Chapter 6

They chatted a little more during the flight, but another meal came, then immigration and customs declaration cards, until they started their descent into the airport. Lauren heard the now familiar sound of the landing gear and tugged her seat belt tightly around her waist. The lights below grew brighter and closer as she saw individual houses with people in the streets and the occasional car chugging along dusty tracks. Then they were out over the sea, turning lazily over a harbour, and heading back inland. More noises accompanied a dramatic decrease in speed to the point where she thought the plane had stopped in mid-air. It seemed to crawl over the airfield perimeter and touch down with a slight bump. The airfield was deserted. Even the buildings were small and few had lights on inside. They taxied to a halt as the sound of seat belts clicking reached a crescendo. The speaker system came to life with a burst of feedback.

"Welcome to San Serra in San Falino, where the local time is ten thirty two in the evening. The outside temperature is seventy seven degrees. We hope you've had a pleasant flight with us and look forward to seeing you again."

They grabbed their luggage from the overhead lockers and queued up to file out through the door. The cabin staff paraded at the exit, thanking everyone, and Lauren was relieved they didn't glare at her or Peter as she filed past.

"It's this way" he said, pointing to the sign of a suitcase down the corridor. He was taller than her, much as she guessed, feeling like a big brother as he easily carried his two small cases. Lauren lumbered after him with her own.

"What? I can't hear, my ears went pop!"

She craned her neck upwards and nodded, straining with her luggage between the two desks that made up passport control. The officer waved her though on production of her passport and they continued deeper into the airport, finding themselves in a large shed that already contained some bags. However, on closer inspection, Lauren discovered that they were not from their flight.

"Over here, this is where they come out!" shouted Peter, grinning at her temporary inability to hear.

Sure enough, within minutes her two suitcases had arrived. Peter led the way through to a hot, cramped room that had a number of tables along the far wall. Lauren was pleased that they had been some of the first off the plane as a queue built up stretching out of the room and back out along the corridor. The customs officer was bedraggled with a straggly beard and bushy black eyebrows. His uniform was tattered almost beyond repair with more holes than buttons and peeling gold braid that Lauren thought his mother would be embarrassed about. Even though it was late evening the room was stifling and she felt beads of perspiration breaking out on her forehead, realising now that she should have changed out of her jumper into a T-Shirt or something lighter.

She looked at the young man, his bushy eyebrows moving slowly up and down from a look of surprise to concern as he studied her documents. Visions of nights in sweaty jails appeared before her as she looked around for Peter, finding him a couple of desks down, also with an officer who seemed to have never seen a passport before. Perhaps they had been reported for obscenity on the plane. She looked back to see that he was peering at her jeans from behind the paperwork. Specifically the space between her jeans round the top of her legs.

"Where you from, Miss Gisal?" His white shirt was soiled on both sides of the collar from days of wear. Hair grew from his nostrils and ears. Rings shone dully on almost everyone one of his puffy fingers.

"Switzerland. Andelburg actually. It's a little village not far from Interlaken." She was about to ask if he knew it but checked herself. She tried desperately to remain calm, to focus just on the desk in front of her in case he thought she might try and run.

"Where will you be staying?" he asked, still flicking through her passport. The big cap wobbled on his head.

"With Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Rivera, in Boquette." Her heart thumped, blood surging into her head as she thought about the duty free. What if she was over the allowance? She had seen films where they take people into side rooms and grill them under lights. Strip search them for drugs. He reached inside his pocket. Lauren looked on, expecting to see handcuffs emerge, but instead, a small red stamp appeared, and banged down on the middle page of her passport.

"Welcome to San Falino, please enjoy your stay. The exit is over there." he said. Lauren looked at him as she gathered her luggage and thought he had a nice smile. She glanced over at Peter who was still in discussion. Following the exit sign, she found herself looking at a crowd of people, held back by a glass partition. Children's noses were squashed against it and adults jostled for position. By some miracle, she saw a tall, heavily-built man standing at the edge of the crowd, holding a piece of card with her name on it. He even smiled at her as she approached.

"Lauren?"

"Yes, hi!" She shook his hand.

"I'm Gustav. Did you have a good flight?" he asked, taking one of her suitcases.

"Fine thanks, I must just say..." she trailed off as she searched for Peter.

"Anything you need?"

"Well, no. I met someone on the flight but I expect he'll be a while." They had exchanged phone numbers so that would have to do. She followed her new employer out of the terminal and along the road that led to the car park. Children were everywhere, and Lauren was shocked by their ragged clothes, their dirty hair and the fact that they were still up at that time of the day. The airport was best described as casual, and she was sure she would have found people on the runway with their dogs and cattle if she had looked.

"Hey, it's still here!" said Gustav, clearly referring to the huge four wheel drive vehicle that sat under the single light in the car park. He piled her luggage in the back and they set off. They made poor progress near the airport, and the further they traveled, the tighter Lauren gripped the seat. The rules of the road appeared to be different from those of Switzerland where gesticulations are frowned upon, almost to the point of being considered punishable. In San Falino, the rule was 'Do unto him before he does unto you.' Quick wits and good brakes were obviously the order of the day as they jerked from one close encounter to another.

"You drive?" he asked, turning the air conditioning lower.

"No, I had two tests in Switzerland, but I failed both times on my parking"

"Believe me, you drive!"

They continued for another five minutes until they were clear of the industrialised airport area. Gustav pulled off the main road onto a large expanse of dark waste ground, parking the car facing into the gloom. Lauren gulped loudly as he switched off the engine and undid his seat belt.

"Do you think you could handle it? It's pretty big!" he said, turning towards her.

"What?" said Lauren, her beating furiously against her ribs. Blood surged through her head as she surveyed quickly the terrain and calculated the distance from the road.

"Show me what you can do!" he said, getting out of the car.

"What, drive you mean?"

"Sure" he said, quite naturally. Lauren exhaled loudly. "Take it round here for a while and then we can get back on the road. It's automatic. No manual gear stick." He jumped into the passenger seat as she slid across. Lauren looked at the controls, adjusted the seat and mirror, and finally started the engine (after checking that the windscreen wipers worked in ultra-fast mode). Cautiously, she moved off, turning from right to left, checking the brakes and finding the lights. Occasionally, her hand reached for the non- existent gear stick, until she relaxed back in the seat and smiled widely.

"OK, let's go then!" said Gustav, pointing to the road.

"You know that I don't have a licence"

"Show me someone who has. If you're stopped by the police, say you left it at home. Fumble in your purse, and make sure they see you have money. They'll tell you what the fine is, don't worry."

They made reasonable progress even though Lauren was tired. The journey turned out to be almost two hours and she was surprised that he had made her do all the driving. The road eventually led down the side of a hill and Lauren realised immediately that she could see the sea in front of her. The water in the harbour shimmered with the lights from the tiny fishing boats and the windows of the little houses perched on the rocks around it.