Chapter 37
CHAPTER
Early this morning, I emailed Nate to let him know that, after checking in on the gentoo penguin colony, I’d go directly to the seal rookery on the northern tip of the island. When I see Dougie walking along the beach towards me, I regret not waiting for Nate to acknowledge my email.
‘Flick!’
Dougie is twenty metres away. Afraid I won’t have time to school my face to neutral before he reaches me, I look through the lens of my camera.
A subantarctic seal is lolloping around one of the eight cows he’s attracted to his harem.
The bull, the pale, mask-like fur around his face and neck distinguishing him from other fur seals, flops onto the ground when the cow turns away.
‘I see you’re branching out.’ As Dougie pulls back the hood of his jacket, I lower the camera.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Seals as well as birds.’
I hope my smile isn’t as fake as it feels. ‘I only have four weeks left. I want to capture everything.’
‘Fair enough.’ He stands next to me, looks my way then away again. ‘How do you reckon you’ll go on the ship?’
‘I’ll know what to expect, and Angelina has volunteered to take the cabin next to mine. That will help too.’
‘You won’t miss the dashing Captain Thorsen too much?’
Stick to the truth. ‘If he hadn’t been with me on the way over, Clarissa mightn’t have put me on trial.’
Dougie sends me a sidelong glance. ‘He watches out for you when he’s here.’
‘The plane, the ship. He knows my weaknesses.’
‘Any Morrison feedback you’d care to share?’
‘Is this an HR test?’
He laughs. ‘You’ll get the official questionnaire when you get home.’
‘The wildlife, the community.’ Another forced smile. ‘I’ve loved it here, but I’m looking forward to seeing Matilda.’
‘You also support your mother.’
‘Do I?’
He waves vaguely. ‘I’ve heard it around.’ ‘She’s not good at budgeting.’
‘No shame in looking after your family. My father’s an arsehole, so I help Mum when I can.’
‘My father wasn’t all bad, but he didn’t support us.’
‘No silver spoons for us. I’ve said that before, haven’t I? But I admire what you’ve done in terms of your career, the way you keep fighting until you get what you want. I do that too.’
‘I’ve always loved my job.’ A young seal wriggles onto a pyramid-shaped rock and lifts her snout in the air. ‘Living and working here has been extraordinary.’
Dougie kicks sand from his boots. ‘Ready for tomorrow night?’
‘Thanks for signing up for my bush dance.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it.’
I’m relieved when I see Nate, hand shading his eyes from the glare, taking Dougie’s route along the shoreline.
‘That guy pops up everywhere,’ Dougie says.
‘I promised to show him the rookery.’ I hope my tone is convincingly cheery.
‘He’s spending a lot of time with Angelina. They must’ve patched up their differences.’
‘You must know by now that they’ve been friends for years.’
Nate is his usual enthusiastic self when he greets Dougie, but Dougie is keen to leave.
‘I’ve got work to catch up on,’ Dougie says. ‘See you at lunch.’
Immediately Dougie walks away, Nate drops the smile. ‘You okay, Flick?’
‘Dougie is jittery.’ I look up from storing my camera. ‘You’re jittery too. What’s the problem?’
He doesn’t answer straight away. ‘Let’s just say, no more alone time with Dougie.’
‘I’m not sure why he wanted to see me. Usually it’s just in the mess, and when he hovers in the professor’s office. Has something happened? Is that why you’re here?’
‘From now on, I’ll take the professor’s desk and keep you company.’
‘Something has happened, hasn’t it?’
Nate doesn’t respond, so I soldier on. ‘Dougie seems so average.’
‘You’ve sent spreadsheets in the past two days, right?’
‘Business as usual.’
‘Dougie hasn’t sent them on. That could mean something.’
‘Does Sebastien know?’
‘As he was up all night, yes.’ Nate huffs. ‘If he tells me one more time that he’s got a bad feeling about Dougie, I might explode.’
‘Dougie’s signed up for my bush dance tomorrow night.’
‘He’d be crazy not to.’ Nate attempts a smile. ‘I’ll be there too.’
‘You and Angelina are getting on well.’
‘You noticed?’
‘I’ve never met anyone who knows as many people as Angelina does, but in addition to her social skills, she’s sensitive and generous. I hope you appreciate that.’
‘Me and Ange …’ He shakes his head. ‘We’ve got a lot of history.’
When the drizzle turns to sleet, we tighten our hoods and link arms to crunch across the pebbles of the beach. ‘How would you feel if you’d met her for the very first time last week?’
Nate pulls up short. At first, he’s frowning, but then his brow clears. ‘I’d feel the exact same way I felt eight years ago.’
‘Which is what?’
His eyes are suddenly bright. ‘Out of my depth but head over heels.’
I’m changing out of damp clothes before going to lunch when Matilda calls.
‘Flicka!’
‘Why aren’t you in class? Is everything all right?’
‘Miss Nelson said I could come to the office early to tell you I got full marks for my English assignment, and I’ll be getting an academic achievement prize this year.’
‘That’s fantastic.’
‘The assignment was on Emma.’
‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘When Seb said he hadn’t read Jane Austen, I told him he should.’
‘Tilly …’ I pace to the desk and back. ‘Did you call him again?’
‘Not about the essay, about The Lord of the Rings. Seb told me he has a duty to answer my questions because he introduced me to Tolkien.’
‘Since when did you call him Seb?’
‘He said Sebastien is too long a name for everyone except for you.’
Eyes prickly, I perch on the end of the bed. ‘Is the book very different to the movies?’
‘What?’ Matilda is outraged. ‘The Lord of the Rings is Tolkien’s commentary on World War I. Seb knows so much about European history. Also, about wars.’
‘He knows about a lot of things.’
‘You’ll know heaps more than him about birds.’
‘Like you, he asks a lot of questions. He knows more than he did.’
‘Is he your boyfriend?’
I draw a clockwise circle on the bed. ‘No, Tilly.’
‘When I asked whether you were his girlfriend, he pretended not to hear.’
A bell rings. ‘I’m sorry I can’t be there for the end-of-year assembly.’
‘I’ll try to get another prize next year.’
‘But if you don’t—’
‘It won’t mean you love me less.’
‘Smart kid.’ I smile. ‘Amy’s mum will collect you and Amy from the boarding house on the last day of school. Make sure you’ve got everything packed up and ready.’
‘Amy’s mum is great, but not as great as you.’
My throat tightens. ‘I’ll miss you at Christmas.’
‘We promised not to be sad about that.’
‘I’m lucky I have you to keep me on track.’
‘I’ll miss Surprise when I’m away, but it’ll be good to see my little brothers. Thank you for the box of books you gave me for them.’
‘Have you talked to Grandma? She hasn’t asked me to organise flights, so I don’t think she’ll be there for Christmas.’
‘Mum was cranky because she wanted Grandma to babysit. Will you be with Angelina on Christmas Day?’
‘Angelina, Robin, Nate, Kingsley, Jerry and the other expeditioners. I’m sorted.’
‘You’ll miss your friends when you come home.’
‘Yes, but I’ll get to see you every weekend. I’m going to rent a house, so there’s somewhere for you and your friends to stay in the holidays. Even if we don’t have acreage, we’ll be able to find local agistment.’
‘A house? Are you sure?’
‘You’ll be a teenager soon. You need stability.’
‘Are you reading “raising girls” books again?’ she asks suspiciously.
I laugh. ‘I’ve never stopped.’
A chorus of high-pitched voices. ‘Will Seb come to our house?’
After Sebastien told me about the zip line, he said, ‘I’m different now.’ A flicker of hope.
‘I don’t know, Tilly.’
‘I can ask him.’
I redraw the circle on the bed. ‘I wouldn’t want him to feel pressure to come, or to go out of his way.’
‘He visits his brother in Summerfield, so it’s not like he’d be coming all the way from Norway. But we can wait until we’ve got our house. Are you sure you can afford a whole house? And my school fees?’
‘You’re at that school for another six years. Non-negotiable. And yes, we’ll get a house.’
‘What about Grandma? She costs a lot too.’
‘Read your novels and leave the finances to me.’
‘Matilda! Matilda!’ Girls’ voices. ‘We have to go to the hall!’
‘Coming! I’m coming!’ I imagine Matilda tossing her plait over her shoulder.
‘Off you go. I’ll talk to you soon.’
‘Angelina’s dance is tomorrow, isn’t it? Have fun! I love you!’