by Ruth Hay
“Oh, Philip! That’s what I want too! We have a lot of catching up to do and we’ve only spent minutes together so far. We need a good spell of time to get to know each other.”
“Agreed! What about it? Will you be in Oban at all?”
Anna groaned inside. The timing was bad for her. She had stuck close to Alina all winter while they worked out how their A Plus business could be adapted to Alina’s new circumstances and now that summer had arrived, it was their first chance to relax and enjoy the sunshine with Susan and Maria.
“I really wish I could travel Philip, but I need to be with Alina at the moment and I really wasn’t planning to go to Scotland until late fall, at the earliest.”
“Ah, I remember your friend has eyesight difficulties, Anna. I understand your concern. The fall is too late for me to meet up with you as I will be heavily into plans for the next stage of the hotel development.” Philip paused for a moment.
“Unfortunately, the summer is out of the question for me also. I have a number of UK-based projects I must attend to.”
Silence fell over the line as both Anna and Philip absorbed this information. Anna recovered first.
“Philip, I am increasingly conscious of time passing as I get older and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to meet with you. Both our lives are busy and complicated but there must be a way to solve this problem.”
“I am sure you are right! Let’s give it some thought and talk again when either of us can see a way.”
Before Anna could say goodbye, the line went dead. She was not surprised. Philip’s social skills were not the most advanced she had ever encountered. He seemed more comfortable when talking about architecture. Suddenly discovering a new Canadian family when he had been estranged for years from his own sister, Lynn, and her family in Sussex, was probably a bit too much for him.
Simon had reported to Anna that his visit with Philip had been cut short. Simon thought his children and grandchildren were more than Philip could take all at once and he had fled the scene before he was overwhelmed.
Although she wondered what would happen on an extended visit with Philip, Anna was determined to see for herself if Philip’s attitude was based on his nature or just the fact that he had spent many years estranged from his parents and sister and removed from normal family life.
She remembered James and Caroline’s account of their first meeting with Caroline’s great-uncle Philip in the Lake District hotel. Neither one of the teenagers was impressed by his attitude to them. He seemed to have some strange and negative ideas about young people and it wasn’t until Caroline stood up to him and attempted to correct his behaviour to James that things had settled down and he had agreed to accompany them to Anna’s house in Scotland.
“Well, I’ll let the situation rest for now,” Anna concluded. “Perhaps something will occur when I sleep on it.” She was a believer in the power of the unconscious mind to continue to work on problems during the night. More than once she had awakened with part of a puzzle resolved that appeared intractable when she went to sleep.
With this decision made, she ceased to worry.
In late May, the weather finally settled into a pattern of fine days and warm nights.
Anna and Alina were early risers and both loved the peaceful mornings in the garden. Their condo was situated on a ravine and the trees provided a gentle background murmur as the breeze rustled by.
Around seven o’clock, the sun shot through the tree cover and bathed their patio in bright sunlight. Both women put down the morning newpapers they had been reading and saluted the day with tall glasses of orange juice, settling back in their matching padded loungers to appreciate their good fortune.
Alina was the gardener and she gazed around the shady flower beds to see what plants had flowered overnight. Anna just looked and enjoyed the view without worrying about weeds or watering. It was a special time for them to talk about the day and make plans for the evening.
“So, any further thoughts about meeting with Philip?”
“Not really, Alina. I can’t see a way to do it. Maybe now is not the right time.”
“Listen here! I do not want you to miss a chance because you are worried about me. I am perfectly fine on my own. Go to Scotland and see Philip or join him in Manchester if that is easier.”
Anna felt a jolt of guilt as she realized Alina had read her mind again. There was no point in denying it. She was worried.
“I know I have been hovering over you lately. I‘m sure it’s annoying at times but you have been there for me so often that I need to return the favour, if I can.”
“That’s just the thing, my dear. There’s nothing you can do. You had the CNIB check out the house for hazards and they gave me many good tips for improving my vision, if it comes to that.
We’ve talked at length about how to continue the business with me in an advisory capacity.
I am taking all the steps the research lab suggested. The rest is in the lap of the gods now.”
Anna took a sip of juice to allow herself a moment to compose the next question.
“There is another related issue we need to discuss. Do you remember the movie we saw where the two old guys were talking about their bucket list?”
“Wait just a minute, Anna! I am not about to kick the bucket! I may have an eyesight problem in the future but that certainly is not the end of my life.” Alina sat up straighter in her chair and looked accusingly at Anna.
“Good heavens! I didn’t mean to suggest such a thing. I only wanted to ask you if there is anything you want to do now, while your eyes are in fairly good shape, just in case you have less sight later on, which God forbid!”
Alina was mollified by this response. The truth was that she had been thinking along these lines herself. Anna’s adventures in Scotland had given her some insight into how insular their lives had been prior to the inheritance of the property. The entire enterprise had opened so many doors for them that Alina had begun to wonder what else they had been missing.
“Calm down! I am sorry I jumped at you again. It’s a reasonable question, after all. There are places neither one of us has seen. Our travels were confined to North America for many years and the whole European continent is unknown to us, not to mention other parts of the world.”
“I must admit, when I heard Susan talk about the villa in Italy, I had the urge to go there and see it all for myself.” Anna’s voice had taken on a dreamy quality that told Alina she was on the right track.
“Why not? That’s what I mean. We should go exploring and see what’s out there. We can afford to take some time off. Where could we go?”
“It’s your choice, Alina. I insist on it. What have you always wanted to do? We could go on a cruise and do several countries in one trip, or rent a house in France, Spain or Italy and explore the area or....”
“Hold on there, we need to prioritize. Let me think for a minute.” Looking around the garden, Alina wondered what in the world would be worth leaving this lovely place for.
They had the weather, the perfect location, and a house with every comfort right there to be enjoyed. It would have to be somewhere exceptional to tempt her away from all this.
She thought of the amazing programs they had watched on TV; so many wonderful places with history and geography to challenge the imagination. How could she choose?
Just then her eyes fell on the front cover of the Globe and Mail. There was another article about Egypt and the Arab Spring. Egypt.
Suddenly two things clicked together in her mind and the solution to Anna’s dilemma appeared.
“There’s one place I have always longed to see but never thought it would be possible.
Anna, my dear friend, let’s both go to Egypt with Philip!”
Chapter Three
“What! Did I hear you right?”
Anna jumped up so abruptly that she spilled orange juice all over herself. Alina grabbed a napkin and began to mop her up, but Anna brushed away her f
riend’s hands impatiently.
“Never mind that! Did you say Egypt? What are you thinking, for goodness’ sake? How would we do such a thing? And why on earth would we go there at such a time?”
Anna was alarmed at the very thought of travelling to a country in such turmoil since the uprisings that had brought down the Mubarak government in the previous winter. The newspapers had been full of the unprecedented events in Cairo. Lately it had been announced that both the government ministers and Mubarak and his sons were to be tried for crimes against the people. It seemed like every week there was more trouble in Egypt.
Alina had an idea about what was concerning Anna. “Listen! It’s not impossible. After all, Philip travels back and forth without difficulty and his company would hardly be investing their expertise in a country where there were no possibilities of a return on their money.”
Anna stripped off the sodden shirt she was wearing and shook the drops of juice onto the grass.
She pulled down her sleeveless cotton vest to cover her damp waistline and continued the discussion in a slightly calmer tone.
“Well, Philip did say the hotel project was important to the Egyptians. The tourist industry has taken a hard hit with all the violence reported in the news. He said a brand new hotel with the finest facilities is just the thing to encourage visitors to return there.”
“Exactly! We would be helping out the economy.”
“That’s a fine sentiment, Alina, but it doesn’t make such a trip any safer for us. Cairo has been akin to a war zone at times. I am sure the Canadian government would not approve of two elderly women wandering around in a country they have no prior experience with.”
“We could look into visa and travel permissions, of course. Philip’s hotel isn’t in Cairo, is it?”
Anna thought back to a previous conversation with Philip that had taken place in her farm house in Oban the night before the wedding.
“I suppose you are right. The hotel project is in the south of Egypt, I think; somewhere far from Cairo. It’s on the banks of the Nile near other luxury hotels. I don’t remember the name of the nearest town or city.”
“We could always check that out with Philip. He wouldn’t allow us to go somewhere unsafe, I’m sure.” She paused for a moment. “Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Anna? The banks of the Nile.”
For a second or two, both women were lost in a dream of the Nile River floating serenely past the Sphinx and the ageless pyramids on the Giza plateau.
Anna was torn between the desire to fulfill one of Alina’s dreams and the host of problems such a trip would present.
“Look! Before you get too carried away with this fantasy, we need to be more practical.
No Cairo means no pyramids. We could not consider going there in the summer. We could not even start to think of it without Philip’s approval and that might be difficult to get.”
“I agree, Anna. Your objections are realistic. I won’t set my heart on this until we have examined all the possible problems in a sensible way.”
Alina breathed a sigh of relief. She could tell that Anna was coming closer to a positive conclusion. Give it some time and the dream might just become a reality. She smiled a secret smile and stood up to take Anna’s blouse inside to rinse off the juice. She would make them both a cup of tea and give Anna time to think about her proposal.
As she left the sunny patio, she saw that look on Anna’s face that told her she had not given up on the idea. A seed had been planted and a future exotic bloom might be unfolding in the months to come.
As she stepped through the patio windows she could not resist the mental question about which new flowers and birds they might see in Egypt. She told herself that she would cram all the experiences and sights she could into the next few years. There was no guarantee that she would be able to see, and fully appreciate, the world’s wonders after that.
Basking in the sunshine on the patio, Anna was having very similar thoughts.
A Samba summer barbecue was arranged for the July 1st weekend.
Anna warned Alina not to introduce the possibility of a trip to Egypt. It was much too early to talk about it as there were too many uncertainties. She had not yet managed to frame a suitable enquiry for Philip, and that was the starting point.
The group assembled in the afternoon. Alina collected the dishes of salads and breads from Susan, Jake, Maria and Paul as they arrived. They brought two younger family members with them. Bev’s son James was back in Canada for the summer and Lucy was glad to see someone nearer her own age. She had a plan to quiz James about his business studies in England and what was new and exciting on the A plus fashion front. As a teen fashionista, with marketing experience, she had some ideas to share.
The dishes would be arranged on the kitchen table until the meat was cooked. Cool drinks were passed around and everyone chose seats in the shade or the sun as they wished.
Conversation groups formed naturally and re-formed as the topics under discussion attracted different people.
Susan and Alina went off to tour the shady hosta beds that were Alina’s pride and joy. She had two new varieties that she wanted to show off. After Susan had made appropriate comments on the plants, she pulled Alina over to a bench, set under the trees, for a private chat.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about your macular degeneration, Alina. You have been so concerned about Jake’s condition that I want to return the compliment by checking things out with you. I know about the university trial. What I am wondering about is the genetic link.
As you know there’s a strong genetic component to Jake’s MS. Is that the case with you also?”
“Well, Susan, I wouldn’t get into this with anyone else but I know why you are asking and you happen to be on the right track. Although she never mentioned the term to me, I strongly suspect my mother had the problem.”
“What gave you the clues?”
“At the time I never put two and two together but now it is quite clear to me. It started in little ways. We had a backyard swimming pool and my mother would spend summer afternoons out there while Anna and I, and other friends, had fun splashing about. She always wore very dark sunglasses and when she came indoors for something she would stumble and complain that the contrast between the bright light outside and the dim light inside was hard to adjust to. I never gave that a thought but as the years went by other things occurred.”
Alina stopped to remember those far off years, then she continued in a low voice.
“Mother would get very upset when something in the kitchen or in her bedroom was moved out of its place. I thought she was ultra fussy about it at the time, but now I think she could not see well enough to find missing items quickly. She also stopped watching television saying it gave her headaches, and she would hand over letters to my father or me because the print was too small.
The worst part was that I was not sympathetic about any of this. I had no idea what was really happening. Mother never told me her situation. I guess she was afraid to admit what was going on with her. As she got older, I suspect she did not want to burden her only child with the problem.”
Tears formed in Alina’s eyes and she turned her face away from Susan. She had told only doctors and Anna this sad confession and although they said it was good for the soul to unburden yourself of past errors, she found it was more difficult every time she had to face up to the truth. Still, she had started now and she might as well continue.
“After my father died it got worse. One day I was in a store with mother and when the check-out assistant told mother the price of her groceries, I was shocked to see her open up her purse and invite the girl to help herself to the cash inside.
I am ashamed to admit I was very angry with my mother about this incident and I worried that she was developing dementia. I realize now that she could no longer tell which bank notes she carried.”
Susan looked at Alina with sincere compassion. She understood what it was like when someone
misinterpreted Jake’s symptoms. She often had to correct ignorant people who assumed he was drunk when they saw him stumble or heard slurred speech.
“That must have been awful for you, Alina, and truly sad for your mother. Did she ever have a diagnosis from an eye specialist?”
“Unfortunately, by the time that happened, mother’s sight was beyond any help.”
“How tragic!”
“Yes and no, Susan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Even after many years there is very little that can be done for the thousands with this problem. There are two types. Mother must have had the more common, slower-developing type and I hope I have that also, although the ‘wet’ type responds to laser cauterization if it is found in time. The good news is that most people with the syndrome will not ever be completely blind.”
Susan looked away to the other side of the garden and watched their friends chatting and joking together. What would it be like to know there would come a time when the details of a scene like this would be only a dim memory?
“Oh, Alina! I feel so upset for you, and for your mother. You must know that this reminds me of Jake’s MS. If I have learned anything through his struggles it’s this one mantra.
Every day begins in hope for us. Every day his symptoms are minor, or absent, is a blessing for us both. My hope for you is the same one I hold for Jake. One day there will be a breakthrough. Perhaps it will be in stem cell research or in microchip technology but there will be improvements. God willing they will come in time to help us.”
“What makes you so sure, Susan?” Alina could not stop the catch in her voice as she asked. No one had understood her emotions as Susan had. The brisk, factual information she had delivered to Susan concealed a deep well of fear and dread that she had concealed from everyone, including Anna.