Page 87 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

Now even the ghosts were deserting me!

The rest of the afternoon passed without serious incident. However, none of my colleagues bid me good night when I left. I drove home in a total funk.

Chapter 28

AT HOME, I MADE A CUP of white hot chocolate and sat in my room, sipping it, not even wanting to seek the company of my aunt. Misery was once again consuming me, and I couldn’t find the effort to lift myself out of it.

My phone rang several times before it brought me back to reality. A new, bleak reality I’d created for myself.

I pulled it from my bag. ‘Hello?’

‘Ms Heather Nicholls?’

‘Yes, that’s me.’

‘Excellent. This is the airline here. We have good news for you. Your luggage turned up eventually. We’ve had it redirected from Anchorage, Alaska, and it will arrive in London Heathrow tomorrow morning. You may come and pick it up at the lost luggage desk in Terminal Four after nine o’clock.’

I was stunned.

‘Ms Nicholls?’

‘Th—thank you,’ I stammered, barely able to believe what I’d heard. ‘I’ll pick it up after I finish work tomorrow, in the early evening.’

‘That will be fine. Good day.’ The airline representative rang off.

I shook my head. I’d already bought all the stuff I needed to replace what I’d lost. Now I’d have extra. Twice as much stuff and nowhere to live, if Aunt Ruth forced me out.

Whatever next?

My phone rang again. Damned airline. Now they’ll tell me they sent my bags to London in Canada instead of London in the UK.

But it wasn’t the airline this time. It was Terry.

‘I’m here in Birmingham,’ he said. The optimism in his voice shone through. He truly believed he was going to meet me and take me back to New Zealand with him. My conscience almost twinged about disappointing him.

Almost.

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