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She grabbed hold of the balloons and me as she fell and the whole structure wobbled alarmingly and nearly toppled over. There was the disappointing sound of balloons bursting like gunfire around the reception deck. A lot of people turned open-mouthed to look, and then most of them laughed.
‘You want to take some water with it,’ one wag shouted at her.
Diana blushed furiously and I helped her to her feet.
The helpful crew members righted the balloon arch again with many soothing and reassuring noises.
Order was restored and the photographer crinkled his brown eyes at us again.
‘Ça va? Are you okay? You look fine. No problem. No damage done. Just a few of the balloons. Lovely, look up ladies. This is supposed to be fun.’
Hmm, I wasn’t so concerned that I couldn’t appreciate a rather seductive French accent when I heard one.
He then apparently lost interest as the next couple were guided forward from the log jam of people that had gathered behind us during the chaos of our arrival.
‘Well, he was rather splendid,’ Diana said, favouring him with a backwards glance as we moved on towards the reception desk.
‘If you like that sort of thing, you know, tall, tanned, bit of a silver fox going on,’ I said. ‘And French, by the sounds of it.’
‘The Voyage Première line is French operated, remember? By the time Casper retired, he was fluent. When he was home on leave he sometimes used to ask for his meals in French, and it used to make me go a bit wobbly.’
‘That “stepping on the ship with your right foot for luck” didn’t work then?’
‘Oh, shut up!’
I snorted down a laugh and after a moment, Diana joined in.
We went over to the reception desk and after a few moments were given two plastic cards in a cardboard folder.
‘We’re off!’ I said. ‘Come on. Last one there’s a cissy!’
The Avanti might have been spacious yet intimate, but the corridors on the eleventh floor stretched ahead of us for miles, with acres of blue carpet patterned with the occasional green dolphin. There was little sign that anyone else was on board. After the bustle of the queue in the security hangar, it was also strangely quiet.
‘Are we going the right way?’
Diana pointed to the carpet. ‘See the dolphins in the pattern? They always point to the front of the ship.’
‘Good tip. Where has everyone gone? Do you think we are missing something already?’ I whispered.
‘I expect people are unpacking, or there will be a gathering somewhere,’ Diana said. ‘There always used to be a sail-off party.’
After a few failed attempts to access our room when I tried the key card the wrong way round, we were in.
‘For goodness’ sake, what’s the matter with using actual keys? Why does everything have to be so complicated?’
‘You shouldn’t keep them near your phone,’ Diana said, ‘something to do with wiping the signal. Someone told me that. And then you have to go to the purser’s desk and get it re-charged.’
There were twin beds, a tiny shower with complimentary and expensive-looking toiletries, a card announcing, ‘an extensive pillow menu’, a cramped sitting area with a glamorous flower arrangement and a swirly, monogrammed card. BVP With the compliments of the Bretagne Voyage Première cruise line. And then there were double doors that opened onto a tiny balcony where there was just enough room for two chairs and a table. Most excitingly, there was also a bottle of sparkling wine in an ice bucket.
I let out the breath I had been holding. The cabin was small but stylish, and different from what I had expected.
‘What do you think?’ I asked.
Diana took a deep breath. ‘It’s strangely familiar. This is excellent, although we might have to move round by numbers. Casper always used to have a decent-sized cabin because he was the captain, but you should see some of the crew’s quarters. They are much smaller than this. Bunk beds and no room to swing a cat, and they get inspections to make sure they are keeping them tidy. I’m glad they haven’t shoved us in one of those just because we aren’t paying. You don’t still snore, do you?’
‘I don’t think so, but I have been sleeping in the spare room recently because Eddy has a cold and he can rattle the walls when he gets going. Anyway, once he falls asleep nothing disturbs him, so it’s a very long time since I had the chance for anyone to tell me. Do you?’
‘Ditto. Probably.’
