Page 26 of Old Girls on Deck
‘Captain Lebrun, may I present Mrs Wedderburn and Mrs Parker, sir.’
The captain was tall and tanned and rather attractive in a Captain Birdseye sort of way. Bright blue eyes, a well-trimmed beard, and perfect posture.
He looked genuinely pleased to see us and fussed about for a few minutes, getting us drinks from the waiting staff. I don’t know what mine was, but it was very strong with a pungent lemony taste and a garnish of cucumber.
He took Diana’s hand in both of his and gave her a warm smile.
‘I can’t tell you what an honour it is to have you on board, Mrs Wedderburn. I hope you will find time for us to have a good chat during your trip.’
He had a faint, French accent, which under other circumstances would have been quite thrilling for a lone woman who probably hadn’t had much male attention for some years. I hoped Diana was appreciating it.
The cluster of women fell back slightly, fixing Diana with resentful stares.
‘I’d be delighted,’ she said.
‘Your late husband was such an interesting man, so respected and admired. He had such a wealth of experience, and many interesting stories. He was a wonderful public speaker. He was a great character and ran a very tight ship. My sympathies for your loss, Mrs Wedderburn.’
I felt an unexpected sting of tears for my sister. It was good for her to know Casper hadn’t been forgotten, and that he had been so highly thought of. As an employee and captain, he evidently commanded a great deal of respect, but from the little snippets that Diana was admitting, I was beginning to see another side of him, one that perhaps wasn’t quite so attractive.
‘He did,’ she said, taking a gulp of her cocktail and coughing a bit. ‘I went all around the world with him several times. We had a great life. Some real adventures.’
The captain’s impressive white eyebrows shot up. ‘Of course. I expect you had a great perspective of life on board, over the years. And you must have had such fun together.’
‘Oh, yes. Of course. We did,’ she said, and she looked down at her drink.
I glanced at her, now knowing something of the truth. How she had actually been alone a lot of the time; how rigid Casper had been, not just with his crew but with his wife; how she must have actually been quite lonely. There was a certain part of my mind that felt rather angry on her behalf. Both for Casper’s behaviour and for me for not fully realising it before.
A waitress paused next to me, and I swapped my empty glass for a full one, and also graciously accepted a mini blini and caviar from an attentive waiter.
‘I wonder…’ The captain stopped and looked thoughtful. ‘I think perhaps we should get Dick to interview you if you were willing? People love to know what goes on below decks, how the crew live and work. Well, every time we have a tour around the kitchens, it’s always oversubscribed. And the life and experiences you had with Captain Wedderburn; it would be fascinating.’
‘Interview me?’ she said, rather shocked.
‘Absolutely,’ he nodded. ‘Ah look, Raphaël is free. I think we should have an official photograph, don’t you?’
I glanced over to where Raphaël was standing chatting to two women in very chic sequinned gowns which must have cost hundreds. Glancing down at the dress which Eddy had bought for me in an outlet shop, I felt rather inadequate. Still, I think I looked reasonable. And Eddy had chosen it and liked it, and that was all that mattered.
Raphaël turned and smiled across the room at Diana, and I will admit for a moment I felt a bit giggly. Perhaps the cocktail was stronger than I had realised.
My life recently had been quite predictable too. Since Eddy had retired six months ago, we had spent all our time together and I think he needed a new hobby, rather than following me around asking what I was doing and what was for lunch. So, it wasn’t just Diana who needed to take a look at life and perhaps change things. I did too. That was an interesting thought.
I had a lot to be grateful for, and on the whole I was happy, but I was beginning to see that retirement, just like any other phase in our lives, needed working at. Organising. Planning. And fortunately, I was one of life’s greatest planners and organisers. And Eddy, after all his years in banking, was a whizz with a spreadsheet. Put us together and this could be fun.
Now, out of the blue I was on a beautiful ship, in a marvellous suite, travelling with my sister into the Mediterranean to have fun, and towards some bright, sunny days, which after the dreary winter we had endured, was a bonus in itself.
Captain Lebrun and Diana stood in front of a lovely display of orchids and twigs, and Raphaël took several pictures. I could see her raising her chin as she always did to avoid the potential double chin problem. Raphaël was having none of it.
‘Just dip the chin a little, madame. Ah that’s perfect. Marvellous. And just look this way. Excellent.’
I felt a little touch on my sleeve and turned to see Evelyn, incredibly stylish in a sequinned cocktail dress, her feet encased in tiny white trainers.
‘How nice to see you again,’ she said, taking a nip of her drink – which was pink.
‘Evelyn, I didn’t know you were coming too, we could have walked up together,’ I said.
She chuckled. ‘She travels fastest who travels alone, I find. Particularly now I’ve discovered these.’ She held out one foot. ‘I was so pleased when I saw these were in vogue. No more tottering about in heels for me any more. And I was certainly not going to succumb to those terrible old lady shoes with the Velcro fastenings. I have some dignity after all. I get brochures all the time, you see. Warm vests and huge knickers, not to mention the ghastly nylon fleeces with embroidered animals. And they aren’t even warm because they are all synthetic. So bad for the planet. You can’t beat natural fibres.’
‘You’re very wise,’ I said, ‘and you look wonderful.’