Chapter 34 #2
‘No, no, no!’ Anna’s eyes widened and then she covered her face with her hands. ‘That wasn’t what I meant. I’m sorry, Maggie. I take that back. Everyone has equal opportunities at ShopSwift, I hope you know that.’
‘It doesn’t look like that to me,’ I replied.
Anna sighed heavily. ‘I’m saying all the wrong things. My brain is in overdrive, I’m not sleeping because I’m so worried about Mum.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to sue you over it,’ I said flatly. ‘I value our friendship too much for that.’
‘Thank you.’ She looked sheepish. Promotion should be awarded on merit, not friendship, but even so, she clearly knew she’d let me down. ‘As Dad said, there’s no need to rush back. He’s doing a quick handover while Lee deputises for me. You can set up the new strand as and when you return.’
The phrase as and when didn’t fill me with confidence. This new department felt as if it had been manufactured simply to find a role for me.
‘Thank you very much,’ I replied, unable to keep the petulance from my voice.
Her eyes lit up with gratitude. ‘So you’ll accept the restructure?’
‘Of course,’ I said, faking a smile. What else could I do? I needed a job to go back to and it looked like I didn’t have much choice.
‘Thank you, Maggie.’ Anna’s shoulders slumped with relief. ‘I hope you know that you are very valued here and I’m looking forward to working with you when you return.’
‘Likewise,’ I replied, tightly. ‘And do give my very best wishes to your mum.’
After we ended the call, I sat there, stunned, phone in my hand. I could barely believe what had happened, and what I’d agreed to, but I certainly didn’t feel ‘valued’.
An ear-piercing screech, followed by a tug on my hair, made me leap out of my skin. With a flash of teeth and the stench of foul breath, the monkey grabbed hold of my scarf and tugged it off my back.
‘Get off me!’ I yelled, pushing myself away from the wall. I tripped, one foot twisted out of my flip-flop, and my phone flew out of my hand. Another monkey appeared so fast that I didn’t even have the chance to react. It pounced on my flip-flop and hissed at me.
‘Yah,’ I shouted, swinging my backpack at it. ‘Give me that back.’
It bared its teeth, and the thought of those yellow fangs sinking into my skin made me back away. Instead I put my foot on my phone and tried to slide it towards me.
‘Okay, fine, take the shoe, but you’re not having this.’
A flash of pink caught my eye, and I looked up. My scarf was disappearing through the trees, a trail of fabric weaving through the branches.
‘No,’ I wailed. ‘I loved that scarf.’
The monkey seized its moment and pulled the phone from under my foot.
‘Not my phone! No, not my phone!’
The monkey swung itself out of reach, taking my mobile phone with it.
I sank down on the wall, wondering how, in the space of two minutes, I’d managed to lose so much: my phone, a shoe, a scarf and even the job I loved.
Then, picking up my backpack I hobbled back to the car park, my bare foot burning on the hot tarmac.
‘Monkeys take your shoe?’ asked Ayu, my concerned driver, as I dived into the taxi.
‘Yes,’ I gulped. ‘And my phone.’
I knew it was a coincidence, but since I’d lost Bronte’s book, everything seemed to be going wrong. I’d had enough. No more loss. I couldn’t take it.
‘Oh Miss Maggie,’ said the driver, passing me a box of tissues for my tears. ‘Don’t worry. I have shoes for you. But they are not smart like yours.’
He retrieved a worn and dusty pair of leather sliders from under the front seat and handed them to me.
A long-forgotten memory surfaced: Utt had had a pair just like these.
In a flash I was back at that turtle sanctuary, watching Utt mend the nesting bed after one of the volunteers had crashed into it.
Dear, grumpy Utt, who’d known exactly who he was and what he’d wanted to do with his life.
The thought made me smile as I wiped away my tears.
‘Thank you, Ayu, you are very kind.’
He shook his head. ‘You come to my country, and we are very grateful. It has been hard for drivers like me to earn money without visitors. We are glad you are here. Keep my shoes and remember Ayu.’
‘I will, thank you.’ I dabbed away fresh tears.
‘Miss Maggie, I can’t give you my phone, but my cousin has a shop in Ubud where you can buy one. Special price for my VIP guests. I take you?’
‘Yes please, that would be wonderful.’ I hid my smile. On the drive here, I’d heard about a cousin who could give me a Balinese cookery class, a cousin who gives such good massages that she has a waiting list and a cousin who would take me up Mount Batur to see the sunrise.
My heart had been beaten and battered today, as if I was losing at life.
I was a middle-aged woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
A far cry from the brave and adventurous and free-spirited Maggie I’d been last time I was in the village on the beach.
Bronte would have made a beeline for that part of Bali; I knew she would.
I wondered whether she would have had her own ‘Bali moment’ where I had done.
Suddenly I knew that I had to go there too.
I needed to recapture the magic of my first time on this beautiful island.
I leaned forward and touched Ayu’s shoulder.
‘I’ve changed my mind, Ayu. There’s somewhere else I’d like to go, if that’s okay with you.’
‘No problem, Miss Maggie. Ayu will take you anywhere.’
I felt a rush of nerves as I gave him the name of the village; it was time to go back.