Olivia
‘Remind me’ – Kate flitted in and out of the screen, as she hurried to get herself ready to go out – ‘how many days have you got left there again?’
‘You have my entire itinerary; you don’t need to ask me!’
‘I know, but there are so
many pages, and it gets confusing.’
‘I have three more days here and then I move on.’
‘Three days, gotcha. And how is it?’ Her friend’s face popped into view, her eyes full of hope. ‘Are you starting to like it yet?’
‘Erm …’ Olivia thought for a second. It was true that she wasn’t hating it as much, or praying every minute of every day to be back home, but like
it? The jury was out on that one. ‘Yeah, it’s getting better.’
‘That’s good! And have you heard any more from the hot mystery guy?’
The thought of Jacob triggered in Olivia equal parts annoyance and affection.
She hadn’t heard a peep from him since she’d sent the email back in Agra, and she’d now taken it upon herself to limit the number of times she checked her inbox.
What had started as impatience at his lack of response had quickly begun to morph into rejection, hurt and confusion.
Confusion at the silence, but also confusion as to why
she cared so much about a message from a guy she barely knew.
‘Hello? Can you hear me?’ Kate’s face came so close to the screen it was practically all forehead. ‘Olivia, are you there?’
‘Yes, sorry. I was trying to work out who you meant, because I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a hot mystery guy before.’
‘Come on! You know who I mean.’
‘If you are referring to Jacob then no, I haven’t heard from him. Why would I? He’s all the way in Delhi.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Is it?’ Her attempt at nonchalance was pitiful, but thankfully Kate was too absorbed in her flurry of activity to notice. Sometimes her friend’s inability to multitask was a godsend.
‘Don’t worry, I reckon you’ll see him again.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes!’
‘Why?’
‘Come on
. What are the chances that you run into someone twice
in a place like Delhi? That’s not coincidence. That’s …’
‘Don’t you dare. Whatever you’re about to say, don’t!’
‘Fate!
’ She grinned. ‘It must be.’
The irony of her statement was not lost on Olivia, who could picture Jacob now, having a field day listening to Kate.
‘Right, well, when you have something more concrete than a mystical power governing everybody on earth’s movements to back up your argument, then please let me know. Until then, let’s agree to disagree.’
‘Hmm, luckily for you, I have to go, otherwise I would have made you stay and argue with me.’
‘What a shame
. Where are you off to? A hot date?’
If Olivia had blinked at that very moment, she might have missed the flicker of fear passing over Kate’s face. Within half a second it had vanished, but it was too late; Olivia had spotted it.
‘You are
, aren’t you!’ She gasped, wishing she could reach through the screen and shake her friend into honesty.
‘No!’
‘I can tell you’re lying, Kate. Who are you meeting?’
‘No one! It’s a work thing. Forced fun and free drinks, you know the drill.’
‘Hmm.’ Olivia narrowed her eyes, looking for any more tell-tale signs of deceit in her friend’s face. ‘I think you have a crush on someone going.’
‘And you’re entitled to think what you like, but you’re wrong.’
‘I’m never wrong. Surely you must know that by now.’
Kate threw her head back and laughed, her mane of ginger hair rippling from the force. ‘You’re an idiot sometimes.’
‘As are you.’
‘But I love you all the more for it.’ Kate brought the screen close to her face and blew Olivia a huge kiss. ‘Now, I miss you. Stay safe. And I’ll speak to you soon, OK?’
‘OK, see you later!’
Olivia hung up the phone and closed her eyes. Just like that, she was alone again.
The silence always felt more profound after a phone call with Kate, who, despite being thousands of miles away, always managed to make her feel like she was sitting right next to her.
What Olivia wouldn’t give for that to be true right now.
For her friend to be by her side in India.
She could imagine the pair of them holed up in their homestay, stuffing bags of crisps into their mouths whilst Kate sampled every
local sweet treat she could get her hands on. If anyone was going to be able to tackle India head-on, it would be Kate. Why hadn’t she come with her? Leah wouldn’t have minded. Leah loved Kate. Why did she have to do this all by herself? Why did she have to do everything
by herself?
Olivia gripped her phone tighter, knowing the promise she’d made not to check again for another day. To not even think about going near her inbox for at least twenty-four hours. Before she knew it, she was opening her emails and watching as the messages loaded.
One after the other after the other until …
From:
jpgreen@
Re:
Hello
There it sat, as inconspicuous as all the other messages, yet the sight of it sent her nervous system sparking. She clicked on it, her heart in her mouth.
Surprise … it’s me! I know you probably thought I’d disappeared off the face of the earth, but no.
I’m here. Just extremely bad at replying to people (it’s not personal, I promise).
I’m still very much in Delhi, enjoying revisiting my favourite places, and putting the world to rights with my friend Kushal.
He works behind reception at my hostel, is always miserable and always eating chocolate bars. What can you expect from a teenage boy?
How was the Taj? As magical as you thought? I’m guessing you’ve left Agra now and are on to Jaipur (I think!). If so, just
FYI
there are some amazing places to get stuffed paratha from, if one so desires.
For now, I’ll stop rambling and say goodbye.
Yours, ever so apologetically for taking ages to reply, Jacob x
She had to read it three times for the words to properly sink in. Olivia’s eyes were darting back and forth so quickly that she kept skipping parts and missing sentences. It was as if someone had injected a high dose of energy directly into her veins, her body fizzing with excitement.
There was so much she wanted to say back, so many stories to tell and questions to ask, but from somewhere deep within she managed to find the restraint to hold off replying.
She did not want to become the kind of girl who loses her head over a boy, especially one she barely knew.
He’d taken his time to respond to her, so why shouldn’t she do the same to him?
Wasn’t it enough that she’d got a response?
FYI there are some amazing places to get stuffed paratha from, if one so desires.
His words triggered a rumbling from deep within her stomach. It was getting late and she was hungry.
Since her arrival in Jaipur, Olivia had taken to eating dinner at her homestay; a clean, spacious and comfortable place that might not have been a patch on Suki’s multicoloured masterpiece but gave Olivia no reason to complain.
Tonight, however, whether it was the thrill of Jacob’s message or simply the mention of a stuffed paratha, Olivia found she was tempted by something different.
There was an unfamiliar urge to explore outside her comfort zone, to go a little further afield and take a walk beyond her four walls.
And so, with the voice of Jacob cheering her on in her head, she grabbed her bag and left the room.
Besides, she thought to herself as she hurried down the stairs towards the front door, how hard could it be to find a decent plate of food?
*
Forty minutes of wandering and Olivia still couldn’t decide where to go.
It wasn’t for the lack of options; in fact, there were far too many for her brain to handle.
Down every street she walked, she passed restaurant after restaurant, cafe after cafe, and handfuls of market stalls, to boot.
There was an endless supply of fried, spiced and deliciously scented food, all of which looked
good enough to eat – but looks, as Olivia was well aware, could be deceiving.
The city itself didn’t help matters, with its writhing crowds and glaring lights. The cacophony of noises, which by day felt overwhelming, was even more of an assault at night. It was as though the darkness brought everything closer, made it more oppressive and harder to escape.
She turned down another street, which frustratingly looked exactly the same as the one before, and the one before that.
Her hunger and impatience were now joined by a jolt of panic.
The longer she walked for, the further she was from home.
And the further she was from home, the greater the chances of her getting lost.
Should she call Tracey?
And say what?
Hi, I’m by myself and can’t even find a place to have dinner, please save me.
The thought alone made her cringe with shame.
No.
She could do this.
She was a capable young woman, who simply needed to make a decision.
‘Excuse me.’
Olivia stopped abruptly as a man appeared out of thin air in front of her. For someone so large he seemed to have
moved with surprising ease, his protruding stomach almost closing the gap between them. ‘You look a little lost.’
‘Erm … not lost
per se. Just …’ Olivia took a step back, introducing some space between her and the man’s pot belly. ‘Just looking for somewhere good to eat.’
At her words the man jumped into the air, his entire body quivering in the aftermath.
‘Oh wow, do I have the place for you! My restaurant here does the best curry in Jaipur.’ He nodded towards a white-painted building to his left. It was brightly lit, and the interior was simple but modern-looking. ‘Come, you look starving.’
Olivia peered through the window; there were only two men sitting inside, neither of whom had any food in front of them yet for her to inspect. It did look clean, she supposed – empty, but at least clean.
‘I’ll do you a good price,’ the man coaxed gently, sensing Olivia’s resistance waning.
‘I don’t know.’ She tried to get a better view, craning her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of the kitchen, but it was hidden out of sight.
‘Do you like spice?’
‘Not really, no.’
‘Great!’ The man seemed thrilled. ‘We can make anything you like with only a little spice. We will cater to all your needs. In fact, we can cook omelette, chips, cheese sandwich. We can do it all!’
His desperation should probably have been a red flag for Olivia, but her curiosity got the better of her.
‘I don’t suppose you do stuffed paratha with your curries?’
If the man could have burst with excitement, Olivia was
sure he would have. ‘Yes! Oh yes, it’s one of our top specialities.’
Olivia tried to find another excuse, another reason to question her choice, but she had nothing. She was so hungry that her brain had all but given up rational thought.
‘OK, fine.’ She nodded. ‘I’ll have a table for one.’
‘Fantastic!’ The man was so overjoyed Olivia thought he was about to hug her; instead, he opened the door and ushered her inside. ‘Great choice, madam, you will not regret it. I promise you will not regret it.’