I smile as I glance around the fire. Somehow, after everything that’s happened – the storms, the scares, the bickering – I feel… grateful? Like maybe this weird, broken little group is exactly what I needed. I thought I was trapped with a bunch of reality TV dummies but, nope, they’re all great. Each one of them has depth and skills and a lot of love.
Lockie catches my gaze and smiles.
‘Don’t start getting emotional, guys,’ Honey says. ‘You’ll make me cry.’
‘I could shed a tear,’ Tony tells her. ‘For good and bad – mostly because I’m desperate for one of my mum’s Sunday roasts.’
‘Aww, that’s so lovely,’ Camilla says.
‘You’ll be back with your mum soon,’ Lockie reminds him. ‘And, whatever day it is, I’m sure she’ll make you a roast.’
Ozzy sits opposite me, shaking his head with a grin.
‘You’re all crazy,’ Ozzy says. ‘We should be punching the air.’
‘I’ll do it when we’re back on different dry land,’ I joke.
‘I might say a few words, if you don’t mind,’ Lockie says, standing up.
‘Ooh, speech, speech,’ Honey shouts.
‘Okay,’ Lockie starts, pausing to take a breath. ‘Since this might be our last night here?—’
‘No, it will be,’ Camilla practically heckles. ‘Be positive, be positive.’
‘In that case then, before we go…’ he corrects himself with a smile. ‘I just want to say… You’re all great, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share this experience with anyone else, and I don’t think it would have been so easy with anyone else. You’ve all brought something to the island, something we needed, but Ozzy, mate, you’re one of the main reasons we’ve made it this far.’
Ozzy laughs.
‘What, because I can catch a fish?’ he replies.
‘Because you’ve held it together,’ Lockie continues. ‘You’ve looked after everyone. You’ve been the leader we didn’t even realise we needed. And a great leader at that.’
Ozzy smiles.
‘Thanks, mate,’ he replies.
I know what Lockie is doing, he’s trying to tap into Ozzy’s emotions, to get him to actually show some. I think he needs my help.
‘And,’ I add, standing too, hooking my arm with Lockie’s, ‘you’ve been our anchor. Literally and metaphorically. You kept us grounded. You made us feel safe.’
Ozzy chuckles awkwardly, rubbing his neck. ‘All right, all right, that’s enough,’ he says modestly.
‘You built half this camp with your bare hands. You made sure we had food. You were the first one to fish for supplies, even when the waves were insane. You didn’t complain once.’
‘And you took on outhouse duties,’ Honey adds.
‘And you didn’t make a big deal of it,’ Camilla adds.
‘You really are our island daddy,’ I say with a little laugh.
‘Yeah, mate, we love you,’ Tony tells him.
‘I think we all owe Ozzy a toast,’ Lockie says. ‘Come on – to Ozzy!’
‘Guys…’ Ozzy’s voice sounds tight, his eyes are blinking, are we finally getting through to him?
‘You’ve got the biggest muscles out of all of us,’ I tell him. ‘And you’ve got the biggest heart too.’
