Page 102 of Beautifully Wild

“I never felt unsafe. In fact, the people were some of the kindest I’ve ever met. The media make things out to be worse than they are.”

“Right.” He laughs sarcastically. “Like all the protests and troops in Caracas are a façade, and the warnings not to travel there should beignored.”

“No. We avoided Caracas for that reason. I’m saying other parts of the country are suffering when they rely on tourism. It’s not unsafe in all areas.”

“And where’s that, Eden?”

“We saw some beautiful photos in Canaima,” Faith interjects.

“Yes,” Mum agrees. “Here, I’ll show you.” She swipes my phone and holds it in front of Dad’s face. “Oops, I’m sorry I got out of it.” She presses away. “Oh, what are these?”

Faith’s eyes round before she looks past Mum’s shoulder with an expression indicating I should panic. I reach for my phone, only Dad takes it before I get the chance.

“Dad, I think you should give Eden back her phone,” Faith says politely.

Dad swipes a couple of times.

There were several images of Ulara and the people I kept in a separate album. The memories were for me and are not intended to be shared.

Dad’s expression falters. Deep lines ingrain his forehead. He slides my phone to me without uttering a single word. He drags his hands over his cheeks to the back of his neck. “I’ve seen enough.”

“Enough of what, Dad? To judge me?” I rasp.

He pushes his half-full red wine glass away. “Grace, I’d like to go.”

My mother drinks her sparkling water and stands.

“Please don’t,” I croak. “I don’t want the night to end like this. I’m not a bad person. I’m not sure why you’re so upset.”

“Let it go, Eden,” Mum says gently. She gives me a nod in understanding, and I hope it means she’ll explain what just happened when we’re alone.

“Eden, I know you’re not a bad person. But there is much you don’t know about our family, and you went against my wishes when I asked you specifically to stay out of the jungle. Those photos were not taken on a tour.” Dad stands without looking at me.

“No, but—”

“I’ve been up since four this morning, and it’s been a long couple of weeks in Sydney. I’ll talk to you about this later. Thanks for a lovely meal, Faith. I’ll see you all on the weekend.”

Faith stands and walks my parents to the door while I lean my face into the palm of my hands. Why is he so hung up on the jungle?

“Are you okay,” Jake whispers. “Can I get you a glass of water? A full bottle of shiraz?”

My hands fall from my face, and I chuckle. I forgot Jake was even sitting at the end of the table. “Sorry you had to witness that.”

He looks up as Faith enters the room.

“That wasinteresting.” Faith drags a chair and sits beside me. She pats my back in a calming way like she would Seb when putting him to sleep.

“As much as I want to stay and listen because dinner parties with your family are always much more interesting than mine…” Jake says. “I’ll leave you two girls to talk alone.”

“I know she’ll tell you everything, anyway.”

“Yeah.” He grins at me and walks past patting my head. “Night.” He kisses Faith on the top of her head. “I’ll check on Seb and then head to bed.”

“Night, babe.” She turns to me. “You want to explain what those pictures were?”

I sigh. I need to talk to someone without divulging all the secrets of Ulara. “It’s where Samuel works as a volunteer… sometimes.” I go on to tell her about my experience helping in another community alongside a doctor and see it as a future job for me.

“Actually… there’s more to it.” I meet her gaze and wait a moment.

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