Meet Me in Bendigo

by Eva Scott

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:40 PM

  How did you go spending the day with the devil?

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:41 PM

  LOL. I didn’t. He painted and I worked out back catching up on my orders. He did me a massive favour which I am very grateful for.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:43 PM

  Not such a bad guy, then?

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:43 PM

  Don’t worry, you’re still my number one. There’s no one else I talk to like this. You’re my rock.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:44 PM

  Good to know. You’re mine too.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:44 PM

  Tell me about your day?

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:45 PM

  Just another day. Did get to spend some time outside in nature which made me realise I have to do something about getting my life on track. I’m inspired by you.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:46 PM

  Funny, someone else said the same thing to me today. I’m not sure I’m much of an inspiration. This change was forced on me. Might be inspiring if I chose it.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:47 PM

  Not at all. I’ve talked it over with Ripley and I’m going to find a better job and get happy.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:48 PM

  Good for you! You should listen to Ripley. He’s a dog with good advice.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:50 PM

  He thinks it’s time we should meet.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:52 PM

  I want to get excited about that but are you sure?

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:53 PM

  Sure am. I’ve worked through my demons and I’ve made my choice. I choose you.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:54 PM

  I’m so excited I can’t breathe!

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:54 PM

  Do you think we should know each other’s names first?

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:55 PM

  In the interest of romance I think we should stay mysterious until the big reveal.

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:55 PM

  But how will I know it’s you if I don’t know what you look like and I don’t know your name?

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:56 PM

  I’ll bring Ripley. You know what he looks like and he’s dying to meet you.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:57 PM

  Give me a few days to tie up loose ends and then we can arrange the where and when. Okay? xx

  GoldfieldsGirl WED @ 6:58 PM

  Okay. I’m going to spend the whole time until then being nervous-happy.

  GardenerGuy94 WED @ 6:58 PM

  Me too. Trust me, nothing will keep me away this time xxx

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘You are not going to be able to keep people away from this shop.’ Mel turned in circles, taking in the freshly painted pink walls and the dramatically glossy black counter. A week had passed and the place had been transformed. ‘Ed Carpenter did all this for you without asking for anything in return?’ She stopped spinning and fixed Annalisa with a look she knew well.

  ‘Yes, he did, and you can stop doing that.’

  ‘Doing what?’ Mel feigned innocence.

  ‘That schoolteacher thing you do. I bet you get kids to confess to dark deeds they haven’t even thought of yet.’

  ‘What can I say?’ Mel gave a nonchalant shrug. ‘It’s a talent. So, has Delicious Ed finished or are you expecting more … help?’ She arched an eyebrow suggestively and Annalisa laughed despite her best efforts not to. Mel did not need encouragement.

  ‘He’s coming back to paint the window frames in the same glossy black as the counter, and, for the record, that’s all the help he’s giving me.’

  Ed had come and gone for the last three days, painting and doing little fixes to get the shop ready. He didn’t have much left to do and she didn’t know how she felt about that.

  ‘Shame.’ Mel sniffed. ‘I’m sure he could be of assistance in so many ways.’

  ‘My heart is reserved for another,’ said Annalisa more primly than she’d intended.

  ‘Not the scammer? Seriously, kiddo, nothing good can come of a mysterious online admirer.’

  Annalisa bristled. ‘For the eight hundredth time, he is not a scammer.’

  ‘Yeah, but the point is you don’t know what he is. Ed, on the other hand, is fully present in glorious 3-D technicolour. Now, that you should tap. Tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind.’ Mel leaned on the counter, chin in hand, and batted her eyelids.

  Annalisa sighed. ‘Okay, I give in.’ She threw up her hands in defeat. ‘I have thought about tumbling Ed. I’ve even kissed him but …’

  ‘You what?’ Mel stood bolt upright, a look of shocked surprise on her face. ‘Why am I only hearing about this now? I want details. Where, when, how often …’ She ticked the items off her fingers.

  ‘Whoa there, Nelly. I’ve kissed him three times.’

  ‘Three times! Who kissed who?’

  ‘He kissed me once and I kissed him once. I’m not sure who kissed who the other time.’ Annalisa couldn’t prevent the blush from stealing over her cheeks.

  Talking about this with her best friend only served to trigger all the feelings she’d been busy suppressing—those feelings Ed managed to elicit every time he came anywhere near her. Wrestling with them had left her exhausted and part of her (her brain mostly) couldn’t wait until he left for good.

  ‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’ Mel assumed her position leaning on the countertop. ‘So?’

  ‘So, what?’ Annalisa acted casual, hoping Mel couldn’t see through the facade.

  ‘So what happens next?’

  ‘Nothing.’ She shrugged. ‘He finishes up here and then I never see him again.’

  ‘That’s it? I find that hard to believe. He is as hot as Hades, Annalisa. He’s here, he’s rich and he’s clearly into you. What is wrong with you?’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with me.’ A surge of annoyance almost had her snapping. She took a breath. ‘Look, I’ll concede his hotness. I’ll even concede the fact that he’s a great guy and an excellent kisser but …’

  ‘He’s also here,’ Mel muttered as she stood straight and nodded at the door. ‘Act casual, like we haven’t just been talking about him.’

  Ed sauntered in through the front door as if he owned the place. ‘Morning, ladies. Did I catch you talking about me?’

  To Annalisa’s surprise, Mel blushed hard. If Ed noticed, he didn’t let on.

  ‘I would have brought you a coffee if I’d known you were here,’ he said to Mel.

  ‘Ed, you remember Mel, my soon to be absent best friend.’ Annalisa glared at Mel, transmitting her best make-yourself-scarce signal.

  ‘That’s okay.’ Mel grabbed her handbag as she spoke to Ed. ‘I was just leaving anyway. Got lesson plans to write up. Those kids won’t educate themselves.’

  She scurried to the door, giving Annalisa a glance over her shoulder. ‘You two have a lovely day now.’ And with a quick wink she was gone.

  Ed handed Annalisa her coffee. The last thing she needed was Mel interrogating Ed and giving her away. She needed to keep a lid on the tumultuous physical sensations he provoked and keep her head clear for GardenerGuy94. She owed him first loyalty.

  ‘Thank you.’ She took a sip, grateful for the rich, hot brew.

  ‘My pleasure.’ Ed rocked back on his heels and let the silence settle in around them. While having him here put every nerve on alert, at the same time a kind of peaceful camaraderie had built between them. Hanging out, drinking coffee and not saying a word worked just fine.

  ‘So, anything new?’ He sipped his coffee while pinning her to the spot with those eyes of his. Sometimes she couldn’t bear to look at him directly for the power they contained.

  ‘Not since last I saw you. I do think Nonna and Joe are seeing more of each other than either would like to let on. I can’t pin them down to a confession, but I’m pretty sure they are dating or something.’

&nb
sp; ‘Good for Joe.’ Ed grinned. ‘I think he’s been waiting a long time to find his courage.’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Annalisa, returning his smile. ‘A romance would do both of them good.’

  ‘Especially now you’re out on your own.’ He indicated the shop. ‘The old guys have to find somewhere new to go.’

  ‘You said something about creating a space for them in the workshop and that got me thinking,’ she said, even though that wasn’t true. She’d been too busy to give it any thought until now. To be honest, she didn’t know what was going to come out of her mouth next.

  ‘I was wondering if you’d be open to giving me a hand setting up something for them. I do miss them and they can keep me company while I work on the doll houses.’ She let the words tumble out in a rush, as curious as Ed seemed as to what she was about to say.

  He nodded as he listened. ‘Sounds like a decent idea. I do have some stuff I have to do but I can be here around those times and give you a hand.’

  She almost sagged with relief, catching herself with the question of why. The war between her body and her mind continued unabated it seemed.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. Time enough later to work out her motivation for asking him to stay.

  ‘Okay, then,’ he said. ‘I suppose we both better get to work.’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ His workmanlike attitude always threw her, reminding her he was here to do a job, not flirt with her.

  ‘Meet you for lunch where the wildflowers grow.’ He threw the invitation over his shoulder as he set about getting his painting kit out for the day.

  Each day Ed had come to help Annalisa he’d brought lunch for them to share. He’d turned out to be an entertaining companion with great taste in baked goods, and the idea of him not being around didn’t bear thinking about. Never in a thousand years would she admit she missed him on the odd day he didn’t show up. How much would she miss him when he left for good?

  She watched him as he worked, the bagginess of his overalls only adding to the allure of what lay beneath. The all too familiar heat began to build deep at the base of her spine, coiling upwards to her stomach, to arrive in the centre of her chest as a buzzing sensation. If she didn’t get out of there now she’d be swept into the vortex of Ed Carpenter and there’d be no saving her.

  ‘Sure, sounds great,’ she said quickly and beelined for the back door leading out to the courtyard behind the shop. There, she stopped and took several deep breaths, trying to recalibrate her body to something resembling normal. ‘Damn that man,’ she muttered as she fished her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans.

  Checking in with GardenerGuy94 would take her mind off Delicious Ed. God, she was such a mess.

  GoldfieldsGirl SAT @ 9:05 AM

  Morning! About to start work. What are you up to?

  GardenerGuy94 SAT @ 9:06 AM

  Bit of this and that. Good to hear from you. I’m having a slow Saturday. Can’t believe you’re working!

  GoldfieldsGirl SAT @ 9:07 AM

  I have to. The orders are coming. I’m not complaining but there’s a lot of work.

  GardenerGuy94 SAT @ 9:08 AM

  Feeling overwhelmed?

  GoldfieldsGirl SAT @ 9:08 AM

  A little. But I’ll be okay. Tell me something about yourself to distract me.

  GardenerGuy94 SAT @ 9:10 AM

  Okay. I have a scar on my thumb where I skateboarded headfirst into the neighbour’s rose bushes. I got pretty cut up but that was the only scar I got from the event. Now you go.

  GoldfieldsGirl SAT @ 9:11 AM

  I’m standing here looking at a field full of wildflowers one of my ancestors planted as a romantic gesture. Not all of them are native but all of them are wild. They bloom every year and remind me that true love does exist.

  GardenerGuy94 SAT @ 9:12 AM

  Much better than my story. Maybe you can show me where the wildflowers grow someday. One day soon.

  Sooner rather than later, Ed was going to have to act to fix this problem of his.

  Pressing send on the message, he sighed and stuffed the phone in the pocket of his overalls. Time hadn’t diminished the crackling tension between Annalisa and him; it had only made it stronger. Thank god her friend Mel had been present this morning. She helped check his urge to throw caution out the window, storm that boundary and kiss Annalisa thoroughly.

  They’d come close to locking lips on Wednesday. He’d been certain she was going to cross that line. Pulling back had been strategic, for both of them. He couldn’t afford to scare her off with the full force of his feelings and she didn’t need any more confusion than she was grappling with at present.

  He’d kept a respectful distance since then, instigating picnic lunches every day and spending the time as Ed getting to know her. A lot of the stuff they talked about she’d already told GardenerGuy94. Hearing the stories twice only made them all the sweeter.

  With the window frames carefully taped up, he got to work painting them with the thick, black gloss. The task absorbed him, taking all his attention and diverting his thoughts from Annalisa. When she asked him to stay on and help him create a space for the old blokes, he’d almost whooped for joy. Trying to act cool and calm took it out of a guy.

  He mentally went through the finer points of his plan as he painted. As terrifying as bringing the situation to a head might be, there was no doubt in his mind that it was time to act. He’d floundered about for long enough and he had to get his life going again, and that meant taking the gamble.

  Worst case scenario: he could lose his family and Annalisa. As long as he didn’t lose Annalisa, he reckoned he could deal with not having Rosie or Oliver in his life. No love lost there, although regret would always linger for what could have been. Families ought to be close, to be able to trust one another, something he’d never experienced with his siblings.

  Scenes from his childhood played out in his mind. Shared Christmases when Rosie and Oliver would descend for a week and they’d all be expected to play nicely together despite the obvious differences of age and character. They’d be fine until Dad’s back was turned and then they would take delight in torturing him in ways that didn’t show.

  He was a Carpenter, they said. He had to harden up and stop being so soft. They took it upon themselves to help him with creative games and hideous challenges belonging more to a Japanese game show than backyard suburbia.

  Nothing had changed. They would never accept him as a true Carpenter. His mother replaced theirs and they would never forgive him for the transgression, even decades later. Maybe some wounds never heal.

  He stopped and watched the comings and goings of the town. They had a community here, a shared understanding he wanted to experience.

  Big city living had its appeal. He’d done his fair share. He missed London and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew where he’d interned for a year.

  What was it they said, you can’t cross the same river twice? London had changed since he left. The pandemic had engineered change everywhere. His London had passed into history. His home city, Melbourne, held difficult memories of loss and failure for him. He needed a fresh start.

  As he stood by the window, a little girl holding her mother’s hand wandered past. She saw him and waved shyly, a pair of fairy wings wobbling on her back. They reminded him of the first time he met Annalisa. She’d been wearing something similar, and he’d known right in that moment, with the unicorn cake, that she was the one for him.

  He waved back and retrieved his phone. If he’d been looking for a sign, then that was it. Dialling a number from his contact list, he waited impatiently while the phone rang.

  ‘Hello, it’s me. What are you doing on Monday?’

  ‘What am I doing?’ Annalisa had lost her train of thought again. Her mind kept wandering back to Ed then over to GardenerGuy94 and back to Ed. Three times she’d caught herself in the middle of a task she couldn’t remember starting. Her watch told her it was almost noon. Picnic time.

 
The fizzing sensation she got whenever she thought of spending time with Ed started up right on cue. No point even pretending to work. She threw down the tube of glue she’d been holding. Might as well go get lunch and own up to the fact she’d been waiting all morning for their regular rendezvous.

  ‘Hey.’ Ed popped his head around the door as if he’d heard her thoughts. ‘You ready?’

  ‘Sure am,’ she said. ‘Making slow headway this morning. How about you?’

  ‘Getting there,’ he said. ‘Made some progress. What have you got for us today?’

  She’d taken it upon herself to bake a roast vegetable quiche followed by some chocolate brownies. Ed had provided lunch all week and she wanted to repay his kindness. Okay, so she wanted to impress him with her cooking skills.

  ‘Wait and see,’ she said. ‘I think you’ll like it.’

  ‘I know I will,’ he said, giving her one of those molten smiles that made her doubt her own sanity. ‘Shall we go?’

  You didn’t need to ask her twice. She took the food out of the bar fridge in the corner of the workshop, handing Ed the one containing the brownies. He peeled back the lid and took a peek.

  ‘God, these smell good.’ He closed his eyes and inhaled. ‘Did you make them?’

  ‘Sure did.’ She tried to keep the pride out of her voice but he might as well have given her a gold star.

  ‘Cannot wait to eat them.’

  They walked in silence out to the wildflower field at the back of the workshop. The number of flowers always seemed to double overnight until the field was filled with them.

  ‘Never fails,’ he said, stopping to take in the riot of colour tracing a pathway through the long grass.

  ‘I know what you mean,’ she said. ‘I can imagine my ancestors coming out here like we are, taking a moment out of the day.’

  ‘Away from the real world,’ he murmured and she sensed an energy shift between them, which sent tingles down her spine.

  ‘Let’s eat,’ he said, all business again, the sudden shift playing havoc with her emotional compass.

  They spread the picnic blanket in their usual spot and ate while they chatted about inconsequential things. Ed told her about the little girl with the wings who had waved to him. She told him about her ideas for a fire station she’d been commissioned to make for a little boy.