16. Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Keeley
T he noise is relentless. Cars, motorbikes, chitter chatter, sirens, bin lorries, shouting, arguing; London is a far cry from the serenity of Fellside.
Whack! A black umbrella hits me in the face, depositing it’s rain water on me. There’s no apology from the woman who just smashed her brolly into my face. Instead she rushes down the pavement and disappears into the sea of people and umbrellas. I put my hood up again, sidestep a rubbish bag readied for collection, and duck into the entrance to a tall building with a glass front.
“Keeley Hallett for Mark Winter,” I tell the receptionist. She flicks her jet-black hair behind her and then types something into her computer.
“I need ID please.” She holds out her hand. The pink nail varnish stands out in stark contrast to her olive skin.
I pass her my passport and wait until she’s entered my details.,
“Here you go.” She returns my passport together with a visitor pass. “Fourth floor.”
I nod and thank her. I’ve been here a few times, although I prefer to meet with Mark online and he doesn’t usually mind. But today he insisted I travel all the way. I have a small flat in Windsor which makes it easy when I fly out from Heathrow but it isn’t quick to travel into central London. Much easier to have a video call.
“Keeley, we’re so glad to see you,” Mark greets me when his secretary shows me to his office. With we he probably means the company, because he’s alone in his office.
“Thanks. Yes, that was definitely an adventure. And thank you for agreeing to post the blog about the rescue.” I take a seat in the chair next to his desk. Mark didn’t hesitate at all in accepting my submission. The blog about the rescue was up quicker than the review of Alluring Adventures.
The crowdfunding page is steadily collecting donations and will probably meet its initial target in the next few days. I saw on the FMR website that the person running their fundraising is Dan, the rescuer who took care of Ols. I’ll drop him an email soon.
“Not at all. The marketing team is also putting the post out on our social media channels this morning and corporate has agreed to match any donations up to ten thousand pounds.” My jaw drops.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. Least we can do,” he smiles. There was a reason I agreed to sell my blog to this company. During the negotiations, they showed real care for the blog and genuinely seemed to be decent people. I’m glad to find out I was definitely right about that.
“So, are you ready for your next trip?” Mark claps his hands together once in a let’s-go gesture. “There’s no pressure, if you need a longer break—"
“No, sure, I’m ready,” I shrug. I’ve been restless since being back so it is probably time to go on another trip.
Mark starts talking about me joining a tour travelling through South America. I did a similar trip five years ago, but it’s a long enough gap to revisit a place. Much can change and this trip seems to be a bit more rough and ready than the last one, involving a lot of camping.
I wonder if the phone signal in the region has improved. In the cities probably yes, but in rural areas. The thought of not being able to get one of Oliver’s goofy texts does put me off the trip. We are just exchanging friendly messages, strictly no flirting because we’re just friends . But they are still a favourite part of my day. He’s started working again and his sister is driving him nuts by hovering over him to make sure he doesn’t do too much.
I won’t tell him that she’s acting on strict orders from me.
“Keeley?” Mark’s voice invades my thoughts.
“Oh, sorry, Mark. Sounds good. I’ve been to Colombia before but I would love to go back. Peru and Ecuador are new to me, so also super exciting.” I pretend to be thrilled.
“Excellent. You can join the group in Cartagena and then leave them in La Paz. That should take roughly a month. You could also stay on until Santiago and travel with them through Bolivia and Chile.” Mark passes me a folder. I flick through it and see details of the company as well as background on the countries and the trip itself.
“Sounds good. I’ll think about the extension.” I pick up my bag and the folder. I really don’t know why he insisted on an in-person meeting other than perhaps he wanted to check I’m really okay.
When I step out of the building the cold wind makes me shiver. I don’t know why I’m surprised that it’s raining harder now than when I went into the building. Maybe a few weeks in the sun wouldn’t be so bad after all.
My jacket is dripping by the time I’ve walked from the train station to the block of flats where I live. After I unlock my front door, I take off the drip hazard and roll it up in a ball with the dry inside pointing outwards. I toe off my shoes and place them on the shoe rack before racing to the bathroom, where I hang the jacket over the shower head.
Ols
How has your day been?
As always, a smile appears on my face when his message pops up.
Me
It’s raining cats and dogs here
Ols
We have beautiful weather
Me
Sure you do
There is no way it’s this shitty down here and nice up north. On average they have way more rain than we do.
Ols
[Photo of sunny lake district]
I know that view. It’s a small lake called Rydal Water, not far from Fellside.
Me
What are you doing out and about? You should be resting!
Another picture appears in my messages. It’s of him and Hannah having ice cream at the lake.
Ols
Relax, prison warden. Hannah has granted me temporary release as long as she can come. She’s taking me back to my cell imminently.
Me
I will need to see proof of that. What did the doctor say?
Oliver had a check-up today at the hospital. I guess they probably stopped at the lake on the way back.
Ols
All good. I can start physiotherapy next week.
Me
That’s fantastic!
Ols
Have to go. Prison guard is forcing me back into the car and you know there’s no reception on the way back. I’ll text you this evening so you can tell me what’s happening in your life.
What’s happening in my life is that I have to go somewhere that is even further away from him than I am now.
Me
No probs. Speak later.
I drop my phone on the coffee table and pull out the folder Mark gave me. I look at the list of visas I’ll need, which will probably take around three weeks to get sorted so I will have to get my arse in gear. The trip is leaving at the beginning of November so that would give me another week as back up in case there are any delays in the embassies. Doable.
I open the bookmarks on my phone browser and click on the link for the crowdfunding page. My jaw almost drops when I see that more than ￡10k was donated this morning alone. I open social media and see that the posts from the marketing department are going viral. They did do a great job with the reel using good stock images and a few quotes from my article.
I open up the FMR website and find their telephone number. They’re volunteers so I’m not sure if the office is manned, but it’s worth a try.
“Fellside Mountain Rescue, Dan speaking, how may I help you?”
“Oh my god Dan, I’m so glad it’s you,” I burst out when I hear the voice that I could probably pick out from a thousand people. What stays with you is strange, and the memory of Suzie and Dan talking calmly to us will never leave me.
“Sorry, may I ask who I’m talking to?”
“I’m sorry. Hi, this is Keeley… Oliver and I crashed our paraglider a few weeks ago and—” I’m starting to wonder if he would actually remember me. They must rescue hundreds of people every year.
“Of course, hi, how are you?” His voice is immediately friendlier when he realises he’s not talking to a complete nutter.
“I'm good, thank you. I’m reaching out because I posted a blog after the rescue mission about… about FMR and also set up a crowdfunding page.”
“Oh, that’s very generous of you. I can help you with that. I run the fundraising department for FMR. And when I say department, I mean me,” he chuckles.
“Least I could do. Anyhow, we have hit the target. Donations are still coming in so I want to wait a few more weeks, but where do I transfer the money once I close the campaign?” I lean back on my sofa and put my feet up on the coffee table. I open my laptop and take down the details Dan gives me in a new document.
“Can you tell me roughly how much it is so I can look out for it?”
“Sure, hold on,” I wedge the phone between my ear and my shoulder and check the total
“As it stands we are just shy of twenty five thousand.” Holy shit, even in that short time another six thousand has come in.
There is silence on the other line.
“Hello, Dan?” I lift my phone from my ear to check if we were disconnected but I can see the call is still on.
“Dan?”
“Did you say twenty-five thousand?”
“Yes.”
“How? That is amazing, thank you! The most we ever get from crowdfunding is two or three thousand.” He sounds incredulous and I have to smile.
“My blog is quite popular.”
“What’s the blog called?”
Dan and I chat for a little longer. He clearly knows his fundraising, but I can also see that he must have had a hard time lately. When the economy, suffers the first things people cut back on are non-essentials and supporting charities unfortunately falls into that category.
We agree to stay in contact so I can give him updates.
My eyes fall on the folder with the South America trip again. Time to rip off that plaster.
Me
Hey, I have some news. They are sending me to South America next month. I’m probably going to be quite busy over the next few weeks getting ready for it so don’t be surprised if I don’t have much time to chat.
Time to get used to not having him as part of my daily life.