Page 63 of The Trip of a Lifetime

‘We need to make a decision, Martha,’ Erin said coming back from the ticket office. ‘We either get on another bus to Toronto in half an hour, which will get us there late tonight, or we find somewhere to spend the day and night and get the bus tomorrow morning.’

‘I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think we should keep moving otherwise we’ll be adding another day and the cost of a hotel room in the mix.’

I felt half-dead and the thought of another thirteen hours on a bus was galling to say the least, but this was a race and we had no idea where the others were. We had to keep going.

Erin bought two tickets which set us back another $360 and then we sat and waited for the bus.

‘We’ll get a hotel in Toronto tonight and room service,’ Erin promised me when I told her how terrible I was feeling.

‘The biggest bowls of comforting pasta,’ she said and my mouth began to water at the thought. For now, we bought more coffees and a packet of biscuits. I produced a couple of apples from my backpack – another lift from the breakfast buffet, and then the bus arrived.

My legs felt like wood as I forced myself up the steps to find a seat. It wasn’t actually that busy, though, and we had a row each so we could stretch out. None of the other contestants were on board.

‘Another bus, ladies?’ Noah said as he took his own seat. ‘I admit I was hoping you were going to get a hotel room and try again tomorrow.’

‘It wouldn’t be much of a race if we did that,’ I said.

‘I doubt you’ll get much from us as we’ll likely be asleep shortly,’ Erin said. ‘Why don’t you ride with Cally?’

‘Because, on pain of death, I have to stick to you two like glue.’

But he didn’t really because almost as soon as the bus pulled away, he was asleep.

‘This is such a long leg,’ I said to Erin. ‘I wonder where they’ll take us next.’

We pored over the map for a bit, making suggestions and guesses.

‘I’m thinking it will be through Quebec City next,’ Erin said. ‘They will want us to really stretch our budgets and it will be expensive. Plus, it will be good for the camera to finally have us all in a built-up area after all the mountains and prairies. Can you speak French?’

‘A very little,’ I said. ‘But we’ll do our best. And then I was wondering if they might have us travelling to one of the islands before the last haul to St John’s. Nova Scotia? Prince Edward Island? Expensive ferries possibly but maybe more chance of a lift share.’

‘I wonder where the others are,’ Erin said.

‘Any others in particular?’ I asked her. ‘You really like Sam, don’t you?’

‘He’s a nice guy, I guess,’ she said.

She made it sound like a throwaway comment but I wasn’t fooled. I decided not to push it, though. I wanted to keep things level and good between us and had no intention of letting two men get in the way. In truth, I was thinking about Harrison far more than I wanted to. I hoped he did catch up with us in a way. I didn’t want him to beat us but I didn’t want an easy win either, or to think they might let us.

28

ERIN

Their hotel room in Toronto was pricey and so was the room service but they’d pushed themselves hard and needed to have some comfort before the final rush to Niagara Falls in the morning. Erin was a little worried about her nana on the last bus journey. Two was a lot, three was probably a bit stupid and Martha was looking exhausted.

It was odd to be in a big city after all the open countryside and wilderness they’d been through. Skyscrapers had replaced the mountains of the early part of their journey and intersecting roads replaced the rivers. It was busy, frenetic and loud. Erin was glad they wouldn’t be here for long. It was also raining which didn’t help their walk to the hotel from the bus station.

They ate quickly, not managing to finish all the pasta they’d promised themselves but giving it their best shot regardless. Two big bowls of tagliatelle with a rich creamy mushroom sauce arrived and it was delicious. Then Erin was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In the morning, she woke early to the sound of her grandmother singing in the shower. Martha must be feeling a lot better. Erin was relieved. It was too easy to think that because Martha was so driven and adventurous, she wouldn’t struggle with the physicality of the challenge. She was seventy and fit but they had covered thousands of miles on this trip of a lifetime and it was beginning to take its toll.

Erin lay back on her bed and thought about Sam. She wondered where he was, how he was doing and if he was thinking about her. ‘We need to think about what’s next,’ he had told her after that kiss in Winnipeg. He’d sounded serious and had such an intensity in his eyes. Erin had said that yes, they should, but for now they needed to concentrate on the race. Harrison and Martha were taking it very seriously and Sam and Erin both agreed to keep whatever was happening between them completely to themselves. Then Sam had pulled her back to him again and this time their kiss was deeper and more urgent. It was Erin who had pulled away. It went against everything she was feeling but they had to get back to reality, so, reluctantly, they had walked back to the bus station and were greeted by such enthusiasm from Cally and Noah, Gaz and Rita. Their return was filmed and Erin tried her hardest to appear unruffled but all she wanted to do was to hold Sam’s hand and have him close to her.

She got up off the bed now and repacked her bag. They’d be at the checkpoint in Niagara Falls today and could enjoy thirty-six hours of luxury hotel at the production company’s expense. And, more importantly, she’d see Sam again. She was eager to get the first bus.

For once the bus options were plentiful and fairly cheap. It was just over an hour and a half to get to Niagara.

‘It will drop you four kilometres short of the falls themselves. You can jump on the WEGO bus going south,’ the woman selling the tickets told them. ‘So, that’s fifty-four dollars for you both.’