Page 26 of The Vanishing Place
Effie lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling, not sure what she was meant to be feeling. If Lewis was right, she was about to meet a member of her family that she hadn’t known existed until a few days ago. What feeling was meant to go with that? Excitement? Fear? Should she have brought her a gift?
Shit. Effie rubbed at her face. She wasn’t good with children.
She got up, showered and dressed, and headed through to the kitchen to find June waiting for her with a coffee.
“Morning, sunshine.” June smiled. “I thought I heard the shower.”
“You’re up early,” said Effie, taking the warm mug.
“Plenty of time to sleep when we’re dead.”
Effie breathed the coffee in before taking a sip. “What time does the clinic open?”
“Nine.” June nodded toward the selection of fresh bread, Marmite and fruit on the table. “But we’ll head over as soon as we’ve eaten.”
Effie frowned. “Does Lewis know we’re coming in early?”
June sliced into the loaf. “He doesn’t want the locals seeing you just yet. Most folks think you’re still missing.” She raised an eyebrow. “Or dead.”
After a quick breakfast, they drove June’s ute the five hundred meters to the clinic—to avoid prying eyes. Effie smiled as June grunted the vehicle into third, the seventy-something-year-old woman with tasseled floral sofas and a Ford Ranger with bull bars and a snorkel.
As they turned the corner, the blue roof of the small community health center came into view, and two decades unraveled in an instant. Effie gripped the door handle, her body shaken with the memory.
“You okay?” asked June.
“Yeah.” Effie let out a breath. “I’m just glad Anya has you and Lewis.”
June turned off the engine. “You know, we’re not even sure it’s her real name.”
Effie frowned. “How come?”
“Lewis will explain.”
They walked across the gravel carpark toward the back door. Effie slipped her hands into her pockets, then took them out again. She’d never been so aware of her hands, of her arms, just hanging there with nothing to do.
Before they reached the door, it swung open with a clang, and Lewis filled the frame. He waited, one hand on the door, his eyes fixed on Effie. The gravel crunched beneath her feet, matching the thud in her chest, as she returned his gaze. His clothes were creased, likely from pulling a back-to-back shift, and his hair was shaggy. His hair was brown the last time she’d seen him, a boy of eighteen, but it had grayed at the sides. Despite the exhaustion and stress that hung from him, it still caught her off guard—the pull she felt toward him, as though the last seventeen years had never happened.
Her Lewis.
His face had thinned out, making his cheekbones more pronounced, and he had a short beard—stubble, really. But his eyes, a deep black-brown, were the same. He managed a soft grin as his gaze roved over her.
“You’re here?” he said, as if he hadn’t been the one to book her ticket.
“Yes.” Effie forced an awkward smile. “I’m here.”
For a moment, they stood a meter apart, neither of them saying anything. Then Lewis stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. He’d always been lean, but there was an unfamiliar strength to him now. He held on to her so tightly that Effie found it hard to breathe, but she didn’t say anything. She would have struggled to breathe even if he hadn’t touched her.
“Thank you,” he said, pulling away. “I really…” He ran his hands through his disheveled hair.
Effie, her chest threatening to burst open, was unable to look at him. Unable to look away. Then June cleared her throat.
“Right, you two.” She stepped past them, and Effie finally took a breath. “As fun as this is, we’re on a time frame. So let’s save the emotional reunion for later.”
Lewis moved aside and they walked into the cool building, with the same pale yellow walls and shiny floors, and Effie tried not to think about the last time she’d been there.
“A time frame?” she asked.
“How about we all take a seat?” June moved over to the small waiting room, just five plastic chairs. “This might be worth sitting for.”
