Page 47 of After the Accident
I don’t think I have a point here, just that I was surprised. People change, but I suppose you only notice it when you don’t see or talk to them in a long while.
Emma:Scott is working as a plumber and owns his own business. I can imagine him being really good at it. He was never the sort to take something on and only do half a job. If he’s in for something, then he would try to be the best he could. He said he was taking on an apprentice when he got home because his workload was becoming too much and he needed some help. I was really happy for him.
Scott:I told her I was flying home later that night and suggested we could maybe swap details and get in touch back in the UK. She gave me her email address and told me to message her. I gave her one of the business cards from my wallet, which had all my details. We hugged goodbye and then I headed off towards the villa. I had a bit of packing left to do and then a taxi was picking me up. The last I saw of her, she was sitting on the grass, with a beach bag at her side.
…
I didn’t see what was in the bag. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to ask.
Emma:It’s difficult to know what to make of people who were once so integral to your existence and then, suddenly, they’re not.
Scott:How long is it since we were on the island? Five months? Emma has never emailed me since. I sent her one the weekend after I got back. It wasn’t anything major, more a: ‘Hi, hope you’re well’-kind of thing. I probably asked how her dad was doing.
Emma:Scott never emailed me.
Scott:I didn’t get a reply and then, about two weeks later, I sent a short follow-up. Something like: ‘Hi, did you get my email?’ She didn’t reply to that either and so I left it. I thought we had reconnected, but I wasn’t going to push the issue. She had my card with my phone numbers and email address. All I had was her email address.
Emma:I don’t remember a business card.
Scott:You’re talking to someone who’s been dumped by Emma McGinley twice now. If you’re asking if I’d go for the hat-trick, then no.
…
…
Well, maybe. That chat on the cliffs felt like something special. You can’t fake that, can you?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
THE GENERAL SORT OF AMBIVALENCE
Emma:With talking to Scott, I had almost forgotten that I still had the licence, key and account details in my bag. I was nearly back at the hotel when I remembered why I’d left in the first place.
I then had an idea about a place where nobody except perhaps Lander would ever think of looking. I made a detour to hide the bag – and then went back to the hotel.
I’d barely walked through the doors at the front when it was clear that something was badly wrong. Julius was standing at the reception desk, surrounded by three or four staff members. The manager who’d told me about Dad and moved Mum and me to the cottages was there. He was speaking into a walkie-talkie and there was this manic energy, like when the doors open at a concert and people are excited about what’s about to happen.
I’d never seen Julius like he was that afternoon. There are lots of times around family gatherings and the like where I’ve wondered if he’s stoned. It probably comes from the fact that Mum and Dad give him such an easy ride, but he has this general sort of ambivalence to him. As if life is supremely easy.
He was the opposite that day. He was flapping his arms and then putting his hands on his hips, before turning in a circle. He didn’t know what to do with himself.
Julius:For the record, I’ve never been stoned at family gatherings. Another lie.
…
I’ve never been stoned full stop.
Emma:I went across to the reception desk, where Julius was and asked him what was going on. He was so distressed that he could barely get the words out.
It was the manager who told me that Amy and Chloe were missing.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
THE FOREIGN LOT
Julius:I want this on the record: Amy and Chloe weren’tmissing. That makes it sound much worse than it was. Did Emma tell you that? She’s so overdramatic.
Emma:Julius was telling the manager that the twins had been by the pool. He’d gone back to his room for a reason he wasn’t clear about – and then, when he returned, they were no longer there.
