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‘What letters?’
‘Like the one you got. Lost children, some of whom had mysteriously changed their names by deed poll two days after the show. It was all a lot of hocus pocus.’
‘So none of this is true?’
‘Of course it’s not true.’
He should feel reassured but he couldn’t be. He’d never heard of this TV show. Plus his father was obviously drinking. ‘How can you be sure? Uncle Stuey spent his life wandering the globe. There is a chance he could have children he didn’t know about.’
His father’s tone changed. It was almost as if he was looking over his shoulder to see who was listening. ‘I know there’s no possibility that Uncle Stuey could have kids. He had mumps as a child. There was no chance of children. Why do you think he left your mother and went halfway around the globe? He couldn’t stand the fact that she married me instead. You were the son he always wanted.’
An arctic breeze swept over Avery. ‘Uncle Stuey went out with Mom?’
‘Of course he did. But your mom wanted a family and after he had mumps there was no chance of that. He decided that exploration and archaeology were his new profession—got a job with the museum and never looked back. He only ever really came back to see you.’
Avery’s head was swimming. He’d never heard any of this. He’d never noticed anything weird between his mother and uncle. How could he have missed this?
‘Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?’
‘What did it matter? Your mother and I were never really suited.’
Avery leaned back against the wall. Part of him felt relieved that his Uncle Stuey wasn’t some old-fashioned kind of cad and part of him felt sorry for the man who’d had to watch the woman he loved marry his brother.
‘So, none of this is true? I can just destroy the letter?’
‘That’s what we did with all the rest. We did have one persistent attorney who decided we must have secretly hidden all of Uncle Stuey’s artefacts. He tried to serve us with something or other.’
Avery shook his head. ‘What was it?’
‘Who knows? Who cares?’ His father kept talking but Avery stopped listening. Other thoughts were flooding through his mind. How must his uncle have felt?
It was bad enough that mom had married his father. But when their marriage had failed and she’d immediately zoned in on any man with money it must have made him feel even worse. First she’d wanted kids. Then she’d wanted money.
His parents had ping-ponged from one bad relationship to another. And for the first time in his life he could finally understand why.
But that was them.
That wasn’t him.
His sister might be following their example, but he didn’t have to.
Uncle Stuey was still exactly the person he’d thought he was. In fact, he was more. He’d loved someone and walked away to let her have the life she’d thought she’d wanted.
And he’d stayed away to ensure he didn’t influence the relationship any more than he should. Avery’s heart gave a squeeze. His memories of his uncle were even more precious than before.
‘I have to go, Dad,’ he said quickly. ‘I’ll call you some other time.’
He sat down for a second, the battered envelope still in his hands.
It was amazing what some people would do for money. He was mad. He wanted to ring the legal firm and tell them exactly what he thought of them and their client. But that would achieve nothing.
He had too much else to think about.
He pulled another piece of paper from his pocket. The scribbled words that Seiko had written for him. She’d only slightly raised her eyebrows when Avery had asked her to translate a few things for him.
The question was—what would he do with them?
* * *
Katsuko was sitting at the table with a whole host of printouts in front of her. Every base. Every hospital. Every facility.
There was a whole world of opportunity out there. She just hadn’t had the chance to explore it. She’d made herself a checklist, narrowing down what specialities were listed.
Then she pulled up a blog site for air force personnel. This way she could find out the more informal things. Where did other staff recommend? Were there places that had difficult reputations? What were the chances of having her request accepted at particular bases?
She put down her pen. Avery. He’d told her to go ahead. To make plans without him. The words had been awful, but the pain in his eyes had been worse. Did he really think he wasn’t good enough for her?
She wasn’t even sure if she should be thinking this way. But Avery Flynn had managed to creep under every defence system that she had. She’d known his position here was temporary. They’d never really discussed anything long-term. But she’d never really wanted to discuss anything long-term before.
She stared down at the papers. If she could just live her life in the bubble that was Okatu base, that would be fine. She’d still have Don. She’d still have the place she’d grown up in and she’d still have her friends.
But life was changing around her. She wanted more. She wanted to sit down and look at her career and see what should come next. She wanted to think about the future.
What had hurt most were his words today. They’d affected her in a way she hadn’t expected. How could so few words make her feel like her feet had just been swept away from her?
It had been a simple squabble. She knew that. She just hadn’t been ready for the impact.
It had been their first argument—and it hadn’t even really been that. All couples argued. That was normal. And it didn’t matter that he’d apologised by text a little while later, telling her he wanted to see her. He wanted to talk to her. The topsy-turvy feeling in her stomach hadn’t shifted.
And it wouldn’t shift until she saw him again and he put his arms around her.
She kind of hated the fact that another person had the ability to affect her feelings and emotions. Her grandmother had done it on a regular basis since she’d been a child. But never had a man.
Her grandmother. She gulped and stared at the papers again. She could only imagine what her grandmother would say if she told her she was being posted elsewhere. What would happen if her grandmother messaged her while she was on another continent, telling her
that something was wrong? Who would help her?
She could hardly ask Don. He couldn’t bear to be in her grandmother’s presence. Was this really the right time to go?
Wine. She needed wine right now.
The doorbell rang and her heart gave a little leap. Was it that time already?
Avery opened the door with a bottle of white wine in one hand and the biggest bunch of flowers she’d ever seen in the other. ‘I’m so sorry.’
He didn’t wait for her to speak. He just stepped forward and put his arms around her. ‘I should never have said anything. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of it.’
She pushed him back a little. ‘What? I’ve not to go and conquer the world? I’ve not to look at my career options and decide the best place I should be?’
He cringed. ‘Well, yes. Yes, of course you should.’ He held up the flowers and the wine again. ‘But could we maybe discuss how we can still be friends, even if we’re on different continents?’
She folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t plan on making this too easy. ‘I thought you couldn’t do that. I thought you weren’t cut out for that?’
He held up the wine again. ‘I’m hoping that maybe you could teach me. Maybe we could teach each other?’
There was a long silence. The clock ticked loudly in the distance.
She licked her lips. ‘How about we go back a little? How about we drink the wine and let’s take it from there?’
His sigh of relief was audible. She was prepared to give him a little leeway. But just a little. She still had to sort out in her head what she actually wanted to do.
He glanced at the table. ‘Wow. Did you kill a tree?’
She groaned. ‘I know. But I like to spread everything out in front of me. It makes it easier to compare.’
‘Next you’ll tell me you have a spreadsheet.’
Heat rushed into her cheeks and she turned the laptop around. ‘Maybe.’
He held up the bottle. ‘Should I open the wine?’
‘I think you’ll have to.’
She brought two glasses down from the cupboard while he uncorked the bottle. ‘You don’t mind doing this with me?’
