The Codetalkers (The Rebelutionaries Series: Book 2)
Page 17
Chapter 15
Wisdom is the daughter of experience.
-Leonardo da Vinci
The smell of dinner cooking wafted through the warehouse.
“So Hope...What else did you swipe of General Luan’s?” asked Zac.
“How do you know I swiped something else of his?”
“Let’s just call it an educated guess.”
“Then you make an educated guess where I hid it,” I retorted.
To my surprise he didn’t reprimand me.
“Alright... Hey Dave, what did Hope have when you last saw her in Laverton?”
“Well... let’s see... she had her XY... her luggage... and a Siamese cat...”
“A cat, eh?”
Zac raised his eyebrows and broke into a grin. I knew I was sprung.
“So you were playing cops and robbers after all?” he chuckled.
I curbed the desire to poke my tongue out at him. Zac picked up Missy and fiddled with her collar. He carefully removed the slip of paper from the slit in the leather.
“What have we here?”
“Info about the Garden Island demonstration and a bunch of coordinates. I thought if I looked the places up and visited them I might get some good scoops.”
Zac scanned the fax and shook his head in disbelief.
“You might’ve got a bullet trying to get your scoop too!” he chided. “Jake... These handwritten notes are in Korean. Can you make anything of them?”
Jake studied the paper for a long minute.
“They’re the coordinates of the places North Korea intends to conduct future experimental weapons tests... Except I’m not sure what some of the words mean... Like...bal saeng shi ki da”
“....that means generate...” supplied Reece from over in the kitchen.
“What’s ji jin mean?”
“Earthquake.”
Zac looked over at Reece with surprise.
“Our resident linguist!” grinned Pedro proudly. “He speaks nine languages. And that’s the ones he’s told us about!”
“I think our little Petrina is challenging my title of resident linguist!” joked Reece.
“Petrina can’t understand Korean... Leave the potatoes and go help them,” coaxed Dutchy.
“You’d hit it off with our mum,” I smiled, as Reece shyly approached us.
“Why?”
“She’s a linguist. And she speaks nine languages we know of too.”
Dutchy and Katja laughed and said something incomprehensible in their language. Reece fired them both a questioning look, then went and stood near Jake. Jake went to hand him the paper.
“No... you hold it. The acid residue from the potatoes might degrade the fax ink and the document sounds important.”
Zac glanced at Reece with a flicker of curiosity.
“It translates as... ‘An earthquake can be generated anywhere along the path of the U.N weather satellite X-37B or other slave satellite. To address constant changes in the earth’s magnetosphere, a secondary low flying satellite will interrogate the JORN and HAARP signals.’”
“So that’s how they’re doing it!” exclaimed Jake.
Reece went to walk off and stopped.
“Actually, that’s interesting... That first coordinate... 43.583°S, 172.701°E is Christchurch... and the next one 38.322°N, 142.369°E is Tohoku... They’re both previous sites of recent earthquakes...”
“The Christchurch earthquake was preceded by multiple reports of UFO-like lights and fireballs,” I murmured.” Maybe Luan triggered it!”
I glanced at Pedro and Reece.
“Actually Zac... that reminds me... Reece was telling me that there was an increase in ultra low frequency radio signals before the Tohoku earthquake. Did you know about that?”
“Yes... but it’s not common knowledge,” replied Zac, eyeing Reece with mounting curiosity.
A demure smile from Reece. Zac made intentional eye contact with him.
“Can you recall the third coordinate you’ve just seen?” he asked curiously.
Reece stared off into the distance with unfocused eyes.
“28.317°S, 122.843°E... Hmmm....That’s here in Western Australia... on the fringe of the Great Victorian Desert. I wonder if there’s been an earthquake there as well...”
“Yes. There was one recently. Quite near where Dave lives. And you’ve alerted us to something. Each of the coordinates is in the vicinity of a fault line - and at a guess I’d say they all correspond to past or future test sites.”
“So he’s deliberately targeting naturally stressed areas to maximize the impact of his demonstrations?” confirmed Reece.
“Yep. Nasty chap eh?”
“Very nasty. Fortunately there are good people in the world, working to oppose him.”
Zac paused.
“You know, you’re not using a tenth of your potential working here alongside Dutchy,” he ventured.
“Why?”
“You’ve got a photographic memory... incredible linguistic ability... and obviously a good understanding of geophysics. A rather unusual skill set for a humble welder, eh?”
Reece seemed taken aback by Zac’s statement.
“I should get back to helping mother and father with the potatoes,” he replied, scurrying off towards Dutchy.
I knew Zac was probing. Reaching out with his sixth sense to confirm what I’d said about them being spies.
We both watched the exchange of foreign-speak between Reece and Dutchy. Dutchy hugged Reece caringly and eyed Zac with a hint of a smile. Zac wordlessly returned the eye contact. A silent headlock between two leaders. Dave completely ignored the impasse between them and casually took out his mobile.
“Hmmm... I’ll grab a photo of this... Might pay you to get a scan of it too for us Jake and email it through to Gordon ASAP.”
Zac glanced at me almost imperceptibly.
“You’re right Hope,” he said softly in Yupik. “They aren’t migrants struggling to make a new life in Australia.”
“What should we do?” I breathed.
“Play along for now... Ready?”
I nodded.
“No wonder General Luan’s upset with you Sis. You could’ve got killed chasing this story...” chided Zac in English.
“Not to mention got yourself half a dozen speeding fines!” growled Dave. “That car of hers was a treat when she arrived in Laverton, Zac.”
“It was a spur of the moment decision to take the fax,” I shrugged. “Next time I’ll take photos of documents instead.”
“Hope! This isn’t a game. Luan isn’t likely to forgive and forget in a hurry. You’ve stolen information which will set his plans back months - possibly years. And that’s on top of him thinking that you eye-witnessed and possibly sabotaged the last test back at Laverton.”
“Why would he think that I did that?”
“Because of Maya’s article. Which he thinks was written by Heidi Cannikin. Who happened to be staying at Dave’s B & B when he rocked up to investigate what went wrong with the Laverton test.”
“But I didn’t sabotage the test Zac. I don’t know anything about it!”
“Well unfortunately because Hope Canney wasn’t at home safe and sound like she should have been, Heidi Cannikin is going to have to meet with an ill-fated accident. You’re going to have to adopt a new writing identity... possibly change your name... And above all you’re going to have to keep your face out of the papers and off the internet...”
Pedro pressed me close to his chest. We exchanged secret smiles.
“Don’t worry friend. General Luan is looking for a woman with black hair. And he thinks Hope is my beautiful, Spanish-speaking, blonde-haired wife... And she’s changed careers already. She’s my T/A now. She’s working with us to build a new Safehouse from recycled shipping containers. And as for permanently altering her identity, she’s considering being Petrina’s mother and my lover. So even her name may change.”
Zac looked mega relieved and genuinely happy.<
br />
“Is that right? Pedro’s a good catch sis...”
I drank in his approval.
“Nevertheless, until this is all over you’re not to take a step out of this warehouse unless chaperoned by Pedro, Dave or me.”
“You’re grounding me like Dad does?” I protested indignantly.
“You’re grounded... Under house arrest... In protective custody... the lot! And just to make sure you understand, Reece will repeat those directives in nine languages. Comprehender?”
I looked down huffily at my feet. Maya giggled.
“He did the same to me hon. And then to make sure I didn’t escape from his protective custody he dropped me in the middle of Yellowstone Park. It’s lots of fun being grounded with your brother though...”
Everyone’s attention was diverted as Reece’s children ran through the group laughing happily. I took advantage of the moment and redirected my attention to Zac.
“So I’ve played along. What now?” I asked softly in Yupik.
“You think they’re spies, so let’s spy on them,” shrugged Zac.
“What else are you gonna do?”
“Get Dave alone some time tonight and try and make sense of the pieces of this puzzle. My gut tells me he knows more about all of this than he’s letting on, too...”
Ω
Dave walked over towards Pedro with Jake in tow. Jake surveyed the unlined sea container. Three double mattresses were made up as beds on the floor.
“Um... Zac said we’re all bunking down with you tonight.”
“Sure. Select yourself a possie for your sleeping bag.”
“Which mattress do I sleep on?”
“You choose. They’re much of a muchness,” replied Pedro warmly.
Jake took in his surroundings.
“You and Petrina don’t have very much,” he observed.
Pedro looked wistful.
“Back in Haiti... before the earthquake... we were wealthy by Haitian standards. I worked for the military. Maria and I had lots of nice things. We had a double storey home. Our four children had their own bedrooms. Nice furniture...”
Zac and I plonked ourselves down next to Jake and Dave.
“But everything was destroyed within seconds. I lay trapped under the rubble of my home hugging Petrina... Tapping out SOS in Morse code...”
Pedro smiled at Zac and swallowed a lump in his throat.
“And God arranged it, that Zac happened to be standing near the piece of plumbing pipe I was tapping on. And he replied back in Morse. He said that he knew I was there and that he was working to free me! That was one of the highest points of my life.”
“You never told me that you rescued anyone after the Haitian earthquake Zac,” I remarked curiously.
“I managed to help a few people. I wish I could have done more. Earlier.”
Zac cleared his throat softly.
“Your brother is an unsung hero in my eyes Hope,” replied Pedro. “He rescued fifty-three other people as well as me and Petrina. Possibly more that I don’t know of.”
“They had you to thank for their rescue too Pedro...”
“I was trained to cope with disasters friend. You were a civilian.”
“How come I’ve never heard this story before now?”
Zac paused.
“You were going through a rough patch with your weight and that. And I didn’t tell mum or dad, ‘coz I didn’t want them to worry about me as well.”
Dave raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
“Tell me the whole story,” I said eagerly.
“Well... our geophysics team were in the area when the quake happened... I looked around at the devastation and didn’t know where to start. So I prayed and asked God to show me where to look for survivors. The Still Small Voice prompted me to walk towards a piece of pipe - about 200 metres to my right. I picked my way over there. And I just stood there praying... And a moment later I heard Morse code... SOS. I touched the pipe and could feel it vibrating so I replied. It was surreal. I cleared away the debris around the pipe and hauled Pedro out of the remains of his house... He was clutching Petrina. And he strapped Petrina to his back... because she was only two... then he told me to follow him. He started scaling over all this rubble like a mountain goat... to show me where the local school had once been.”
Zac paused and glanced at Pedro. Unsure if he should go on. Pedro took up the story.
“Zac spoke bad Spanish and I spoke poor English,” he said softly. “But we managed to work as a team and hauled child after child to the surface. About an hour later I found Maria and my sons. Among the dead, not the living. I was a trained soldier. I was meant to be a leader... But nothing can prepare you for the sight of people you love... gone. They had all died from lack of oxygen. Waiting to be rescued...”
I inched closer to Pedro. Acutely aware of his pain.
“Looking at Maria was like looking at an empty shell... Her face and body hadn’t altered all that much. She was just...gone. It haunted me for months... Zac took over doing the thinking for me. He led us back through the devastation to where they were setting up a refugee camp. He asked me if I had any relatives overseas. Then he contacted Dutchy. Zac stayed with us until Dutchy arrived from Australia... I didn’t want to leave Haiti, but I don’t know what our lives would be like today if we’d remained there...”
“Why?” I asked softly.
“Today it still looks like the earthquake’s just happened in Haiti. Only about 2% of the rubble’s been removed. One and half million people are living in dilapidated tents in the makeshift camps. There’s no power, running water or electricity. Cholera’s rife. Crime is rife. Girls and women are raped daily by armed men...”
I moistened my lips.
“But here in Australia, Petrina and I are safe. We have each other. And family like Dutchy and Katja. Petrina has Reece and Prada’s children as playmates. And we have special friends like Zac. And a safe place to sleep with electricity and running water. And hope for the future. These things make us very rich... We lost everything material that we owned because of the earthquake. But 316 000 people lost their lives. We still live and breathe. Material possessions pale into insignificance against the important things.”
“I guess when you put it that way, we’re all very rich,” murmured Jake. “Where did you stay anyway Zac?”
“We ended up staying in a Red Cross sea container village.”
Zac looked around.
“Talk about déjà vu,” he murmured.
Pedro laughed warmly.
“Give me a month and you won’t know it ever was a sea container, mate!” he retorted. “You just caught us at a bad time, after we were uprooted the other day. Besides, at least this time round there’s hot water!”
Zac grinned reminiscently.
“There wasn’t any hot water at the Red Cross village?” I asked.
“There wasn’t even any running water ‘til Zac and I rigged up a gravity fed tank and a thermo-siphon hot water system for them. We bathed together in two 44 gallon drums behind a tarp. Except all these kids kept peeking through the gaps in the tarp and commenting about Zac’s light skin. And he ended up so rattled that he bathed in his boardies and T-shirt.”
“Sounds like Zac. He won’t even shower with me!” teased Hope.
“I’ll shower with you!” chirped Pedro, hugging Hope around the waist.
Everyone laughed.
Zac made eye contact with Petrina.
“I don’t remember that, but I remember bathing you in a bucket,” he said in broken Spanish. “Your hair has grown long and pretty since then.”
“You have prickly hair on your face,” replied Petrina, running her palms around Zac’s face.
“Hmmm. I am probably overdue for a shave!” chuckled Zac.
“What happened to your arm?” asked Petrina, gently tracing the bruise.
“A rock fell on it. The same rock did this to my... um... sorry I forget the word in Spanish... It’
s knuckle in English.”
“Knuckle,” echoed Petrina.
Pedro and Hope exchanged bemused looks.
“What’s this part of the hand called in English, Zac?” asked Petrina in perfect English.
Pedro’s jaw dropped.
“That’s called the wrist.”
“Wrist.”
“Here... Give me your hand... These are fingers... this is called your thumb and this is called your palm.”
Petrina grabbed Zac’s hand.
“Knuckles... fingers... thumb... palm... wrist!”
“You speak English really well. I’m glad. My Spanish is terrible.”
“I know.”
Zac noticed Dutchy and Katja looking directly at him - beaming with delight.
“Will you tell me a bed-time story in English after my bath, Zac?” asked Petrina.
“Sure.”
The room was electric. Hope whispered something in Dave’s ear. Dave broke into a warm smile and grinned at Pedro. Zac noticed the ripple of clandestine communication around the room but decided to let it pass. He redirected his attention to Jake.
“Talking of bathing, Prada’s come out with their baby. I think we’re next in line Jake.”
“We can’t go in there yet Zac. Maya’s still in there. And she might be in bras!”
“Or less! Want me to go and check for you mate?” grinned Pedro, wriggling his eyebrows expressively.
Jake shook his head vigorously. Zac stifled a smile and took a feigned swipe at Pedro. Jake glanced self-consciously at Zac.
“Um... I might skip my shower...” he said awkwardly. “I looked at the showers before. There aren’t any walls between the showers. Or curtains... I know it’s a lot more private than a 44 gallon drum and a tarp in Haiti, but...”
Jake’s voice trailed off.
“We haven’t got to do anything about the bare bones bathroom yet,” shrugged Pedro. “Mind you, even if you’d come to stay with us last week at the hostel you would have still been in a similar position. The hostel had HIS and HERS shower-rooms. But the hot water didn’t work in the women’s. So everyone just used the mens.”
“You mean men and women used the same shower-room back at your old house too?”
“We’re family... Don’t you bathe with your family?”
“No way! Nan would hit me with something hard if I tried to bathe with her. And I’ve only known dad for a couple of weeks, so I wouldn’t bathe with him either. I don’t want him thinking I’m gay or something.”
Everyone laughed heartily. Jake looked at Zac with a pained expression.
“Hey Jake... don’t stress,” soothed Zac. “Why don’t you wait and shower later? When everyone else has finished. You can put a chair against the door. Or even bathe in the dark if you want to. I just so badly need a hot shower after our flight, I can’t be bothered waiting...”
Ω
“Um... Am I disturbing you?” asked Jake cautiously.
Reece looked up with a grin.
“Nah... Prada’s bathing our kids...I’m dressing them...Want to help?”
“Um...Okay... Except I’ve never dressed a baby before.”
“It’s not as hard as building an E/M weapon!” joked Reece.
“You know about that?”
“Dave was telling Dutchy about how your team built the E/M weapon and spoilt the Korean’s sat-based demonstration. Zac seemed reluctant to discuss his involvement however, so I moved to safer ground and asked him whether he thought the Toholu earthquake was artificially triggered. He said it was different to some other Japanese earthquakes because the total electron content of the ionosphere increased dramatically over the epicentre three days before the earthquake on March 11. And apparently satellite observations showed a sharp increase in infrared emissions from above the epicentre peaking hours before the quake... It’s certainly interesting... I’ve often wondered if what’s happening above ground electrically could be used to predict what’s likely to happen below ground... You know... an extension of the theorem the Lewis constant is derived from.”
Jake grinned.
“I’ve been thinking along the same lines myself... Where’d you get your degree in geophysics anyway?”
“I haven’t got a degree... I’ve never been to school.”
“Why not?”
“I was born in Romania and raised in an orphanage. So I didn’t get the opportunity to go to school. But I taught myself to read and speak several languages anyway... To increase my chances of getting picked for adoption by a foreigner.”
“And Dutchy and Katja picked you?”
“Yes. When I was thirteen... I pleaded with them to let Prada come too, because we’d been together all our lives and we loved each other. I told them I would support Prada. So they adopted us both. When they brought us to Australia, Dutchy told me I should go to school, but I said I wanted to learn practical skills to support Prada. So he taught me carpentry and welding. And we got married the following year. Dutchy got personal permission from the Queen for us to marry under Netherlands law. And I’ve worked for Dutchy since. But I secretly educate myself at night. When everyone’s asleep. From books and from the internet.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“I thought you were about my age... We’ve both still got pimples.”
Reece laughed.
“You should think about getting a couple of qualifications one day. You’d breeze through the coursework with your photographic memory.”
“Well-qualified people are sometimes so busy that they miss out on living life to the fullest... and the important things - like loving their wife and children.”
“S’pose.”
“Here... I’ll try quieten Josie. You put Narelle’s nappy on.”
Jake turned scarlet.
“What’s the matter?”
“Um... If I put her nappy on I’ll see her girl bits... What if she’s embarrassed?”
“She’s two! You’re the only one embarrassed!” chuckled Reece. “Here. She needs nappy cream as well. Her nappy rash has flared up.”
“I have to touch her there as well?”
“Well she’s too young to put it on herself there! Come on. It’s not as hard as building an E/M weapon...”
Ω
Zac stripped off and clambered into the shower, relishing the pounding water. The last four days had been strenuous... physically, emotionally and spiritually...
There was also still the problem of dealing with Luan and Tarapaca, but Zac felt quietly confident about it. Not only did he have Gordon’s backup, but Dave and Pedro both had military backgrounds and a lot of nous. And John Cunningham obviously had clout. He’d rung ahead and organized everything to make their stay in Western Australia hassle free. Right down to passes so they could enter Garden Island when necessary.
“Come back again one of these days when you’re less busy Ataniq and we’ll have a long chinwag, eh?
John knew his traditional name. And his father’s name... Those facts were something that anyone could find out from an intelligence database... But John had told Ryan that Kiviuq had saved his life and that a parachute cord had produced the scars on his father’s forearms and legs. And John had no reason to make up a story to explain his father’s scars... Zac remembered asking about those scars as a child. His father had told him that they’d been made by a bear cub. But Zac had often wondered what had really happened... And to top it off, the men up at the pass knew about the three bears sleepover and bears sliding down the Northern lights... That version of the Three Bears was part of their family’s camping tradition... A story that his father told them in Yupik...
Zac jolted back to reality as he became conscious of someone turning on the shower next to him.
Dave.
“You look just about asleep on your feet young lion.”
Zac drew a tense breath.
“I was just mulling over the day’s surprises.”
“Like
discovering your little sister has been roaming the globe as Heidi Cannikin?”
“Amongst other things... I haven’t got to ask Hope yet. How did you two meet anyway?”
Ω
Prada plonked a towel-wrapped Riley down near Reece and helped him into his pyjamas. She glanced casually at the intense concentration on Jake’s face. Reece grinned at her and chalked a silent victory up with his forefinger. Prada’s eyes danced.
“You have a family?” she asked, as Jake struggled with the nappy.
“No, I’m not married.”
Prada sank down near Jake. She scooped up Josie and started breastfeeding him. Jake risked a momentary look, then quickly averted his gaze.
“Um... Sorry. I’ve just always wondered where it comes out from.”
Prada’s cheeks dimpled and she inched closer to Jake.
“It’s okay to be inquisitive about things. The milk comes out of these little holes in my nipple when the baby’s mouth presses these little spots here.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Pretty interesting eh?” grinned Reece.
Jake nodded cautiously and got to his feet.
“I’d better let you your kids to sleep. Maybe I’ll see you later...”
Ω
Pedro walked into the shower-room with Petrina in tow.
“Do you mind if Petrina showers with us at the same time? We usually bathe together.”
“Nah, go for it mate,” replied Dave.
Zac managed a go-ahead nod. Pedro stepped into the shower the other side of Zac and adjusted it.
“Ouch... Those shoulders friend,” smiled Pedro. “They bring back memories...”
“Painful ones!” added Dave. “Someone was carrying too much weight, eh?”
“I might have been a little overloaded.”
“Didn’t you have Leucopore?”
“We ran out. I’ve been treating the blisters with tea tree oil.”
Dave leaned closer and gently examined Zac’s chest and shoulders. Zac reddened in response to the physical contact but forced himself to remain calm.
“Looks to me like you need Condy’s or peroxide. Didn’t you ask Fiona to treat this for you?”
Zac shook his head.
“Hmmm... Remind me to fix this for you before you go to bed.”
A faint nod. Dave whistled away casually.
Zac bent down and reached for his shampoo on the floor. Eyes met eyes. An index finger traced around a sore patch near his armpit.
“Ow! Do you want a Dora Explorer bandaid?”
Zac moistened his lips.
“Thanks, but you keep them sweetie.”
Soft palms explored the contours of his chest and started drawing circles on his stomach. Zac held the shampoo bottle protectively in front of him and tried to rationalize away his embarrassment.
“Why is your skin a different colour to mine?”
“Um...We’ve both got brown skin. Mine is just a lighter brown than yours.”
“Why?”
“Because yours has got more of this pigment in it called melanin.”
“Melanin.”
Zac stood up again. Small hands brushed his thighs. Zac forced himself to ignore them as he shampooed his hair. Hands patted the bubbles that ran down his skin and traced along the contours of his pelvis. Zac’s posture stiffened.
“You haven’t showered much with kids have you?” laughed Dave.
“Only with Hope when she was little.”
“Ah... The joys of bathing with your kids await you!” grinned Pedro. “Having your privates peered at...poked...and petted...”
“And your chest hair pulled!” added Dave.
“Sounds... challenging.”
Petrina looked up at Zac.
“Daddy, why is his sticking up like that?”
“That’s his towel rail honey!” quipped Pedro.
Zac turned scarlet and repositioned his hands to shield himself.
“Four year olds are powerful people!” grinned Dave diplomatically. “Able to reduce grown men to shaking messes with just a single question.”
Zac cautiously bent down to pick up his conditioner.
“Yours looks different to mine. See?” chatted Petrina.
“Er... yes,” mumbled Zac, quickly turning his head.
Roguish laughter from Dave and Pedro.
“Did you just cop an eyeful as well mate?”
“The look on your face when she gave you that pat down a moment ago!” tormented Pedro.
“I think I’m gonna need a shower after my shower,” murmured Zac.
Dave laughed jovially.
“You know what they say... it only takes a night of passion to be a father, but it takes a lifetime of passion to be a daddy.”
Zac rinsed out the conditioner in record time and tore out of the shower. Petrina followed him out. She wrapped a towel around herself and looked on curiously as he hurriedly donned boardies and a shirt over his still-dripping body.
“Will you help me get dressed Zac?”
“Um... We might see if Hope or Maya are available... Come on. Let’s go find them.”
Dave and Pedro watched Zac bolt out the door.
“Petrina’s taken a liking to him,” said Pedro. “I wonder if she’s bothering him?”
“Nah. It does a young bloke considering marriage the world of good to get an insight into being a parent!” chuckled Dave.
“I probably should have reigned her in, but I’m just so happy she’s talking I don’t particularly care what it’s about at the moment.”
“Hope briefly mentioned you were both amazed about something she was doing. Run the whole story by me.”
“After the rest of our family died, Petrina refused to talk. She’d nod and shake her head, and cry and smile but it was like... like part of her heart was locked. Everyone kept chatting to her as though nothing was wrong and kept telling me not to worry... But I was worried... Then the other night Petrina and I were watching Hope try and rig up a thermo-siphon shower. I explained to her what was wrong with Hope’s design in Haitian and to my astonishment she let go of my hand, walked up to Hope and started chatting away to her in Spanish. Hope had only rocked up the night before and I hadn’t even spoken to her - let alone told her that Petrina was electively mute. Incredibly Hope knew enough Spanish to have a conversation with Petrina, and the two of them hit it off like a house on fire... Since then, Petrina’s been speaking to everyone in their preferred language. To me in Haitian... Vader and Moeder in Dutch... Reece’s kids in Istro-Romanian. And then tonight she started chatting away a mile a minute to Zac in fluent English. What makes that so amazing however is, we never spoke English at home in Haiti. And I’ve never taught her English. She seems to have just picked it up listening to us all chatting among ourselves and from Reece reading books to her...”
“That’s quite a story!” grinned Dave. “We’ll have to fill Zac in later, eh?”
Ω
Dave walked out of the shower-room clad in shorts, towel drying his hair. He scanned the lounging figures. Zac was not among them.
“Gordon put out a call for you and Zac when you were both in the shower,” said Dutchy.
“Ta... I’ll call him back now,” said Dave casually.
“Should I go find Zac?” asked Maya.
“Do you know where he is?”
“He said he had to get something out of the car. He asked Hope and me to dress Petrina. And delegated the bed-time story to Jake.”
“Nah... He sounds busy... Don’t bother looking for him. Just send him this way if he happens to come back inside.”
Ω
“Well... I like good endings,” announced Gordon as he emerged from Dave’s Den. “Dave said Hope is fine and everyone else is in good spirits. He’s staying at the Safehouse tonight to keep an eye on all the swinging singles. He said he’ll call you in a couple of hours to say goodnight. When everyone settles down a bit.”
Jen’s face lit up.
“You two have obviously missed each other. Phone-calls every night, whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears.”
Jen laughed shyly.
“We’ve hardly been apart in our marriage. Except for that time, years ago.”
Gordon nodded faintly and opened the tea canister. Jen stifled a yawn.
“I saw that involuntary inspiration of the breath Ma’am!” chuckled Gordon. “Want to catch forty winks? I don’t mind sitting up and waking you when Dave rings?”
“Nah. I’m just relaxed now I know Dave’s relaxed.”
“A herbal tea and non-demanding conversation to keep you awake then until your lover calls?”
“Sounds a perfect ending to the day,” replied Jen, sagging back into the chair.
Ω
“Is Zac still not back?” asked Dave glancing at Jake.
A vintage don’t-look-at-me shrug from Jake.
“Hmmm... Those shoulders of his need attention... I might just go round him up.”
“Did something happen in the shower?” asked Jake perceptively.
“Er... We got wet!”
Jake laughed.
“See you shortly mate,” nodded Dave, walking out the door towards the car park.