“Not much, I suppose. We’ll see each other when we head out to Asia. In between times I suppose we just get on with how we were before.”
She shook her head and carried the dog over to a cage where he’d be able to recuperate for a few hours after he came round from the anaesthetic. Lynda would keep an eye on him until he was ready for release, I’d seen her do it several times in the last few days.
“You don’t see it girl, do you?”
“See what?”
“The way he looks at you. The way you look at him. Then you both laugh with each other. Everyone else can see it.”
“It was just one night. To get it out of our system and to take his mind off things at home.”
“You keep telling yourselves that. Just remember to name your first daughter something other than Lynda. It’s one of those names that dates you.”
I laughed at the idea, although I wasn’t sure which one. Lynda, or Callum and I having children.
She shook her head. “You need to head off, the crew left ages ago. Want me to send Abayomi to walk you back?”
He was her help and I suspected her lover. Lynda was dedicated to her animals and the community that she lived near, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a quiet life for herself.
“I’ll be fine. It’s only five minutes.” I’d gotten used to the walk. Even after the cameras had stopped filming, Callum and I had continued with the animals. Lynda wasn’t exactly flush with staff until a bunch of vet students came out for two months over summer, and there had been a lot that needed doing. She’d have gotten round to it, her and Abayomi, but the increased speed we’d provided saved animals.
“You sure.” Her head peered out of the window. “Actually, you have a chaperone anyway. Callum’s here.”
“Oh. With the crew?”
“No. Just him.” She eyed me, the flecks of silver in her hair catching the light. “You’ve got some thinking to do, Wren.”
“I’ve always got something to think about.”
She shook her head. “I’ll see you when you come back to visit. Don’t leave it too long. And bring him. He’s good for the publicity.”
Callum had been killing it on social media, putting videos of him at the sanctuary up at least a couple of times a day. The amount of donations had doubled and the slightly stressed look Lynda had been carrying had started to wane.
“I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.” I stood, waiting to give Lynda a hug. She reminded me of myself, strongly independent and stubborn.
“You take some time to think about things, girl.” Thick arms encircled me. “Don’t be afraid to take big risks.”
“I’m taking one tomorrow when I get on that plane.”
She laughed. “Go on, be gone. Leave me to my dog.”
“And Abayomi.”
She just laughed and shook her head as I exited through the door.
Callum was standing next to the building, staring out into the distance where a herd of gazelle were lingering. The stars were out, like always here, the sky smattered with blurred diamonds.
“Is everything okay?”
The look on his face suggested it wasn’t.
“Max phoned.”
This wasn’t unusual. For the last ten days, Max had called every day, around the same time and the brothers had a brief phone call with an update on Marie. I’d been given snippets afterwards; she was coughing, tired, lethargic and stubborn. So bloody stubborn.
“How is your mum?” Mum, not Marie. Not for Callum.
“She’s been for an x-ray. They think it’s pneumonia. She has to have her lungs drained tomorrow at the hospital.”
