Packing was easy for Tom it had become muscle memory over the years, and the ability to pack light and swiftly was something he prided himself on. It hadn’t taken him long before he was out the door, had completed the bus trip and was now seated on the train bound for the International Airport. The only reason he wasn’t already at the airport was in the typical fashion of Australia’s public transport the bus had been late. Journeys to the airport always fascinated Tom; not only was he brimming with excitement with his single backpack and adventurous smile painted on, but he loved to marvel at how humanity could be so embarrassing without realising it. There were your typical business men and women with their single roller bags and newspapers. They were surrounded by feral children all belonging to the same parents who had taken this moment to choose not to parent at all. The children ran up and down the aisle consistently making more noise than the rest of the carriage combined. For the eighth time that minute they would pass the family of 4 who seemed perfectly normal except for the fact they had 13 bags between them and needed 9 seats just to accommodate them. Then the cherry on top was Baz who at some moment in time thought it prudent to let the occupant of this seat know that he had been here. “Baz was here”, Tom wondered if that was his epitaph as well, what an achievement. Thankfully the trip was nearing an end and as he entertained the notion of just how proud Baz must have been the phone started vibrating and upon seeing Ann’s name he broke out into a genuine smile.
“Hi Ann, what’s up?” he was a little too enthusiastic.

“Ah Tom, I caught you! We need to talk…” There was something in the way she said it.

“Sounds serious, any chance it can wait I’m nearly at the airport and if I don’t make this flight I’m fucked sis.”

“Literally or figuratively?” She liked playing games with him.

“Disappointingly not the literal kind.”

“That’s a shame. Our brother died.” No time like the present, just ask Herb.

“Yeah it is…what? What did you say? Brother?” He really didn’t have time for her bullshit. “Listen Ann, it’s been fun, but I really have to go so you’ll excuse me if we walk and talk.”

“Fair enough, I wasn’t being fun I was being serious. We have a half-brother called Herbert. Well, we had one.” Her tone made him pause briefly.
 
“Who says we have a half-brother called Herbert?” He always wanted a brother.

“Had.” She corrected him.

“What?”

“We had a half-brother, he died remember? The lawyers to his estate say so. We just inherited his belongings.”

“Right, is this an early April fools? Because it’s incredibly lame. “She had to be joking and so much for the brother idea.

“No, it’s for real. We inherited his stuff which includes a house.”

“A house huh? That could be useful. What’d this guy do exactly?” Relevance tends to take a backseat when facing death, no matter how distant.

“He was a damn good environmental scientist, apparently.” The lawyer would demand it be emphasised. “I’m told the place is on a hill and you can see the bay. It’s also fully solar powered, minus one panel.”

“That’s pretty cool. Do you know how he died?”

“Never mind that.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to know? Was it a grisly murder?”

“It was something. Anyway, we can take ownership as soon they drain and clean the pool and we both sign the papers. So when can we catch up?” Her voice betrayed her eagerness to finally be free of that little apartment.

“I’m actually going to Laos for a week so when I return? Speaking of which I have to go so I’ll call you when I land.” The check in counter was surprisingly empty and one knows to take the opportunities when available. “Wait”, he paused, “Did you say ‘clean the pool’?” “Have a great trip, chat soon!”
With that the silence nearly deafened Tom who was now face to face with a disappointed looking check-in attendant who couldn’t care less about the state of his new pool.