Chapter 28
ERIN
Their hotel room in Toronto was pricey and so was the room service but they’d pushed themselves hard and needed to have some comfort before the final rush to Niagara Falls in the morning.
Erin was a little worried about her nana on the last bus journey.
Two was a lot, three was probably a bit stupid and Martha was looking exhausted.
It was odd to be in a big city after all the open countryside and wilderness they’d been through.
Skyscrapers had replaced the mountains of the early part of their journey and intersecting roads replaced the rivers.
It was busy, frenetic and loud. Erin was glad they wouldn’t be here for long.
It was also raining which didn’t help their walk to the hotel from the bus station.
They ate quickly, not managing to finish all the pasta they’d promised themselves but giving it their best shot regardless. Two big bowls of tagliatelle with a rich creamy mushroom sauce arrived and it was delicious. Then Erin was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
In the morning, she woke early to the sound of her grandmother singing in the shower.
Martha must be feeling a lot better. Erin was relieved.
It was too easy to think that because Martha was so driven and adventurous, she wouldn’t struggle with the physicality of the challenge.
She was seventy and fit but they had covered thousands of miles on this trip of a lifetime and it was beginning to take its toll.
Erin lay back on her bed and thought about Sam.
She wondered where he was, how he was doing and if he was thinking about her.
‘We need to think about what’s next,’ he had told her after that kiss in Winnipeg.
He’d sounded serious and had such an intensity in his eyes.
Erin had said that yes, they should, but for now they needed to concentrate on the race.
Harrison and Martha were taking it very seriously and Sam and Erin both agreed to keep whatever was happening between them completely to themselves.
Then Sam had pulled her back to him again and this time their kiss was deeper and more urgent.
It was Erin who had pulled away. It went against everything she was feeling but they had to get back to reality, so, reluctantly, they had walked back to the bus station and were greeted by such enthusiasm from Cally and Noah, Gaz and Rita.
Their return was filmed and Erin tried her hardest to appear unruffled but all she wanted to do was to hold Sam’s hand and have him close to her.
She got up off the bed now and repacked her bag. They’d be at the checkpoint in Niagara Falls today and could enjoy thirty-six hours of luxury hotel at the production company’s expense. And, more importantly, she’d see Sam again. She was eager to get the first bus.
For once the bus options were plentiful and fairly cheap. It was just over an hour and a half to get to Niagara.
‘It will drop you four kilometres short of the falls themselves. You can jump on the WEGO bus going south,’ the woman selling the tickets told them. ‘So, that’s fifty-four dollars for you both.’
‘That’s actually a good price,’ Martha said and went to reach for the money belt. Erin watched as she remembered too late that it was round Erin’s waist. ‘Go ahead.’
Martha stepped back and Erin wondered if she was really happy about giving up her control. She guessed she probably wasn’t. Erin handed over the cash and by seven they were on their way.
At eight-thirty they arrived at the Niagara Falls bus terminal and they lumbered off with their bags, Erin still eating a banana she’d taken from the breakfast buffet. The wait for the WEGO bus was only eight minutes and for the first time, Erin thought about the checkpoint.
‘I’d cheerfully forfeit first place on the next two legs for first place on the final one,’ she said, and Martha agreed.
‘That’s the only time it will really count, but if we’re lucky and have a good lead on the others, then it will keep us in with a chance. We need to keep our eye on the money, though. The last thing we want to do is to run out.’
Quietly, Erin thought that either Harrison and Sam or Femi and Liz were the strongest contenders.
They’d probably be quicker if it ended up in a running race at the end.
Over the last few weeks, Erin felt her fitness levels increasing with all the effort she’d put in, but she really didn’t think Martha or even herself for that matter would win in a sprint for the finish line.
The shuttle bus to the falls was perfectly on time and as they got aboard, the tracker peeped in Erin’s bag.
Make your way to the Table Rock Welcome Centre
‘Right,’ Martha said. ‘Come on, let’s do this. If you see anyone else, get ready to run.’
The bus dropped them almost outside for once.
It wouldn’t be much of a race even if there were any other contestants about, but there was no one.
No one in the race, that was, because there were masses of other tourists.
Erin and Martha fought their way through the throng outside the centre and then the tracker beeped again.
Go up the steps to the Horseshoe Landing Patio
This actually involved walking through the building and back outside to where they were both momentarily distracted by the magnificent waterfall right in front of them. And it wasn’t the only one.
‘Did you know there was more than one waterfall?’ Erin asked her grandmother.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I did, but for now let’s get signed in.’
The steps were to their left and the two women held hands as they walked to the top with Noah hot on their heels.
Cally had arrived and she hung back. Erin looked at her expression.
Was she smiling because they were first?
It was hard to tell. Both Cally and Noah would know, of course. All of this was for show.
There on a table was the book and Erin reached out a tentative hand to open it.
‘We so deserve to be first on this leg,’ she said. ‘After all the overnight travel on uncomfortable buses, I will be gutted if we’re last.’
She turned to the first page and it was blank.
‘Oh my God!’ Erin shrieked. ‘Nana, we’re first.’
Erin grabbed Martha in a hug and ignored her grandmother’s flinch at Erin’s choice of name.
They held on to each other for a moment and then pulled apart.
Martha had tears in her eyes and Erin knew, of course, she’d be thinking about Clare.
Erin held her breath and prayed her nana wouldn’t say anything.
Erin wanted them to have this moment for themselves, just the two of them.
They alone had earned it. For the first time in the race, she started to wonder, to dare, they might win.
‘We need to save this joy for the last leg,’ Martha said. ‘We still have two more to go, you know.’
‘Yeah, but just for now, I’m going to indulge myself and be delighted,’ Erin said. ‘Can we go and look at the waterfalls?’
They walked back down the steps and over to the railings that separated them from the gallons of water that were gushing below them. Noah followed with his camera and Cally appeared beside him.
‘You might like to say something poignant here,’ Cally said. ‘Let the viewers know what it means to come first for the first time in this race so far.’
Erin tensed up at the thought. It was weird, all this acting. It just didn’t come naturally to her and she looked to Martha for inspiration. Martha’s eyes were misty again and Erin knew she had to take charge before her nana did.
‘This is so beautiful,’ she said as she looked down towards the water and then back up to the camera.
She slid her arm around Martha’s shoulders and pulled her close.
‘It means so much to come first. We raced hard to get to this checkpoint and I think we have earned that place. It was Martha who encouraged me to join her on this race. I’m well known for not being as adventurous as others in my life but maybe now, I might be seen as a little more daring, a little more worthy. Really, I just hope I’m enough.’
Erin smiled into the camera but she could feel her grandmother’s gaze on the side of her face.