Emergency: Christmas

Penelope blinked. ‘So you’ve got children, then?’

‘What?’ Mark was startled. ‘What makes you think that?’

‘One generally needs to have kids to become a grandfather. Hard to skip that bit.’

Mark laughed. ‘It was just an expression. I’ve never been married and I haven’t got any children, though I certainly hope to one of these days. Hopefully not too far in the future. I’m not getting any younger.’

‘Join the club,’ Penelope said with feeling. ‘I turned thirty earlier this year. It’s kind of a major milestone.’

‘Hardly remember it,’ Mark said cheerfully. ‘Wait until you’re pushing forty and you’ll really have something to worry about.’

‘You’re not pushing forty, are you?’ Penelope’s glance was surprised. No hints of significant grey were obvious in Mark’s dark hair and the lines around his eyes looked far more attributable to laughter than advancing age.

‘I’m thirty-six,’ Mark told her. ‘Definitely on the downward slide.’

‘Yeah, right!’ Penelope returned his smile. So. Mark was looking to settle down. He wanted a family. He’d never been married. And here he was starting a new job in a new city and he was living in single quarters. Was he looking for a house because someone significant in his life was planning to join him in Wellington? Somehow, Penelope didn’t think this was the case.

‘What brought you back to New Zealand?’ Penelope found herself asking. ‘Besides the lack of career advancement in England.’

‘I left England nearly two years ago,’ Mark responded after a tiny pause. ‘I’ve been in Auckland but I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to settle down. It was just the first job that came up when I decided to leave.’ Mark’s tone suggested that he’d taken the first escape route that had presented itself. What had he been escaping from? Professional dissatisfaction or something rather more personal? Penelope instinctively knew that it wasn’t a subject either of them were ready to discuss. It was time to move back to safer territory.

‘You’ll find Wellington’s weather a bit of a shock after Auckland,’ she commented. She cringed slightly as she finished her sentence. Couldn’t she think of something more original than the weather for a change of subject?

Mark didn’t seem to mind. ‘It rains all the time in Auckland,’ he said obligingly. ‘Very depressing. It’s hot and wet.’

‘It’s cold and wet here.’ Penelope smiled. ‘And Auckland’s storms have nothing on ours. Wellington’s storms are unique. Gale-force winds blowing in from Cook Straight and rain that goes sideways.’

‘But on a nice day it’s perfect,’ Mark pointed out. ‘It must be one of the prettiest cities in the country with the hills and this harbour.’

‘Sure,’ Penelope agreed. ‘On a nice day it’s perfect. All three of them a year,’ she added mischievously.

Mark laughed. ‘Just as well I enjoy the benefits of bad weather, then.’

‘Such as?’

‘Roaring log fires. Hot soup. The security of being shut away in a house with the sound of rain beating down on a tin roof.’

The notion of being shut away in front of a roaring fire with Mark wasn’t unpleasant. Penelope could almost hear the rain on the roof. She stared ahead in silence for a minute as she allowed herself to enjoy the contemplation. The road opened to a reasonably straight stretch with the next bend well ahead. The barrier fence flashed past on their left, cutting them off from the drop to a narrow, rocky foreshore and steep slope into the water. The breeze was whipping up tiny whitecaps on the surface of the harbour. To their right, the land sloped upwards. The houses were becoming much sparser and many of the dwellings were concealed above gardens of hardy native trees.

Penelope was aware of the child in her peripheral line of vision even as her attention was caught by the large, brightly coloured ball bouncing onto the road well ahead of them.

‘Oh, my God!’ The words were torn from Penelope as she stared in horror at the rapidly unfolding scene.

The small child followed the ball onto the road just as an oncoming car was rounding the next bend. The driver in the small red hatchback that was a close match to Penelope’s own car had no time to brake. Penelope registered the panicked expression on the woman’s face as she wrenched at her steering-wheel. Without even slackening its pace, the hatchback swerved onto the other side of the road, heading straight towards Penelope’s car. She could feel her seat belt digging in across her body painfully as Mark slammed on the brakes.

Only inches separated Penelope and Mark from the doomed vehicle as it careered past them. The red hatchback was skidding now, any attempt at braking clearly ineffective. Its speed was unabated as it broke through the metal barrier fence marking the harbour side of the roadway. The car was airborne for what seemed like several seconds. Then it hit a large rock before ploughing into the murky grey water of the harbour.

The sound of the impact was shocking, coming in the split second after Mark had brought Penelope’s car to a complete halt and the engine had stalled. They were close to the child themselves now. The small girl stood in the middle of the road, bewildered by what was happening. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and gazed unblinkingly at Penelope. Shouting could be heard from the property the child had emerged from. Frantic shouting that indicated the child’s mother had seen the accident.

Penelope felt her chin being gripped firmly. She turned her head under the pressure from the fingers holding her to find Mark staring at her intently, his brow furrowed with concern.

‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine.’ Penelope’s voice came out as a croak. She cleared her throat. ‘My God, Mark... The woman in that car...’

‘I know.’ Mark was unclipping his safety belt. ‘Get the child off the road, Penny, and tell her mother to call the emergency services. I’m going to see what I can do.’ He paused as he climbed out, reaching to push the hazard light switch. ‘Park a bit further down the road and leave the hazard lights on. Flag down anyone that comes past. We might need some more help.’

The reassurance from Mark’s instant concern for her own well-being above any others’ was enough to galvanise Penelope out of her stunned immobility. She scrambled from the car and scooped up the small girl who was still standing in the middle of the road. A woman was running towards them.

‘Tiffany!’ The mother’s shout ended in a distraught sob. Her arms were outstretched for her daughter as she reached Penelope. ‘Is she all right?’

‘She’s fine. The car didn’t touch her.’ Penelope handed the child to her mother. The little girl took one look at her mother’s face and burst into tears.

‘Can you go and ring the emergency services?’ Penelope was already turning away. ‘I need to shift my car.’

Another vehicle pulled to a halt as Penelope positioned her car. An elderly man rolled down his window. ‘What’s happened?’

‘An accident.’ Penelope could see Mark. He had scrambled over the rocks and was now almost waist deep in water. He seemed to be using all his strength to try and open one of the doors of the red car. The attempt was unsuccessful and he began wading rapidly to the other side of the small hatchback.

‘I’ve got a cellphone,’ the man told Penelope. ‘Shall I ring triple one?’

‘Yes.’ Penelope didn’t know whether the child’s mother would have reached her telephone yet and it wouldn’t matter anyway. Better for the emergency services control room to have too many calls than not enough. ‘Tell them that the occupant of the car appears to be trapped.’