Saving Wishes

by GJ Walker-Smith

  Part of me always wondered how things would have been for him if we’d had a normal family life. Raising a child is a responsibility that no twenty year old should have to bear, but Alex was extraordinary. I should have told him so more often.

  “Are you going to be gone all day?” he asked, perfectly calm. Maybe he wasn’t about to pull the my-house-my-rules card.

  “It’s a little town, Alex. A few trees, a few cliffs, maybe a wallaby or two and we’re done.”

  “Will you call me if your plans change?”

  “I would if I thought you’d answer your phone.”

  I’d arranged to meet Adam at the car park opposite the café because it seemed easier than giving him directions to the house. Alex wasn’t doing me a favour by offering to drive me there. He wanted to check Adam out.

  I saw the Audi as soon as we rounded the bend on the road, parked in almost the same place as the day before.

  “Nice car.”

  “It is. And he drives it like a maniac.” I wanted my comment to get under his skin. The way he chewed his bottom lip proved it had.

  “Park at the café and I’ll walk over,” I said. As expected, Alex ignored me and pulled up along side Adam’s car. “You don’t need to turn the car off. You’re not staying,” I warned.

  Still ignoring me, he took the keys out of the ignition. I should have known Alex would make a production out of it and I wasn’t the least bit surprised when he got out of the car. He stayed behind me as I walked over to Adam. The three of us standing in the car park reminded me of a western movie, right before guns were drawn and carnage ensued. I introduced them before Alex had a chance to say something cringe-worthy.

  “Adam, hi. This is my brother, Alex.” I pointed at him in case Adam mistook him for a seagull or something.

  Adam extended his hand and Alex met it with a firm shake. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” replied Alex.

  I was a little shocked. My brother usually had a smart remark for everyone and everything. I gave him a look that would have killed him if I’d concentrated harder. “You can go now.”

  “Oh, geez, Charlotte. Thanks.” Obviously the daze had lifted. “Call me if your plans change.” He strode back to his car.

  Adam looked to the ground in a failed attempt at hiding his smile. “He seems nice.”

  “So do most serial killers the first time you meet them.”

  Chuckling darkly, Adam opened the door for me. I got in and breathed out an unsteady breath of relief. I didn’t need Alex there to screw things up for me. I was perfectly capable of doing that myself. Adam got in the car and a few seconds later the engine purred to life.

  I instructed Adam to pull over just after we left the car park.

  “Is there something to see here?” he asked. His confused expression made me giggle. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re having a joke at my expense, Charlotte?”

  He always seemed to speak formally, as if he chose the longest, most articulate way to say something. And there was something really sexy about it.

  “No joke, Adam.” I said, deadpan. “This is a major attraction in Pipers Cove.” He looked sceptical but followed my finger as I pointed through the windscreen. I read the sign out loud. “Welcome to Pipers Cove. Population four hundred and sixty-eight.” I spoke theatrically, as if I was reading from a neon billboard.

  He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “And this is significant because?”

  “You don’t like it?” I asked, feigning disappointment. I added a pout.

  He studied the peeling paint and outdated landscape. “It’s a very nice sign. Is it special in some way?”

  “Of course it is. See the picture of the lighthouse on the rocks?”

  “I see it.”

  “Well, that’s the kicker. There’s no lighthouse in Pipers Cove. It’s a big fat lie. This little Cove is so boring that they had to invent a lighthouse. Tourists spend days looking for it.”

  Adam slowly turned to face me, showing no sign of annoyance. “You’re a stellar tour guide, Charli,” he drawled sarcastically.

  “I had to show it to you. I didn’t want you to be one of the tourists who perish from exhaustion after searching in vain for days on end. I may have just saved your life.”

  “Thank you for the heads up, but Gabrielle’s already warned me about the lighthouse, or lack thereof.”

  I cringed. “Did you tell Mademoiselle Décarie that you were spending the day with me?”

  “I did.”

  “And what did she say?” I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know.

  “She wished me luck.” His warm grin took the edge off.

  “She doesn’t like me very much,” I admitted. “I’m sure she told you that.”

  “I’m free to make up my own mind, Charli. So far, so good – you’ve already saved my life once.”

  I laughed. “Okay. We should probably move on. Is there anything in particular you want to see?”

  Adam hesitated before reaching into his coat and pulling out a postcard. He smoothed it out as best he could before handing it to me. It looked like it had been folded and unfolded a million times. The heavy crease in the centre ruined a very familiar scene.

  “Do you know this place? Gabrielle sent me this months ago. I’m hoping it was taken somewhere close by.”

  I knew exactly where the picture was taken. “It’s not far from here,” I replied casually, passing the postcard back. “I’ll take you there.”

  Adam slipped the postcard back in his pocket. “You barely glanced at it. Are you sure you know where it is?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve lived here my whole life, Adam. Trust me. I know exactly where it is.”

  The sleek black Audi negotiated the turns to the top of the cliffs effortlessly. It was a far cry from my little old car that struggled to make it halfway up on its best day. Thick bush crowded both sides of the track. Adam winced each time a branch scraped the car, probably pained by the thought of the deep scratches being inflicted on his car. I pretended not to notice. He parked at the very end of the track, but there was nothing to see. It just looked like a dead-end road to nowhere.

  Winter meant the bush was especially green, and obscured the view of the ocean. An unsuspecting hiker could fall off the edge by simply walking too far into the greenery, which is why the local council had abandoned the lookout years earlier and stopped maintaining the road. I watched through the windscreen as Adam wandered to the edge of the track, searching for his postcard landscape.

  I’d spent more time up at the lookout than I’d ever admit. It was one of my favourite places to waste away an afternoon, sitting on the rickety old bench that had withstood a million storms. Only Alex knew of the time I spent up there. It was one of my best kept secrets.

  The frigid air stung my face as I got out of the car. It was always windy on the cliffs, a few degrees colder too.

  “Are you sure this is it?” he asked sceptically.

  “Absolutely.”

  I strolled past him, towards a sandy opening between trees. I could feel Adam close behind me but didn’t turn to check that he was keeping up. The roaring of the ocean got louder. I could feel salt on my face. When I broke through to the clearing, I stopped to let Adam pass. He took a deep breath as if the fierce wind had punched him. His expression was a mix of amazement and awe.

  “Unbelievable! It’s exactly the same as the picture!” He walked past the bench, dangerously close to the edge of the drop. He leaned forward to get a better look, making me extremely nervous. I ordered him back from the edge. Adam looked back at me, grinning impishly as he took a large step back.

  “Thank you,” I breathed.

  “Are you afraid of heights?”

  “No. I’m afraid of telling Gabrielle that I let you fall off a cliff,” I replied sarcastically.

  Laughing darkly, he sat on the bench and motioned to the space beside him. “Can we sit for a minute?”
>
  I stood with my back to the ocean, fighting to keep my footing as the strong wind pushed me closer to him. My hair whipped forward, lashing my face. I brushed it back, holding it in place with my hand.

  “Please, Charli. Before you blow away.”

  The change in wind force as I sat beside him was instant. I linked my hands around my knees, bringing them to my chest.

  “Do you come up here often?” he asked.

  “All the time. It’s very quiet up here.”

  His smile was the most genuine I’d seen from him. “Well, I’m honoured that you shared it with me.”

  “Adam, why are you here?”

  “You brought me here, Charlotte,” he replied.

  “You know that’s not what I mean.”

  He smiled. “I know what you mean.” I couldn’t believe that Pipers Cove was his dream destination. I wanted to hear that he was on the run from the law or being chased by mobsters. “I’m on summer break. Visiting Gabrielle seemed like a nice change of pace.”

  Right. We were sitting at the top of a cliff, half freezing to death. Adam sank down on the bench, pulling his collar up. We sat in silence staring into the distance. The massive ocean looked grey and angry, dotted with white caps where the wind had broken the waves, and the dark clouds above complemented its mood perfectly.

  “Are you glad you came?” I asked.

  He kept his eyes on the ocean ahead.

  “All my friends went to Europe, some resort in Spain. They’re probably sipping cocktails on the beach as we speak.”

  “You must be wishing you’d gone with them.” Heck, I was wishing I’d gone with them. “Cocktails versus hypothermia. Tough choice.”

  Adam looked at me. No quick glance, I could feel his lingering stare long before I met his gaze.

  “Coming here was the right choice, Charli.” He spoke slowly and deliberately.

  I felt a blush prick my cheeks and fought to keep my eyes from drifting away. “But why here? What made you come here?” Nobody would voluntarily waste their summer in Pipers Cove.

  Adam sighed. “You’re going to think my reasons are lame.”

  I shook my head, promising I wouldn’t.

  He folded his arms across his chest to combat the cold. “Gabrielle’s been here for a few years now. We’ve always kept in touch. I email her, but she likes to send postcards. She’s old school.” He winked at me and I smiled. “The picture of this place just got to me. I needed to see it. I’m not usually impulsive – in fact, I’m painfully predictable most of the time. Ditching my friends at Heathrow and jumping a plane to Australia is about the craziest thing I’ve ever done. But I needed to see it.” He frowned at the ground.

  “It’s just a postcard, Adam,” I teased, having no clue what else to say.

  The frown melted. “Maybe it isn’t about the postcard. Maybe there’s a bigger picture. Do you believe in fate, Charli?”

  “No.” I almost spat out the word.

  “What about love at first sight?”

  I grimaced, refusing to entertain why he’d asked me. “Definitely not.”

  “So you would leave nothing to chance then?”

  We truly were strangers. Anyone who knew me would know that I had a nasty habit of leaving absolutely every aspect of my life to chance, and not always to my advantage.

  I kicked the dirt beneath my feet, digging a groove in the sand. “Probably not.”

  “Well, I plan every aspect of my life. I don’t think I’ve been leaving enough to chance. I came half way around the world on a whim, searching for a place that might not have even existed.”

  “Well, thank goodness she didn’t send you a postcard of the lighthouse.”

  He agreed, laughing.

  “This view is really something,” he said at last, focusing on the vast ocean.

  “It is.” The beauty of Pipers Cove couldn’t be denied.

  “You don’t sound too impressed.”

  “I was… the first few hundred times I saw it.”

  “Maybe you should consider a vacation of your own, Charli. You sound like you need one.”

  “I’m in my last year of high school. I’ll turn eighteen in December and then I’m out of here.,” I announced with a touch of theatre in my voice. “That’s always been the plan.”

  “Where will you go?” I wasn’t sure if he was interested or being polite. His expression gave nothing away.

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted.

  He threw his head back in a huge bray of laughter. “So you’ve been plotting your escape your whole life but you haven’t actually planned where you’re going to go?”

  I grinned; I couldn’t help myself. “The world’s a big place. I’m spoiled for choice.”

  “It is. Does Alex want you to stay?”

  I shook my head. “He wants me to finish school, though. I’m okay with that. It’s the least I can do for him.”

  “How long have you two been on your own?”

  It was a polite way of asking an ugly question. I felt no need to launch into the sad story of our lives. I was sure Mademoiselle Décarie would have filled him in on the details. It would have been her explanation as to why I was so damaged.

  “Since I was three.”

  “You’re close?”

  “He’s all I have.” It sounded trite, but the truth often does. Adam looked forward again, processing the information.

  I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me. It was Alex who deserved the pity. I hardly remembered my mother. All I had was a hazy batch of recollections that dulled a little more each year. I barely knew her in life, so it was hard to stay close to her in death. I remembered even less of my father. According to Alex, he left just after I was born. We hardly ever spoke of them and I think Alex preferred it that way.

  “Tell me about you,” I blurted, to change the subject.

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Everything. Start at the beginning,” I demanded, making him laugh.

  “Okay. Well, originally I’m from Marseille. I moved with my brother and parents to New York when I was seven and….”

  “How old are you now?” It was a question I’d been dying to ask since I’d met him.

  “Twenty-one in October.” I studied his features closely. The wind had dishevelled his dark hair, giving it a little more kink than when it was neat. His unusual cobalt eyes gave him a dark edge that didn’t quite match his personality. He looked exactly twenty years old.

  “What date?” I asked. The look he gave suggested it was a strange question.

  “The thirty-first. Halloween.”

  I nodded and the conversation faltered. I tried to come up with a question intelligent enough to negate the last. Asking him to finish his story was the best I could come up with.

  Adam was decidedly more American than French. He spoke of New York with the fondness of someone who truly felt he belonged there. He lived somewhere called the Upper East Side, between Central Park and the East River. He mentioned it casually, as if I would know where it was. I pretended I did, promising myself I’d research it later.

  His father headed a law firm. Adam – the younger of the Décarie brothers –planned to follow in his footsteps. He wasn’t exaggerating when he’d told me that he had his whole life mapped out. After his impromptu trip to Pipers Cove, he was heading back to New York to commence his first year of law school. This boy was so far out of my league it was embarrassing. I found myself staring at him, trying to find some minute flaw that might justify dragging him back to my level. Finding nothing, I decided that having a dimple on only one cheek was practically a deformity.

  “So what about you, Charli?” he asked.

  “What about me?” He needed to be more specific. I couldn’t think of a single interesting thing about myself to put forward.

  “Do you have any idea what you want to do, apart from travel?”

  “That’s all I want to do. I don’t aspire to rule the worl
d. I just want to rule my world.” The words came out in a rush, sounding horribly conceited. I had no plans of a brilliant career. The biggest thing I aspired to do was get out of town. “I guess it must sound pretty unambitious to you,” I added.

  “I never said that,” he said. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  I suddenly felt wide open, fearing I’d just shown him enough craziness to make him want to cut me loose at any second. Determined to get in first, I stood and began walking away.

  “Have I said something to upset you, Charli?”

  I didn’t turn around. “No. I just can’t find any common ground between us.”

  “What does that matter?” I could hear the amusement in his voice, adding to my embarrassment. “I thought we were getting to know each other. I also thought it was going pretty well. I like you, Charli.”

  “You don’t know me, Adam.”

  He wouldn’t like me if he knew me. In fact, he’d probably despise me. Keeping him around was just delaying the inevitable.

  “I know enough. Shall I tell you what I know?” His question stopped me in my tracks. “I think you’re insecure, which is a shame. You’re far too beautiful to be insecure about your looks, so maybe you’re nursing a broken heart. Or perhaps I scared you with my postcard story. Could that be it?”

  “No.”

  “I think you don’t like people getting close.”

  I stared at him, for far too long to appear unaffected by his words.

  “Whatever.” My reply would have been perfectly adequate coming from a ten year old girl with a limited vocabulary. Coming from me, it sounded pathetic. I wasted no more time walking away.

  “Charli, please,” I heard. I didn’t slow down until I reached the car.

  Then I realised that my dramatic exit was for nothing. I had to face the humiliating fact that I’d arrived at the lookout in Adam’s car. I had no choice but to wait for him.

  The tortured French-American boy eventually strolled out of the bush, twirling his car keys around his fingers as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  My awkwardness had consumed me by the time we got in the car. I slumped in the cold leather seat, not looking at him. He turned the key and the engine purred to life. “I’d really like a cup of coffee right about now,” he said. “Do you think we could go for coffee?”

  He must have really needed the caffeine hit. I could think of no other reason for dragging out the agony.

  “I’ve had enough for one day,” I mumbled.

  “Okay, I’ll take you home,” he replied quietly. The scraping of the bushes against the paintwork, amplified by the silence inside the car, didn’t seem to bother him the way it had on the way up. Not a word was uttered until we were nearing the town.

  “You can drop me off at the café,” I told him. “You’re going there anyway if you want coffee. You could try the Daintree’s souvenir shop coffee but as far as I know, it’s still instant and tastes like dirt.”

  He didn’t answer me and I wasn’t sure where we were headed until he pulled up at the café. We weren’t the only ones parked there.

  “What is it?” asked Adam, noticing my grimace.

  I pointed at the little blue Ford Festiva parked crookedly across two bays. “That car belongs to Jasmine and Lily.” He looked blank. “The Beautifuls.”

  He shuddered. “The Daintree’s souvenir coffee is sounding good right about now.”

  “You’ll be fine,” I falsely assured. “Just don’t make eye contact.”

  Just as we got to the glass door, the bell at the top jingled. It opened quickly, and before we knew it we were face to face with Lily Tate.

  “Charli and Adam. Adam and Charli,” she said, almost singing her words as she bobbed her head from side to side.

  “Hi Lily,” I mumbled. At least I spoke. Adam managed a half-hearted smile and a weak wave.

  “I thought we had plans today.” She stared accusingly at Adam. “Charli, can you translate please?”

  “Ah, there was a little misunderstanding, Lily, but he’ll make it up to you,” I promised.

  “I hope so. We went all the way out to Miss Décarie’s house this morning. She wasn’t expecting us at all! She said Adam had left early.”

  “Don’t read too far into it,” I told her, doubting she could read at all. “He went for a walk along the beach and lost track of time.” The lie rolled off my tongue too easily.

  Adam remained silent but his frown spoke volumes. It was amazing how much he understood considering he didn’t speak English.

  “Where do you fit in this story?” Lily asked, looking me up and down. Her snippy tone got my back up. Instead of trying to placate her, I found myself stooping to a level lower than pond scum.

  “I ran into him down there. But I’m done with him now. You can have him back.”

  “You stole him?” she asked, widening her eyes in horror. “Jasmine’s going to flip out when she hears that.”

  Adam looked at me, not so discreetly this time. I kept my focus on Lily, to escape his fierce glare.

  “Like I said, you can have him back now.” I offered him to her as if he was a toy we were sharing.

  Lily stared at Adam but spoke as if he was invisible. “Maybe I could tell her he misunderstood, got the time wrong or something.”

  “Yeah. That’ll work,” I said.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Lily. The loud slow voice she was using was obviously for the deaf, gorgeous, American, French boy’s benefit. “He’s here now.” She hooked her arm through his.

  Her territorial display didn’t bother me one bit. What bothered me was the baleful look Adam gave me. I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t really that wretched – that I was truly sorry for throwing him to the Beautiful wolves. But I didn’t. I continued tormenting him.

  “His English has improved too,” I said, driving the final nail in the Adam-and-Charli coffin. “He spent the whole morning telling me how lovely he thinks you are.”

  Lily stood in stunned silence, for the first time ever.

  Realising her mind freeze could go on for a while Adam took control. “Lily, I apologise for the mix-up.” His smooth accent and low voice did nothing to unfreeze her brain. “I’m here for another week so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to catch up.”

  It was an offer Lily was never going to refuse. And why would she? As far as she was concerned, Prince Charming was there for the taking.

  “Walk me to my car and I’ll give you my number,” she instructed.

  Adam was too polite for his own good. He followed her down the steps and I made my getaway, charging through the door of the café. Nicole was sitting behind the counter. Her grin was wide, as if she was expecting big news.

  “Adam’s going to come in here in a minute for coffee,” I blurted, slamming both hands on the counter and making her jump. “Make him one and get him out of here.”

  “Why?” She leapt off the wicker stool. “What did you do, Charli?” She didn’t sound anywhere near as surprised as she should have.

  “Just get him out of here,” I choked, trying to whisper and yell at the same time. “I’ll be out the back.”

  Grabbing my sleeve, Nicole dragged me back to her side. “No way! You’re not hiding out the back, you little coward!” she hissed.

  “I royally screwed up,” I whimpered.

  I didn’t need to explain to my best friend why the day had gone so far awry, which was a good thing because the telltale bell jingled. She was back behind the counter before Adam even walked in. I stood cemented to the spot as he bypassed me completely. He ordered coffee and kept her engaged in conversation while she made it. The few minutes dragged like hours. It was getting harder to breathe.

  Finally, coffee in hand, Adam thanked Nicole. He almost made it to the door when I choked out his name.

  Adam looked around, vaguely as if a stranger had called out to him.

  “You told Lily you were leaving in a
week.”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you were staying for a couple of months.”

  “I said I could stay a couple of months,” he corrected, coldly. “I’m going to spend some time with Gabrielle and then head home.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” I agreed.

  Nicole let out a groan. The slap I heard was her hand connecting with her forehead. Subtly had never been her forte. Adam’s focus remained on me. Thinking about what he might be seeing made me want to bolt from the room.

  “I had it in my head that this place held something for me. For a minute I thought it was you….” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe he’d gotten it so wrong. “Thanks for showing me around. It was nice meeting you, Charli,” he said, cold and polite. He walked out the door, leaving me standing there like the idiot I was.

  “Are you just going to let him go?” Rushing over, Nicole grabbed a fistful of my coat. “You like him,” she said, shaking me with each syllable. “Why are you making such a mess of this?”

  Breaking free, I smoothed down my coat, buying time. She didn’t wait. “Get out there and talk to him,” she ordered, pointing towards the door.

  “And tell him what?”

  “Tell him that he wasn’t wrong,” she yelled, as if that was necessary to make me understand. She shoved me towards the door. “What are you waiting for?”

  “He’ll be gone now. It’s too late.”

  “He won’t be gone. He’s standing by his car.”

  “How can you possibly know that?” Whoever built the store a zillion years ago had the good sense not to obstruct the view of the ocean. The small car park couldn’t be seen from inside the café.

  Nicole dangled a set of keys in front of me. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  Snatching the keys from her, I marched to the door. I didn’t even take time to string a reasonable apology together in my head. Adam was already walking up the steps, coffee still in hand. It took all my might not to throw the keys at him, run inside, bolt the door and hide until he was gone.

  He could probably tell by the look on my face that he was going to have to speak first.

  “I left my keys.”

  I shook my head. “Nicole took them to stop you leaving.”

  I dropped them into his palm.

  “Why would she do that?” he asked.

  “Because she knows I will have sabotaged this day. And she knows I need time to make it right,” I explained.

  “Charli – ”

  “You said that you thought it was me that drew you here.” Interrupting him was all I could do. If I let him finish telling me how vile he thought I was, I would’ve lost my nerve completely.

  His face contorted as if he wished he’d never said it. “You blew me off and handed me to the Beautifuls,” he reminded me, outraged.

  “I know,” I replied contritely. “I’m sorry.”

  Adam backed down the steps. “You’re so confusing,” he muttered.

  Before I knew it, I was following him to his car, taking two quick steps to keep up with each of his long strides. “Adam, you asked me if I believed in fate.”

  He balanced the cup of coffee on the roof of the car. His hand was on the door handle but he didn’t open it. “And you said you didn’t.”

  “I lied.” He shook his head, incensed by me all over again. The car door opened and I wedged myself in the way to stop him leaving. “Please, I know I don’t deserve it but let me explain.”

  He took a step back from me, folding his arms defensively. “No games,” he warned.

  “None,” I promised, sealing the deal by crossing my heart, just to prove I had one. “If I’d told you the truth, you’d think I was crazy.”

  “As opposed to mercurial and jaded?” he asked.

  “I’m only a little bit jaded and I don’t know what mercurial means.”

  A hint of a smile ghosted across his face. “So what is the truth?”

  I stepped out from behind the car door and pushed it closed. “I chance everything to fate. I always have. I’m constantly looking for shifts in the universe. My brother tells me that I’d find a deeper meaning in a hole in the ground.” I paused and looked down, trying to slow my rant. “When you told me that the first chance you’d ever taken in life was to come here, searching for a place on a postcard, I just knew....”

  I sucked in a breath. I’d reached my limit.

  “Knew what, Charlotte?” he prompted. It was the first flicker of curiosity he’d shown since I’d begun speaking.

  “Fate brought you here.”

  He replied quickly. “If what you’re saying is true, fate isn’t kind. Today was a disaster, so I’m struggling to understand why you’re intent on salvaging this.”

  “It was only a disaster because I got ugly,” I pointed out. “My head is very protective of my heart and it’s a defect I’m well aware of. Keeping the Beautifuls out of my business has practically become my life’s work. I’m so sorry you got caught up in it.”

  He shook his head, looking utterly confused. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”

  “Things would be making a whole lot more sense right about now if I’d given you the chance to know me better.” I bit my bottom lip, holding my breath, waiting for him to speak.

  “Tell me who you are then, Charli,” he suggested.

  Bravely reaching into his coat pocket, I took out the ragged postcard. He stood completely still as I pressed it against his chest, smoothing out the crease.

  “Well, for a start, I’m Charlotte Elisabeth Blake,” I told him. “And if you look at the bottom right hand corner of your picture, you’ll see my initials.” I handed the postcard to him and he studied it closely.

  Photography had been my passion for a long time. It wasn’t a secret and I could think of no plausible reason why I hadn’t told him about it the minute he’d shown me the picture.

  It had been Alex’s idea to publish them as postcards. It was never going to make me rich but the proceeds bumped my bank account up enough to make my dreams of travelling at the end of the year a possibility rather than a pipedream. Not surprisingly, I’d managed to corner the market. Every postcard in town was one of mine.

  “I knew exactly where that photo was taken because I took it. A picture I took made it all the way around the world to you. And you came looking for it. It’s fate. You had no choice but to come here. You said so yourself.”

  “How is that even possible?”

  “Don’t question the universe. Just go with it. We’re practically guaranteed a happy ending.”

  He grinned at me. “Is that so?”

  “Definitely so.”

  “So what happens now?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not entirely sure but I’m hoping you’ll stick around long enough to find out. Everything will be okay in the end.”

  Breathing suddenly became easier. I wasn’t convinced he understood me but he hadn’t jumped in the car and locked all the doors either. I was content to walk away.

  For now, everything was exactly as it was supposed to be. I was never going to be able to turn the clock back but I felt confident that I had at least explained myself.

  It wasn’t a moment I wanted ruined by Nicole’s relentless need for details so I bypassed the café and started walking home.

  “What happens if it doesn’t work out, Charli?” he called.

  “Then it’s not the end, Adam,” I replied, barely slowing my walk.

  4. Shifting Universes

  The distance from the café to our house was ridiculously long. As soon as I was sure I was out of Adam’s sight I took my phone and punched in Alex’s number. “Can you come get me, please?”

  “Hello to you too,” he replied.

  “I’m sorry. Hello. Can you please come and pick me up? I’ve just left the café,” I amended, sounding sweeter.

  “I’ve got a few errands to run. Do you want to come with me?”
>
  Even after running errands, I’d still be home in less time than it would take me to walk. “Yes, please,” I grumbled, tilting my head to look at the sky. The clouds were threatening rain now. I had managed to stay dry all day but was concerned that my luck was running out.

  I heard Alex before I saw him. The V8 engine stuttered as he downshifted to take the bend. His beloved Holden Ute was one of his few guilty pleasures. He was the most sensible, level-headed man on earth except when it came to his car. It got washed every weekend – at least once. I swear he talked to it when he thought no one was listening. Every year he traded up for the newest, loudest model available and like a fickle schoolboy, his affections would quickly shift to the new car.

  The engine dulled to a throaty rumble as he pulled up beside me. Alex leaned over and pushed the passenger door open. “What happened to Prince Charming? He couldn’t give you a ride home?”

  “I chose to walk,” I said with dignity.

  “But you didn’t,” he grinned. “You called me.”

  “Only to see if you’d answer your phone,” I replied. “Do you want to hear about my day?”

  “Well, you didn’t call asking for bail money so I can only assume it didn’t end too badly.” The dark look I levelled at him had little effect but he amended his answer. “Of course I want to hear about your day.”

  “He dropped me off at the café and Lily was there. I basically fed him to her on a platter.”

  “Poor bloke.” He laughed, knowing full well what the Beautifuls were capable of. “I’m sorry it didn’t end well, Charli.”

  “I never said it didn’t end well.”

  Alex glanced at me. “Okay, then.”

  If I had ended the conversation right there, he would have been perfectly content. Alex did not cope well with drama.

  I waited a few minutes before speaking again. “Do you believe in fate, Alex?”

  His face contorted into a frown as discomfort set in. “What’s this all about, Charli?”

  “What if fate brought Adam to me?”

  His eyes remained on the road, but I had his undivided attention.

  “The kid is here visiting his cousin, Charli,” he stressed. “Fate has nothing to do with it.”

  I told Alex the postcard story in its entirety. “It can’t be coincidental,” I declared.

  He groaned. “Look, you take beautiful pictures of the Cove. It’s not much of a stretch to think someone who saw them would come here and check it out for themself.”

  I remembered the desperation in Adam’s voice when he’d told me how he needed to see it with his own eyes. He’d spoken as if he’d had no choice.

  “The universe hasn’t shifted, Charli.” He grinned. “I would have noticed something like that.”

  “So you don’t believe in love at first sight?” I quizzed.

  Alex shifted uncomfortably. “No.”

  “What about the fabulous Mademoiselle Gabrielle Décarie?” My pathetic accent sounded more like a fortune telling witch than a French socialite.

  “Hardly,” he mumbled. His protest was weak and I wasn’t buying it. “What is she going to think when she finds out you’re shifting universes with her precious cousin?” he asked, changing his tone.

  The question had already crossed my mind. I was Gabrielle’s least favourite person. We avoided each other like the plague, and that worked well for both of us. The most I saw of her was three hours a week during French class, if I bothered to make it.

  Our road trip was quick. Alex ran a few errands and hardly anything was said on the way home, and that was okay. Alex was my safe place.