33. It’s All Just So Exciting
33
IT’S ALL JUST SO EXCITING
KYLIE
After I met with my Aunty Sheryl on Monday, I somehow ended up being roped in to joining Adele the following weekend for my first tour. I’d forgotten how quickly people on this side of my family make decisions, and it’s been a crazy week of trying to make sure I have everything I need, while ignoring my nerves.
“This is so exciting,” Adele says, gripping my hand while we wait for the tour group to arrive outside the office.
We’re heading to Banff for two nights, and the tour caters to the more mature aged (aka retirees with money to burn). I’m glad this is my first group. I’ve always gotten along with the older generations, so I’m hopeful they’ll go easy on me when I inevitably stuff something up.
“So we’ve confirmed with the hotel this morning. There’s been no last-minute cancellations. The bus is on time and the day tour for tomorrow is confirmed. The perfect first trip for you, Kylie.” Aunty Sheryl appears at my other side, binder in hand. She hands it to me and squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Adele is a pro at this, you’re in good hands. ”
I nod, still not convinced I’m cut out to be in charge of myself, let alone a bunch of old people who will most likely expect everything to be done for them.
The first couple arrives, and when they say “hi” I immediately recognise their Australian accents. That little slice of home does something to my insides, and I shake the lady’s hand with a grin.
“Diana and Philip Marshall, from Brisbane, Australia.” Diana, a tiny woman with silver hair, stands back to let her very tall, white-haired husband shake my hand.
“No way! That’s where I’m from.” I grin, and they both laugh while shaking their heads.
“Everywhere we go, we always run into someone from back home. We Aussies sure do love to travel.”
After we meet with the rest of our group, which includes several more Australians along with a few English and Irish couples, and one loud American man, we herd everyone on to the bus, and Adele introduces us over the microphone while standing at the front.
My nerves are settling now, but I still feel a little nauseous when Adele hands me the microphone to go over our itinerary for the rest of the day.
“Hi everyone, I’m Kylie. This is my first tour, so please be gentle with me.” There are a few titters through the group, and several of the women give me reassuring smiles. “Our first stop today will be Lake Louise for a spot of tea at the Fairmont Chateau. For the more adventurous amongst us, you’ll be able to wander across the lake, as it’s nice and frozen right now. We’ll have two hours there all up before heading into Banff, where we will drop off our bags at the hotel. Once we’re all checked in, we have the optional trip up the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain, followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant. Then tomorrow, it’s up nice and early for our walking tour around town with a local guide, and some free time in the afternoon. Then it’s dinner at a brewery, and if you’re interested in hockey, the Canadian national sport, we have an optional visit to a local sports bar to watch Calgary play against New Jersey.” I double check the clipboard in Adele’s hand to make sure I got that right.
“Oohh, we are going to a game next week and I can’t wait,” Diana says from where she’s wedged between Philip and the window in the second row. “Those men sure like to play rough.” She looks far too enthused about this for someone of her age and size.
“We happen to have some friends on the team,” Adele pipes up, and I flash her a warning look.
The last thing I need is people on these trips knowing about my association with Seth. It doesn’t feel professional, and I don’t want strangers knowing my business, or trying to use me to get to Seth.
Once we’re on our way, I pull out my phone to find a text from the man himself.
Seth
How’s the tour going? I can’t wait to see you on Tuesday.
I smile a little, that now familiar flip-flop sensation in my stomach still going strong.
Kylie
So far, so good. The day is young though, so keep an eye on the news in case I’m responsible for any incidents involving senior citizens. I’ve missed you, too.
I’m only half joking about my fear of something happening to a person I’m responsible for. I had no idea how much could go wrong and have a newfound appreciation for what Brendan had to deal with from all us unruly children when we were travelling around Europe .
Seth sends back a laughing emoji, and we continue messaging back and forth until the bus arrives at Lake Louise.
I came out to Banff National Park when I was younger, but seeing it now is like seeing it all for the first time.
When we started driving through the Rocky Mountains, I stared at them in silent amazement, unable to believe the size of them. They certainly don’t have mountain ranges like this back home. The snow-capped peaks stretch high into the clouds, and the frozen lakes and rivers give it all a magical feel. I can feel myself falling for this country with every passing moment.
Maybe there are other reasons to stay, not just for the strapping hockey player that had worked his way into my heart…
Two days later, I’m feeling more comfortable about this whole tour guide gig, and so far, no one has died or sustained a serious injury.
The biggest drama I’ve had to deal with was when George from Alabama was unhappy with the size of his room and moaned about it in the middle of the lobby. Thankfully, the hotel staff found him a room that was more to his liking without me having to intervene and tell him off for being so rude. He didn’t seem like the type of person who cared much for being put in his place by a woman a third of his age.
He did, however, seem like the kind of man who would speak down to said woman and inform her when he thought she was wrong about something. Which was at least five times a day. He would then follow this with an explanation that made absolutely no sense while the rest of us stared at him and waited for him to run out of words.
But other than George, the rest of the group is lovely, and Diana and Philip have provided me with endless entertainment, bickering happily between themselves and exposing others to the trademark Aussie humour that I’ve missed .
After dinner on the second night, Adele and I lead the way along the icy foot path from the brewery to the sports bar, both of us dressed in our Mounties Jerseys, ready to introduce most of the group to hockey.
“So these are the teams that were in the grand final last year, right?” one of the Aussies, Rachel from Melbourne, asks while shivering in the cold air.
“The Stanley Cup, that’s right,” Adele replies over her shoulder.
“Well, this should be fun, then.”
“I can’t wait to go to the game later this week. It just looked so exciting on the TV,” Diana says.
Philip shakes his head with a laugh. “You’ve been wanting to go ever since you saw those videos of them all stretching on the ice.”
I turn to look at Adele with raised eyebrows. “What videos?” I whisper.
She frowns a little. “I’ll show you later,” she mutters.
“It’s not just the stretching. It’s the fights. It’s all just so violent.” Diana truly is a bloodthirsty little lady, her eyes shining while she no doubt pictures the game in her mind, the players beating the crap out of each other.
Once we get everyone settled at the tables in front of the TV that will play the Mounties game, I nudge Adele and nod towards the bar. She follows me while I order a round of drinks for everyone.
“What are these videos?” I ask, not entirely sure I want to know.
Adele grimaces and pulls her phone out. Opening one of the social media apps, she taps away and hands me the phone just as a reel begins to play. Someone appears to have spliced several videos, which show various NHL players stretching on the ice. The stretches could be mistaken for essentially humping the ice, and I feel slightly nauseous at the invasion of privacy for these men. And then a video of Seth pops up, and I realise with growing horror that he would despise this.
“This is sick. If this was women in these videos, there’d be a huge outcry,” I mutter, scrolling through video after video of them all being objectified.
There are accounts dedicated to ranking the most attractive players (including Seth and Lincoln, naturally), with women audaciously shouting out inappropriate requests during games… There is even an account exclusively dedicated to ranking the players’ wives and partners.
I swallow hard and hand the phone back to my cousin, who has been watching me with concern.
“Yeah, there are a lot of those sorts of videos in recent years, sadly.” Adele’s expression shows her disapproval.
“I can only imagine how Seth feels about that. One of those videos was of him.”
“Didn’t you say he doesn’t use social media? Maybe he doesn’t know?” She leads the way back to the table with the tray of drinks and begins handing them out to everyone as the game gets started.
I try to focus on the game on the screen, especially when Seth hops onto the ice. But all I can think about are the videos. Am I doing the rounds and don’t even know about it? There were definitely people taking photos when we were together last week, and any of them could have easily been filming.
A lump forms in my throat while the enormity of it all threatens to overwhelm me.
Am I ready for this life?