With the improved weather, they settle into a routine, she is getting comfortable with Henry being around, and he is finally getting out of the shipboard routine, and becoming more relaxed, though still wary of making a mistake.
They go for walks along the beach, and gradually, a form of intimacy takes place, holding hands, at first with gloves on.
Then in a totally unscripted moment from out of left field, they kiss. It just happens ‘in the moment’. He apologises, and she just smiles.
Given what she has escaped from, it is a sublime moment that gives her the opportunity, against all odds, that it was possible, one day, she could be happy.
It leads to another unscripted moment, but this time a kiss with more meaning behind it.
Henry doesn’t know how to process this event but goes with the flow. Out of the confines of the town, on a short road trip, they admit they like each other and to not have any expectations that it might go anywhere.
But the ugly truth of her background raises its head with the conversation turning to the future, and Henry puts his foot in it.
As an unexpected result of that feeling he had ruined everything; a hug that, for him, seemed to last a lifetime.
I remember that first kiss, and the moment that led to it, and it left me with butterflies and dread, that eventually it would all fall apart. It was a passing moment in time, and it taught me one very valuable lesson, leave expectations out of it. And that flush of first love, there is nothing like it.
Michelle, to Henry, was the proverbial black widow, having arrived with every stitch of clothing black or near enough.
They settle into an uneasy co-existence, by the fire, waiting out the rain and weather, not avoiding meals because it would require explanation, but stumbling over the conversation, mainly because of Henry’s shyness and reserve.
The arrangements come to a head when she goes out and comes back soaked. She stands by the fire to get warm; Mrs Mac brings a towel for her to dry her face and hair, and here Henry discovers her injuries make it difficult.
He helps but makes a mess of it through inexperience and fear of, yes, making a mess of a moment, which, word-wise, he does.
At this point, we discover a lot more about who she is and why she is there, and why she can never have a relationship, friendship or anything with that enigmatic, shy, boy.
Then the weather breaks.
Alone, Henry goes out to explore the coast, finds a way down to the beach, goes for a walk to be alone with his thoughts, and remembers where he had seen her before.
In magazines, ads. Not only a model but a lot more. A woman he realizes he is way out of his depth when with her.
She ventures to the beach, and they talk, he discovers small talk is not something that comes easy and is left in despair at his ineptitude.
I know this feeling from experience, and it makes this story easy.
Michelle, to Henry, was the proverbial black widow, having arrived with every stitch of clothing black or near enough.
They settle into an uneasy co-existence, by the fire, waiting out the rain and weather, not avoiding meals because it would require explanation, but stumbling over the conversation, mainly because of Henry’s shyness and reserve.
The arrangements come to a head when she goes out and comes back soaked. She stands by the fire to get warm; Mrs Mac brings a towel for her to dry her face and hair, and here Henry discovers her injuries make it difficult.
He helps but makes a mess of it through inexperience and fear of, yes, making a mess of a moment, which, word-wise, he does.
At this point, we discover a lot more about who she is and why she is there, and why she can never have a relationship, friendship or anything with that enigmatic, shy, boy.
Then the weather breaks.
Alone, Henry goes out to explore the coast, finds a way down to the beach, goes for a walk to be alone with his thoughts, and remembers where he had seen her before.
In magazines, ads. Not only a model but a lot more. A woman he realizes he is way out of his depth when with her.
She ventures to the beach, and they talk, he discovers small talk is not something that comes easy and is left in despair at his ineptitude.
I know this feeling from experience, and it makes this story easy.
Henry, for instance, had suffered the tragic loss of what he believed to be his one true love. That, in essence, had led him to that life at sea, away from everything and everyone, because all it did was remind him of what he had lost.
And, yes, he was not going to fall in love again, it was far too painful.
Trying to get over the overwhelming grief, still raw a year later, he hears the arrival of another guest, and curious discovers it is a woman about his age, one who is quite at odds with what he would expect as a guest, at this hotel, at this time of year.
It raises that inevitable question, why would someone like her be there?
This leads to an awkward dinner where, with only two guests in the hotel, would it not be better if they sat together? Neither thought so, but it seems impolite not to.
From there, of course, the conversation could only get worse, with each emphasising, in their thoughts, just how much they didn’t want to be there.
It is here we discover how these two are going to get along, or not, as the days proceed, not having realised that meeting others was a possibility, but meeting someone else who might be a match, never. Both know they’re at that hotel to stay away from everyone else, but, in the coming days, that wasn’t going to be possible.
Henry, for instance, had suffered the tragic loss of what he believed to be his one true love. That, in essence, had led him to that life at sea, away from everything and everyone, because all it did was remind him of what he had lost.
And, yes, he was not going to fall in love again, it was far too painful.
Trying to get over the overwhelming grief, still raw a year later, he hears the arrival of another guest, and curious discovers it is a woman about his age, one who is quite at odds with what he would expect as a guest, at this hotel, at this time of year.
It raises that inevitable question, why would someone like her be there?
This leads to an awkward dinner where, with only two guests in the hotel, would it not be better if they sat together? Neither thought so, but it seems impolite not to.
From there, of course, the conversation could only get worse, with each emphasising, in their thoughts, just how much they didn’t want to be there.
It is here we discover how these two are going to get along, or not, as the days proceed, not having realised that meeting others was a possibility, but meeting someone else who might be a match, never. Both know they’re at that hotel to stay away from everyone else, but, in the coming days, that wasn’t going to be possible.
It’s been a long, hard job getting this novel from the planning stages, through several rewrites and title changes, endless comments for revision from not one but two editors, and a host of beta readers, to get where we are now.
This is the sequel to “What sets us apart” which was published nearly eight years ago. This probably could have been published earlier, but events like COVID got in the way, and then there is the day job, you know the one, as a writer, don’t give up your day job.
That comes from those harsh critics.
If I listened to the critics, I would have taken a one-way trip to the moon to get away from them. The reason why I haven’t is those that who loved the books; they outweigh those who don’t.
But I don’t write for the praise, I write because I love writing, and will continue to do so until the day I die. I’m hoping it won’t take another eight years before it’s published.
It’s been a long, hard job getting this novel from the planning stages, through several rewrites and title changes, endless comments for revision from not one but two editors, and a host of beta readers, to get where we are now.
This is the sequel to “What sets us apart” which was published nearly eight years ago. This probably could have been published earlier, but events like COVID got in the way, and then there is the day job, you know the one, as a writer, don’t give up your day job.
That comes from those harsh critics.
If I listened to the critics, I would have taken a one-way trip to the moon to get away from them. The reason why I haven’t is those that who loved the books; they outweigh those who don’t.
But I don’t write for the praise, I write because I love writing, and will continue to do so until the day I die. I’m hoping it won’t take another eight years before it’s published.
In the spy business, it pays not to make solid plans, just have an idea of what you might do, and execute it.
When it goes wrong, as it inevitably does, then you can always say, “I knew it was going to fail” and feel good about it.
Expecting a plan to work without it going south is like winning the lottery. What are the odds?
What you can rely on every time is human nature. Yes, sometimes the bad guy is thoroughly bad and goes off the reservation, but that’s the exception. Counterspy measures always include an element of ‘what’s in it for me’ when an opportunity comes up.
So, David and Alisha get captured. It’s the easiest way in.
Then Alisha escapes in the middle of a freak storm with torrential rain that has a visibility range of ten feet at best. Enough time for her to disappear.
It’s all part of the plan.
Others search for her, while David is taken to the main compound, assessing the odds and situation as he goes. He ends up in a cell, left to ponder his fate, and then dragged out for interrogation.
Not exactly part of the plan, but he does learn something new, and quite disconcerting. Someone close to him is a traitor.
West Lake is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands within the lake.
Measuring 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) in length, 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) in width, and 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) in average depth, the lake spreads itself in an area totaling 6.5 square kilometers (2.5 square miles).
The earliest recorded name for West Lake was the “Wu Forest River”, but over time it changed to two distinct names. One is “Qiantang Lake”, due to the fact that Hangzhou was called “Qiantang” in ancient times. The other, “West Lake”, due to the lake being west of the city
It’s about to get busy, with a number of activities planned, and the warmth of the day is starting to make an impact.
The tour starts in the car park about a kilometer away, but the moment we left the car park we were getting a taste of the park walking along a tree-lined avenue.
When we cross the road, once again dicing with death with the silent assassins on motor scooters.
We are in the park proper, and it is magnificent, with flowers, mostly at the start hydrangeas and then any number of other trees and shrubs, some carved into other flower shapes like a lotus.
Then there was the lake and the backdrop of bridges and walkways.
.
And if you can tune out the background white noise the place would be great for serenity and relaxation.
That, in fact, was how the boat ride panned out, about half an hour or more gliding across the lake in an almost silent boat, by an open window, with the air and the majestic scenery.
No, not that boat, which would be great to have lunch on while cruising, but the boat below:
Not quite in the same class, but all the same, very easy to tune out and soak it in.
It was peaceful, amazingly quiet, on a summery day
A pagoda in the hazy distance, an island we were about to circumnavigate.
Of all the legends, the most touching one is the love story between Bai Suzhen and Xu Xi’an. Bai Suzhen was a white snake spirit and Xu Xi’an was a mortal man.
They fell in love when they first met on a boat on the West Lake, and got married very soon after.
However, the evil monk Fa Hai attempted to separate the couple by imprisoning Xu Xi’an. Bai Suzhen fought against Fa Hai and tried her best to rescue her husband, but she failed and was imprisoned under the Leifeng Pagoda by the lake.
Years later the couple was rescued by Xiao Qing, the sister of Baisuzhen, and from then on, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xi’an lived together happily.
The retelling of the story varied between tour guides, and on the cruise boat, we had two. Our guide kept to the legend, the other tour guide had a different ending.
Suffice to say it had relevance to the two pagodas on the far side of the lake.
There was a cafe or restaurant on the island, but that was not our lunch destination.
Nor were the buildings further along from where we disembarked.
All in all the whole cruise took about 45 minutes and was an interesting break from the hectic nature of the tour.
Oh yes, and the boat captain had postcards for sale. We didn’t buy any.
Lunch
At the disembarkation point there was a mall that sold souvenirs and had a few ‘fast food’ shops, and a KFC, not exactly what we came to China for, but it seemed like the only place in town a food cautious Australian could eat at.
And when tried to get in the door, that’s where at least 3 busloads were, if they were not in the local Starbucks. Apparently, these were the places of first choice wherever we went.
The chicken supply by the time we got to the head of the line amounted to pieces at 22.5 RMB a piece and nuggets. Everything else had run out, and for me, there were only 5 pieces left. Good thing there were chips.
And Starbucks with coffee and cheesecake.
At least the setting for what could have been a picnic lunch was idyllic.
In the spy business, it pays not to make solid plans, just have an idea of what you might do, and execute it.
When it goes wrong, as it inevitably does, then you can always say, “I knew it was going to fail” and feel good about it.
Expecting a plan to work without it going south is like winning the lottery. What are the odds?
What you can rely on every time is human nature. Yes, sometimes the bad guy is thoroughly bad and goes off the reservation, but that’s the exception. Counterspy measures always include an element of ‘what’s in it for me’ when an opportunity comes up.
So, David and Alisha get captured. It’s the easiest way in.
Then Alisha escapes in the middle of a freak storm with torrential rain that has a visibility range of ten feet at best. Enough time for her to disappear.
It’s all part of the plan.
Others search for her, while David is taken to the main compound, assessing the odds and situation as he goes. He ends up in a cell, left to ponder his fate, and then dragged out for interrogation.
Not exactly part of the plan, but he does learn something new, and quite disconcerting. Someone close to him is a traitor.
Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance 