Heart of The Tree - 12. Part II - Where is The Heart? Chapter 10

Vince stood outside The Treasure Chest, his heart pounding and his mind racing. He hadn’t expected his friends to figure out his secret, and he was in a state of panic while he tried to work out what to do.

He knew enough to be certain he couldn’t stay in town. He was sure his friends wouldn’t be able to keep the news private. They wanted The Tree fixed, and Vince didn’t think they cared if his life was ruined in the process. He felt that Mark had pretty well said it out loud, and Rhys had made it clear by outing him in the first place. To them, Vince and his secret weren’t important.

Hands on his head, eyes looking around wildly, he realised he had to leave. He didn’t know where he would go; he just had to get out of town and not come back.

His panic evolved into a state of increasing anger as he realised the consequences of what had happened, of what Rhys had made happen. Vince felt that his brother Warren had abandoned the family, and now he was being forced to do the same. His dad wouldn’t be able to cope by himself, so they would be forced to sell the farm. Vince loved that place, but he couldn’t see how he could live there with everyone knowing about him.

His thoughts were arrested and his stomach leapt towards his mouth as he overheard the word “gay” from behind him. Spinning quickly and dropping his fists into a defensive position, he saw two women leaning over a pram.

“... lovely name. Not too common, nowadays, but I still think the old names are worth considering. Did you come up with it by yourself, or is she named after someone in your family?”

“We named her after Lachlan’s grandmother. She passed away a year ago, and we both felt it was fitting to bring the name back.”

Dropping his arms back into a natural pose and standing back upright, Vince hoped no one had noticed him. Looking past the women, he saw the supermarket. No matter what he did, he would need supplies. He jogged back to his ute. He had to work on the assumption that he didn’t have a lot of time before the news spread. He might only have one chance to buy things before it was too late.

As he went, options of what to do began to appear. He smiled harshly as he thought of a way to extract a small amount of revenge on Rhys. He faltered, though, as he reached his vehicle.

“Why did Padma ask that last question? And what’s the answer?” he muttered to himself.

Still pondering, with a new emotion warring against the anger, Vince got into the ute, prepared to do what he expected would be his last shopping trip in Mourton.

* * *

Rhys sat on his bike, his mind running in circles. In a few minutes, he would be facing Vince’s mum, and he didn’t know what to do. Vince had disappeared as a consequence of Rhys’s actions, and he was wondering what he was going to tell Mrs. Aster. He had already caused problems for Vince by outing him, and now he had to decide whether to tell her that her son is gay, or to try to keep that a secret.

Rhys had summoned his friends out of cowardice as much as anything else. He didn’t feel that he could face Mrs. Aster by himself, but he also wanted them there in case there were any clues as to where Vince was going.

The possibility that he would lose his job because of his precipitous exit crossed his mind, but he didn’t think his boss would be that unreasonable. Work just hadn’t seemed important once he’d received the call from Vince’s mum. If he ended up unemployed, then that would be the price he’d have to pay. The way he was feeling, he thought he probably deserved it.

“Did the note say why he’d gone?” Mia asked.

Rhys shook his head. “She didn’t say, but I don’t think it did. We need to decide what we’re going to tell her.” He slammed a fist down on the handlebar of his bike. “Shit! How could I have fucked things up so badly?”

“You didn’t know. You thought you were doing the right thing. It’s not your fault, Rhys,” Mia said.

Rhys shook his head. He felt that it wasn’t just that day, but all the years of jokes and snide comments before then that had driven his friend away.

The rough sound of an engine that had seen better days made him look down the road. “Here comes Bobby,” he said, though Mark was already staring in that direction.

They all waited for the old Corolla to pull up on the other side of Mark’s car. Bobby left the engine running, but clambered out and looked over the top of both cars at Rhys. Karen and Padma wound down their windows to peer out.

“What’s going on?” Bobby asked.

Rhys filled them in. It didn’t take long.

“Now, do we tell her why Vince has run away? After what I did, I’m not sure it’ll be a good idea,” Rhys said, his gaze wandering in the direction of the distant house.

“Play it by ear. We don’t know what he’s written in that note, so why make more problems if we don’t need to?” Mia said.

“He could be back in a couple of hours, after he’s calmed down,” Mark said. “There’s no need to rush into details. We can tell her once we know more about what’s going on.”

Bobby shook his head. “This is too serious. I think we should tell her straight away.”

“I agree with Bobby, but I think we need to see what the note says, first. That could make all the difference,” Padma said.

Bobby nodded his head. “Yeah, you’re right. If the note indicates he’ll only be away for a short time, then there’s no need to say anything. He should be the one to tell them, not us.”

Rhys saw Mark and Mia exchange glances, and then Mark started chewing on his bottom lip.

“What is it, Mark?” Rhys asked.

Mark looked around nervously before turning his attention to Rhys. “I don’t think we should wait too long to say anything. If we decide to wait, it shouldn’t be for more than a couple of hours, and we should stay here until we know.”

“Why?” Karen asked.

Mark and Mia looked at each other again.

“Because I’m scared that the note might be just to put us off, and that Vince has got something else in mind,” Mark said.

“What do you mean?” Rhys asked, becoming anxious as he picked up on the uneasy vibes from Mark and Mia. “You said to wait, just a few seconds ago.”

“Wait, but not too long. When I got your SMS, my first thought was that you were going to tell us that Vince had tried to kill himself.”

Rhys went white at the thought. Without saying another word, he flicked the visor of his helmet closed and kicked his bike into life. Not bothering to wait for the others, he roared down the driveway towards Vince’s house.

Rhys pulled up under a tree and took a moment to try to calm down. He didn’t want to appear as if he was panicking, though that’s how he was feeling. He took off his helmet and jacket and left them on his motorbike. The two cars had arrived by the time he had finished. The others were all getting out when Vince’s mother rushed out of the house.

“Rhys! What’s going on? Where’s Vince?”

“Hi, Mrs. Aster,” Rhys said. His smile felt false, and he hoped that wasn’t too obvious. He thought that Mrs. Aster appeared concerned, but not distressed. He didn’t want to be the one to push her over that line, but he had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to have a choice.

“I’m not sure where he is, but I think I know what’s going on. Why don’t we all go inside, out of the sun?”

Mrs. Aster seemed to gather herself and glanced around the assembled group. A frown caused her eyes to narrow, making it appear to Rhys that she had already worked out there was trouble ahead.

“Come on in, everyone. I’m sorry, but I’ve been in a state since I got Vince’s note. I’m just not thinking clearly.”

The evaporative cooling made the house noticeably cooler than the outside, but it was the icy expression on Mr. Aster’s face that sent a shiver down Rhys’s spine. Vince’s father was sitting at the kitchen table with a piece of paper in his hand. The glare he threw at Rhys made the young man take an involuntary step backwards, causing him to collide with Mark, who had been following him.

“What did you make him do?” Mr. Aster asked, almost spitting the question at Rhys.

Rhys stepped to the side to let the others in, but he kept his attention on the threat that was in front of him. There had obviously been no attempt to keep the menace from the question that had been thrown at him. He was just glad Vince’s dad had decided to talk first, and was hopefully leaving any violence until later – much later.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, sir. Vince and I had some words earlier, but I didn’t make him do anything.”

Mr. Aster slammed the piece of paper onto the table. “Then explain this!”

Cautiously, eyes on the angry parent, Rhys stepped forward. He reached over and picked up the piece of paper, which appeared to have been torn from a notebook.

Mum/Dad,

I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. Something has happened and I have to leave town. I don’t think I’ll be able to come back. You can get the details from Rhys. I just want to say that I love both of you and I hope you’ll still love me.

Vince

Mark was reading over his shoulder, so when Rhys finished, he handed the note to Mia. He knew he no longer had a choice. He was going to have to tell Vince’s parents, and he suspected that Vince had deliberately set that up. He saw that Mrs. Aster was standing by the kitchen sink, wringing her hands.

“Can we all sit down, please? We’ve got something important to tell you,” Rhys said.

“I’ll go get some more chairs,” Mrs. Aster said.

“I’ll get them,” Bobby said. “You sit down and leave it to me.”

Kirstie Aster’s stress was revealed by her lack of argument. Normally, she tried to be a good hostess, but she just collapsed into the nearest chair. Mark stood by the door, waiting for Bobby to return, while everyone else took a seat.

“Why did you all come? Are all of you involved in whatever it is that Rhys has done to Vince?” Tony Aster asked.

Rhys winced at the suspiciousness in the question. He had no idea how it was going to work out, but in a few minutes’ time, Vince’s parents were going to learn something about their son that Rhys hoped they would be able to accept.

“Rhys told us that Vince had disappeared, and we all wanted to come to help,” Mia said.

Rhys flicked Mia a thankful glance. He knew she was stretching the truth, but the intention was right.

“Do you know why he ran off, Mia?” Mrs. Aster asked, leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table. Her concern for the younger of her two sons was obvious to all.

“Yes, Mrs. Aster, but I think you should get the story from Rhys,” Mia said.

Rhys was momentarily annoyed that Mia had shifted the responsibility back to him, but then he realised he couldn’t delegate the job to anyone. It was he who had outed Vince and set the chain of events in motion, and it was up to him to start fixing it.

“We’re waiting,” Mr. Aster said, crossing his arms and glaring across the table.

There was a momentary pause as Bobby returned with a pair of chairs for himself and Mark. Rhys took the time to try to sort out how to say what he needed to say.

“Well?” Mr. Aster said.

“Mr. Aster, Mrs. Aster, Vince has run away because he thought I was going to tell people what I’d just found out about him.”

Rhys paused, waiting to see how Vince’s parents were reacting. Mr. Aster sat there with no change in his expression.

“What did you find out?” Mrs. Aster asked.

Rhys took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Vince’s mum, only keeping half an eye on her husband.

“None of us realised before today, and it doesn’t make any difference to any of us, but we just found out, and it was only by accident, that... that...”

“What?” Mr. Aster asked, his deep voice sounding ominous as Rhys’s courage started to fade.

“Vince is gay,” Rhys said, stiffening as he waited for an explosive response.

When neither parent reacted immediately, he added, “He’s a homosexual, but it doesn’t matter to any of us. He’s still our friend. I was the one to work it out, but I didn’t mean to hurt him, and he said he didn’t want people to know, and then he ran off, and we thought it was...”

“Shut up.”

Rhys slammed his mouth closed at Mr. Aster’s blunt order. He turned to look at the older gentleman and found him staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

“Are you sure?” Mrs. Aster asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Vince confirmed it before he left,” Mia said.

“So, our son is a poofter,” Mr. Aster said slowly.

“He’s still the same person he was before. He’s just a bit different to the rest of us, that’s all,” Rhys said quickly, trying to counteract whatever negative thoughts Vince’s father was having.

Mr. Aster turned his attention to Rhys. He no longer seemed angry, but Rhys couldn’t read his expression.

“I’m going to have to think about this, but do you have any idea where he is?”

Rhys took it as a positive sign that Vince’s dad still wanted to find his son.

“Sorry, sir, we don’t. We were hoping to find a clue here to where he went.”

“What did he take?” Bobby asked.

“Clothes and a backpack. I don’t know what else,” Mrs. Aster said, rising to her feet. “Let’s go see what else is missing.”

Everyone was starting to stand when Mr. Aster said, “Wait!”

They all looked at him. Mr. Aster kept his attention on Rhys, though not appearing as intimidating as he had earlier.

“You said that Vince thought you were going to tell everyone. Why did he think that?”

Rhys broke eye contact and glanced at his friends. He wondered whether he should say anything about Vince being the new Heart.

“Because of how we worked out he’s gay,” Bobby said, taking the decision away from Rhys.

Mr. Aster raised an eyebrow at Bobby, encouraging him to continue. Bobby straightened and stared down at Vince’s dad. Despite his size, he managed to convey an impression of sorrow and care.

“You know how we’ve been searching for the new Heart of The Tree, don’t you?”

Mr. Aster nodded, and his action was echoed by his wife.

“Rhys worked out that it isn’t a girl, but a gay guy, and that it’s Vince.”

“Vince is The Heart?”

The disbelief in Mr. Aster’s voice was clear to all of them. Rhys felt he understood. It was a big shock to find out that his son’s gay, and then to find he’s the one that half the town has been looking for.

“Please, not Vince. Please don’t let it be him!” Tony Aster whispered. He was wide-eyed as he turned to look at his wife.

Rhys was surprised. The pleading from Vince’s dad was unexpected. It hadn’t been addressed to anyone in particular, but to the world in general. He wondered why, but was afraid to ask. A glance to the side showed a pale Mrs. Aster, hands over her mouth, staring back at her husband.

“My boy, please, not my boy.” Kirstie Aster’s pained whisper was heard by all.

Mr. Aster stood up abruptly. He stepped over and put a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

“We’ll find him before it’s too late, hon. Don’t worry.”

He cast a stern stare around the room. “Rhys, Bobby, Mark, come with me. We’ll see if we can work out what he’s taken from outside. The rest of you do the same in his room. We need to get to him as quick as we can.”

“What do you mean?” Mark asked, as they followed the older man out of the house.

“If Vince is The Heart of The Tree, and he’s upset enough to run away, then he’s in danger. We have to find him before he does something stupid.”

They jogged across the yard and into the stable complex.

“What are we going to be looking for?” Bobby asked. “I’m not sure how I’ll know if something is missing.”

A short, sharp bark drew their attention to a corner where a couple of cupboards stood, their doors ajar. Patches was standing in front of the cupboards, wagging her tail frantically.

“Good girl!” Mr. Aster said as he stepped forward and gave the blue heeler a scratch behind the ears.

“It looks like Vince has been through the camping gear. Patches thinks we’re all going, too, and wants to come along. Why don’t you tell me what’s still there, and I’ll work out what he’s taken.”

He looked around the stables and then headed back outside. “I’ve just thought of something. I’ll be back soon. Come on, girl!”

Patches chased after him, leaving the three guys looking at each other.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “Come on. We’d better get started.”

The contents of the cupboards were a mess. A number of items had been tossed out and were lying on the concrete slab that floored that part of the stable complex. By looking at where the dust was and was not, Rhys realised that a lot of things had been recently moved, and it was obvious a number of items were missing.

They were still cataloguing the contents when Mr. Aster returned, Patches at his heels.

“That’s a relief. All the guns are still in the house. What have you boys found so far?”

The guys looked up from what they were doing.

“Guns?” Rhys asked.

Rhys remembered Mark’s fear. It appeared that Vince’s dad had the same worry, but without the benefit of having seen Vince’s reactions when he was outed.

“What do you boys know about what being The Heart really means?”

Mr. Aster sat down on the edge of a crate. A slight shudder ran through his body as the boys took a couple of steps towards him to make it easier to talk. Patches sat at Tony’s feet, giving out a quizzical whimper.

“Do you mean about being in despair, thinking they’ll never find love?” Bobby asked.

Mr. Aster nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s right, but I don’t think you understand the consequences.

“Kirstie’s mum, Vince’s grandmother, told her stories about the last time, and she passed them on to me. Neither of us expected it’d happened again, though. I’ve got something to say, but you’ve got to promise never to tell anyone else, not even your other friends.”

“Sure, I promise,” Rhys said, and the other two expressed similar sentiments.

“There were only two people who knew everything about the last time. I don’t think Aunt Cynthia has said anything to anyone else, but Kirstie’s mum was close to Aunt Cynthia and got the full story. She told Kirstie, and Kirstie told me. Things are a lot more serious than they appear, and it’s got nothing to do with The Tree. If Vince is like Aunt Cynthia was before she met her husband, then we need to get to him and keep an eye on him. Not many people know, but she tried to kill herself only months before her future husband showed up. I’m afraid Vince might try the same.”

“I thought that, too,” Mark said. “The big difference is that we think Vince has already met his partner, so I’m hoping it’s enough to stop him.”

Mr. Aster straightened and stared at Mark for a moment. Forehead creased from thought, he dropped his gaze to the dog at his feet. She responded by jumping up and putting her paws on his knees. He gently pushed her down and then turned to look again at Mark.

“Matt’s gay?”

Rhys nodded his head, surprised at how quickly he had worked that out. “We think so. That’s what we told Vince. What made you think of Matt?”

“I’m not dumb. I’d guessed Matt’s role in the legend, as the partner of the new Heart, soon after he arrived, but I hadn’t realised The Heart would be a guy, or that Matt was coming around to our place to see Vince. It just might make the difference. Let’s hope so, but just in case, what’ve you found?”

The guys ran through a list of what was still there. When they had finished, Mr. Aster smiled, though not joyfully.

“That’s a good sign. He’s taken a tent, cooking gear and other related stuff. It sounds like he’s planning on camping out somewhere.”

He paused, and then moved to another section of the shed. Patches followed him and gave another joyful bark. Opening a cupboard, he peered inside. He turned back to the boys, visibly relieved.

“Some of the fishing gear is gone, too...” His voice drifted off as he stared at the wall behind the guys where the hammers, drills, brushcutters and other tools of the farming trade were stored. He rushed past them and started to search furiously.

“What are you looking for?” Mark asked, moving up to offer assistance.

“The chainsaw’s missing. Vince’s always told me that I’d cut off a leg and bleed to death if I wasn’t careful. Why would he take the chainsaw?”

* * *

The girls got as far as Vince’s room, but then Mrs. Aster dropped onto the bed and put her head in her hands. They could see her body shaking to the accompaniment of muffled sobbing.

Padma joined her on her left, while Mia sat on the right. Each girl put an arm around the older woman. Karen stood in the doorway, uncertain as to what to do.

Kirstie Aster lifted her head. “Where’s my boy gone?”

Mia looked at the others, wondering what to say. Padma caught Mia’s attention and smiled.

“We’ll find him, Mrs. Aster. We’re all going to go looking for him.”

“How could he go? Does he think we don’t love him?”

Mia gave her a gentle squeeze. “He’s just not thinking right. I’m sure once he’s had a chance to calm down, he’ll be back.”

A movement in the doorway caught Mia’s attention. Karen had raised her right hand to her face and was tapping her lips lightly with her forefinger. Mia recognised the signs that Karen was thinking hard.

“I’ve got an idea of where he might’ve gone. Who’s got Matt’s number?”

Mia felt a surge of hope. It was obvious in hindsight that Vince might head off to see Matt, especially after learning that Matt was probably gay. Mrs. Aster looked up, eyes red but with a hopeful expression on her face.

“I don’t have it. Who did he give it to?” Mia asked.

There was short pause, broken by Padma. “He gave it to Vince.”

Mrs. Aster’s body slumped.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try directory assistance. If that doesn’t work, I’ll check the white pages on the Internet,” Karen said, pulling out her phone.

They watched in silence as Karen pushed some buttons and lifted the phone to her ear. She lowered it and pushed another button before returning it her ear. She spoke a few times, giving Matt’s name, and then scowled as she punched the button to hang up.

“Sorry, no luck. The automated directory didn’t find him. I’m going to have to use the Internet. Where’s your computer?”

A few minutes later, Karen was working away. Mrs. Aster drew the other two away.

“While she does that, we need to find out what Vince has taken. If he’s not with Matt, maybe there’s a clue as to where he’s gone.”

Mia was glad that Vince’s mother had pushed her worries aside, at least for the moment.

Half an hour later, they were all back in the kitchen, discussing what they had learnt, and what the next step would be. While keeping most of his attention on what was being said, Mr. Aster was holding both of his wife’s hands. She didn’t appear to be listening, but just sat there, staring into space.

“Let’s go back over what we know,” Rhys said, pacing around the room. “It looks like he’s set himself up for a camping trip, from the gear he’s taken and the clothes that are missing. He’s taken some food, but not a lot, and what he’s taken won’t keep for very long.”

“With everything else he’s taken, that doesn’t make sense. He knows he can’t just live on fish, so either he’s going to get food from somewhere else, or all of that has been done to hide what he’s really doing,” Mark said.

Mia shivered. She didn’t want to think of the other possibility that Mark had discussed in the car.

“I couldn’t track down Matt’s number on the Internet, so someone needs to go to Dubbo to see if they can find Matt at the uni. From what I found, there’s only a small amount of on-site accommodation, and I’m sure he said he lives at the uni. It’s still a possibility that Vince has gone to see him, and the stuff he took is just in case that doesn’t work out,” Karen said.

“I’ll go...” Mr. Aster said, but he was interrupted by his wife’s startled reaction.

“Don’t you go, too! I don’t want to lose both of you.”

“I’ll only be going to Dubbo to see if Vince is there. I’ll be back as soon as I can, Kirstie. It’ll be all right.”

“Please...”

“Why don’t I go?” Mark asked. “I’ll keep my phone with me and I’ll give you a call if I learn anything. You stay here, just in case Vince comes back.”

“Good idea,” Mia said, before anyone else could say anything. “I’ll go with him and you two stay here.”

“Are you sure?” Mr. Aster asked, clearly torn between staying with his wife and looking for his missing son.

“We don’t know if he’s gone to Dubbo, so it might be a wasted trip. You’re better off staying here,” Rhys said. “It’s no good going today, anyway. They won’t be able to find him while the uni is shut down for the weekend.”

“Good point,” Mia said, trying to reinforce the idea that Vince’s dad should stay behind.

Nodding his head, Mr. Aster conceded. He stared up at Rhys. “Can your dad help us?”

Rhys made a face. “I’m not sure. Vince is eighteen, so he’s allowed to leave if he wants to. I don’t think Dad can do anything officially, but he might help us as a favour.”

“There’s another problem with asking him, too,” Bobby said. “He’ll want to know why Vince has run away. What do we tell him?”

“The truth,” Mr. Aster said. “Ernest can be discreet when he needs to be. He won’t tell anyone that doesn’t need to know.”

“Do we ask him?” Rhys asked.

Mr. Aster looked at his distressed wife and then sighed. Turning to Rhys, he nodded.

Rhys pulled out his phone. “Dad? I need your help.”

Mia watched as Rhys rolled his eyes in response to the answer he received. Given his history, she guessed that Rhys’s dad was being sceptical.

“No, I’m serious. Can you come out to the Asters’ place as soon as you can? Please, it’s not a trick. We need your help. I’m putting Vince’s dad on. He’ll tell you I’m not joking.”

Rhys handed over his phone.

“Ernest? It’s Tony. Yes, it’s serious, but we need to keep it quiet.”

Everyone was silent as Mr. Aster concentrated on what Senior Sergeant Dresden was saying.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Look, it’ll be easier to explain once you’re here. Okay, we’ll see you soon.”

He handed the phone back to Rhys. “He said he’ll be here in about thirty minutes.” He stood up, leant over, and kissed his wife. “I’ve got one more phone call to make.”

She stared up at him. “Who are you going to call?”

“Warren. I’m going to ask him to come here early. He needs to know his brother is missing.”

* * *

Warren Aster was lying on the faded sofa in front of the TV, one foot hanging over the armrest, when the phone rang. After hitting the mute button on the remote, he reached across and picked up the cordless handset from the table nearby.

“Warren Aster.”

“Warren, it’s your dad.”

Warren rolled over from his slouched position and put his feet on the floor. The hint of a smile played across his lips. He spoke to either his dad or mum, or both, every couple of weeks, but he hadn’t done so that weekend.

“Dad! How are you? I didn’t expect a call since I’m going to be out to see you soon.”

“That’s what I’m ringing about. Can you come out here early?”

A frown appeared as Warren wondered at the unusual request. He was going to drive out to Mourton the following weekend, and then stay for a couple of weeks. He had been looking forward to Christmas and New Year’s at home after a long and stressful year at work. He wondered what difference a few days would make. Uneasy, he realised that his dad sounded tense.

“I can try, but I won’t know until tomorrow when I ask my boss. What’s going on?”

“Your brother’s missing.”

“He is? What’s happened?” Warren stood up and started pacing around the small apartment.

“I won’t go into details now, but something’s happened and Vince has run away. We don’t know where he is and we’re afraid he might do something stupid. Your mum and I need you here.”

Warren paused in front of a window. The noise of traffic on Balmain Road penetrated, but he didn’t hear it. His eyes were fixed on something sitting on the battered table by the window. It was a small bronze statue of a well-endowed Minotaur that Vince had given him for his birthday two years earlier. He had said it was to remind him of the bush while he lived in the city. It normally brought a smile to Warren’s face whenever he noticed it, but not that time.

“Do you think he might be headed this way?”

There was a faint crackling on the line before his dad responded. “I don’t know. He might be.”

Warren turned and strode to his bedroom. “I’ll ring my boss now and see what I can do. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Just in case he’s on his way here, I’ll let my next-door neighbour know. She’ll keep an eye out for him.”

“Thanks, son. We’ll see you when you get here.”

“Bye, Dad. Give my love to Mum.”

“I will.”

Warren heard both the relief and the concern in his dad’s voice before the line disconnected. His dad almost never asked for help. Warren felt it was like pulling teeth at times, finding out when he needed something done.

Warren retrieved his mobile from his bedside table and looked up his boss’s number from the address book. He had put in a solid year’s effort and he knew Brett was happy with him, but there were a number of functions on during the coming week that he was expected to attend. Marketing was about having a presence, and being absent from major social events didn’t help.

“Hi, Sean here.”

“G’day, Sean. Is Brett there?”

“Sure, I’ll just get him. Who’s calling?”

“It’s Warren Aster from work. Thanks, Sean.”

“No problems, mate. I’ll go get him now.”

Warren looked around, trying to determine what he would have to pack. He normally left those sorts of things until the last moment; it was only at work that he tried to plan things out carefully.

“Hi, Warren! What’s up?”

“G’day Brett. Look, I know it’s really short notice, but I’ve got to go back home to my parents’ place early. Something’s come up and they need me there. Can I get out of things this week?”

“Family problems?”

“Yeah.”

Warren shut his mouth and didn’t pass on the details. His boss didn’t really need to know, and Warren didn’t know that much in the first place.

“What did you have on this week? If we can get someone else to cover them, then I don’t see why not.”

“I’ve got the McCalley’s function and some planning meetings for next year’s Cytech conference. There’s also the company party on Friday night. The rest can wait until I’m back next year.”

Warren crossed his fingers as he waited for the answer.

“Okay. Trev can do the function and we’ll postpone the Cytech stuff. You don’t need to be at the party on Friday. Can you come in tomorrow to hand things over to Trev, or do you need to go now?”

Warren sighed with relief. “No, I can come in, but can I leave at lunchtime? It’s an eight-hour drive to get home. I’d like to get there tomorrow night, if I can.”

“I think that’ll work, but we’ll have to see. I’m sure Trev will do fine, even if he has to wing some of it. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Warren smiled. Brett was one really cool boss, he thought. “No, that’s enough. I just need to get home as soon as I can, that’s all.”

“Okay. January’s usually pretty quiet, so if you need to stay longer, just give me a call.”

“Thanks, Brett. I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”

A chuckle came down the line. “No need. You’ve put in a good year. Now go and start packing. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks!”

Warren pulled out a battered suitcase and started tossing in clothes. He should’ve expected it, but he was startled when he uncovered the present he had bought Vince for Christmas. He picked it up and packed it carefully in the middle of the case, using his clothes as padding. He wondered if he would get to see his little brother open it.