The next six days fell into a routine of breakfast, physio, ward round, rest and read, lunch, a FaceTime chat with Izzy, the twins and Larry, more physio, visitors and a delivery dinner. All the time being interrupted by nurses taking readings. Over the days Jinnie got steadier on the feet and on day three was allowed to go to the toilet and wash, using the walking frame, but only with a nurse in attendance. On day five she was allowed to cast aside the walker, walk up and down the corridor several times, accompanied by the physiotherapists and the need to call a nurse when she wanted to go the toilet was dispensed with.
On day six, the physios asked Jinnie if she fancied tackling going down and then back up a flight of stairs. Jinnie jumped at the opportunity as she knew that once she had cleared that obstacle, she was much closer to being discharged. The journey down the stairs was easy, but she was chastised by the lead physio for not using the handrail. At the bottom of the two flights between floor eight and floor six, the physios had placed a chair and insisted she sit for a few minutes and recover her breath fully before tackling the climb back up. When Jinnie got up she looked up the stairs and briefly wondered if she could make it. She did so fairly easily despite breathing heavily when she got to the top and was pleased to see the assistant physio had carried the chair up the stairs so she could sit down at the top.
***
That afternoon, Sir Nigel arrived with Emma and Freddie. Sir Nigel’s armed guard sat outside the room and chatted with Jinnie’s armed guard. Paolo put a fresh pot of filter coffee on and offered round the biscuits. Sir Nigel said, “This is lovely, just like being in Hadley, the only thing that’s missing is Larry.” An amused Jinnie replied, “But I talk to him every day on FaceTime when I talk to the twins.” Nigel said, “Without Emma I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what FaceTime was but she is slowly educating me in all these technical things.”
Nigel told her that before he flew out for this break, he had attended his first Trattoria Trevi (Group) board meeting and had been impressed with how well it had gone. He updated her on progress at Maple House, the sandwich bar was up and running and doing excellent business. The offices were very nearly ready and when he had been shown around, he thought they looked magnificent. He said he had even been allocated an office.
Sir Nigel reported that Trattoria Trevi Erdington was open and trading well, another sandwich shop had joined the chain this time. It was in Manchester city centre, the first in the city but he didn’t know how it was doing. He said that he had tried the first Sybaritic in North Finchley and had loved it. Emma said, “Nigel invited Freddie and me and we booked in Freddie’s name so as not to get special treatment, but of course Nigel was recognised the second we walked in. I don’t think we were treated very differently to any of the other diners. I think you would be delighted, it was really nice, the food and service were very good, Belinda’s team had done a wonderful job and it looks very different to the Trattoria Trevi, more modern. It’s in a very busy area, on a junction of two main roads with a council car park just behind. It really is fabulous, and the waiter said it was very busy. We will go again.”
“You’re right,” replied Jinnie, “I am happy. It was all my idea, although the property team found the site. I need to talk to Alberto about it as soon as I get home.” Nigel said they were flying to Miami the next day where he was giving a lecture, but they were staying a couple of days so that they could visit the Kennedy Space Centre. Sir Nigel asked if she had a discharge date yet and Jinnie said not yet but she hoped it would be soon and explained about the stairs test.
***
After breakfast the following morning, Sister Abigail arrived with a nurse and fussed around tidying up and making sure everything was exactly right including the hospital corners on the bedding. Jinnie asked, “Is royalty visiting?” and the nurse collapsed in a fit of the giggles, while the sister said, “No, it’s consultant’s rounds and I want everything to look good.” Once she had gone, Paolo said, “I thought the consultant was supposed to look after the patients’ health, not the environment.” But Jinnie was more interested in whether he would let her out, she felt she was fit enough to fly home, but it would have to be in First Class or Upper Class.
The consultant breezed into the room and Jinnie thought he was absolutely charming. He was accompanied by his team which included the sister, a nurse, two residents and four student doctors. He said hello and made straight for her records which he flicked through before handing them to one of the students and said, “Tell me, what do we do with this patient.” The student looked at the paperwork and said, “Well, Sir, I think she is ready for discharge, but we have a small problem.” “Go on,” said the consultant. “This patient lives in England, and I would normally want her to be seen in outpatients in a week or two just to check everything was OK before allowing her back to work. I would like to suggest the same thing here, but I suspect she would be tempted to jump on a flight home.”
“Exactly,” said the consultant, “I would not recommend flying for a week or two, so what do we do?” he asked a second student. The student thought for a moment and said, “We clearly have a problem, the patient is fit enough to release, but not fit enough to fly or to work. We can hardly keep her in hospital when she is fit, so I would suggest that as she has no home on Barbados she should stay in a hotel until we say she is fit to fly.” “Yes,” said the consultant, “that would be acceptable.” Jinnie had been listening intently and said, “Excuse me asking, Sir, but would it be OK if I stayed in a friend’s holiday home in Sandy Lane?”
“Well, yes,” said the consultant, “but I don’t want you doing anything, so you would need to do nothing.” Looking at Paolo he added, “And have your husband look after you.” Paolo grinned and said, “I think I have a better idea. I have been making enquiries and the P&O Britannia finishes her Caribbean season on Saturday and will be visiting five islands before heading for Southampton. I have found that these end-of-season one-way cruises are not terribly popular and we can book a suite fairly easily. If I were to book that it would fulfil all your requirements, two more weeks of doing nothing physical, unless you give her permission to use the gym, no bed making, cleaning or cooking and back to England without flying.”
“If I discharge her tomorrow, what will you do until Saturday?” asked the consultant. Paolo was ready for that and replied, “I am currently staying at the Sandy Lane Hotel so tomorrow night is no problem and although the ship doesn’t sail until Saturday evening, we could board on either Friday or Saturday as passengers fly out from the U.K. on both days. Besides, the extra day on board would be cheaper than a night in Sandy Bay. Oh, and our nanny will meet us at Southampton with our car.” “Now that sounds like a plan,” said the consultant. “I’m happy to discharge you tomorrow morning under those circumstances.” And with that, the party swept out of the room.
***
Despite saying she could walk, Jinnie was placed in a wheelchair and a porter pushed her to a taxi at the hospital’s main entrance. As he pushed her, the porter explained that the hospital’s insurance meant that she needed to be in a wheelchair. Jinnie jumped into the back of the taxi and was joined by Paolo who was only carrying a small bag containing her personal bits and pieces. For a moment Jinnie was puzzled and asked, “What happened to the coffee machine?” “Ah,” replied Paolo, “it now has pride of place in Sister Abigail’s office, and she was delighted with the box of fixings and what she called English biscuits.”
As the taxi pulled up at the Sandy Lane Hotel’s reception Jinnie said, “My God, this is flashy, however much is this costing?” Paolo said, “The embassy got me a bed and breakfast deal for a cheap garden room so I’m paying about half the rack rate of about £1,000 a night.” “But that’s still a fortune,” said Jinnie. “I hate to think how much dinner costs.” “I have no idea,” replied Paolo. “When you were unconscious, I strolled over to Anderson’s beach bar where I knew the food was good and then I have been eating with you at the hospital and I must say I haven’t been disappointed.”
“That reminds me,” said Jinnie, “I haven’t got any clothes suitable for the trip home and I bet you haven’t got a dress suit.” “True,” said Paolo, “I have a business suit and a few pairs of slacks and casual shirts. Do you remember if you can get stuff on board?” “I think so,” said Jinnie, “but it wasn’t cheap.” “Right,” said Paolo, “I have a plan; we take it easy this morning and stroll over to Anderson’s for a burger lunch. You can FaceTime the twins from there, they will love to see the beach bar. You can rest this afternoon and I will see if the TT Continental can squeeze us in for dinner. We have the included breakfast in the morning, then we can board the ship from 12:30 so we can have lunch onboard. Then we grab a cab, go downtown and hit the shops for our cruise gear. I need a dress suit, casual shoes, swimming trunks, a pullover, some more summer shirts and a dress shirt and bow tie.”
“I need summer dresses,” said Jinnie, “some smart dresses for dinner, a couple of posh dresses, shoes, extra underwear, all sorts. I lost one of my favourite best dresses when I was shot, they tell me they cut it off me. Oh, and I think we need a suitcase or two.” “Thank goodness for plastic cards,” said Paolo.
***
The cab picked up Jinnie and Paolo at about midday and when Paolo asked for the cruise terminal, the driver asked, “Do you have your embarkation paperwork, or they won’t let me past the main gate.” “You’re OK,” said Paolo. “We have printed everything off and it should be quiet now as the first planes don’t land for another few hours.” The gate guard inspected the paperwork carefully before letting the taxi in. Pulling up outside the terminal, Jinnie remembered their Christmas cruise and wondered if the steel band was still playing ‘Mary’s Boy Child.’
There were a few people passing through the metal detectors who had obviously been into town and were going to be leaving the ship tomorrow. Only one other person was at the check-in desks who she thought looked like Gareth Gates. They presented their paperwork to the check-in girl who said, “Mr and Dame Jinnie De Luca, why do I know that name?” Paolo answered, “Perhaps you remember my wife being shot, it was headline news a few weeks back.” “Oh yes, I remember now,” said the clerk. “I’m glad you have recovered Dame Jinnie. Now as you made a late booking, we don’t have your picture for ship’s security, I need to take your photos.” She adjusted the camera, took Jinnie’s photo and handed her the card that came out of the printer, then repeated the process for Paolo. The girl wished them a good journey and they turned to go through security and put Jinnie &Paolo’s overnight bags and Jinnie’s handbag through the X-ray machine.
They picked up their bags and were pointed to the boarding gangway. At the top, their cards were scanned and an officer called a steward over who took them first to their muster station and then to their suite. Paolo said, “I’m sorry the one we had at Christmas wasn’t available, but this is the corner one your sister had so the balcony goes across the back and round the side. Just like at Christmas, a knock came at the door and Paolo answered it to reveal Raj who said, “I saw your names on the passenger list and thought, could you really be back on board but without your lovely twins, are they OK?” “Oh yes,” said Jinnie. “It’s a long story but in short, I was out here on business and had an accident. The doctors didn’t want me to fly home but when Paolo suggested this, they agreed so I’m afraid you are going to have to put up with us for a fortnight.”
Jinnie and Paolo had hot dogs and chips and a Pepsi Max for lunch while sitting in the sun and Paolo downloaded the ship’s app to their phones and played with it for a few minutes. Then said, “I have a confession to make. I had to book fixed dining and we are on second sitting. I wanted a table for two but there were none available, so we are sharing a table for eight, I do hope the others are nice. I suppose we will find out at eight tonight. Now, I have also booked the Epicurean for 7:30 tomorrow so we have something to look forward to.”
Before they went shopping, Jinnie FaceTimed the twins who immediately spotted that mummy and daddy were by a swimming pool and demanded to know where they were. Jinnie explained they were on the same ship as they had all been on at Christmas, but they were on their way home and the ship would bring them to Southampton in 14 days. She told them that if they were good then Izzy would drive them down to Southampton to meet them off the ship. Paolo suddenly said, “I’ve got an idea, why don’t we see if we can all stay at the TT Ennios on the Saturday night. You can check out how the work is going in the restaurant and Izzy and the twins won’t have to make two long journeys in one day.” “Yes,” chorused the twins who were always up for an adventure. Jinnie said, “OK, I will ring up and make the booking as soon as we finish chatting. I will confirm it when we talk tomorrow, but daddy and I have to go shopping this afternoon, we haven’t got any cruise clothes.”
Paolo asked the taxi driver to take them to a shop where he could buy a dress suit and Jinnie could buy cruise wear. He took them to Bridgetown Duty Free Store which he told them was a department store that sold just about everything, and if they couldn’t get what they wanted in there, they wouldn’t get it anywhere on the island. Jinnie walked into the lady’s clothing department and was delighted with what she saw, racks and racks of dresses, skirts and blouses. The only thing that there was not much choice of was sweaters but as Jinnie only wanted one or two, it wasn’t too much of a hardship. She soon gathered up armfuls of clothes she loved and headed for the till where she paid using her debit card.
She then asked for directions to the luggage department where she loaded her shopping into a large, wheeled case. She found Paolo in the gent’s clothing department where an assistant was helping him choose a dress suit. In front of them were two suits and the assistant was extolling the virtues of one saying it was a beautiful cloth and would last years. Jinnie turned over the price labels and in her head did a quick price conversion from Barbados Dollars to Pounds Sterling. One was about £80, while the one being pushed was about £350. Jinnie caught Paolo’s eye and behind the salesman’s back pointed at the cheaper suit.
Paolo said, “I think my wife would like to see me in this one,” before he picked it up and headed for the changing rooms. While he was putting the suit on, Jinnie looked through the pile of casual clothes Paolo had selected and liked all the Caribbean-style shirts he had selected. He also had several plain-coloured short sleeve shirts, lightweight trousers, shorts, swimming trucks and deck shoes. Jinnie thought, ‘He’ll look good in any of those, that’s one advantage of marrying an Italian, they have a good taste in clothes.’ Paolo emerged in the dress suit and Jinnie approved, it looked good. The salesman was still trying to push the more expensive suit by saying how much longer it would last, but Jinnie shut him up by saying it only had to last for four formal nights on their cruise home, after that he would be wearing his Saville Row suit. Two dress shirts and two bow ties, one black and one burgundy, were added to the pile and paid for before Jinnie led Paolo to the luggage department to purchase a matching case to her own.
Back on board, Jinnie and Paolo bumped into their butler, Raj, who was wheeling their cases down the passageway to their suite. Raj said, “I wondered when your luggage was coming abound, would you like me to unpack for you?” Jinnie, who was feeling shattered, agreed immediately and collapsed on the bed while she watched Raj skilfully unpacking. “Madam,” he queried, “but all these things are brand new, should I leave them in their wrapping?” “I think you can,” replied Jinnie, who was only too thankful that she didn’t have to do it.
***
Jinnie woke from her nap to find she felt much refreshed, so she joined Paolo in the warm sun on the balcony where, cold beer in hand, he was watching the people coming aboard from the airport. Jinnie took a Pepsi Max from the mini bar and together they people watched. Once again, the steel band struck up as each coach disgorged its passengers but this time it was the ‘Banana Boat Song’ that echoed across the dockside.
Jinnie was pleased that they were on second sitting for dinner, it meant they were able to make the most of the sun and then casually shower and change before dinner. With no twins to worry about, they were quite relaxed and able to enjoy the hors-d’oeuvre and a glass of Champagne from the complementary bottle in the fridge. It was bang on eight when they stepped out of the lift in front of the restaurant and Paolo commented that it wasn’t very busy. The restaurant doors opened a couple of minutes later and they were shown to a round table by one of the side windows that was laid for eight, but no other guests had arrived. The waiter and his assistant fussed around pushing in their chairs and flourishing the napkins and had just finished the routine when another couple were shown to the table and the waiters went through the routine with the newcomers.
This time they had only partially finished before a third couple arrived and they were subject to the same palaver. The assistant waiter then cleared the two remaining places while the waiter presented the menus. When he handed Jinnie her menu she asked, “Are we only going to be six on this trip?” and the waiter replied, “Mr and Mrs Brannigan are taking the opportunity to eat ashore tonight. Mr Brannigan has booked a table at what he said was the best restaurant on the island. He said he made the booking months ago when he read about the opening in the paper, and it was to be a treat for the last night of their holiday. They fly home tomorrow, and I don’t know if anyone else will be allocated to this table. I don’t think we are sailing full.”
The meal was good, not TT Continental good, but compared to the hospital food it was marvellous. Jinnie had asparagus and a poached egg starter, Dover sole for her main and apple Charlotte for dessert. She decided to have the coffee knowing it was a decent blend and wasn’t disappointed. The three couples on the table got on well and the conversation flowed. One of the couples had never cruised before, and the second had been on two of the other P&O ships but didn’t know this one. Paolo said he and Jinnie were going to have a nightcap in the Crows Nest and the others were welcome to join them.
They all made their way up in the lift and down the length of the ship to the Crows Nest, walking through the buffet restaurant and past the main swimming pools. The bar was perhaps a third full, giving the party the opportunity to sit at a table by the window and watch the twinkling lights of Bridgetown. The party had barely sat down when a waiter approached them to take their orders. Jinnie asked for a gin and tonic, ice and a slice, and the waiter asked, “Any particular gin, Madam?” Jinnie answered, “Gordons, please.” She would have preferred Bombay Sapphire but refused to pay the vastly inflated price charge for ‘premium spirits.’
The three couples sat and chatted and before long the conversation turned to what everybody did for a living. Graham and Elizabeth were recently retired head teachers, who had both lost their previous partners to cancer and this was their first holiday together since becoming a couple. A laughing Elizabeth said, “I guess you could call this our honeymoon.” Rick explained how he managed a hotel in Bournemouth, Sue worked with him as head of housekeeping. Jinnie was interested and asked how big the hotel was. Sue replied, “We have 80 rooms, but this is our quiet period, the owners have closed for a month for refurbishment. We will be opening again shortly after we get back ready for Easter.”
Jinnie asked what their professional eye had made of the meal, the service and the ship. Rick and Sue glanced at each other before Rick replied, “Overall good, I am used to silver service in our restaurant, but I’m not sure how you could manage that with so many passengers to serve. But the food was good and the quality high. The service was excellent with well-trained staff. Never having cruised before, I was a bit worried it might be like ‘Butlins at sea’, but this is a much classier operation. I will keep my final opinion until the end of the cruise and the end of the trip.” Sue continued, “With my professional hat on, I have spotted one or two areas where the ship looks a bit tired. For example, the carpet in our suite needs replacing and when we walked round his afternoon, a couple of the public rooms looked a bit shabby. Now, I know the ship is coming off a long Caribbean season and has been away from its home port for a while, but in places it definitely needs a refurbishment.”
Jinnie said, “Well, I happen to know that after this repositioning cruise. The ship is going into a French shipyard for three weeks, for its three yearly refit and refurbishment. I was chatting to someone from P&O a couple of months ago and they told me that the ship is getting new soft furnishings and every balcony is getting new furniture, it is being redecorated, and the engines are getting a major overhaul. I also understand that several new features are being installed including an ‘Artisan Sandwich Bar’ in the buffet.” Jinnie tucked away two things in her memory, Rick and Sue obviously knew their business and their hotel had 80 rooms offering silver service. Maybe it would make an addition to the TT Ennios brand. It was then that she realised that for the first time since being shot she had her business head on.
As the group broke up Paolo said, “I almost forgot to tell you, we won’t be joining you for dinner tomorrow, we have booked dinner in the Epicurean.” Graham smiled and said, “Strangely, so have we, a friend told us it is the best place to eat on board. So, we decided to go early and if it was as good as they say, we will go again later in the cruise. I wonder if we could combine our bookings and dine together.” Jinnie said that she would like that and asked for their cabin number, saying she would ask to combine the booking when they breakfasted in the Epicurean in the morning.
In Chapter 4 – MV Britannia sails
© WorthingGooner 2024
