The Empty Room Read online

  Just as we were leaving, my phone rang. It was Audrey.

  “Morning Audrey. What’s happening?” I asked.

  “I’m down the road. Do you and Hannah want a coffee?” Audrey replied.

  “Well, Hannah and I were just about to leave here and head down.” Looking at Hannah I asked her, “Hey, do we want to meet up with Audrey now, or should we see if she can pick some up a couple of take away coffees for us and bowl around.”

  “Let’s go down and meet her,” Hannah laughed, shaking her head at me.

  “Hey Audrey, we’re heading down now, see you soon.”

  “Yeah, okay. No hurry.”

  As we left I forgot which book jacket I liked the most.

  Soon we were walking down the hill. I was waiting to see if Hannah would bring up Devin – I wasn’t going to.

  Finally, we walked into the cafe and I could see Audrey waving at us from the other side.

  “Hi, Audrey you haven’t changed a bit, but have you had a haircut?” I asked.

  “Yeah, whatever, Phil,” Audrey replied laughing.

  “Yeah, Phil,” Hannah remarked.

  “Anyway, do you want another coffee Audrey?” I asked. “Hannah, keen for a caramel flat white?” I added.

  They both just stopped and looked at me.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Hannah had tapped Audrey on the shoulder. I turned around and stood there looking right at Kalliope.

  “Hi Phil, how are you?” Kalliope asked.

  “Um, good thanks, just got back from New Zealand last night. Hannah and I are catching up with Audrey,” I replied.

  Kalliope smiled at them both.

  “Well I’m just in here to get Bruce and myself a couple of takeaway coffees,” Kalliope commented, turning around and walking over to the counter to order a couple of coffees.

  “Ha, sucks to be you, off you go,” Hannah laughed, pointing at me.

  “Hey, that’s not cool, aye,” I replied.

  But Kalliope had already grabbed her coffees and turned and waved goodbye to us all.

  “Far out, that was quick,” I said.

  “Yeah, I know.” Hannah said, surprised.

  “So, I’ll be back soon.”

  I rocked on over to the counter, ordered, then walked back over to the other two.

  “Hey, where are the coffees?” Hannah asked.

  “They’re gonna bring them over.”

  “So, Phil, did you have a look at the book jackets and the final designs?” Audrey asked.

  “Yeah, they’re all good, Audrey.”

  “What, you have a copy of the book at home?” Hannah asked, as the waitress bought over our coffees and took Audrey’s empty cup away.

  “Um, yeah they’re sitting in my room.”

  “Do I get a signed copy?” Hannah asked.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  When Audrey heard that, she nodded in agreement – no doubt wanting a signed copy as well. Kicking back, I was surprised I wasn’t that sleepy.

  “Hey, before I forget, Audrey thanks so much for all that you did. It would have been a mission without your help. I really do appreciate it,” I commented.

  “Ah, you’re more than welcome, Phil.”

  “Well, let’s get you two home – and I’ll need a decision on the book jacket, I’m afraid Phil,” Audrey remarked.

  “Ah cool, do you two want a take away coffee?” Hannah asked.

  “Well, I’ve had two already, so I might pass thanks Hannah,” Audrey replied.

  “Sounds good to me, Hannah,” I said.

  “Cool, I’ll go and order, then we can head back home,” Hannah said.

  “So, how was everyone?” Audrey lent in and whispered to me.

  “Yeah, really good. Obviously, the funeral wasn’t fantastic, but everyone was doing okay. A lot of tears. I caught up with Devin as well, and he’s doing really well. With everything that’s going on, I might try and run away on a trip at some point,” I said.

  “Whatever helps with the words, aye Phil,” Audrey remarked.

  Then, Hannah came back with our coffees handing me one.

  “Wow, those guys are really quick.”

  “All right you two, let’s head off,” Audrey commanded.

  Putting her arm around mine, she expected me to escort her back to her car, although we both had a good laugh when she realised I had no idea where she had parked.

  When we finally got back home, I walked into my room to grab the briefcase with the book jackets in it – as I had wrapped my favourite on my book, it was easy to see which one I liked the most.

  “Hey, thanks Phil. I’ll get this back to the publishers and get back to you about a date. I’ll also get you a few copies to sign,” she quickly added, seeing the massive smile appear on Hannah’s face.

  “Thanks, Audrey,” I said, as I walked her back out to her car.

  “You know what? I really don’t know how to thank you Audrey,”

  “Cut it out. Let’s see how well this novel goes first,” Audrey joked.

  Jumping in her car, she waved as she drove off.

  When I walked back inside I found Hannah watching TV. I finished off my coffee and headed back into my room, there I tracked down the envelope with Cam’s passwords in it and put it under my keyboard. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

  “Hey Phil, Margaret’s here!” Hannah called as she walked past my room and went to open the door.

  “Hey Hannah,” Margaret said, as I walked out of my room. Hearing this, she turned, walked up to me and gave me a massive hug, after hugging Hannah.

  “Hey you, welcome back! How was your flight back over?” Margaret asked.

  “Yeah, pretty good thanks. What have I missed?” I replied.

  “Well, hopefully me,” Hannah remarked, with a sad look on her face.

  She was perfect for Devin, I thought to myself. Just smiling back, I turned back to Margaret. “Do you want to go and get some stuff sorted now?” I asked Margaret.

  “Yeah, that’ll be great.”

  “I’ve got to look at some work, or else I’d come to help as well,” Hannah mentioned.

  “All good Hannah, Margaret and I should be able to manage.”

  Margaret walked over to give Hannah another hug before turning back to me. We walked out to her car, making sure I still had my keys and wallet on me as we went.

  “Cool, I’m all sorted,” I said.

  “Have you had much sleep since you’ve been back?” Margaret asked.

  “No, none what-so-ever, and only got back last night,” I replied.

  “Oh well, this should be entertaining as well then,” Margaret laughed.

  Laughing we both hopped into her car and headed off to the flat.

  “So, how’s Anna?” Margaret asked.

  “Really good I think. Didn’t check my emails much while I was away, but we spoke a few times,” I explained, (which we had). “That reminds me, Cam’s parents appreciated the letter,” I added.

  “Oh, that’s nice to know. They have e-mailed Ian and I,” Margaret explained.

  “So, what needs to be done today?” I asked.

  “Oh, we can box up some clothes, then send them where they need to be sent to,” Margaret said.

  “Oh, cool. Do you fancy a quick coffee first?” I asked.

  “Yeah, was gonna ask you the same thing,” Margaret laughed.

  “Ha, great minds, aye Margaret?”

  “Ha, speaking of great minds, how’s the book coming along?”

  “Yeah, really good. As soon as it’s all up and running, I’ll definitely send you a copy.”

  “Yeah, well you’d better,” Margaret smiled.

  We parked up and headed around the corner to the closest cafe.

  I was definitely taking her mind off what we were doing – and luckily my own. Though it dawned on me at the time, I had no idea what I should expect to find. Obviously, I wasn’t going to pick up the laptop in front of her though, and open u
p the emails.

  “Hey Margaret, I’ll get the coffees,” I remarked.

  “Oh, yeah, what kind of girlie coffee are you ordering this time,” Margaret joked laughing.

  “Just the usual caramel flat white,” I smiled.

  “Ha! Let me know when you’re feeling tired and I’ll drive you back,” Margaret replied, smiling and shaking her head at me.

  “Yeah, that’ll be great. Are you gonna hang around for dinner tonight?” I asked.

  “Yeah, will wait and see if Ian calls me later, but I’ll be back after. Or during the weekend, to sort out movers,” Margaret replied.

  “Yeah, no worries, I’ll make time to come and help just let me know okay,” I said.

  The barista handed me my caramel flat white and a flat white for Margaret.

  “Thanks, a lot,” I said, as I turned and handed Margaret her coffee. I paid the barista, and we walked off to the apartment.

  As we walked in, I stood in the doorway for a split-second till’ Margaret noticed and turned around. The place looked a lot cleaner than it had been when I had last seen it. There weren’t the usual number of magazines and books thrown all over the place – or CD’s from both their terrible collections.

  “Hey, it’s okay, I’ve moved some stuff,” Margaret said encouragingly.

  “Oh, good. I don’t remember it being this clean last time I was here.”

  “Okay, let’s make up some boxes and get started,” Margaret insisted.

  “Yeah, no worries,” I replied. I walked over to the stereo and turned it on, taking my now empty coffee cup to the sink.

  We were there for a good 6–7 hours.

  Most of the stuff out of Cams drawers went straight into boxes, although I asked Margaret when possible. There were only a handful of clothing items Cam’s parents really wanted – which wasn’t a problem.

  Margaret asked me if she could have the photo of the three of us in Croatia up in the bell tower with Split Harbour in the background and goofy looking smiles on our faces. I was pretty sure Hannah had just made a joke about me meeting someone on that trip.

  “Yeah, of course,” I agreed.

  All the cupboards in the kitchen got packed up into boxes. Margaret decided to take a few things back down south, as Ian had rung and they had something on later that night so we left everything else for later. It wasn’t till’ we were heading back to my place that Margaret mentioned the laptop.

  “Oh, that’s okay I’ll grab it next time,” I replied.

  “Well, I’ll try and get back here for a few more hours at some point.”

  “Yeah, no worries. Just flick me a text and I’ll come and help. Hey, do you want another coffee before you head off?” I added.

  “Yeah, I was going to stop off at that place in Putney.”

  “Ha, great minds Margaret!” I joked again, as we both started laughing.

  Soon after stopping off for coffee, I was walking through the front door again. Hannah was talking to someone on the phone. Heading straight into my room to relax for a few seconds, I made the mistake of letting my head land on my pillow, and I was out to it. I woke up some hours later to find Hannah sleeping next to me. It was the middle of the night, and I realised I had done it to myself again. Slowly, I got up and headed out to the kitchen to grab a drink and watch TV. I was planning on getting some writing done but with Hannah sleeping in my bed, I didn’t want to wake her. I fell asleep again, only waking up when I heard Hannah’s shower running. I walked over to the jug, put it on, and headed into my bedroom. There I saw the envelope with Cam’s passwords sticking out from under my keyboard.

  Not really knowing what to do, I walked back out and turned the jug off, before making myself a coffee and looking in the fridge to see if there was anything to eat. Just then, Hannah walked in. “Hey what time did you get up?” Hannah asked.

  “Really early, aye. Bloody jet-lag,” I replied. “Do you want a coffee?”

  “Yeah a quick one would be great.” Walking over to me, she gave me a hug.

  “Hey what is it? What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I’m not really sure. At the moment – just heaps on.”

  “Well, should we run away for a while and go on a trip somewhere?”

  “Wow, I’d love to, but, I’ve got too much work on at the moment,” Hannah replied. She was holding back just a bit of information, I thought.

  “Oh, okay. There’s your coffee. But you don’t mind if I go on a trip somewhere?” I asked, with a smile on my face.

  “Well, if you do, I should at least try and meet you somewhere.”

  “Yeah, done. So, what’s on today?”

  “Oh, I’m off to meet Natalie for lunch, then might head out for a drink,” Hannah replied.

  “Oh yeah, cool.” I smiled and wondered who she was meeting up with. Hannah had the worst poker-face ever.

  “What are you going to do,” Hannah asked.

  “I might just relax and ring a few people and tell them I’m back.”

  “Well, make sure you ring Greg and Linda, Iva hasn’t stopped asking for you since you’ve been gone.”

  “Ah, cool. Will do.”

  “Hey, I’m gonna head off. I’ll talk to you later on.” Hannah said, walking over to the sink and putting her cup in.

  “Hey, Hannah I might go shopping later, any requests?” I asked.

  “Nah, just the basics, I reckon,” she replied.

  The basics. This mostly consisted of jams, coffee, milk, bread, meat and a few vegetables, but most importantly, oven fries.

  “Okay sweet as. I’ll catch you later.” Walking over to the sink, I put my cup in, just as Hannah left. Then, I headed into my room and grabbed my phone.

  Ah, a few missed calls already. I don’t know why, but I was ignoring the calls from Anna. I only had a few, but I wasn’t sure how to handle that situation and the more I thought about it, the more a trip away seemed like a good idea. Either way, I finally rang Greg to see what they were up to.

  “Hey bro, what’s for lunch today?” I asked.

  “Hey, who’s this?” Greg replied.

  “Oh, very funny,”

  “Oh, welcome back bro, you gonna head over?” Greg asked.

  “Yeah man, that all good?”

  “Yeah, I’ll fire up the BBQ.”

  “Yeah, sounds good, I’ll see you guys soon.”

  “Yeah mate,” Greg said, hanging up.

  I quickly jumped in the shower and got sorted. Then I walked down to the overland train and headed off to Isleworth. The train took forever, and I ran into Paul when I got off the train, as he was jumping off at the other end.

  “Hey man, you still riding on the back of the train then?” Paul asked.

  “Yeah man, just habit now, aye,” I replied.

  “Well, I heard the BBQ was getting put on, so I had to come along.”

  “Yeah, always good bro. Let’s go get some beers and head around,” I suggested.

  “Yeah bud, sounds good.”

  We made our way around to the bar and bought a carton of beer, then walked around to Greg and Linda’s place. I could see Iva’s face squashed up against the sliding door window. With a massive smile, she quickly turned and ran away, just as Linda opened the door up.

  “Hi you two.”

  We walked inside and put the carton down on the bench in the kitchen as Greg was headed out with a plate of meat and a bag of coals.

  “Hey Linda,” I said, kissing her on the cheek.

  “Hey sis, I’m gonna go help Greg,” Paul said.

  As Linda and I stood in the kitchen, I put some beers into the fridge and little Iva peeked around the corner, smiling and laughing at me.

  “Hey you,” I said, looking at Iva as Linda just laughed at her little daughter being silly.

  “So, how’s everyone back home?” Linda asked.

  “For the most part, really good. Terrible way to catch up with everyone, but saw a few people I hadn’t seen in a while.”

  “
Did you catch up with Andy?”

  “Yeah. He reckons he’s gonna pop the question to a girl we went to school with.”

  “Ha, good luck to him,” Linda joked, before adding, “or maybe good luck to her!”

  “Yeah, well he’s still batting above his average,” I remarked.

  “Ha!”

  “Hey, I’m gonna take a few drinks out to the guys, help yourself.”

  Linda just laughed. Iva tried to tackle my leg as I walked out of the kitchen and turned towards the sliding door.

  “Ha, nice try Iva!”

  Linda had noticed and was shaking her head at us so Iva let go, and came for the walk out to the yard, out to the back of the apartment block they lived in. Linda shook her head at us, so Iva let go and followed me out to the yard at the back of the apartment block they lived in. Paul was always looking to take the tongs out of Greg’s hands, and he took his chance when Greg put them down to open his beer, while Iva wandered back inside to help her mum. We just stood around and laughed at the fact that Greg was close to burning everything again.

  “You always got a well-done steak when you came here, and Greg was in charge of the BBQ, aye Paul,” I joked.

  “Yeah, but medium would be better,” Paul laughed.

  By this time, though, Greg had had enough, and he started to plate up all the meat and got Paul to take it inside.

  “Sorry to hear about Anna bro,” Greg said, as Paul walked inside and couldn’t overhear.

  “Yeah, not sure what I’m gonna do with all of that, aye bro.”

  “Yeah, well whatever happens you’ll be fine,” Greg insisted.

  “Yeah bro, but now I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

  “Sounds good,” Greg said, laughing and finishing off his beer.

  We both walked inside. Linda had the table sorted with a couple of awesome salads and some couscous, so we were set. Iva sat up in her chair stuffing her face with a sausage and she smiled at us.

  “Hey, I heard you missed me,” I said to Iva, who was now poking her tongue at me.

  “Hey, Iva, don’t do that, please,” Linda said.

  Iva just looked back down at her plate. We all grabbed a seat and sat around eating and laughing. It wasn’t till’ about five beers in and a massive steak that I started to yawn.

  “How’s the jet-lag, bro?” Greg asked.

  “Terrible man, been up and down for the past couple of days,” I replied.