Owen nodded. “Who closed it off?”
“Emergency services guys. I saw a cop car.”
The girl looked up to her partner, worry evident in the way she clutched his arm and in the edge of panic to her voice. “Do you think they’ve stopped the ferry coming the other way? How will Mum and Dad get to the mainland? What if they’re stuck on the island?”
“I’ve got no idea, but I’m sure it’ll be all right, Susan.” The guy pulled her close with the arm around her shoulder and she tucked into his side. Owen hoped to God he was right because his own stomach had fallen at her words.
The older man spoke up, his voice gruff, as if he was unused to speaking. “Not seen anything like this before. I was talking to some folks near the front of the line. Word is all ferry operation has ceased until they see what happens with this tsunami thing.”
Owen looked at the time on his phone, which hadn’t left his side. “About an hour,” he mumbled.
“What?” said the girl—Susan—eyes wide.
“The radio said they expected the tsunami to hit at around ten a.m.,” Owen answered.
“Oh.” She looked at her watch, then her phone. “I’m going to call Mum and Dad again to see if they got on the ferry.” She wandered back towards the white hatchback that Owen assumed was her car.
“Are you waiting for someone too?” Susan’s partner asked.
Owen went to shake his head. He’d been so focused on getting to Sebastian, he hadn’t really thought that Sebastian might have been trying to get back to him. “I’m not sure. I—I was going to try to get out to the island myself, but they could be coming back here, I guess.”
Susan arrived back to their small group. “No luck I’m afraid. Mum says they can’t get on the ferry, but not to worry. She and Dad are going to their friend’s place, which is located higher up than their house, which is on the water. Mum says they’ll be fine and she’ll call us after all the drama has passed.”
“You got reception? You got through?”
Susan looked at Owen as if he was crazy. She frowned. “Of course. That’s what I was saying. I’ve just been speaking to my mother.”
“Right,” Owen said. “Sorry, it’s just that I’ve been trying to get a hold of my partner since I first heard the news, but I’m not getting any answer.”
“Sorry, mate,” the younger guy clapped him on his shoulder. “But there’s no reason for the mobile service to be out. Did you try the landline?”
Owen shook his head. “We don’t have a landline. Anyway, I’m sure everything’s fine. Probably just taking a shower or maybe left the phone in the house to go out for bit.” The thought made Owen feel sick because “going out” meant heading out on the water, but the couple didn’t know that and nodded reassuringly.
“I guess you’ve got nothing to do but wait then,” the older fellow said. “Hopefully they’ll get in touch soon.”
There was no way in hell that Owen was going to wait, not with knowing Sebastian was most likely at risk, not having tea and biscuits with some neighbour up the hill. “I’m not waiting. I need to get out there. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
The guy’s grey eyebrows shot up, whether from Owen’s declaration of getting to Bruny, or from the masculine pronoun, Owen wasn’t sure, but he didn’t give a shit—all that mattered was finding Sebastian.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to get there, not with the ferry out of service,” Susan said. “We only live a short way up the road. Only about fifteen minutes or so. Why don’t you come back to our place and wait? That way when they open the ferry, you can be back here quickly.”
Owen shook his head. “Thanks, but no. I’m going to find a way. I can’t leave him there by himself. You don’t understand. We had an argument and I need to make it right.” Owen foughtback tears, surprised at the words he was saying. It wasn’t like him to open up to strangers. He glanced through the trees at the water again, before looking back at Susan. “He loves to kayak. When we’re on the island he spends hours each morning out in the bay.”
Susan offered a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll take you.”
“What?” Owen swung to look at the old guy.
“I said I’ll take you. I’ve got a boat.”
“But it’s too dangerous. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Humph.” The man waved a hand. “What do I care about danger? At my time of life a bit of excitement will probably do me good.”
“But what about your family?”
This time a frown crossed his face, a fleeting glimpse of sadness. “I don’t have anyone who’ll be worried about me.”
