Page 37 of The Trip of a Lifetime

The restaurant was a family-friendly looking place that offered what they called ‘home-cooked meals’. That was what the sign said but as I usually just opened a tin of vegetable soup and popped some bread in the toaster when I was at home, I wondered what this really meant. Pork was the answer.

‘I could just eat the pork casserole,’ I said, looking at the menu pinned to the wall near the door. ‘It’s not too expensive. And if we are paying to eat out, I really need something to fill me up. All we’ve consumed in the last twenty-four hours is crackers and coffee. I need a meal.’

‘That’s settled then,’ Erin said. ‘First stop, food, and we can find out how we can do the last 320 kilometres before the train leaves tomorrow.’

We were offered a table near the window by a very friendly waitress who took our order and then brought over a large fizzy water for me and a small beer for Erin.

‘This is probably the longest I’ve been without alcohol in ages,’ I said, thinking back to that glass of fizz I had on the flight over. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.

‘Well, don’t worry, I’m not going to get on it despite my rather large yearning to. I’ll just have this one beer,’ Erin said.

‘You have whatever you want as long as it’s cheap,’ I said with a grin.

Our food was delicious and so welcome after the snacking we’d done on and off all day. My back ached from my heavy rucksack and I’d been tempted to ditch the roll mat I’d been lugging around with me. I hadn’t used it, only the sleeping bag, but I knew that as soon as I offloaded it, I’d probably need it.

‘How was your food?’ the waitress asked us when she came over to clear the plates.

‘The best,’ said Erin, leaning back in her chair.

‘Thank you so much,’ I added.

‘So, are you guys travelling around? How far are you going?’ she asked.

Noah had gone off to have dinner with Cally and said he’d be back in a couple of hours and not to go anywhere without him. As if we would. I told the waitress all about our trip of a lifetime and how far we had come. More importantly I told her how far we had to go in case she had any hints and tips for us.

‘Me and Mom love reality TV shows. We watch them all.’

I didn’t tell her that I rarely watched any. The truth was they didn’t interest me and it was another reminder of why I was really in this race. Revenge, Erin would have said, but pride was closer to the truth.

‘Can I ask you about recommendations for somewhere for us to stay tonight?’ I asked the girl once she’d stopped enthusing about the fact we were on a TV show. She was rather sweet really, and her name was Nellie.

‘Hang on for a minute,’ she said. ‘Let me just go and check something.’

She disappeared back into the kitchen and returned five minutes later with a woman who had to be her mother. They both had fiery red curls and even though the colour looked like it was from a bottle, their features were so similar, they were clearly related.

‘I’m Louise,’ she said, wiping her hand on her apron. ‘The owner of Truffle and Grunt pig farm and restaurant.’

‘So, the pork is your own?’ I said. ‘The best way to know quality. It was delicious, thank you.’

I’d had one of the best casseroles I’d ever eaten, that was the truth.

‘I was going to offer you ladies a place to stay tonight. Nell said you were short on cash and I thought you might help me out with shutting up shop here and maybe a bit of help with the pigs in the morning. I’m a staff member down but mostly I’d love to be part of your journey. What do you think?’

I looked at Erin who nodded quickly. The thought of free accommodation was too much to turn down.

‘That sounds great,’ I said. ‘But we do have to get to Canora for the Churchill train leaving at 19.45 tomorrow.’

‘No problem and I can help you with that for sure.’

‘Well, Louise, you might have just become my new best friend,’ I said, beaming at her. ‘We’ll have Noah with us initially if that’s okay. He’s our camera guy and will probably want to film us a bit while we’re working.’

‘Okay, the more the merrier,’ she said.

In the end, there wasn’t too much to do in the restaurant and we were cleaned up and shutting the door by nine. Noah had popped in and back out again saying he’d join us on the farm in the morning.

‘We don’t do a late sitting,’ Louise said as she showed us to her truck. ‘You offer folk food and booze too late and you’ll never get rid of them. Now, I don’t want you to get all excited about the accommodation. It’ll be in the barn but not with the pigs. It’s warm and cosy. Nellie has had sleepovers with her girlfriends in there plenty of times.’

‘That sounds amazing,’ I said, nudging Erin who opened her mouth to say something. ‘We have roll mats and sleeping bags.’