Amy's Rest

by S R Silcox

  “Oh my God,” she said.

  Zoe smiled. “Good, right?”

  “Uh-huh,” Georgia agreed as she savoured another spoonful of the delicious beef and vegetables.

  They ate in silence for a while until Georgia said, “You were going camping tonight?”

  Zoe nodded, but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m sorry I messed up your plans.”

  Zoe shrugged. “I’m still camping, technically. Just not where I thought I’d be.”

  “Probably drier,” Georgia said.

  “Probably,” Zoe replied.

  Georgia scraped her plate clean of gravy and considered wiping it clean with her finger, but decided against it. She placed her plate on the floor and shuffled back on the swag so she could lean against the wall.

  Zoe put the pot on the floor and pulled out the bottle of scotch. She uncapped it and took a drink before handing it to Georgia.

  “Is there some special reason you were going camping tonight? Or it’s just something you do?” Georgia asked, taking the scotch and having a drink.

  Zoe took the scotch back, had another drink and said, “It’s the anniversary of my parents’ deaths.”

  Georgia’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Zoe said. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Yes, but I’ve totally messed up your night,” Georgia said.

  “Forget it,” Zoe said. She picked up the pot, plate and cutlery and stood up. “I’m going to clean these up, and then we should get some sleep.”

  Georgia wondered whether there was more to the story than Zoe was letting on. She didn’t do anything to commemorate Amy’s death. In fact, apart from the funeral, Georgia tried her best to ignore anything to do with the date Amy died.

  Georgia pulled back the cover of the swag and lay on the mattress underneath. It was more comfortable than it looked. She pulled the cover over herself and turned onto her side.

  Zoe was only gone for a few minutes before she was back in the room packing up the plates and other dishes into a small esky. “Okay if I turn this off now?” she asked, indicating the LED lamp.

  Georgia nodded.

  Zoe turned off the lamp, turning the room pitch black until Georgia’s eyes adjusted to the gloom. She heard the sleeping bag rustle across from her as Zoe got settled.

  The thunder rolled closer outside and a crack of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the room. She locked eyes with Zoe, who was lying on her side, apparently watching Georgia. When the next round of lightning lit up the room, Zoe had turned onto her back. Georgia had a feeling there was more to Zoe Jennings than she let on.

  “Goodnight,” Georgia said into the dark.

  There was a moment when Georgia thought Zoe might have already been asleep, until Zoe replied, “Night.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  Zoe was up with the sun the next morning and quietly snuck outside to the shed, where she boiled some water for coffee and made a start on breakfast. There really wasn’t enough for two people, but she’d grab something more to eat at home before she headed to the workshop. She needed to finish sanding and painting the doors for the cottage if she was going to get this build finished on time.

  She’d lay awake for hours last night, listening to the storm roll in and then over them, and then to Georgia sleeping across the room. Zoe wondered if Georgia knew she snored. Not like a freight train, like Zoe’s father used to, but more like loud, deep breaths with the occasional snort. Zoe found herself smiling at the memory. She had to admit that it was sort of cute.

  “Morning,” Georgia said, bringing Zoe out of her thoughts. She looked up from the pan. Georgia was leaning on the door frame, her eyes still sleepy and her hair pushed up on one side. The sight of her like that, just barely awake, made Zoe’s insides turn to mush. She swallowed hard and turned her attention back to cooking breakfast.

  “There’s not much,” Zoe said. “I only brought enough for me, obviously, but there’s enough to take the edge off until we get into town.”

  “That’s okay,” Georgia replied. “I’m still full from that stew last night.” She pushed away from the door frame and wandered into the shed. “Any chance I can get coffee?”

  Zoe pointed to the table. “There’s some hot water in the urn. I figured you might want some warm water to wash up this morning, so I heated it up again. Everything else is in the lock boxes. Help yourself.”

  Georgia smiled and proceeded to make two coffees and handed one to Zoe. She accepted it gratefully and took a sip. “Perfect.”

  “Well, I’ve been making them for you for the last two weeks, I should know how you like it,” Georgia said. She smiled over the top of her mug.

  Zoe smiled back and then looked away, concentrating on dividing the eggs and bacon onto two plates, and handed one to Georgia. As they ate, Zoe said, “We’ll see if we can pull your car out on our way back into town. From what I saw last night, it just slid into the ditch.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be bringing it back up here,” Georgia said. “Not if we’re going to be getting more rain.”

  “It’s supposed to clear by the end of the week so you should be okay next week, but you’ll have to come up here with me or Nick in the mean time,” Zoe said. “And as for the creek, we’ll have to wait and see if it’s still up or not when we get there. The second storm was more bluster than anything else, so we might get lucky.”

  Georgia nodded. She finished her breakfast and then said, “I’m sorry I messed up your plans last night.”

  Zoe looked up from her plate. “It’s okay.”

  Georgia stood up, put her plate onto the table and walked over to the bath tub. “Ugh, I guess I should clean that before it goes back in the house.”

  “What happened, to get you caked in mud like that last night?” Zoe asked. “Did you try and dig yourself out?”

  Georgia bit her bottom lip and took a sip of her coffee. “I tripped over,” she said.

  “Where?”

  “Just out there.” Georgia pointed outside the shed. “It was raining so I started running once I saw the cottage and just as I got to the corner, my foot hit a puddle. I slipped and went face first into the mud.”

  Zoe laughed out loud. “Sorry, it’s not funny, really. You didn’t hurt anything, did you?”

  “Apart from my pride?” Georgia replied.

  Zoe’s phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a message from Jack. Just wanted to see how you were.

  Zoe sent him a quick text back. All good Heading back to town soon Catch up later.

  Jack sent back a thumbs up and Zoe said to Georgia, “We should get going. I’ve got a class today, and I’m guessing you want to have a long hot shower?”

  Georgia nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Zoe stood up. “We should clean this stuff up so we can go rescue your car.”

  The creek at the bottom of the driveway was still under water, so once they pulled Georgia’s car out of the ditch, they left it at the cottage and Zoe drove them both back into town. When they pulled up at the motel, Georgia said, “Look, I know I didn’t sound like it last night, but I’m really grateful you came out to the cottage to get me.”

  “Far as I can tell, neither of us were happy with the positions we were in last night, so…” Zoe shrugged.

  “Yeah, well, things didn’t end up too badly,” Georgia said. “Did they?”

  Zoe shook her head. “No, they didn’t.”

  Georgia looked like she wanted to say something else, but instead she said, “Well, I guess I’ll see you on Monday.”

  Zoe nodded and as Georgia turned to walk away, she said, “You should come to the workshop.” She didn’t know why she said it, but for some reason, she wanted to show Georgia the place she felt most at home. And she had those doors to show her for the cottage.

  “The workshop? What for?” Georgia asked.

  Zoe ran her hand over the back of her head. “I’ve got some
doors there I think might be good for the cottage. If you want to take a look, and I take a carpentry class. With kids. We’re making boxes for the show next weekend.”

  “A carpentry class? Are you trying to tell me I need practice?” Georgia’s mischievous smile sent a ripple through Zoe’s body.

  Zoe grinned. “Well, if you’re going to be filling in for Nick next week, then you’re going to have to learn the basics.”

  “Where’s Nick going?” Georgia asked.

  “He’s practising dancing and strutting for the Mister Elizabeth Creek competition all week. It’s like a showgirl competition but for the blokes,” Zoe explained.

  “Right,” Georgia replied. “I guess I might see you later, then.”

  “Around one,” Zoe said. As she pulled away, she glanced into her review mirror to see Georgia still standing on the footpath. Zoe stuck her arm out the window and waved, and Georgia waved back and turned and walked up the motel driveway.

  As Zoe drove home, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between them. Something that had made her panic as soon as she’d seen Georgia’s car in the ditch, thinking she’d been hurt. Something that made her heart beat a little faster when she’d lay awake last night, close enough to Georgia to hear her breathing in her sleep.

  What surprised her, though, was that her instinct to tamp down on her feelings had seemed to have disappeared. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing or not yet, but she was willing to find out.

  THIRTY-TWO

  After a long hot shower, and catching up on some sleep, Georgia checked in with Ren to let her know she was still alive. Ren wanted ‘all the goss’ about Zoe and hadn’t believed it when Georgia insisted there was none.

  “The two of you alone in a storm and nothing happened? I don’t believe it,” Ren had said.

  “You read way too many romance novels,” Georgia had replied.

  “Can’t say I’m not disappointed,” Ren had answered. “But there’s still time.”

  Georgia had hung up soon after, but as she walked down to the cafe for lunch, the thought did niggle at her brain about the subtle shift she’d felt between her and Zoe. Had Zoe felt it too over the last few days?

  The cafe wasn’t busy when Georgia arrived, and she ordered a salad at the counter and turned to find a table by the window. She was about to sit down when someone called her name. She turned to see Jack at a table in the back with a woman and two kids who Georgia assumed were his family. The boy looked vaguely familiar and it took a moment to realise he was the one at Leroy’s a couple of weeks ago. He was concentrating on a bowl of chips, his face covered in tomato sauce. The little girl, who Georgia guessed was his sister, jiggled her feet under the table as she drank from a milkshake.

  Jack introduced Georgia to his wife, Molly and to Ryan and Josie and said, “Zoe said you got out alright this morning.”

  Georgia nodded. “The creek was still up so we left my car there until it goes down.”

  “It goes down as quick as it comes up,” Jack said. “So shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”

  “That’s what Zoe said,” Georgia replied.

  “Sorry I had to send her last night,” Jack said. “I know you two haven’t been getting on well. She can be a bit over the top if you don’t know her.”

  “She was fine,” Georgia assured him. “I’m just sorry I interrupted her camping trip.” She was unsure if she should mention that she knew the reason for it, so she erred on the side of caution. “We had a pretty good night, actually.”

  “Really?” Molly asked. Georgia found it intriguing that she sounded surprised by that information.

  “Oh, and by the way, that stew of yours was amazing,” Georgia said. “I can’t remember the last time I ate a stew like that.”

  “Zoe shared her food?” Molly asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Georgia nodded. “And her scotch, which I have to say, although it burned my insides out, did warm me up.”

  Molly and Jack glanced at each other and Georgia got the feeling she was being left out of an in joke.

  “I’m not going to grow an extra head or something, am I?” Georgia joked.

  “It was Dad’s favourite, that scotch,” Jack said. “I’m not sure Zoe told you, but yesterday was the anniversary of our parents’ deaths.”

  “She mentioned that,” Georgia said. “So she goes camping and drinks bad scotch to commemorate it?”

  “Something like that,” Jack said. “I can’t believe there’s still some left, though. The distillery that made it went out of business years ago. Robbo’s got the last carton and Zoe’s the only one who buys it.”

  “I don’t know what she’s going to do when it runs out,” Molly said.

  “She might have to finally deal with it like an adult,” Jack huffed.

  Molly put her hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I think she’s dealing with it the way she needs to, Love.” She smiled at Georgia. “She’s not as tough as she makes out, you know.”

  Georgia had certainly seen some of that softer side last night, and it intrigued her that someone as forthright and blunt as Zoe had a soft centre.

  A waitress interrupted their conversation, bringing Georgia her lunch.

  “We should let you go,” Molly said. “We’re almost ready to head off anyway. Ryan wants to call in to Zoe’s workshop to work on his box for the show.”

  “Oh, I’m heading down there after lunch,” Georgia said. She smiled at Ryan. “I might see you there.”

  Ryan replied by shoving a chip into his mouth.

  “She hasn’t roped you into a class, has she?” Jack joked.

  Georgia shook her head. “She said she’s got some doors that might suit the cottage, so I was going to have a look.”

  “Right,” Jack said. “We might see you down there then.”

  “You might,” Georgia replied. “It was really great meeting you all.”

  “You too,” Molly replied.

  Georgia left Jack and his family to finish their lunch and sat at a table by the window.

  As she ate her lunch, she thought about what Jack and Molly had said about Zoe not dealing with her parents’ deaths. And even though Zoe hadn’t made a fuss about it last night, Georgia thought that there was maybe more to it than she’d said.

  Georgia could certainly relate to Zoe not dealing with the death of her parents. Even though Amy’s cancer had meant that her death wasn’t unexpected in the end, Georgia had found it hard to deal with initially. It wasn’t just not having Amy when she needed her and reached for her. It was all those lost moments and experiences they’d never get to have together that tore at Georgia, at least in the beginning.

  Which was the reason the cottage had to go. It was the last thing tying Georgia to Amy, and she knew that no matter what memories that cottage would have held for them both, they’d never get to experience them now. With the cottage sold, Georgia might finally be able to move on with her life after Amy. She wondered what it would take for Zoe to move on.

  THIRTY-THREE

  Zoe was helping Ryan sand his box when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She nestled it between her ear and shoulder. “Zoe Jennings.”

  “It’s Georgia. Ballantyne.”

  “Oh, hey. Hang on a sec.” Zoe waved at Nick to come and take over and headed for the door. “Everything okay?”

  “I’m standing outside your workshop,” Georgia said. “But there’s no-one here.”

  Zoe glanced around but couldn’t see anyone, and then it hit her. “Oh, you’re at the work shed?”

  “Isn’t that where you said?” Georgia asked.

  “Sorry,” Zoe replied. “I should’ve been more specific. I use a workshop just up the road for my classes. I can come and get you if you like?”

  “How far is it?” Georgia asked.

  “A couple of blocks from where you are,” Zoe replied. Someone tugged at her shirt and she looked down to see Ryan holding out a coloured block, waiting for her approval. She gav
e him a thumbs up and he grinned and raced back inside.

  “I can walk down if it’s not far. Just tell me where,” Georgia said.

  Zoe shifted the phone to her other ear and peered back in to the workshop to check on Nick. “Keep walking past the work shed and take the first right into Sussex.”

  “Okay,” Georgia replied, and from the slight puff in her voice, Zoe guessed she’d started walking as she gave instructions.

  “You’ll walk past a little church on the right and then cross over the next road and I’m half-way along in an old timber shed. You’ll probably hear us before you see us.”

  “Church on the right, cross the road, timber shed,” Georgia replied. “Got it. I’ll see you soon.”

  Zoe hung up and went back inside the shed to let Nick know she was ducking out for a minute or two. Then she walked back out to the footpath and shielded her eyes from the sun as she waited for Georgia to arrive. She spotted her as she crossed the street and waved. When Georgia waved back, a warmth settled in her chest.

  “Hey,” Georgia said as she strode up the driveway.

  “Sorry, I should have made sure you knew which shed I was talking about. I forget sometimes,” Zoe apologised.

  Georgia shook her head. “That’s okay. I’m here now.”

  They stood there smiling at each other for a moment until Zoe remembered why she was there. “So, I’ll show you those doors. If you like them we can get started on prepping them.” She turned and led Georgia inside the workshop, where the kids were in full swing, hammering and sanding.

  Georgia stuck around for the rest of the afternoon, offering to get started on stripping the paint from the doors and sanding them while Zoe finished up with her class. Zoe wasn’t going to argue. The more work that got done on the doors before they were installed, the easier they’d be to finish on site.

  After Nick and the kids had left, Zoe wandered over to check on Georgia’s progress. She’d almost finished with one door, which was impressive. Georgia looked up and pulled her dust mask down onto her chin.

  “What do you think, boss?” she joked.

  Zoe ran her hands along the timber and nodded. “Not bad for an apprentice.”