Page 52 of The Trip of a Lifetime

The bus rattled onwards and all I could do was hope they weren’t too far behind us. I was still feeling terrible so I took a couple more of the tablets and ended up falling back to sleep. It was only when I woke, an hour later, that I realised I had my head on Harrison’s shoulder. He didn’t seem to mind but I was relieved that he made no comment.

The sun was beginning to come up and there was still nothing but road and trees. The driver told us we were an hour from Winnipeg. If Erin were here, we’d be thinking about how fast we could get off the bus, where we’d be able to get to next and discussing Niagara Falls. I had been excited about seeing them but now I couldn’t care less.

‘We’ll be out of the race,’ I said to Harrison. ‘I mean, I don’t mind and all I want is to have Erin back, but it will mean we’ll never catch up with the others.’

‘I was just thinking about that,’ he said. ‘You and I could team up and leave the younger ones to it.’

This he said with what could only be described as a cheeky smile.

‘Yeah, that’s not happening,’ I said.

‘I was only joking, of course.’

We rattled into the bus station almost exactly an hour later and everyone gathered their things and slowly made their way down the steps. I was feeling marginally better now but still my joints ached when I moved. Harrison said he was much the same so I put that down to age rather than illness.

Noah and Gaz came to find us with Cally in tow. She looked officious suddenly but Noah seemed sheepish. It probably wasn’t really their fault but until I had my granddaughter back, I, of course, would be holding them completely responsible.

‘News?’ I asked, but Cally was already shaking her head.

‘Not from Erin and Sam, but I did want to tell you that the other two teams want to wait here with you until they’re back.’

‘Really?’ Harrison said. ‘Why on earth would they do that?’

‘We offered them a hotel room for use today and overnight, with the idea that we’ll get Sam and Erin back, then start again at seven tomorrow morning from the bus station. They were happy with the chance to rest properly and also, they all agreed, it wouldn’t be much of a race with just the two teams. So much has been invested in The Trip of a Lifetime,’ Cally said.

‘Priya agreed to this?’ I asked her dubiously, and her fixed smile slipped slightly.

‘Tara was in complete agreement with Femi and Liz and… let’s just say that Priya was persuaded.’

‘That sounds more like it,’ I said, and Harrison looked at me quizzically.

‘Obviously, we’ll do the same for you both,’ said Cally. ‘A hotel room, I mean.’

‘Two hotel rooms, I assume,’ I said.

‘Of course.’

‘And food,’ Harrison said.

‘Of course,’ Cally said again.

‘I’d really rather stay at the bus station until they arrive,’ I said, but Harrison put his hand on my arm.

‘How about Cally and Noah and Gaz and Rita, my producer, stay at the bus station and they can let us know via the trackers when our guys arrive.’

* * *

The hotel was in the part of the city not far from the bus station, and plush enough for me to think that the production team knew they were in the wrong, or certainly they were trying to pacify us and get the race back on track. It was on the banks of a river that the receptionist told me was called the Red River of the North which flowed all the way from Minnesota and North Dakota in the States until it eventually emptied out in Lake Winnipeg. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested but I was tired. I thanked her for the information and also hoped there wouldn’t be any more. She must have sensed I was less than interested because she just offered me a tight smile.

‘I’m going to make use of the shower,’ I said as we walked through reception with our room keys. My hair felt tangly and my body ached. A hot shower would be perfect.

Harrison hovered outside my room for a moment and I thought he was going to ask me if he could come in. The sudden intimacy took me by surprise.

‘When you’ve had your shower, would you like to join me for breakfast in my room?’ he asked.

I just stared at him. It was a reasonable question but as the words left his lips, I was dragged back to that night in the hotel in Spain all those years ago. Our bodies entwined around the sheets and each other. I could feel a heat rising on my cheeks and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was.

‘I mean, it would be good to be together as any news comes in,’ he continued, a slight waver to his voice.