Chapter 38
Bali
The heat from the late afternoon sun was strong and the back of my neck was burning, but I didn’t slow my pace. The turtle sanctuary was an hour away and I had to order a taxi to get me there. I wanted to get there before it closed so I could ask Utt if he knew where I could find Jackson.
The sign for the hotel was in sight. The entrance was tucked away down a slope. I ran down the hill, almost colliding with a minibus pulling out of the car park. The reception desk was swamped with new arrivals; a sea of suitcases blocked my path.
I swore under my breath at being forced to wait.
These people would be filling in their registration forms for ages yet.
I glanced around for any spare staff, but couldn’t see anyone.
My breath was ragged from running and my hair was damp with perspiration.
A headache was building in my temples and wished I had some water.
‘Excuse me,’ I shouted over the crowd to the receptionist. ‘Could you order me a taxi?’
‘Can’t she see there’s a queue?’ someone grumbled.
A shrill siren blared out from my bag, startling me.
It was such an awful noise that people turned to see where it was coming from.
It was the default ring tone on my new phone.
I pulled the phone from my bag, anxious to silence it as quickly as possible, and saw that it was Harry calling via Facebook Messenger.
‘Maggie! Finally! I’ve been trying to get hold of you for hours.’ His words tumbled over each other and he sounded relieved. ‘Haven’t you been checking Instagram?’
‘No. A monkey stole my phone. I’ve got a new one, but it’s not completely up and running yet. And then I’ve been in a tarot card reading this afternoon. Is everything okay?’
Beside me, two children started to yell and cry at each other. I jammed a finger into my ear to concentrate on what he was saying.
‘What?’ He gave a laugh of disbelief. ‘No way! That was not what I expected to hear. Yeah, I’m great. Listen, I’ve got some amazing news. Guess what it is?’
‘Oh my word.’ I pressed a hand to my heart, hardly daring to voice my biggest wish. ‘Is it what I think it is?’
‘It is. Someone has found Bronte’s book!’ he exclaimed. ‘You’re going to get it back.’
My chest felt tight with gratitude. ‘I don’t believe it. Thank you, thank you!’
‘It’s in Watson’s Bay near the nudist beach. You must have dropped it when we were trying not to stare at the naked sunbathers.’
‘Oh my God.’ I felt myself sway, my head dizzy from the heat and the running I’d been doing. ‘I feel a bit faint.’
The lobby was making me feel claustrophobic amongst the tangle of tourists with their suitcases and pushing and shoving, and I couldn’t get any air.
‘Isn’t that great?’ Harry continued.
‘It is.’ Tears streamed down my face. ‘I really thought … I really thought …’
Dots swam in front of my eyes and I shook my head to clear them. I needed to sit down.
‘I’m heading into Sydney now to collect it.’
‘Thank you,’ I croaked. I pressed a hand to my mouth. My face felt clammy and cool despite the heat. ‘But there’s no need to rush; it must be getting late in Australia?’
‘The cool thing is that a girl I’ve been talking to is coming to Bali tomorrow, so there isn’t much time to get it organised. I’m going to send her your contact details. You’ve met her actually. Lola? Do you remember?’
‘Excuse me,’ I mumbled, edging past an elderly couple bickering over who’d got the passports. They were blocking the path to a spare seat on a sofa and I needed it. I needed to sit down – now.
‘Maggie? You sound weird, are you okay?’
‘Hot. That’s all.’ I took a couple of breaths as I sat down on the sofa. ‘Harry, I need to know something. Did Bronte plan to come to Bali to trace her dad?’
There was a silence down the line.
‘Please. Tell me the truth.’
‘She planned to do a bit of digging, yes,’ Harry admitted. ‘She didn’t have anything major to go on, but she had found an old man who you knew when you were in Bali. She was going to start there.’
‘Was his name Utt?’ I suggested.
‘Yes, I think so.’
She had planned to do exactly what I was doing now.
My gorgeous girl, two steps ahead of me, as she had been on this entire trip.
And now I was to be the one to complete the task on her behalf, in her final destination.
I felt her gentle presence beside me then, like a silk scarf around my shoulders.
I needed to book a taxi, I had to get moving, I was doing this for both of us.
Intent on flagging down a taxi myself on the street, I got to my feet quickly – and felt my knees begin to buckle. Dancing spots appeared before my eyes and I tried to blink them away.
‘Maggie?’ I heard Harry shouting. ‘What’s going on? Are you still there?’
‘Air,’ I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest. ‘I can’t breathe.’
I staggered forward to escape the hotel lobby and get myself into the open air. A couple more paces, that’s all it would take … My bag slipped off my shoulder and hit the marble floor, followed a second later by my phone.
And then the world went silent.
‘Can someone get this lady some water, please?’ I heard someone shout.
Bodies pressed around me. Someone fanned my face.
‘‘She’s out cold.’
‘Do you have a nurse in the hotel?’
‘Call an ambulance.’
I don’t need an ambulance. I wanted to speak, but my mouth wasn’t working properly and all that escaped was a tiny moan.
‘I’m a first-aider,’ said a man with a voice that sounded familiar. One I hadn’t heard for twenty-four years. But it couldn’t be him, could it? It was my imagination conjuring him up. ‘Please let me through.’
It had to be him. He sounded more gravelly, richer, but I’d recognise that voice anywhere. My eyes flew open and there he was, kneeling beside me.
‘Oh my God, Maggie, it is you!’
The sound of my name on his lips stirred a thousand butterflies in my stomach.
‘Jackson!’ I struggled to sit up, and despite my dizziness my face broke into a smile. His face was as handsome as I’d remembered, his gaze just as striking. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Whoa, take it easy, Mags.’ He caught hold of my arms to steady me.
‘How are you here? I mean, why are you in Bali at my hotel?’
He smiled lazily. ‘You mean right now? Looks like I’ve come to your rescue again, like the first time we met, when you decided to go off swimming in strong currents by yourself.’
‘I didn’t need rescuing then,’ I replied, ‘and I don’t now either.’
He threw his head back and laughed properly. ‘Here she is. My feisty girl. You haven’t changed a bit.’
‘Neither have you.’
‘Here, drink.’ He handed me a glass of water and I gulped it down. ‘Okay, thanks, everyone,’ he said. ‘I’ll take it from here.’
The other hotel guests melted away until it was just him and me. We held eye contact, his hand was still on my arm, mine was gripping my glass. Two middle-aged people meeting again after over twenty years.
‘Thanks.’ I trembled as he took the glass back from me and for a second or two, we allowed our fingers to touch. I wanted to hold his hand, feel his arms around me and melt into him, as I’d always done.
I pressed my palm to my thudding chest in an attempt to calm myself. In theory, he was a stranger to me now. And yet at the same time, how could he be, when the connection between us was so strong that I could almost feel it? ‘Is it really you?’
‘It’s definitely me.’ His eyes were full of concern, but a smile was tugging at his lips.
‘And I’m here because Utt called me as soon as you left the turtle sanctuary.’
I shook my head, bemused. ‘That explains why he ushered me out of the building so quickly.’
Jackson laughed. ‘He couldn’t wait to tell me. I came as quickly as I could.’
More than two decades had passed since we’d said goodbye, yet he’d dropped everything to see me again. This was surreal, and wonderful, and possibly the biggest compliment he could pay me.
‘You came from where?’ I asked.
‘From home,’ he said, his lips twisting into a half-smile. ‘Or to be more accurate, from work.’
My eyes widened. ‘You live in Bali?’
‘Sure do,’ he grinned. ‘For the last twenty years.’
‘Wow.’ If only I’d come back sooner and brought Bronte with me, maybe … I had to tell him about her, I realised. And soon.
I let out a long breath and Jackson touched my arm. ‘Are you okay?’
I nodded, unable to drag my eyes from his face.
‘ Magnolia ,’ he murmured. ‘No wonder I couldn’t find you. I should have known you wouldn’t have been an ordinary Margaret, there was never anything ordinary about you.’
I swallowed. ‘You looked for me?’
‘For two years. But then, life moved on.’ He broke off, rubbing his jaw. ‘I had a hunch you’d come back one day, but you sure took your time. So what brings you back to Bali now?’
I needed to stand up, look him in the eye. I didn’t want to say this sitting on the floor in the hotel lobby. Jackson steadied my arm as I rose to my feet, and handed me my bag and my phone.
‘I … I …’ I stared at him, my heart thudding erratically.
He tilted his head, his gaze never wavering from mine. ‘Hey, take your time.’
‘Okay.’ I blew out a breath and pressed my hands together to stop them from shaking. ‘Your daughter, Jackson, that’s what brought me here.’
His brow furrowed. ‘But I don’t have a daughter.’
I caught my lip between my teeth and stared at him, waiting for him to understand.
‘Wait. No.’ He waved a finger between him and me, and gave a half-laugh, visibly shocked. ‘ You have a daughter. Did we … you and me …?’
‘We did.’ I bowed my head as a torrent of sorrow threatened to drown me. ‘We did. I had your baby. And, oh Jackson, I’m so, so sorry, but I’ve got some terrible news.’