Page 81 of The Trip of a Lifetime

‘That is something I’ve thought about on every leg of this journey and it turns out we never know.’

‘Do you think we’ll win, Nana?’

‘I’d love to think we will but we have to face the fact, the men have a decent head start,’ Martha said. ‘It really depends on the choices each team makes. I think we’ve made the best choice personally. The ferry to Newfoundland we’ve chosen might be long and more expensive, but it’s guaranteed passage. If others choose the short one and struggle to get across the land with their remaining funds, then who knows. Did you tell Sam what we were doing?’

‘No,’ Erin said. ‘I wanted to. I really like him, Nana. It feels wrong to be sneaky.’

‘What goes on in The Trip of a Lifetime stays in The Trip of a Lifetime,’ Martha said, and Erin laughed. ‘No, seriously, this is just a TV show, but if you and Sam are meant to be, then it will happen back at home without the gaze of everyone else.’

‘I’m glad you’re feeling better, Nana,’ she said.

‘I am,’ Martha said. ‘I was exhausted and felt so weighted down but now, it’s as if I’ve been offered a huge boost of energy. I don’t really know why.’

‘Harrison?’ Erin suggested with a sly smile.

‘Maybe a very little,’ Martha said. ‘But it’s us too. I’m so glad we had that chat. Let’s keep doing that.’

And it was true. It was as if Martha had had a second wind and one that Erin hoped would see her over the finish line.

35

MARTHA

We didn’t stay outside for long as it had become quite chilly. I suggested we go and sit inside and actually ask around to see who might be going towards North Sydney.

‘We need to eat something,’ I said, thinking about the lovely breakfast at the guest house this morning. We’d had nothing but a coffee since then. ‘You do a round of asking while I get us some food. You’re much younger and prettier than me so you’ll probably get lucky. Don’t tell them your old nana is coming until it’s too late and they’ve committed.’

‘Martha! I don’t want to get lucky and I’m not chatting up some bloke for a lift. You’d be much better at that than me anyway,’ Erin said.

‘It’s not like your charms haven’t come in useful on this trip so far and I’m not knocking it. Do you want to win this race or not?’

Noah had found a table to put in a bit of speed-puzzling practice and was timing and filming his progress.

‘Is there time for that?’ I asked him.

‘Yeah, it’s a seventy-minute crossing. My best time on this puzzle is fifty-six minutes.’

Cally was skulking but didn’t seem to mind that Noah wasn’t filming. They must have so much footage, another ferry journey didn’t matter that much and he’d filmed us up on deck before we left. He’d probably film us getting off, hopefully in a car with a free lift.

I bought us sandwiches and cans of cold lemonade with the money Erin had handed me. She had taken well to being in charge of the finances and I had done well to relinquish control.

‘Okay,’ Erin said as she returned. ‘I did actually chat up a bloke, which I’m ashamed of.’

‘Well, I’m proud of you,’ I said with a grin.

‘But he’s only going as far as Antigonish and I’m not exactly sure where that is. He says it’s about eighty kilometres.’

‘Bite his hand off for it,’ I said, looking at the map. ‘It’s in the right direction and it’s free. I assume it’s free?’

‘Oh, Nana, stop it,’ Erin said, looking disgusted.

‘I only meant a contribution to fuel.’

‘Oh, well, no, because he said he was going anyway,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell him yes, shall I?’

‘Unless we find someone else who’s going all the way to North Sydney, then yes, let’s take him up on his kind offer.’

Erin disappeared off while shovelling down her chicken and salad sandwich.