her think that the unflappable woman might have issues of her own.
Deira watched as this time Grace was the one who busied herself with the bread, slicing a portion into narrow slivers and arranging them on her side plate. The control was there, for sure. But emotions were definitely bubbling under the surface.
‘I suppose I could change it if I wanted to.’ When Grace looked up, her blue eyes were as serene as before, and it was as though the tremor in her voice had been a figment of Deira’s imagination. ‘It’s just that in theory I need to do this trip in a certain way. Even though I’m not sure I can work out exactly what it is I’m meant to be doing.’
Deira couldn’t immediately ask her what she was talking about as the waitress returned to place their meal in front of them. But when she did, Grace took her time before replying.
‘It’s a bit mad,’ she said. ‘You’ll think I’m off my trolley if I tell you.’
‘No I won’t.’ Deira knew that she could see Grace’s madness and raise her own. ‘Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to. We can change the topic if you prefer.’
Grace never talked about her personal life to strangers. She didn’t want to be judged. But did it matter if Deira judged her? She was never going to see her again, after all.
‘It’s not like you’re going to see me again.’ Deira echoed her thoughts. ‘But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so let’s think of something else.’
‘My daughter is always on at me to talk,’ said Grace. ‘She thinks it’s good to share.’
‘Sometimes it is,’ agreed Deira. ‘But there can be too much sharing too – think about some of the posts people put on social media.’
Grace smiled. ‘I don’t do social media. Not really.’
‘Me neither.’ Deira refilled her water glass.
‘I’ll tell you,’ said Grace. ‘If you don’t mind.’
‘Of course not.’
‘So . . . I’ll start at the beginning.’
‘I was twenty years old when I married my husband,’ she said. ‘I was airline cabin crew and I met him on a flight. Back then, of course, we were called air hostesses – trolley dollies was the less flattering phrase. I didn’t mind,’ she added. ‘Being an air hostess was seen as a glamour job. A good job too; we were paid well and had fantastic perks. I stayed working for a few years after we got married, but both of us wanted to start a family and that would’ve been tricky if I was flitting around the world serving drinks at thirty thousand feet.
‘So I left, and I got pregnant nearly straight away. We had three children, and even though I missed work, I was happy at home. Ken was doing well in his career and it was good for me to be able to support him.’
She broke off and took another sip of wine while Deira wondered if it had been a difficult decision for Grace to give up a job she seemed to have loved.
‘Anyhow, we rattled along quite happily,’ continued Grace. ‘Ken moved up the ladder of success. The children grew into well-adjusted individuals – at least, I like to think so. They’ve had their moments, of course, but they’re generally OK. Aline, my eldest, is married with a little boy. Fionn is an engineer with a technology company in China, and Regan is currently living her dream and working on a polo ranch in Argentina.’
‘It sounds like they’ve done well,’ said Deira.
‘They’re happy, at any rate,’ Grace said. ‘Which is the most important thing. When Regan was fifteen, I decided it was time for me to work outside the home again, and I returned to the airline because they were looking for experienced staff. A few years later, Ken had a heart attack.’
‘Oh Grace. I’m sorry.’ Having already heard Grace refer to her husband in the past tense, Deira assumed it had been fatal.
‘He recovered.’ Grace’s words were coming more quickly now, and her voice was considerably less serene than before. ‘He bounced back from it and afterwards became a bit of a fitness freak. Our holidays after his attack were always active ones – boating, skiing, hill-walking . . . we even did a few stages of the Camino. He got into organic food, wouldn’t eat anything processed, drank litres of water every day. He looked great on it, to be honest. Everything was fine until last year, when he had