Katy Colins - Destination Chile

I pressed my nose closer to the glass to read the small glinting plaque attached to a stand.

‘Jose Vasquez’s collection has been inspired by the artist’s journey through South America, where he felt compelled to replicate the colours, flavours and ambiance of this fascinating part of the world.’

I couldn’t contain the smile trying to escape. This was a sign.

I rummaged in my pocket to grab my mobile and quickly dialled Ben’s number. He answered in a few rings.

‘Hey there, beautiful, how was your lunch? I hope you’re bringing me back a doggy bag?’

‘Ah sorry! No doggy bag, but I can go one better.’

‘Oh yeah? Wait, why do you sound so excited?’

‘Well, because I’ve just been offered the chance for both of us to take an all-expenses-paid trip to South America!’ I squealed. Despite working in the travel industry we rarely received perks, unless you counted the stacks of branded luggage tags or passport covers piled in the bottom drawer of my desk. Somehow the ‘Don’t be flighty, get your life insurance plan sorted first’ fountain pen didn’t have the same gravitas as this potential freebie.

‘What?’ He let out a confused laugh.

‘Rahul works for a TV company who want to send us, along with some other couples, to Chile for some documentary they’re filming on people who work together in the travel industry. He said that everything will be paid for, we get time to travel and explore, just in return for doing a short interview or something!’ That was what he’d said, wasn’t it? Well I’m sure that was the gist of it.

Ben started to laugh. ‘Did this lunch turn into a boozy one? You want us to be stars on the small screen?’

I nodded down the line, still keeping my eyes trained on the stunning art in front of me before realising that Ben couldn’t see me. ‘Yep! How amazing is this? We can promote the business and take our first holiday together. I’m sure from what Rahul said the filming part of it all will be so minimal we could get it done in a day or so and then head off to finally travel together!’

There was a strange silence on the phone as Ben thought it over. I could hear Conrad’s booming laugh in the background at something.

‘Ben? You still there?’

‘Yeah, yeah, sorry, G. Erm, wow. It sounds amazing and I don’t want to be a party pooper but how are we going to manage everything going on with the business if both of us are taking time off?’

My heart sank. He was right. Maybe I was getting totally carried away with Rahul’s enthusiasm.

‘Well, the show will be going ahead with or without us, as they have other couples lined up. If we don’t take them up on it then we’ll miss out,’ I said. ‘And now we have Conrad, I’m sure he can handle things for a couple of weeks without us. And think of the PR opportunity! They’ve asked us to go to London for some pre-filming meeting thing to discuss things further. We’d be under no obligation to take it any further; it’s just to get some more details on it all…’ I trailed out and began chewing my lip. Come on, Ben.

He let out a breath he’d been holding. ‘Ahhh…okay. Let’s at least go and hear what they’ve got to say, hey?’

‘Eeeee! Okay!’ I did a little jig.

‘It’s never boring with you, Georgia, that’s all I can say.’ He laughed. ‘Right, get yourself back here before I change my mind.’

As soon as I’d hung up I hurriedly dialled Rahul’s number to tell him we were in. This was going to be the start of a whole new adventure; I could just feel it.

CHAPTER 6

Vagary (n.) – An erratic, unpredictable or extravagant manifestation, action or notion

Once we had agreed to at least look into Rahul’s offer by heading down to London to meet the producers of the show, I’d been unable to get the conversation I’d had with Marie and Shelley out of my head. A trip to Chile would be the perfect opportunity for us to talk, and for me to make sure I was one hundred per cent on the same page as Ben. Maybe he’d even make use of the opportunity to propose? If Ben so obviously thought we were there , then surely I should too? It was definitely time I met his family.

Just this morning as we’d been rushing to get ready I’d brought up the possibility of popping in to see his dad whilst we were down in London. He had met my parents enough times and they liked him as much as I did, but it was starting to feel one-sided. Previously Marie and Shelley had told me that I needed to just let him go at his own pace, that he was just a typical man and that putting off learning all about him – warts and all – for as long as possible meant the dewy-eyed shine would last longer. But finding the engagement ring had changed all of that. The other night at Marie’s house had been a sort of wake-up call that I needed to get some answers to my questions before we even thought of getting married.

When I’d broached the subject of meeting his dad as I brushed my teeth this morning I’d just got a noncommittal, ‘yeah, maybe’ answer, but I swore that as he said it his face clouded with a look of worry, or was it something more than that? Oh God, maybe I was being paranoid after having a not-so-rosy experience of Alex’s family. Ben’s not going to have any potential psycho family members, trust him. You know and love his godmother, Trisha, and if she’s anything to go by then you could soon be able to inherit the in-laws of your dreams! I told myself.

We arrived in London on time and caught a cab to the production team’s head office in Hoxton. I felt my tummy whirl with excitement at what the pre-show filming would involve; it already sounded so glamorous! Marie, being a part-time actress, had been giving us tips, telling us to wear something smart and business-like with no stripes or bright colours for the cameras. Hence I was now teetering down a cobbled courtyard to the head office that was in a complex of old converted stables, wearing my #girlboss black heels that gave me blisters but looked amazing with the deep green jumper dress I had on.

Ben looked super class in his thick woollen coat and the cable-knit scarf that brought out the colour of his eyes. If this went well we could soon be losing all these extra layers and feeling the heat from the sun and I could ditch the one hundred denier tights that were currently the only thing preventing me from developing frostbite.

‘After you.’ Ben winked, holding open the heavy barn door for me. I gave a small curtsey and laughed, before suddenly stopping at the commotion going on inside the open-plan office we’d stumbled into.

There were people everywhere; small meeting rooms seemed to shoot off down bright corridors like clavicles on a heart. Phones were ringing, people were shouting, TV screens were playing some dance music video with three very orange women gyrating in tiny string bikinis. I must have taken a step back into Ben who was gawping at this lively scene with a similarly shocked expression.

Rahul had said it was a low-budget, small TV company, so I’d expected to meet maybe one or two people in a coffee shop or something equally as chilled. I hadn’t expected to be dropped in the media equivalent of the Wall Street trading floor on uppers. We were barked at to move out of the way by three harassed men in baggy black T-shirts and scuffed Converse trainers as they pushed large cameras on tracks past us, while a young woman about the same age as Kelli was concentrating on not dropping a stupidly full tray of teas and coffees, and a pack of hipsters with matching beards and spotty red bow ties were sitting at a round table typing furiously on gleaming Apple Macs.

‘Erm, Ben? Is this the right place?’ I whispered, wanting him to put his arms round me and reassure me that this hadn’t all been a huge mistake. He didn’t get the chance to do this or even answer me as a grinning, chubby man danced over and planted himself in front of us. He literally pirouetted to a standstill and put out a fleshy pink hand as he smiled at us expectantly.