Aunt Bessie's Holiday by Diana Xarissa Read Free Book Online

the
noise and commotion outside.
    The door opened into a short corridor and
Bessie was quick to open every door she came to.   The first door revealed a small closet,
where Bessie found that their bags had been tucked away.   The next, on the opposite wall, opened
into a large bedroom.   The windows
gave her her first look at the much larger lake that was just past the road that
ran behind them.   A number of
sailboats were making their way around the lake and Bessie stood and watched
for a moment while Doona kept exploring.
    “The kitchen is pretty well stocked,” Doona
told Bessie, when Bessie joined her a moment later in the large and comfortably
furnished sitting room.   Bessie
looked out more windows that showcased the lake.   Sliding glass doors led out to a
spacious patio that was furnished with a table and six chairs.
    Now Bessie peeked into the kitchen.   There were biscuits and snacks in the
cupboards and not only cans of fizzy drinks, but also several bottles of wine
in the refrigerator.
    “Did you order the wine?” Bessie asked.
    “No, but it’s my favourite white and one of
my favourite reds,” Doona told her.   “And there’s a bottle of very expensive champagne in there as well.”
    “They really are giving you the VIP
treatment,” Bessie said.
    On the other side of the sitting room was
the second, much larger bedroom.   The en-suite had a jetted tub and a huge shower.
    “This one should be yours,” Bessie told her
friend.
    “Are you sure?” Doona asked.
    “The other bedroom is lovely,” Bessie
answered.   “And the last thing I
intend to do while I’m here is have a bath in a jetted tub.   You’ll enjoy it, though, won’t you?”
    “I’d really like to try it out,” Doona
admitted.   “I’ve never been in one
and they always look so lovely on telly.”
    “So I’ll suffer in silence in the bedroom
that’s twice the size of my room at home, and put up with only having a shower
that could accommodate three of me comfortably.”
    Doona laughed.   “It is all very luxurious, isn’t
it?   I’m not sure I’ll ever want to
leave.”
    They opened a bottle of wine and sipped glasses
of it while they unpacked.   Then they
sat on their patio and finished the bottle while they watched the other new
arrivals.   Their boxes of books for
the book club sat unopened on the dining table.   Bessie was curious what they had been
given to read, but not curious enough to interrupt her people watching.   It didn’t seem long before they needed
to get ready for the reception.
    “What do we wear?” Bessie wondered.
    “I’m just going to wear nice trousers and a
light jumper,” Doona told her.   “Sort of exactly like what you’re already wearing.”
    Bessie laughed.   “I think I’ll change into more of the
same, then.   Having travelled a long
way in this outfit, I’ll feel fresher if I do.”
    The walk to the centre of the park, where
the shops and restaurants were clustered, took only a few minutes.   Bikes whizzed past them occasionally, carrying
their riders back and forth around the site.
    “I think walking is much better,” Bessie
said after a large group pedaled past them.   “It isn’t far and it’s the perfect night
to take things slowly.”
    “I agree totally,” Doona replied.   “Besides which, I never learned to ride
a bike.   I certainly don’t intend to
start now.”
    The large French-style restaurant was at the
end of a row that included a toy store and a shop that seemed to sell nothing
but bathing suits.
    “I think ‘The English Experience’ is a
strange name for a French restaurant,” Bessie said as Doona pulled open the
large glass door.
    “It is rather,” Doona agreed.
    Mai was standing at the front desk and she
rushed over to greet them.   “I hope
your accommodation is everything you were expecting,” she gushed as she ushered
them into the large and empty dining room.
    “It’s really lovely,” Doona replied.  
    “Let me