Page 40 of The Secret
My mouth falls open. Of all the scenarios I imagined on the plane, this wasn’t one of them.
“That’s … that’s …”Very odd.“134 Pretoria Drive, right?” I say, peering down at my screen at the address. I can picture him typing it, blond curls bent over the phone.
He nods at me, leaning over to examine the address, and I turn it toward him.
A smiling woman appears behind him.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“This lady here is looking for someone named Dan Andrews.” The guy turns, taking my phone and showing it to her.
And the whole story comes tumbling out, of meeting Dan in Congo, of him coming to Manhattan and then not hearing from him. Their expressions morph into interest and sympathy.
I stretch my hand out. “I’m Liss, by the way,” I say with a smile, and they both shake my hand.
“Masimba and Marja,” the man says, gesturing to himself and his wife. “And we actually only moved in at the weekend, so I guess he could have lived here before us.” He smiles.
That’s just a few days ago. My heart leaps. “Was there any mail when you got here?” I chew my cheek.
The woman shakes her head. “The university cleaned it and cleared it all out. This is one of the houses they let out to people. Everything is registered with them.”
“Oh, so it’s university accommodation? Dan was doing his PhD there.”
“Marj works at the university,” Masimba interjects.
The woman nods, and my heart lifts. Perhaps, once Dan handed his thesis in, he had to move out. But … But … I sigh. It still doesn’t explain why he’s not responded to any of my messages, and why he didn’t say anything to me. He still could be in a ditch somewhere.
“Actually, a letter came the day we moved in …” the guy starts, tapping his lip.
“Oh yes!” Marja cries. “A circular thing addressed to a company. I’m so sorry, we threw it out. I didn’t think it was important.”
“That’s okay.” I squint down the rows of front lawns, shimmering like a mirage in the heat. “Maybe I’ll try the university,” I say.
“Definitely. They’ll have records of previous tenants, I’m sure.” Marj’s head bobs.
“Thank you so much. I’m sorry to hold up your morning routine.”
“Give us your contact details,” she says suddenly, disappearing into the house and coming back with her phone. “Just in case. If any mail comes through, we could get in touch with you?”
“That’s very kind of you,” I say, tapping in my number and taking theirs as well.
“Best of luck!” she says.
“I hope you find him,” Masimba adds.
I smile at them both and lift my hand as I head off down the brown earthen road toward the bus stop, sun beating down on my head. The university must have an accommodation office, and of course they’ll have records of Dan, perhaps even a forwarding address. My nerves flatten out. I’m not sure what I’m thinking: He didn’t tell me anything but maybe it’s okay that he’s not here.If he was here, it would mean he’d been avoiding me.But Jesus, has something happened to him?
* * *
When I get to the accommodation office, I throw myself on the mercy of a woman named Jaya behind the desk, throat dry. She leans on the wood between us and gives me raised eyebrows and says, “Oh, honey!” when I tell her my story, so I play up the romance angle because she seems like the kind of person who might love that. I’m not sure if they’ll have any privacy restrictions, but she doesn’t seem worried and just turns her monitor toward me as she searches for Dan’s name.
“Ah yes, here he is. Dan Andrews …” Her long purple nail rests against his name on the screen, and I let out a large breath I didn’t realize I was holding.He does exist.He’s not some figment of my imagination. Maybe this will make him magically appear from somewhere. And … he wasn’t lying about being a student here.
“… He was doing a PhD here.” She makes a few more clicks. “He’s handed his thesis in. There’s nothing odd on his record.”
“He’s not in the house he rented from the university any longer,” I say.
“Yeah, that would be right.” She nods, looking at me over her thick frames. “It’s policy that students have to leave at the end of their time here: Only staff have extended accommodation rights in university housing.”
