Page 79 of Only One Tour Bus
“All right, I’ll hand out ticket info for those training.” Asha throws me a superior look that I roll my eyes at. “There’s a cheese-making demonstration and tasting later today. Rumor is, you may get to pet some cute cows. So enjoy your morning and we’ll see you later.”
We wave them off, and I turn to Asha. “Want to take a hike with me?”
She lights up. “To a waterfall?”
“Of course.” I glower at her at the thought that I would pick a hike without a waterfall in Lauterbrunnen.
“Great. I’ll just change my shoes. Be right back.”
I sit in the lobby, waiting for Asha to come back. I see Roshni sitting alone in the lobby near me, and I hesitate. Asha would say that I need to check on her. Even though she and Camila have been a lot closer since the Parisian dinner, there’s still distance between them. And lingering looks that even I notice. And I pride myself on not noticing anything personal about my group.
Out of respect for their privacy, of course.
“Good morning. You all right?” I ask before I think too much about approaching her.
Roshni starts, clearly in her own world before I walked over. “Oh. Yes, thank you.”
“Good.” There’s an awkward silence for a second, me standing next to her couch. “It’s just that, you mentioned earlier how Camila had been working a lot. Have you talked to her about that?”
“No. There never seems to be a good time. And we were doing better, but she got a work call this morning so I’m waiting for her now. What I spend most of my time doing.”
“Well, there probably won’t be a good time to have a hard discussion, but you’ll feel better when it’s done and it doesn’t weigh on you.” And that’s all the meddling I’m doing. Asha would know exactly what to say to fix this relationship, but I’m very new to not minding my own business, so I’ll take wee baby steps. “I hope you have a good day. We’ll see you later, at the cheese demonstration.”
“Bye.” She waves at me and I cross the lobby, so I’m as far as I can physically be from the interpersonal drama.
Asha comes back down and sees Roshni sitting alone. She’s about to do what I just did, and I wish I had just waited and let her do it, but I wave her over so Roshni doesn’t get overwhelmed by nosy tour guides.
“Roshni’s looking lonely…”
“I spoke to her,” I whisper in her ear as I guide her out the hotel doors.
“What?” She stops and stares at me in shock.
“I can people.”
“I know you can. You just so rarely choose to.”
“Well, I am here to be more like you, so I asked myself, ‘What would Asha do?’”
“And what would Asha do?”
“Meddle. More than anyone has ever meddled. So I tried.”
“You care about our babies. You love them. You want them to be happy in fulfilling relationships,” Asha taunts me in song as we start off into the mountain trails.
“Not my babies. My babies would respect a historical lecture a lot more.”
Asha takes my hand as we hike, and I give her a look implying I’m only letting her hold it because she wants to, but I like the feel of her wee hand in my mine. Protecting her. She might let the tourists get away with bloody murder, but I can be here to tell them to stop messing about.
We enjoy the time without anyone to babysit, taking pictures with multiple waterfalls (even ones that she demands I’m in). I pretend to comply begrudgingly, but then steal her phone to send myself the ones with both of us. And some of just her.
I don’t think my protests are coming across as genuine, or my theft subtle, if Asha’s laughing face is anything to go by. It’s still important to keep up appearances.
But soon the reason we’re here rears its ugly head, and we’re back in the lobby, making idle chitchat with the group as they assemble for the cheese tasting.
Then Laura saves us by bringing the bus back around, and we drive to the farm.
“How is sharing a room?” Laura asks. Too loudly in my opinion, because the first few rows of the bus get very quiet. Suspiciously quiet. The quiet that is listening for gossip.
