The Wrens’ blue four by four vehicle rumbled along the dusty tracks towards their almost empty home. All the passengers seemed content with their own thoughts for the best part of the journey, until eventually Demetrius broke the silence with a question.
“What was it you needed to speak to me about?” he enquired, when he just couldn’t wait any longer to be asked the question he was more than ready to answer.
“Oh, yeah… Uh, Jack?” Eva was caught off guard, and deflected Demetrius’s enquiry towards her husband.
“Well, Dem, it’s like this,” Jack picked his words carefully, and paused before he went on. “Eva and I have been speaking with your Uncle Esau and Aunt Martha during the last few weeks, and they wondered… that is, we wondered – uh, we all wondered whether you might like to… well, come back to Ireland with us? I mean, there’s no pressure, and this will be entirely your decision, but given the fact that your folks… uh, well, with them not being around any more…” Jack’s voice trailed off. “I’m sorry, Dem, I don’t mean to be insensitive.”
The fact was Jack was right. Sixteen year old Demetrius had a limited memory of his parents. Julius and Theodora – or Teddy as she had been affectionately known – had met Jack and Eva at Medical Missions, where they worked alongside them during their gap year in 1990. The pair had been inseparable, and had married in 1992, the year before Jack and Eva were married. They had been thrilled to welcome Demetrius into the world in 1993, and for a few happy years the family had lived and worked in Johannesburg. On their way home from Medical Missions Hospital on an unexceptional Monday in September 2000, everything changed, when the Kwangas’ car slid off the track and crashed head on into a tree at the bottom of a steep bank. There had never been any acceptable explanation for the freak storm that blew up from nowhere and disappeared just as fast, but no-one had any doubt that it was the sudden torrential rain which had sent the Kwangas’ vehicle careering irretrievably out of control. Julius and Teddy were killed instantly, but against the odds, seven year old Demetrius survived the crash, although he had sustained fairly serious injuries. After a time spent recuperating in hospital, the young boy had been taken in by his mother’s sister, Aunt Martha, who loved him and raised him in a manner that would have made her sister proud. Jack, Eva and five year old Phoebe had moved to Africa just a few short weeks after the accident; Jack and Eva had been devastated by the loss of their friends, but Demetrius and Phoebe had struck up an instantaneous friendship which, even at their tender ages, they knew would last a lifetime. From the day they met, Demetrius and Phoebe had shared a bond which was deeper than friendship – Jack and Eva always commented that the pair were more like siblings, but whatever their connection, they had been joined at the hip for ten years, and now, just forty eight hours before they were to be separated to opposite ends of the earth, the teenagers were being offered a lifeline which would allow them to stay together.
“It’s okay, Jack, I don’t mind you speaking of my folks,” said Demetrius sadly. Ten years on, and Demetrius still felt a twinge of sorrow when his parents were mentioned, although on this occasion his sadness was eased by the prospect of a new life in Ireland with Phoebe and her family. He looked across at Phoebe, whose excitement had been usurped by concern for her friend – this was a huge move for Demetrius, and although she desperately wanted him to come with her to Ireland, she needed him to weigh up his options so that he would be able to make the right choice. Of course, the thought of being able to see Demetrius every single day made Phoebe feel like jumping up and down with glee, but she was trying hard not to allow herself to be selfish, and so she waited nervously for his decision.
“What did Uncle Esau and Aunt Martha think to it all?” Demetrius enquired, obviously concerned at the thought of hurting his beloved aunt and uncle in any way.
Eva turned around in her seat and smiled sympathetically at Demetrius, whose furrowed brow and worried look tugged at her motherly heart. “Esau and Martha know that you’re old enough to decide for yourself what’s right for you, Dem. Of course they would miss you dearly, as would your cousins, but I think that as long as you’re happy, Esau and Martha will be content with whatever you decide to do.” Eva already fulfilled a motherly role in Demetrius’s life, and he trusted her implicitly.
Aunt Martha. Demetrius could picture her sweet face and kind brown eyes. He had no doubt that she and Uncle Esau loved him dearly, but somehow he also instinctively knew that his place was with Phoebe and her parents, and what he and Phoebe had experienced together in the last day only served to reinforce their connection. Besides, Esau and Martha had their own kids – Bessie, Jacob and Grace – to think about. Demetrius adored his little cousins, who in reality had been like younger siblings to him. He would miss them all so much, but somehow he felt at peace that the decision he was about to make was the right one for him at this time.
The Wrens’ blue Jeep rumbled on for another mile or so before Demetrius spoke again. Phoebe thought she might burst with anticipation, but she forced herself to keep quiet and allow her friend to mull over his options. Blabbing out her thoughts on the matter would be unfair and unhelpful right now, she knew.
Eventually, Demetrius spoke. “You know,” he said slowly, “I think that going with you to Ireland is the right thing for me to do. I have had a good life here, and this potential move feels not like an ending but a beginning.” Demetrius paused, obviously wrangling with the bunch of varied emotions that were undoubtedly running riot in his heart. “But I have some tricky farewells to say before Friday…” He clenched his jaw and smiled at Phoebe, a mixture of sadness and anticipation in his brown eyes.
“That’s for sure,” said Jack, as he clicked on the Jeep’s right indicator and pulled off the dusty road and on to the track that lead to Esau and Martha Otonnos’ house.