‘Yeah, he was fine,’ Quaddra replied, reaching for his fork. ‘I hung around until the lifeguard had stopped the bleeding, just to check if he needed any more help, you know? Maybe I could get him a cab home or something, but he didn’t live too far, so, to be on the safe side, I walked back with him. His name was James, and he told me that he used to box in his younger years. That’s why he gets those nosebleeds every once in a while. His nose has taken its fair share of punches during his boxing days.’
‘Aww, that was so very kind of you, honey.’
‘We all need a little help every now and then, babe, no matter who we are. Anybody would’ve done the same.’
‘No, they wouldn’t,’ Mary said, with a shake of the head. ‘They would’ve taken out their phones and recorded everything for their social media, but not everyone would’ve helped… and even fewer would’ve stuck around like you did just to see if you could be of any more help. You’re amazing, do you know that?’ She stepped closer to kiss him again.
Even though he was lying, Quaddra did feel somewhat proudbecause he knew that if the bleeder scenario had really happened, he would’ve helped, just like he told Mary.
‘I don’t think I am,’ he replied. ‘But I think that we’re living in a pretty shitty world when being kind is considered to be an exception.’
Sixty-Nine
The flight from San Francisco to Vienna had been a lot more pleasant than Quaddra had expected. True, he hadn’t flown commercial long haul in quite some time, so he wasn’t exactly sure of what to expect, but he was positively impressed by the airliner’s service and their individual, and quite luxurious, first-class cabins – and so was Mary. During their eleven-hour flight to their layover in Frankfurt, Mary and Quaddra had managed to join the mile-high club – inside their private cabin, of course – and still get a clean seven hours plus of decent sleep each, something that Quaddra had to admit it would’ve never happened if they had taken his private jet.
On their way from the airport to their hotel in central Vienna, Mary and Quaddra agreed that for the next eleven days they would forget about everything and simply have a blast – eat whatever they wanted… drink whatever they wanted… and do whatever they felt like… no holdbacks. This was vacation time – no talking about dieting, or business, or the gallery, or anything else other than enjoying themselves.
‘So, babe,’ Quaddra asked, as they exited the famous Vienna State Opera after watching an impressive ballet production ofThe Sleeping Beautythat had brought tears to Mary’s eyes. ‘Tomorrow will be our third day here in Vienna. Seven more days left before we have to fly back. Have you thought of anywhere else you’d like to go?’
‘Umm…’ Mary reached for Quaddra’s hand, as they walked past the world-renowned Moulin Rouge on Walfischgasse. ‘I did… yes.’
‘OK, tell me.’ Quaddra sounded truly excited. ‘Where would you like to go next?’
‘I was thinking,’ she began. ‘Since we have no agenda, why don’t we just go mad?’ Right then, Mary looked like a school student about to suggest that they skipped class.
‘O…kay.’ Quaddra’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘I’m listening. What kind of mad? What do you have in mind?’
‘Well,’ Mary replied, her head bouncing from left to right. ‘This is Europe, where you can get just about everywhere by train, right?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘So how about we just turn up at the train station in the morning, check which trains are going where, pick one from the board…’ Mary shrugged. ‘And just go?’
Quaddra paused and turned to look at Mary, searching her face for any hints of a joke. He found none.
‘You’re serious? Like backpackers do?’
‘Exactly,’ Mary agreed.
Quaddra chuckled. ‘Except that instead of a backpack, you’ve got three huge suitcases.’
‘Are you telling me that you’re not up for a challenge?’ Mary winked at Quaddra, with a mischievous smile on her lips. ‘You’re going to chicken out?’
Quaddra’s face lit up. ‘Oh no, if you’re serious, it’s definitely on. I love that idea.’
‘Oh yeah, I’m dead serious.’ She kissed him again. ‘But before we do that, I was thinking of something else.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Since we’re already in Austria, why don’t we visit Salzburg? It’s only about three hours away on the train.’
‘Salzburg?’ Quaddra’s intrigued eyes met Mary’s. ‘What’s in Salz—’ He paused before snapping his thumb and forefinger. ‘Of course,’ he said, his head tilting back slightly. ‘Your favorite film.’
On their first-ever night out, at the Malaysian restaurant, after the exhibition at the Legion of Honor, when they chatted about art, wine, music and films, Mary had told Quaddra that her favorite TV show wasVamp Blood, but her favorite film was something completely different – a musical, released in 1965, staring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
‘The Sound of Music, right?’ Quaddra said.
Mary looked back at him a little surprised. ‘You remember?’ She actually knew every song in that film by heart.
