Bob of Small End (86 page)

“
No.
Just wondering.”

“
We’ll
eat our lunch in a restaurant or a lodge every day except Thursday,
when we’ll have a packed lunch. On that day we’ll be in a very
picturesque spot and some of you might want to take a longer walk
over the lunch hour. You can take the packed lunch with you and eat
it during your walk if you wish.”

“
If we
have something else we want to do on one of the days what do we
do?”

“
Just
tell Maria or me that you’ll not be with us the night
before.”

“
All
right. Thanks.”

“
If
there are no more questions,” Maria said, “then the rest of the
night is yours. If there’s any emergency and you need to contact us
my room is number 204 and Polly’s room number is 206. We’ll start
at nine o’clock tomorrow so please be in the lobby at that time.
Thank you and good night everybody.”

Most of them
left the room but several walked to the front to talk to Maria or
Polly. Bob sat in his chair for a few minutes watching them then
went to the bar where he joined one of the couples who had been at
his table. He ordered a beer and talked for a few minutes then went
to his room.

Fifteen
minutes later Maria knocked on his door. He opened it and she came
in closed the door and wrapped her arms around him.

“
At
last,” she said as soon as he stopped kissing her. “It’s been a
long day for both of us, all that travelling, and, for me, looking
after the group as well. I’m so tired.”

“
Too
tired to come to bed Maria?”

“
No, not
too tired to do that. Just for a short while, but I can’t stay. I
have to be in my room in case I’m needed. It’ll be different next
week.”

“
Then
you have half an hour now?”

“
Maybe
an hour,” and with that Bob and Maria kissed and began undressing
each other.

The hour
became an hour and a half, then two. Finally Maria forced herself
to get up, put on some clothes and leave. Bob stayed in bed while
she dressed, watching and admiring. He fell asleep five minutes
after the door closed.

The week
passed quickly and Bob enjoyed every day. He particularly liked the
talks about Arthur Ransome, Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth,
remembering the times he read
Swallows and
Amazons
and
Winter
Holiday
and learned Wordsworth’s poem describing the
daffodils at school, or when he read Potter’s Peter Rabbit stories
to the children. They were wonderful writers.

And it was
exciting to see Ullswater, the lake where Donald Campbell won the
water speed record in 1955. He was fifteen that year and he
remembered reading about Campbell and his boat in the newspaper and
hearing descriptions of the runs on the radio. And to see Hill Top
farm where Beatrix Potter lived and Coniston where Ransome had
sailed. He liked everything except the Kendal Mint cake he was
given before one of the short walks. However the food he liked most
were the Cumberland sausages and ate them whenever they were on the
menu. He enjoyed the local beers and drank them with his lunches.
They had two lake cruises that made a nice change from the bus
rides. The more interesting cruise was a trip in a steam yacht but
it was the engine that interested him more than the shore line.

There was a
final dinner at the hotel Saturday night. Afterwards Maria told
those who were flying back to Portugal to have their bags, properly
labelled, outside their bedroom doors by six thirty and that they
had to be on the bus by eight. “Please be on time for the bus must
leave then to get to Gatwick on time. I’m sure you don’t want to
miss your flight.” The others, who had joined them at the hotel,
were reminded to check out by eleven. Maria then said goodbye to
everyone; “I’ll say it now, because Polly will be taking you back
to Gatwick, but I’ll be here until eleven tomorrow in case anyone
has problems.” With that she sat down. A man rose and said how much
he had enjoyed the tour and that he’d come back for a longer
holiday next year with his brother’s family and thanked Maria and
Polly. A woman then said she’d had a very interesting time and
thanked them “for a lovely week.” Everyone started clapping and the
meeting was over. “Don’t forget to put your bags out by six-thirty
if you’re on the flight,” cried Polly as people left. Maria stayed,
talking to three couples as Bob stood up and left the room. He
wondered, as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, if Maria
would knock on his door that night but she didn’t.

Sunday morning
was a grey day. It should have been a bright sunny one, for that
was how Bob was feeling. He had a slow bath then went to breakfast.
There was hardly anyone from the group in the restaurant. The
Gatwick group was already on its way to the airport and other
participants had left early for most of them had some distance to
drive. He didn’t see Maria, perhaps she was in the hotel office or
telephoning Lagos. Eleven o’clock came at last and Bob checked out
but remained sitting in an easy chair in the lobby. At eleven
fifteen he saw Maria as she came out of the office that was behind
the reception counter.

“
Hello
Bob. Sorry I’m late but I had to discuss alternative dates for an
extra tour next year. The agency thinks we’ll need one. I’m all
finished now. I’ll just get my bag,” and she started climbing the
stairs.

“
Can I
help?” called Bob.

“
No,
thanks. I’ll be back in five minutes. I’ll join you in the
car.”

She was there
ten minutes later. He put her bag in the boot and smiled at her.
“Where do we go?” he asked.

“
To the
east coast. I’ve never been there. To a place called Filey, just
south of Scarborough. A woman in the agency told me about a nice
sea-front lodge. But first, stop at the next lay by, it’s time we
had a kiss and a cuddle.”

That’s what
they did then they drove for an hour before stopping for lunch.
They arrived at the lodge four hours later, checked in and went to
bed, getting up for dinner at eight thirty.

Monday they
arose just in time for a late breakfast then walked bare-footed
along the sandy beach, paddling in and out of the water. During a
fish-and-chip lunch they discussed what they would do for the rest
of the week.

“
I’d
like to know more about this part of England Bob. We can walk along
the coast and drive to the villages but I’d also like to know
something about its history. For instance, my friend told me that
there were many shipwrecks here. Why was that?”

“
Let’s
go to the maritime museum and ask them.”

“
All
right. I like museums. It would be a good way to start.”

Tuesday they
drove and walked, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Over
supper they were discussing what they should do the next day when
Bob suddenly remembered his promise to Sally. “Oh. Maria, I
promised Sally that I’d take you to see her if I could. Would you
mind?”

“
No of
course not. We must do that, it’s more important than sightseeing.
We can come here another time. She in a place near Boston, isn’t
she?”

“
Yes.
Boston’s south of here and it’s also on the way to Gatwick. I’ll
phone Sally and tell her we’re coming. Oh, no, I can’t, it’s eight
forty-five. She’ll be asleep. I’ll phone tomorrow, she won’t mind.
I bet she wouldn’t even mind if we just popped in without giving
her any notice.”

“
She’s
your mother’s sister, right?”

“
Yes,”
and Bob told her about the times the family used to visit when he
was growing up.

After supper
they told the receptionist that they had changed their plans and
would be leaving the next day.

“
There’s
nothing wrong is there?”

“
Oh, no.
This is a nice place and we hope to come back again in the future.
We’ve just remembered that there’s someone we must
visit.”

“
Will
you stay with them or can I find a hotel for you?”

“
Do you
know of a nice place near Boston?”

“
I can
look and I’ll make list. We can make the reservation for you, once
you choose the place you like.”

“
Thanks.
How long will it take to drive to Boston?” asked Maria.

“
Near to
four hours I think.”

“
Oh,
that long. Then we’ll have to start early Bob or we won’t have much
of the afternoon left for a visit.”

“
Yes.
Thank you for your help. Goodnight.”

“
Goodnight sir, madam.”

They checked
out after a quick breakfast, collecting the list of hotels the
receptionist had left for them but did not make a reservation. They
were on the road by eight thirty. It took them two hours to get to
the Humber Bridge and they stopped for coffee at Barton. Bob found
a telephone and called Sally.

“
Hello
Bob. It’s nice to hear from you. Please tell me you are coming to
see me!”

“
Yes I
am Sally. This afternoon, if that’s all right. And Maria’s with me.
You said you wanted to meet her.”

“
Good.
Yes, come along. You’ll have to see me in my bed, I don’t get up
these days, it’s too difficult. Can you come about two-thirty? That
would be the best time for me.”

“
Yes
Sally. Two-thirty. We’ll be there. ‘Bye for now.”

“‘
Bye
Bob.”

He told Maria
what Sally had said. “We’ll have enough time to get there. We’ll
have lunch in Boston then drive to where she’s staying. She said
she’d be in bed because it’s too difficult for her to get out.”

“
What
did you say was the matter with her?”

“
She has
emphysema and I don’t think she can live much longer, it’s pretty
bad. She uses oxygen all the time now.”

“
I know
about emphysema. Quite a few people in Portugal suffer from
it.”

The lady at
the front desk of Sally’s residence recognised Bob as he walked up
to her. “Hello Mr. Barns. Come to see Sally?”

“
Yes.
How is she?”

“
Not
very well. She sleeps most of the time now. Her brain’s bright,
it’s just her body; her lungs, mostly, that’s letting her down. Is
this Mrs. Barns?”

“
No.
This is my friend, Maria Schroeder. Maria this is Elizabeth.” They
smiled then Elizabeth said, “she’ll be awake now, I expect. Why
don’t you go to her room and see?”

“
Yes, we
will. Thank you.”

Sally was
expecting them when they knocked. Her shoulders were supported by
four pillows. Bob crossed over and kissed her on her cheek then
turned and said, “Sally, this is Maria.”

They smiled at
each other and Maria walked over and shook Sally’s hand, lifting it
slightly from the bed as she did so.

“
Hello
Maria. I’ve been so looking forward to seeing you. Bob’s told me a
lot about you but he never told me that you were so
pretty!”

“
Hello
Sally. You don’t mind me calling you that?”

Maria shook
her head. “Not at all. Give me a kiss would you Maria?” Maria did
that and Sally sighed. “You know I had hoped to see both of you
many times. From what Bob said he’s very fond of you and I wanted
to see how you felt about him but I don’t think I’ll live long
enough to find out by myself. So, tell me, are you going to get
married?”

“
Oh
Sally,” said Bob. “You shouldn’t have asked that. I don’t know what
to say.”

“
Nor do
I Sally,” added Maria. “We haven’t talked about that. We’re just
good friends.”

“
And I
want us to be good friends for a long while Sally,” added Bob, “but
I’m not sure that we should marry.”

“
My
first marriage ended badly,” said Maria. “I don’t want another
experience like that, although I’m sure Bob isn’t at all like my
former husband.”

“
Bob’s a
good man, Maria, and he’d make a very good husband. I know, for my
sister, Betty, told me that many times.”

“
Now,
stop Sally,” said Bob. “Don’t try and make us marry! We’ll do that
if we both want to but we’re not ready to discuss it. We came to
talk to you, about you, not us.”

“
Well
you can see how I am and you know that I’m not going to get any
better. So there’s nothing to say about me. It’s you two and your
future I’m interested in. All right then, tell me about this
holiday you’ve been having, what have you been doing?”

So Bob and
Maria told her about the tour and about how Maria guided tours in
Europe and in England. Maria then told her about her job and her
apartment in Lagos. Bob started to tell Sally that he had booked to
go there for a month in February but her eyes closed and she fell
asleep.

They sat and
watched her for a few minutes then a nurse entered.

“
Hello.
Oh, she’s asleep now. That’s what she always does. Half an hour is
all she can manage. She’ll sleep until we wake her up for supper.
You can come back after her supper if you wish.”

Bob looked at
Maria then said, “Yes, we’ll do that. What time would be best?”

“
She’ll
be finished by six-thirty. Shall I’ll tell her that you’re coming
then?”

“
Yes,
please,” and they left the room, shutting the door quietly. Bob
drove Maria to see Sally’s old home and they parked in the road
nearby and walked along the paths where he and his uncle used to go
and he told her more about their times together.