“We show you to room,” the man says, ushering me along. The woman is talking again, pointing out things in the courtyard. They must be half our size and don’t duck at all to access the red oval arched door leading into the house. Gus squats and I lean forward.
It’s all very quaint and pretty inside, marble floors sparkling, bursting with character. The only exception is the porcelain doll perched on one of the windowsills that I swear gives us a look as we step past.
We’re shown to a room at the top of three flights of spiral stairs, with one small double bed and a single, narrow window looking out onto the street below.
“The bathroom is on the ground floor,” the old man says. “It is shared. Please knock as there is no lock on the door.”
One night. One night. One night.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “You didn’t say how much the room is?”
“Eighty euro,” he answers.
“And what about a second room?” I ask, as he’s trying to close the door behind him.
He frowns back at me, confused. “No other rooms available. Good evening.” And then the door is closed with a click.
Oh my God.
NineCruise Location – At sea.Next Port – DubrovnikTime of Arrival – 10:00 (GMT+1)
“Why did youthankthe woman for saying we looked like a nice couple?” I ask, frowning at Gus. “No wonder they’ve put us in a shared room. There’s only one bed for fuck sakes!”
“It’s for fuck’ssake.”
“And?It literally doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact we only have one room.”
“I’ll sleep in the hall if you’d prefer.”
“Fine,” I say, nodding. That is an acceptable solution.
He scoffs, but his eyes are alight with humour. “You’d totally let me sleep out in the hall, wouldn’t you? What if that doll in the window murders me?”
“Then I’d say you shouldn’t have missed your cruise.”
“You’re incredibly mean.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. I’m realistic. Besides, I’m a single woman travelling alone. You can’t just impose yourself on me. What’s to say you didn’t hold back on purpose?”
Gus bites his bottom lip as he places his sunglasses on a side table with a tile decoration on top. “I’m pretty sure youtrust me already. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have agreed to let me join you.”
I twist my lips, because for some reason they’re attempting a smile. I would hate for him to think I’m relaxed in his presence. It would ruin my whole argument and I’m not ready to admit defeat yet. “Why did you miss the cruise anyway?”
“I kept checking this phone because I thought it automatically updated. But unfortunately, it’s a piece of shit that’s stuck on London time. So, I was an hour behind schedule.”
“Why didn’t you use the clocks in the city?”
“I thought I was being clever.”
“Wow.”
“Yes. I see now that I was being the opposite of that.”
I sigh, raising my arms. “Well, I decided to forego the tour and wander alone, lost track of time and didn’t realise my phone was practically bleeding to death in my bag. So, I didn’t get the cruise updates.”
“I probably did. But those messages went to the phone hidden under my pillow.”
“Aren’t your team going to grow suspicious if your phone never moves?”
