Page 82 of The Trip of a Lifetime

‘I’m so impressed, Noah,’ I said. ‘I had no idea how fast you were. I’ve only really seen the finished puzzles at the checkpoints. So, do you have a chance of winning?’

‘I’d have to go some to beat the current world champion, but I’m going to try, and our team is decent for the team event,’ he said.

‘You’re really passionate about it, aren’t you?’ I said.

‘Yeah, I am. You have to be, to be good at anything. It takes a lot of training to be fast.’

‘And your team; are they friends of yours?’ I asked.

‘They are now, but no, not originally. My friends aren’t interested in puzzles. They’re happy to support me and will watch some of the live stream from the event or say they will at least, but they don’t puzzle.’

I scrutinised his hands flying around the table and a small crowd gathered round to watch. When he put in the last piece, he got a small round of applause and he grinned, slightly embarrassed at the attention.

The ferry came in to dock and we gathered our things and found Vince, the chap who had offered us a lift. He had a decent car and was happy for Noah to film a little from the back seat and clip his small camera at the front too.

‘And you don’t mind an old woman tagging along?’ I asked with a smile.

‘Not at all,’ he said.

He was British, or certainly sounded like he was, and as we left the port and headed east he told us about how he’d relocated with his wife and children ten years ago for his work. Originally from Cornwall, he said that life in Canada was so much richer than it had been back in the UK.

‘I love the Cornish countryside and coast, I adore the Cornish people, but the quality of life was becoming difficult,’ he said. ‘House prices were getting ridiculous. Pushed up by people with second, holiday homes. We have a huge place here and the kids love it.’

Vince got us to Antigonish by six thirty and we decided to push ourselves and try for a lift to the port at North Sydney tonight.

‘If you don’t get a lift, then I could offer you a couple of beds in our spare room,’ he said. ‘I’m sure my wife won’t mind. She loves reality TV shows.’

‘That is super kind,’ Martha said. ‘But we won’t have any way of contacting you.’

‘I tell you what, you try for a lift and I’ll come back round in a couple of hours. If you’re not here then great, you’re on your way. If you are here, the offer still stands.’

‘You know what, if you are serious, then I think we should take you up on your offer now,’ Erin said before turning to me. ‘The thing is, the ferry doesn’t leave until tomorrow night at 17.30. Even if we do get a lift, we will have to find somewhere to stay in North Sydney and I’ll bet there won’t be another Vince waiting to offer a spare room.’

‘That does make sense,’ I said. ‘I think tiredness is clouding my judgement. Perhaps you want to go and check with your wife first.’

‘No, she’ll be fine, honestly.’

We piled back into the car and even though I was grateful for the free room, I could only hope Mrs Vince was as generous as her husband.

Vince was right about one thing: his house was huge. Set back from the road and surrounded by trees, his home looked a bit like a castle from a fairy tale. It had the painted boards we’d come to see a lot of and his were in a pale-blue colour. There was a porch that wrapped around half of the house and there was a pretty front garden stocked full of flowering plants. But the thing that stuck out more than anything was the turret.

‘You have a lovely home here,’ I said. ‘Really, it’s… wow.’

‘Is that where Rapunzel sleeps?’ Erin asked, pointing to the turret, and Noah was filming with his mouth open.

Vince laughed and climbed out of the car. ‘That’s where you’ll both be sleeping,’ he said.

‘Are you absolutely sure your wife won’t mind?’ I asked, imagining if this had happened to me. I like to think of myself as a welcoming person but if my ex had turned up with two women who needed a bed for the night, I’m really not sure how I would have reacted.

‘I messaged ahead. She’s putting some dinner together and is very happy for you to be here. You’re fellow Brits and on one of her favourite type of shows. Honestly, I’m surprised she hasn’t rolled out the red carpet.’

Cally pulled up behind us but Vince was adamant that Noah should stay to film inside while we had dinner. He invited Cally to join us. This was turning into quite the event.

Vince’s wife, Morwenna, was an absolute delight. He was right about her being happy for us to be there. She’d already put chicken and potatoes in the oven and was peeling vegetables for a roast dinner.

‘I can’t tell you how grateful we are to be here,’ I said and Erin agreed.

‘It’s me who’s grateful,’ she said. ‘I miss home a lot, so to have some friends from the UK for dinner is a pleasure.’