Goodbye Reckless

After that my life became a happy tumult of commotion.

I first made arrangements for the twins and Precious to be looked after. Ryan's mother Cecilia kindly volunteered to look after the children. Ryan was fighting his own battle with her at present.

Eva was joining her brother on tour naturally, with it being holidays from school. Over the weeks it had not only been Andy and mine's relationship that had stepped up but also that of Ryan and Eva, Ryan having finally got the guts to ask her out.

So he was also invited to go on tour with The Academy Is…

Cecilia refused point blank.

"I'm not having my only son join a band of twenty year olds to go trek around Japan and Australia, and the fact that you will be 'looking after him' is not reassuring in the slightest." She said firmly down the phone.

"But Cecilia…" I began.

"Not buts, he's not going."

She was soon to be proven wrong.

- - -

It was the second week of my father and Beatrice's offshore adventure and three days before I left with The Academy Is… to go to Japan.

I had heard nothing from my father and so assumed that to be good news.

However, another phone call invaded my life and proved to shift the axis once more.

The phone call happened early Saturday morning. Andy had stayed over the night before and I had fallen asleep wrapped up comfortably in his arms. Annoyed at who would call at such an anti social time I walked into the living muttering to myself, much to Andy's amusement, and picked up the phone.

"Hello is this Miss Anima Sanders?"

"Yes this is her speaking," I said with confusing marking my voice and face.

"My name is George Hastings I work for the German Embassy in Tokyo."

"And why are you calling me?" I asked, panic settling in my stomach.

"Where is your father Miss Sanders?"

I sank down on the sofa, utterly unsure of what to say and do. Andy who had gotten up as well had walked into the living room, sat down next to me took a firm and reassuring hold of my hand.

"I… I think he's somewhere in the Pacific Ocean," I said meekly.

"Not anymore Miss Sanders, you're father and his fiancé Miss Beatrice Winser are at present in a Japanese prison."

"I beg your pardon?" I screeched hysterically.

"They were obstructing one of the Japanese whale hunting boats, by floating between the said boat and a whale in a small rubber boat and refusing to move. They have been arrested for obstructing the civil service and for sailing in Japanese waters without licence or permission."

And then everything went black.

- - -

"Amina! Wake up." I was pulled out from the comfortingly sound empty vacuum that I had been floating in, by repeated slaps on my face, from a person whom I assumed to be Andy.

"What happened?" I asked groggily, attempting to sit up properly, but Andy put a hand on my shoulder and made me lie down on the sofa again.

"The guy at the other end of the phone said something and you just blacked out. I told him you fainted and he said he'd call back."

"Excellent," I muttered sarcastically and pressed my hand to my forehead, as if to stop the sudden occurring headache from spreading.

"Who was that? And what did he say?" Andy asked curiously as he handed me a glass of water which I gratefully took.

"It was some guy from the German Embassy in Tokyo. Papa and Beatrice have been arrested for obstruction of civil service and for sailing in Japanese waters without licence."

Andy's face still showed signs of confusion.

"Why?"

"They were in that stupid little rubber boat floating between a whale hunting boat and a whale, refusing to move until the ship backed down. I told him not to go and get involved with Greenpeace people! But oh no he has to get engaged to one and then save a whale and get arrested for it!"

I groaned and wondered how on earth I was going to explain this to Ryan.