Page 81 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
‘He expressed a wish to meet his only great-grandson. And the solicitor intimated that Mr James Cameron is an extremely wealthy man and it would be in Liam’s interests for him to meet up with his great-grandfather.’
‘Financially?’
‘I’m guessing.’
‘Goodness. So, what are you going to do?’
‘Nothing yet. It’s only a week since Alistair died. I don’t want to talk about money. I don’t want me or Liam to benefit from his death. In fact, I don’t want to think about it at all.’
‘What did the solicitor say?’
Jen sighed and closed her eyes as she tried to recall all that the solicitor had said. She’d been so shocked to find that she didn’t have to organise Alistair’s estate or settle his debts that she’d found it hard to focus on what he’d been saying. She opened her eyes. ‘Something about a trust. That’s right. He said I didn’t have to respond yet, and that I should wait until I’m ready. Apparently, a trust is involved. He said he’d be in touch. And until then, I really don’t want to think about it. I want to focus on the present. On giving Alistair some kind of memorial service. I need to mark his passing. The question is, how?’
Lucy snorted. She’d been sitting quietly in the sun with her eyes closed, recovering from another long day in the café. ‘How about doing nothing whatsoever? He doesn’t deserve it.’
Kate shook her head and tutted.
‘He was Liam’s father, Lucy,’ said Jen. ‘I can’t pretend he didn’t exist, and I can’t pretend his death didn’t happen. I don’t want Liam to go through life avoiding thinking about his father. We need to do something.’
‘What did Alistair enjoy?’ asked Kate, turning her back to the sea and looking at Jen. As Lucy pulled a face and negative things ran through Jen’s mind, Kate shook her head. ‘No, I mean, there must have been something he enjoyed, maybe something he hadn’t done for a while.’
‘Like what?’ said Lucy dryly.
‘I don’t know, like’ — Kate gesticulated — ‘walking, sunbathing, swimming, picking flowers.’
Lucy and Jen looked at each and tried not to laugh. But then a sudden memory popped into Jen’s head, and she frowned.
‘What is it?’ asked Kate. ‘Have you thought of something?’
‘Well,’ she said, remembering their first date when he’d taken her to the Scottish Highlands. She realised now that it must have been located close to where he was raised, although at the time she’d had no idea. For all she knew, his grandfather had lived in one of the large houses they’d passed. ‘Birds. He told me once he used to birdwatch, and he took me to a place in the Highlands where he’d seen a golden eagle when he was a boy.’
‘Did you see one?’
‘Yes,’ she said quietly, remembering. ‘We did. It circled above us, then gave the most piercing cry and disappeared over the mountaintop. I don’t think I ever saw Alistair smile like that again.’
No one said anything. They suddenly saw a very different image of Alistair. Of a life lost.
She felt her sister’s hand on her arm. ‘Are you OK?’ Lucy craned her neck to look into Jen’s face. ‘Oh, Jen, don’t cry,’ said Lucy, pulling her close and holding her tenderly. ‘It’s OK.’
‘I know it’s OK. I remembered when it was OK. And that’s something to give Liam. That memory of what his father was once like. No, what he was still like deep down. That’s something to hold on to, isn’t it?’
‘It is,’ said Kate and Lucy in unison.
Six weeks later, Jen, Sam, Liam, Kate and Lucy climbed aboard a motorboat and set off from the beach across the sea to Kapiti Island.
The late spring weather was warm, and the sea was as calm as a millpond, as they motored the fifteen-minute journey to the bird sanctuary.
Jen had chosen the island to hold a small memorial service for Alistair as it was home to some of New Zealand’s rarest species. It was directly opposite MacLeod’s Cottage, and Liam would see it every day. She hoped it would be a reminder that there was a different side to his father than the one he’d experienced.
That day there weren’t any other visitors, so it was only their small group who went ashore, and had their bags checked for predators by reserve staff before they began the trek up to the topmost peak, more than 500 metres above sea level.
For once there was no wind, and the air held a magic stillness, as if it was watching their progress through the thick bush which enveloped the island. There might have been no wind, but the air was full of birdsong. Saddlebacks, tuis, waxeyes, bellbirds and others Jen couldn’t identify, sent lively, discordant, trilling notes through the shade of the trees. Luckily, Sam knew most of the birds and could answer Liam’s questions as they walked along the path, with its shifting patches of sunshine filtering through the thick overhead canopy.
They were still on the lower slopes when Sam and Liam, who were leading the party, stopped so suddenly that Jen nearly bumped into them.
‘What —’
Sam held his finger to his lips and pointed forward. Jen looked around him to see an enormous bird, as tall as their knees, the blue and green of its plumage striking against the red hook-like beak. It wasn’t in a tree, and it wasn’t flying. It was taking its time walking across the path in front of them. It stopped for a moment, looked at them, cocked its head to one side, before moving slowly on, confident that these strangers meant no harm.
