Tulli sat by the outdoor pool, her cardigan pulled tightly around her to keep out the chilly air.
She stared at her phone screen and smiled at the picture on the front. Mischa, Lara, and Joel in the water of the indoor pool, all three of them grinning as Charlie splashed them from out of frame.
Of course, the picture didn’t reflect that this was the only way that Mischa was communicating these days, but then, considering that a little more than a week ago, the only way she communicated was by screaming in terror, Tulli would take her sister’s sweet smile any day of the week.
She casually tapped the contacts button and Gregor’s picture appeared next to the call button. Tulli let her finger hover over the button while she studied Gregor’s handsome face.
The picture had been taken from his company website, and he was standing in front of a room full of people, speaking to them about goodness knows what, but they all looked absolutely enthralled by what he was saying.
Tulli could imagine being in that audience, held captive by his voice, longing for him to catch her eye, maybe grace her with one of his smiles.
No wonder there had been so many women in the audience, she frowned. They were all trying to get the great man to see them!
Tulli was studying the screen closer, trying to work out which of the females was likely to be her competition, when it started to vibrate. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that the phone all but flew out of her hands as she jumped, and it was all she could do to carefully gather it to her and hit the answer button.
“Hey, you.” Gregor sounded tired. “How’s everything going?”
“It’s all going fine here.” She replied, settling back into her chair. “Everyone seems to be doing something very important, leaving Lara and I with nothing to do except look after Mischa.”
“That’s not a bad thing, after all you’ve been through, Tulli.” Gregor argued. “You could do with some down time, if only to recharge your batteries.”
“Trust me, my batteries are fully charged.” Tulli chuckled. “I’m already reading a book a day, and if I have to look at another minute of daytime TV, I’ll scream.”
“Somehow I can’t imagine you or Lara as big TV watchers.” Gregor laughed.
“We’re not.” Tulli smiled. “But there’s a TV in the bedroom, and Mischa likes the noise. If Joel isn’t around to keep her happy, that’s the next best thing. I don’t mind the occasional documentary, but unfortunately they don’t have the same sounds as the daytime soaps and quiz shows, so they don’t keep Mischa’s attention as well.”
“How is she doing today? Any better?” Gregor asked.
“She’s smiling more, I think.” Tulli closed her eyes. “She seems to be happy now, especially whenever Joel is around. It’s like he’s her superhero or something. He has endless patience with her, tells her jokes and stories constantly, and never seems to mind that their conversations are mostly one-sided. He’s wonderful.”
“Tuck told me that Charlie’s parents adopted him as a baby, from a neighbour who couldn’t cope with him on top of all her other kids. They’re obviously an amazing couple.” Gregor explained. “Since their dad has been unwell, it’s been a struggle to cope with all of the hospital appointments as well as Joel’s classes and drama club. Charlie’s hoping that now his dad is recovering from his surgery, things will settle down again.”
“I was talking to Candy earlier, and she said their dad is being discharged from hospital tomorrow morning.” Tulli confirmed. “Charlie is bringing Joel over here for breakfast, so he can be free to go to the hospital to collect his dad and get him settled at the house before coming back for Joel. They know how excited Joel is going to be to have his dad home, so they’re doing it in stages.”
“Sounds like a sensible idea.” She could imagine Gregor’s smile.
“Oh, and more good news from the hospital … the other man who was shot by Castille, Drew Dixon? Well he’s been released and is back with the rest of the family at the stables.” Tulli explained. “He won’t be ready to fly home for a while, but at least he’s with his family.”
“That’s excellent news.” Gregor genuinely sounded pleased. “I’ll make sure Sophia knows when I speak to her.
“How about you?” She ventured. “Have you been busy earning more billions today? Have you finished working now?”
Gregor’s chuckle made her smile.
“At least a few more billions.” He replied, and she wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. “Unfortunately, I haven’t quite finished for the day. I still have a video-conference scheduled with our Japanese team. We have to wait for their monthly results to come in, and with the time difference, that means a nine o’clock call.”
“I would have thought that with all the latest technology, you’d have all your results coming through in real-time.” Tulli frowned. “Monthly sounds so… twentieth century.”
Gregor burst out laughing.
“You’re right, we do get most of our financial reports in real time.” He confirmed. “But the Japanese team is an educational establishment of sorts. We have two hundred students going through a doctorate programme in research and development. They’re assessed monthly and we go through the results.”
“What are you researching and developing?” Tulli asked curiously.
“Half of the team is working on an engineering project. We’re looking to develop materials which will stand up better to natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, but are inexpensive to produce, so that your average house can be built with them. More and more of the world seems to be at risk, and yet outside of the major cities, we’re still using building materials that crumble to dust at the first tremor.”
“Wow!” Tulli was impressed. “That sounds like an amazing project to be working on.”
“It’s something I’m really excited about.” Gregor enthused. “The same materials could be movable, so they could be used to shore up coastal areas, or inland flood defences even. It would save billions of dollars in insurance claims, but more importantly, it would save the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people when these types of natural disasters occur.”
Tulli loved hearing how excited he was about the work he was involved in.
“You said half of the work was on the engineering project.” She reminded him. “What is the other half doing?”
“They’re involved in medical research.” Gregor explained, no less enthusiastic. “We have teams trying to develop new types of antibiotics, which people are less likely to build a resistance to.”
“That’s an unusual area of medicine to be involved in.” Tulli frowned. “I thought most research programmes were involved with looking to cure cancers, or Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. That sort of thing.”
“Many are, and I do give large sums of money to all of those research projects here in the US.” Gregor explained. “But the reducing effectiveness of antibiotics is one of the biggest worries of the twenty-first century. If we don’t come up with something to replace existing antibiotics, in fifty years, maybe less, we could find ourselves with nothing to fight even the most common infections. Can you imagine what that would be like? People would start dying in large numbers from simple bacterial infections. It’s something the medical world keep shouting about, but governments are turning a deaf ear to.”
“But you’re listening.” Tulli said simply, her admiration for him growing by the minute.
“I’m not alone.” Gregor said simply. “A number of us are putting our money to good use on similar projects.”
“A number of you billionaires, do you mean?” Tulli teased.
“Yes, a number of us billionaires.” Gregor chuckled. “But unlike the various projects funded by different governments, we’re actually talking to each other, sharing knowledge, and most importantly, we’re not wasting time and money duplicating the same tests. Every penny we spend is actually used to make progress.”
“I envy you.” Tulli smiled. “You have so much passion for what you do. It’s amazing.”
“Hah, that’s just a small percentage of what I do. Maybe, one percent?” Gregor sounded rueful. “A lot of it is just your average day to day running of a large business, checking in with my senior management team, and running through any new projects. Nowhere near as exciting.”
“Well, it all sounds exciting to me.” Tulli argued. “I’d give my right arm to be involved in anything that made me use my brain. I feel like I’ve forgotten everything I ever learned.”
“You just need to be patient, Tulli.” Gregor said soothingly. “Once this mess has sorted itself out, then your life can start again. It won’t be long now. I promise.”
“I guess.” Tulli found it hard to show any enthusiasm. How could she when her future was so completely out of her hands? “Did Tuck tell you I messaged the college my father was hired by?”
“No, he didn’t. Did it get you any further towards finding out where your family’s belongings were?” Gregor sounded genuinely interested.
“No, not yet.” Tulli admitted. “I think the person who picked up the email was more worried that we were going to sue the college for wrongful termination of employment. She kept telling me to speak to the legal department. Even when I explained that my father was dead, and therefore couldn’t have been wrongfully terminated, she wasn’t sure whether she should be talking to me. In the end I got the number of some woman I need to speak to in legal, but she’s not in the office until Monday.”
“Ok, well the delay sucks, but at least you’ve taken the first step.” Gregor encouraged. “That’s a big positive. And it’s just the first of many small steps you’ll be taking over the next few weeks. You should be proud of yourself, Tulli. You’re already moving forwards.”
Tulli felt the tears prick the back of her eyes, and within a couple of seconds she had no choice but to sniff.
“Tulli?” Gregor didn’t miss anything. “Did I upset you, sweetheart? Are you Ok?”
“I’m fine.” She whispered. “I just wish…”
Gregor waited patiently, but Tulli just couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Talk to me, Tulli.” Gregor’s voice was gentle and concerned. “Tell me what I said that upset you.”
“Oh, Gregor, you said nothing to upset me.” She reassured him, laughing as she sniffed again. “You always say the nicest things to me, positive things, that I just wanted to hug you. And then I remembered that I couldn’t, because I’m here and you’re not.”
“Ok, that’s it. I’m coming over there right now!” Gregor sounded as though he was already moving.
“NO! Please Gregor.” She almost shrieked. “You can’t do that! It’s too dangerous.”
“Tulli, you’re upset, and you need a hug.” Gregor sounded frustrated. “And so do I, damn it!”
Tulli was more than a little surprised by Gregor’s outburst, and just a tiny bit amused at his admission that he needed a hug.
“If you asked nicely, I’m sure Dmitri would give you a hug.” She suggested and was rewarded with a Gregor chuckle.
“He probably would.” Gregor admitted. “But there’s only one person whose arms I want wrapped around me, and she’s being stubborn about letting me come and visit with her.”
Tulli couldn’t help but smile at the warmth his words created.
“I want you to stay safe, Gregor.” She pointed out. “And if depriving myself of your arms means that I can keep you from getting hurt, then it’s a small sacrifice to make.”
“Once this is all done with, you’re going to be thoroughly sick of having my arms around you.” Gregor assured her. “I fully intend to hug you every free minute of the day. And I should warn you that as the boss, I get to decide how many minutes are free ones, and at the moment I’m leaning towards all of them.”
Tulli chuckled.
“You’re not making that sound like something I’ll get sick of.” She tried to imagine ever wanting him to stop. Ok, maybe she could think of one or two scenarios. “As long as I get reasonable bathroom breaks, and time to attend to hygiene issues, such as showers and putting clean clothes on, I reckon you can hug away all you like.”
“I’ll agree to regular bathroom breaks, but as to showers and dressing… well, maybe I could help you out that way. I’m really good with a loofah.” He snorted. “And I’ve been able to manage buttons and zippers since I was about five. I think I’m well-qualified.”
Tulli loved this silly, flirty side of Gregor, and wondered how many people had ever seen this side of him. Precious few, she reckoned.
“I guess I could give you a trial run. In fact, I think I could get used to the whole hugging non-stop thing.” She agreed easily. “How long do you think it might take for you to be hugged out?”
“I’m thinking never.” Gregor admitted. “But let’s err on the cautious side and go for sixty years.”
Tulli burst out laughing.
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a funny guy, Mr Diminov?” She snorted.
“Did anyone ever tell you I might not be joking, Ms Mazur?” He replied.
Before Tulli could respond, she heard a distant buzzing.
“Tulli? That’s my notification that the Japanese are coming on-line.” Gregor sighed, obviously frustrated. “I don’t know how long this will last, because often it goes on for a few hours. Can I call you in the morning, after breakfast and your swim?”
“About ten o’clock would be fine.” Tulli agreed, wishing she didn’t have to let him go.
“Sleep well, Tulli.” Gregor’s voice was so soft.
“Sweet dreams, Gregor.” She replied.
The click of the call ending was the most horrible sound.
“I’m missing you already.” She whispered to no one.