She lay in his arms enjoying the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest against her back until she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed the bathroom. Gently easing herself from his protective hold, she slipped silently from his bed and tiptoed across the timber floors to his tiny ensuite. After showering, she rifled through his wardrobe and found a pair of tracksuit pants and a T-shirt. Slipping them on, she stood and stared at his sleeping figure. She toyed with the idea of waking him, but he looked so peaceful so she crept out of the bedroom into the small living room.
She didn’t hear Harry enter and when he bent over the back of the couch and kissed the top of her head, she jumped.
‘How did you sleep?’ he asked as he went to the window and opened the curtains. He wore nothing except his boxer shorts.
‘Better than expected once I finally fell asleep. You, on the other hand, were out to it the moment your head hit the pillow.’
He yawned and stretched his arms above his head and she stared appreciatively at the muscles in his back.
‘I always sleep like a log. And it was a big day yesterday. With the show, the party and . . .’ He paused and looked at her, concern creasing his brow. ‘Are you okay about last night?’
She smiled and crooked her finger at him. ‘Come over here and I’ll show you how okay I am.’
He was at her side in seconds and their kiss quickly became something more.
Afterwards, they sat cross-legged on the floor eating toast and Vegemite – the only food in his pantry other than Tim Tams.
‘What are the plans for the rest of today then?’ she asked, jumping up and putting her plate in the kitchen sink.
‘Ah, we have lots to do before I have to be back at the theatre, but first things first – we need to get you something to wear.’ He plucked at his T-shirt she was wearing. ‘Because, honey, this does nothing for your figure,’ he drawled in a nasally effeminate voice.
Eddie giggled, not in the least offended. ‘Ashleigh said I have no idea how to dress.’
‘Forget what she said.’ He stared into her eyes. ‘You know I’m only kidding, right? You look great, but you’ll need something else to wear for what I have planned today, unless you want to wear high heels and tracksuit pants!’
‘Don’t blame me. I didn’t expect I’d be staying the night or I’d have brought a change of clothes with me.’
‘Are you sorry you stayed?’
‘Not at all, but I can’t believe I wasted all that money on a hotel room I didn’t use.’
Harry winced. ‘Sorry about that. How about I get dressed and we grab your stuff from the hotel. You can check out and spend tonight here again, if you’d like?’ He wiggled his brows at her and she tried not to laugh at how silly he looked. ‘Perhaps we could have a repeat performance when I get home after tonight’s show?’
Her stomach lurched with pleasure and she closed her eyes briefly as the memories of last night coursed through her again. ‘I’d like that.’
After changing into her own clothes back at the hotel, Eddie checked out, and the rest of the day was spent playing tourist. Hand in hand they wandered around Federation Square, stopping to take selfies under the Flinders Street Station clocks. They walked along the Yarra to the MCG, crossing the bridge and back again. After meandering around Southbank and stopping for ice cream, they went past Hamer Hall and spent an hour at the art gallery. It was a while since Eddie had been to Melbourne and she was starting to see why it was called the world’s most liveable city.
They were eating an early dinner at another cafe before Harry had to be back at the theatre and planning how to spend the following day when Harry turned to her with a grin. ‘You game for a new experience?’
‘It depends.’
He reached for her hand. ‘Do you trust me?’
Eddie met his gaze. ‘Yes.’
Ten minutes later, he ushered her into a building and her heart reeled when she saw the signage. They were at the Eureka Sky Deck.
‘We’re going up there?’ she asked. Her stomach was already twisting in knots of fear.
Harry nodded. ‘The views are spectacular.’
He purchased their tickets and they entered the lift. As it shot upwards Eddie gasped and clutched the metal railing.
‘We’re going at nine metres per second,’ Harry said. ‘Cool, eh?’
‘Very cool,’ she replied as she breathed in and out through pursed lips.
‘It’s the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere. Two hundred and eighty-five metres off the ground.’
Eddie did a rough calculation in her head. More than twice the length of the MCG. She knew that from the tour that morning. The higher they got, the more Eddie found it difficult to talk. She’d forgotten to mention that as well as her aversion to large crowds and city traffic, she wasn’t very good with heights.
‘You okay?’
‘Fine.’ She snuck a look at him. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Your knuckles are white.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, forcing herself to loosen her grip. She closed her eyes as the elevator doors pinged open.
‘Come on,’ he said, tugging her hand.
They stepped out and it took all her willpower to walk towards the floor-to-ceiling windows. Harry was already there, his hands and face pressed against the glass.
‘It’s even better out on the Sky Deck.’
He pointed to the small glass box protruding from the building. A group of people in plastic booties were inside, laughing and smiling and taking photos. Eddie wondered if it’d be better to be sick now and avoid the trauma of going out onto the deck, but Harry placed a gentle hand to her back and ushered her forward. As she slipped the booties over her shoes, her hands trembled. ‘I’m not sure I can do this,’ she said, feeling her lower lip wobble.
‘Of course you can. I’ll hold your hand.’
‘I’m not going to open my eyes,’ she said, screwing them closed.
‘Eddie?’
‘Mmm.’
‘Look at me.’
She did.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you’re scared of heights?’
‘Why didn’t you tell me you planned on bringing me up here?’
‘We don’t have to go out there if you don’t want to.’
She swallowed past the golf ball-sized lump of fear that had lodged itself in her throat. ‘It’s okay. I want to.’ And she realised she did.
The doors opened and they stepped onto the glass floor.
‘It’s four centimetres thick,’ he informed her.
‘It could be four metres thick and I’d still be freaking out.’ She faced inwards, her back pressed against the metal rail. Her legs were like unset jelly.
He stepped over to her then and wrapped his arms around her. ‘In a moment the glass is going to change from opaque to clear then a camera will take our photo so make sure you smile.’
Seconds later, the glass changed. She gasped and closed her eyes again. Harry held her tighter, his arms offering both weight and security. He was so close his breath brushed against her neck. Slowly she opened her eyes.
‘Don’t look down yet,’ he said. ‘Just look out.’
She did. Her mouth dropped open in wonder. The city skyline was majestic stretched out around them. Sunlight bounced from the buildings, reflecting off the glass windows of the high-rise buildings that surrounded them. The sky was a brilliant blue and she could see forever. Harry pointed in the direction of Geelong, then towards the Dandenong Ranges. Picking up courage, Eddie looked directly below her feet at the cars zooming along the streets, oblivious that she was metres above them.
‘Whoa. It’s beautiful. Awesome. Incredible.’
‘Not as incredible as you.’
She held her breath and looked at him. He pulled her into his arms and as he kissed her, a flash exploded.
*
They were on the tram heading back to Harry’s apartment when his phone rang. He dropped her hand to fish it from his back pocke
t. He glanced at the screen and mouthed ‘Mum’.
‘Hey, Mum. Everything okay?’ His face lost all colour. ‘What’s wrong? Is it Dad?’ He pulled the phone slightly away from his ear. ‘Dad’s back in hospital. Another chest infection,’ he whispered to Eddie.
‘Which hospital?’ A pause. ‘I’ll come straight home.’ Another pause. ‘My understudy can do my role tonight.’ He sighed wearily. ‘Okay. Call me if there’s any change. Don’t leave it to the last minute. If anything happens I want to be there.’
He hung up and looked at Eddie who was staring at him with concern written on her face. ‘It’s nothing too serious,’ he assured her. ‘Just another chest infection and more issues with his speech and swallowing.’
‘What are you going to do? Go home?’
He shook his head. ‘I really can’t and Mum doesn’t want me to anyway. As soon as I can I’ll take the night off and go straight up there to see him. Meanwhile Mum’s promised she’ll call me immediately if there are any changes.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I’m sorry, Eddie. This day has ended on a downer.’
‘Don’t apologise. This is life.’
He let out a ragged breath. ‘Life, eh? Looks and feels more like death to me.’
Chapter 28
Autumn had arrived without the usual change in seasons and the weather forecasters were predicting it could be the hottest March on record. Since October there’d been little relief from the hot dry conditions and Eddie, along with everyone else in town, was desperate for cooler days. By now the leaves should have been turning red and yellow and orange but they were still green. Everything was dry and dusty, in desperate need of rain.
Harry was flat out with the show in Melbourne but they managed to speak at least once every day on the phone. Skype and Facetime were their saviours. Eddie missed him dreadfully, but barely had time to think about it as she’d been kept busy helping her grandparents with the Big Move.
Two weeks earlier the removalists had arrived and taken Frank and Daisy’s furniture and belongings to the retirement village. The house was now empty and Eddie was cleaning. She stood and stretched. Her back ached and she still hadn’t packed a single box of her own stuff. She exhaled heavily and wandered over to the window, well aware she was avoiding the inevitable.
Both the house and cottage were on the market and while her grandparents’ accommodation was sorted, Eddie had no idea where she was going to live. So far they’d had two offers from one interested party – both lower than Frank had hoped, but the real estate agent assured them the bidder had room to move and she’d encouraged him to be patient. The sale of both properties was just a matter of time.
Time was something Eddie was running out of. She’d stalled and dragged her feet as long as she could but she needed to find a rental place, and soon, before she found herself homeless, with no forwarding address.
Packing the house had been a bit of a nightmare at times and there’d been tears and a few tantrums, not least on the day she’d helped her nan pack up the kitchen. They’d put it off until last, knowing it was going to be a huge job.
It began well. Two cracked bowls were unceremoniously dumped in the rubbish bin and a teapot – once her nan’s favourite but with a broken spout rendering it unusable – went the same way. Then Eddie opened the bottom cupboard containing all the Pyrex dishes. She’d already packed up and boxed three mismatched crockery sets, enough cutlery for fifty people and more glassware and mugs than she could count. She pulled out the dishes, lined them up on the floor and counted them. There were thirteen.
‘How many?’ she’d asked.
Nan had glanced her way. ‘Thirteen.’
‘No. I mean how many am I packing and how many are you giving away?’ The Salvation Army op shop in town would need to open another storefront judging by the amount of stuff Nan had hoarded over the years.
‘I know that’s what you meant.’
It had taken Eddie a moment to realise her nan’s intentions. ‘You can’t take them all.’
‘Why not?
‘There isn’t room in your new place.’
Nan had met her gaze with a steely stare. ‘I’ll make room.’
Eddie had sighed inwardly, trying to avoid another confrontation. ‘The new kitchen is a third of this size.’ The whole unit at the retirement village was tiny – another reason to add to the list of why Eddie thought they’d hate it. She’d swept her arm in an arc. ‘None of this is going to fit into the new place.’
‘I know.’
‘So you’re going to have to throw things out.’
Nan had patted the top of Eddie’s head like she was a child. ‘I know you don’t understand me, but I want to pack up everything now. I’d rather take it to the new place and sort it out then. If it doesn’t fit, I can give it away. There’s a lovely clean garage we can put all the boxes into. Then one at a time we can pull them out and go through them at our leisure.’
Eddie had been so frustrated. It wasn’t how she’d do things. ‘That’s not logical, Nan.’
‘Perhaps not to you.’ Nan had smiled sweetly. ‘I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?’
‘Don’t change the subject.’
‘Don’t tell me what to do.’ The rebuke had been gentle, as always.
Eddie had counted slowly to ten and started wrapping the first of the thirteen Pyrex dishes in butcher’s paper.
‘Darling, don’t make an assumption that because we want to move means we want everything to change.’
‘Feels like it,’ Eddie had said miserably. ‘And besides, everything will change.’
‘For the better.’ Daisy had held Eddie’s gaze, her eyes full of affection.
Recalling the conversation now, Eddie wished she hadn’t been so snippy, but she was still struggling to come to terms with the fact her grandparents no longer seemed to need her. She felt like a bird being pushed out of the nest, which was crazy – she was far too old to be living in the nest in the first place.
While Eddie stressed about where she was going to live, Daisy and Frank had settled into the retirement village like the proverbial pigs in mud. Every time Eddie dropped in to see them, they were either entertaining their new neighbours or out being entertained. They loved the convenience of being closer to town, loved the fact the new place was brand new and had all the bells and whistles, and loved that there were no steps. The only sticking point was the dogs – the unit was too small and there was only a tiny yard so Eddie needed to find a place where she could keep them. If she couldn’t, Gus and Aimee had offered to take them.
After cleaning all morning Eddie decided she needed a break. She headed outside into the shaded part of the garden with a book and a cold drink, trying to ignore the voice of guilt that screamed she shouldn’t be taking a break when there was still so much to be done. But, she argued sternly with the voice, she’d worked her butt off over the last couple of days and she deserved a break.
The cicadas were singing at a feverish pitch, louder than ever, and somewhere in the distance a horse whinnied, as if railing against the heat too. As Eddie read, a huge white cloud unfurled itself on the mountain across the valley. Odd. Rain hadn’t been in the forecast. Within a few minutes the sky began to change colour. She reluctantly put the book aside and checked her watch. Time had flown without her noticing. When she spotted the thin white wisp of smoke on the horizon, her heart sped. A dry thunderstorm had hit earlier that morning, the rain evaporating before it landed on the ground. The day before, she’d had a conversation with someone at the supermarket that conditions were perfect for another bushfire.
No, please, not again, she prayed.
She watched the smoke curl, disappear into the now aquamarine blue sky, and for a split second Eddie wondered if she’d imagined it. A second wisp of smoke appeared and this time she couldn’t deny what she was seeing. Where were the binoculars? Remembering she’d packed them already, she had to rifle through three boxes until she found them down the bottom. Scanning the horizon, Ed
die desperately hoped the smoke was either a figment of her imagination or a stupid idiot having a barbeque. Not everyone thought a total fire ban applied to them. Then she caught sight of the smoke through the lens and fear dropped into her gut. Now it wasn’t just smoke. She could see flames.
With a mix of deja vu and dread, Eddie grabbed her phone and dialled triple zero. After giving the operator the estimated location of the fire, she hung up and grabbed the binoculars again. Fear ripped through her. In seconds, the fire had jumped at least fifty metres. Eddie swore so loudly she startled the dogs. When her phone rang she launched herself at it, knowing it would be someone from either the CFA or SES. She swiped her finger across the screen.
‘Ed, we have a situation.’ Steve Kane’s voice was calm, the way it always was in the middle of an emergency.
‘I know. Fire. I called it in. I can see it from up here at my place.’ She gave him the location.
‘Lightning strike?’ Steve asked.
‘Probably. We had a storm go through here earlier this morning. No rain though.’ As she watched from her window, the smoke thickened and changed colour as it merged with a fast-moving, low-hanging cloud. ‘Wind’s picked up too,’ she said. ‘We could use some rain.’
‘I’ve checked the satellite. None on the way.’
She slid open the glass doors and stepped outside. The heat and wind almost took her breath away. ‘Do you need me?’
‘Not yet. What’s your fire plan?’
Eddie glanced back inside at the empty room. ‘The plan was to stay and defend, but Nan and Grandad have moved into the retirement village. There’s just my place. I haven’t started packing yet.’
‘Where are your grandparents now?’ Steve asked.
‘At their new place. Grandad is painting their lounge room today, would you believe it?’
Steve chuckled. ‘I don’t think Frank got the memo that he’s getting old. Or that it’s too hot to be painting.’
‘Yeah. But apparently he’s old enough to think he has to leave Glenview.’
Eddie heard a phone ringing in the background.
‘I gotta take this other call, Ed. Keep your phone with you. I’ll be in touch.’
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