Back on Track, page 16
He gave Ketty the lightest of smiles and stepped inside.
“They were busy at the bar. But they had some of your favourite camomile, honey and vanilla.”
“I thought you must have stopped for another drink. I’ve been trying to get myself propped up comfortably.”
Ketty hovered just back from the door, which was still open.
“Do you want me to get the steward?” he said.
“Good heavens, that won’t be necessary. Surely you can reach down a pillow.”
“I thought you wanted something firmer for your knee.”
The train lurched and Ketty wobbled forward a small step, putting her in sight of the open door. The woman looked up from where she was propped on the edge of the bunk. She wore ivory silk pyjamas not unlike the blush silk pair awaiting Ketty, and their eyes met briefly. There was something in that determined gaze that Ketty found familiar.
“Shut the door, Beau, for goodness sake. There’s so little privacy on this train.”
Ketty stepped back as the door shut firmly in front of her. She berated herself. She’d been caught eavesdropping and she didn’t blame the woman for being snippy. Her interest had overruled her common sense. Not a customer. Ketty knew them all well. Perhaps they’d met on a cruise but Ketty couldn’t place her.
She turned and retraced her steps. She’d planned to make her own cup of tea in the little kitchen at the end of the carriage, plain camomile for her, but perhaps it would be better to get it at the bar as the man, Beau, had done.
Lacey and Birgit smiled as she passed them on her way as did a few other people whose faces were becoming familiar after the tour today. More passengers stood at the bar, chatting in merry and high tones that suggested they were well past several drinks under their belts.
She moved into a space created as a couple left and ordered her tea. A uniformed man stepped in beside her, nodded to the attendant behind the bar and put one arm on the counter. It was Matt, who’d helped her earlier in the day.
He smiled. “Enjoying your journey, Ketty?”
“I am, thank you, Matt, and thank you for your help earlier with the cabin.”
“Not a problem. There’s usually someone who picks the wrong carriage or the wrong cabin door.”
“They do all look the same.”
“Everything else is all right? You’re being well looked after?” he asked as the bar attendant placed a mug beside him.
“Most certainly. I’m travelling with six companions and we’re all having a wonderful experience.”
Behind her there was a loud chortle and Ketty recognised Birgit’s laugh.
She nodded in that direction. “Those two young women are part of my group and they chummed up with a couple of Irish cousins right at the start of the journey.”
“It’s good to know you’re all enjoying yourselves.” His arm shot out to steady the elbow of a passing woman who veered sideways with the motion of the train.
“Thank you,” she said as she gripped the back of a chair with one hand and lifted her glass with the other. “Didn’t spill a drop.”
Ketty sensed Matt keeping one eye on the woman as she moved on to join her friends. There was an air of confident authority behind his genial exterior.
“What’s your role on board?” she asked.
“You might say I’m police officer, medico, counsellor, statesman, sorter of wrong cabins.” His moustache twitched with his good-natured grin. “And everything in between. But my official label is train manager.”
“That must be an interesting job.”
“It certainly is,” he said as the man behind them loudly pondered their arrival time in Alice Springs the next morning. “We should be set up at the terminal by nine,” Matt said.
“Thanks, mate.”
Matt nodded and turned back to Ketty.
“I must say your staff have all been very helpful,” she said. “We had a few problems at the start – nothing to do with the train, more the chopping and changing of my party. Jade was a big help.”
“Were you the group where a booking was mucked up?”
“Yes. My friend’s cabin was rebooked for someone else, but the issue was caused by his travel agent not the train.”
“Normally we’d have a spare cabin or two but we’re at capacity this trip.”
“We don’t mind sharing.”
“I’m glad it worked out.”
“Excuse me.” Jade approached from the dining car. She glanced at Ketty and smiled. “Sorry to interrupt but would you mind checking something for me, please, Matt?”
“No worries.”
“I’ll leave you to it.” Ketty looked at her cup, which she’d left on the bar, and realised she’d drunk the tea while they’d been talking. She waved at the girls again as she left. Birgit appeared to be full of energy but Lacey was a little pale. “Don’t stay up too late. Big day tomorrow,” she joked.
“We won’t.” Birgit waved an empty glass. “Last drinks.”
“Don’t worry, Granny, we’ll have them home before midnight.” Rory smiled smugly.
Lacey and Birgit both gasped and Rhys looked down at his hands.
Ketty took a breath then pinned Rory with her most steadfast look. “Sadly, Rory, I’m not anyone’s granny. I would prefer you to call me by my name, Ketty.”
“It was just a…” His smirk dropped away. “Sorry, yes, okay…Ketty.”
“Goodnight then.” Ketty smiled and as she turned away she caught Lacey’s eye and winked.
She took care as she walked, sure they were watching her still. She’d discovered the trick to not looking like a swaggering drunk was to keep in rhythm with the sway of the train.
Safely in the next carriage, Ketty paused and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She often let ageist remarks slip but in Rory’s case she hadn’t been able to. Carlos was the one to suggest she speak up when such comments bothered her. It had been after she’d broken her wrist and she’d been feeling down. He’d arrived back from his visit with his cousin the week after it happened and had lifted her from her doldrums.
The break hadn’t been a bad one but had required a plaster that covered her hand from the base of her fingers and stopped just short of her elbow. Of course she’d told Carlos about it on the phone. He’d been coming back her way anyway so he’d returned a few days earlier than planned.
“Tell me again what happened?” he’d asked as soon as he’d settled back in.
“Nothing exciting. Tien thought she was helping but she knocked me off balance. I put a hand out to stop myself and…” Ketty had raised the plastered arm a little. “This is the result.”
“Bad luck.”
“That’s what I said. It was early evening. I went to hospital reluctantly. I already felt like I was wasting their time. Judith was with me and when we first got to the ED there were some desperate cases waiting to be seen. I wanted to leave but Judith insisted we stay and it turned out I had a scaphoid fracture.”
“We saw a lot of broken wrists at sea.”
“It was a simple break but the doctor praised Judith for insisting I go in. He said it was best I hadn’t left it overnight. Evidently it mends easier when it’s treated early. I was glad of her company through it all.”
“Is the arm bothering you?”
“No.” Ketty raised it up and down again.
“But something else is?”
“It was for the best that Judith insisted I have the wrist seen to…”
“I sense a ‘but’.”
“She’s an employee and we’ve become friends over the years, good friends. She’s my right hand with the business.” Ketty felt her annoyance build. “Here’s the but. The doctor who assessed my arm spoke with Judith as if I wasn’t there.”
“That was rude.”
“It was more him taking the lead than her, and normally I would have interjected but I think by then I was so tired and my arm was aching…I just let them talk. What really irked me was Judith telling the doctor I’d had a fall. I felt it was more of a push but anyway it brought his attention back to me. He asked me so many questions about my general health I thought he’d forgotten about my arm.” Ketty drew in a deep breath. “Before that, while they were talking over me…it’s silly but…just for a moment, I felt like an invisible old woman.”
“You, my dear Ketty, will never be invisible and age should have nothing to do with it. You were off your stride, that’s all. Quite understandable.”
“I’ve had a bit of reflecting time since. I should have spoken up.”
“You were probably in shock. Judith as your support person should have redirected the doctor’s initial questions to you.”
“Later one of the nurses came to take my obs and said something like ‘What have you been doing to break a wrist, young lady?’” Ketty’s shoulders sagged. “I was already feeling vulnerable and she spoke to me in a patronising tone as if I was a child who’d been up to no good. It was humiliating.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry? You wouldn’t be so unkind. I think it happens more with women.”
“Not at all. I saw that kind of response with my parents from time to time, both of them. And there was a job I went for where I was told they were looking for someone younger.”
“Are they allowed to say that?”
“Probably not but I was too surprised to take it up with them. I left feeling rather useless and yet the job description fitted my skills perfectly. I should have spoken up. I think we both should from now on. Life is for everyone, not just those under sixty.”
“I don’t like to make people feel bad about what they’ve said.”
“But they make you feel bad about yourself and that’s not right either. Give it some thought. I’d be guessing neither that doctor or the nurse realised how undermining their comments were. I’m sure with your diplomacy you could respond in a way that lets them know how you feel. In case it were to happen again. I’ve certainly been thinking on it since the job rejection.”
“Was it back in Spain? I didn’t realise you were looking for work.”
Carlos had cleared his throat. “I…” He’d shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Now what can I do to cheer you up? Do you feel like a meal at Felix and Anna’s cafe?”
Ketty’s spirits had lifted at the thought. “Yes, please,” she’d said.
The door to the carriage opened behind her and Ketty was suddenly back in the present. She hurried forward, moving silently along the carpeted floor and letting herself quietly into the cabin. From behind she heard a distant tap. She peered back around the doorframe. Matt was standing at the far end of the corridor. The cabin door in front of him opened and he stepped inside. She wondered what the stick woman in that cabin had requested at ten o’clock at night. Ketty shook her head. She really must find out the woman’s name and stop thinking of her as ‘stick woman’.
She shut her own door, sliding the lock just in case Mr Visser got lost in the night and ended up in the wrong cabin again. She slipped off her shoes and enjoyed the soft feel of the carpet beneath her feet. Carlos had left a reading lamp on over her bunk and it gave the cabin a cosy glow. He was a dark shape on the bottom bunk, his face to the wall, snoring softly. They’d agreed she’d take the top, and she rested her foot on the first step of the ladder, testing its stability. It seemed firm enough.
She used the bathroom then slipped out of her clothes and into her pyjamas, all the while listening to the steady sound of Carlos’s deep breathing. It was strange, sharing this tiny space with Carlos, and yet not so. He had been her house guest on and off over the previous Christmas and summer. Her apartment had two bedrooms but it wasn’t huge. She only had one bathroom, although he often used the staff bathroom downstairs out of business hours. They’d made it work as friends did.
Ketty gripped the ladder and carefully made her way up to the top bunk. She slipped between the sheets and turned out the light. Lying there in the dark she was more aware of the sounds and movement of the train. The vibrations, rattles and bumps had more urgency to them. It seemed to her that it was travelling faster than it had during the day.
She knew she shouldn’t compare this train journey to cruising. It was a totally different experience, but she couldn’t help but wish for the gentler movement and hush of a cabin in a ship on the water.
Ketty nestled further into the bunk; the sheets were soft, the pillow just right and the mattress comfortable and yet she knew sleep would elude her. For that she could hardly blame the train. It was more than the first night in a new bed, when she was often restless. Her head swirled with all the revelations she’d heard today. The discord between Judith and Lacey was far worse than she’d realised and there was something going on with Ning. Ketty wondered about Birgit and Tien and if she’d missed vital clues concerning their lives as well. And then there was Carlos. Despite Ketty’s bravado, Judith’s outburst left a small niggle of doubt. Was there some truth to what she’d said?
Ketty rolled to her side. The cabin was dark but not pitch black. She stared at the panelling in front of her. She’d known Carlos a long time. He was a good friend, delightful company, a decent man. And yet… She closed her eyes and rolled to her other side, settled into the bunk again and took long slow breaths. Her thoughts drifted to the new people she’d met today. A train journey certainly gave plenty of opportunity for that. There’d been lots of incidental chats with various individuals and she’d found Val and Warren good company. Then there was the couple from the cabin at the other end of her carriage, something about them intrigued her. The woman in particular, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
She rolled to her back and sighed. Her brain ached with the constant round of thoughts. She needed to distract herself. She thought about the book she’d brought but it was still in her case, which was too difficult to get down without disturbing Carlos. She was glad at least he appeared to be deep in sleep. He’d travelled for a long time and the first day on the train and off had been so busy. They’d had little chance to talk privately since the train left Darwin. Judith’s words ricocheted around her brain again. Ketty rubbed her face with her hands. She’d come full circle and was thinking of him once more. Beyond her cabin she heard the occasional sound of a door closing and muffled voices. She wasn’t the only one still awake.
twenty
Night One – Travelling South
Judith lay on her back staring up into the dark, the vibrations of the train keeping her awake rather than rocking her off to sleep. There was so much going on and she wasn’t handling any of it very well. She’d been snappy with Ning and Tien and rude to Lacey, who rubbed her up the wrong way, especially now. She’d never been close to Lacey, had found her too forward when it came to knowing her place but after what happened with Dean…Judith huffed out a breath. She should be thankful. He could do so much better than Lacey.
And then the worst thing of all – Judith had tried to warn Ketty about Carlos. It hadn’t gone well and she hated to think she’d ruined her longstanding friendship with Ketty in the process. How was she going to get through the next few days? It was impossible to avoid each other in the confined spaces of the train.
She had hoped this holiday would give her some respite from her troubles but so far it had only compounded them. She’d also planned to talk to Ketty about her personal dilemma. Trouble was there didn’t seem like there’d be time for heart-to-heart conversations, especially now that she’d blathered on about Carlos.
Judith rolled to her side and her elbow, still sore, knocked the wall beside her. “Blast!” she hissed.
“Judith?” Ning’s tentative voice came from the bunk below.
“Sorry, just bumped the wall. Did I wake you?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither.”
“Shall I go down to that little kitchen and make us a cup of tea? I’ve brought my peppermint tea from home.”
“Perhaps—” Before Judith could say any more, Ning’s light flicked on and she was out of bed, sliding her robe over her shoulders and her feet into her slippers.
She waved a packet of tea bags at Judith. “It won’t take long.”
Judith sat up and flicked on the reading light as Ning let herself quietly out the door. She’d been worried about sharing and yet so far it had been the easiest part of the trip. Ning was certainly an agreeable roommate. And she was well prepared. Judith hadn’t worried about packing a dressing-gown. She wasn’t planning on anyone but Ning seeing her in her night attire of an oversized T-shirt and loose pants.
The cabin had a cosy glow in the low light from their bed lamps. She took it in for a moment then climbed carefully down the ladder. Even though the rungs felt solid beneath her feet she took extra care. Her ankle, like her elbow, was a bit tender from the scrapes she’d had at the gorge. She looked around the small space wondering where they’d sit – the couch had been transformed into a sleeper for the night. There was a gentle thud on the door. She opened it to find Ning, elbow extended – no doubt it had caused the thud – and a mug in each hand.
Ning handed one over. “I thought mugs easier than cups and saucers.”
They shimmied around each other and Ning put her mug on the little table and crawled back into her bed. She patted the end of it. “Can you fit under here?”
Judith climbed onto the other end and slid down a little. She sat with her legs crossed, nursing the hot mug in her hands. Ning took a sip of her tea. Judith blew gently on hers then took a tentative sip. She was surprised by the spicy peppery flavour.
Ning leaned forward, studying her. “I didn’t ask if you like peppermint tea.”
“I’ve never had it before.”
“Haven’t you?” Ning’s eyes widened. “I drink it most evenings before bed. It’s good for your digestion as well as sleep.”
Judith took another sip. The taste was growing on her. She eased back against the spare pillow propped behind her, and even though she was sure it was mind over matter, she felt some of the weight of her day begin to slip away. She smiled at Ning. “I like it.”
