They finished their food and people started drifting away from the table into the grounds. Lucy stood up and offered her hand to Arnold.
'C'mon. There's about an hour before the coach is due to pick us up. Let's go for a wander.'
He got to his feet and was led by her through the sunlight into a beautiful forest, along a path between rows of pine trees that had a distinct smell in the dry heat. He could hear the gentle sound of cicadas all about him. The sheltered nature of the path meant the sounds the two of them made with their moving feet were magnified, as if they were walking somewhere inside a large building. He could feel the full effect of the wine now and all he could think of was to follow her down the path. He looked at his feet to watch where he was treading as there were exposed tree roots to trip over, sometimes hidden beneath fallen pine branches.
When he looked up she'd disappeared and he stopped to wonder what had happened to her. Then her arms materialised around his waist and he sensed the warmth of her body behind him. She pressured him to go to his left and at first he resisted, but as she continued the pressure he felt his balance go. They were slowly sliding down to the ground and he turned face up and lay there out of breath, overcome by the heady bouquet from the pinecones and branches littered around. He looked up to the tree canopy and saw slivers of the sun's warmth cutting through it. It blinded him but he was enjoying the sensation and didn't close his eyes. He felt Lucy's weight half on top of him and he lay there as if in a trance. The wine made him feel sleepy and not quite in touch with what was going on. He felt himself becoming erect and then a warmth engulfed his penis that he'd never experienced before. He pressed the palm of his left hand strongly down into the hard ground as the pleasure mounted, while his right hand groped and found Lucy's bottom curled towards him. He realised her head was in his lap and understood she must be giving him what he'd heard was called 'oral sex'.
At that moment he rushed through the foliage above and towards the gates of Heaven and entered a state of bliss totally unknown to him. All around became still and they lay there for several minutes absorbing the sounds and smells, and slight gusts of warm air that weaved their way through the rows of trees. Lucy moved the position of her body and lay next to him more comfortably, nestling her head in the space of his shoulder blade as she'd done several times before on the cruise. His left hand relaxed its grip in the dirt. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like this and it felt to him as if they were suspended in a timeless place. He heard voices to the right of where they'd come from, far off through the trees, and they both stirred to sit up and bring themselves back to the three dimensional world. Arnold was sure he must have spoiled his clothes but he felt around and was surprised to find that his trousers were dry and everything was where it should be, but he didn't understand how. They stood up awkwardly and started back in the direction of the voices, towards the winery and visitor's centre.
When they emerged from the forest they were the last members of the tour group to return and Dimitri explained it was time to head down to meet the coach on its way back from Olympia. As they walked towards the gates Arnold became more and more confused about what had happened. It hadn't been his intention to become intimate with Lucy and he was sure he hadn't encouraged her. The wine was stronger than he'd expected making him incapable of having any control over what had taken place. He'd obviously drunk far too much, but Lucy had encouraged him by continuing to fill their glasses from all the open wine bottles on the table. He noticed several of the couples were now arm in arm on their way down the drive, whispering to each other and giggling. He was sure some of them had taken the opportunity to make love in the grounds. He felt anger and frustration and he was annoyed at what Lucy had done. Had she planned this whole thing? He knew that couldn't be possible as they'd only decided to take the trip to the vineyard over breakfast. Nevertheless she'd taken advantage of him and he felt his dignity had been compromised. It should never have happened. How on earth could he face Hermione now?
At that moment he knew he'd become a victim of circumstances, another of the wretched people on earth who have no control over their lives, one of the souls he had spent most of his life trying to help. He stood despondently with the others by the gates and waited while a cloud of dust on the road slowly approached them, like some unavoidable tornado of judgement, before it became recognisable as the coach that had dropped them off earlier in the day. He now had a terrible migraine and his head was throbbing. The intense heat of the day had passed and the sun was very low in the sky and at that moment he just wanted to hide in darkness and escape from everybody.
The coach came to a halt, the doors opened and everyone trooped up the steps and along the aisle. Hermione had three seats to herself and Arnold flopped down next to her. Lucy sat down across the aisle, saying with a smirk,
'Hi, Mum. I think Arnold drank too much of the free wine.'
He rested his head on Hermione's shoulder, closed his eyes and at that moment wanted desperately to be in bed holding on to her.
After the coach built up speed she took both his hands in hers. He tried to fall asleep but the constant movement of the coach made it impossible, so he just stayed as he was hoping the whole afternoon had been a dream and any second he would wake up on board the ship. Finally they reached the quay and Hermione gently shook him to let him know they'd arrived. In silence they got up and filed off the bus letting the conversations of the other passengers mask their own isolation. Once back in the cabin Arnold flopped onto the bed and immediately fell asleep. He dreamt he was back in the pine forest but this time he was with Hermione, not Lucy. But then in the dream he began to be unsure who he was with as the identity of his partner drifted between the two of them, so he escaped from them both and ran off into the forest.
It was the last night on the ship as it sailed from Katakolon around the Peloponese coast and back up to Volos where there was a hectic day of sightseeing taking in Delphi, Meteora and Itea. They were then to be taken directly to the airport where they would meet their packed luggage and fly back to Gatwick.
Arnold woke up feeling unwell the next day and excused himself from the tour, and by doing so had the whole day to himself, to try to come to terms with his confused state of mind. Hermione had packed the night before whilst he was asleep and when he got up at about eleven he noticed her suitcase sitting silently in the middle of the room. He solemnly packed his things and then paced the cabin, but her suitcase's impenetrability haunted him. He sat outside on the balcony staring down at the goings on in Volos harbour and decided to go for a walk and see if he could find his way around the ship again. He took his map with him but found he didn't need to refer to it at all. About an hour later he was up on deck in the sunshine. He went to the rail and looked out over the quay below him where several coaches were standing, ready to take the remaining passengers with everyone's luggage to the airport.
'Excuse me. It is Reverend Drive, isn't it?'
A woman was standing next to him at the rail but he didn't recognise her. She offered her hand to him which he took limply.
'Deirdre Pace. I live in Bences Lane. In Corsham. I thought it was you. How funny seeing you here. Last place I would have expected to bump into you! I was one of your parishioners at St. Tobias's. My late husband and I were regulars up until the closure. A great shame. I guess it's a sign of the times, eh?'
Arnold just stood and listened to her speaking, nodding occasionally and offering a vague smile when it seemed appropriate. He felt he was adopting a familiar character just then, like putting on an old pair of shoes or a well-worn jacket. It was an odd sensation, as if he were going back in time. She carried on talking, not really caring whether he answered or not, in that way some people can when they ask a question that has a built-in answer, obviating the need for a reply. He'd been in this situation hundreds of times before but this time it felt different, as if he were pretending to be someone he wasn't. He caught up with what she was saying:
'...Funny I haven't bumped into you earlier on this trip. Still, there are so many people on board running around doing different things every day, it's hardly surprising, is it? Are you travelling alone?'
There was silence for a few seconds and Arnold realised she was waiting for him to say something. He didn't know why, but said:
'Yes...yes, I am travelling alone.'
And she was off again at breakneck speed as if him saying that had given her licence to continue, now that she'd stopped for a fresh intake of breath. As she went on he wondered why on earth he'd said that about travelling alone. He concluded it would have been just too tiresome to go through an explanation of who he was with on the cruise. He was sure Hermione didn't know this woman and he didn't recognise her.
She was beginning to give him a fresh headache so he excused himself and made his way down to the Club Lounge where he was able to find some peace and quiet. The coaches weren't due to leave for the airport until three, so he swallowed a couple of aspirins the staff found for him and had some lunch. He settled down in an armchair with his book and tried to read but it was difficult to concentrate. He was dreading getting to the airport and having to deal with the prospect of Hermione and Lucy together on the plane for the flight back. He realised there was no possibility now of him moving into Hermione's house after what had happened at the winery. He would stay on at Stan's for the time being, but one thing was becoming clear to him. He wanted to leave there as he had a hankering for his own space. Somewhere where he would have some genuine freedom.