Again, Alesha nodded.
‘For the pain from the burns and the operation on his shoulder, or was it his arm? I’m not certain.’
‘Probably shoulder from what I saw. He’s going to be in hospital for a while.’ Alesha drew a breath. ‘Karolina, can you tell me where the children’s home is? I’ve got a bag to drop off there.’
‘It’s easy. Come and I show you how to get there.’ She headed for the wall that overlooked the street below and the harbour beyond. ‘See that building at the bottom of the hill behind those shops? That’s it. I will draw on your street map how to get there. It’s not far, fifteen minutes’ walking.’
‘If I don’t get lost.’ Alesha laughed, ignoring the thrill of excitement in her veins. Here was a foreign town and she was about to go exploring. Travel was her favourite pastime when she wasn’t nursing. At last she was behaving sensibly, accepting her lot and not getting in a pickle about it. ‘Though getting lost can be fun in strange cities, as long as I find my way out again without getting into seedy places.’
‘You’ll be good down there, nowhere nasty. But with the map it is easy. Then where are you going after the refuge?’
‘To the Old City to have a look around, maybe take a tour up to the lookout.’ The tour took only a couple of hours and there was still plenty of time left today. If she hurried. ‘I’d better get showered and dressed. I only just woke up.’
‘It was an eventful night for you.’ Karolina chuckled as if it was a huge joke.
‘It sure was. And now I’ve wasted enough of the day as it is.’ She turned for her apartment only to have Karolina follow.
‘I’ll mark the map for you. Have you had breakfast?’
‘No. I’ll get something on the way to the shelter. But a coffee wouldn’t go astray.’ She filled the kettle and plugged it in while Karolina found the map on the shelf where the city info brochures lay.
‘There’re two good bakeries on the road below this one.’ She marked the map with two crosses. ‘Here is Kristof’s mother’s place where the children stay.’ She drew a big X over the spot with a circle around it.
‘That’s great. Thanks. Do you want a coffee?’ Now why offer that when she was suddenly in a hurry to get moving? Because she liked this woman who hadn’t gone ape at her for forgetting her keys last night, and was more than helpful today. Because this holiday alone wasn’t how it was meant to be and she wouldn’t mind a bit of company.
‘A quick one. I have to be at work in forty-five minutes. I’ll make it while you get ready.’
‘You have another job as well as running this place?’
‘Yes, because in winter there are not many guests so I need to keep the money coming.’
‘Mortgages don’t pay themselves, eh?’ No wonder there were shadows beneath Karolina’s eyes. ‘I’ll be fast. Milk, no sugar, please.’
After rubbing sunscreen on every bit of skin that might be seen by the sun and slapping her make-up on with less care than normal Alesha dressed in navy shorts and a snappy white shirt with thin darts down the front to accentuate her shape. There no hiding her height so she always aimed to draw attention to her breasts and hips.
‘Out here,’ Karolina called when she left the bathroom. ‘On the deck under the umbrella.’
Where she and Kristof had sat last night. Only he’d taken up a lot more space with his long legs and large, muscular frame. Hard to imagine someone so big doing delicate surgical procedures, but she’d seen it before when she worked in Theatre, and knew men could be as careful and light with their sewing skills as a woman. How gentle would Kristof’s fingers be on her skin?
Gasp. Stop thinking these random thoughts.
‘If you like I can walk part of the way with you. My work is in the same direction.’
‘That’d be great.’ Alesha gulped down her coffee. ‘I know you’re in a hurry. I’ll just get my bag.’
‘And keys.’ Another laugh.
‘Not likely to forget them again.’ At her side she crossed her fingers for good measure.
* * *
The sun beat down as Alesha walked down the steps that led from one street to the next further down the hill. After the previous wet, cool week in London the heat was heaven, and gave her another pang of nostalgia for summer at home. She was getting quite a few of those at the moment. Not that home was warm when she factored in her family, but she was not going there today when she was in paradise.
Her destination became apparent once she reached the harbour, a collection of low houses joined together with what must be corridors, and all tucked against the hill, bathed in sun. While it wasn’t glamorous it was warm and welcoming. The front door stood wide open, and since no one was about she walked in, calling, ‘Hello?’ as she made her way to the desk at the end of the hallway. ‘Hello?’ The colours were bright: pinks, greens, blues, yellow. Done for children, not to win a prize in a homemaker magazine.
‘Can I help you?’ she was asked in a classy Croatian English accent.
Alesha looked back the way she’d come to see an older, tall woman coming towards her. ‘Hello. I’m Alesha Milligan, a visitor to Dubrovnik.’ Was this Kristof’s mother? The eyes were the same mesmerising blue-grey shade. ‘I’m the idiot who locked herself out of her apartment.’
‘Now I know who you are.’ The woman’s face relaxed, her smile wide and friendly. ‘You’re the nurse who helped the boy caught up in the fire last night.’ When Alesha raised an eyebrow at her, she added, ‘My son mentioned you this morning.’
‘He did?’ There was a surprise. She’d have thought Kristof would have put her to the back of his mind the moment he’d seen her through the gate for the second time. ‘I suppose everyone’s talking about the fire. It was awful.’
‘It could’ve been worse.’ In the lady’s face there was sympathy along with a load of acceptance for what life threw at people. ‘The consequences of not using a gas tank properly.’
Had that been established already? Alesha wasn’t getting into details. She didn’t intend hanging around long enough to become involved in local events, other than what had happened last night. She shifted her balance, held up the bag of clothes. ‘I’m returning Kristof’s things. I probably shouldn’t have come here but I don’t know where he stays.’
I’d like to touch base with him, apologise again for being too forward.
‘You are most welcome here. Unfortunately, my son’s in Theatre at the moment. Removing an appendix for a young girl. It gives her merry hell regularly, but isn’t serious enough for the hospital to fix so he’s doing it. It’s our second appendectomy in two days.’
‘Her family must be relieved you can help.’ It was a shame she wouldn’t be seeing Kristof. He’d been her saviour. ‘Can you tell Kristof I said thanks, um, and sorry, please?’
‘Sorry?’
Trust this woman to pick up on that. As astute as her son. ‘I wasn’t in a good frame of mind last night. Before we attended the fire,’ Alesha hastened to add, not wanting anyone to think she’d done something wrong by attending the boy.
‘Kristof won’t be long. Would you like to look around our establishment while you wait?’ The woman was already walking towards a door, as though Alesha was expected to follow.
‘I’m on my way to the Old City to take a mini tour up the hill and to some tiny waterfall near the border.’
‘It’ll still be there tomorrow.’ Mrs Montfort glanced over her shoulder. ‘I’d really like to show you what we are doing here.’
Why? ‘I’m only in town for a few days.’
‘So Kristof tells me.’ She held a door open. ‘By the way, I’m Antonija.’