Page 85 of The Player in New Zealand
I heard another announcement in the background and Iris interrupted my thoughts. “Okay, babe, that’s my flight. Gotta run.”
“Message me when you find Rico so I know you’re safe.”
“Will do. But then don’t expect to hear from me for a week. I’ll be on vacay! Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I shook my head after hanging up the phone. Look at us Bailey girls, out on adventures beyond anything we’d ever imagined. Who would have thought?
* * *
It tookme two days to convince myself that Iris was right, that I belonged in Wellington with Tane. I gave my two weeks’ notice at McGraves’, but it ended up being a four-day notice. Auckland was flush with people needing jobs in the off-season, so my shifts were quickly picked up by everyone else.
And I splurged. I booked a flight from Auckland to Wellington. Monday morning I said my goodbyes to the friends I’d collected in Auckland—basically the hostel staff and Meino—and took an Uber to the airport.
If my sister could take a break from everything causing stress in her life, I could too. And while I was definitely going to pay her back, it helped knowing that she was with someone who would help her out just as I would.
My flight was quick and I took the bus to Haft & Hops. Tane called once, but I ignored it. I’d see him soon, and this was better in person.
By the time I was walking through the front door, it was mid-afternoon. A few customers were in the main room and one of the servers, Ash, was behind the bar, fiddling with her phone.
“Hey, Ash,” I called as I walked past, dragging my luggage behind me.
“Hey, cuz,” she said as I typed in the code for Tane’s door. I collapsed the suitcase’s handle and hoisted it up to climb the stairs. When I hit the top, I knocked and opened the door. “Tane! You home?”
I stepped into the room and froze. The bed wasn’t just unmade—it was stripped of bedding. The closet door was open, a few boxes were stacked to the side, but otherwise the room was empty. Personal effects were gone, counters bare, rugby memorabilia missing.
“No way,” Nina said from the open doorway, her mouth gaping open.
“Nina? Where’s Tane?” My brow furrowed in concern. I didn’t understand what was happening here.
Nina didn’t help when she burst out laughing. “Oh. My. God. I thought this only happened in the movies. What are you doing here?”
“Tane offered me a place to stay if I ever needed one. And... well, I don’t need it. But I want to be here instead.”
Nina didn’t say anything, and instead brought up her phone and pressed some buttons without breaking eye contact with me. I heard the phone ring, and Tane cut in. Nina held the phone in front of her: a video call.
“Nina? I’m just getting back to Mom’s. I couldn’t find her. I went by McGraves’ and they said Claire quit. She’s not at the hostel, either, so it’s like she’s disappeared, and then she didn’t answer my call. What if something happened to her?” Tane’s voice was edged in panic and my stomach plummeted. He was in Auckland.
“Bro,” Nina said, turning around so I was in the shot. “Claire’s here.”
Tane’s shocked face took up the entire screen as he leaned in and squinted. “Claire, what are you doing there?”
I gestured down to the rolling suitcase at my feet. “I packed up all my stuff and came to find you.”
Shock and awe passed over Tane’s face for a moment, but then he turned away and I heard the click of a car door opening. The phone bounced around until Tane held it up at arm’s length, showing me his shoulders, chest, and the bed of his truck full of boxes and strapped-down items. And a broad, happy smile. “I packed up all my stuff and came to find you. I was going to stay with my mum until we sorted something else out.”
“Oh my God,” I said, and laughed, pressing my hands to my flushing cheeks.
Nina shook her head, exasperated. “You two are so cute, it’s annoying. Tane, call Claire. Claire, answer your phone. I’m going back to the bar.”
Nina closed the door behind her and while her footsteps were still echoing down the stairwell, my phone rang.
“I hear my boyfriend’s an idiot,” I said into the phone as I answered, my voice colored with affection.
“How’s that?”
“He gave up this sweet apartment above the bar he owns to move across a very small country for some American girl.”
