Helen
She phoned Nancy.
‘All ok. I’ve got through border control, so I’m officially on American soil now. Just that bus ride to do.’
‘Are you sure you can’t get a connecting flight?’
‘I’ve checked again, but they’re still fully booked. I guess everyone’s heading upstate because of the eclipse. Does Nigel know I’m coming?’
‘You told me not to tell him.’
‘I know, but I realise it may have slipped out.’
‘I can assure you I am perfectly capable of keeping a secret when I’m asked to do so.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest that you couldn’t.’
‘I understand that. Now that you’ve made it as far as JFK, do you want me to tell him you’re on your way?’
Helen thought for a moment. ‘No, I want it to be a surprise.’
The less notice Nigel had of her arrival, the less chance he had of perfecting the answer she wanted to hear.
He had probably thought it through already, but she was banking on him assuming he’d got until Tuesday to work it out.
This way she stood a better chance of having a completely honest conversation with him.
‘What time do you think you’ll get here?’ Nancy asked.
‘It’s going to be around eight o’clock this evening. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.’
‘Excellent. Have a safe journey. And let us know when you’re ten minutes away from your final bus stop. One of us will pick you up.’
Nearly seven hours later, Helen finally stepped off the coach after the longest bus ride she’d ever had to endure. If you’d given Nigel a chance to explain at home, you could’ve had a comfortable car ride here with him keeping you company.
Geneva, NY, looked like a lovely US town but nowhere near as fancy as Geneva, Switzerland.
Now Helen’s problem was getting to the house Nancy had rented. Nigel would be here like a shot if she told Nancy she’d arrived, but she didn’t want their first face-to-face conversation to be in a car.
There was no local bus according to her map app, and no sign of any taxis either. That left a 57-minute walk - not an appealing prospect after the extremely long day she’d had. At least it was still daylight, and the route was mostly flat.
She put her rucksack on her back and set off. She’d only got a few yards down the road when a car pulled up beside her.
‘Can we help?’ the woman passenger asked. ‘We saw you get off the bus just now.’
She looked friendly, as did the man in the driver’s seat, and they had a young baby in the back. But this could be how a horror movie starts, Helen. Woman backpacker kidnapped by innocent-looking couple who turn out to be cannibals.
She was overthinking again. ‘I’m trying to get to this house.’ She showed the woman the address on her phone.
‘What do you think, Mike? She hasn’t got much alternative on a Sunday evening.’
‘It’s not that far off our route. Put your backpack in the trunk and get in,’ Mike said.
Helen’s achy legs overruled her brain. She stowed her rucksack in the trunk and got in the back of the car beside the baby, who stared at her until she pulled a stupid face.
‘I’m Tina,’ the woman said.
‘Nice to meet you. I’m Helen. Thank you to you and Mike for offering me a lift.’
‘You come far today?’ Tina asked.
‘From England.’
Mike nodded. ‘I’d say that was far. You here for the eclipse?’
‘Actually, I want to patch things up with my partner.’
‘That sounds like a lot of effort. I hope he’s worth it,’ Tina said.
‘So do I, Tina. So do I.’