Dial 255 for Service.

'Dial 255 if you need anything'. Fritz beamed at us. 'You may want your frocks pressed or your shoes polished'. He left our coupe, weighed down not only by his moustache but also by ten pairs of shoes.

We beamed too, sitting in our wood paneled coupe, sipping champagne and popping caviar into our mouths, the world whizzing by.Gazing out of train windows makes one feel poetic. And a little melancholy. One of us was getting over the death of a dear friend. The other, a broken heart. The bottle seemed to finish itself quite quickly, and to get rid of any further feelings of melancholia, we decided to order another.

My fingers were poised on the phone to punch in 255, when my travel partner insisted we move to the observation car.

While my travel partner sampled the high tea, I found myself talking in a British accent as I spoke to the British doctor and his wife, in a New Zealand twang chatting to the sheep shaggers, and in an Irish brogue with John.

When everyone else left the train to go on a tour of Kimberly and the Big Hole, we stayed on board, moving to the bar.

Justice Sithole. Barman of note. Whisky connoisseur. Fixer of broken hearts. He taught us about single malt, mashing, vatting and graining. He poured, we tasted, we healed.

Balblair, Cragganmore, Glenfiddich. We settled on Glenfiddich.

Just before dinner, Fritz ushered me quietly back to the coupe. The bath had been run, there were bubbles, and there was bubbly!

‘Use the water while it’s still hot’ Fritz suggested. ‘And call if you need anything..

My partner was nowhere to be seen, so I luxuriated in the bath. On a train. With the world whizzing by.

And then I just had to do it.

255

I needed someone to scrub my back, help me with my zipper and advise me on which dress looked better. Fritz beamed as he helped me. Pre dinner drinks with the foreigners. Delightful. My friend had found a fellow foodie cum academic cum very gorgeous in a suit American guy to hang out with. I chatted to John.

John. Bright. Kind. Rich. About 65. A bit tubby and a bit red. But gorgeous.

Of course, nothing makes a man more gorgeous than me having had too much to drink.

We ate, we chatted, I invited John to join us on our next stop (Hermanus), I invited him shark cage diving, and I invited him to move in with me.

Fritz saved me. Once again, with his hand gently on the small of my back, he guided me back to the coupe, removed my newly polished shoes and tucked me into my crispy white bed.

I woke up with a small headache, the world still whizzing by, and no underwear.

255

‘Fritz, I can’t find my panties.’

He smiled at me, the moustache taking on a life of its own.

‘I believe, Madam, you weren’t wearing any.’

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Comment by Shaamila Cassim on July 11, 2012 at 14:48: I tried call 255, no fritz there! Can I please have his LAND line.. ;)

Comment by sandi caganoff savadier on July 11, 2012 at 16:12: everyone's looking for Fritz, he's gone into hiding!

Dial 255 for Service.

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