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Then Olivia ran down the gangway. At the bottom she waved her arm. ‘Trish!’ she shouted.
Tricia turned around, and her face lit up with relief. ‘Liv, thank God.’
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ Olivia asked.
‘Are you kidding? You’ve been sending me these weird emails and clearly not receiving my replies. I’ve been so worried about you. I flew out here as soon as I could and I’ve just been waiting for your ship to return.’
‘I’m so glad to see you. When I didn’t receive anything I thought maybe I’d lost you too.’
‘Never,’ said Tricia, a fierceness in her voice that Olivia had sorely missed. ‘So not the burnout-recovery trip you’d been expecting?’
‘Not exactly.’ She looked over at the Argentinian police gathered just outside the gate, waiting for her to walk through.
Tricia followed her gaze. ‘I’m so sorry about what happened to Aaron. That’s so awful.’
Olivia took in a deep breath. ‘At least I can tell the police what happened and hopefully give Aaron’s family some peace. Along with Jay, Christa, Stefan, Liam …’ Her voice cracked as she went through it all. She thought she’d come to terms with it enough to talk about it without crying. More likely she never would.
‘Whatever you need, I’m here for you.’ Trish grabbed her arm, holding it tight.
Olivia took one last look back over the Beagle Channel and the sparkling sea. The sun was high in the sky, so bright it was almost blinding. She closed her eyes, allowing the last few moments of it to shine on her face.
No more hiding from her problems. She was going to stay facing the sun.
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She helped her mum down into the sloop. At first, it looked like she was going to slip with the unsteady motion of the water, but she reached down to grab the rope with practised ease and settled into position.
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief and jumped into the boat alongside. She had already checked over her mum’s life jacket ten times, but now they were on the water, she checked it again. Every knot and tie was secured, her own the same.
‘Checks done?’ She didn’t know if she was asking her mum or herself. Her mum smiled, and it was answer enough. ‘Let’s dive in.’
Before she could change her mind, Olivia released the ropes tying them to the dock, navigating them out towards the open sea. The water was deep blue, the breeze gentle – just enough to fill the sails and get the boat moving. Perfect conditions for her first sail as captain of her own ship.
‘Isn’t this glorious?’ Her mother shouted to be heard over the wind. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back and allowing the sun to hit her, the breeze lifting her hair from her shoulders. ‘I used to do this every year with my family,’ she said. ‘My favourite time.’
‘Mine too,’ said Olivia.
She tightened the sail sheet until it stopped luffing, allowing it to take full advantage of the wind. The slooppicked up speed and skimmed across the waves. Beside them gulls squawked and a gannet dived into the water.
Olivia’s heart pounded with adrenaline, her attention sharp to every whim of the wind. But she’d done it.
‘Pinpoint the feeling, Mum,’ she said.
There was a moment’s pause, as her mum turned her face to catch the sun’s rays, the breeze tickling the hair that framed her face. ‘Happy,’ she said.
‘Me too,’ whispered Olivia.
They were free.