Alice brought up her idea to organize a dinner at her flat the following evening in order to break the news to the men, but Carol told her there was no need to go to so much trouble. After all, it wasn’t like she was engaged to anybody. She didn’t have to ask for permission.
“Permission for what?” asked Anton, taking a seat at the table.
“To consult the secret archives,” said Carol, without even knowing where the words had come from.
“Archives?”
Sam and Eddy joined them. With everybody at the table, Alice decided to just go for it and announced she was going to Turkey.
For a moment, nobody said anything. Carol rapped her fingers on the table.
“She didn’t tell you she has cancer, she said she is going on a trip. You’re allowed to breathe.”
“How long have you known about this?” Anton asked Carol.
“She told me just now. I’m sorry I didn’t send a telegram.”
“Will you be gone long?” Anton asked Alice.
“She doesn’t know,” said Carol.
“Is it safe to travel so far alone?” asked Sam.
“She’s going with her neighbor from across the hall. The grouch that interrupted our party before Christmas,” said Carol.
“You’re going to Turkey with him? Are you seeing each other?” asked Anton.
“Of course not,” replied Carol. “They’re just associates. It’s a business trip. Alice is going to Istanbul to look for inspiration for new perfumes. If you want to contribute toward her travel costs, I’m sure it isn’t too late to invest and become a shareholder. If the idea tempts you, gentlemen, please don’t hesitate! Who knows, perhaps a few years from now you’ll be sitting on the board of Pendelbury and Associates.”
“I have a question,” said Eddy, who had remained silent up until then. “I know Alice will probably be at the head of an international perfume-and-cosmetics conglomerate before long, but until then, are we allowed to talk to her directly, or is all communication to be channeled through you?”
Alice smiled. “It’s really just a business trip. And since you’re all my friends, instead of leaving you to come up with a thousand reasons for me to stay, I’d rather just invite you all to my place on Friday for a little goodbye party.”
“You’re leaving so soon?” asked Anton.
“The date isn’t settled yet,” said Carol, “but—”
Alice interjected. “We’re leaving as soon as we get our passports. I just didn’t want to make it a dramatic farewell.”
The evening’s energy had fizzled out. The men didn’t feel much like staying out or celebrating.
They all said goodbye on the pavement outside the pub, and Anton took Alice aside.
“What are you looking for over there that you can’t find here?”
“I’ll tell you when I come back.”
“If you come back.”
“I’m taking this trip for myself, for my career. I need this. Don’t you understand?”
“No, I don’t. But I suppose I’ll have time to reflect on it while you’re gone. Take care of yourself. And only write to me if you really want to. You’re under no obligation.”
He turned his back on her and slunk away, head hanging low, hands shoved in his coat pockets.
Back in her flat, Alice didn’t turn on the light. She took off her clothes and slipped under the covers naked, looking up at the crescent-shape moon that shone through the skylight. Almost like the one on the Turkish flag, she thought.
On Friday, at the end of the afternoon, Daldry knocked on Alice’s door and came into her flat victoriously brandishing their passports.
“Everything’s in order. We’re ready to go!”
“So soon?” asked Alice.
“With the Turkish visas to boot. Didn’t I tell you I knew people in high places? I picked them up this morning before settling our plans at the travel agency. Be ready to leave at eight o’clock on Monday morning.”
He put her passport on her worktable and left as suddenly as he had arrived.
Alice flipped through the pages of her first passport and daydreamed for a moment before putting it in her suitcase.
That evening, Alice’s friends tried to put on a good show, but their hearts weren’t in it. Anton hadn’t even showed up, and ever since Alice had told them she was leaving, the energy of the group had changed. It wasn’t even midnight when Eddy, Sam, and Carol decided to go home.
They all hugged and said their goodbyes over and over again. Alice promised to write often and to bring back lots of souvenirs from the bazaar. On her way out, a tearful Carol swore she would take care of the men like they were her brothers and would try to talk some reason into the petulant Anton.
Alice stood on the landing as they left and waited until the stairwell went silent. She felt a lump in her throat as she turned back to her empty flat.
6
At eight o’clock on Monday morning, suitcase in hand, Alice took one last look around the flat before closing the door. Her heart raced with excitement as she went down the stairs.
Daldry was already waiting in a taxi.
The driver took her suitcase and put it on the seat next to him. Alice climbed in and settled next to Daldry on the wide back seat. They said hello, and Daldry asked the driver to take them to Harmondsworth.
“Not to the station?” asked Alice.
“No, not to the station,” said Daldry enigmatically.
“But why Harmondsworth?”
“Because that’s where the aerodrome is. I wanted to surprise you. We’re flying. We’ll get to Istanbul much faster that way.”
“What do you mean, ‘We’re flying’?” asked Alice in shock.
“Flying. In an aeroplane. I see it’s your first time as well. Two hundred miles an hour, twenty-two thousand feet in the air. Isn’t it marvelous?”
Their taxi left the city for the surrounding countryside. Alice watched the pastureland roll past and began to wonder if she wouldn’t rather travel on solid ground, even if it did mean the trip would take a little longer. Daldry, however, was clearly looking forward to his first ride in a plane.
“We stop to refuel in Paris, then again in Vienna, where we spend the night, and tomorrow evening we’ll be in Istanbul, just two days of travel instead of a long week.”
“I didn’t know we were in such a hurry.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared to ride in an aeroplane.”
“I suppose I don’t know yet.”
London’s new airport was still under construction. Three cement runways were already in service, and a battalion of earthmoving machines was busy at work tracing the outlines for three others. The fledgling airlines had set up shop in tents and corrugated-metal sheds that served as their terminals. The first permanent building was still under construction at the center of the aerodrome. When it was finished, the London airport might finally look more civilian and less military, but for now, the planes of the Royal Air Force and the commercial airlines were lined up next to one another on the tarmac.
Their taxi pulled up to the enclosure. Daldry took the suitcases and pointed Alice toward the Air France tent. They presented their papers at the registration counter, and the ticketing agent welcomed them with polite deference before calling a porter to take their bags. The agent gave Daldry the two tickets they would need to board the plane.
“Your flight should leave on schedule,” he said. “And we’ll start calling the passengers soon. Won’t you please follow the porter to have your passports stamped by the authorities?”
Once their papers were in order, Daldry and Alice waited on a bench and watched the runway.
Every time a plane took off, the tremendous noise interrupted their conversation.
“I think I am a little afraid after all,” admitted Alice in the interval between two roars.
“I’ve been told it isn’t as noisy inside the cabin. Believe me, these machines are far more reliable than ordinary motorcars. I’m sure that once we’re in the air you’ll be perfectly relaxed. Did you know that they even serve us a meal while we’re in the air?”
“And we land in France first?”