Double Dare

by Murray Peterson

  Helena blinked in disbelief. She sensed it wasn’t a question. Jesus, was he for real? Good looking, respectful, intelligent and strong, she mused. No wonder he was already in management. “How old are you?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

  “Why do you want to know?” he asked.

  She shrugged unable to meet his eyes. Was he flirting with her? And more to the point, was she flirting with him?

  The shuttle bus came to a stop all too soon and Alex motioned for her to exit the vehicle before him. Fuck me, she thought, it’s like he was from another time, or planet. He did look a bit like Superman. What planet did Superman come from? Jim would know.

  She quickly stifled the yawn and hoped no one saw, but there he was, Prince Charming a.k.a. Alex standing a head taller than her, his eyes watching her with concern. “I’m fine,” she declared.

  “You shouldn’t be doing a double…”

  “Well, I am and you’ve got no one else, so it’s all good.”

  He shook his head, “Maybe you shouldn’t…”

  “Alex, I’m fine, truly, I’ve been doing this for two years now; I won’t let you down.”

  He watched her, looking for even a hint of weakness. “Okay, I trust you,” he said simply.

  Helena had no idea why, but at that moment she started smiling, so much so that she had to cover her mouth with a hand. What was wrong with her?

  “Okay. I’ll tell you what, Helena, how about after we finish, I’ll buy you coffee?”

  She shrugged, “Um okay, but you do realise all meals and coffee are free up here?”

  Alex shook his head, “I wasn’t talking about up here.”

  “Oh,” was all she could manage.

  Chapter 2

  He watched the diamond’s edges sparkle, the multitude of colours reflecting the late afternoon sunlight. The tiny rock mounted onto a gold band that had cost him more than his car, lay flat in Jim’s hand. It was a persuasive argument, marry me and I’ll give you this eight-thousand-dollar piece of jewellery. If you don’t, you’ll miss out. He stretched his shoulders back and sighed. Kelly would say yes. Hadn’t they talked about marriage since their first date? They both said they wanted children and a small house in the city. It was easy to talk about it. To put into action was another thing entirely. There would be the money side of things, not to mention the organising of a wedding. However, life was short, he reflected and knew it better than most. This was the time. There would be no second chances. If he wanted this, he had to do it now.

  He pulled the small green box from his pocket and carefully slipped the ring into its original position. Jim had one last look and closed the box. He took a deep breath and looked at his watch. Five minutes and she would be there. God, he hadn’t expected himself to be this sweaty and nervous. Finding the ring had been fun, asking permission from Kelly’s father had been interesting, the balding man simply saying ‘okay’ before turning back to his football match on the television. The lack of enthusiasm, though not surprising, felt somewhat of an anti-climax, and Jim wondered if Kelly would be the same. No, that was silly, it would be a perfect proposal—in the park at sunset. Kelly had no chance of being distracted by a football match.

  Jim grinned at his own cleverness. It would be perfect. He had his performance memorised. As the last few embers of sunset lit up the tops of the park’s trees, he would get down on one knee, take Kelly’s hand, say her name and then after a dramatic pause ask her to be his wife, and then he would open up the box unveiling her prize. He imagined Kelly fight to control her emotions, a hand over her mouth, give a tiny breathless nod and then he would stand up, kiss her and slide the ring on her finger. Easy. Done.

  He looked at his phone, she would be here at any moment. For some strange reason he felt compelled to ring Hels. She would help calm him down. “Don’t be such a poof,” she would say. The irony that a hetero guy proposing to a hetero girl was possibly the least homosexual act possible would be lost on her. Still, her counsel would be appreciated. She always knew how to take him out of his crazy headspace and make him feel somewhat normal. Why hadn’t she called lately? It’d been weeks. She must’ve been busy at work. Maybe she had met someone. No, she would have told him. There was nothing more eloquent than hearing about one of Hels’ ‘roots’ as she put them. Her method of picking up some poor sap at a bar, having a good time then discarding him made Jim glad the two had never dated. Not that he had wanted to, but had they, he would likely be just one of her discarded rejects rather than her best friend.

  Jim knew he wasn’t as carefree as Hels. He wanted a girlfriend, commitment, love, marriage (all things which, again, ironically, she would say were incredibly ‘gay’). And he loved Kelly. He was sure of it. It was time for them to move to the next level.

  They had met his first day of teaching at Saint Edmund’s Primary. She was teaching Year Three, he Year Six. They’d met in the staff room and discovered they supported the same football team. It’d been fate. Jim found reasons to pop into her classroom and ask for help. Kelly would always smile and tell him to wait, even if it seemed like she wasn’t doing anything at all, then she would turn back to him and say, ‘What is it this time, Mr Murphy?’ He loved when he had her full attention, it was quite overwhelming. Dating had been much the same, he’d used Hels’ advice and taken Kelly to the football. It was there that Kelly came alive. After a free kick, she would scream and yell going beetroot red in the face; when the team conceded a goal, she would pout and kick the chair in front of her. But when their team scored, Kelly would jump up and down, she would hug Jim and, sometimes, she would kiss him. He loved her passion, loved the spark in her eyes as she watched the game. It was so real.

  Jim had ardently pursued dating her further. He found she was much more likely to say yes to a date if their team won and no if they lost. Overtime, the dates turned into long nights, the long nights into next days and soon they were talking of a future together. It had been so organic; it was as though they were now one rather than two.

  The knot in Jim’s chest tightened. Was he supposed to be this nervous? The sun’s golden rays bled into the orange of sunset. It would have made a good painting if he wasn’t preoccupied. When was the last time he painted? It had been months, possibly a year. Who had the time? It was silly anyway. It wasn’t like he would have ever made a living from it. He was a teacher now, he had a girlfriend, soon to be fiancée. Life wasn’t about indulging in stupid hobbies. Still, that sunset would’ve made a nice painting.

  He looked at his watch, surely she should be there. Jim felt for the small box bulging awkwardly out of his pocket. He hoped she wouldn’t notice it, Kelly had a gift for spotting anything out of the ordinary; it was what made her such a good teacher. While he didn’t necessarily agree with her hundreds of classroom rules and behaviour management techniques including timeouts, detentions and writing lines, her Year Threes kept in line better than most. Their silence was a testament to that. Every time he strolled past her room, all he could hear was her heels on the laminate. Sometimes Jim got his hopes up that she might be on a break and would stick his head in the door to see Kelly watching over her thirty kids like a mother hen. No, maybe more like a hawk, he admitted to himself. She would hover over the children, step, step, then she would spot something like a spelling mistake or missing date, she would stand over the child until they worked out the error of their ways then move on. She was a natural.

  Jim, on the other hand, as Kelly liked to tease, was more like a stopgap teacher. He just had to get the older kids through to high school before they could do anything drastically wrong. His classroom was not as quiet, and his rules were not as strict. But they were good kids. He knew they just needed encouragement and something to care about. They were the senior kids in the school and needed to be shown respect and given a level of autonomy to fulfil their potential, not limitations. It was, in fact, the only thing he and Kelly could never agree on. She believed in structure and control and he knew his
kids needed more than that, something she just couldn’t understand.

  Okay, she was now officially late and it would be dark soon, ruining the whole sunset effect of his proposal. Maybe he could do it under a street light. Not very dramatic. Maybe he should ring Hels. She could give him bad advice and then he could do the opposite.

  Jim got out his phone. He desperately wanted to talk to his best friend. There was so much to talk about. So much he wanted to confide in her. He looked at her name on the screen and put it away again. No, she would be busy. Hels had better things to do than listen to his problems. She had made that obvious by how little she had messaged him lately. What was her problem? Was she ignoring him? Had he done something wrong? Surely, she would have said something, it was not like her to hold anything back. Should he have told her he was going to propose to Kelly? There were other things to talk to Hels about. Scary things, but he couldn’t do it. Not yet. The knot in his chest tightened, surely it couldn’t get any tighter.

  Jim looked upon the shimmering blue lake in front of him and thought of Hels’ blue eyes. He imagined her looking back at him and saying, ‘Jim, what are you doing?’

  “What?” he said aloud.

  ‘You know what.’

  And he did know. He knew all too well.

  Jim looked away and watched the last light of the sun disappear below the horizon. He picked the box out of his pocket and looked at the lake in front of him. He gripped the small box and drew back his arm-

  “What you got there?”

  Jim turned guiltily and saw Kelly puffing and looking at him. He looked at the box then tucked it back in his pocket. “It’s nothing,” he lied.

  “It’s getting dark,” she commented, then added, “we better keep this quick, Home and Away is on in twenty minutes.” Jim nodded unable to look her in the eye. She had already built up a sweat and had obviously chosen not to join him until she had finished her jog. He crossed his arms over his aching chest.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Kelly asked.

  “Nothing.” Jim walked towards his almost fiancée, willing himself away from the lake. “Did you see the sunset?” he asked.

  “Come on Jim, a little more walk and a little less talk.”

  He nodded. It was great that their relationship had evolved beyond the need for talking. They were just so in tune with each other.

  He snuck a look back at the lake as Hels’ words repeated in his mind, ‘You know what.’ Jim did know, but she didn’t and that’s what mattered. It would be better this way. Kelly was the one for him. Yes, it was much better this way.

  Chapter 3

  After two shifts and twenty-eight straight hours of consciousness, Helena lay awake on her bed staring at the strips of daylight that lined her tiny room like a prison cell. It would help if she closed her eyes, she thought, but that was no good. Every time she did, she saw Alex’s handsome features and his diorite eyes staring back at her. Holy crap, he was even better looking in her head. And they had a date, when she returned to Perth, to agonise about. She probably wouldn’t get any sleep for the next couple of days and figured she would be completely crazy by the time they went out. She imagined herself sleep deprived with massive red eyes and smelling like Jim’s footy socks. Alex would be appalled at her appearance, take one look then run away screaming.

  If only she would sleep, but she couldn’t, she had cramps in her chest, now there was a first, and Alex’s voice playing through her mind like a sexy playlist. “Most girls who work up here, well they’re hard to tell, you know, that they’re girls, but not you. You definitely look like a girl.” Then, “I trust you.” Finally, she heard him say, “I’ll tell you what, Helena, how about after we finish, I’ll buy you a coffee.”

  She twisted into her doona and growled into her pillow. Helena needed to talk to someone. She disconnected her phone from its charger and sat up. What was the time? He shouldn’t be at work yet. She found Jim’s number with one of their drunken selfies next to it. Jim was red in the face, his cheeks puffed out like a blowfish and she sat next to him with a hand to his ear, pretending to blow him up like a balloon. God, he was such an idiot. Unable to take the smile off of her face, she pressed the dial button. It rang several times longer than usual. Maybe he was busy. She was getting ready to hang up when he answered.

  “Yeah?”

  Yeah? Who answered the phone like that? She couldn’t let it slide. “What’s up your arse?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Yeah, nothing.”

  Silence hung. Jesus, he was so melodramatic. Sometimes. Well, all the time. “What?” she barked.

  “Look, I got to go to work,” he said dismissively.

  “Fine,” she said and hung up the phone.

  What was his problem? It had been weeks since her last conversation and she couldn’t remember any animosity between them. They had talked about their upcoming trip to Bali, they both whinged about work and he was all elusive about that stupid Kelly girl. Surely, he wasn’t getting serious about her. Was he? Jim had the worst taste in girls. Every girlfriend he ever had had been a dull, boring, self-opinionated bitch. But Kelly was the worst. She might look sweet on the outside, but after five minutes with her, Helena was readying the holy water, garlic and wooden crosses. Unfortunately, the best friend code meant that until Kelly broke up with Jim, Helena had to keep her mouth shut and ride out another terrible relationship. That being said… Jim getting shitty with her on the phone made it her problem too.

  She redialled. Again, he took a long time to pick up. The line was silent when he did. “So, you’re not even going to say hello?” Helena accused.

  “Fine, hello. What do you want?”

  “Jesus Christ Jim, what’s your problem?”

  “I’m late for work.”

  “You are not, it’s only seven-thirty and since when do you care about getting to work on time?”

  “What do you want?” he sounded exhausted.

  “A friend who isn’t a total dick.”

  “Yeah, well, whatever, go make friends with a girl then,” he offered.

  “God Jim, why are you so obsessed with lesbians? I think you got a problem.”

  “Add it to the list.”

  “What’s with you?” she tried to sound concerned, but it still came out harsh. She tried again, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Are you coming back today?” his tone lightened slightly.

  “Yeah, will you be home? I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Yeah, I should be later. What is it?”

  “Um, it’s just I need help with a situation.”

  Jim sighed, “Who is he?”

  Helena was glad Jim couldn’t see the blood rush to her cheeks and ears. “Oh, no one really, I just have a date back in Perth.” Jim burst into laughter, a reaction she had expected considering her lifelong war against relationships.

  “What? A date? You? Holy shit, Hels! Are you in love?” he teased.

  “You’re an idiot,” she said dryly.

  “Who is he? Wait… Let me guess, he’s a cult leader named Supreme Daddy and he is after seventy virgins, no wait, then why would he want you? No, it’s a caveman you dug up in the mine site and as soon as he thaws you will let him bash you over the head and he will take you back to his cave.”

  “Listen Jim, he’s different.”

  “How so? Are you pregnant?”

  She slapped her hand on her thigh making a large thumping sound and hurting herself in the process. A pity Jim’s stupid face wasn’t in front of her as that type of target would have been preferred. “He’s nice, okay?”

  Silence. “What do you mean nice?”

  “He’s a nice guy. He’s nice.”

  Again silence. Jim was absorbing the information. “And you like him? This doesn’t sound like you, Hels. What’s going on?”

  “He’s really nice, respectful. He is confident, smart and he asked me out for coffee back in Perth.” />
  Jim whistled. “And you said yes?”

  “I know it’s crazy, but he’s just so nice and good looking.”

  “Wait a minute? When was the last time you slept? He is real, right? You’re not on one of your caffeine binges?”

  “Of course not. Well kind of. But he is real and I can’t sleep.”

  “You can’t? Well, it sounds like you are in love.” He added some lovey-dovey sounds.

  “Don’t be stupid. It’s just the caffeine.”

  “Aha, so what’s his name?”

  “Alex. He’s only young too. Probably around our age. Maybe a bit older.”

  Jim swooned mockingly, “He sounds dreamy. I wonder what’s wrong with him.”

  Helena scoffed, “You’ll pay for that.”

  “So, what’s your plan, going out for coffee? That sounds very… sober of you.”

  “I know. It’s just coffee and then what? And what do we talk about? What do I do? Do you think I should change it to a bar with really loud music so we can get drunk and don’t have to talk properly?”

  “You’ll be fine, just ask lots of questions about him. That’s what I do with girls.”

  “You do?” Helena moaned in disgust. “That sounds so boring. And they fall for it?”

  “Yeah, girls generally like talking about themselves and it means I’m less likely to say something stupid. It’s a win-win.”

  “But do guys like to talk about themselves?”

  “I don’t know, I haven’t dated any,” Jim laughed at himself. Helena groaned and flopped herself head first onto the bed.

  “You’re no help. What are you making me for dinner?”

  “What? I told you I’ll be home later.”

  “But my cooking sucks. Come on Jim, can you make me something? I’m really tired.”

  “There’s frozen pizza in the freezer.”

  “Okay, fine then. I guess I’ll see you later.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yep,” she sighed.

  “Hey Hels, try and get some sleep,” he said gently.

  “I will.”