Chapter 29
Christmas Eve
At our very last breakfast on the Winter Wonderland Express, Princess leans across the table and says, ‘I can’t help but feel like we’re huge failures when it comes to solving our break-up mystery.’
I’m only half listening, distracted by the view outside, a snowy wonderland with whitecapped mountains in the distance. It’s postcard perfect. I can’t wait to explore Lapland.
‘Did you hear me, Aubrey?’ Princess asks.
I swing my gaze back to her. ‘The break-up, ah – yes.’
‘We’re absolutely hopeless detectives. Agatha Christie would be turning in her grave.
’ Karen grimaces. ‘So far I have personally witnessed two couples get engaged and one announce they’re renewing their vows.
You have to ask yourself, is it all the wine they’re consuming?
Why is everyone so happy?’ She herself grins and is lit up from within, so different from the woman with the severe winged eyeliner and sad eyes that I met at the dinner table at the start of our journey.
Love is all around. Or at least the hope of it is on the horizon.
‘Well… I have a theory,’ I say, all at once unsure if I should voice it. What if I’m wrong? But the Unlucky in Love Travel Club are the nurturing type and if I’m correct then this person could really use a little support right now.
‘Do tell,’ CJ says, munching on a freshly made buttery croissant. I’m certainly going to miss the five-star breakfasts when this holiday is over.
‘I don’t think it’s a couple on board at all.’
Barry frowns. ‘But… how can that be? Sabrina can’t expect us to guess if it’s someone we have no contact with.’
Jasper gives me a knowing nod. ‘Ah, I see where you’re going with this.’
‘Please share the details,’ Princess says, taking an unladylike swig of her breakfast mimosa. ‘Put the rest of us out of our misery.’
‘I think it’s Sabrina.’
‘Oooh.’ Karen’s mouth falls open. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘I have this feeling that Sabrina doesn’t usually fail at attention to detail, like she has on this trip.
Five-star service is a tough industry to get into, because of the impossibly high standards they set, so I’m certain she is more than capable of handling this job.
The way she mixed the wines up, and her level of distraction, leads me to believe that she’s the one who is suffering a heartbreak. ’
‘Yes,’ Jasper agrees. ‘And obviously management has pulled her aside and warned her about her performance, which has only made it worse.’
I’ve had my suspicions for a while. ‘And she mentioned a suspected cheating scandal, the guy going rogue, so I wonder if she found out after we boarded the train. She was bright and bubbly early on, showing everyone photos of her boyfriend, hoping he’d get approval from his boss for time off, and then she stopped mentioning him altogether.
She said she was tired and looked more listless than usual, which I put down to the intensely busy days that staff work – and that’s when she told us about the couple heading for splitsville. ’
‘Ooh, the clues point that way for sure.’ CJ’s croissant is forgotten as she cups her chin. ‘How sad, if it’s true. She’s such a sweetheart. And he’s a fool if he did cheat.’
We lapse into silence.
‘Let me guess, another fiancé died? Why the long faces?’ Sabrina appears, coffee pot in hand.
‘Oh, ah.’
‘No!’
‘We’re sorry!’
‘Are you OK?’
‘You’re beautiful, too beautiful for him!’
Sabrina tilts her head to the side. ‘What? What’s all this?’
Another silence hits, gazes are dropped, cutlery examined. It looks like I’ll be the one to broach this most sensitive of subjects.
I take her hand in mine and give it a comforting squeeze. ‘We think we’ve figured out the mystery you set for us. We hope we’re wrong, but something tells me we’re right.’
She arches a brow.
‘Is it you?’
She does a remarkable job of holding on to her composure; the only slip is the slight wobble of her bottom lip. ‘Yes.’
‘Who is he?’ Princess growls. ‘I’ll have him killed.’
The situation might not call for it, but we erupt in laughter. Tiger Mum is back.
Sabrina laughs too, her eyes glassy with tears.
‘The love of my life, or so I thought. We met a couple of years ago. We both work in the travel industry. He’s a chef, so there’s a lot of time apart as we both take different jobs around the world, you know how it is, Aubrey.
Living the dream of seeing as much of the planet as possible, while still trying to navigate love.
We had plans to work like that for a few more years, save the deposit for a house and then find regular nine-to-five jobs.
It made the long-distance thing easier, knowing that we had a goal, a dream and that these separations wouldn’t be forever. ’
‘So what happened?’ Barry asks softly.
‘I left for Calais and he stayed in the Caribbean. When I pushed for him to book his flight to Lapland, he kept making excuses. Eventually, after many video calls, he admitted that he’d taken up with someone else while I’ve been away.
Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. And now I’m back to square one, alone and probably about to lose my job because I’ve been so caught up in my heartbreak. ’
‘You’re not alone,’ Princess says. ‘You have us. You always will.’ She stands and gives Sabrina a quick hug. When she pulls away, she says, ‘And there’s no chance you’ll lose your job.’
‘Oh, there is, Princess. I just got my second warning for chatting to George. We were stocking up the coffee station, so it’s not like we weren’t working, but apparently, we shouldn’t have been doing that. One more warning and I’m done.’
‘Not going to happen.’ Princess takes the coffee pot from Sabrina’s hand. ‘Sit down, darling. Have some breakfast.’
Sabrina’s eyes go wide. ‘No way, Princess! If she?—’
‘I insist.’ Princess won’t let it go and pushes Sabrina into the chair.
‘I’m one of the owners of this train, the majority shareholder, actually, and I decide who stays and goes.
And right now, I’d like you to enjoy breakfast with me and after that I’m going to have a little chat with your manager, OK? ’
Princess is the majority shareholder of the Winter Wonderland Express! What! We’re all stunned before laughter gets the better of us.
When we’re composed, Sabrina says, ‘Umm, OK, wow, I did not see that coming. Sure, I’ll sit down, and I’ll bloody well enjoy it too!’
‘Good.’ Princess smiles.
‘One other thing,’ Sabrina asks. ‘Does this mean I officially get to join the Unlucky in Love Travel Club?’ She gives us a watery smile.
‘We’d be honoured,’ Karen says. ‘You dodged a bullet with that guy, Sabrina.’
‘Yeah, I sure did. And you never know, maybe it was all for the best.’ George walks by. The six-foot tall cutie pie gives Sabrina a shy smile and doesn’t seem the least bit curious as to why she’s sitting down with us.
‘Oooh,’ Princess catches the look Sabrina and George share and grins. ‘The thing about our club is that love blooms in the unlikeliest of places.’
Sabrina shrugs and leans forward to whisper, ‘George is just the sweetest. He’s got that golden retriever energy, and after dating the cliché alpha male, I’m done with those egomaniac types.’
‘Love those cinnamon roll heroes,’ I say. ‘Can’t get much sweeter than that.’
Sabrina stands up and grabs the coffee pot again, as if she can’t relax even though Princess has insisted on it.
‘I better get back to work or it’s not fair on the others.
More coffee, Aubrey?’ She doesn’t wait for an answer and pours coffee into my tea, but I don’t mention it.
She’s got enough on her plate, though something tells me her heartbreak will soon be a thing of the past.