The Empty Room

  To find out more about this book or

  to contact the author, please visit:

  www.vividpublishing.com.au/theemptyroom

  Copyright © 2018 Phillip Huhu

  ISBN: 978-1-925681-92-5

  Published by Vivid Publishing

  P.O. Box 948, Fremantle Western Australia 6959

  www.vividpublishing.com.au

  eBook conversion and distribution by Fontaine Publishing Group, Australia

  www.fontaine.com.au

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Dedication

  For Iva Linieta Harper. Gone too soon, but forever in our hearts. This book is in the memory of your bright eyes and the way you looked out into the world.

  Contents

  1. When the Surprises Ended

  2. Run Away

  3. Last Night’s Big Mistake

  4. Dinner with the In-laws

  5. The Heart-shaped Pinkie-ring

  6. Where Life Matters

  7. The Terrible Dawn

  8. Trip Planned

  9. The Turmoil Caused

  10. Pass the Bill

  11. When in Rome

  12. Dragged Through the Streets of Rome

  13. The Sixteenth Chapel

  14. The First Message

  15. Hannah in China

  16. The Last Train to Russia

  17. Amster-damage

  18. The Storm after the Calm

  19. Once We Danced, I Caught You in a Dream

  20. The Empty Room

  21. Just One Step Closer to the Edge

  22. The Flaw in the Plan

  23. The Phone Call

  1

  When the Surprises Ended

  We were sitting in the driveway of Devin’s place in Christchurch, where I’d been for the last few days, having a laugh and drinking on his boat. It wasn’t long till he bought up, what was happening with Anna.

  “Hey man, what are you gonna do?”

  We were both sitting on his boat pretending to fish, or otherwise acting like idiots.

  “Yeah not sure, sent it to Hannah, so she could possibly deal with.”

  “Ha, she’ll probably have you married by the time you get back, even with Cam having shafted her,” Devin joked, thinking it might be pretty funny to start laughing – though, by the look on my face, he thought better of it.

  “Yip, its messed up, bout as messed up as us catching at least one fish,” I retorted.

  “Yeah man, you’re not wrong. Sorry we couldn’t take it out today, but we’ve got beers – and I haven’t gotten this new leg sorted yet.”

  Shrugging and still smiling I asked, “Yeah, what’s the go there, when do you start physio?”

  “Already started bro. Just taking ages to get used to it.”

  “Well, let me know how you go man, I should be back in a few years. We could get this bloody boat wet and try and actually catch some fish,” I suggested, taking a sip of beer and trying not to laugh.

  “Yeah bro, be good to see you again,” Devin replied.

  “Yeah, I had to take a few extra days but good to see you as well bro.” “When do you head back?” Devin asked.

  “Later today. Audrey’s sent the plane, so going to head to the airport later tonight,” I replied.

  “Was wondering how you managed that one,” Devin queried. “Tell everyone I said hello, okay,” he added.

  “Why don’t you tell them yourself. Let me know when you’re able to move freely and we can meet up somewhere in the world,” I suggested.

  “Yeah bro, will do. I could use a reason for a trip away, aye,” Devin sighed.

  Devin wouldn’t say it, but he was struggling a bit with the loss of a few things he used to take for granted.

  “Mate, with all the stuff they’re working on, you should be sweet as,” I insisted.

  “So, you reckon I’ll ski and wakeboard again,” Devin muttered, slightly angrily.

  It didn’t take much to wind him up and I was having a little bit of fun with him.

  “Yeah man, if anyone can you can bro,” I insisted.

  “Well, I’ll see you again somewhere in the world bro, and I’ll look forward to it,” Devin declared.

  “Ha, good. So, we done here then?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Just need you to give me a hand on the toilet,” Devin whispered with a sad look on his face.

  “Piss off, there’s nothing wrong with your arms,” I replied, still laughing as we chucked the rods on the deck, got off the boat and went inside, following his brother who had gone to get us fish’n’chips.

  “Hey guys, it’s all set up on the table, go nuts,” Lewis explained, pointing to the dining table.

  “Thanks bro,” Devin answered, while he limped inside behind me.

  “Bout time you were useful bro,” I joked, as Lewis just laughed.

  “Hey man, you know Devin’s mate got me to tile his two bathrooms,” Lewis said.

  “Oh, nice one bro,” Devin said.

  “He knows you’re useless at tiling, aye?” I asked, as both Devin and I started laughing and making ourselves sandwiches from the bread, fish, and chips on the table.

  “Shot guys, this is awesome. What a great way to end my time here in New Zealand,” I said.

  Yeah, ah no worries man,” Lewis and Devin both said.

  “How was Cam’s funeral, man?” Devin asked, just as I took a large bite of my fish sandwich. All I could do was point to my mouth.

  “Way to ask a question – while I’m eating bro! Nah, it was really good. Terrible way to see everyone again, but I spoke with Cam’s olds and they were really relieved no one else from the old house was hurt. And they’re hoping you’re doing okay,” I said.

  “Yeah man, I’d like to talk to them at some point, aye,” Devin commented, staring into his sandwich.

  “Yeah man no worries. Looking forward to heading back to London, aye man. So much going on. I’ll grab this address as well, so I can send you a copy of the first book,” I suggested.

  “Yeah that’ll be good. Can’t wait to read it,” Devin agreed.

  As we munched away on our sandwiches his brother got up, “Hey, do you guys want another beer?” he asked.

  “Yeah bro, that’ll be good. Phil will have two,” Devin shouted.

  “Yeah sounds good,” I said.

  It was a good afternoon. We discussed Cam’s funeral a little more and chilled out and drank and laughed. I could see Devin had a story about that day, but I never asked him about it. Although I think he had a few things to get off his chest.

  “Hey Phil, how you getting to the airport?” Lewis asked, taking another sip of his beer.

  “Got a car picking me up, bro. It’ll take me straight there. No point in one of us not drinking.”

  “Yeah bro, good of you to come down,” Lewis replied.

  “Yeah, gonna head off in a few months to catch up with this clown again,” Devin laughed away to himself.

  “Yeah and by which time your jokes should be funnier as well bro,” I joked, while Lewis and I were pissing ourselves laughing.

  “Nah, all good. I’ve got a few more months of physio, but it’s something to look forward to,” Devin remarked.

  Lewis just nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah, after everything I’ve got to go back to, running away on a trip sounds like a bloody good idea. Got to help Susan’s mum in a couple of days to clean out their flat, which should be fun, and have to go over those emails – so I know what to do about Anna.”

  “Yeah, well, good luck man. I say just l
et it go and see how it all works out, she’s still a great girl,” Devin suggested.

  “Is that Anna, bro?” Lewis asked.

  “Yeah bro, her and Cam were together for a bit, sneaking around their work,” Devin said.

  “Oh well, who hasn’t done that before?” Lewis asked.

  As we all sat around laughing and drinking, the day was going by quickly, so I headed to their spare room to make sure I was all packed.

  “All good bro,” I remarked, when I walked back into the lounge. Making a straight line to the fridge to get another beer.

  “Hey Phil, there’s a flash-as car out the front,” Lewis remarked.

  Devin stood up to have a look as the guy got out and walked to the front door.

  “Oh man, this could be my ride.”

  “Oh well man, cheers for coming down, and keep me in the loop for that trip,” Devin said.

  “Yeah Devin, first call man. All the best with the physio bro, and I’ll talk to you soon – or in the next few months,” I replied, in the middle of shaking his hand.

  Before, turning around and shaking Lewis’s hand.

  “Later bro’s,” I said.

  “Yeah man have a safe trip, thanks for looking out for us in London, bro. I really appreciated it,” Lewis said.

  “Yeah bro, no worries. Wasn’t a problem, and I was happy to do it.” I grabbed my bag and headed to the door to meet the driver.

  “Later fella’s!” I yelled, as I walked outside.

  “Later bro!” they both yelled back.

  “Hey, you must be Phil,” the driver assumed.

  “Yeah man, how’s it going?” I asked.

  “Good, thanks. You’ve got a couple of others on the flight today but we’re dropping them off in Dubai, then it’s back to London,” the driver commented.

  “Yeah, no hurry, aye,” I shrugged.

  “Also, Audrey has left a package for you on the plane,” the driver replied.

  We both jumped into the car, after putting my stuff in the boot, and took the short twenty-minute drive to the airport.

  Getting out of the car, I spotted the plane, and the stewardess came over to grab my things,

  “Hey Phil, how’s it going tonight?” Kate, the stewardess, asked me.

  “Yeah, really good thanks. Where do I have to go to sort out the passport?” I asked.

  “Wow, so you remembered, just over there,” Kate replied, pointing to a couple of official-looking guys.

  “Ah, cool. Thanks. Won’t be long.”

  “Yeah, just get it sorted then jump on the plane. The others are in Sydney, so we’ll be off soon to pick them up.”

  “Yeah, no worries, sounds good.”

  “Oh yeah, the briefcase is unlocked and Audrey made us promise to remind you to check it out,” Kate mentioned.

  I walked over and got my passport stamped and sorted then walked over to the plane, said a quick hello to the pilots. Next, I found my seat, where the briefcase was waiting. Smiling, I belted up and opened it up. I was surprised to see that Audrey had dropped off a finished copy of my novel, with a couple of other designed book jackets – no doubt, so I could choose the final one.

  Finally, Kate and the pilots jumped on board and strapped in for take-off.

  “Hey Phil, we’ll be in Sydney in a few hours, then it’s an eleven-hour flight, to Dubai,” Kate told me.

  The plane taxied out to the runway and took off, and as we eventually levelled out I got the chance to have a read of the note the Audrey sent me.

  Hi Phil,

  Safe flight and I’ll see you in a few days. Hope you liked the final draft and the cover for the novel. I’ve added a few more book jackets if you want to pick one and let me know. Everything’s going well over here. I realise you’ll probably want to spend a bit of time with Anna, but if you could get back to me about the cover we can get this thing moving.

  Thanks,

  Audrey.

  I fell asleep after we landed in Sydney and didn’t even notice when we took off again. I was out to it for ages, only regaining consciousness about four hours out from Dubai – which was lucky, as my ears were killing me after Sydney.

  “Hey sleepy-head do you want something to eat or drink?” Kate asked, handing me a hot towel to wipe my face with.

  “Yeah, an orange juice and something to eat would be great thanks Kate,” I answered. Smiling, I noticed the other two passengers on the plane enjoying something to eat and drinking champagne.

  “Hi guys, how’s it going?” I asked.

  “Yeah, really good thanks. You’ve been asleep for ages,” the girl said, as her partner just looked on.

  “Hi, I’m Phil, anyway,” I said.

  “Oh hi, I’m Mark, and this is Michelle. We’re both theatre nurses heading back to Dubai,” Mark replied.

  “Oh, nice. Well, enjoy the flight,” I commented as Kate arrived back again with a meal and some fruit for me.

  “How’s that orange juice treating you?” Kate asked.

  “Yeah really good. Could really go for a beer though,” I commented.

  “I’ll see if the co-pilot will share a few of his,” Kate joked, laughing at the look on my face. Soon enough, she came back with a nice beer and a cold glass.

  “Thanks Kate,” I smiled, as she popped over to see if the other guests were okay.

  Once I’d finished, I tried to help Kate clean up, but she laughed me off. We ended up landing in Dubai a few hours later. I had put some ear plugs in and dosed off to sleep again after sitting and chatting to Mark and Michelle. Luckily, I woke up just as we landed and got to have a brief chat to them before they went off through customs. Then I wandered off to the side to a private room as the plane was refuelled for the last time before taking off again for London. The last thing I remembered, was trying to hold on to a pee as we came into land and smelling eucalyptus, with Kate giving me a few funny looks. It was awesome to finally be in London again, but more so that Audrey had sent a car to pick me up.

  Far out, she’s really-earning her fifteen percent, I thought to myself.

  “Hey Phil, don’t forget you’ll still need to go through customs and get your passport stamped and your bag checked. After you’re done we’ll sort out your luggage and put it in the car,” Kate declared.

  “Yeah thanks, Kate, that’ll be awesome,” I replied, taking the ear plugs out.

  “Hey, was I snoring on the flight at any stage?” I asked.

  Kate and the co-pilot just looked at each other smiling.

  “Wow, that’s a yes! Thanks for the hot towel, I think I might have dribbled a bit,” I joked.

  They took care of everything and I found my way over to the hangar to get my passport stamped. I quickly grabbed my phone out of my travel bag and checked my keys and wallet were still in it.

  Turning my phone on, I had a few messages, which I thought I’d check once I got home. It was getting close to ten at night and I was wide awake. Kicking myself, I thought I possibly shouldn’t have slept that much on the way back. I did notice a couple of messages from Margaret. I’d have to give her a call first thing in the morning.

  “Hey man, welcome back!” yelled the driver, as I walked out of the hangar and towards the car, turning around to thank Kate again.

  “Hey man, looking forward to getting home,” I commented, yawning to the driver.

  “Not to worry, we’ll have you home in no time,” the driver replied.

  Jumping in, it dawned on me I should have gotten this guy’s name, but I thought nothing of it. To be fair, the driver was right, we were back in Putney in no time. I couldn’t wait to get back in front of my computer and see where I had left the last book I was writing.

  “Hey man we’re here. That didn’t take long at all,” the driver said, as he drove up to the gate and parked up.

  I jumped out and he handed me my bags, telling me to have a good night and not to worry about the tip as it had been taken care of.

  “Oh, thanks man. Have a safe trip home
,” I said, as I walked over to the gate and opened it up. Walking over and up to the apartment, and opening the door, I heard a loud,

  “Who’s there!”

  “Hey Hannah, it’s just me, just got back in, an hour ago,” I replied. I heard her jump out of bed and run out into the hallway. Tackling me in a hug, she laid me out flat on the floor in the hallway.

  “Ha, get off me,” I laughed.

  “What took so long? I thought you were coming back a few days ago?” she asked.

  “Yeah, spent a few extra days sorting out a few things,” I replied.

  “Oh, okay. I’m going back to bed. There’s food in the fridge,” Hannah declared.

  “Okay, night Hannah,” I replied.

  “Yeah welcome home Phil. Night,” Hannah remarked, heading back to her bedroom.

  Getting up, I headed to my room to drop all my stuff off, placing the briefcase on my desk, then I headed to the kitchen for something to eat. I made myself a sandwich and went back to my room with it and turned my computer on, knowing full well I wasn’t going to get much sleep the first night back. I clicked on the piece of work and remembered what I had been working on.

  2

  Run Away

  “Hey, are you still up?” Hannah asked, poking her head into my room.

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “Not much. Going to head down and grab a coffee, do you want one?”

  “Yeah, that’ll be great Hannah. I’m going to give Margaret a call in an hour or so,” I added.

  “Ah, cool she’s popping over later if you’re up for a stroll,” Hannah suggested.

  “Yeah, alright. I’ll just grab my stuff, then we can go,”

  “I’ll put some shoes on and meet you in the lounge,” Hannah replied.

  “So, have you missed me then Hannah?”

  “Um, not really, glad to have you back though,” Hannah smiled.

  “So, what’s been happening?” I asked, after I had grabbed my stuff and Hannah had joined me in the lounge.

  “Um, not much aye, just been busy working and chilling out,” Hannah said, trying not to say too much. “What’s happening with Anna though?”

  “Well, let’s go grab a coffee and talk about it on the way back,” I replied.