dwelling on an issue that was not even brought up yet, she said to herself. The truth was that she liked Alex only that she was already involved with James and Rose did not like the idea of having a complicated intimate life.
They arrived at the hotel around midnight driving through a city full of life, glowing with music and sparkling lights that were flooding the streets and were bouncing around from the contact with the chrome and glass that were present on every building and every street corner. People looked happy and young and were celebrating. Who was going to work tomorrow, Rose asked herself? But then, perhaps they were all tourists like her and Alex and the hard working people of Perth were already in bed.
Rose recalled reading somewhere that tourism is a significant source of revenue for this city with around 6 million of people each year visiting the Kings Park, a unique bush land area. So of course that place was also on her list of worthwhile destinations if time allowed it.
Their rooms were on level 30 and close to each other. They shared the living room but had separate bathrooms. Excellent idea, Rose thought. They said good night to each other after admiring briefly the city view from the balcony. It was a spectacular and soul-gratifying experience. The mojo song came to Rose's mind again while falling asleep.
The Black Truffles
Rose woke up as usual 1 minute before 06:00 am and she realized that she was in a different time zone. The difference was 2 hours. More precisely, by Western Standard Time, the official local time was 04:00 am. Well, she thought, it’s not much point in attempting to change my sleeping habit now for only a three day trip. So she left the bed, had her shower and went onto the balcony. It was peaceful outside. The city was resting. Alex joined her after a few minutes carrying 2 cups of coffee.
‘It’s not the same as your Turkish coffee, I know, but it’s better than nothing, ’ he said as an apology. Rose wasn’t going to complain.
‘Time zones, huh? I don’t know any more of what type of jet lag I’m suffering, ’ he said with a laugh. ‘Are we dealing with the summer time here? ’ he asked. He meant by that the daylight saving time.
‘No. Western Australia and Queensland are the two states that have not adopted the concept but there are 3 main time zones in Australia: western, central and eastern. The difference is 1 to 2 hours but can cause difficulties in one’s busy schedule, ’ Rose said.
‘Not using daylight saving time? But it was someone from this part of the world who came up with the idea, isn’t it? ’ Alex said in disbelief.
‘Hudson, a New Zealander, ’ Rose said. ‘I can see how a shift-worker would appreciate the value of after hour's daylight, ’ she added.
‘Early to bed and early to rise apparently has some connection with one being healthy and ….? ’ He asked looking at her.
‘Clever? ’ Rose said jokingly.
‘Something like that, ’ he admitted with a grin. ‘I wonder how living was in those times when every town was allowed to choose their local mean time, ’ he added.
‘That was before 1895, ’ Rose said.
They continued the small talk for another half hour, enjoying the coffee and the sunrise in a city that was still asleep. Moments like these were awesome! Then suddenly the sun was up, the heat was on and people were everywhere. It was time to start the day. Rose went to dress up and Alex went out. She was planning to have her breakfast in the hotel and then visit the town but she was flexible and ready to adjust the plan as necessary.
After a brief but fulfilling breakfast with fruits, more coffee and some bacon and eggs Rose was prepared to face the day. She looked forward to exploring the sunniest city in Australia. That was the city’s reputation. Rose read that the city was founded in 1829 and was located 20 km inland from the Indian Ocean on the bank of Swan River.
She was keen to discover the city’s attractions and although she was tempted to be methodical in her approach to its exploration she was aware about the limitations that such an approach would bring: time pressure, facing queues and hordes of tourists so in the last minute. Rose voted for free exploration and abandoned her initial plan.
As Rose was leaving the hotel’s lobby she came across an announcement about a wine and chocolate tour that was about to start in the next 30 minutes. It was very tempting but probably already fully booked, she thought, however she approached the guide, a middle aged female who appeared to be dressed for walking: comfortable low heel shoes and sun protective clothing. Her reflective sunglasses were on her forehead and besides her were a large brim floppy hat and a tube of sunscreen. She was talking animatedly to a group of tourists.
Rose knew nothing about the tour’s itinerary, only that they would return to the hotel at the end of the day and she was pleased to hear that it was possible for her to join them. Rose was consciously embarking now on an adventure and she was thrilled about it. Her emotions were a mixture of anxiety and excitement. She texted Alex to cancel the midday meeting with him. In that way he would have more time for the conference and would not feel guilty about neglecting her, Rose thought. The group that she joined consisted in two guides, Veronica and Tom, and ten people, seven men and three women.
As she listened at the guide’s explanations and people’s questions Rose started to realize that wine tasting was the predominant activity during this tour and her suspicion was later confirmed. During the next 6 hours they visited a handful of city establishments from iconic colonial hotels to small European style bars to country style pubs and tasted a variety of wines and chocolate. The tasting thankfully was interspersed with good food and conversation otherwise everyone would have been drunk at the end.
It seemed that Rose was the only novice in the group so everyone tried to give her some advice. She did her best to minimize her exposure to alcohol and prevent intoxication by taking only sips, spitting it out after tasting (which is actually recommended), drinking water and eating food. However she knew that for her body weight she was still the most vulnerable to inebriation and she tried her best to remain in control.
Some of the men lost control of their drinking pretty soon and everyone else, including the guides, was a bit tipsy by the end of the day trip. For Rose that manifested as an increase in the volume and rate of speech and some unsteadiness on her feet. Luckily it was daytime and time to return to the hotel. Of course that was not compulsory and a few people chose to stay behind and enjoy more alcohol but the idea just made Rose shudder. She rarely drank alcohol and could not remember when the last time she was feeling as tipsy as today was. The chocolate factory was less impressive but eating black truffles was unforgettable.
‘Chinese truffles? ’ Alex asked for clarification.
‘Black truffles. Not white or Chinese. Just black truffles prepared with risotto. Delicious!’ Rose said recalling her earlier experience. ‘They keep aroma even after heating, unlike the white one, ’ she said showing off her knowledge.
‘You are a gemstone, ’ Alex said softly looking at her. Rose was speechless for a moment trying to take in the unusual compliment that was just given to her. Then she gave up. She was too run down by the alcohol so she had an excuse for not being able to remain in control.
‘Are you making a pass at me? ’ Rose asked him laughing.
He smiled at her and said: ’You’ll be fine. ’
Rose was sitting in the living room at the hotel recovering from her slight alcohol intoxication with a cup of coffee. She was chatting away keen to share her experience with Alex. He appeared relaxed and enjoying himself listening to her and although Rose was somehow aware that she was talking too much she seemed to be unable to stop herself as if her frontal lobe, her executive capacities, were lost.
‘I think I’m drunk, ’ she finally confessed to Alex. He smiled for a moment then suddenly worried asked her if she was feeling sick.
‘Never felt better, ’ Rose reassured him trying to leave the chair and finding that her feet were slow in following the brain’s commands.
Ale
x managed to catch her before tripping over the carpet and carried her to the nearest sofa. Rose found herself registering that his body felt warm and she felt safe. He hugged her and whispered softly something like: ‘I should have gone with you, ’ then asked her to drink more water. ‘You’ll feel much better soon, ’ he whispered.
‘Why are you whispering? ’ Rose started to say and the next minute she realized that just the noise made by her own voice was giving her a headache. Maybe she was drunker than she realized, she said to herself. She must have said it aloud as Alex started to laugh softly and then kissed her cheek while whispering into her ear: ‘Just try to sleep. I’ll be here’.
Rose was lying on a Cleopatra like style sofa and feeling comfortable and she was following Alex with her gaze too exhausted to speak or move. She knew that she needed to sleep but she did not want to be left alone. Alex maybe realized that as he sank in the nearby lounge chair and kept an eye on her. And then she closed her eyes for a minute and the next minute she was fast asleep.
……. .
When, eight hours later, the daylight pouring into the room woke her up the next morning, she found herself in her bedroom tucked under the covers. She had on her only her underwear and she could not recall removing her clothes before going