A Mother's Heart by Carmel Harrington

Author:Carmel Harrington [Harrington, Carmel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2022-04-14T12:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-ONE

Annie

Napier, Hawke’s Bay

Annie and Joe watched their two daughters sitting on the wooden swing, heads bent low together, shoulder to shoulder, as they swung gently backwards and forwards.

No matter how old her children became, they would always be little ones to Annie. She worried about them now as much as she had when they were newborns and totally dependent on her. It was just a different set of worries, that’s all.

‘Remember the summer camp?’ she said, turning to Joe. She didn’t need to say any more. It was an occasion they both had etched in their heads and hearts forever. The girls had begged Annie and Joe to allow them to go to a summer camp – a week-long residential retreat in Hawke’s Bay. The camp promised canoeing, hill climbs, barbecues and participation in challenges on land and water. Annie had been nervous about sending the girls off, but as Joe had pointed out, they were not kids any more. At thirteen and fifteen, they had good heads on their shoulders.

Midway through their time away, disaster struck. Annie received a call to say that a group of campers were missing, including both of their girls. The group had gone on a hike but hadn’t returned at the designated time. After an hour more passed, the camp leaders had to raise the alarm. Joe drove them both to Hawke’s Bay at breakneck speed. Deathly silence thickened the air between them as they fretted about their girls. When they arrived, they met four other sets of parents, and together, the group had three hours of worry as they waited for news from the search parties who were out scouring the trails. As it happened, the camp leader who was with the group had slipped and broken his ankle. The missing children were discovered by his side, completely unharmed.

‘They were fine in the end is all I need to remember,’ Joe said. ‘Just a little shaken up, I think. And from my memory, very hungry! What made you think about the camp?’

Annie clutched her husband’s arm. ‘It struck me today that I’ve been worried many times about the girls over the years. But it’s normally one or the other of them that I am concerned about. This is the first time since that camp that I’ve been worried about both of our girls simultaneously.’

As if knowing they were being talked about, Rachel and Claudia got up from the swing, so Annie and Joe moved away from the window and walked towards them.

‘Need anything, love?’ Joe asked Claudia.

Annie left Claudia and Joe to discuss treats and instead moved closer to Rachel. ‘How does she seem to you?’ she asked.

‘Getting there. She’s strong, Mom. She’ll be okay,’ Rachel assured her mother.

‘So tell me about you, then. How were things with the Butlers before you left? Any change there?’

Rachel made a face. ‘I haven’t seen much of them, to be honest. Sheila and I still aren’t really talking, but she tried to invite us over for Sunday roast recently.

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