Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Have you been to see your boyfriend yet?
N iall texted.
He’s not my boyfriend.
Sorry, friend…
He’s not my friend either.
What’s happened?
He has a fiancée.
I waited for Niall to say told you so, but he didn’t.
Sorry, Pearl.
I’m an idiot for coming out here.
You’re not an idiot, Pearl.
I feel like one.
A bit extreme, maybe, but not an idiot.
You think I’m extreme?
You make people wash their hands a thousand times.
That’s called being considerate. Anyway, you’re obsessed with bugs.
He ignored me.
What are you going to do now then?
Come home, I guess.
Don’t you want to see other stuff before you do?
I was going to set myself some challenges, but I can’t be bothered now.
It was a white lie, but I’d never told Niall about Mairéad.
Pearl, are you OK?
I didn’t know how to answer that, so I didn’t.
Why don’t I set you some challenges, would that help? Is there anywhere you wanted to go?
I have no idea. The air stewardess mentioned Roy’s Peak but it’s in the South Island.
Would you be able to get yourself there?
It was like he already knew.
Of course I can
I lied, again.
So, if I give you two challenges, you’d do them?
Not two.
(For obvious reasons.)
Three then?
One.
Three – you can come home when you’ve done them.
What are the challenges? I won’t be bungee jumping off any bridges, that’s for sure. I hate heights.
You won’t be jumping off a bridge.
OK fine.
I made it sound casual. It was not casual. Anyway, Niall wouldn’t know if I’d not done them. I could just lie and say that I did.
Take a photo and send it to me as proof.
Damn it.
A short while later, Niall sent me a link.
Throw your fears away – Jump Bungee Today!
I grabbed my phone.
I said no jumping off bridges.
It’s not off a bridge.
I don’t do heights.
You’ll be attached to something, it’ll be fine.
I’m not doing it.
You’ll love it.
I won’t love it, because I’m not doing it.
Why not?
Because I might die.
You might.
Exactly.
Or you might live to tell the story.
Tale.
??
It’s ‘live to tell the tale’.
What’s your tale going to be, Pearl?
Easy – ‘Once upon a time, there was a girl called Pearl, who flew to NZ to see a guy she liked, but he had a fiancée so she flew home again. The end.’
Or, how about. ‘Once upon a time, there was a girl called Pearl, who flew to NZ to see a guy she liked, who had a fiancée, so she stayed out there to do some cool things instead, and then she came home. The beginning.’
I didn’t know you were so creative.
There are lots of things you don’t know about me, Pearl.
Like what?
I’m going to bed. Make sure you take a photo.