Piggy Phil and his dirty shirts.
‘Good! That’s what I like to hear.’ Tracey raised her fist jubilantly. ‘I’m sick of all these young people being forced to work all the hours God sends with zero rewards.Especiallyyoung women.’ She shook her head in dismay. ‘Life’s too short to be spending it at a desk.’
‘Hear hear!’ Andrea cheered.
‘And what made you decide to come to India?’ Alison asked. ‘Sorry, you must feel like you’re being interviewed. It’s just that you’re new and exciting.’
‘And what? We’re all old and boring?’ Andrea teased.
‘Speak for yourselves, girls. There’s plenty of life in this dog yet,’ Tracey announced proudly, causing Peter to mutter something derogatory under his breath, earning him yet another swift slap from Betty.
‘Anyway, Olivia’ – Alison took the reins once again – ‘why did you choose India? Have you always wanted to visit?’
‘Not really,’ she mumbled.
‘Is it part of a bigger tour or something?’
Olivia was reminded of the back-and-forth she’d had with Jacob. Why did everyone always ask so many questions? Sweat started to glisten across her forehead, and suddenly her stomach felt far too full and extremely uncomfortable.
‘Nope.’
Alison’s brow furrowed. ‘Surely it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision? I don’t imagine India is a place you wake up one morning and suddenly decide to visit.’
Olivia felt the pressure mounting behind her forehead. How could she tell the truth withoutactuallytelling the truth?
‘It was a present.’
‘A present?’ Peter barked. ‘Who on earth gives someone a trip to India as a present?’
‘Peter!’ Betty struck him again, but to no avail.
‘What? Back in my day you’d be lucky if you got a slap round the ear, let alone a holiday to the other side of the world.’ He crunched down hard on a samosa. ‘This world is going crazy, I tell you. Absolutely bloody crazy.’
‘Who was the present from, dear?’ Betty cooed, now switching to the technique of ignoring her husband completely. ‘It must be a very special someone.’ Her eyes twinkled and Olivia’s heart dropped an inch in her chest.
‘It was from my sister.’
‘Goodness me.’ Betty’s hand flew to her chest. ‘How wonderful is that!’
Olivia felt the tears prick her eyes, hot and salty. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it seemed to be growing larger with every passing second.
‘Uh-huh,’ she managed, her throat tightening around the words.
‘Jesus, the best thing I got from my sister was a freaking BHS voucher. Two months later they went into administration, so I couldn’t even use it.’ Alison laughed, her tight blonde curls shaking with the force.
‘And what do you plan to do while you’re in Agra?’ Betty continued the interrogation, extending her bony elbows across the table so that her husband was all but blocked from view.
Olivia’s mind drifted upstairs to the reorganized agenda that lay on her bedside table.
‘I’ve decided to visit the red stone town tomorrow morning.’
‘Ah, Fatehpur Sikri.’ Suki surreptitiously placed two samosas on to Olivia’s plate. ‘It’s breathtaking.’
‘That’s the one.’ Olivia placed her hand over her food in an attempt to stop any more being added. ‘And then I was going to try and squeeze in the Agra Fort and the Tomb of Akbar, then a quick stop at the Taj Mahal in the afternoon before my train in the evening.’
‘Jesus Christ, kid, are you trying to kill yourself? I’m exhausted even listening to that,’ Peter groaned.
‘That’s probably because you’re old and decrepit.’ Tracey grinned, leaning back in her chair and patting her swollenstomach. ‘You don’t have the stamina of a young buck like Livvo.’
