‘Oh, I never thought of that.’
‘Obviously.’
‘But what if he doesn’t want to speak to me? What if he doesn’t want us to be together? What if he cuts me off … or hangs up on me.’
‘Lili, just call him. I think you’re worrying for nothing.’
~~***~~
I was sure it had only been a few days since Jenny had given birth to little Mark, but the morning I came downstairs to find a handsome young man in the foyer, I realised that Jenny must be getting ready to leave. Sure enough, a few minutes later I heard her coming along the hall, dragging her suitcase behind her. Then, the moment she spotted the man, she seemed to virtually light up. This was obviously her husband; her human husband. She walked up to him and took his hand, and he bent down and kissed her cheek and murmured something in her ear. She smiled at him, and then turned to me.
‘How do you do it?’ she asked me, in a voice that spoke of overwhelming sadness.
‘Do it?’ I replied, although I was pretty sure I knew what she meant.
‘You know, leave them—your children,’ she said, sniffing back a tear.
I supposed it was different for her than it had been for me with Ben and then Henry. Her husband was now a normal human again, and they’d be going back to Tasmania, most likely never to return. It was quite possible that they would never see their son again.
‘Well, I suppose it gave me such pleasure to know that I’d created something, someone, so special, that I was able to put the pain aside for the sake of the greater good. Mark will be fine. And you’ll see him again one day. And he’ll be handsome and strong and magical. You’ll see.’ I didn’t say to her that I had always stayed for two weeks with them, and had also always known that I would see my boys again. I didn’t need to rub any of that in.
Jenny smiled at me, and took my hand for a moment, and I could feel that she was shaking. I struggled to hold back a tear, but it was not for her. In a few days’ time, I would once again be leaving my child behind. Only this time would be very different to the others. With Ben and Henry, it had all happened so fast I’d barely had time to get used to the idea of being a mother—there’d been no routine established, no lifestyle changes made. But this time I’d be leaving Ceylona; my little angel that I’d rarely been apart from for over three years. No, this time was very different indeed.
I walked Jenny and her husband to the front gates, and watched as they got into the waiting taxi. They looked so happy together sitting next to each other on the back seat. Jenny turned and waved, and it reminded me of another taxi that had waited for me in that same spot. I felt my throat tighten, but I waved vigorously, refusing to give in to tears.
I was going to lose Ceylona—that was a fact. But would I also lose Sam? What if Sam didn’t want me back? Would I leave Melbourne? And if I did, would I ever see him, or my children, again?
I hadn’t gotten up the nerve yet to ring Sam. I’d been busy with Jenny, or at least, that had been my excuse. But Debs was arriving tomorrow, so I needed to find the courage to simply ring him, and talk. Today.
~~***~~
I was saved from having to make the call however, when just after Jenny and her husband departed, Ceylona came running in to talk to me.
‘Mommy, there are no dogs here. Do you think Mladen would let me have a dog? There’s lots of room outside. This is a very big place!’
‘Well, I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask your Aunty Crystal what she thinks, how does that sound?’
‘Oh, yes. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?’
‘Shall we go look for her now?’
‘Yes, please, Mommy. I would love to have my very own real dog. Ah-chee won’t mind. He can still sleep on my bed but a real dog would sleep outside, wouldn’t he Mommy?’
I had to laugh at that. From the way she’d said it, I figured she’d probably been thinking about this for several days. She probably had it all worked out, and had no doubt even picked out a spot for a dog house.
I grabbed her hand and we went off in search of Crystal. After a few minutes, we spotted her in the distance, in the rose garden with Angelica.
Crystal smiled and waved when she saw us. Ceylona pulled free of my hand and ran the rest of the way into the waiting arms of Crystal, who picked her up and swung her around like a rag doll. Angelica watched them, then when Crystal put Ceylona down Angelica leaned over and said something quietly to Crystal. Then she left with just a slight wave goodbye, not waiting for me to join them.
When I got close enough to hear them, it was obvious that Ceylona had already asked Crystal what she thought of the idea of getting a dog.
‘Well, I don’t see why not. But don’t you think one dog would be lonely, at night and when you’re in your classes? Perhaps we should ask Mladen about getting two dogs? What do you think of that?’
‘Oh, yes please, Aunty Crystal. I would love to have two dogs. Like Ted and Alice.’
She’d obviously remembered the names of the two dogs from the incident at Coyote Point.
Crystal smiled at her, then looked up at me and gave me this knowing look. ‘Ceylona, tell me about Ted and Alice. Who are they?’
‘Ted and Alice were the doggies that the lady had. Ted was black and Alice was yellow. Well, I didn’t think she looked yellow, but she said she was yellow.’
‘Who said she was yellow, Ceylona?’
‘Alice did. She said she was a Yellow Labrador, and Ted was a Black Labrador.’
‘Oh, I see. So, they talked to you, did they?’
‘Yes, of course, silly,’ Ceylona replied, scrunching up her face with a “don’t you know anything” kind of look.
‘So, go on. How did you come to know Ted and Alice?’
‘Well, the lady was running—and they were with her. They wanted to come say hello to me, but she called them and they had to obey her. Then the bad man came. And Mommy picked me up and we went to protect the lady. He was a bad man—I think he was going to hurt the lady.’
‘I see. And how did you know he was a bad man, Ceylona?’
‘He had red eyes, and pale skin, and he smelled terrible. And I could hear his tummy growl like mine does when I’m hungry—only his was a bit different.’
Crystal looked up at me, and again gave me that same knowing look, and a slight nod.
‘And so, your Mommy picked you up and you went to help the lady?’
‘Yes, Mommy is a fast runner,’ Ceylona said, looking at me with a wide smile brightening her beautiful little face.
‘And then what happened, sweetie?’
‘When we got to the lady, I told Mommy to put me down, and I asked Ted and Alice to come help us because the bad man was going to hurt their master. They were very happy to help. They stood on each side of me, and growled at the bad man. If I had asked them to, they would have hurt him. But he got scared, and he ran away instead.’
‘Oh, I see. Well, Ted and Alice were certainly very nice doggies. And Ceylona, were there other dogs that you talked to, or was it just Ted and Alice?’
‘Oh yes, I talked to all the doggies at the park. And the nice doggies that Aunty Raye brought to my birthday party. They pulled me in a sled. That was fun,’ she said, giggling.
‘Well, I think we should find Mladen, and see what he thinks about getting you two dogs then. I think it is a good idea, Ceylona. But I can’t promise he will agree. We will have to ask him nicely, won’t we?’
‘Oh, yes, Aunty Crystal. We will ask him nicely. And I will take good care of the doggies. I will feed them, and play with them. And I won’t ever let anyone hurt them.’
‘Oh, of course not. Why would anyone want to hurt them?’
‘I don’t know. But I wouldn’t let it happen. Some of the doggies at the park told me that sometimes people hurt them so they are scared of some people. But my doggies wouldn’t be scared.’
‘No, your doggies would never need to be afraid of anything, Ceylona. Come, let’s go find Mladen.’
C
rystal took one of Ceylona’s hands, then Ceylona turned to me and I took her other hand, and the three of us went in search of Mladen. Poor Mladen, he didn’t stand a chance.
~~***~~
I was surprised that Mladen was so open to the idea of getting dogs for Ceylona. And not only did he embrace the idea, he even agreed to take Ceylona to pick them out. They’d go the next day to a shelter he knew of, and get the dogs and all the necessary extras while they were out. After all, you couldn’t bring two dogs home without the likes of kennels, bowls and food.
Ceylona could barely contain herself, she was so excited. And she insisted that she had to find Ben and Henry immediately so she could tell them the good news. We went with her in search of the boys, and when she spotted them she pulled free of my hand and ran the rest of the way to them. Although I couldn’t hear what she was saying, her body language was unmistakable as she told them all about the dogs and the trip they’d make the next day to get them.
‘They’re very good with her, aren’t they?’ asked Crystal, after a few moments.
‘Yes, they do seem to really love her. They’ve grown into such fine young men.’
‘Yes, Mladen is very proud of them. Have they told you they plan to stay on here, for a time anyway?’
‘No, they hadn’t mentioned it.’
‘No, they hadn’t said anything to me either. But Mladen told me. They are of an age where some dhampirs start making plans to leave, but they’ve requested to stay on to help with Mark and Ceylona. Mladen is very pleased to have the extra help.’
‘Well, that’s good news for Ceylona. I’ll miss her terribly, of course, but knowing Ben and Henry are here with her, well … that makes it a little easier.’
‘Yes, I thought it might.’
We stood there in silence for a few moments, just watching my three children in the distance. Eventually I took a deep breath and asked the question I’d been dreading.
‘Crystal, may I borrow your phone? I need to … make a few calls, and my battery has gone flat.’
‘Yes, certainly,’ she answered, pulling the phone out of her pocket and handing it to me. She looked at me a bit suspiciously, but she didn’t say anything.
‘I’ll give it back to you after lunch, if that’s alright?’
‘No rush. Actually, I’m taking Angelica into Northam to run some errands. We’ll be out most of the afternoon. Angelica will have her phone, so if you need to contact us, just call her—her number is in my phone.’
‘Oh, I’m sure I won’t … but thank you. I really appreciate it.’
I’d done it—I had a phone to use. Now I just had to dial Sam’s number, and speak to him.
~ Chapter Nine ~
I sat on the end of my bed and leaned over until I could just see the garage door. I was probably being silly, but I sat well back and left the sheer curtains hanging in place, hoping that no-one could see me watching.
It wasn’t long before I saw Crystal and Angelica go into the garage, and then Mladen’s car pulled out and they drove to the front gates. I continued watching until I saw Angelica get out of the car and open up the large gates, then close them behind the car and get back in. When they finally drove off I let out a huge sigh, then picked up my phone and Crystal’s, and went downstairs. I headed out the back door, toward the track that followed the perimeter of the grounds.
As I walked along, I watched over my shoulder for signs that anyone else might be out for a walk. Ben, Henry and Ceylona were inside watching a movie when I left and I was reasonably certain that none of the teachers would be out, but I kept watch just in case.
When I was as far away from the school as possible, and hopefully out of earshot of their very keen hearing, I found an old tree stump and sat down to make my call. My hands were shaking as I pulled the phone out of my pocket, and I had to take several deep breaths to try to settle myself. Why was I so nervous? I mean, really, it was just Sam. But it had been so long since we’d spoken and I feared my voice would betray my emotions, so I sat there for several minutes trying to calm my nerves.
As I sat staring at the phone, the same old thoughts started racing around and around my head. Why hadn’t he answered my calls? Or if he hadn’t heard the phone, why hadn’t he checked for missed calls? The more I thought about these questions, the angrier I got, until I’d worked up enough anger to overtake my nervousness.
I opened the contacts on Crystal’s phone, found Sam’s name, and then held my breath as I pushed the dial button. It only rang twice before I heard his voice.
‘Crystal.’
‘Sam,’ I said, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
‘Lili?’
‘Surprised?’ The sarcasm was dripping now.
‘Am I what! I can’t tell you how nice it is to hear your voice. But … this is Crystal’s number … I’m sure of it.’
‘Well, you didn’t seem to want to answer the calls I made from my own phone, so I thought I’d try this one. Which leads me to the question, why haven’t you answered my calls?’
‘What calls? You haven’t rung.’
‘Have you checked your missed calls?’
‘Yeah, sometimes. And your name has never been there.’
‘Well, it should be. I’ve called several times.’
‘Lili, trust me, your name hasn’t come up. I always answer my phone if it’s someone I know—that’s usually either Crystal, Michael or Tom … mostly Tom. But I don’t answer it otherwise because it’s just bloody marketing calls. The phone companies trying to get me to switch carriers and whatnot … I just don’t answer them anymore. But believe me, if you’re name had come up, I’d have answered. I always look … just in case.’
I struggled to believe him, but I wanted to, and he did sound genuine.
‘Well, that doesn’t make sense. You’re the one that put my number in your phone, and yours in mine. So, why doesn’t it come up?’
‘Don’t ask me, but I swear, of course I would have answered.’
‘Well then … maybe there’s something wrong with your phone. But you could have called me even so.’
‘I did think about it. But when Crystal said you’d phoned her about Ceylona, well, the fact that you hadn’t called me first … I just assumed you didn’t want to speak to me.’
I took a deep breath as the anger in me dissolved. He sounded so sad, surely he was genuine and this thing with the phones was just a mistake. I felt terrible for doubting him … but then there was also the way he’d stopped responding to my emails.
‘Oh Sam, of course I wanted to speak to you. But when you stopped replying to my emails … and then not answering my calls … and Claire, well, she came over and looked for you and Tom, at the market. You weren’t there, and he never answered his phone. And then you didn’t answer yours … well, my mind just starting racing with ideas as to what might be going on.’
‘Oh, uh … look, I’m really sorry about all that. When we packed up and shifted our things to Crystal and Michael’s place … I had told you that at least, hadn’t I?’
‘No. Crystal told me, and that was the first I’d heard of it.’
‘Oh, Lili, I’m so sorry. It just happened so fast, I suppose. We were being watched, so Michael found this house, and we all moved. Tom and I just never got the stupid computer set up again. I’m sorry about that. I should have let you know. And as for the market, we had to give that up. We simply didn’t have the time to be there.’
‘Yes, well, if I’d known that it might have saved me a lot of worrying.’
‘Look Lili, I thought you were getting on with your life. It had been so long without any suggestion that Ceylona … well, I just figured Ceylona wasn’t a dhampira, and you wouldn’t be coming back—or at least, not for a long time. I was trying to let you get on with your life. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
‘So, does that mean when I get back to Melbourne … you’ll want to see me?’
‘Of course
I’ll want to see you. I’ll even pick you up at the airport if you want me to. I’ve missed you so much. I love you, and I’m sorry if you ever thought, even for a second, that I didn’t.’
‘Oh, Sam, l love you too, and I can’t wait to see you. Yes, pick us up at the airport. It’ll be me and Debs, if that’s okay?’
‘Not a worry in the world. Ring me before your flight leaves, and tell me when it’s landing, and I’ll be waiting for you at the gate.’
‘Ring you? But you won’t pick up!’
‘Oh … well, have you got your phone with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then hang up now, and ring from your phone so I can see what comes up.’
‘Okay.’
I hung up Crystal’s phone, and rang him from mine. When he answered he said, ‘It just comes up with the number. I know you were in my contacts … I don’t know what happened, but I’ll put you back in now.’
We chatted for a few more minutes, and I began to feel all warm and fuzzy just from hearing his voice. After we hung up, I sat for several minutes feeling happier than I’d felt for ages. Sam still loved me. All my worrying had been for nothing. His phone had played up. It happens. And as for the emails, well, he’d moved, and they hadn’t set up the computer. I suppose it had happened quickly. And of course, he thought I’d moved on with my life. But that was all in the past now. He still loved me. And in a week, he’d be holding me, and everything would be fine again. We’d find a house somewhere, and life would return to some sort of ‘normal’. As far as normal could be, for us. But it didn’t really matter, so long as we had each other, and so long as he loved me.
~~***~~
At dinner that night there was a very different mood around the table. It occurred to me that everyone might have been on their best behaviour for Jenny’s sake, because while she’d been present, the conversation had been light and cheerful. Tonight, with her gone, the conversation hinted at the troubles that Crystal and Michael were having over in Melbourne. Several times I saw Mladen give Crystal a look that said, ‘enough’, without actually saying anything out loud. But I wasn’t sure for whose benefit it was; mine, or Ceylona’s, or even perhaps Ben’s and Henry’s. But after the third ‘look’, Crystal changed the subject and there was no more said about the rogue vampires that were plaguing the market and gardens.
Deception (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 3) Page 7
