by Fay Henson
That moment was fast approaching, a lot of the people had already got off the bus including the bloke Joe had been passing the time with and so there were only a couple of other people remaining. It was a strange journey; I was recalling my journey of a few days ago when I was hitching a lift. I saw the big Palio poster still on the board and then the table where I sat and drank my coke I bought from the bar. Then not that long after, the bus started to slow down and it stopped just along from the turning to the hotel’s gravel track. Those butterflies were so bad, I felt sick.
We climbed down the steps of the cool air-conditioned bus onto the side of the road and said grazie and arrivederci to the driver, who pressed a button making the doors swish shut before he pulled away leaving me and Joe all alone. I opened my bag and took out the two peaked hats we’d bought from a souvenir stand, one dark blue for Joe and the other black which was mine, and the words Siena University embroidered on the front. We put them on our heads.
‘I really don’t want to go,’ I said.
‘Come on beautiful, let’s get it over with.’ Joe held my hand whilst we walked along the track towards Hotel Rosaria with all its glory, which at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less about.
The late afternoon sun was still really hot and I was sweating buckets. At that moment I’d liked to have been back in Siena with Joe sitting in some gardens and sipping something cool instead of walking up to the main entrance of that hotel.
‘Can you go first Joe, please.’
‘Course.’
He stepped into the entrance and the doors opened. There were two people working behind the reception who looked up at us as we approached them. We put our stuff down onto the marble floor.
‘We’d like to know where mister and missus Wilmot are please,’ asked Joe.
‘I believe they are on the terrace,’ the woman said. My heart was thudding. Why couldn’t they have been out somewhere, for the day or the evening, I thought.
‘Come on, you can do it.’ Joe briefly lifted my cap and kissed me on my bald head.
I knew I really didn’t have any choice and took a deep breath as we walked towards the glass doors with the swishy long white curtains that opened to the terrace. Here we go then, I said to myself.
There they were, my mum and dad were standing with their backs to the hotel building and looking out over the views of olive trees and grape vines. I wondered if they weren’t looking forward to returning to Bristol as well; that they’d had a great time together and they were taking their last glimpses of the pretty surroundings just like we did in Siena. They looked lovely together, Dad, just a bit taller than Mum and I could see they’d caught a lot of sun. I was sure they didn’t realise we were standing a short distance behind them.
I let Joe’s hand go free as I walked slowly up to them, keeping my tattooed wrist facing inwards towards my body.
‘Mum, Dad,’ I said. My voice sounded nervous.
The moment I’d been dreading had finally come. They both turned round and threw me totally, when I saw them both reach out their arms to welcome me back. I rushed to them where they hugged me for quite a while before anyone said a word.
‘I’m sorry,’ I sniffed, ‘truly I am.’
‘You’re a headstrong girl, Caylin,’ Dad said, ‘but I have to say you’ve got guts.’
‘Yes, maybe too much sometimes,’ added Mum, ‘but you’re a compassionate and thoughtful being.’
‘So, I’m not grounded?’ I asked while keeping my tattoo firmly out of sight.
‘Well, we’ll speak about that when we’re home, but firstly the deal is, we need to have a talk about taking risks,’ Dad said. ‘If it hadn’t had been for Joe finding you and keeping us updated, the consequences could have been much different.’ Ah, so they knew a lot more than I’d thought and all that time I was dead scared, Joe had been giving them the latest, the rat.
‘Secondly,’ Dad said, ‘You’ll be coming with me to the TA centre to learn a thing or two.’
Oh no, really? I thought. But it was heaps better than I’d been expecting. I looked to see if I could spot Joe somewhere, but he’d gone, I guessed he wanted to leave me with my parents to sort things out. Of course he had to find his parents, or shall we say, auntie and uncle.
In one day, all my emotions seemed to have been in turmoil, with the final occasion of the evening meal which was an end of tour farewell dinner attended by Nadia the tour representative.
Still wearing my black Siena University cap, I followed Mum and Dad out onto the terrace once again, keeping my eye open for Joe. It looked as though he hadn’t arrived downstairs yet and I wished he’d hurry up as I couldn’t wait to see him.
Mum and Dad found places for us to sit where we waited for others to arrive and all I could do was firmly fix my gaze on the open doors leading out to where we were. And when I saw him come outside with his aunt and uncle, I noticed he wasn’t wearing his cap and that he wasn’t worried about showing his shaved head. He seemed to have an air of pride about him and I just wanted to get up and run over to him and hug him.
I could see his eyes scanning the tables until they reached mine, when he gave me the most stunning smile. I grinned back at him and at the same time, pulled the cap off my head and put it away in my bag. I so much wanted him to come and sit near us, but the nearest seats had been taken and I had to watch Joe pull out a chair further down along the table. I knew I had to be patient and I also knew I really had to give my parents a bit of my time.
From where we were sitting, I could see how the relationship had changed between the stuck up woman in her heels and the well fed bloke; it was simple to tell they’d finally hit it off together and were evidently in love. I wondered if she’d actually managed to finish her article. Close to us was Nadia, who incidentally, still had her huge sunglasses perched on top of her head; she was chatting to the couple of older women.
As far as I could see, it looked like everyone from the tour was attending the meal except for the two younger women who’d won the money. Perhaps they’d found fun with the guys Mum had told me about and I hoped they wouldn’t miss the coach back to the airport early tomorrow morning.
I tried my best to join in with the conversation around me, as well as having to respond to the inevitable questions about my days spent in Siena. It was difficult keeping my eyes away from Joe. I had to be patient.
Then two amazing things happened; the first was when a waitress came to the side of me just after we’d finished eating some grilled meats and passed me a folded white serviette; from Joe was written on the outside. Just for a tiny moment, I couldn’t help wondering if it was going to be a goodbye note, something like a It was great fun being with you in Siena, catch you in Bristol sometime, type of note; after all, I didn’t think he’d bargained for meeting someone quite like me.
I unfolded the white serviette immediately. The moment I saw what Joe had written, I caught my breath. He had drawn a type of Manga boy, with a shaved head. Next to it he’d written, I love you.
I felt dizzy with happiness and love. What a wonderful romantic gesture, and it annihilated all my worries about whether Joe and I would meet again in Bristol after the tour. I was already feeling thrilled about the prospect of being able to show Joe off to everyone back home. Then I realised I could feel Joe’s eyes on me, waiting for me to look at him. When I did, I mouthed I want to kiss you and I gave him my best smile.
The other amazing thing, person in fact, was my dad. Yes, he’d been enjoying the wine, but I knew he was in full control of himself when during dessert, he stood up at the table and clinked his glass with a spoon to get everyone’s attention. Then he cleared his throat before he began and I was flabbergasted.
‘Most of us have witnessed what our daughter, Caylin, and her friend Joe have done for the family in Siena,’ Dad said.
Pulling a yikes face I glanced quickly at Joe
and back at Dad again.
‘And although I have some issues regarding Caylin having disappeared alone to the city,’ Dad added, ‘I think we should congratulate Caylin and Joe on their courage and kindness in raising money for the family.’
There was a lot of cheering and clapping of hands, and I noticed that even others who were on a different tour to ours, were joining in. I was relieved to see Mum was clapping too.
‘And Hotel Rosaria has offered to receive any donations at the reception, for example,’ he gave a little cough, ‘euros you may not want to take back to the UK, and they have promised to send the collection to the bank in Siena in favour of that family. Thank you very much.’
I was just so happy, after worrying for sooooo long over how Mum and Dad were going to react when I returned to the hotel.
When Dad sat back down again, I went to him and gave him a hug.
‘That’s brilliant Dad,’ I said, ‘you’re brilliant.’
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank James Essinger of The Conrad Press for being my mentor and coach enabling me to finally write my first novel (any mistakes remaining are entirely my own), and I must thank my supportive husband Derek for continuously encouraging me never to give up.