Page 7 of The Cruise

Anne’s role as a number one gave her the privileged position of working first-class, administering to the needs of well-heeled passengers. But when the company was taken over, everything changed. Stop-overs were minimal, expenses non-existent, and even her new uniform seemed shoddy. Like many cabin crew, Anne’s ambition was to marry a pilot. When an overnight in Ibiza allowed her to encourage Captain Barry Amberley into bed, he’d put up little resistance. Within weeks she knew she was pregnant and punched the air with happiness.Result!Anne told herself before breaking the news to Barry.

‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Jane asked as the plane began to cruise at high altitude, and Kath stopped praying.

‘I was remembering when Barry and I got married,’ Anne said.

‘Oh, it was such a lovely wedding,’ Kath sighed, ‘it was the talk of the town, Garstang had never seen anything like it,’ she reminisced. ‘Jane and I looked so pretty as bridesmaids.’

Jane winced. The matching dress Anne had insisted they wear was buried deep in a box labelled ‘The Worst Day of My Life’. She’d felt like a giant meringue moving down the aisle, breathless in a corset where pink satin and lace bows bounced on every bulge. Anne, meanwhile, sailed ahead, stunning in a silky designer gown. Kath had caught Anne’s bouquet, and as Jim, a groomsman, winked at her, the rest, as they say, was history for Kath.

‘Do you remember your wedding cake?’ Jane asked, ‘You insisted on six tiers, and I made every one of them.’ She shook her head. ‘It took weeks of work, but you were able to use the top tier for Belinda’s christening not long after.’

‘How is Belinda?’ Kath peered over the pages of an inflight magazine.

‘She’s very happy,’ Anne replied and thought of her daughter, who lived Down Under with surfer-boy and their four kids. Her daughter had fallen in love during a gap year in Australia and never returned. ‘She thinks our cruise is brilliant.’ Anne smiled as she remembered their recent phone call.

‘I wish my two were on the other side of the world,’ Kath grumbled. ‘They still want me to sign the house over to them and both are convinced I’m losing my marbles since Jim died.’

‘Grief shows its form in different ways. It’s no wonder you forget things, Jim’s death was so unexpected.’ Jane reached out and patted Kath’s arm.

‘Maybe, but I’m not ready for an old folks’ home with a recliner and a plastic bib.’

‘Pah!’ Jane snorted. ‘I should think not.’

‘Hugh and Harry can be very persuasive boys.’

‘They’re not boys,’ Jane insisted, ‘they are men, with families, and quite capable of making their own way in life without grabbing your money while you still have time to spend and enjoy it.’

Jane remembered Hugh and Harry from many get-togethers over the years. She had no time for either and thought they took after their father, treating Kath as a skivvy and expecting her to wait on them hand and foot. Even now, Jane knew that Kath’s evenings were taken with babysitting duties. Daytimes were spent cleaning and cooking for her daughters-in-law, who never reciprocated with kind words or a grateful bunch of flowers.

The seatbelt sign had been turned off, and Anne stood and stretched her arms. ‘Can I suggest that we leave our current lives behind,’ she said and stepped into the aisle. ‘For the next two weeks, we will have the holiday of a lifetime and to start things off, let’s have champagne in the bar.’ She began to walk through the cabin until she reached a stairway.

‘She can’t go up there,’ Jane whispered, ‘it’s for first-class passengers.’ Together with Kath, she watched wide-eyed as Anne’s jewelled sandals disappeared up the stairs. ‘Sod it, we can only get thrown out,’ Jane said, unbuckling her belt.

Poking Kath, she encouraged her friend to her feet. Like two furtive schoolgirls sneaking out of a dorm at night, the pair waited until the coast was clear of cabin crew, then hurried after Anne.

* * *

‘I feel like one of the Blues Brothers,’ Jane said as she gripped the arms of Kath and Anne and placed one unsteady foot in front of the other. Wearing their new Trilbys, sunglasses and smiles, the trio staggered down the steps of the aircraft and strolled towards the customs hall at Grantley Adams International Airport. The tarmac burned underfoot as a glorious sun beat down on the new arrivals.

‘Can we be locked up for arriving blotto in Barbados?’ Kath tripped on the hanging strap of her voluminous bag.

‘Shu…shush,’ Anne said, ‘look sober and straight ahead.’

Jane tilted her hat over her eyes. ‘Well, we did spend most of the flight in the bar,’ she said.

‘Nonsense,’ Anne replied, ‘you both ate lunch followed by afternoon tea and were asleep and snoring in between.’

‘Gosh, it’s hot,’ Kath gasped and fanned her face with her hand.

‘I feel like we’ve stepped into a roasting oven,’ Jane said as she adjusted her poncho and mopped her brow.

‘Diamond Starpassengers!’ a voice called out, and the women turned to see a man, head and shoulders above the crowd, holding a clipboard. ‘This way.’ He smiled as he checked names and gathered guests. ‘Go through the separate customs channel and straight outside to coach A. Your luggage has gone on ahead.’

Kath squinted to read the name badge pinned to the man’s uniform, but Jane tugged Kath’s cardigan and pulled her back.

‘Peter Hammond, Entertainment Director, Diamond Star Line,’ he said, ‘pleased to meet you.’

In no time, the friends cleared customs and found themselves sitting on the front seats of a luxurious air-conditioned coach. Having collected all his guests, Peter boarded the coach.

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