They both laughed and the tension was broken.
“When do you go?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
After a few more minutes, Maya ended the call. She remembered she hadn’t even looked at the itinerary in any detail. Grabbing the travel documents from her bag, she checked what was in store for her…
23rd December Travel to Waves Hotel, Eastbourne. Arrive approx. 5 p.m.
24th December Free time. Resident band in evening. Silly jumper competition at the evening party.
25th December Bucks Fizz reception at noon. Followed by Christmas lunch at 1 p.m.
26th December Day trip to Lewes.
27th December Trip to Beachy Head
28th December Free time.
29th December Day trip to Brighton.
30th Mystery Tour.
31st December Free time.
31st December New Year’s Eve celebration dinner and dancing until late.
1st January Free time.
2nd January Depart hotel for home at 9am.
There will be nightly entertainment in the ballroom, which is included in the price.
It was going to be pretty full on and not very restful, but on the free days, she planned to read and walk. She headed for her bedroom and hauled out her suitcase. She chose several warm jumpers, jeans, and trousers. Thankfully, she had a silly Christmas jumper from when her work had hosted a charity day. She held up the bright red sweater which had a ram and ewe on the front kissing. Written in black and silver glittery writing underneath the picture was the slogan, All I want for Christmas is Ewe. It was cringeworthy, but perfect for this competition.
As there was evening entertainment, she picked out a few skirts and blouses. Her eyes skimmed over her dresses and she decided on two as there were parties on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. She hung them up, ready to put in her case the following evening.
When the morning of the trip dawned, she was up early so she could have a good breakfast before she set off. She packed her iPod, Kindle, and some magazines in her backpack. It was going to take all day to get there, and she wanted to ensure she had enough reading material to keep her occupied. She popped her handbag inside the backpack, along with a bottle of water and some sweets. Checking she had her purse and travel documents, she waited for the taxi to arrive.
When she reached the bus station, she strolled over to stand ten, which was the pick-up point for the coach. There were several people already there. And as she suspected, they were mostly sixty plus in age. A couple, probably in their forties, was also there with two teenagers. She wondered how on Earth they’d enjoy this trip. Judging by their bored expressions, eyes glued to their mobile phones, they wanted to be anywhere but there.
“Oh, boy. This is going to be such fun,” she muttered under her breath.
Their coach arrived and she hung back, letting everyone else get on before her. They had allocated seats, so it wasn’t a problem. Hers was the window seat the row before the backseat. Maya looked at all the walkers and wheelchairs which had to be loaded. There were more of those than luggage by the looks of it. She was so glad she wasn’t the tour guide or the driver. They’d certainly have their work cut out on this trip.
The tour guide ticked people off her list as they got onboard. She gauged the lady was heading towards sixty and she already looked harassed. This was only the start of the trip; goodness knows what she’d be like by the end of it.
When Maya finally got on, she took a deep breath. Most of her fellow travellers were still taking off coats, putting their bags away, and getting settled. She fixed a smile on her face and attempted not to scream at them all to hurry up. One lady was having trouble putting her coat and bag up on the luggage rack. Maya took pity on her.
“Here,” she offered, taking the items from the lady. “Let me help you.”
The lady smiled her gratitude. “Thank you, dear. That’s lovely.”
“No problem.”
Maya realised her mistake too late. Several others had witnessed her display of kindness and asked her to help them. By the time she reached her seat, she was hot and flustered. There were two more pick-up points before the coach commenced its final journey to Eastbourne. The second stop was, again, mostly elderly people, with one couple possibly in their forties. The seat next to her remained vacant. With any luck, it would stay that way.
By the third pick-up, she’d donned her iPod to drown out all the incessant chatter and had her head in one of the magazines, reading an article about serial relationship cheats. Probably not the best thing to focus on after her recent experience. She hadn’t even realised that the coach had stopped until she heard someone placing items in the rack above the seats.
Glancing up as the person took the seat next to her, she couldn’t hold back her gasp of surprise. Her eyes grew wide with horrified shock as she met a pair of green eyes that she recognised. It was the guy she’d covered in coffee and almost run over not two days before.
“You!” she said in an accusatory tone.
Green eyes didn’t appear to be enthused by the idea of sitting next to her either. This trip was going to be worse than she’d initially envisaged.
Chapter 3
Carter
Carter headed off to meet the coach at its pick-up point and began to question his sanity. This trip was bound to be filled with older people. No one of his own age group. But then again, would that be such a bad thing? At least he wouldn’t get hit on by single women. It wouldn’t be so bad for him to be with the older generation, especially with his job role. He worked for a local charity as an advisor for the elderly, so it would probably be a busman’s holiday for him.
It was why he hadn’t been bothered about going on a holiday such as this one. It was his comfort zone. One lady was having trouble negotiating the steps of the coach and he went to her aid.
“Need a hand?” he asked her.
“Would you mind? My legs don’t work quite as well as they used to.”
“Not at all. Here.” He offered her his arm. “Hold on tight.”
Once he’d navigated her to her seat, she turned and smiled at him. “Thank you so much, love.”
“Anytime.”
Carter glanced at his boarding information again and saw he was close to the back of the coach. He’d come prepared with audiobooks, music, and a newspaper. This journey would be a long one, and as most of his fellow travellers were well into retirement age, it was going to be a long time getting on and off, too.
He noted there was a woman sitting in the window seat next to his, engrossed in her magazine. From what he could see, she looked to be more his age. At least he wouldn’t be on his own. Carter took the seat next to her. When she looked up, he was faced with a pair of angry amber eyes. The eyes of a woman who’d covered him in coffee and almost mowed him down on a crossing.
“You,” she snapped.
“Hey, it wasn’t like I expected you to be on this trip. Trust me, lady, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have booked this holiday. I value my life.”
“What do you mean by that? It wasn’t as if I did it on purpose. I’m not in the habit of attacking guys I don’t know.”
“Oh,” he countered. “Just guys you do know, huh?”