She bowed her head. “My brother...he...he...” She smashed fists into her eyes, forcing herself to continue. “He loved them as much as I do. Don’t spread lies when you don’t know what happened.”
Her grandmother gathered her in a hug, her face softening with shared grief. Her eyes met mine. “I’m sorry. To both of you.”
Estelle nodded curtly. “I understand.”
“I appreciate you looking after my son’s children.”
“I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Estelle looked at Pippa. “I love her like I love my own daughter. She’ll always have a place with us.”
Grandmother Evermore smiled sadly. “That’s very nice to hear. Likewise, my home is always open to you.” Her gaze flickered to me. “Again, both of you.”
Biting her lower lip, she hesitated before blurting. “Are we related, child?” Coming closer to Estelle, she added, “You have my husband’s last name, yet I wasn’t aware we had any relatives in Australia.”
Estelle ran her fingers through Coco’s blonde ringlets. “No, I don’t believe so. Just one of those quirky happenstances.”
Joanna Evermore closed the final distance, stopping by me. “May I?”
I froze.
May she what?
Before I could reply, her bony arms wrapped around me. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. My son would be proud knowing you loved his children as much as he did.”
Letting me go, she gathered Estelle in the same treatment with a kiss on her cheek for good measure. “And you. I’m ever so grateful.”
Estelle hugged her back when I had not. “I want you to know Duncan and Amelia were given a graceful send-off. We thought of them often, and they’re free from their tragic end.”
Tears welled in the old lady’s overly powdered face. She would’ve been a handsome woman. Now, she was wrinkles and worry. “Thank you. One day, I want to hear the story of what happened. But today isn’t that day.”
Turning to Pippa, she opened her arms. “Today is the day I rejoice having one family member return.”
Estelle sniffed as Pippa burrowed into her grandmother. “Oh, Nana, I wished you’d been there. But I have Mummy’s bracelet and Daddy’s watch. And their wedding rings.”
Joanna met my gaze again. “You kept them?”
“For Pip and Conner.” I flinched, screwing up in just a few words. Conner no longer needed such trivial things. “For you. For family.”
“You are family, G.” Pippa smiled shyly. “Always.”
The rage holding up my spine siphoned away leaving me hollow and hurting. “And you, Pippi. Forever.”
Pippa came to me. I dropped to one knee to embrace her completely. Her torso bent over my shoulder as we glued tight, tight, tight together.
Estelle came to join us.
Because we knew.
This wasn’t just a normal hug.
This was goodbye.
The man in charge of this God-awful meeting cleared his throat, breaking the spell. Pippa wiped away her tears, backing into her nana.
I nodded as if it made perfect sense. We were her naturally appointed guardians, but we were also awful memories. She loved us, but whenever she looked at us, she saw Conner, our island, pain and suffering and death.
No young kid should have to see that over and over again.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her but the man interrupted my sadness. “I’m sorry, I’ve been remiss in introducing ourselves. I’m Alexander Jones and this is Daphne Moore. We’re here to make your immersion back into our great city as easy as possible.”
The tone of the meeting changed.
However, instead of sitting, Estelle and I remained standing, poised as if any second Pippa and her grandmother would disappear.
Coco kept her blue-green gaze locked on us, gripping the back of her chair with tiny fingers.
Daphne asked, “Do you have your passports by any chance? That would make the process a lot faster.”
My fists curled.
Seriously? They wanted to waste our time with these questions? Luckily, Estelle answered because I was about to lose it.
“No, they’re back on the island. Besides, they’re expired now.”
“Ah, never mind.” Alexander Jones looked at his clipboard. “You’ll be expected to undergo a full physical, despite the captain's doctor assuring us you’re all in good condition, considering the recent events.”
There was no question to that nonsense.
We remained quiet.
Daphne said, “Along with the medical, you’ll be expected to undergo a debrief on how you survived, what you cooked, how you sheltered, and why you chartered a helicopter in such bad weather. Search and rescue will discuss the parameters of their initial investigation when you disappeared and will have their own questions, I’m sure.” She smiled thinly. “Of course, such things can wait. This is just preliminary warning of what—”
“A warning?” I tensed. “Strange choice of words, don’t you think?”
Ms. Moore stiffened, glancing at her partner. “Um, well...”
“Not entirely, Mr. Oak. I’m afraid we do have a mixture of good and bad news.”
Of course, they did.
It would’ve been too much to expect a kind welcome. Everything had to be so hard when dealing with bureaucrats and red tape.
I crossed my arms, standing over Estelle and Coconut, preparing to protect them from whatever verbal stupidity we’d be subjected to.