Chapter 48

It was late afternoon when I roused and, when I emerged from my room, I found Mum bustling around getting ready for her evening out. “I don’t know what to wear,” she said. “I didn’t bring anything smart, it’s all functional. And I don’t know what Barb will be wearing.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Men!” snorted Mum, knowing I’d be no help. “Do you think you could manage on your own this evening?” she asked. “It would be awkward dragging you along too.”

“It’s fine, Mum. I knew that a girls’ night out meant that I wouldn’t be welcome.”

“It’s not like that,” insisted Mum. “I’m sure Barb would love to meet you. But I don’t think you’d enjoy sitting there while we endlessly reminisce about our college exploits. The hotel serves evening meals and I’ll check that they have an English-speaker available to explain the menu and help you order,” said Mum.

Despite my reservations about an evening meal without Mum to translate, it was an easy decision. “Go and have some fun, Mum,” I encouraged. “You’ve earned it after all the driving you’ve done this week. But don’t overdo the drinks in case we need to leave in a hurry tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” said Mum. “That’s something else I owe you for. Would you like to come with me while I check with the hotel?”

“Yes please.”

We made our way down to reception, where Mum explained about me in her rusty Italian. After a short discussion, a waiter was summoned and from the one or two words I recognised, the whole conversation was repeated then answered.

“Jon,” said Mum, with the waiter and the receptionist looking at me expectantly. “The restaurant gets busy in the evening and they’d rather not have you dining alone in the restaurant and struggling with the menu. They’ve asked whether you would mind ordering your evening meal now and they’ll deliver it to our suite at a suitable time?”

“No problem. What are the menu options?”

In Italian, Mum asked for a menu and the waiter fetched one. She translated the choices for me and I selected something that sounded tasty. Mum checked with the waiter and he noted down my preferences. Then he took down our suite number and what time I wanted my meal.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Mum asked for the umpteenth time when we were back in the suite and she was finally ready to go out. She’d decided on something reasonably smart and reasonably comfortable, but I was sure Barb would be happy to see her even if she wore a bin liner.

My response was another eye-roll.

Finally Mum was out of the door and I could relax. I made myself a coffee using the suite facilities and settled down with the second doorstop novel while I topped up the charge on Ms Edgeway’s phone. I was so immersed in the book that I was taken by surprise by a knock on the door. It was my evening meal. The waiter took one look at me and realised he wasn’t going to get a tip so he wheeled in the serving trolley then left with the minimum of fuss.

Dinner was okay rather than wonderful, and it wasn’t very hot but it filled a gap. Afterwards I rolled the trolley outside the suite then read for another couple of hours. Mum still wasn’t back so I went to bed, taking the book with me to read for another hour. I was getting close to finishing it and I wanted to know how it ended.

The next morning, I woke later than usual. I showered and dressed then went in search of my mum. The presence of her shoes and jacket were evidence that she was back so I knocked on her door.