Page 67 of The Cocktail Bar
Chapter Thirty-Four
RIVER
River and Alice flew over to surprise the travel group in Prague, mainly because River had no intention of tempting fate by opening the bar on carnival night.
“But it’s the perfect time to be trading,” Alice had said when he’d first run the idea of the much needed mini-break past her. “We’d easily fill up the top floor with customers at long last, besides, Lee could probably get the time off to help us cope with the extra demand now he’s learned the Martini and Piña Colada basics with you for that bar he’s had installed. Jonie was telling me all about it – whereishe getting all this money from by the way? First he’s funding the drinks and nibbles at the cat sanctuary’s opening, even the Rigby-Chandlers were put out about that… funny as it was, then he’s whisking Jonie off on a cruise around the Med; he’s updated the car, they’ve got a wedding to pay for, I’m guessing a honeymoon too—”
“Some people are just better at saving than others, I guess.”
River had blatantly ignored her questioning over his decision not to open up that Saturday, equally keen not to blow Lee’s cover. He’d only just told Jonie about his win during said boating around the Mediterranean, was keen to keep his secret closely guarded for as long as he could to the outside world.
Still, whatwasnotable was the way Alice was changing. Not so long ago in the band and she’d have felt entitled to all of life’s little trappings, and whilst her prying into Lee’s finances might have come across as nosey to an outsider, it was as sure a sign as any of her descent from noblesse to ordinariness. Not that she could ever be ordinary if she tried. But it boded well for the kind of grounded life he was keen to live, preferably always with her by his side.
And in a funny kind of way it felt terrible not to be sharing Lee’s Lotto windfall with Alice. Despite that incredible evening in the caravan weeks ago, they’d sat down at the kitchen table as two responsible adults the very next morning, agreeing to take things slowly by officially dating – regardless of the inescapable fact they were already cohabiting – with all the movies and dinners and takeaways and beachy Weston-Super-Mare style strolls that entailed; sex, for the moment, frustratingly on hold. So far, so good; they’d stuck toAlice’sprinciples. But their relationship felt all the more authentic for it, he had to admit it.
“But I haven’t seen a live carnival here for so many years,” Alice had continued that day in the bar when he’d sprung the idea of a zip trip to Prague to surprise everyone upon her, “imagine how cool it would be to watch it out the top window… and to be able to drop coins for charity into those long pole collection thingys that the people in fancy dress carry up and down the High Street.”
“It’s a recipe for disaster, a Jägermeister bomb waiting to explode.”
River shook his head, genuinely surprised at the way she’d glossed over her childhood memories of the really quite terrifying faces of some of the town folk dressed as clowns – and other creations he couldn’t always put a name to – but also genuinely reluctant to upset her. He knew all too well the truth behind his reasoning. Plus the fact, Lee wouldn’t be able to get the time off just like that. The supermarket would be heaving. It would be all systems go in every retail outlet within a ten mile radius of Glastonbury’s epicentre: this was the second prime weekend in the year for shoplifting, the festival aside.
He couldn’t help but smile though at the journey his friendship with Lee had taken. It was the most curious of things. Just at the beginning of this year they were sworn enemies, well, at least sworn token enemies, it was clear with whom the real hatred lay, and now they’d become such good friends that not only had Lee officially asked River to be Best Man at his nuptials which were just around the corner, River had also approached Lee with a proposition of his own. But that was something he wasn’t quite ready to tell Alice about, not just yet, anyway. Amazingly, neither she nor Georgina had questioned his recent disappearance on ‘business’ last Wednesday and Thursday.
It certainly felt like life really was falling into place, those unaccounted jigsaw pieces fitting into their rightful abode. He no longer had to sweat it out worrying over the bottle, secure as it would be, quite literally under wraps – at least until the call he was waiting for came in, and depending of course upon that call’s revelation. Until then, there it would stay, beneath the cosy tartan. Georgina had calmed down of late too, and whilst River still hadn’t managed to find a reason to eject her from the bar and truly wondered what he’d ever seen in her, at least he had regained enough trust to let her manage it while they were away in Prague – with the exception of its definite closure on carnival Saturday.
She’d seemed genuinely thrilled at the prospect when he’d put it forward. He’d hired a mixologist from Newquay for three nights and everything, putting him up at The Guinevere and paying him well for his time. Lee was going to step in as well, at least to partner up with Georgina on the service front, but only for the three nights which fell either side of the actual carnival – a feast for the senses in every sense of the word, taking place as it did every year at the end of November. All in all, he was confident he’d left things in very safe hands.
“But we’re off to Prague… as tourists this time! It’s gonna be so much more fun than watching a bunch of tractors and sweat-drenchedX-Factorhopefuls singing and dancing on neon light bulb studded floats. We can do that any year, but there will only ever be one inaugural travel group visit to the Prague Christmas market,” he’d reminded her.
“True,” she’d said. “Iamlooking forward to it, I promise, I can practically sniff the mulled wine in the air, and I’m especially curious as to how Terry is going to get on with all that driving.”
They both laughed at that.
The travel group had decided, during one of its many get-togethers in The Cocktail Bar, to hire a mini bus and drive all the way to the Czech Republic’s capital, that way they’d have more room for their goodies and could fit in more countries en-route, ticking the boxes on all of their club requirements. Nobody had been more relieved than Terry, as he’d never set foot on a plane.
***
“Are you absolutely sure this is the same boat hotel they’re staying in?”
Alice quizzed River as the silent and melancholic Czech taxi driver pulled over to the quay and pointed at the fare on his screen, a couple of weeks later. It made a refreshing change from the incessant dialogue and munching they’d become all too acquainted with courtesy of one Hayley, who’d more than become their personal chauffeur since the summer, taking them here, there and everywhere at discount rates in return for guaranteed pole position as chief taxi driver for The Cocktail Bar – even if she too would be a recipient of their Cilla Black style shenanigans later.
Fare paid, soon they found themselves inside the boat, heading up the short queue for check in, where River also found himself the recipient of a surprise of his own: resorting to having to use his C list past to help secure what would normally be top secret information.
“But I really shouldn’t be revealing the dining plans of fellow guests, Sir,” said the male receptionist, whose name badge with its Dutch flag told them his name was Piet.
“Would you do it for a signed CD then? A signedAvaloniaCD?”
“I haven’t a clue who Avalonia are, and no, it’s against company rules to disclose this kind of information.” He threw in a string of tuts to make that extra clear.
“But what’s stopping me as a guest from knocking on all the doors in the hotel and finding them that way?” said River, his voice desperately trying to shroud his irritation. “This is my mum we’re talking about—”
“Our friends besides,” added Alice, removing her shades and propping them up on her head so her curls fell enticingly over her face and it was all River could do not to sweep them away, or attempt to nuzzle them as they swayed to and fro. “Surely you wouldn’t begrudge them our company tonight?”
He’d always swore that he’d never be one of those sickeningly sweet men who refer to their partner with a pet name, or adopt childlike habits in the bedroom, lest he lose his dignity completely. But Alice had him hook, line and sinker and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it if he tried.
And then he felt a little justified, having taken in the come-hither smile of the designer-stubbled ‘Piet’. It wasn’t just River after all.
“On this occasion, I suppose I could overlook that conformity,” Piet replied, gazing solely at Alice, “In return foryoursignature on one of those CDs.”
