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Ava scrambled for the dustpan and brush and cleaned up the mess. He moved to the railing at the edge of the deck, caught the dusk breeze. It cooled his rising temper. He gulped in great breaths until it felt like it snagged in his throat. Then he paced.
‘Noah?’ Ava queried, coming to stand behind him. Her presence was too close now, cloying. He strode to the other end of the spacious deck, turned and faced her.
‘Just so I have this right and am not reaching the wrong conclusions I assume his father, your husband, knows where you are and has agreed to let you live here in Australia with Ish?’ His voice was soft, each word accentuating his pain.
‘Noah, we fled in the darkness of night, scurrying along underground alleyways, quiet as mice, and never looked back, not once.’
His hands balled into fists. ‘Okay, so Henry doesn’t know you’re here and didn’t give you permission to take your child?’
‘What are you talking about? After what I’ve just told you, what sort of question is that? I ran for our lives, for our safety, to keep my son safe.’
He doubled over, lent on the back of the nearest chair for support. ‘You can’t do that, Ava. Ish has two parents and one of those parents does not get the right to decide where that child lives and when the other parent is allowed to see them. He has rights as a father.’
Ava stalked backwards now, sensing the mood in the conversation shift.
‘He’s my son and he needs to be with me…’
‘Damn it, Ava, you’ve stolen him!’ He turned away, embarrassed at his outburst.
‘I need to protect him because his father won’t! A parent cannot leave their child to be harmed, raised in a toxic and unsuitable environment.’
Noah’s ears were ringing. He knew at a deeper level there were always two sides to a story, but this, how could she?
His head throbbed as he recalled that scene with Lisa. The one where she’d begged him to move to the city, start fresh, start over and he’d thought she was joking. Where he’d ignored her. Didn’t ask any questions. Had Lisa felt the same as Ava? Obviously, not fear but that depth of desperation, that deep level of unhappiness that made her feel like she had no choice? She must have, because eventually, she fled, too.
Regardless, both women had taken their child and run.
Were there justifications to such an act? To deprive a father of his child? It was easy to blame Lisa, the person who’d done the running. It couldn’t be him, could it? He’d stayed the distance.
‘My wife took our daughter, disappeared with her while I was at work. Then she started dictating terms about Emily’s future. I have rights, Ava, I’m her father.’ His voice caught on a sob. ‘I deserve to be with my daughter just as much as my wife does. Your husband needs to be with your son just as much as you.’
‘In this instance, you’re wrong. My situation is different and your view is clouded by your own circumstances. My child was in danger. I had to act, I had to protect him. And myself.’
A searing pain burned in his chest. ‘But it’s not, is it? This is the universal story, the father is not as important, the father does not matter, the father is the second parent. It seems to always be about the mother.’
‘Don’t you do this, Noah. You’re wrong. This is not an argument about mothers and fathers. This is about the safety of my son.’ Her legs buckled under her.
‘It makes sense now. The secrecy, the different names, the seclusion and isolating yourself away. You were harbouring your son so that your husband never found you. Hiding.’
Noah watched as Ava unfurled, grew in strength and confidence once more. Her shoulders pushed back and she stood and strode towards him, her face only inches away. This was a woman he’d never seen cower in fear, was confident and strong, intelligent. And yet she had acted the same as his wife. She had stolen her own child.
‘If my husband finds us, he’ll take Ish and I will never see him again. He will be indoctrinated into the family and that male-dominated patriarchy and I will never, ever be allowed access. Is that what I should submit to?’
She spoke calmly but her body was rigid, her pupils dark and foreboding and he was impaled by her challenging glare. The tension built with frightening intensity before stretching into silence.
His stance softened, the fight leaving him. ‘Okay. Your circumstances might be different. But there is still a boy who needs his father. A father that I’m sure wants to know his son is safe and well. If you fled for the right reasons, then you need to do the right thing now and tell your husband that your son is safe. Do it, Ava, otherwise I fear I will.’
Hours later, her mobile telephone rang and numb, unthinking, Ava answered it. On the other end a voice said they were from a national paper, there was a big story breaking in Bellethorpe and was she the finder of the relic? They wanted the exclusive and could be there within the hour. Ava dropped the phone without responding.
Moments later, it rang again, and again, repeatedly. Ava powered off the device and threw the phone across the room. She didn’t care where it landed, never wanted to answer it again. If journalists had her details, it was only a matter of time before they turned up, demanding to know more and determined to run a story with or without her permission and any factual basis. Right now, they were probably filming and photographing her home and property from the air. Snapping photos of her and Ish if they dared leave, or even stand at their own window.
Ava had witnessed what they’d done to Jamila. Reporters had camped out the front of her doorstep for days waiting for the perfect shot. Ava understood what they were capable of. Had seen it splayed across her own television screen multiple times recently. No doubt, these reporters were driving from the city now and would arrive, soon.
Her name attached to the fossil was probably viral on the internet already. No one needed to wait for the morning edition of the paper anymore, there was access twenty-four-seven to world-breaking news. And if this information was somewhere on the web, Henry or someone associated with him, would see it. He would find out. Might already know.
Should she flee? Run and establish themselves someone new? It would be easy. Australia was a big continent. It wouldn’t be hard to disappear again.
Yes, she could do it. Ava rushed to collect their belongings, filling her arms until they were overloaded. She ran into her bedroom, dumped the pile on her bed and reached for their bags. The largest case toppled from the top of wardrobe and a corner wheel landed on her toe.
