Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Cape Town came as a huge culture shock from Valencia, let alone Newcastle. Sam hadn’t expected such a cosmopolitan place. People in suits or brightly coloured clothes bustled around the streets. Cafés spilled onto pavements and were packed with people lunching in the sunshine.
A car picked him up from the airport and took him to the Good Hope Maritime Centre, where he’d be working and living for the foreseeable future.
“There you are,” the cab driver said and pointed to a small gathering of buildings at the bottom of the hill they were driving down.
It resembled a holiday camp on the outskirts of the city. Small bungalows lined the outside with a cluster of large ones in the middle.
“It looks amazing.”
“I hope you enjoy your time here,” he said with a smile.
Once there, Sam tipped him and got out of the cab, staring through the fence. There must have been over a hundred people working and living here. They all flitted around from one place to the other. A community of like-minded people lay before him.
Anxiously, Sam stood at the gate while they tannoyed Matome.
“What a great place to be,” he said to the guard.
“Oh yes,” he said, chuckling. “Fun and work is what we do best here.”
That sounds promising.
Sam didn’t have long to wait until Matome came bounding over. Sam recognised him immediately from the Zoom chat.
“Sam,” he boomed. “So pleased to meet you in person. Come in.”
Dutifully, Sam followed him into the compound. He instantly felt this would be home for a while and he couldn’t wait to get to know every single person.
“You like?” he asked, spreading his arms wide.
“I love,” Sam replied.
“Perfect. First things first, I’ll show you to your bungalow. You must be exhausted.”
Sam was more in need of a shower. However he wanted to show he was ready to get stuck in. He was struggling to keep up with Matome’s huge strides, never mind grabbing squid. He opened the door to an end bungalow.
“This will be your home.”
After the hovel in Spain, this place felt he’d been upgraded to the master suite of a five-star hotel.
The room had a bed on one side and a table on the other.
Easy chairs were in both corners and a desk lay against the window.
Pictures of African animals lined the walls. Anticipation fizzed around his body.
“Through there is your kitchen and the next door is the bathroom. Don’t leave your windows open,” he advised. “You don’t want the visitors that may make their way in.”
Sam shivered. He didn’t want to know any more. He could probably hazard a guess and made a mental note to keep those windows firmly locked at all times.
Matome glanced at his watch. “I’m so sorry, I have a meeting in five minutes. Why don’t you rest and freshen up? There are a few new starters. They have gone on an orientation trip already. Don’t worry. I’ve arranged for you all to have a meal somewhere very special. I will meet you at five.”
Once alone, Sam threw himself on his bed and kicked off his shoes.
If the others could see me now.
Five o’clock came and Matome, true to his word, knocked on the door. After a lovely long bath and clean clothes, Sam had a second wind.
“Where are we going?” he asked, once again trailing in Matome’s wake.
“Ah ha,” he answered, tapping his nose. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
They zoomed through the streets of Cape Town. South Africa’s problems were a long way from being solved. However, the city that greeted Sam gave a strong impression that they were ready to face them.
Matome spent the drive telling him stories of Cape Town and how his life had improved over the years.
They drove through nice suburbs before coming to what seemed like a coach park at the foot of a mountain.
“I’m afraid I cannot join you for dinner. I daren’t miss my wife’s cooking, not even for a day.”
Sam laughed. “I wouldn’t want you to be on the endangered list before I’ve even started.”
“If you go through those doors, Sune will come and find you. Have a wonderful evening and I will see you tomorrow.”
Sam hopped out of the car and made his way to the building. The sign read Table Mountain Cable Car. He took in the huge mountain looming above.
A young girl approached him.
“Sam?”
“Sune?”
They shook hands.
“I’m so stupid,” he said. “I didn’t twig that we’d be coming to Table Mountain.”
Sune giggled. “Matome plays that game all the time. Pay no heed. Come on, the others are waiting.”
She led him through some turnstiles and straight into a cable car. Once inside she banged on the window and gave a thumbs-up.
“You’re a regular here then?”
“We use this place all the time. It’s the best view in the world.”
With a jolt, the car set off. To Sam’s delight, they slowly rotated. He stood in the middle and never lost sight of the city unfolding down to a coastline that met an ocean he would be exploring before long.
“That’s a lot of sea,” he exclaimed.
“With real excitement in it.”
“It seems way bigger than where I worked before.”
“Where were you?”
He ignored the slight pang in his gut. “Valencia in Spain.”
Sune frowned. “You’re the second person to mention that place to me today. Another of your new colleagues spent the summer there.”
Sam’s heart dropped as if it had tumbled all the way down the mountainside and into the kiosk below. His fresh start was disappearing before his very eyes.
“What are they called?”
Sune shrugged. “I can’t remember. So many new names.”
It had to be bloody Astrid. Paul and Genevieve wouldn’t separate and Maria wouldn’t have the guts.
Before he had the chance to interrogate Sune further, the car shuddered to a halt and the door slid open. He had no choice but to follow her onto a stone pathway.
“Turn around and see it all,” she said, with a beam. “There are views and then there’s Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain.”
Sam could barely absorb the incredible scene that lay before him. “It’s like I can see for eternity.”
“Come on,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get you a drink.”
As they walked into the cafeteria, Sam scanned the place and didn’t recognise a soul.
Is there another marine project in Valencia?
Sune got him a glass of wine from the bar. He had to force himself not to drain it in one. That would not be a good impression.
“I will find your colleagues and introduce you.”
Astrid would probably be in a corner holding court to some dazed fools. He needed a moment to gather himself. It would give her far too much pleasure in knocking him off balance.
“Sune, I’ll catch you up. I need to get some air first.”
She nodded understandingly. “Come when you’re ready.”
He made his way outside and walked over to a wall. He stared out at his new home. Disappointment and rage swirled through him. Would the millstone of Valencia ever leave him?
He took a swig of his wine. Thankfully the adrenaline started to subside. So what if Astrid didn’t like him being there? He’d battled with her before and he would do so again.
Another slug of Dutch courage and he’d be ready. Then he nearly dropped the glass altogether when a familiar man’s voice behind him rang out.
“Hello, Sam.”