‘I apologised, didn’t I? You know how it is. I’m sorry I couldn’t wait, but my career was on the line and I really needed to secure my tenure. You wouldn’t listen. Besides, you seem to have handled it fine. The dress will be going back to Texel for the exhibition and there’s been no significant damage to your work prospects. You’re a freelancer, Jo. You’ll always find another project. It’s not quite the same for me, is it? I just wish you’d appreciate my position a bit more.’

‘Your position?’ I was shouting. ‘Not only did you betray my trust by stealing my notes, you knowingly launched the discovery with the media without bothering to establish the truth. It’s a grubby approach to scholarship, Liam. And a pretty low thing to do to someone you’re supposed to be working with.’

‘You’ll have your chance to tell your version when the exhibition goes live and you publish your book.’

‘No thanks to you,’ I said, icily. ‘I’ll be lucky to get that job at Sydney University now you’ve made me look completely foolish. I had no idea what to say to those journalists. You didn’t even have the decency to warn me first.’

‘Would you have listened?’

‘I guess we’ll never know.’

I hung up before he could reply.

When Nico called last night to ask if I’d go diving early with Anneke, I’d said yes. No hesitations and no regrets. After edging onto the diving platform, I put the regulator in my mouth and slipped backwards into the waves. I felt the pull of the current, trying to separate me from the others. A swirl of bubbles hit my face, gentle as a kiss. I breathed long and deep, shutting my eyes against the deep, intoxicating blue. Two hands found mine. I opened my eyes to see Anneke and Nico holding onto me, drawing me into the future, away from the past.

‘There you are.’ I turned around to find Nico smiling down at me. He looked handsome in his grey suit. He kissed my cheek while Anneke, walking a few paces behind, looked disgusted. She brightened, though, as she came closer, and her eyes widened as she took in the spectacle of the exhibition space and sensed the excited atmosphere inside. In her short black dress, she looked older than her fifteen years and happier than I’d ever seen her. Working on the exhibition had given her a sense of purpose. I was proud of her commitment and I told her so now, pretending to ignore the blush of pleasure which spread across her cheeks.

‘I can’t believe how different she looks,’ Nico whispered in my ear. ‘She’s like a different person.’

‘She’s the same person,’ I assured him. ‘She’s just found her calling.’