Page 95 of Be More Capybara

‘I’ll grab your backpack.’ Mike turned off the engine and got out of the car. ‘Are you sure you’ll be ok?’

‘There aren’t any bears, are there?’ Helen asked with a grin.

Mike looked thoughtful. ‘It’s a little early in the year, but stay alert.’

Was he joking? It was difficult to be sure. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But she’d committed to it now.

Mike got back into the car. She waved as he turned it around and drove back towards the town.

Helen looked up the road. Fairly flat. She’d better get a move on just in case a bear decided tonight would be a great time to come out of hibernation early.

73

NIGEL

‘I’ve brought you a hot chocolate.’

Nigel looked up at his mother.

‘Thank you. I’ll drink it indoors,’ he said, getting up and tucking the tartan rug under his arm.

‘I’ll take the blanket. You have the mug.’

Nigel watched her efficiently fold the blanket while he warmed his hands on the mug. He took a sip of the hot chocolate. Delicious. He was learning to appreciate life’s little pleasures just as much as the big ones.

His mother looked at him closely as they stepped back inside the house. ‘Do you think you should have a shave?’

‘Who’s going to mind out here?’

‘We might be in the middle of nowhere, but we have standards. You don’t want to look rough in tomorrow’s eclipse photos.’

‘That’s not until the afternoon. I’ll do it in the morning.’

‘You might be too tired in the morning.’

‘I’m tired now. I’ll be less tired after a good night’s sleep.’

She folded her arms. ‘Assuming you get a good night’s sleep.’

‘I’m not jetlagged. I’ve been over here for nearly a week, remember.’

‘I still think it would be better to shave now.’

‘Mother, I’m 49, not nine.’

‘I realise that. You wouldn’t have a five o’clock shadow if you were nine.’

Nigel sighed. Anything for a quiet life. ‘I’ll be back down in ten minutes.’

He could hear Tamsin reading her children a bedtime story as he walked past their room. He’d have loved to do that more often with Sloane and Avery, but he was always stuck in the office, working late for reasons that didn’t feel important now. Perhaps he could make up for that if they ever gave him grandchildren. You’re getting ahead of yourself, Nige.

Shaving might make him feel better. He found his wash bag and headed into his en suite. He lathered his face and made the first sweep with the razor. That was an improvement.

He was in the middle of the second sweep when something caught his eye in the mirror - a movement in his bedroom.

He turned around. A very familiar figure was putting a rucksack down in the corner of the room. She turned and smiled at him. She was looking dishevelled and tired, but she was definitely Helen.

‘What are you doing here?’