Morning dawned bright with a scattering of pink-edged clouds, wandering like swans gliding effortlessly across a lake; and a Sunday neither man had quite experienced before. The town, although pleasantly active, was all but drowned in a soft haze of peacefulness, as a quiet contentment appeared to be drifting aimlessly out of buildings, through laneways, streets and spreading along the riverbanks where very few as yet, were walking. On and on it stretched until it reached as high as the Citadel, a fine example of 17th century military architecture, with its long curtain walls, sentry boxes and rampart walks.
The two men lazed over breakfast, helping themselves to a few selected choices, each in his own way desired, including the inevitable croissants.
'Looks like another nice day,' Tony remarked, sitting down at a table for two opposite Harry, setting his tray carefully upon the table with so as not to spill the coffee.
'How are you feeling these days?' he asked his friend. 'No new niggles in the chest I hope...?'
Harry took a large bite of his warm croissant, a few warm flakes spilling onto the plate, pausing for a moment before answering. 'No, I believe not. All appears to have settled down, thank goodness. It really messes up any vacation though, having to visit the hospital like that.'
Tony poured his coffee. 'Would you like some?'
'Yes please.'
'Well at least you are still in the land of the living, aren't you?' grinned Tony, cheekily.
Harry gave a sneer of a laugh and raised his eyebrows. 'Only just!'
Tony took a long sip of his coffee, then asked, 'What does that mean, I wonder? Having second thoughts then?
'Not really. It's been a great trip so far, but I sometimes wonder how long we have left in our rather short lives on this planet of ours.' His mood was quiet, thoughtful.
'Now, now, don't go getting maudlin on me. That will never do.' Tony frowned briefly and shook his head briefly. 'Come on Harry. Shake a leg. Let's have some fun on that boat today. It might even go through a few locks. That would be a first I bet.' He drank more of his coffee, finished the last of the croissant and continued. 'With luck the weather will hold a bit longer. It's somehow managed to stay warm for a very long time. Although I don't like the look of the clouds in the distance,' he said, gazing out of the long windows. 'Those do look ominous. Hope we are not in for a storm or anything violent.'
'Yeah, I guess you are right. I'm still here and that's pretty good considering.' Harry began to cheer up.
'That's the ticket! Now you're talking sense again. We could stroll down to the market near the center of town and buy a chicken for lunch, like we did in Port Grimaud. Do you remember? Even have a picnic in the park along the river bank before boarding the boat. Think it leaves about 2 pm.'
Harry couldn't help smiling at Tony's obvious enthusiasm. 'Alright then, you win. You sure know how to twist one's arm, don't you?'
Tony poured them both another cup of coffee. 'Oh well. We do have to make the most of things,' he said, with a slight shrug of the shoulders. 'We aren't getting any younger. These croissants are really good. I'm glad I spotted this hotel.'
'No you didn't, I did! retorted Harry, instantly defending himself. 'You were driving, remember?'
'Oh alright, yes, perhaps you did and a good choice it was too!' he gladly admitted while taking a mouthful of another warm flakey croissant.
Later, they strolled across the park again, autumn leaves beginning to fall along the pathway and grass. They continued through a few narrow side streets, until they reached the main square across the river. A large church nearby was ringing its bells, sounding similar to those the men had heard in Florence many years ago. They clanged out their message into the morning sunlight and gathering clouds, calling people to its doors for the Sunday service.
'I do love the sound of church bells,' Harry said, peering up to the great height where they hung. Reminds me of one of the best holidays I ever experienced.'
'Did that involve a woman by any chance?' laughed Tony.
Not to be put off, Harry immediately admitted the fact that yes, it certainly did and before he met his wife.
'Ah ha! Thought as much,' said Tony, looking almost smug. 'Right then! Ah, think I can spot a few tables over there selling things,' he gestured with his head 'and from that delicious smell wafting through the air, maybe roast chicken. Shall we take a look?' he suggested, already wandering in that direction.
They bought a succulent chicken, a fresh baguette, cheese, tomato and some large peaches.
'Let's head for the river and see if there is somewhere to sit and eat?' Harry looked pleased with their purchases and they strolled off towards the river, finding exactly what they were hoping for. A large table and bench seats under the spreading trees, close to a gurgling part of the river. It was wide where they sat munching through most of what they had bought, while keeping an eye on the time for the departure of the small boat leaving a short time later. As they did so, more dark clouds were gathering they barely noticed. Lovely green-leafed trees surrounded them, with several leaves turning yellow in the dappled autumn sunlight. As they fluttered to the grass, formed a carpet of golden colour.
Near the allotted hour, they noticed people already queuing after buying tickets nearby, so they joined the small throng, watching a few families with young children and their lively behavior.
'Hope they won't be too noisy,' remarked Tony quietly, as they boarded and found seats close to the stern downstairs. About twenty people had climbed the narrow steep stairs to the roof, open on all sides, like the red tourist buses in London. The two friends preferred to sit mainly under cover as the sun was becoming hot again and they hadn't brought their caps for shade.
The engine gathered speed and the boat turned into the center of the churned up river. Not long after, they were entering a very narrow lock. There was barely a hand's width each side and the captain took it very slowly, being careful not to scrape the sides of the boat against the stone walls.
It was fun to eventually see the great gush of water as the huge wooden sluice gates opened, allowing a massive amount of water to fill where the small boat waited patiently. They went through several of these locks, before turning a sharp right bend to enter a long darkened tunnel. Coloured lights illuminated the walls where few people walked, the boat making slow progress through its narrow opening.
They passed several old structures close to the river bank no knowing exactly what they were, as the commentary was in French provided by a young woman sitting at the bow, their vocabularies not up to scratch enough to understand everything being said.
One of the town's main thoroughfare's eventually came into view and they realized they were close to the end of their journey. Before the small boat passed under a bridge the men had walked across that morning to find the market square, storm clouds were gathering, looking menacing. Houses on the port side were charmingly built and of similar construction as they had noticed elsewhere. The town's administrative offices were passed, their reflections dipping into the river as Tony gazed a little behind him, studying these reflections in the water and the patterns they formed, the small boat making steady progress towards its destination. A few raindrops began to fall, slowly at first, then becoming more intense.
'Think we are in for a storm,' murmured Harry, looking skywards, none too pleased.
A small child who had been very lively for the whole journey, suddenly broke away from her mother's grasp and climbed onto a spare seat in the stern. Tony noticed her immediately and felt concern for her safety. The outside seats were splashed with raindrops, becoming slippery. The little girl wearing a pink dress, beamed at him, gave a little wave and as she did so, lost her balance looking over the side at the churning water. The next moment she was gone, shocking Tony to the core. For a brief instant he just gaped, unable to take in what he had just witnessed becoming rooted to his seat. Then in the blink of an eye, he threw off his slip on shoes and jumped in after her.
People on the river bank and in the boat closest to them, hearing the girl cry out briefly before seeing a small splash as she fell into the water, stopped to look as the drama began to unfold. Harry turned to find Tony was no longer beside him and felt immediate panic. He had vaguely caught sight of his friend as he disappeared over the side of the boat and shouted to the captain to heave to.
By now, most of the other passengers downstairs had been alerted to what was happening in their midst and began to leave their seats, but the young lady who was sitting at the bow commentating, instantly took charge and ran the length of the boat, ushering people to remain seated and stay calm. She didn't want a capsize and in this change of weather conditions either.
The mother of the child turned quickly, frantically looking in all directions, soon realizing it was her daughter who had fallen overboard and let out a piercing scream, alerting the passengers sitting upstairs. A state of pandemonium broke out, the young woman joined now by the captain, tried desperately to maintain order.
In the meantime, Harry had barely taken stock of exactly where the little girl could be, momentarily confused, as he had been gazing at the changing sky.
The boat had proceeded several yards before the captain was able to cut the engines and heave to, joining the young woman commentator.
Tony was never a good swimmer at the best of times, but now was not a good time to worry about that, as he frantically searched in vain for the child. Apart from swallowing a lot of river water, he tried to reason, gathering his thoughts into some form of order and logic, while constantly diving down - that there was a definite flow of the river in the direction they were heading, but it wouldn't help him in his vain search. The child could be anywhere and after he thought about it for a moment, she would be coming towards him if anything, according to the current - assuming she had not sunk to the bottom immediately. His heart stopped momentarily, as he kicked his legs, his arms working furiously diving down once more to look in the murky water, his heavy clothes not helping, before coming up for air spluttering, to try again. The rain splashed into the river, into his eyes as he came up for more air and he hardly took stock - there was no time to think about that now. Besides it wasn't important. He had to find that girl.
Suddenly he spotted a flash of pink cloth and reached out to grab the child's dress. He immediately brought her to the surface and laid her on her back with his arm gently holding her head above the water, as he'd seen a lifesaver do something similar once. He tried soothing words as he worked his way slowly to the stern of the boat. Everyone by now was watching the drama unfold with bated breath, although realizing the brave man had her firmly in his grasp. There was a chorus of sighs when she appeared alive and breathing.
Soon Tony reached the pole held out by the young woman commentator. She was calling out for him to grab it and hold tight. Then the captain threw a life buoy out to him which he grabbed for dear life. The little girl was thankfully spluttering while Tony kept talking calmly to her. She appeared to be listening and obviously hadn't drowned, much to the relief of all the onlookers. A cheer went up from the crowd on the riverbank. He was momentarily amazed the little girl wasn't screaming or distressed like her mother, as she still lay tucked into his arm.
Harry was beside himself with what he was seeing take place before his very eyes. He had witnessed a miracle of sorts as Tony had never shown any inclination in the past for water sports, but what he had just managed was truly heroic and he felt proud his friend had not even paused to think about his own safety, but simply jumped in after the little girl. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief just the same.
Soon the captain and his assistant had hauled the small child carefully aboard and then Tony was given a rope ladder to struggle up almost breathless while the crew attended to the girl. They had obviously been well trained for such an occurrence as this, doing all they could to help her. They and all the passengers were immensely relieved she was still alive. Slowly when they had rid her of some river water, she gazed up at everyone in wonderment at all the attention. It was gratifying she hadn't appeared to suffer any shock as yet. Then she smiled slightly as her blonde hair, still matted around her blue eyes, was pushed gently to one side by her mother, greatly concerned, but happy her daughter was alive. She managed to calm down enough to thank Tony several times for what he had done, as did several people around him. Although extremely wet through, he managed a vague smile and Harry approached him to shake his hand and clap him gently on the back as the rain eased considerably. Tony resembled a drowned rat and Harry was tempted to smile, but thought better of it.
'Good grief Tony, not a good time for swimming in this downpour, but well done my friend! I'm speechless...'
'So am I to tell the truth,' gasped poor Tony, still trying to catch his breath, surrounded by many of the passengers, all wanting to congratulate him. 'Thank goodness she was alive, that's all I can say,' he puffed, slumping into a chair.
'Indeed it was,' smiled Harry, sitting beside him. 'I'm proud for what you have done today.' He beamed at Tony who hung his head out of sheer exhaustion.
After the excitement died down, both men struggled back to the hotel as Tony had managed to dry out considerably when the afternoon sun reappeared. It was welcome for the warmth and comfort it gave.
Harry had to laugh. 'I hadn't realized you could swim like that,' he chortled.
'That's just it,' grinned Tony, astonished at his own bravado.
'What is?' replied Harry looking puzzled.
Tony didn't need to hesitate. He stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend. 'I couldn't!'
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