Page 92 of Possession Under the Southern Stars

“Will you let me know when you hear anything?”

“Of course.”

“Take care, dear.”

“You too.” I end the call.

I take my coffee back to the table and pull the Maori box toward me. I might as well do some work. Maybe it’ll take my mind off everything.

It doesn’t, but time passes, as it always does. The seconds tick away, and turn into minutes, and then an hour.

And, shortly after ten, my phone buzzes, and the screen shows Fraser’s name.

Immediately, my hands start shaking and tears sting my eyes. I take a few breaths to try to calm myself, but of course that’s not going to happen, and eventually I slide the green button across and answer the call.

“Fraser?” I say softly.

“They’re alive,” he says.

Emotion crashes over me like a wave, and I immediately burst into tears. “Oh my God,” I sob. “Oh my God. What happened?”

He explains how the two of them decided to swim to shore, and they ended up on one of the small islands and took shelter in a Department of Conservation hut. This morning they walked across the island until they managed to get a reception on their phones, and they called for help.

“Are you up in the Bay?” I ask.

“No, I was just about to get on the plane when Joel rang me.”

“Oh Fraser, I’m so happy for you.”

He blows out a long, long breath. “Yeah, I’ve never felt so relieved. That’s the worst couple of hours of my life.”

“Of course, you poor thing.”

He hesitates. “All I could think about was you.”

I look up, at the shafts of sunlight streaming through the high windows, and sigh.

He sighs too. “I’ve got a few phone calls to make, but I’ll come into work this afternoon. I’ll call in and see you.”

“All right. I’m so happy for you, Fraser. I’m so glad they’re okay.”

“Yeah, me too. See you soon.”

“Bye.” I end the call.

It’s impossible to keep back my tears, and I cry for a bit, wondering whether my prayers helped at all. It’s nice to think so.When I eventually feel better, I call Louise, then Whina, and let them know the good news. Then I get back to work.

Mid-afternoon, I finally hear from Zoe, and we have a tearful conversation where I tell her how relieved I am that they’re both okay. She’s heading back to Wellington to see her family, but she tells me a bit about what happened, and how scary it was.

“Good job Joel was with you,” I say.

She lets out a long sigh. “Honestly, Hal… he saved my life. Several times, I think. It’s all a bit of a blur. But he was amazing. And he didn’t leave my side.”

I smile. “So is this the start of something beautiful?”

She hesitates. “Maybe.”

My smile fades. “What’s the matter?”

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