Chapter 24
We’re sitting around the breakfast table, discussing last night’s pantomime, The Snow Queen , after having arrived in Stockholm in the early hours of the morning. Princess is missing, so I’m only half listening to the chatter, wondering if I should go and check on her.
When there’s a break in the conversation, I ask, ‘Where’s Princess?’
‘In her cabin, I presume,’ Karen says, buttering a slice of sourdough. ‘She and Barry were up late. When I left the bar, the karaoke machine had just come out, and wow that woman has certainly got a set of lungs on her. What she lacks in talent she makes up for with her energy.’
I smother a laugh, imagining it without any trouble at all. ‘Is she OK?’ I face Barry’s way.
He fumbles with his napkin, averting his gaze. Huh. ‘Yeah, love. Just a late one. Princess belted out a number of bangers. Quite the fan of karaoke.’
I contemplate it. ‘Princess has more stamina than all of us put together though. Belting out bangers is one thing, but she’s never missed a breakfast, not one.
’ There is the fact she’s seventy-five; have all the late nights finally caught up with her?
But no, I remember her saying she’d never miss breakfast in the dining carriage because it was a chance to eavesdrop on gossip and ogle handsome men.
Maybe she was joking and just trying to get me to leave my cabin that day.
I fold up my napkin and push my chair back. ‘I’ll go check on her. What’s her room number?’
‘Number one.’ Barry blushes. ‘Or so I’ve heard.’
Only the best for our very own Princess. ‘Of course.’ Leaving the group, I ask sweet George where cabin number one is and am surprised to find it’s past the library carriage, in another area I haven’t explored before. These must be the super-deluxe suites that cost more than I care to imagine.
I knock at the door and hear a faint ‘I’m not here right now.’
‘Princess, it’s me, Aubrey. Open up.’
A loud groan greets me. ‘I can’t.’
‘Why? Are you sick? Do I need to call the medic?’
‘No.’
‘Then what is it?’ I lean my head on the door, barely able to make out her voice.
‘You’ll ask me tough questions and I don’t have the heart to lie.’
What would Princess do if the situation was reversed? She’d simply ignore me and storm into my cabin all guns blazing, so that’s what I do.
‘Wow.’ I’m momentarily distracted by the beauty of her cabin. It’s about four times the size of mine. Stunning artwork hangs on walls. There’s a dressing room with a full-length mirror. Princess lies prone in a king-size bed that’s as regal as she is. She’s hiding her face behind a satin eye mask.
I make my way through a small a lounge area with antique-style furniture. Off to the side there’s a small library and an actual bar! I whistle my appreciation. ‘This is next level. No wonder you don’t want to leave!’
Princess pulls the eye mask down. ‘Tell the group I died. Tell them I slipped off in my sleep and it was all very peaceful.’
‘What? Why?’
‘It’s the only way. Just tell them, will you? That I love them all and I’ll be waiting for them at the pearly gates when their time comes.’
‘Not going to happen.’ Only one of us can fake a death around here, and I’ve already claimed that for missing Miles. ‘I’ll do no such thing,’ I reply firmly. ‘What’s all this about then?’
‘Fine. Just tell them I got off the train early this morning.’
‘Princess.’
She sighs. Without her make-up and glamorous clothes, she seems so much more fragile. Vulnerable. Lovable. Ooh. I get it.
‘Is this about Barry?’
Her bottom lip wobbles.
‘You’ve fallen for him?’
Princess takes a shuddery breath and gives me an infinitesimal nod. ‘But I can’t take it any further than flirtation, I really can’t.’ She slips her eye mask back on as if the conversation is closed.
‘Princess, how do you know that?’
‘I know it.’
Is it time to pull out my trump card? I’ve been doing a little work behind the scenes but I’m just not sure how this will land.
Seeing her like this, avoiding the group, forlorn and lonely, it’s not right.
She’s a firecracker of a human and all she’s missing is love.
‘What if there was a way to reverse the curse?’
This time, she pushes the silken eye mask atop her head. Her eyes are wide – with hope? ‘How?’
Here we go. Make or break. ‘I did a little digging online, and please correct me if I’m wrong, but I researched curses and found that an albularyo might be able to help.’
‘A Filipino witch doctor?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You found one?’
I hope I haven’t culturally overstepped, having no idea about what exactly Princess believes or even if I have the right, but simply wanting to help my friend who is clearly carrying the weight of trauma from her losses.
I nod. ‘I found one. And I might have crossed the line, but I told her that you’ve been cursed by a jealous rival – I hope that’s OK?’
Princess grins. ‘It’s not exactly a secret, is it? I tell everyone because it’s best they know. Men do fall in love with me at an alarming rate, so it’s mostly to manage their expectations.’
I swallow a smile. ‘Right. Well, I told her about your case and she’s confident that she can help.
She educated me a little about how our physical health is entwined with emotional and spiritual health and it made sense to me that what you’re suffering is quite complex. There are many elements at play here.’
‘And the rival?’
‘The albularyo agreed there very well could be a curse, or it could be that you’re afraid to love again because you’ve already suffered so much loss. She’s prepared to video-call with you until you can get to Manila to meet her in person.’
‘Hm. And did this albularyo come highly recommended? How do you know she’s legitimate?’ She narrows her eyes as if she’s not quite sure yet whether to trust in this new development.
‘She wasn’t recommended, and I don’t know if she’s legitimate, but what I do know is she was very understanding about your plight, sensitive to your needs and seemed to have plenty of ideas about possible fixes, not only for love but for letting go.’
Princess gasps. ‘Letting go?!’
I sit at the end of the bed. ‘Letting go,’ I confirm. ‘Princess, do you blame yourself for their deaths?’
Her composure breaks. ‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I wasn’t there for them like I should have been.
Not really. I’d been so obsessed by my work.
Driven by making money. It’s all well and good for men to be like that, they get called ambitious, but when women do the same, they’re called money hungry, but still, it’s what gave me life.
I wanted to be the best property developer in the world.
And I strove hard for that. My husbands enjoyed life on the back of my toil.
But in turn, it ruined them. Ricky drank too much, Arturo smoked too much, and Miguel couldn’t outrun his age and his love for sweets like halo-halo. ’
‘But none of that is your fault.’
‘You say that, but if I’d been more present, I could have hidden the whiskey, thrown the cigarettes away, demanded they look after themselves better.’
‘They were all fully grown adults, quite capable of making their own choices. By the sounds of it, your marriages were all happy ones.’
Her eyes crinkle at the corners. ‘Very happy. We travelled and had a lot of fun together. The love was real.’
‘Isn’t that enough? They got the girl, they lived in the fast lane – what if that’s all they ever wanted?’
She double-blinks. ‘I’ve never thought about it that way before.’
‘You’ve been so focused on blaming yourself, that’s why.’
‘Huh.’
‘They weren’t young men when they died. They lived rich and full and happy lives.’
‘But what if it happens again?’
‘What if it doesn’t?’
She exhales a long breath, as if she’s still not quite convinced.
‘Princess, you can deny yourself love for the rest of your life, but then you’ll have missed out in what are essentially the best years of your life now that you’re retired. The Princess I’ve come to know and adore has a lot of love to give and it would be a crying shame not to share that.’
‘I hate it when you make sense, Aubrey.’