Page 31 of The Christmas Star

Climbing out of the vehicle, the bottom of my spine felt numb from being sat for hours. I stretched out my back and looking forward to something to eat and a comfy bed, I was glad to be out of the car for the night.

Theo opened the boot and grabbed our overnight bags. ‘Ready?’ he asked, slinging them both over his shoulder.

We made our way to the stairwell.

‘After you,’ Theo said, gesturing me forward.

Step after step and flight after flight, my leg muscles burned. My heart pumped and with our ascent taking forever, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the upper deck where the sound of ambient Christmas music replaced the whirring of the ferry’s mechanics.

Theo checked the noticeboard against our tickets and while I tried to recover, a young woman gave me a sympathetic smile as she passed by. I understood why. Standing there huffing and puffing in my mother’s slacks and boots, she probably thought I was about seventy.

‘This way,’ Theo said and before I could properly catch my breath, we were on the move again.

Despite struggling to keep up, it was nice having someone else take charge for once. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had organised something on my behalf to the point I didn’t have to think, I could just do as I was told.

Passing through reception, ferry staff wore Christmas jumpers over their uniforms and all smiles, they appeared full of festive cheer. We walked straight past the blue and yellow decorated Christmas tree, next to which sat a bright red post box in which children could put their letters to Santa. Personally, I’d have dropped our bags off in our cabins before going on a tour of the boat, but I was still too breathless to complain.

He led us into a dimly lit room, filled with nothing but lines of chairs and while I was glad of the chance to sit down for a moment, I had to wonder why we were there.

‘Here we are,’ Theo said. Stopping at a particular row, he indicated the first two seats. ‘Take your pick. Left or right?’

‘Neither,’ I replied.

Theo let out a laugh. ‘It’s either one of these or you’re on the floor.’

‘What do you mean?’ I didn’t see the point in sitting around for the sake of it. ‘I just want a bite to eat and then a good night’s sleep.’

The room doors slid open and a family of four entered, every member carrying a pillow and a blanket.

As they found their places and settled in, I looked from them to Theo. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ I said.

Unfazed, Theo shrugged. ‘Like I said, left or right?’

‘Why can’t we sleep in a bed like normal people?’

‘Because there aren’t any. All the cabins are taken. We’re last-minute passengers, remember? We only booked this morning.’

The door opened again and yet more people entered and just like the others they’d come prepared, except this time with duvets. Whispering amongst each other, they searched the rows until they found the right one.

‘I’ll never forgive you for this,’ I said. Plonking myself down in one of the assigned seats, I heard the doors swish open for a third time and another lot of passengers enter. ‘I bet they’ve got bedding too.’

I wondered if Theo thought I was being snotty. I wasn’t, of course. I was thinking ahead. In my late teens, I’d readily roughed my way around Europe. Planes, trains and automobiles, I’d slept on them all. I’d also slept on worse and had had the itchy bedbug bites to prove it. But back then, I was young and agile and having to doss down had been part of the fun. In recent years, it didn’t matter how much vitamin D, K, and omega-3 fatty acids I took, I still woke up with aching hips and a stiff neck. After a day in the car and a night in a chair, come morning there was no guarantee I’d be able to walk.

Unlike me, Theo appeared more than happy and sitting down, he made himself comfortable. He pressed the button on the side of his armrest and just like on an aeroplane his seat reclined.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Like that’s going to make a difference.’ Feeling sorry for myself, I hoped Hattie and Joyce were having a better time of things. Hattie might not be looking forward to Christmas with Gideon’s family, but at least she’d have a bed.

As for Joyce’s cruise… the comparison between the ship she would soon be on and mine was too stark a contrast to think about without whimpering. Even the two absconders were probably more comfortable. ‘I bet Mum and Jackson aren’t stuck in a room with strangers.’ I glanced around. ‘What about food? And where am I supposed to brush my teeth?’

Theo got to his feet. ‘Let me go and check things out. There might be a shower room somewhere.’

Left to my own devices, I took off my coat and draped it over my legs like a makeshift blanket. Snoring sounded from behind me and throwing my head back in my seat I groaned. ‘Merry Christmas to you too,’ I said.

With nothing else for it, I pulled my phone and earbuds from my bag and signed into Mum’s TikTok. My heart skipped a beat. There was an update.

CHAPTER 23

‘This can’t be happening,’ I said as I tried to make sense of all the numbers.