by Marc Levy
They went speechless, then docilely obeyed.
“When do you leave?” asked Carol, clearly more excited than even Alice herself.
“I’m not sure yet, but I don’t think it will be more than a few weeks from now.”
“So soon?”
“Well, we have to wait for our passports, and we just applied for them this afternoon.”
“We? You’re going with someone else?”
Alice blushed and revealed that she had struck a deal with Daldry.
“Are you sure he isn’t doing all of this just to seduce you?”
“Daldry? Good heavens, no. I even asked him as much, quite openly.”
“You had the guts?”
“I didn’t think about it, it just came up. It’s not very clever to court a girl by taking her to meet another man, is it?”
“True. So he’s only interested in investing in your perfumes? That’s putting a lot of faith in your talent.”
“More than you would, it seems. I honestly don’t know what motivates him, whether it’s the desire to spend his unwanted inheritance, to go on a trip to Turkey, or maybe just the opportunity to paint in my flat while I’m gone. It seems he’s been dreaming about it for ages and I promised him he could. He’ll be back long before I will, probably.”
“You’ll be gone for that long?” asked Carol, visibly upset at the idea.
“I don’t know.”
“Listen, Alice, I don’t mean to be a killjoy, particularly since I’m the one who encouraged you to go through with this in the first place, but now that everything is becoming so concrete, I must admit, it seems rather impulsive to travel so far just because a fortune-teller promised you there might be a lover at the end of the journey.”
“I’m not that desperate. You know I’ve been pacing up and down in my little studio like a caged beast. It’s been months since I’ve created something original, or even had a good idea. I feel so stifled and smothered by life in London. I want to go somewhere new, get some fresh air, discover a new landscape with new odors . . .”
“Promise me you’ll write.”
“Of course. Do you think I’d miss such a great opportunity to make you jealous?”
“Well, you’re the one leaving me alone with three men,” retorted Carol.
“Who’s to say that I won’t occupy their minds from a distance? Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“I’ve never heard such a ridiculous thing in all my life. When did you say you were leaving?”
Alice brought up her idea to organize a dinner at her flat the following evening in order to break the news to the men, but Carol told her there was no need to go to so much trouble. After all, it wasn’t like she was engaged to anybody. She didn’t have to ask for permission.
“Permission for what?” asked Anton, taking a seat at the table.
“To consult the secret archives,” said Carol, without even knowing where the words had come from.
“Archives?”
Sam and Eddy joined them. With everybody at the table, Alice decided to just go for it and announced she was going to Turkey.
For a moment, nobody said anything. Carol rapped her fingers on the table.
“She didn’t tell you she has cancer, she said she is going on a trip. You’re allowed to breathe.”
“How long have you known about this?” Anton asked Carol.
“She told me just now. I’m sorry I didn’t send a telegram.”
“Will you be gone long?” Anton asked Alice.
“She doesn’t know,” said Carol.
“Is it safe to travel so far alone?” asked Sam.
“She’s going with her neighbor from across the hall. The grouch that interrupted our party before Christmas,” said Carol.
“You’re going to Turkey with him? Are you seeing each other?” asked Anton.
“Of course not,” replied Carol. “They’re just associates. It’s a business trip. Alice is going to Istanbul to look for inspiration for new perfumes. If you want to contribute toward her travel costs, I’m sure it isn’t too late to invest and become a shareholder. If the idea tempts you, gentlemen, please don’t hesitate! Who knows, perhaps a few years from now you’ll be sitting on the board of Pendelbury and Associates.”
“I have a question,” said Eddy, who had remained silent up until then. “I know Alice will probably be at the head of an international perfume-and-cosmetics conglomerate before long, but until then, are we allowed to talk to her directly, or is all communication to be channeled through you?”
Alice smiled. “It’s really just a business trip. And since you’re all my friends, instead of leaving you to come up with a thousand reasons for me to stay, I’d rather just invite you all to my place on Friday for a little goodbye party.”
“You’re leaving so soon?” asked Anton.
“The date isn’t settled yet,” said Carol, “but—”
Alice interjected. “We’re leaving as soon as we get our passports. I just didn’t want to make it a dramatic farewell.”
The evening’s energy had fizzled out. The men didn’t feel much like staying out or celebrating.
They all said goodbye on the pavement outside the pub, and Anton took Alice aside.
“What are you looking for over there that you can’t find here?”
“I’ll tell you when I come back.”
“If you come back.”
“I’m taking this trip for myself, for my career. I need this. Don’t you understand?”
“No, I don’t. But I suppose I’ll have time to reflect on it while you’re gone. Take care of yourself. And only write to me if you really want to. You’re under no obligation.”
He turned his back on her and slunk away, head hanging low, hands shoved in his coat pockets.
Back in her flat, Alice didn’t turn on the light. She took off her clothes and slipped under the covers naked, looking up at the crescent-shape moon that shone through the skylight. Almost like the one on the Turkish flag, she thought.
On Friday, at the end of the afternoon, Daldry knocked on Alice’s door and came into her flat victoriously brandishing their passports.
“Everything’s in order. We’re ready to go!”
“So soon?” asked Alice.
“With the Turkish visas to boot. Didn’t I tell you I knew people in high places? I picked them up this morning before settling our plans at the travel agency. Be ready to leave at eight o’clock on Monday morning.”
He put her passport on her worktable and left as suddenly as he had arrived.
Alice flipped through the pages of her first passport and daydreamed for a moment before putting it in her suitcase.
That evening, Alice’s friends tried to put on a good show, but their hearts weren’t in it. Anton hadn’t even showed up, and ever since Alice had told them she was leaving, the energy of the group had changed. It wasn’t even midnight when Eddy, Sam, and Carol decided to go home.
They all hugged and said their goodbyes over and over again. Alice promised to write often and to bring back lots of souvenirs from the bazaar. On her way out, a tearful Carol swore she would take care of the men like they were her brothers and would try to talk some reason into the petulant Anton.
Alice stood on the landing as they left and waited until the stairwell went silent. She felt a lump in her throat as she turned back to her empty flat.
6
At eight o’clock on Monday morning, suitcase in hand, Alice took one last look around the flat before closing the door. Her heart raced with excitement as she went down the stairs.
Daldry was already waiting in a taxi.
The driver took her suitcase and put it on the seat next to him. Alice climbed in and settled next to Daldry on the wide back seat. They said hello, and Daldry asked the driver to take them to Harmondsworth.
“Not to the station?” asked Alice.
“No, not to the station,” said Daldry enigmatically.
“But why Harmondsw
orth?”
“Because that’s where the aerodrome is. I wanted to surprise you. We’re flying. We’ll get to Istanbul much faster that way.”
“What do you mean, ‘We’re flying’?” asked Alice in shock.
“Flying. In an aeroplane. I see it’s your first time as well. Two hundred miles an hour, twenty-two thousand feet in the air. Isn’t it marvelous?”
Their taxi left the city for the surrounding countryside. Alice watched the pastureland roll past and began to wonder if she wouldn’t rather travel on solid ground, even if it did mean the trip would take a little longer. Daldry, however, was clearly looking forward to his first ride in a plane.
“We stop to refuel in Paris, then again in Vienna, where we spend the night, and tomorrow evening we’ll be in Istanbul, just two days of travel instead of a long week.”
“I didn’t know we were in such a hurry.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared to ride in an aeroplane.”
“I suppose I don’t know yet.”
London’s new airport was still under construction. Three cement runways were already in service, and a battalion of earthmoving machines was busy at work tracing the outlines for three others. The fledgling airlines had set up shop in tents and corrugated-metal sheds that served as their terminals. The first permanent building was still under construction at the center of the aerodrome. When it was finished, the London airport might finally look more civilian and less military, but for now, the planes of the Royal Air Force and the commercial airlines were lined up next to one another on the tarmac.
Their taxi pulled up to the enclosure. Daldry took the suitcases and pointed Alice toward the Air France tent. They presented their papers at the registration counter, and the ticketing agent welcomed them with polite deference before calling a porter to take their bags. The agent gave Daldry the two tickets they would need to board the plane.
“Your flight should leave on schedule,” he said. “And we’ll start calling the passengers soon. Won’t you please follow the porter to have your passports stamped by the authorities?”
Once their papers were in order, Daldry and Alice waited on a bench and watched the runway.
Every time a plane took off, the tremendous noise interrupted their conversation.
“I think I am a little afraid after all,” admitted Alice in the interval between two roars.
“I’ve been told it isn’t as noisy inside the cabin. Believe me, these machines are far more reliable than ordinary motorcars. I’m sure that once we’re in the air you’ll be perfectly relaxed. Did you know that they even serve us a meal while we’re in the air?”
“And we land in France first?”
“Outside Paris, but just for the time it takes to change planes. It’s a pity we won’t have time to see the city.”
An Air France employee came to collect Daldry and Alice. Soon the other passengers joined their group and they were escorted onto the tarmac. Alice saw the immense, gleaming plane looming above her. A long flight of stairs led to a hatch in the rear of the cabin, where a stewardess, wearing a most becoming uniform, welcomed the passengers. Her smile reassured Alice, who imagined how incredible it would be to have her job as she walked down the central aisle of the DC-4’s cabin.
The interior was far roomier than Alice had imagined. She took a seat in an armchair as comfortable as the one at home, apart from the seat belt, which the stewardess showed her how to attach if ever there was a problem.
Alice began to worry again. “What sort of problem?” she asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said the stewardess, smiling a convincing and reassuring smile. “We’ve never had one. There’s really no need to worry, madam. Everything is going to be just fine. I take this flight every day, and I’m still not tired of it.”
The cabin door closed, and the pilot came to greet each of the passengers before returning to the front of the plane, where his copilot was ticking off items on a checklist. The engines rumbled to life, and a wreath of flames licked the wings as the propellers spun in a deafening racket. Soon the blades were just an invisible blur.
Alice braced herself against the back of her seat and gripped the armrests. The cabin vibrated slightly. The ground crew removed the blocks from the wheels. Alice was seated in the second row and missed nothing of the radio exchanges from the open cockpit. The pilots communicated with the control tower, assisted by a radio mechanic with a heavy French accent.
She turned to Daldry. “I don’t understand how the people he’s talking to can possibly understand him.”
“The important thing is that he’s good at what he does. He doesn’t have to be an expert in foreign languages. Sit back and enjoy the view. Think of poor Adrienne Bolland. We’re flying in much better conditions.”
“I should hope so,” said Alice, tightening her grip.
The DC-4 aligned with the runway in preparation for takeoff. The sound of the engines got louder, and the cabin vibrated even harder. When the pilot released the brakes, the plane picked up speed.
Alice pressed her face against the window and watched the tents and sheds of the makeshift airport roll past. Suddenly, she was struck by a new sensation. The wheels had lifted off the ground, and the plane rocked slightly as it gained altitude. The runway dwindled from view beneath them before disappearing and giving way to the English countryside. As the plane continued to climb, the farmhouses that appeared in the distance below grew smaller and smaller.
“It’s absolutely magical,” said Alice. “Do you think that we’ll fly through the clouds?”
“Well, I certainly hope they won’t stop us,” said Daldry, unfolding his newspaper.
Before long, they were flying over the English Channel. Alice was so elated that she tried to count the crests of the waves that rose like tiny, regular folds on the fabric of the vast blue expanse.
The pilot announced that they would soon be able to see the coast of France.
The flight took just under two hours. As the plane approached Paris, Alice could barely contain herself when she made out the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
The layover at Orly Airport was brief. An Air France employee escorted Alice, Daldry, and the other passengers continuing on to Vienna across the tarmac to a second plane. Alice was so fixated on the next takeoff that she didn’t listen to a word Daldry was saying.
The Air France flight from Paris to Vienna was more turbulent. The jolts that lifted them out of their seats amused Alice, but Daldry was a little less at ease. Still, he managed to eat a hearty meal, after which he lit a cigarette and offered one to Alice, who politely refused. She turned back to the fashion magazine in which she was currently absorbed that illustrated the latest collections of the Parisian couturiers. Never in her life had she imagined she would experience something like this, and she swore that she had never been happier. Daldry was glad to hear this, but suggested that she conserve her energy. He had plans for them in Vienna that evening.
Austria was covered in an expanse of white snow that stretched all the way to the horizon. Daldry had fallen asleep after lunch and woke up only when the DC-4 was making its descent into Vienna.
“Please tell me I didn’t snore,” he said as he woke up.
“The engines nearly covered the noise,” said Alice.
The wheels touched down and the plane rolled to a stop in front of a hangar, from which the airport personnel wheeled a flight of stairs for the passengers to disembark.
A taxi had been reserved to take them to the city center. Daldry told the driver they were going to the Sacher Hotel. As they neared the Heldenplatz, the truck in front of them hit a patch of ice, swerved, and flipped over, blocking the street. The taxi driver braked, narrowly avoiding the overturned truck. It was over in the blink of an eye. Passersby hurried to assist the driver, who was pulled out of the cab of the truck uninjured, but the accident had blocked traffic in both directions. Daldry anxiously glanced at his watch. As the minutes ticked past, he started to mutte
r impatiently under his breath. Alice didn’t know what to think.
“We almost got killed, and you’re worried about the time?” she asked.
Daldry ignored her and asked the driver to find a way to get them out of what was now a traffic jam. The driver didn’t speak English and shrugged, gesturing helplessly at the chaos that surrounded them.
“We’re going to be late,” Daldry muttered with disgust.
“What on earth for?” asked Alice. It was beginning to dawn on her that Daldry had once again made plans without bothering to inform her.
“You’ll see when it’s time. That is, if we don’t end up prisoners in this taxi for the rest of the night.”
Alice opened the door and got out of the taxi without speaking a word.
“Come on, don’t pout,” he said, leaning his head out of the window.
“You’ve got quite the nerve, to make plans, complain when they go wrong, and never even bother to tell me what they are. Or even ask if I want to be part of them.”
“I can’t tell you. That’s all there is to it.”
“Well, I’ll get back in when you feel that you can.”
“Alice, stop acting like a child. You’re going to catch a cold again. It’s certainly not worth making a complicated situation even worse.”
“What situation are you talking about?” Alice now stood with her hands planted accusingly on her hips.
“The one we’re in. Stuck in traffic when we ought to already be at the hotel getting changed.”
“Do we have a ball to attend?”
“Not quite,” said Daldry. “But I won’t say anything more. Now get in. I have a feeling we might start moving again.”
“I have a much better view from out here, and I can assure you that we’re going nowhere. We’re staying at the Sacher Hotel, is that right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Because I can see it from where I’m standing. I would say it’s a five-minute walk.”
For once, Daldry was at a loss for words. The cab ride had been paid for by the airline, so he took their suitcases from the trunk and hurried down the icy sidewalk toward their hotel. Alice tried to keep up as best she could.