Show Me the Way To Go Home

“No, I said turn left onto Craddick Street!” shouted Hannah, “You said turn left, you didn’t tell me the name of the road! I need to turn around now. This is ridiculous!” replied Diane, disconcertedly. “Next time Hannah, we use the Satnav!”. Hannah wasn’t listening. She was too busy turning the map around to figure out which way they needed to turn to get back to where they were.

They finally reached The Blue Dolphin, which was a rather small, but posh hotel, on the outskirts of a quaint little village called Handley. They were late, but hopefully no one would notice. “Come on, Hannah. Stop fussing about” Diane said, crossly. “You go on in, Diane. I’m taking in the views for a moment”. Hannah looked around her. The hotel was surrounded by green, snow-covered hills. The Blue Dolphin was a beautiful, grand building, with a fountain in the forecourt. Tall, green conifer trees lined either side of the path to the entrance, and old-fashioned street lamps lit the way. She didn’t really want to stay out here too long; she was freezing. But anything was better than mingling with the posher side of her family. However, her sister, Diane, loved pretending to be something she wasn’t.

Hannah walked into the entrance hall, where she was greeted, and her coat and suitcase were taken to her room for the night. She entered the large function area and spotted Diane, talking rather animatedly with a fella Hannah recognised. Hannah grabbed herself a prosecco off the tray that the waiter walking past was carrying. “Ah, there you are” Diane said, in her posh British voice “How were the views?” “Oh, splendid. Just splendid. Can we have a chat in private, Diane?” Hannah gently pulled her sister to one side. “Is that who I think it is, Diane? I don’t believe he will be welcome here, surely not?” Hannah whispered, angrily. Diane sighed, “Yes. It is Mark, and yes, he is welcome. I cleared it with nana Grace! She said as long as he keeps his head down and his temper calm there won’t be a problem.” Hannah watched Diane walk back to Mark and they began to dance. Hannah wanted to vomit; Mark was a pig. He had been nothing but vile to Diane since they began seeing each other and Hannah believed he had no right to be here tonight. Not at their Nana’s 80^th birthday party.

As the night went on, Hannah grew increasingly bored. She decided to retire to her room for an early night, tomorrow there was a huge family breakfast booked, followed by photographs in the hotel grounds. That was more Hannah’s scene, she had never been much of a party girl. “Nana Grace, I am going to bed, I have a rather sore head and I want to be up bright and early for your birthday breakfast!” Hannah said as she kissed Grace’s wrinkled cheek. “Goodnight love, take something for that head, won’t you?” “Of course, Nana” Hannah headed to reception to collect her key card, and then carried on up to her room.

Hannah opened her door and gawped in amazement at the stunning room that she had been allocated, not to mention the fabulous views. She had a double bed, with princess drapes. There was a flat screen TV on the wall that was at least 50 inches. She walked over to the floor to ceiling windows and paused a moment to take in her stunning surroundings. She jumped onto the bed, backwards, and lay flat for a second. She kicked off the high heels she had been forced to wear and closed her eyes. Suddenly she was woken by the sound of laughter outside her door. She looked at the time, 11pm. The party must be coming to an end. She decided to run a hot bubble bath and pour herself a glass of wine. Once she was in the bath, she took the opportunity to read up on her latest venture – map reading. Hannah had always been fascinated by maps, and globes too! Over the years she had tried her best with it, but she needed more practice. She hoped one day to be as skilled as her dad used to be in the art of map reading.

The next morning Hannah was up with the birds. By 7am and she was washed, dressed, and ready to go for breakfast. As she made her way down to the dining room, she heard shouting coming from one of the rooms. Suddenly, Mark came out of one of the rooms in the corridor, “I’ll see you at breakfast, if you can be bothered!” He shouted back into the room and slammed the door. Hannah waited until he had left the corridor, then she knocked on the door. “Mark, please. I don’t want to talk to you, leave me alone”. Came the voice from inside the room. “Diane, it’s me. Hannah.” The door clicked and opened slightly, “Oh, sorry. Come in” Diane moved for Hannah to enter the room. “What was all that about, Diane?” “Nothing, Hannah. Let’s just say a leopard never changes it’s spots!” Diane began to cry. Hannah held her sister tightly. “Come on, dry your eyes. Let’s go for breakfast with Nana”.

In the dining room, Diane and Hannah sat together. At the head table, their mother was sat with her 5 brothers and sisters. Nana Grace sat in the middle, with 3 of them on either side. There were a few speeches, a couple of toasts, and plenty of laughter. Thankfully, Mark was nowhere to be seen. Shortly after Diane and Hannah had finished eating, everyone sang happy birthday to Nana Grace and there came a sound of a spoon clinking on the side of a glass. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now going to retreat to the hotel grounds for photographs” announced one of Nana Grace’s sons.

As Hannah and Diane made their way outside, Diane turned to Hannah “I wonder where Mark got to? He did say he was heading down for breakfast”. “Yes, well. I can’t say I’m not thrilled that he wasn’t there Diane. I honestly don’t know what you see in that fool” Hannah said as they were positioned for the first photograph. Hannah was trying her best to keep her accent posh and her words mature. She loved her Nana Grace, but secretly she couldn’t wait for this day to be over. The camera clicked, and everyone was repositioned. Once the photographs were all done, Hannah and Diane said their goodbyes and left for their rooms to pack.

In the car, Hannah got her map out. “Hannah, no. Please let’s use my satnav” Diane begged. “No, Diane. I can do this. I’ve been practicing”. Hannah managed to get them home safely, and quickly too. “See, that wasn’t too bad was it, Diane?” Diane laughed, “No. Well done, Hannah”. The ladies went into their flat and began to unpack. They shared a flat in a small block, the area was a little run down, but their apartment was one of the nicer ones. Both Diane and Hannah felt it was good to be home, even though Diane enjoyed mixing with the richer side of her family more than Hannah, they both still preferred their home comforts.

That evening, Diane was playing a game on her phone whilst watching TV. Hannah had cooked a beautiful steak dinner and they were full and tired. “We had better get some rest, Hannah. We are visiting dad tomorrow, remember?” Hannah hadn’t forgotten; her head was buried in her atlas. “Yes, Diane. I certainly haven’t forgotten”. She gestured her atlas towards her sister to show that she was planning and revising the route. The ladies laughed.

The End