Dan raised his head.
“I’m sure there’ll be places left on the flight,” Libby continued brightly.“My accommodation is two rooms, but Karim will sleep with me anyway, so you can have his.”
“Oh god, Libby, yes!”Dan wanted to kiss her.“That’s a brilliant idea.”He turned back to Mum and Malek.“No one will find you at the bungalow,” he said.“It’s discreet.It’s a hideaway.And no one will find me on Atiu either.It’s a tiny island.”As he gazed at Libby, something like hope bloomed in his chest.“And the chances of coming across a journalist there are zero to none.”
Afterdinner,Dansatnext to his mother on a bench at the back of the restaurant, overlooking the beach.Malek was at the bar, paying the bill—which he’d insisted on doing—and Libby had taken Karim to the bathroom.
“Libby is very nice,” Mum said.“It was a good idea to go to the other island with her.”
“Yeah.”Dan shuffled his toe in the sand.Ten days on a tiny island miles away from everything that was stressing him out was just what he needed to start getting his head straight again, and Mum could enjoy her holiday with Malek without him dragging her down like a punctured third wheel.
“I’m sorry you found out the way you did about Mal,” Mum said, burying her toes in the sand too.“When Femi and Gabi texted me to say you were in Rarotonga, I sent you a long message, telling you all about him.I was so worried when you didn’t reply.I thought you were angry or too upset, and then I spoke to Libby and she told me about your phone and that you were sick.”
The ocean rolled and rumbled in the distance.Moonlight caught on the waves breaking against the outer reef.
Mum sighed.“I should have told you about him months ago.”
Months?They’d been together for months?“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it broke my heart seeing you so destroyed after your accident.And then Isabella… When she postponed the wedding, I didn’t believe the reason that it was because you wanted to walk down the aisle.I could tell your relationship was in trouble.But you’d closed yourself off.I understood you had to, that you were dealing with everything your own way.So, I couldn’t just say, ‘Hey, Danny, guess what?I’ve met someone,’ and then, you know, the age difference.Those bloody journalists would’ve had a field day about that, and I didn’t want to give them anything else to write about.So, we decided to keep it all quiet.”
“When did you meet?”
“Two weeks before your accident.”
“I see.”
“Obviously, we put things on hold when you…”
“Yeah, I know…” Dan wasn’t upset with his mum—he had no right to be, anyway—but it seemed that all the constants in his life were changing, and he was struggling to keep up.But that wasn’t Mum’s fault.“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said again.“It’s just… I thought this place meant something to you and Dad.”
“It does.And Mal knows it, too.He’s sweet and supportive, but it’s beentwentyyears, Danny.I’m done grieving.My life will never be completely full without your father in it.It’s true what people say.”Her voice cracked.“A piece of me really did die with him that day, but he’s gone, and I can’t be with him until I go, too.”Then she took a deep breath and sat up straight.“I can’t let that hurt control my life anymore.Dad wouldn’t have wanted that.I know he wouldn’t.”
Knowing it too, Dan kicked at the sand.
“And he wouldn’t want you to still be hurting either, Danny.”Mum patted his knee.When he’d grown too big for her to squeeze, she’d said that patting his knee was her way of hugging him.The memory tugged at Dan’s heart, and the sting of tears horrified him.“You were all so young when we lost him.I don’t think I would’ve survived those years without you, Femi, and Gabi.And I felt so guilty that you were taking care of your sisters on the days that I struggled to get out of bed.”
He cleared his throat.“You shouldn’t have felt guilty.”
“That’s easy to say, but mother’s guilt is a bitch.”
Dan smiled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.“So, Femi and Gabi have met Malek?”
“Yes.And Zeezee has too.”
“Right.”So everyone but him knew…
“Please be happy for me, Danny.”
“I am happy for you.”He pushed out the words.“As happy as I’ll ever be about anything right now.I don’t feel like I’m ever going to enjoy life again.”
“Oh, darling.It’s natural to feel depressed after what you’ve been through.I wish I could make everything better for you.”
There was that crack in Mum’s voice again.The stress.The worry.
“It’s okay, Mum,” he told her quickly.“I’ll feel better soon.I’ll be fine.”
Mum sniffed and patted his knee again.“What about Isabella?Are you—”
