’
Obediently we trailed after Iris, repeating some of the walk I had enjoyed earlier that morning, but by then there were more people about and the path was occasionally crowded. There was a bit of a queue for the viewing platform in front of the famous statue.
‘This is lovely, you can see why rich people wanted to come here,’ Harriet said, while we waited for Don and Belinda to take their selfie.
‘And why so many people wanted to fight over it,’ Anna added.
‘We could have a proper bridge tournament if we got enough people,’ Don said, edging his way between us, obviously not prepared to give up without a struggle. ‘I might even be prepared to rustle up a trophy from somewhere.’
‘Not at the moment,’ Anna said, ‘thanks all the same. I don’t think we would be up to your standards.’
‘And we have already won one trophy on this holiday,’ Harriet said sweetly, ‘so it wouldn’t be fair to take another, would it?’
Don gulped and looked a bit confused. Belinda gave him a wide-eyed furious stare.
Iris was an excellent guide, taking us to see the most notable landmarks, the villas and gardens and some little churches which were all closed because, as she explained, it wasn’t Sunday.
All too soon the tour was over. We thanked Iris for her informative narration and dug into our pockets for some euros to give her. Back at the ship we could see a lot of people milling about, coming onshore to explore the little streets, or take advantage of the delightful cafés which were doing a brisk trade.
