Aunt Bessie's Holiday Read Online Free PDF Page A

the
previous Friday.”
    “It sounds complicated,” Bessie said.
    “They just started it a few weeks ago, and
apparently it’s proving very successful.   Some of the books are classics, so most guests will probably have
already read at least one of the titles.   She told me that Jane Austen is featured quite heavily, although they do
try to include at least one book that is more modern, maybe a mystery or a
romance.”
    “What if I don’t want to read any of the
books?” Bessie had to ask.
    “You don’t have to go to the club,” Doona
said promptly.   “From what I was
told, that hasn’t ever happened.   Apparently the sorts of guests who are interested in attending are also
the sorts of guests who love to read and will happily read and discuss just
about anything.”
    Bessie laughed.   “That sort of sounds like me,” she
admitted.   “Although as I’ve grown
older I have less patience with books.   I used to force myself to read all of every book I picked up.   Now I’m quite happy to abandon a title
after the first three chapters if it doesn’t interest me.”
    “I read everything Jane Austen wrote when I
was a teenager.   If at least one of
the books is by her, I won’t have to read anything else,” Doona said.
    “I’m pretty sure I’ve read all of her books
as well,” Bessie replied.   “I hope
they might be able to introduce me to someone new, though.   I love discovering new authors.”
    “We’ll just have to wait and see,” Doona
said.   “Anyway, that’s our
week.   I’m hoping we can have a
lovely and very fancy meal on Saturday night.   Sunday we have to be out of our accommodation
by midday if we’re going to make it back to the ferry on time.”
    Bessie nodded.   “Let’s not talk about Sunday,” she
said.   “I don’t want to think about
going home yet.   We’ve not even gone
very far away.”
    Doona stood up and looked out the
porthole.   “I can’t see the island
anymore,” she said.   “So we’ve gone
some distance, anyway.”
    “But we still have at least three hours of
sailing time,” Bessie pointed out.   “You did bring a book, didn’t you?”
    Doona shook her head.   “I didn’t think about the ferry
journey,” she said sheepishly.   “I
knew we were going to get the books for the book club once we arrived at
Lakeview, so I assumed I didn’t need to bring reading material.   I think I’ll go down and grab a few
magazines from the gift shop.”
    Bessie thought for a moment.   “I’ll come as well,” she said as Doona
swallowed the last of her tea.   “I
brought several books, but right now a magazine sounds good.   Something that doesn’t require a great
deal of mental effort.”
    “So a glossy celebrity gossip magazine,”
Doona suggested.
    “Exactly,” Bessie said with a laugh.   She rarely bought those sorts of magazines,
but lately she’d found herself picking them up a bit more often.   They were the perfect things to waste an
afternoon with when her mind was preoccupied with other matters.   Today she just felt like indulging
herself by whiling away the long sailing by reading about the over the top
wedding celebrations and extravagant parties that minor celebrities seemed to
live for.
    The ship’s main deck was still cacophonously
noisy and chaotic.   The two women
didn’t waste much time selecting a few titles each and heading for the
tills.   They waited patiently behind
a harassed-looking couple who were each holding a
small wailing child.   The woman who
joined the queue behind Doona and Bessie had a crying baby of her own.   She also had a toddler who was covered
in something sticky attached to her leg.   The girl behind the till rang them up on autopilot, muttering
meaninglessly at Bessie when Bessie tried to start a quick conversation.   Back in their cabin, the two women
couldn’t help but laugh.
    “Now I know why I never had children,” Doona
said, wiping at the purplish mark the toddler