Destination India

‘Turnover? Money?’

She shrugged, bored with this conversation. ‘Maybe. I said you were doin’ all right, although you could pay me a little more.’ She said this so matter-of-factly I wanted to laugh.

‘If I could, you know I would.’ I smiled at her as she rolled her eyes. ‘Did he look like he was going to book a tour?’

‘Er, he was asking about that India one, you know the one that’s going tits up.’ She yawned.

‘It’s not going tits up.’ I pursed my lips at her. ‘It’s just had a few not so great reviews, that’s all.’ Getting to the bottom of why was high on my to-do list. We had been lucky to receive almost five stars for every other trip we offered, and the India trip had initially received similar reviews, but now it just felt like the black sheep of the family.

She nodded slowly. ‘Well anyway, I gave him the brochure.’

‘OK, good,’ I mumbled distractedly. There was another Indian tour leaving in a few weeks and I was determined to make sure this one was the best ever.

‘Hey, what’s with that face?’ Ben asked as he put his phone down and got up to flick on the kettle.

‘Nothing. Just thinking about those Indian reviews again.’ I sighed. ‘Kelli was just with a customer asking about going to India with us. I can’t face another set of one stars.’

Ben got the milk out of the fridge. ‘Don’t worry, Georgia. Our winning streak was bound to come to an end one day. I’m amazed we’ve managed to notch up so many five stars already. It’s only normal that we’re not going to please everyone.’

‘But we should! We work hard in picking the best tour guides, the nicest hotels, the funnest activities,’ I half cried. ‘Every tour should go without a hitch.’

‘Yeah and My Chemical Romance should get back together and tour again, but not everything we want works out,’ Kelli piped up.

‘Thanks for that, Kel, really helpful,’ I said sarcastically.

‘She’s right, you know,’ Ben said, passing me a full-to-the-brim cup of tea. I took the mug and smiled gratefully. On the front was a photo of us from the local paper when we opened our business just last year. We looked so happy, unaware of what we were getting ourselves into and the adventures that lay ahead. I still cherished this mug even if the dishwasher had smeared off most of the colour and my smile had faded half away.

‘Cheers,’ I said and he winked back. ‘What do you mean she’s right?’

‘Well, I know we want to offer the best tours to our customers and make everyone who comes in this shop or travels with us happier than they were before they met us, but it doesn’t always work like that, Georgia. We can’t fix everyone’s problems. Getting some duff reviews is just part and parcel of this business, especially when we’re working with some very heartbroken people. It’s just the way it is.’ He shrugged and sat back at his desk.

I sighed. Maybe he was right. Maybe the perfectionist in me needed to just chill out. ‘But don’t you think it’s weird that a lot of these reviews are coming from the Indian tour?’

‘I’ve been to India a few times. That is one crazy place.’ Ben shook his head, lost in some memory. ‘I bet those people struggled with the country rather than our tour. It’s a whole other world over there, far removed from the life we live here and for some that culture shock is too much to take. Come on, please don’t get stressed about it. Like you say, we have the best guides, the best trips planned and we give it one hundred per cent, but we can’t control everything.’

I nodded slowly. ‘I guess.’

‘So, how was your dad’s birthday meal? Did they like the restaurant?’ Ben asked, changing the subject.

I tapped my forehead. ‘Oh my God, I completely forgot to tell you.’

‘Tell me what?’

‘OK, well you know that sales guy Dan at Itchy Feet?’ Ben nodded slowly. ‘Well, I managed to negotiate a very good rate on us getting some advertising space with them. Forty per cent off!’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Wow, how did you manage that?’

‘My womanly charms.’ I grinned. ‘I sent the copy over last night and we should be in the next issue coming out in a few weeks.’

Ben’s smile faded in a second. ‘What?’

‘I needed to act quickly on this offer as Dan had others waiting and there was no way I was going to let Totally Awesome Adventours take it.’

‘Wait – so you signed off on this and sent over copy without speaking to me first?’

I nodded, my bubble of excitement popping. ‘Yeah, ‘cause if I didn’t we would have lost it,’ I said quietly, feeling the atmosphere close in around me. Kelli sensed the mood and nipped to the loo, mumbling something on her way past.

‘Georgia,’ Ben snapped. ‘You promised me that big decisions like this, decisions that cost money, would always be made together. Even with the discount this has probably wiped out our advertising budget.’

‘I’m sorry; I just didn’t want us to lose out.’

‘That’s the oldest trick in the book: say you’ve got others interested to make the first shmuck agree to the sale before thinking it over.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yep, oh.’ He rubbed his face. He seemed a lot more tired these days. ‘I thought we had an agreement that we didn’t make any big decisions without checking with each other first.’

My cheeks felt flushed. ‘I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing; you’ll see, this will bring in loads of business.’ I laughed weakly, hoping that I would be proved right.

The afternoon flew by and before I knew it Kelli had clocked off in a whirlwind of nerves for her gig tonight, leaving just Ben and me finally alone.

‘I am sorry about the advert thing,’ I said as I emptied my waste-paper bin.

‘It’s fine. I’m sorry for flying off the handle.’ Ben flashed a genuine smile. ‘I just want you to know that I’m here to help. I want this business to work just as much as you do.’ He placed a warm hand on my shoulder that gave me a tingle of excitement. My body just seemed to melt at his touch, no matter how small or infrequently it happened.

‘I know.’ I smiled at him, hoping I didn’t have any poppy seeds stuck in my teeth after inhaling a bagel at my desk earlier.

‘Right, well I’d better be making a move; I said I’d go and get changed and then help Kel set up,’ he said, taking his hand away and breaking the moment. ‘Did you know Jimmy and Shelley are coming too?’

‘Yeah, she sent me an email about it earlier. Something about how there was no way she would refuse the offer of curry no matter how bad Kelli’s band might be.’ I hadn’t seen Ben’s best mate Jimmy and his girlfriend, my backpacker friend Shelley, for ages, even though we lived in the same city now. As much as the sound of Kel’s emo band wasn’t getting me excited I did have to admit it would be nice to actually be out in the real world with real friends and to be hanging out with Ben away from work. This had been the first ‘date’ that Ben had asked me on. OK, so officially it wasn’t a date when I’d be stood in a sea of faces in close proximity to Ben, cringing as Jimmy did his best Bez impression but still it was a chance to socialise outside of this place.

‘Cool, well. I’ll see you later then, Georgia. You sure you’re OK to lock up by yourself?’

I shooed him away. ‘Tsk. Course I am. I’ll see you all soon; save me a spot in the crowd.’

Ben looked as if he was going to say something else but stopped himself and gave me a quick wave as he left the shop. I was going to tie up some loose ends and be on my way. I was definitely going to be out of here at a reasonable hour, proving to my parents that I had more going on in my life than just work.

Only sending one email became ten and now I was late. Very late. I’d planned to go home, take a soak in the bath, maybe even paint my nails and leisurely get ready. I used to love the whole prep part of a night out. Me and Marie would crank up the stereo, pour huge glugs of cold white wine and dance around as we preened ourselves before falling into a taxi in a fit of giggles and excitement at what the night could hold. Most of the time getting ready was the best part. I’d never really got into the whole clubbing scene and hated feeling like I was on show as nameless strangers wandered past unsteadily holding a pint of lager and looking us up and down. We’d eventually return home with our purses lighter and feet heavy, telling ourselves we were too old for this until the next time when the ritual would start all over again. I really did need to get in touch with Marie; how long had it been since I’d seen her? My mobile phone buzzed on my messy desk, breaking my thoughts.

‘Hey, I’m on my way!’ I said quickly to Ben.

‘Georgia. Are you still in the office?’ he asked. I could sense a sharpness in his tone.

‘Yep but I swear I was just heading out the door then I realised that we hadn’t sent out the itineraries for the Iceland trip, which I know was my job to do but it completely slipped my mind. Anyway I’m leaving right now …’ I babbled.

Ben cut me off; I could hear the disappointment in his voice. ‘Georgia, you promised Kel that you wouldn’t be late.’ His voice grew quieter, smaller against the thrum from the room he was in. ‘She’s counting on us to be there to support her; you know, put this teamwork theory into practice. Also, Jimmy and Shell have been asking where you are.’

‘I know. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get caught up in work. I’ll be there before you know it –’ My stomach sank. I honestly hadn’t meant to let work get in the way of this evening.