The Dilemma(22)

I turn it around in my mind. All I want is to get to Marnie, and waiting twenty-four hours seems impossible. And what if Marnie is no longer there by the time I arrive, but has already been put on another flight? I try to think logically. If there aren’t any flights into Cairo today, there aren’t likely to be any out, so Marnie won’t be going anywhere. And I know Marnie, she’ll be too frightened to get on a plane now. She’s only nineteen, she’s too young for this. All she’ll want is to speak to me and Liv, and to know that someone is coming to get her.

‘Tomorrow, then,’ I tell the travel agent.

‘There’s a flight leaving from London Heathrow at ten-thirty,’ she says. ‘It may be subject to delays,’ she adds hesitantly.

‘I’ll take it.’

‘When would you like to come back?’

Her question throws me. I have no idea what will happen when I get there. If they put Marnie on a flight to London, I’ll need to be on the same flight as her, but I can’t know which one they’ll put her on. And what if we decide that the best thing is to forget about her coming over and go back to Hong Kong instead?

There are too many scenarios to consider. Sweat begins to pool under my arms, along my hairline. The travel agent is staring at me. Her eyes wide. Neither of us blink.

‘I’m not sure, so just a one-way ticket for now,’ I say.

She nods, checks her computer screen, then glances at me.

‘Will that be one ticket?’

I’m about to say yes when I realise that Livia will want to come with me. She’ll want to be there too. She’ll feel exactly as I do, desperate to see Marnie with her own eyes, to be with her. She won’t want to wait at home.

‘No, two tickets, please.’

She nods. ‘That will be five hundred and fourteen pounds for the two, flying with Luxor.’

‘That’s fine.’

‘Name?’

‘Sorry?’

‘The passengers’ names, for the flight.’

‘Oh – Olivia Harman and Adam Harman.’

‘Your flight gets into Cairo tomorrow at ten to five in the afternoon, local time.’

‘Thanks.’

I text Marnie.

Marnie, we know what’s happened, don’t worry, stay where you are, Mum and I are coming to get you. There aren’t any flights today so we’re leaving tomorrow morning and will arrive at Cairo Airport at 4.50 p.m. If you have to move, to a hotel or anywhere else, let us know. Call us as soon as you can. We love you.

‘Here you are.’ The travel agent goes over the flights with me then asks if I want her to print the tickets. I nod, and the printer beside her whirs. She slips the tickets into a blue wallet with the logo of the agency on the front.

‘Thank you,’ I say, pushing it into my jacket.

She smiles, and suddenly I want to tell her about Marnie, about how close she was to being on that flight. But she breaks eye contact and pulls out a card machine.

Without a word, I pay and leave.

Outside, I stop for a moment. My mobile has remained silent in my hand but I light up the screen, just in case. It’s 13.45, nearly two hours since the crash. There’s still no message from Marnie. I try calling again but I can’t get through. The message I sent from the travel agent’s is undelivered. How long are the networks going to be down for?

The walk back to the bike passes in a blur. I take my helmet from where I left it in the top case and get on my bike, the air cooler now. I should call Liv, but it would be better if I wait until we’re together. Then I can show her the flight times and she’ll be able to see for herself that Marnie can’t possibly have made the connection.

I stop. The party. I’d forgotten about the party. How the hell have I not even thought about the party? Maybe we should cancel it. I pause, thinking it through. Livia will be devastated if we do and really, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t go ahead, as long as we hear from Marnie, which we will.

Livia won’t be there when I get home, I realise, she’ll still be at the spa. For a moment, I think about phoning Kirin to find out exactly where they are so that I can go and tell Livia there. At least I’d have someone to share my anxiety with. But that’s selfish. It will ruin her time with her friends and the thought of her feeling like I do – I can’t do that to her, I can’t.

I check my phone again. No message, nothing. It’s now two o’clock.





Livia


Kirin stretches her body and sighs happily.

‘This weather is perfect,’ she murmurs.

‘It’s amazing, isn’t it? Thank you for this, Kiri, I’d never have done it myself.’

‘It’s based in selfishness because I love coming here.’ She digs in her bag for her phone and I take a quick look at her stomach. She’s right, there isn’t even the start of a bump.

I check on Jess, sitting in the shade, a book on her lap. She has her eyes closed and I watch her for a moment. She looks so frail that I have to turn away.

‘Oh no,’ Kirin says, sounding upset.

Jess and I both turn to look at her.

‘Is it one of the children?’ I ask, wondering if she’s had a message from Nelson.

She shakes her head. ‘There’s been a plane crash in Egypt. No survivors.’ She pulls a face. ‘There were 250 people on board, including the crew.’