Maj seemed more like a courteous guesthouse owner than the stereotypical landlady. The two came down stairs only to be greeted by her Belgium French in the living room, with two breakfast bowls and utensils set on the coffee table.
“Good morning, would you two like some cereal?”, gesturing her right hand towards the cereal box on her free hand.
“Yes, please. Thank you very much.”, Cay obliged to her request and the two sat on the sofa opposite to her.
“Help yourselves with some fruit too while I get some milk.”, the fruits were at the dining table.
The three engaged in several polite conversations, while spooning yellowish wheat cereal into their mouth from time to time. Maj had been an interesting person to talk to since they found out last night, and soon conversations turned into light jokes about anything that came in mind. She was fascinated about how the two had met and even more fascinated about Cay’s accent.
“Oh, my accent? It sounds strange, isn’t it?”, Cay asked not in a rude way.
“No no, I think it’s nice.”, Maj urged on.
“Well, I picked it up while I was with my girlfriend back at university.”, his look almost emotionless.
“And not because you stayed in the UK for three years?”
“Technically, no. Because I stuck with international students most of the time during my early years. In the beginning it was just me talking to my British girlfriend most of the time, but then the accent was picked up over time.”, he had chuckled over the realization of his changed accent a year ago, and still did then.
“There’s a saying, ‘préférable d'aimer plutôt d'apprendre’, which means it is better to love than learn. I hoped that you enjoyed your life back at university.“.
“Yes, I did. Thank you.”, he looked down for a quick moment, then back at the landlady.
Her skin had a healthy dark tone with long, luscious black eyelashes, there was only evidence of light makeup on her verdict. She was pretty and young, while Florian looked old and with an inhibited strictness that made him seemed much older than his years. Cay felt the two were meant for each other, just like when he was with Jenna.
They bid goodbye to Maj, telling her they would not be back until that night and took her instructions to wait at the tramline just down the street where they had pizza the other day. Similar to England, Cay enjoyed the efficiency and punctuality of Europe’s transportation, remembering that he could wake up half-an-hour just before work on a typical weekend.
The two planned to explore the city that day as most major museums had been shut due to a Sunday. Graffiti-spotting had been highly encouraged by Ella and it added to the reason to be off the main streets, where a high density of foreign tourists was. Moreover, Judas had been craving for fried frites ever since they passed by Fritland, a chain store that specialized in preparing and selling fried chips (“Those chips looked just like the ones in chippies.” Which sounded like a good sign to Cay.”.
On the left of the tram stop were two mothers with baby carriages on their sides, gossiping about their neighbours or anyone that they knew about (the gestures were universal). An old, fragile man sat next to Judas, reading and contemplating about the news at hand. Worried the world away.
*
“It’s built by King Henry the First, William the Conqueror’s son.”, Jenna skimmed the booklet.
“Oh, is it? Quite a history, what we’re standing on.”, not that Cay knew much about the Bastard.
They left the hotel with a sea-view at eleven in the morning and proceeded down to Purbeck, to travel as planned. They have rested enough to last until tonight, and hopefully to visit some scenic places before departing for Bath. The day’s weather had been kind to them so far, not a drop of rain nor cold humidity, the latter common around the current season.
It was a very English castle built originally as a hunting getaway and a keep, the overall looking like a Scottish castle that could be mistaken if it had not been in Dorset. One could picture a twelfth century view of the place: royalties hunting with people of importance on horses, bloodhound companions, a forest abundance of games, guards exchanging duties, and personal maids preparing supper for their masters’ arrival from the hunt. Cay would be able to imagine the sheer joy of hunting if he had ever done it before.
The fog started to set upon Corfe Castle, the wave of mist engulfing the scenery that had been once visible and breathing felt wet in the lungs. Although it did not lessen the aesthetics of the place, it only added to the mystification of Purbeck. They entered Greyhound Inn for lunch, which served traditional English dishes of roasted meat and pies. The two savored the pecan pie, which had a high note of pecan and just enough sweetness to be enjoyable but not greasy.
Swanage had been mentioned by his tutor before as it was close to most of the archaeological site within Purbeck, the town was large to walk around but dull as any other towns. They booked a ticket to Lulworth as soon as they had their afternoon tea. The attractions there looked promising, as well as beautiful.
The bus journeyed along the Jurassic Coast with the view of the English Sea, the warm sun just above the roof; there was a degree of nostalgia while on the way, memories still vivid even after years has gone.
Lulworth Cove was shaped like a round cookie-cutter accidentally pressed past the edge of a thick layer of dough, creating a small opening of water to pour in and filled up whatever space was available. The breezy bay missing a beach and a small port for sea-farers, probably restricted by the National Heritage.
Durdle Door, a natural hole-under-a-bridge stretching from highland to sea reminded Cay of his holiday in New Zealand, though the memory was not a cheery one. The spectacular scenery would be perfect for watching the sunset and the two sat on a green pasture, the later forming temporary waves as the breeze blew above it. Jenna took the pecan pie that had been saved for occasions like this, Cay contributed by taking out two cans of coffee. The two sat on the grass but not waiting for the sun the set as it was still early for it to have the phenomenon.
“Honey, why did you bring me here?”, the question came out of the blue when the two had been staring at the natural landscape from the hill above.
“Because I wanted this for you.”, he gave a warming peck on Jenna’s soft right cheek.
The smell from the back of her ear pleasantly milky.
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