Page 13 of Too Busy for Love

‘Hash browns then, please.’

I watch as he pulls a bag out of one of the freezers and pops four hash browns onto a tray, before sliding it into the oven with the sausages.

‘Do you think it’s wrong, helping ourselves like this?’ I ask.

‘I wondered about that too, but most of this stuff is perishable. If we don’t eat it, it’ll only go in the bin. Plus, I think we can kiss any form of redundancy payout goodbye, so I don’t feel bad about taking a bit of payment in kind. If we sold the entire wine cellar and pocketed the cash, that’s one thing, but I don’t think anyone would begrudge us having the odd glass of wine and eating food that will only go to waste otherwise.’

‘Fair enough. Is there anything I can do?’

‘I could murder a cappuccino.’

‘It’ll take a while. The machine needs half an hour to warm up after I’ve turned it on.’

‘I’m not in any hurry. It’s not as if I have a string of urgent appointments today.’

Although I’ve never used the barista machine at Hotel Dufour before, I’m familiar enough with how they work to operate it so, after checking that the water supply is turned on, I flip the switch and leave it to heat. Jock’s remark about not having any appointments has brought back into focus something that has been bothering me.

‘Jock?’ I ask.

‘Yes?’

‘What are we going to do for the next week?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ll go mad with boredom sitting around here for a whole week. I’m used to being busy.’

‘Hm. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but you’re right. We’re under curfew though, so we’re kind of tied to the building.’

‘Curfew, not house arrest. We’re allowed out during the day, aren’t we? As long as we’re back by 7p.m.’

‘Good point.’

A plan is starting to form in my head. ‘How well do you know London?’

‘I can find my way about. The bus routes still confuse me sometimes.’

‘I was thinking more about the tourist attractions.’

‘Ah. I haven’t visited any of them.’

‘Me neither.’

‘Really? But you’ve lived in London for ages, haven’t you?’

‘A few years, yes. But you know what it’s like. Work is full on and days off are filled with boring chores like laundry and stuff. Plus, you tend to take the attractions for granted when they’re on your front doorstep, don’t you? So you think it’s fine, you’ll see them another day, but in reality, you never do. Also, these things aren’t much fun on your own, are they?’

‘Are you saying you don’t have any friends down here to visit places with?’

‘Do you?’

‘No.’

‘And probably for the same reason as me. But now we’re stuck with each other for a whole week with nothing to do. So why don’t we use the time to do a bit of sightseeing? It’ll be a hell of a lot better than sitting around here all day, contemplating our fate and being miserable. Do you know, last night, before I came into your room, all I could think about was that going to prison would effectively end my career. This is all I’ve ever wanted, and the thought of losing it is almost worse than the idea of being locked up. I need things to distract me and keep that thought out of my head, so let’s get out and about.’

He considers the thought for a moment before meeting my eyes and grinning. ‘I think that’s a brilliant idea.’

By the time breakfast is ready, I’ve drawn up a list of places we could go and start reading it to Jock.

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