Silver Lining

by Diana Simmonds

  “I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I didn’t mean to stare, but until about half an hour ago I didn’t know you were, you know, going to be here. So it’s a surprise to see you.” It sounded unconvincing and Clancy’s satirical grin told her she wasn’t alone in hearing it that way.

  “A communicative soul, our Mal. Typical bloke,” Clancy said, giving her brother an affectionate cuff on the shoulder. Amanda tried to laugh but it came out as a strangled cough and she carefully avoided catching Malcolm’s eye. “Yeah, well you know what guys are like. I guess I should have asked him more questions,” she said lamely. Clancy’s eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly and she nodded, a speculative look in her eyes.

  “I suppose so.” Her tone was neutral. Then she became brisk. “Now, let’s get out of here and on the road.” She punched Malcolm on the arm. “What do you think, little brother?”

  “Absolutely, sis, whatever you say.” He grinned sheepishly at Clancy. “It’s good to be home.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Clancy laid her hand on his cheek in a tender gesture that caused Amanda a fresh burn of envy. “We had begun to wonder whether you’d ever come home.”

  Malcolm shrugged and grinned again and grasped his sister’s hand lightly. “Time seems right,” he said, gruffly. “So how is everything—everyone?”

  A fleeting frown made a furrowed shadow between Clancy’s eyebrows and was quickly gone. “They’re…well…” She grinned. “Let’s go.”

  Amanda followed Malcolm and Clancy out of the terminal and into a bright, crisp morning and a virtually solid cloud of cigarette smoke. They passed quickly through a crowd of dazed-looking, long-distance passengers all desperately dragging on their first nicotine in many hours. Amanda tried not to breathe and dropped her head to get through the throng before being forced to inhale. Clancy and Malcolm were catching up on personal news, as far as she could hear from the snatches of “And how is…” followed by names that meant nothing to her. Despite the bright blue sky and sharply pale sunshine Amanda could feel a cloak of despondency dropping onto her shoulders. She didn’t know why she was doing this, why she was in Australia, why she was leaping into the unknown with a man she now realized she hardly knew at all and whose sister thought she was a fool. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Amanda glumly examined her left hand, she had broken a nail and chipped the polish. Great. Perhaps being out of work in New York wouldn’t have been so bad after all.

  Just as Amanda was deciding to tell the Darling siblings she had changed her mind and would get the next plane back to the States, they reached a charcoal gray Subaru Outback.

  “This new, sis?” asked Malcolm, hauling up the rear door.

  “It was a demonstrator, just a few hundred on the clock and five thousand off the asking price. It’s a bloody brilliant car,” said Clancy. “You’ll love driving it.”

  Malcolm heaved their bags into the rear cargo space. “You get in front Amanda, then I can stretch out and you can see the sights.”

  Amanda opened her mouth to protest but once again shut it. She was really beginning to feel like a goldfish. And a goldfish that had been flying for twenty-three hours and knew she wasn’t up to arguing with anyone.

  “I might fall asleep,” she said feebly, but obediently climbed into the front passenger seat, which was on the wrong side of the car.

  Clancy slipped in behind the steering wheel and clicked her seat belt. “Have a snooze if you need to but try to stay awake, you’ll be better off later on if you can.”

  Amanda turned to look at Malcolm who was sprawled across the backseat grinning at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Clancy turned the key and the engine gurgled gruffly into life.

  “Hey, diesel, sis,” Malcolm remarked.

  “Yup. Cost more but the fuel economy is amazing. I find myself checking to see whether the gauge is working. You wouldn’t believe it.” A high-pitched whistling sound filled the car. “Seatbelts you two,” said Clancy. “That’s another thing about this car, it’s very bossy.”

  Amanda drew the belt across her body and watched as Clancy reversed the car out of its space. It was weird to be on the wrong side. Amanda wondered whether she would ever get the hang of it. She also watched Clancy as she concentrated on negotiating the lines of cars streaming and pushing toward the exit gates. The golden beauty of the profile filled Amanda’s field of vision and the laugh lines at the corner of Clancy’s eye and mouth somehow added to the allure. This is pathetic, she told herself crossly, shaking her head. You are jetlagged to hell and back and less than a month out of a relationship and you’re scoping a woman you don’t like and who doesn’t like you. Stop it.

  Malcolm’s fingers flexed on her shoulder and she looked back at him, startled, wondering whether she had actually spoken aloud. The broad grin told her she might as well have shouted.

  The next hour was a blur of freeway and traffic and a brief exhilarating glimpse of an immense sapphire bay. A runway brought planes down into it to the north, beyond that cargo ships snuggled beside giant bright orange cranes and beyond that again was the open sea, edged by two massively looming green capes. To the south, the flaming tower and tanks of an oil refinery were an odd contrast to the calmly beautiful bay.

  “Botany Bay,” said Malcolm’s voice from behind her. “It’s where Captain Cook landed in 1778. Tres historique too because the Frogs got here first.”

  “Really?”

  Malcolm pointed toward the furthest and northern side of the bay, so far across the water its outline was hazy in the soft sunlight. “Over there is La Perouse, it’s named after a French explorer who arrived before Cook but decided it was all merde and buggered off again.”

  “Wow,” said Amanda, laughing. “That was a bad move.”

  “Sure was,” Clancy joined in. “We could all be speaking French and they could have nuked even more of the outback than the Brits did.”

  “I was thinking more of speaking French and eating escargots,” Amanda said. “But I guess you’re right, even us pesky Yanks did that at home in Nevada.”

  “That was good of you; as long as you discount Bikini,” Clancy said mildly, but before Amanda could retaliate Clancy cursed and slammed her hand on the horn as a motorcyclist cut in front of the car. The rider gave her the finger and zoomed away. “Americans are better-mannered drivers too,” she added.

  “You reckon?” Amanda was surprised to hear any positives coming from her hostess.

  “Definitely. Sydneysiders are the most aggressive drivers ever.”

  “It’s true,” Malcolm said from the back of the car. “You really notice it when you’ve been away.”

  “Well, that’s amazing, I thought New Yorkers were supposed to be the world’s worst.”

  “No way!” As if to prove her point, Clancy glanced over her shoulder and accelerated into the next lane. Amanda shut her eyes then decided to look at the bay instead.

  “It’s the color of sapphires,” she said, surprised at the pale intensity of the blue.

  Clancy glanced away from the traffic to the expanse of water. “It’s often that color, especially in the mornings. The Aborigines called it Stingray Bay, I think. And most people still swim in enclosures, see the posts and nets?”

  Amanda shuddered: another deadly creature to add to her list. Within minutes their route south took the car in a sharp turn away from the water and inland through streets of red tile roofs, silver metal roofs and the variegated greens of lush trees and splashes of vivid color in neat front gardens. Here and there a violet-purple topped tree added to the vibrant color spectrum and Amanda was dazzled; it was unlike anything she had ever seen.

  “What’s that amazing tree—the purple thing?”

  “Jacaranda,” said Clancy without taking her eyes from the road. “Originally from South America but now pretty much the symbol of spring in Australia. Gorgeous isn’t it?”

  Amanda nodded and breathed an almost silent “Yes.”

  “I can point out things to you,” Clancy we
nt on. “That’s if you’re interested, of course.”

  Amanda’s eyes widened and for a long moment she stared at Clancy’s profile in disbelief. Just as it seemed that Clancy was thawing toward her, out came the spikes again.

  “Of course I’m interested,” she retorted. “I got a top grade in geography.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Amanda would have given anything to grab them back and swallow them whole.

  Clancy grinned in obviously sardonic amusement. “Is that so? Well good heavens, an American who’s interested in the rest of the world. Now there’s a novelty.”

  This time Amanda was not only astonished but also furious and snapped at her tormentor: “Are you always this rude or do you make a special effort for me?” She was gratified to see Clancy blink at the directness of the counterattack and went on, “I’ve been told Australians are racist but I didn’t expect to experience it quite so soon.”

  Clancy pulled the car to a smooth stop at traffic lights and this time it was her turn to stare at her guest, wide-eyed. A crackling moment passed as the two women glared at each other then Clancy took a deep breath and settled back into her seat; her eyes crinkled at the corners and her mouth curled into a slow—almost—penitent smile. She relaxed her shoulders and carefully let out her breath in a silent whistle, then reached out her free hand to Amanda, palm up, and said, “Pax. I’m sorry. That was more than rude, it was…um…unforgivable. But forgive me anyway. What do you say?”

  The grin was obnoxiously beguiling, Amanda knew it well—she often used it herself yet she couldn’t help but study the lips and their mobile upward quirk that twitched in hopeful supplication. Despite herself and despite her righteously raised temper, she experienced a treacherous flood of warmth in the region of her heart; she took Clancy’s hand and they clasped firmly.

  From the backseat came a gusty sigh. “Okay you two, so peace has officially been declared,” said Malcolm with exaggerated ennui. “Now, do you think we can stop at the next Macca’s because I’m busting for a pee and a coffee?”

  Clancy continued to hold Amanda’s hand and they gazed at one another a few seconds longer. Amanda felt no great need to pull away from the sudden warmth in the twinkling depths of gray-flecked blue. Finally she nodded and murmured “Pax,” and was rewarded with a familiar quirky grin. As the lights changed to green she reluctantly withdrew her hand and Clancy returned her attention to the morning traffic.

  The journey from Sydney’s international airport to their destination took a little over two, steadily driven hours. After a comfort stop and takeout coffee, bought at an amazingly familiar McDonald’s somewhere on a suburban strip that reminded Amanda of the Midwest, they did not stop again. Soon Malcolm was snoring in the backseat. Clancy glanced across at her passenger and her voice burred softly in Amanda’s ears.

  “How you doing?”

  Amanda smiled happily. “Fine, thanks.”

  Clancy nodded. “If you want to grab a bit of shut-eye, go ahead, I’ll wake you when there’s something to look at.”

  Amanda shook her head vehemently. “No! I don’t want to miss anything.”

  The second hour of the journey passed in a relaxed fashion, the highway skirting the gray-green rolling wilderness of the Royal National Park, down the spectacular escarpment of Bulli Pass. They bypassed the urban sprawl of Wollongong and Port Kembla and finally, after more glimpses of ocean, higgledy-piggledy townships and lush green paddocks dotted with fat black-and-white cattle, Amanda spotted a large green sign pointing left off the highway announcing that Two Moon Bay was just 5km that way.

  Amanda’s stomach audibly grumbled. Clancy grinned and snatched a quick look at her. “We’ll have lunch very soon,” she said. “Will you survive?”

  “Anticipation is everything,” Amanda responded then blushed as Clancy’s eyebrow rose in a teasing question mark. Amanda looked away and wondered why it was that Malcolm’s sister seemed to be hostile one minute and almost flirtatious the next. It was disconcerting and she didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe it was because she was older. Forty-one seemed impossibly grown up, somehow and—looking at Clancy and her vivid beauty—not the terrifying thing Amanda had always thought it would be. She glanced back at Malcolm who was waking up, stretching, groaning and blinking. She longed to get him alone and question him about Clancy, but it would have to wait. If only she had known more about the ferocious sister before; if only she had been less self-obsessed and more curious about her buddy and his life, she might have understood this situation better and known what made Clancy tick. She sighed yet again at the unlikable portrait of herself that had so clearly been revealed. It was a shock to recognize how accurate it was. Malcolm’s eyes were closed and a half smile curled the corners of his mouth in a way that made it obvious he and Clancy were closely related. He looked relaxed and happy. Amanda envied him.

  “Hey, Mal! Almost there.” Clancy’s voice cut through Amanda’s reverie and Malcolm opened his eyes, saw his friend peering wistfully at him and sat up with a grin and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He stretched and yawned.

  “Oh God, I shouldn’t have done that,” he groaned. “Why did you let me sleep?”

  “Just love to hear that snore,” Clancy responded.

  “I do not snore!”

  “Oh yes you do and this time I have a witness,” Clancy crowed.

  The Subaru reached the crest of a pass between high green banks and stands of rainforest trees and suddenly the Pacific Ocean was before them, horizon to horizon. For a second the car seemed to hang in the air then they were swooping down toward the sparkling blue, this time with hedged fields on either side, with more black-and-white cattle and windblown, flat-topped trees. A jumble of roofs appeared in a fold in the coastal edge. A keyhole-shaped bay appeared and Amanda saw that the roofs belonged to small, boxy houses and cottages, some painted blotchy pink, others faded blue and still others a mix of old-fashioned green and cream. They were plain, sturdy buildings, myopically peering out at the ocean from salt-rimed windows.

  “Ah!” exclaimed Malcolm happily, as they passed the civic sign. “Welcome to Two Moon Bay, Amanda; population 3,304 and any minute now, 3,306. Not exactly a seething metropolis, but it’s home.”

  “It’s lovely,” Amanda exclaimed as she took in the strange and riotous shrubs and trees that decorated front yards and the street. “And everything’s in English!” The car filled with laughter as they cruised gently through the village center. A pink sign in floral script in one shop window caught Amanda’s eye and she tried to make a fix of the location: “Jackie’s Hair and Body Salon.”

  “Wow, is that really a café with proper coffee, Clancy?” Malcolm leapt from one side of the car to the other, taking in every changed and familiar sight.

  “It is. A tree-changer from Sydney; he had a one-hat restaurant and last year he gave it up for country life. Nice guy. Gay.”

  “Ooh! What’s his name? Should I meet him?”

  “Jonny Sparrow. We go in there quite a lot. We’re all very big on supporting local business these days and the food is as good as the coffee.”

  “Um, excuse me,” Amanda interjected. “Can I have a translation here? What’s a tree-changer? And why is he or she wearing one hat?”

  “Sorry,” Clancy said, glancing at her. “Sea change is when you leave the city for the beach life. Tree change is when you leave the city for the country. I suppose that makes Jonny a bit of both, actually. And restaurants are graded here with a chef’s hat symbol, like the Michelin guide in France. Getting a hat is a big deal.”

  “Huh. Well what do you know? Thanks.”

  A single set of traffic lights with a marked pedestrian crossing bisected the street and Clancy stopped the car while an elderly woman in a pale blue floral housedress made her way across, followed by a large and elderly black poodle with a blue bow in its topknot.

  “Mrs. Laverty hasn’t changed a bit,” said Malcolm happily as they waited for the pair to complete a leisurel
y crossing. “And that damn dog must be older than God by now.”

  “Cranky too,” said Clancy. “Rotten thing tried to chew Postie’s leg off last month. Caused a shocking kerfuffle because he said he wouldn’t deliver mail to the old bat anymore. She complained to council about discrimination and got the Herald to come down and do a big Saturday picture story on her plight.”

  Malcolm laughed. “So what happened?”

  “The council moved her mailbox outside the fence and fixed her gate so it won’t open when the dog paws the latch. She was cranky about that too. Said it was an infringement of the dog’s rights.”

  “You are kidding,” said Amanda between laughs.

  “No, Mrs. Laverty is the lunatic fringe all by herself. It’s a full- time job.”

  Clancy gave the focus of their discussion a cheery toot and waved when the elderly woman turned to glower and brandish her walking stick. For a moment Amanda thought of her fifth-floor neighbor and the dreaded Puppy back in New York and wondered what it was about old ladies and equally old dogs.

  “Well, this is Two Moon Bay, Amanda,” said Malcolm, breaking into her reverie. “You should see it in the rush hour.”

  “It’s cute,” she said with some small misgivings about life in such a tiny place. “What do people do for fun?”

  “Oh, nightclubs, theatre, the symphony, the opera—usual stuff,” said Malcolm airily.

  Clancy snorted, “Don’t you be smart just because you’ve been living in New York, Malcolm Darling. There’s a lot going on, Amanda. And there’s a party Saturday fortnight that I’m hijacking to welcome you home, you miserable sod,” she said to her brother’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “Great, where?”

  “The School of Arts, where else.”

  “Lordy, but you’re in for a treat, Amanda dearest, you mark my words. The full Aussie knees-up—complete with disco ball, prawns on the barbie and lots of Abba.”

  “Ooh! Great,” said Amanda. “Can I come as Meryl Streep or what?”

  “You could do worse. Do you have any half-mast overalls?” laughed Malcolm.