Chapter 17
We got to Pompeii about half an hour later and made our way to the Porta Marina entrance hall where we met our guide who was a tiny, young Italian woman dressed in flowery dungarees and a batik print T-shirt. She had also deliberately dyed her hair grey – something I will never understand, heaven knows the grey makes an appearance for free soon enough on its own. She had five earrings in one ear, perhaps it was her favourite one, or she was young and didn’t know any better. It’s one thing to have a hole punched through an ear lobe and quite another to go through the cartilage. Surely it must hurt? Outside there was a wonderful view over trees, grass, and ruined houses.
She clasped her hands in front of her and did a funny little heel jump, which was rather charming.
‘My name is Isabella. I am so excited to show you the many wonders of Pompeii. This is the Marine gate, where there are two entrances. One for people, the other for traffic,’ she said. ‘There are ruts left by the iron wheels of the carts, as you will see.’
We followed her up a slight slope and through into what remained of the town. Turning, I saw no sign of Rapha?l. Perhaps he had gone off on his own to photograph things.
‘These houses have been badly damaged,’ she said.
‘Awful, there’s hardly anything left,’ Diana said.
‘By bombs falling during World War II,’ Isabella finished. ‘There was also a less devastating eruption in 1944.’
‘Poor old Pompeii couldn’t catch a break,’ Evelyn murmured.
Unaware of the nature of her companions, Isabella skipped ahead pointing out important features and mosaics, until she realised her group was going to proceed at a far statelier pace. Ken and Thelma were already sipping at their water bottles and remarking on the heat. Dorothy repeatedly dodged into the houses for shade when she got a chance and quickly requested a comfort stop when she saw a toilet block.
‘And this is the Macellum Scavi, the remains of a food market where people would come to trade food and fruit and vegetables. A shopkeeper was found under a stone bench just over there.’
‘Well, that’s good isn’t it? He was so lucky. I mean, wasn’t he injured at all?’ Thelma asked cheerfully.
‘What an unusual question, I don’t think I have ever been asked that before,’ Isabella said meaningfully, and Thelma beamed round at the rest of us as though she had won Mastermind. ‘There were about fifteen thousand people in Pompeii and about two thousand died. The only survivors were those who left the area when the earthquakes started. The ones who waited to see what would happen; they had no chance. This shopkeeper was only found because of the plaster cast made of his – how would you say – vapourised body. Many more died in Herculaneum, Stabiae and the surrounding villages.’
We walked on, admiring the beautifully clean streets and the many interesting things we saw. Mosaics, frescos, statues and pillars, and the only graffiti was done over two thousand years ago and so didn’t really count.
Isabella was a well-informed and pleasant guide and she talked and answered questions for the whole of our time with her.
‘I think I need a sit down,’ Evelyn said at last.
To be fair we had been on the move for a long time with just the occasional rest stop and up until then she had shown little sign of her age.
‘Oh, I’m a tough old buzzard,’ she said, ‘I always have been. And if what Isabella said was true, this place won’t be here for much longer for people to admire, so better get on with it. Still, I did see that cafe a little while back by the entrance. That might be nice.’
We walked back, the early afternoon heat increasing until we reached the cafe and, despite the crowds, were lucky to find an empty table in the shade.
Diana went off to fetch some cold drinks and Evelyn removed her sunhat and flapped at her face.
‘Well, that was fun,’ she said, ‘but poor old Pompeii. It must have been awful.’
I looked at my watch, it was just after two o’clock and we still had ages before we needed to return to the ship.
The cafe was busy, and the service was slow, so it was twenty minutes before Diana returned with a tray of drinks and sandwiches.
‘Those poor girls in there,’ she said, ‘so many customers and only one card machine. And I think the broadband speed here dates back to AD 79 too.’
We sat in the shade, enjoying our snack and chatting. A huge queue formed for the ice cream stand, and everything seemed relatively good humoured and pleasant.
‘There’s ages till we have to leave, and from what’s been said today, this might be our last chance to see this place,’ Evelyn said, ‘well it certainly will be for me. Let’s go on in the other direction now I’ve got my breath back and just wander about for a bit.’
‘The coach back to the ship doesn’t leave until four, that’s plenty of time,’ I said.
So that’s what we did. As soon as we stood up, other people swooped in to take our table and then we strolled back into the ancient streets of Pompeii, choosing new little alleyways which led enticingly between houses and temples. The crowds were not so bad there, the streets paved with stones worn smooth over time, and occasionally ruts where the carts had passed centuries ago.
‘This was supposed to be a place where the wealthy Romans came for their holidays,’ Evelyn said, ‘a sort of ancient Sidmouth or Lytham St Annes. Now what’s this? Quadriportico dei Teatri. The theatre of four gates? Isn’t it marvellous? And nice and cool under these walkways. And imagine all the people sitting up there on the steps. I wonder what they watched?’
‘Gladiators?’ Diana said. ‘They were very popular. The rock stars of their day.’
‘Like the American wrestlers. I can understand that,’ Evelyn said. ‘I’ve spent many an evening watching WWE, Douglas loved it although he said most of it was choregraphed. He had a particular liking for Stone Cold Steve Austin, although I preferred Bret the Hitman Hart. Every time I made a curry, Douglas would come into the kitchen; “can you smell what the Rock is cooking”, he’d say. It made me laugh every time.’
Diana and I exchanged a look over Evelyn’s head. Our new friend certainly was full of surprises.
We strolled on, through narrow streets and alleys, past scaffolding where work was still progressing, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and each other’s company. Fewer people were around where we were and we paused a few times, to perch on a stone bench, have a drink of water and wonder what life must have been like for the Pompeiians all those centuries ago.
And then Evelyn stumbled on the uneven stones and twisted her ankle. It was enough for her to need to stop and sit down and she sat on the stump of a fallen column, rubbing her foot and cursing.
‘Oh dear, I am so clumsy these days. I told you I wasn’t very steady any more.’
‘Have you broken anything?’ I asked.
Evelyn pulled herself up and gingerly tested her injured ankle.
‘No, I don’t think so, but it’s very sore.’
She sat down again and rummaged in her handbag for a tissue.
‘What time is it?’ Diana asked at last.
I looked at my watch. ‘Two forty-five.’
She frowned. ‘It can’t possibly be. It was about two o’clock when we were at the cafe.’
I shook my wrist although what good that would do, I wasn’t sure. And then I listened to it, which of course was also a waste of time, the battery must have run out. Eddy had given me that watch for Christmas two years ago, so it wasn’t that surprising. But why don’t watches warn the wearer when they are about to die? Some sort of alarm or flashing light?
My mouth was suddenly dry, and it was nothing to do with the heat of the day.
‘My watch has stopped, anyone else got the time?’
‘I haven’t worn a watch for years,’ Evelyn said.
‘Nor me, I just use my phone,’ Diana added, ‘which I’ve left in my cabin. I don’t want to get caught for huge data roaming charges. I remember reading in the paper about a girl who was on holiday with her parents and chatting with her friends on Facebook, and when they got home?—’
‘But what time is it?’ I said, starting to panic.
The three of us looked around, but the only people we could see were a group of teenagers in the distance, pushing each other around and laughing.
I scrabbled about in the depths of my handbag, pulled out my mobile phone from the bottom and turned it on.
‘We really should get back,’ Diana said, ‘we don’t want to miss the coach back to the ship.’
‘It’s nearly quarter past four,’ I said.
The horror of realising we were so late hit the three of us.
Evelyn put out a hand and I pulled her to her feet.
‘We’ll be pier-runners if we aren’t careful,’ Diana said. ‘Those people you see on television running alongside the ship and shouting to be let on as it leaves the port.’
‘Like that famous actor and his wife,’ I said.
I was sounding quite calm but inside I was starting to worry even more.
Diana nodded. ‘And everyone on board is laughing and waving at them.’
‘Oh God. Come on, we must hurry,’ I said, putting a hand under Evelyn’s elbow.
She shook me off. ‘That won’t help,’ she said. ‘This ankle feels very uncomfortable, I’ll just end up going A over T and smacking my head on the cobbles and making things a darned sight worse. I might still have staying power but I’m not that nimble. Now then, which way do we go?’
Good question.
It didn’t take us long to realise that we had meandered around for so long that we didn’t know where we were or which way to go. All those little streets and alleyways looked much the same. Some of the houses had information boards outside them telling us briefly what the house had been for and sometimes who had lived there, but that was all.
I didn’t know about the other two, but I had always had a terrible sense of direction. Eddy had been the one to read the maps when we went anywhere and sometimes in an unfamiliar town, had to physically turn me round to get back to the car.
‘The sun is over there, so that must be west,’ Evelyn said, ‘or south. Or southwest. Not north anyway.’
‘Which is where the coast is, and therefore the ship,’ Diana agreed.
‘But not necessarily the entrance,’ I said unhelpfully.
We ummed and ahhed for a bit, all the while making our way back, hoping it was the way we had come. Some of the ruined houses looked familiar, and then occasionally they didn’t, at last we came out in front of a green space, surrounded by broken pillars and arches.
‘We definitely haven’t been here before,’ Diana said. ‘This place is so huge. I had no idea.’
‘And they are still excavating,’ Evelyn said.
‘Oh God! Where the heck are we?’ I said, my voice getting rather squeaky.
‘What about down this way,’ Evelyn said.
We went as fast as we could which wasn’t very fast at all thanks to Evelyn’s sore ankle and found ourselves back in the green space where we had been ten minutes before. And why was there no one to ask? No helpful arrows? Not even many people. The crowds of tourists seemed to have disappeared very quickly.
For a moment I imagined us finding the entrance gates, and everything would be closed up, everyone would have gone, and we would be locked in for the night with the plaster bodies and the murals. I wasn’t easily bothered by that sort of thing, but it didn’t sound much fun.
Then I imagined the sight of the Avanti happily steaming away from Naples docks, everyone else on board knocking back drinks and enjoying themselves and gave a worried little whimper.
We carried on, down alleyways and through ruined gardens.
‘Well, I didn’t expect this. This is exciting,’ Evelyn said.
She had taken hold of my arm for support and picked up her pace a little as her ankle eased, but we were still going rather slowly.
‘No, it isn’t,’ Diana said, turning panic-stricken eyes towards me, ‘it’s awful.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ I said, trying to sound reassuring, ‘the ship won’t sail without us. They’ll know we didn’t get back.’
‘They might,’ Diana muttered, ‘but it doesn’t mean they will wait for us.’
‘Then what do we do?’
‘Over there, I definitely recognise this villa. We came past here on the way in with Isabella,’ Evelyn said. ‘The fresco of the people having a party. I’ve definitely seen that before. We must be going the right way.’
A few minutes later we passed under the Marine gate which suddenly appeared around a corner, and to me at least, it felt like seeing an old friend. There were groups of people there too, which was encouraging.
There was the entrance building and the lights were still on, so there were people around. I breathed a sigh of relief, and we hurried on. By now, Evelyn was limping very badly and Diana was nearly in tears.
I pushed at the door of the cafe, but it was locked, and the girl inside pulled a cross face and shook her head.
Evelyn and Diana had sunk down onto the cafe chairs, Evelyn fanning her face with her sunhat.
‘Stay there and get your breath back and I’ll go and find the coach,’ I said, and went off, hoping to see some familiar faces. Thelma and Ken perhaps, or maybe Isabella. She would be able to help.
It didn’t take me long to realise the coach had gone.
Which meant the three of us were stranded.
I stood for a moment in the dusty car park, and felt like crying, but that wouldn’t have helped the other two or our situation, so I took a deep, shaky breath instead. This sort of thing must happen all the time, surely?
I threw a look up at Vesuvius, hoping it wasn’t going to do anything foolish; the perfect end to what had been shaping up to be a perfect day.
And then I imagined us as – what had Diana called them – pier runners. Scurrying along, supporting Evelyn between us and shouting beside the moving and inaccessible bulk of the Avanti, as she slipped away from Naples. For a moment I wondered what the next port of call was, and my mind went blank with panic.
‘Oh, Eddy,’ I wailed.
If he had been with us, he would have known exactly where to go and what to do. With his brilliant sense of direction and his unflappable nature, he would never have let this happen. And what would Joe and Luke think if they knew?
Honestly Mum, you shouldn’t be allowed out on your own.
I took a deep breath. With Evelyn injured and Diana so upset, it would be up to me to keep calm and find a way out of this pickle.