Jordan had not been keen on the idea from the start. He had telephoned his mother to tell her he was coming back, probably for good. She had been delighted. When he told her the anticipated date and time of his arrival, she had become dejected.
"Darling," she moaned, "that's the date I've booked for a trip on the Transcontinental." This is a four-day train journey from east to west across the vast island continent.
She spoke of canceling the trip so she could be there to meet him on his arrival, but with a sudden burst of inspiration she cried out, "Darling, why don't you come with me? I can easily change the booking."
Jordan considered how tired he would be after his flight, but his mother went on with increasing enthusiasm, "You'll find it very relaxing, and we can get to know each other again."
Jordan had been away from home four years, and except for very fleeting visits, he had not seen his mother during that time. From time to time he had twinges of guilt about this, but he was in the early stages of his career, and to refuse the overseas appointment would have slowed down his chances of promotion in the Government Foreign Affairs Department.
Now the hoped for advancement had come. It was what they called a "Home appointment," and he was granted one month's leave before taking up the new position.
Finally, Jordan succumbed to his mother's enthusiasm and thought, "Oh well, I've traveled the length and breadth of quite a few countries, I suppose this is a chance to see my own country at ground level. So he said, "All right mother, I'll come with you."
Uncharacteristically his mother bubbled with excitement at his agreement, and as his flight arrived only one day before the train was due to depart, and his mother would be traveling in from a country town to the city, it was agreed that they would meet the terminal.
Jordan had already booked his flight from Singapore. It all seemed like plain sailing, but unfortunately, it did not work out so smoothly.
First, he had to cancel his booking on the flight because of a last minute task loaded on to him. Then the later flight was held up with engine trouble. He was now due in at the airport with only an hour to spare to get to the train terminal.
After landing he seemed to wait forever to get his luggage, then he had to battle to get a taxi. The city traffic seemed to be one big snarl, and the taxi crawled to the terminal.
Staggering under the weight of his luggage Jordan made for the baggage handler's counter to hand in two large suitcases. The handler took his travel document and smiled, "You're lucky sir, the train has been held up with a generator problem, else you'd have missed it."
"Thank God one delay has worked in my favour," thought Jordan, and carrying the one suitcase he was taking on to the train, he went out to the platform.
The long train with its silver carriages stood gently humming and travelers and those seeing them off were still milling around on the platform. As Jordan wove his way through the crowd in what he hoped was the direction of his carriage, a woman standing in front of the magazine stall suddenly caught his attention.
Now it must be said of Jordan that he was a normal virile male who had not lacked close sexual contact with females from the time he entered puberty. On the other hand, he was not given to casual surveying of women. The fact that this particular woman caught his attention indicates that there was something rather special about her appearance.
His first sight of her was from the back. He noted the superb figure – not the emaciated physique of the catwalk model - but the rounded loveliness, approaching the buxom, of the truly feminine female.
Jordan took in the exquisite taste of her two piece suit, and the shapely legs that extended below the knee length skirt. He saw the black hair laced into a braid that passed over the woman's shoulder and out of sight in the direction of her breasts.
He longed for her to turn round so he might glimpse her face, and as he wished for this, she turned. His eyes followed the braid of hair that fell between and to just below her breasts, seeming to emphasise their rounded firmness. Then he stood frozen with shock.
Two shining eyes, almost as black as the hair gazed at him. The full mouth broke into a glittering smile, showing white even teeth. "Darling!" the woman exclaimed, "Oh my darling."
"Oh God," he thought, "I've been eyeing off my mother."
Ruth (his mother) flung her self into his arms, hugging him close. "I'm so relieved to see you. I thought you were going to miss the train."
Her effusive greeting attracted the attention of the people standing nearby, and they smiled at Ruth's noisy welcome of this young man.
Still holding Jordan close, Ruth said, "Our carriage is just here," and clinging to his arm, she led him to the door.
The "Host" (once called the "Conductor"), gave them a welcoming smile. As they passed down the corridor Ruth said, "I hope you don't mind, darling, but I've booked a Deluxe compartment for us."
Jordan noted the use of the singular "compartment." Having never in his life traveled on a long distance train, he had no idea what a Deluxe compartment consisted of, but assumed it must be some sort of twin room arrangement. He was somewhat taken aback, therefore, when they entered the compartment and he found, apart from a separate toilet and shower area, there was only one room.
He was even more confounded when he saw the sleeping arrangements. "Mother, its only got a double bed," he exclaimed.
"No so, darling," Ruth laughed, and reaching for a handle in the wall, she tugged down a single bed. "I didn't think either of us would be too shy to share the same compartment," she went on, but this time her laugh seemed to have a tinge of anxiety.
The rest of the spacious compartment held a table, three armchairs, a refrigerator containing small bottles of complimentary drinks, and a video player and screen.
At that moment, a voice came over the platform and train PA. "Would all guests (once called "passengers"), please board the train, and visitors leave. The train will depart in two minutes."
There was a buzz of activity as people boarded and others alighted from the train. Through the carriage soundproofing could be heard the increased hum of the two linked diesel engines that would pull the twenty-five carriages.
Faces peered on both sides of the windows on the platform side. The voice came over the PA again, "Stand clear. Stand clear please." A dull roar was heard from the engines as they took up the strain of their load, and the train, almost imperceptibly, began to move out of the terminal.