Chapter Three #2
Leticia struck up a conversation with Henry and they learned that he was a retired schoolteacher – a department head, who’d taught history at a grammar school in Skipton.
Henry admitted that he’d loved his job and missed it.
He spoke fondly of his classroom years, recalling lively debates about historical events and his satisfaction in helping students learn.
‘I miss the routine,’ Henry admitted, ‘and also the camaraderie of colleagues and the sometime chaos of school life. Teaching gave me a purpose in a way that few other things have in the years that have followed.’
Jim was fascinated and told Henry that he envied him. ‘My career was in computers,’ Jim said, ‘I didn’t really enjoy it, though it gave me a decent living, and it is refreshing to hear from someone who loved his job and made such a difference to young lives.’
When they learned that Joy had been a teacher too, at a secondary school in Lancaster, Jim proposed a toast.
‘To teachers,’ he stuttered, ‘the guiding lights who inspire our futures.’
Kenneth looked bored but soon perked up when Barbara announced that after leaving the diplomatic service, her husband was in international finance, and they’d lived all over the world.
‘Yes, Hong Kong, Dubai, Jo’burg and a long stint in Zurich,’ Kenneth sighed, ‘all gruelling stuff.’ He shook his head. ‘Let’s face it, you’ve not lived until you’ve negotiated a bond deal in Mandarin. A bit different to staid old Skipton, eh Henry?’ Kenneth stared at Henry.
Joy wondered what international finance meant and presumed it involved laundering money and hedge funds. She turned to Kenneth and asked, ‘What exactly did you do?’
‘Started as a junior officer in the British Diplomatic Service and was posted to various embassies,’ Kenneth replied. ‘Worked my way up with a bit of this and that, trade negotiations here, political reporting there …’
Barbara butted in. ‘When Kenny left government, he moved into the lucrative private sector, joining a merchant bank in the City.’ She smiled smugly, no doubt concealing the fact that her husband had greased many palms to nudge regimes into taking on loans, keeping his kickbacks safely offshore.
‘Ah yes,’ Kenneth sighed, ‘my international contacts and knowledge of local politics were invaluable in negotiating finance and managing debt deals.’
It sounded improbable, and everyone stared, clearly wondering if Kenneth had spent decades drinking other people’s whisky, shuffling papers, and collecting frequent flyer airmiles.
When the main course arrived, Kenneth picked up his knife and poked at his steak before taking a bite and half-heartedly chewing. ‘Not like the steak we had at Don Julio in Palermo, is it Babs?’ he said. ‘Argentinians worship their beef and know how to serve it.’
Leticia smiled at Jim. ‘We enjoyed the Wagyu in Japan,’ she commented, raising her glass to her husband.
‘Yes, the Kobe melted like silk,’ Jim replied.
Joy remembered an episode of MasterChef where Kobe beef had been revered by Michelin-starred chefs, and she turned to Leticia and Jim. ‘Japan holds the crown for the most expensive steak in the world. How amazing that you got to try Wagyu.’
Kenneth had been upstaged and swiftly steered the conversation away from meat and back to wine one-upmanship instead.
As Kenneth droned on, Joy looked at Henry, who was quietly eating his meal. She hoped he hadn’t taken offence to Kenneth’s comment, and when Henry looked up, she gave him a hesitant smile.
To her surprise, he returned her smile with a wink.
Feeling her cheeks flush, Joy took a sip of iced water. Wanting to know more about the couple on her right, she turned to Jim and asked what job he did with computers.
‘I was a programmer,’ Jim explained.
‘Ah, a geek!’ Kenneth rudely chirped up.
‘And I was a nurse,’ Leticia added.
‘You still are,’ Jim said, reaching for Leticia’s hand. Raising her fingers to his lips, he kissed them tenderly.
Joy watched Barbara as she stared at the couple, noting the kiss.
‘My goodness, all this talk of work makes me weary,’ Barbara said.
She’d finished her meal and now drained her wine.
‘Let’s talk about the cruise and the trips we’re going on when we get to Molde, our first stop.
’ She pushed her plate to one side. ‘We’ve chartered a boat for our own private cruise of the fjords. What’s everyone else doing?’
Joy wondered why Barbara and Kenneth didn’t take advantage of the wonderful tours offered through the Emerald Dream guest services but assumed that they didn’t want to mix with the passengers going ashore in Molde.
‘I’m looking forward to the coach trip along the Atlantic Ocean Road,’ Henry said, ‘I understand it to be one of the world’s most beautiful drives, and I’m hoping to photograph wildlife.’
‘You’ll see plenty of wildlife on the coach.’ Kenneth chuckled. ‘Babs and I prefer to be more independent.’
‘Jim and I are going to travel on the Rauma Railway,’ Leticia said. ‘There’s a lunch included too.’
Kenneth turned to Joy. ‘And what about you, old girl?’ he asked. ‘You’ll be staying put on the ship, I suppose?’
Joy bristled. She didn’t enjoy being called ‘old girl’ and being patronised. Despite her years, she didn’t consider sixty-three to be old, nor did she take kindly to Kenneth’s assumption that she wasn’t adventurous enough to step off the ship.
Taking a deep breath, Joy said, ‘Actually, Kenny, this old girl is looking forward to the trip that Henry is taking, and I can’t wait to see the eight-kilometre stretch of road that links the islands with so many breathtaking bridges.
’ Joy paused. ‘But then again, your trip with Babs to the fjords will be stunning. Let’s hope it doesn’t snow, and the icy Molde Mist, which is almost certain at this time of year, obliterates the view during your private excursion. ’
Joy saw Barbara’s eyes narrow, and her plumped-up lips press into a tight smile. Had Barbara realised that Kenneth might have misread the private tour information when he booked it?
Barbara declined a dessert and told Kenneth he shouldn’t overindulge either.
Taking his arm, they rose. ‘Mustn’t be late for the show,’ Barbara said.
Short in stature, she barely reached Kenneth’s shoulder.
‘Simon, the cruise director, has reserved seats for us at the front,’ she added smugly.
‘Enjoy the rest of your evening, everyone.’
With a curt nod that raised the fringe of his toupee, Kenneth guided the couple out of the dining room.
‘It’s a good job the ship is steady tonight,’ Leticia mused, ‘I’d hate to be around Kenneth’s hairpiece during a storm. More prosecco, Joy?’
Joy stifled a laugh and saw that Henry was smiling, too.
‘What’s the Molde Mist?’ Henry asked, ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
‘Neither have I.’ Joy shrugged and tipped back her glass to drain it. ‘I made it up.’
Henry stared open-mouthed at Joy, but Leticia and Jim had begun to laugh. Seconds later, Joy heard Henry laugh, too.
As Joy watched her dinner companions, she experienced a strange sensation, as though her long forgotten sense of humour had woken within. Like a flicker of light from a room darkened for too long, Joy felt a tiny glimmer of hope.
And tonight, for Joy, that was enough.