Chapter 8
ERIN
Carol and Jack dropped them off at a service station with tickets booked for the ferry leaving the next day. They swapped phone numbers with them and promised to keep in touch.
‘I feel like we helped you win,’ Carol said, and Jack laughed.
‘Well, we are very grateful,’ Martha said before they drove away.
Erin looked around at the faces of the people coming and going from the service station shop and half expected to see her fellow contestants but, of course, there wasn’t anyone she knew.
‘Don’t forget,’ Martha said when Erin mentioned this.
‘There are lots of different options. Some may have got the ferry to Vancouver Island and done an island hop. Some may have splurged on public transport and will spend hours, days even, waiting for connections. The chances of seeing anyone until we get to Prince Rupert is slim to none.’
Erin was feeling positive again after the shaky start.
Racing with her grandmother was proving to be fun so far but she had to push the thought of seeing Sam at the ferry port to the back of her mind.
She toyed with the idea of telling Martha about Sam but decided against it.
How could she find the words to explain how she’d made Martha sound like a bit of a joke.
My grandmother was tricked by a man who’d seduced her and she missed her train, she’s holding onto a five-decade old grudge, she’s not as adventurous as she used to be.
Erin swallowed down the shame. For now, only positivity was needed and a confession from her would not help anyone.
‘I need to get inside and wash my hands,’ Erin said. ‘They’re covered in King slobber.’
‘I’ll leave you to it for a bit and catch up with Cally,’ Noah said. ‘Don’t leave without me.’
They used the facilities and then went to buy something to eat. Everything was so expensive and Erin couldn’t bear to part with their limited cash for a nice lunch.
‘How about we buy a couple of packets of cheap crackers and biscuits and then we can nibble on the go. I’m not all that hungry to be honest. I filled up with the free breakfast at the hotel this morning. We should have thought to grab some things from the buffet.’
‘Agreed about the crackers and biscuits,’ Martha said. ‘Let’s see how much further we can get today and then hopefully we can find a hostel or a cheap motel that might provide a meal later on.’
‘It’s so weird not knowing whether we have a bed for the night,’ Erin said.
‘We could stay here tonight if you’re more comfortable. At least we know there are options. What do you think?’
‘No, I’d like to get further. That ferry is a long way off and I want to be on it when it sails.’
‘That’s my girl,’ Martha said, and she had an expression on her face that meant she was thinking about Clare. Erin could always tell. It was in that slightly misty-eyed look of hers.
It took an hour to get a lift in the end. They took it in turns to approach people filling up with fuel to see who was going north and who might be happy to take them. A man called Logan with a small truck offered for them to ride in his cab with him if they pitched in a few dollars for fuel.
‘I’m going to Cache Creek,’ he said. ‘It’s lonely driving on my own. I’d enjoy the company.’
Martha got out the map and got him to locate the place. It was a three-hour drive and would get them 216 kilometres closer to Prince Rupert.
‘I have a friend who runs a hostel. I can drop you there if you like,’ Logan said.
‘That would be great,’ said Erin. ‘Are all Canadians this lovely?’
‘Most,’ he said. ‘I’d give the bears a wide berth, though.’
He chuckled as he helped them load their bags into the back of his truck and the two women climbed into the seats behind him. Noah climbed into the passenger seat.
‘Is this okay?’ he asked Logan. ‘I can get some footage of the journey.’
‘All good, man,’ Logan said.
It was three o’clock as they pulled away from the service station and Erin grinned as she turned to Martha.
‘This is actually turning out to be a lot of fun,’ she said.
‘There will be tough moments. We’ve been lucky so far but we have a long way to go,’ said Martha. ‘Don’t get too excited too quickly.’
‘Yeah, but whatever is thrown at us, I’m glad we’re doing it together.’
Erin then imagined watching this back when it was aired and she just knew they would splice this segment together with a moment of disaster or dejection. She’d seen enough reality TV shows to know how it worked.
They left Whistler, passing a lake so still, it was almost impossible to tell the reflection from the reality of the land above it.
Logan told them it was called Green Lake.
Erin took out the journal she’d brought with her and began to record their progress on their journey.
It was nice to have paper and a pen rather than making notes on her phone for a change.
It really made her think about what she wanted to say.
They had a small camera with them as well that Erin had bought for the trip.
She wanted to capture as many pictures as she could.
It was unlikely she’d ever do anything like this again.
‘If you ladies are into cross-country mountain biking, there’s a challenging trail just through there,’ Logan said, pointing into the trees bordering the side of the road. ‘It’s called “Kill Me, Thrill Me”.’
‘Definitely not our thing,’ Erin said, and Martha laughed.
‘I’ve always considered myself to be a person who embraces a challenge,’ she said. ‘But not that one.’
They could see a lot more on this leg of the journey as the cab on Logan’s truck was up slightly higher than Carol and Jack’s motorhome and there weren’t curtains on the windows.
The road seemed endless and they had moved away from the sea but spent a while following the length of a river.
The mountains never seemed to change around them.
As soon as they passed one, another popped up behind it.
The tops were still covered in snow, even though it was late in May and gondolas were sailing high above their heads, carrying tourists up into the mountains.
Erin hadn’t ever seen so many fir trees in her life.
‘People aren’t still skiing now, are they?’ she asked Logan.
‘Yeah, some resorts offer high-alpine skiing up to June, and even into July,’ he said. ‘If you have snow, you have folks willing to slide down the mountain on it.’
They settled back into the journey and Martha nodded off with her head on Erin’s shoulder. It had been an intensive few hours so far and the comfort of the truck must have lulled her into resting. Noah turned off his camera and laid it down in his lap.
‘So,’ he said, glancing back at Martha for a moment, ‘what’s the story with Martha and Harrison?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Erin tried to keep her expression steady. She had no intention of spilling the tea to anyone else.
‘Oh, come on. The look she gave him at the dinner last night was murderous. He won the race that first time, didn’t he? Is she hanging on to a fifty-year-old resentment?’
Erin forced out a laugh. ‘Hardly. My grandmother is made of stronger stuff than that.’
Noah just looked at her sceptically and then after a moment he turned his attention back out of the windscreen.
‘The camera never lies,’ he said.
At times they were climbing higher into the mountains and there was nothing but firs, fast-moving water and sky.
Then they would pass a small town or village and the trees would soften, there would be grass, roadside gas stations and long, low motels.
But the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains would always create a backdrop.
As they got closer to Cache Creek, though, the land opened up and became flatter.
Gone were most of the firs and everything seemed drier, more covered in grass and scrub.
True to his word, Logan dropped them off at a motel on the side of the road, just a short walk to a gas station.
The owner, Michelle, was kind and helpful.
She offered to put out a message on Facebook to see if anyone was prepared to drive ‘two lovely ladies’ to Prince Rupert, leaving early, in exchange for money for fuel.
She also said she would ask if any of her guests were heading in that direction.
It was a huge ask. A journey of about 1,000 kilometres that would take a good thirteen hours.
It was similar to asking for a lift from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, something Erin wouldn’t even consider normally.
Martha said that a backup plan would be to hire a car which would cost them about $170 for the day, according to Michelle.
‘We will need to spend money on this journey,’ Martha said.
‘We won’t be able to rely on the kindness of strangers all the way but it’s great we’ve managed to get lifts so far.
We could think about working for a few hours in exchange for a meal or a bed for the night too.
We have to be resourceful. I imagine public transport will be easier once we get further west. I think this leg of the journey is to unsettle us or to get us to spend a lot of cash and make it harder the further we go. ’
Michelle didn’t offer food but did direct them to a place where they could get a good burger after Erin said that was what she was craving.
They stuffed themselves with the biggest burgers on the menu and shared a bowl of fries before wandering back to the motel with the intention of flopping down on their beds and falling straight to sleep.
‘I’ve got you a lift as far as Kitwanga,’ Michelle said as soon as they walked into the reception area. She was hopping from one foot to the other excitedly. Like a child. But she looked so cheerful it made Erin smile.
‘Really? That’s brilliant,’ Erin said, with no clue as to where Kitwanga actually was. She looked to Martha to see if she knew.
‘Who’s prepared to take us all the way there?’ Martha asked as she pulled out the map.
‘A woman who is heading up into the Yukon. She can drop you en route at Kitwanga if you’re happy to pitch in with her fuel.
She’s looking for eighty dollars which is a lot cheaper than a car hire but leaves you 240 kilometres short of your target.
There is a bus that runs between Kitwanga and Prince Rupert, though,’ Michelle said.
‘We’re here and Kitwanga is there,’ Martha said to Erin, her finger on a place tantalisingly close to Prince Rupert.
Martha had spread the map across the front desk but Michelle didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she seemed very invested in their journey.
‘If someone is prepared to take us all that way for eighty dollars then I think we will accept, gratefully,’ Erin said.
‘She wants to leave at five,’ said Michelle with a theatrical wince.
‘Do you happen to know what time the bus leaves Kitwanga?’ Martha asked.
Michelle tapped away on her computer and then turned the screen around so they could see.
‘It’s a bus that only runs twice a week, but you’re in luck as it goes at three thirty tomorrow afternoon. It gets into Prince Rupert at six thirty. What time does your ferry leave?’
‘Ten,’ Erin said. ‘God, even leaving at five it’s going to be tight to catch that bus.’
‘I don’t think we can ask this kind woman to leave any earlier,’ Martha said. ‘If it looks like we might not get the bus, then we try for a car share in Kitwanga or we get a taxi. I am not missing that ferry. Thank you so much, Michelle, you’re an absolute star.’
They flopped down on their beds, exhausted after only one day of travel. Erin didn’t want to think about the many days they had ahead of them. She glanced across at Martha who was already heading into sleep.
‘Nana,’ she said gently. ‘We need to do teeth and get PJs on. You’ll regret it in the morning if you fall asleep in your clothes.’
‘I know, you’re right,’ Martha said sleepily and then pushed herself up off the bed and walked into the small bathroom.
Erin noticed a slight wobble as she went. Her knee perhaps, or just tiredness? She really had to remember that Martha was seventy and as much as it suited Erin to see her as the boss, the strong woman who held everything together, she also knew she herself would have to step up on this journey.