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Twenty minutes later we were in Messina, the deck hands shouting in the clear morning air as they threw ropes onto the quayside and started unloading the cars.
Raphaël went into the tourist information office and within minutes we were in a taxi, heading along the side of the harbour where suddenly we saw the reassuring, familiar bulk of the Avanti, and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief.
‘So, our unexpected adventure is over,’ Evelyn said, handing over a wad of euros to the taxi driver. ‘I have to say it turned out rather well, don’t you think?’
‘It did, thanks to Raphaël and Genova of course,’ Diana said rather emotionally. ‘I don’t know how we can ever thank you.’
‘Let me take a proper picture of you,’ he said after a moment, ‘to celebrate.’
‘We were going to do that anyway, weren’t we?’ I said.
Diana thought about it and then looked up at him through her lashes.
‘We’d love to.’
Getting back on board felt like a celebration in itself and it wasn’t long before we were back in our suite and reassuring Alfred – who had apparently been beside himself with worry – that we were none the worse for our escapades. The daily newsletter was on the table – apparently we had missed the Argentine ventriloquist – and there were some extra chocolates on our pillows from the cabin staff.
We left Messina late that afternoon, and we missed out on seeing what I was sure was an interesting place. But perhaps having been left behind by the ship once, none of us was prepared to risk having the same thing happen again.
‘Do you realise after this that we only have a few days left of our holiday?’ I said. ‘We get to Santorini tomorrow, and then on to Athens. And then the plane home. It will be odd to leave the ship, say goodbye to Evelyn and go back to the real world where we have to do the cooking and clearing up ourselves, won’t it?’
We had both had a shower and were sitting in our towelling robes, drinking coffee and eating yet more Bear Claw pastries, which had to be my new favourite, despite their size and calorific value.
Diana brushed some crumbs off her chin. ‘It will. You know, I didn’t really think I would enjoy this trip as much as I have. It’s been completely different from what I was used to. From what I was expecting. Even missing the boat was okay in the end, wasn’t it? Although I don’t think I will forget that drive in a hurry. It wouldn’t have been like that with Casper. I would never have heard the last of it.’
I sighed. ‘Well, he’s not here. And Evelyn and I are perhaps not quite so rigid. If we can’t do something daft at our age, when can we? And by the way, that means you have limited time left, so you are going to have to get on with things.’
‘What things?’
‘Raphaël. It’s obvious he likes you, and you like him. I mean, you’ve already kissed him, so you got that out of the way. And he wants to take your picture. Perhaps he will ask you to take off your clothes and be artistic.’
Diana snorted with laughter, but she didn’t say anything about what a daft idea it was and how she would never do that sort of thing.
‘Perhaps you should,’ I said encouragingly, ‘have one of those boudoir shots, where you look all sultry and sexy.’
‘Jill, it would take a lot of filters for that,’ she sighed at last.
But she hadn’t said no. That was interesting. I wondered not for the first time what was going on in my sister’s head.
We had been so close once we could have discussed anything, but her years with Casper had given her a veneer of reticence. Was that what happened to everyone? Was I like that? Hiding my true feelings. Worrying too much about what people thought of me all the time?
I thought about it for a moment. So many people knew a version of me, the one I presented to the world. I wasn’t actually like that inside. I was still somehow the same noisy kid who had gradually learned how to be a grown up. And to be honest all this adulting business wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
‘Anyway, you’re the one with the bosom, not me,’ Diana said after a few minutes. ‘I was behind the door when they gave out those.’
‘Perhaps you should have a boob job if it bothers you. Although I can tell you, if you do, finding a comfortable bra afterwards is almost impossible.’
Diana took a bite of her pastry, a strange new determination on her face.
‘I might,’ she said, ‘but, do you know, I think I need a face lift too. I’ve got a bit saggy around the chin over the last few years. And if I did it would be for me, not for anyone else I can assure you. I just wish I had appreciated being young a bit more when I actually was young.’
Good heavens, this was a turn up for the books and no mistake. My sister considering cosmetic surgery.
She took a swig of her coffee. ‘Well, okay, being realistic I might not do either of those things but before anyone points a camera at me, I’m going to go to the spa for a haircut,’ she said. ‘I decided on the drive down last night. After that snooze I had in the car, I think there was a fair amount of dog fur in there too, from that blanket, which didn’t help. And Evelyn mentioned someone who works there, and she said she would have a word so she would fit me in. I’m sick of messing about with all this hair, and I’ve never been any good at it. You’d think at my age I would have learned, but I’m just as clueless as I was at fifteen. And all I do is tie it back, sometimes with rubber bands which the postman drops on the ground by the front door.’
‘It’s always glamour with you, isn’t it?’
Diana laughed. And then she did something which she hadn’t done for a long time. She reached over, put her arms around me and gave me a hug.
