by Diana Fraser
Jim nodded and shrugged. “This is beyond me. Why don’t we all sit down, finish our tea and then I’ll show Laura around the property.”
“No,” said Max. “We have our photo, you’ve met Laura, so we may as well go now.”
“Max!” remonstrated Laura.
He ignored her. “We’ve done what we came down to do.”
“You can’t bring Laura here and not show her the rest of Belendroit. The bay, the house, the gardens.”
There was a pleading in Jim’s voice which made Laura look anxiously at Max, willing him to take pity on his father and relent.
“It’s our life, Dad. You can’t steamroll us like you did Mom.”
“And you can’t continue to blame me for things you know nothing about, and understand less.”
Max walked away. Laura looked from Jim to Max, who walked down the drive and disappeared into the trees.
“I’m sorry, Jim. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Of course not. You don’t know Max. But I do.” He looked to where Max had last been seen, as if he could see him through the trees. “And he’s hurting. And I don’t know what to do about it.”
Laura accepted his kiss on her cheek and a brief hug, but her mind was elsewhere. On Max. On the man she thought she was getting to know, but who she didn’t know at all.
8
“Flushed cheeks…bright eyes! Could this marriage be the real thing?” @TellTaleGirl #couldthisbelove?
Laura didn’t think she’d ever had such a quiet flight before.
Max had barely spoken the whole journey from Akaroa back to Queenstown. She suddenly understood the meaning of the words alpha male. The grunts alone were Neanderthal. She resorted to her phone, uploading the photo and catching up with her tweets and Facebook posts. She wasn’t used to placating grumpy men. She shot him the occasional glance but he seemed equally absorbed in work.
Except one time she looked up and saw him looking out the window with an expression of wounded perplexity and something clicked. This wasn’t a grumpy man, this was a sad one.
Sadness, she could handle. She closed her laptop decisively. He looked around and the expression immediately changed. The spark in his eyes warmed her. He liked her. He really liked her. Good. That made it easier to do what she had to do.
“You okay?” Max asked.
She leaned her head against the headrest, surveying him. By his reaction she guessed not many people held his gaze as firmly as she did. “Yeah, I’m okay. Not sure your father is, though. He seemed pretty disappointed with us leaving so soon. And in such a way.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Come on, whatever your father did, he can’t have deserved this.”
The look of good humor had disappeared. “Leave it, Laura.”
She looked away. She should leave it. After all, he was right, it was nothing to do with her. But the memory of the old man’s face as he turned away from them, back toward Belendroit, haunted her. And the sadness in Max’s expression… well that got her at a whole different level, one which, while she wasn’t prepared to examine too closely, she was prepared to act on. Time to dig in.
“It was great meeting your dad—he’s a real character.”
Max grunted and looked away. “That’s one word for him.”
“And what word would you use?”
He pursed his lips briefly. “I couldn’t restrict it to one.”
“Okay. Spill.”
He turned to her. “You really want to know?”
“Yes, or I wouldn’t have asked.”
“He’s a cheating, unfaithful, son-of-a-bitch.”
Max’s eyes blazed and Laura was shocked by the raw anger she saw in his face. He wasn’t only sad, he was furious.
“He cheated on your mom?”
“Yeah, he cheated. And all the while he carried on like they were some perfect couple.”
“And your mom was okay with that?”
“She didn’t know anything about it until years later.”
“How long did the affair go on?”
“Long enough.”
“How long?” she repeated, more firmly now.
He shrugged. “A couple of weeks.”
“Oh, I see,” she said, suddenly getting a better picture of what had happened. “And how long were your parents married?”
“Forty years, give or take.”
“And how did you mom find out?”
“I told her. She was telling me once about how wonderful my dad was and how I should be nicer to him and I couldn’t stand it, so I told her.”
“What happened?”
“She was devastated. I’ve never seen her so shocked. It was like her world had tilted on its axis. And so was Dad when he came in on the scene. I left them to it.”
“Did they manage to sort it out?”
He didn’t speak immediately. “Of course they did. Mom was a forgiving woman. But…”
“But?”
“A month after that she was diagnosed with cancer that hadn’t been present on scans taken six months earlier.”
“Ah, so you blame your father for your mother’s death?”
He looked at her strangely. “Something like that. Some people believe severe shocks affect the body’s hormones and can bring on cancer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Of course no one knows for sure. But whatever way you look at it, Dad’s culpable.”
“You don’t forgive easy, do you?”
“No. You can’t change people, you can only accept them or reject them.”
“That’s a tough line to take.”
“It’s life.”
“And you reject your father.”
“I go see him, I hang out at Belendroit from time to time, when I know the others will be there, but I’m never going to have any quality time with him.”
“It was a long time ago, you know, Max. I know he did wrong, but even you say he loved your mother. Maybe he’s been punished enough now? Maybe it’s time to forgive?”
“Not after what he did.”
“How do you know exactly what he did?”
“I saw him and his lover coming out of her cottage down the road in the early hours when I was out camping.”
“How old were you?”
He shrugged. “Around ten. What does it matter? What does any of it matter? It’s past. It’s done. Mom’s gone and she suffered. And I’ll never forgive him for that.”
“What was your mom like?”
“Beautiful, caring, kind, but pretty fierce if any of us got out of line. Above everything else, she was very loving. She’d do anything to keep us all happy. Even be sad herself.”
“And that, there, is why I don’t want to commit and have children. Women always put themselves behind everyone else. It sucks!”
He smiled. “And yet here you are, married.”
She gave him a quick sideways glance, pleased to have shifted his focus from his father, to teasing her. “Just don’t think I’m sacrificing anything for you.”
“I wouldn’t want you to.” His face suddenly serious. “I’d never want anyone I was involved with to not be happy, to suppress anything they wanted to do, or be.”
She swallowed. “Then… whoever you end up with will be a really lucky woman.”
His face softened into a smile. “But it won’t be my first wife.”
She shook her head, not even knowing if he asked a question or made a statement. “I’ll be gone in a few months.”
“And how are we going to pass that time?”
She shrugged. “Business, I guess. Appearances, I think Kelly has some TV lined up. Meetings with potential sponsors.”
“And you like doing all of that?”
“God no! I just want to be getting on with the next challenge.”
“What is it about you and challenges?”
It was Laura’s turn to feel uncomfortable. “Don’t go analyzing me.”
“So it’s okay for you to analyze my relationship with my father, but not for me to try to understand you.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay. I have a plan. I’ll arrange some more challenges. And I bet that I’ll understand you better at the end of them.”
“Doubt that. I’m inscrutable.”
“I’ll work you out. You’ll see.”
“So what are these challenges going to be?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Laura kicked off her shoes and stretched out her legs on the bed. She felt unusually shattered.
“Was Akaroa so strenuous?” asked Kelly.
Laura reflected on Max and his father. “A different kind of strenuous. Or maybe it’s just marriage—seems its pretty tiring.”
“All that sex, eh?”
Laura narrowed her eyes at Kelly. “You know that’s not part of the deal, whatever Telltale Girl might be suggesting.”
“Might not be part of, but I thought you might have succumbed to Max’s many charms.”
“I did not.”
“Well, let’s keep that between us two. Don’t want to ruin the image.”
Laura sighed. “We have Telltale Girl to carry on the image. You know? I wish sometimes she’d move on to someone else. Leave me alone.”
“Really? Looks to me like she just wants you to be happy.”
Laura sighed, suddenly even more tired by this thought. “Why should she care? Anyhow, I can create my own happiness.”
“Can you?” asked Kelly pointedly.
“Of course I can. I’m happy when I’m in the middle of a challenge. Talking of which, any new ones?”
“A few which you can do in your sleep. I’ll schedule them.” She scrolled down the page. “And some funny comments about you and Max. Seems everyone’s imagining what you guys are up to behind closed doors.”
“They’d be disappointed if they knew the truth. Anything else?” Laura really wanted to move away from her and Max, back to the simplicity of life before marriage.
“Hey! Here’s a challenge from someone you know.”
“Really?”
Kelly looked up with a grin. “Max!”
Laura jumped up and looked over Kelly’s shoulder. “What?” She scanned Max’s challenge and turned to Kelly and they both burst out laughing. Then Laura stopped. “Earth, Wind and Fire? Sure thing.” She stretched over and typed in her usual smiley face with a thumbs-up to accept the challenge.
In hindsight, Max regretted that the 1970s soul band had been playing in the background when he’d come up with his challenge. But it had seemed appropriate, given Laura’s wish to feel everything the world had to offer. Couldn’t get more basic than the elements. So he’d gone with it, and had sent the challenge before he’d had time to think it through. It had required Chelsey’s persuasiveness and organizational skills to make the first challenge happen. And it had also required a very early start.
By the time they flew from Queenstown to a small airport on the North Island’s east coast, the sun was high in the clear blue sky and the helicopter was waiting for them.
“So when are you going to tell me exactly where we’re going? Any time soon?” Laura looked around as they left the coastline of the wide bay and flew over the deep teal blue of the Pacific Ocean.
He pointed to a small island from which steam billowed. “Real soon. Now, in fact. We’re going to where the Pacific Rim of Fire meets the earth’s surface. We’re taking the challenge backwards, beginning with fire.” Laura followed his gaze out across the sweep of white-rimmed coastline, out to sea. There, starkly white against a brilliant blue sky and sea sat an island. But not just any island—a perfectly formed volcanic cone.
“Te Puia o Whakaari.”
“Te Puia?” repeated Laura.
“The Volcano.”
“o Whakaari?”
“Dramatic. The Dramatic Volcano, the Maori call it. The Europeans call it a whole lot more prosaic name—White Island.”
Laura peered out the window at the island which dominated the vast bay. “White Island,” she repeated. “Prosaic, but pretty accurate. The drama bit sounds ominous. But it’s cool to see from the air.”
“From the air? It’s a date with fire, remember. As close as I could get to fire. You might not see flames but you’ll feel their effect. No,” said Max, looking over her shoulder. “We’re not staying in the air; we’re landing there.” He reached over and grabbed a hard hat and breathing mask. “That’s what these are for.”
Laura took them from him, examining the rubber mask. It was like something from World War II. “You have to be kidding me! You want me to wear this?” She tried it on and looked at him through the plastic mask.
He grinned. “At least your fans won’t recognize you. But no, you only have to wear them if the volcano erupts. The ash sets like cement in your lungs. You’ll also need a hard hat.”
Laura welcomed the familiar thrill of adrenaline as she slipped off her mask and looked down upon the small circular island. Greenery had managed to grow on one side of the volcanic cone whose razor-like edges thrust a thousand feet into the blue sky. Colonies of gannets inhabited the sides of the cone. But most of the island was like some kind of lunar landscape, daubed with bright yellows and oranges, in the middle of which was a smoking cauldron of a lake.
“How come the crater lake isn’t any higher? It looks like it’s on the same level as the bay.”
“It is. It’s an ocean volcano. You’re only seeing the top third, the rest is under water.”
“The colors are crazy!”
“The result of sulphur.”
“I can smell it from here.”
“Yeah. We won’t stay long. The rotten egg smell isn’t the best.”
“When did it last erupt?”
“2003. It blew from the main crater and send its lava into the sea. There was some amazing footage.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
He grinned. “No.”
* * *
The helicopter swung around and landed. Max jumped out after Laura, watching her as she twirled around.
“This place is crazy! Like a lunar landscape—it’s like the world being made.” She looked up at where the steam rose from the central crater. “We’re going there?”
“Yep.”
Laura grinned. “Cool,” she said, turning on her camera.
“Pretty hot, actually.”
And it was. As they crunched along the gray landscape, interspersed with vivid shades of yellow and orange, the sun shone relentlessly down, the mud bubbled, and steam roared through cracks in the surface, showering boiling water.
Laura coughed and pulled a face. “My throat stings.”
Max also felt the burning, tingling feeling at the back of the throat. “It’s the sulphur in the steam. It mixes with saliva and forms acid droplets. Turns your teeth black if you’re here long enough.”
“Then we won’t be,” she said determinedly, quickening her pace.
“You can turn back if it’s too much.”
“No way!”
It wasn’t far to the crater lake and when they reached it, they recoiled at the heat, and the acrid taste and smell of sulphur. A film of lime green covered the yellow acid of the lake. Laura edged closer to Max and he could sense her unease despite the bravado. Beads of sweat pearled Laura’s forehead and upper lip as she turned the camera on them both. He had an urge to sweep them away with his finger. No, who was he kidding? With his tongue.
She spoke into the camera, with the steaming crater lake as a backdrop, before turning to Max.
“The ‘fire’ date, Max… so where is it?”
“The fire? It’s there alright. You think there’d be all this steam without it?”
“I guess not.” She stepped back to get a better shot and Max grabbed and steadied her, his fingers pushing up under her shirt, along the bare skin of her forearm.
“You have to watch your step. You can easily get b
urned here.”
“Burned…” She swallowed. “But no sign of fire.”
“You can’t always see the danger, or feel the heat, Laura, but you sure can feel its effect. It’s there, beneath the surface, burning deep and steady.”
She kept filming but had somehow forgotten to speak. He could see her thoughts were moving the same way as his by the flare of desire in her eyes, and the way her gaze dropped to his mouth. What was it about this woman which stirred his feelings like no one before? He had no idea, and no ability to control what he was about to do. He took hold of her hand and tugged her to him and turned the camera off.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“We’re on the top of a volcano, alone, except for the millions of people at the other end of the camera. I didn’t want them watching when I did this.”
She smiled. “What?”
He bowed his head and kissed her, long and slow, just as he’d been wanting to do since they married. Here, far from any bed, or soft grass, any setting remotely conducive to making love, they were safe from temptation and he reckoned he could indulge himself. When he pulled away he was satisfied to see her eyes still closed, her mouth still partly open. It took all his willpower not to press his lips once more to those soft and receptive lips. “That.”
“Ah, that,” she said opening her eyes, and touching her lips where his mouth had just swept hers. Suddenly the wind changed direction and a cloud of steam showered its now cool droplets all over them.
“Come on,” said Max. “Let’s get out of here.”
They walked quickly toward the sea, past the erupting earth, pausing briefly beside the old ruins.
“I can’t believe people actually lived here. It’s so… alien.”
“Some of the workers lived here for up to eight years, only going home at Christmas. It was rough. They had to keep cleaning their teeth, as they’d go black and decalcify. In the end an eruption killed them all.”