Page 34 of The Trip of a Lifetime

I took a closer look at Sam – the man who had tricked Erin. He was undeniably attractive. I could see what Erin had been thinking when she met him. He had an easy smile and when he began laughing at something Tara said to him, his blue eyes sparkled. It was just such a shame that he had the morals of his great-uncle.

I chose monkfish and roasted vegetables for my main course after a starter of garlic prawns. I declined the wine that was offered to me and stuck with water. In truth, I wasn’t feeling wonderful. A mixture of tiredness and rich food after a poor diet for a couple of days, I guessed.

‘Where do you think we’ll be going next?’ Priya asked when coffee was served.

‘I’m thinking north,’ Femi said, ignoring his coffee for the large glass of red wine in front of him. ‘I’m sure they intend to get us much colder before we head further west.’

‘I tend to agree,’ Harrison said. ‘There’s a whole lot of nothing for us to get lost in.’

‘You manage that in a built-up area,’ I said with a sarcastic smile on my face. At least I hoped I looked sarcastic. I didn’t want him to think I was actually smiling at him. Maybe I had looked as if I’d been gloating on the bus. That at least could be true. I wasn’t cheating though, and the very idea that I was getting information from Cally to aid me in this race was laughable.

Harrison stared at me across the table with his eyebrows raised and just for a split second, something connected us. A charge of energy, a spark of that electricity that I remembered from all those years ago. I think if I still had functioning ovaries they might have twitched. Something deep in my belly did, though. He didn’t look away and neither did I, until Erin asked me to pass her the water jug and whatever had been between us was broken.

Piece-to-camera

Cally: Tell us a bit about your daughter.

Martha: Well, Clare was a beautiful person. She was enigmatic and adventurous, and was loved by all who knew her. Some people are just unforgettable and Clare was one of those. Sadly, she had an aggressive brain tumour and died a week before her forty-fourth birthday. We were all devastated.

Cally: So, would you say you are racing for her? Do you draw strength from her memory as you make your way across Canada?

Martha: Absolutely. I will be thinking of her on every leg of this journey.

Cally: What’s it like racing with your granddaughter?

Martha: Amazing. Erin is a brilliant teammate and we get on so well. She’s energetic, sparky, and not afraid of throwing herself into a situation.

Cally: Is that how you see yourself, Erin?

Erin: Er, well, I nearly wet myself getting on that rocking gondola, but I’ll take Nana’s, er, I mean Martha’s version of me any day.

‘Cut,’ Cally said getting up from her chair. ‘Thanks for talking about Clare. I am sure the viewers will be rooting for you.’

‘No problem,’ I said. ‘I know it’s important to get a personal angle but to be honest, I always want to talk about my daughter.’

Cally took my hand and clutched it for a moment, then she walked over to talk to Noah.

‘“I nearly wet myself getting on the gondola”? Really?’ I said to Erin once Noah and Cally had left the room.

‘I couldn’t think what else to say,’ Erin said. ‘She’ll probably cut it anyway.’

‘I’ll bet she doesn’t, and I can’t wait to see your face in a few months’ time when we’re watching it on the TV,’ I said.

16

ERIN

Erin had the envelope in her hand and she pulled out the card inside, excited to see where they were going next. After a comfortable night and a full day of relaxation around the resort, she felt regenerated and back into racing mode.

Your third checkpoint is Churchill

‘Any idea?’ she asked her grandmother.

‘None,’ Martha said.

They were outside the front of the hotel with Cally and Noah hovering to catch their reaction. Femi and Liz had already left and they had a twenty-minute lead over Priya and Tara. Erin spread out the map and they scoured the options heading north and east.

‘Femi and Harrison were right,’ Erin said as her finger landed at a spot on Hudson Bay. ‘We are going north.’