Page 78 of The Summer Island Swap
‘I can’t stop thinking about him. It’s torture – in a good way. And I don’t even mind the fact that he’s never read aHarry Potterbook or watched a Marvel comic movie.’
We both grinned.
‘I like it when he teases me about my South German accent. Love is weird, right?’
I wasn’t sure. I realised now I’d never had it with Callum.
‘I’ll miss our little chats. You see… I’m going home tomorrow, all being well. I’ve got to get a new job. I can’t put it off any longer. I hope you’ll send me updates about everything, on Facebook.’
‘You’ve lost your old one?’ His face fell. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Although I’m not sure how I’ll manage without you.’
‘Really?’ I glanced over at Benedikt and then looked back at Jonas, raising an eyebrow.
He shrugged and laughed.
‘You aren’t on your own anymore. Not that you need Benedikt’s support. You’ve fitted in here brilliantly all by yourself.’
‘You’ll visit me in Germany? Remember what we talked about? Me taking you for coffee and my favourite apple cake?’
‘Of course – as long as you keep your word and come to London. Don’t forget I promised you afternoon tea and a trip to Buckingham Palace.’ I playfully pulled the end of one of his dreadlocks. ‘Thanks, Jonas. I couldn’t have done this without you – my buddy for emptying the compost toilet. You kept me sane, knowing that I wasn’t the only one struggling.’
‘Same here,’ he said. ‘I’m proud of you, Sarah; proud of us both. I thought this place was hell on earth when we arrived, but now…’
‘It’s actually a little bit of heaven,’ I said softly.
He nodded.
I sat down with Amy and Helga to eat lunch – the dreaded fish soup. Except now that I was leaving it didn’t seem nearly so bad.
Who’d have thought I would ever miss this place?
But I would.
The apricot sunrises.
Dusky pink sunsets.
Dear, dear Chatty’s tail wrapped around my neck.
The fragrant frangipani flowers.
Volunteers’ camaraderie.
Jonas’s harmonica playing.
Even… well, no. I’d never miss the eight-legged shower companions.
Amy collected up our crockery and went ahead to visit the toilets before we left. I smiled my thanks at Malik as I collected our packed teas, barely hearing him say something about incoming cloud.
Tomorrow I’d return to England.
I shivered as I walked outside.
35
We took it in turns to carry a rucksack that held our food, bottles of water and a rug. I’d hesitated over whether to bring waterproofs. Malik had to be wrong. There were no signs of bad weather approaching. Sunlight still broke through the clouds and we hadn’t had a single drop of rain in three weeks. I doubted it was going to start now.
We passed the animal enclosures and headed up hill. The breeze became stronger and offered welcome relief from the afternoon heat that whilst cooler than normal, still made me yearn for a siesta after lunch. We passed the flame trees that only had a few flowers left now. I’d never cease to admire the delicate, fluffy blooms of the powder puff trees and felt quite sad this could be one of the last times I saw them. When we passed the cacao pods, I told Amy about my idea for chocolate production. She chuckled at first, thinking it was a joke.
