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Sex life; yes, I dimly remember that. It wasn’t as though Eddy and I didn’t enjoy it when the mood took us, but there were always so many other things to distract us. The boys or work or a slate falling off the roof. And over the last few months the prospect and paperwork involved with Eddy’s retirement which seemed to drag on for ages and made him very irritable. I’d thought he would have enjoyed the freedom, looking forward to getting away from all the financial chaos of the banking industry and the muppets in head office, but perhaps he hadn’t. Was Eddy, like me, feeling a bit undervalued and rudderless? I’d have to do something about that, for both our sakes.
‘Breakfast,’ I said, finishing my tea. ‘Let’s get some.’
We got ready in double-quick time and made our way to the Amité buffet restaurant where the noise through the swing doors greeted us like a wall of sound. There were people everywhere scurrying around with trays, mugs of coffee and plates of all sorts of breakfast.
We found a quiet table in an alcove, left our bags, and went off to explore. There was everything any hungry traveller could wish for, even though we were going to be at sea all day, so it wasn’t as though anyone was going to be mountaineering or running marathons. Fruit, waffles, cooked breakfast, cereals, toast, muffins, cheese slices and cold meats laid out in geometric patterns. I had two Danish pastries and a glass jar of blueberry yoghurt. Diana returned a few minutes later with some pancakes, bacon, and maple syrup in a small jug.
‘You’d never chose that at home, would you?’ I said.
‘Of course not. That’s why I’m having it here,’ she replied.
I looked around. ‘I wonder where Evelyn has got to? Perhaps she is having breakfast in her cabin. I wonder if she really is travelling on her own. She’s very brave if that’s the case.’
‘I wouldn’t go on holiday by myself,’ Diana said. ‘I’d be afraid everyone was looking at me and pitying me. Wouldn’t you?’
‘You’re worrying about nothing. Be realistic, at our age, people hardly notice us at all.’
She nodded. ‘Perhaps you’re right.’
‘We would make good spies if you think about it. A lot of older women with the secret blueprints hidden in the boot of the car under a load of supermarket bags for life. And a gun in their handbag, in one of the many zipped-up pockets with the house keys and a mini pack of tissues.’
There were trolleys of new food choices being wheeled out from the kitchen all the time, which caused some of our fellow cruisers to panic. Were they missing out? Was there something better on the other side of the restaurant?
‘Can you imagine preparing all this food every day?’ I said, watching two men glaring at each other over a tray of sausages.
‘No, I usually have toast and Marmite,’ Diana said, ‘or nothing.’
‘Me too.’
‘Amité means friendship, doesn’t it? Not much friendship going on over there by those poached eggs. Any more jostling and there’s going to be a fist fight.’
We watched for a few moments as two elderly ladies tried to nudge each other out of the way with their handbags.
‘Ah! Good morning, ladies.’
We looked up to see Raphaël Duclos standing beside our table.
‘You aren’t taking pictures of us eating, are you? I thought we had discussed this,’ I said.
He held up his hands. ‘Absolutely not. I just wondered when you would be available for our next photographic event.’
‘Hard to say,’ I said, pointing at the ship’s timetable of events on the table in front of me, ‘we might be line dancing or fruit carving.’
He nodded and smiled. ‘Avanti just wishes there to be pictures of you enjoying life onboard. I promise they will not spoil your enjoyment of the cruise.’
‘Perhaps we should have a proper session in your studio,’ I suggested.
Diana sent me a meaningful glare which I ignored.
‘That would be perfect. But perhaps the fruit carving too? Activities can be very photogenic?’
‘Not with me doing them,’ Diana murmured.
‘Or me,’ I agreed.
I’d been known to damage myself slicing a cucumber.
Raphaël looked at his watch. ‘Then I will see you in the activity kitchen at ten thirty?’
