Lost In Kakadu (36 page)

Krystal nodded, too nervous to speak.

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, but your mother’s alive.”

The room began to swim and a whirlwind of questions raced through her mind, “What … where … how?” She wanted to ask everything at once.

They were talking. She could see their mouths forming words, but she had difficulty understanding them. Tears stung her eyes as she realised for the first time in her life she wanted her mother more than anything in the world. She covered her eyes and openly sobbed. Did her shattered life have a chance of being whole again? Would her mother take her back after all the horrible things she’d done? She had to know and she couldn’t wait another moment to find out.

She looked up. “When can I see her?”

* * *

Abi woke to the smell of disinfectant and flowers. Her eyelids were sandpaper rough as she blinked at the stark white surroundings. She tried to sit up and gentle hands were immediately there, helping her.

“Mackenzie?” She didn’t recognise her own voice.

A woman in a white uniform smiled at her kindly and helped her sit up. Nurse Walters was embossed on her name badge. Abi caught movement out the corner of her eye and turned to see the most glorious sight. Mackenzie was there, the sun beaming through the window behind him like the fingers of God. He was clean shaven and radiant in a white shirt. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

“I’m here, honey.” He leant in to hug her.

She gripped his muscular arms and drew on his strength. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she released a well of pent-up emotion, as much from joy as relief. “We made it.”

Mackenzie eased away from her and, standing by the bed, rested his hand on her shoulder. “We did.” His voice was full of triumph. “We’re in Darwin hospital. You and the baby are doing just fine.”

She placed her hands on her stomach willing her unborn child to show her signs of life. “Do we know when?” She looked from Mackenzie to the nurse.

“Any day now.” The nurse checked her blood pressure. “I’ll leave you two alone for a minute then I’ll come back and give you a bath.”

“No,” Abigail said forcefully.

“You don’t want a bath?” The nurse blinked at her.

“I want a shower … a real hot shower.”

After a heated discussion, in which Abi was unyielding, she eased onto unsteady legs and refused an offer of a wheelchair. Mackenzie helped her into the bathroom and she removed her hospital gown. Standing naked before the mirror, she didn’t recognise her own reflection. Her long hair was now a dark chestnut colour and her rosy lips complimented her tanned face. She turned to see collar-bones dominate her shoulders and her toned arms were shapely and defined. Her breasts were full and sensuous and she ran her hand over the silky tight skin of her stomach, caressing its smooth roundness.

Mackenzie placed his hands on her waist and looked over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Let’s get you into the shower. You’ll feel like a new woman.”

“I already am a new woman. I don’t need any more transformations.”

“You know what I mean.” He adjusted the water temperature and then helped Abi lower herself to the plastic chair in the middle of the shower.

Abi turned up her face and allowed the warm water to pound her skin and soak her hair. Slowly washing her body, she relished the sweet smell of a simple cake of soap. Mackenzie stepped into the shower and began washing her hair and as she relaxed into his hands, she wondered if she had actually died and gone to heaven.

When Abi emerged from the bathroom, savouring the feel of a fresh bathrobe she was surprised to see a police officer waiting at her doorway. He knocked when he saw her and she welcomed him in.

“Hello, Abigail. My name—”

She interrupted. “It’s Abi … just Abi.”

A smirk touched Mackenzie’s lips and Abi suppressed a smile of her own.

With a curt nod the police officer continued. “Abi. My name’s Detective Thompson. I just wanted to let you know we’ve found your daughter and …”

Abi’s mind ran adrift as she imagined Krystal’s reaction. How would this news have shattered a seventeen year old girl’s life?
Is there a place in her world for me?
She wanted to hold her and tell her everything that happened, to say sorry for ever leaving, but more than anything she wanted Krystal to accept her and Mackenzie and their unborn child as her family.

“… be here in about an hour,” the officer concluded.

“What?”

“She should be here in an hour,” he repeated.

She sat upright. “Oh my God, Mack, help me get dressed.” She threw back the covers and tried to swing her legs over the side but Mackenzie was instantly at her side.

“It’s okay, honey. She’ll just be happy to see you.”

“She won’t even recognise me.”

“And you may not recognise her.”

The police officer excused himself and Mackenzie placed a reassuring hand on Abi’s forearm.

Her mind cast back to the last time she’d seen her daughter. Krystal was a young, underdeveloped, fifteen year old girl and now she was nearly a woman. How much would she have changed physically and mentally? There was one thing she knew for certain. She would never give up on her daughter again.

She reached for Mackenzie’s hand and ran her fingers over the fine hairs on the back of it. “I love you.”

He bent over and kissed her gently. He smelled of sandalwood and leather. When he straightened he reached up and unclipped the silver chain from around his neck. His mother’s ring fell into his palm and he picked it up with two fingers. He took her left hand. Tears welled in her eyes as Mackenzie slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you too.”

The baby suddenly moved within her and Abi knew no matter what happened she would forever be in a loving family.

They sat in comfortable silence as Abi ran over a list of questions she should ask Krystal. But how would she introduce Mackenzie? Looking down at her oversized belly, she wondered if any words were enough. Fear once again gripped her.

A knock on the door made her jump and Abi held her breath as the door slowly opened. A young woman, tall and regal, with cascading blonde hair, stepped into the room. Abi froze as she stared into her daughter’s eyes.

“Mum,” Krystal squealed as she raced to her.

Abi clutched the daughter she’d been longing for. She held her tight, wanting to take all the hurt away, to absorb all the pain and suffering and to start their lives afresh. They embraced for a long time and Abi smoothed her hand over Krystal’s silky hair as her tears wet her cheeks.

Krystal eventually released her grip. She wiped her eyes. “I thought you were dead.” Her voice trembled. “We b-buried you.”

“I know, sweetheart, and I’m so sorry.” Abi didn’t know where to start.

Krystal’s eyes fell on Abi’s stomach, she tilted her head in an inquisitive way and frowned. “Mum?”

“I want you to meet someone.” Abi held her hand toward Mackenzie.

His eyes held a mixture of hope and trepidation as he approached her bedside.

“Krystal, this is Mackenzie. He’s the man who saved me.”

“And the father of the baby?”

Abi nodded, unsure of what else to say.

“Are you in love?”

Abi looked into Mackenzie’s honey-coloured eyes. “Very much so.”

There was a moment of pause as Krystal studied Mackenzie as if looking for an answer to an unasked question. Then she walked with purpose around the bed and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said.

He held his gaze on Abi, his face a tangle of emotion, as he hugged the daughter she thought she’d lost forever.

Pain rippled across Abi’s stomach and she cried out.

“What’s wrong?” Instantly Mackenzie was at her side.

“Mum, are you okay?” Krystal reached for her hand.

The pain went away as quickly as it came and Abi looked into the concerned eyes of the two most important people in her world. “I couldn’t be better.”

Another slice of pain gripped her and once it subsided, she said, “Are you ready to meet our new family member?”

Krystal’s smile lit up the room. “Absolutely.”

Mackenzie dashed off to get a nurse and Abi squeezed Krystal’s hand as another contraction overtook her. She screamed this time and moments later Mackenzie came running in with a nurse.

Abi was comforted by both Mackenzie and Krystal throughout the swift birth. A healthy squeal from the baby boy made them all laugh and cry at the same time. The nurse wrapped him in a blanket and placed him on Abi’s chest. She touched her little boy’s cheek. “Hey little man, we made it, and you look just fine.”

Mackenzie unrolled the blanket and when he touched the baby’s little hand tiny fingers stretched and wrapped around his thumb. Tears teetered on Mackenzie’s lower lashes as he leant in to kiss Abi. “I love you.”

His words made her feel complete.

* * *

The following day, two police officers requested time to meet with her and Abi invited them in after she finished feeding the baby.

The female officer approached her bedside offering her hand, which Abi shook. “Hello, I’m Detective Sergeant Powder and my associate is Detective Jenkins.” She indicated to a great hulking man who dominated the doorway. “We have a couple of questions if you feel up to it?”

“It’s about the drugs,” Mackenzie said.

Abi frowned. She had long ago forgotten about the packages of marijuana they found in the plane.

“You seem a little surprised,” Jenkins said.

“I forgot all about that.”

“How could you forget?”

“It was a long time ago, a lot has happened since then.”

Powder tilted her head at Abi, as if questioning her answer. “How about you tell us what you found?” she said. “Mackenzie, would you mind leaving us for a couple of minutes?”

“Sure.” He stood up and kissed Abi on her forehead. Then he manoeuvred the baby crib around Detective Jenkins and out the door.

Abi wriggled down the bed to get comfortable, adjusted her pillow and draped the white cotton sheet over her now clean shaven legs. “What do you want to know?”

Over the next twenty minutes, Abi fielded a barrage of questions regarding the drugs. Where they found it, what it was, how much was there. Detective Jenkins retained a serious look the whole time.

“So,” Jenkins dabbed a folded handkerchief across his forehead, “what did you do with the marijuana?”

“We used it to start our fire.”

“Mmm.” Jenkins brooded. “That’s what Mackenzie said.”

Abi shrugged. “It’s true.”

“I find it hard to believe you’d just burn it.”

“When you’re lost in the jungle and it rains nonstop for days on end, kindling is hard to come by.” She paused. “Dried marijuana was the perfect choice. It burns well.”

“You burnt all of it?” Jenkins said with one eyebrow cocked.

“Not in one day. It took several days. But yes, we did burn it all. We learnt our lesson. After that we always kept a stash of wood in a dry place.”

There was a long uncomfortable pause before Detective Powder stood up. “Okay. Seems like we have everything we need.”

Abi looked into Jenkins drooping eyes. “Did the drugs have anything to do with us never being rescued?”

“In a roundabout way, yes.” Jenkins stepped back up to her bedside. “It seems the pilot had a successful drug running business. But we never found out where he was really taking you. He adjusted the flight plan and removed the GPS tracker.”

Abi nodded, remembering her prediction to Mackenzie all those months ago. She’d been right about the tracking device.

The following day Abi met Warruga, the Aboriginal park ranger who had found them. His smooth, black skin cracked to reveal white teeth when he smiled.

She shook his rough hand as she thanked him.

“I thought you were dead, Miss Abi.” It was difficult to understand his thick Aboriginal accent.

“Me too, Warruga. Me too.” She kissed his hand and he nodded at her gleefully.

Over the next couple of days, Abi spent every waking moment with Krystal. She was surprised by how much her daughter had changed, not only physically but emotionally. Krystal had matured ten years in the nineteen months since the plane crash and Abi felt like she was being reunited with a long lost friend.

Abi was stunned to learn of Spencer’s mother’s death. Krystal told her how heartbroken the old woman had been. Not knowing Spencer’s fate had crushed her and in the end, she gave up on life. Her own mother’s death, however, was no surprise. She’d been dying a slow and lonely death for years. Even so, Abi felt the loss of her mother more than she thought she would.

Krystal told her about the four funerals she’d attended, one of which was Abi’s own. It was an odd thing to know the details of her final resting and Abi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Abi found re-adjusting to civilisation as difficult as her first few days in the jungle. Each day was exhausting and she longed for the peace she’d found in Kakadu.

As the taxi drove toward her home she felt suffocated by her own reluctance to introduce Mackenzie to her previous life. But Mackenzie’s words of wisdom rang in her ears, “You can’t change the past. You can only learn from it.”

Her home had been shut up for so long that the cleaner had taken nearly a week to prepare it for their return and the first thing she noticed as she reached with her key was the highly polished brass door knobs. The inside would be immaculate too.

She squeezed Mackenzie’s hand as she opened the door and stepped into the marble foyer. Abi was instantly embarrassed. This was not a home, it was a statement. An over the top display of wealth that lacked any loving thought. She felt heat rise up from her cheeks as she watched for Mackenzie’s reaction. But he didn’t offer one.

Krystal walked on ahead, obviously eager to be home after being locked out for nearly a year.

Abi led Mackenzie into the formal lounge. She pointed at the fireplace and cleared her throat. “At least we don’t have to forage for wood to keep the fire going.” Her attempt at humour seemed contrived but to her relief Mackenzie laughed.

“I don’t think I’ll miss that,” he said.