“Rob always wanted to open his own restaurant. That’s why he came down here. He could never have afforded it in Sydney. Well, not for a long time anyway.”
“So, it’s his dream?”
“It’s my dream now, too,” she said defensively.
One week later
“To be honest,” said Meg, “at this point I’d settle for any dream, I wouldn’t care who had it first.”
Ally sat straddled on the floor, playing with Harrison. Nic was at it again, insisting she was not living Rob’s dream. She had started with Meg as soon as she’d downed her first glass of wine. She’d been like a dog with a bone all week, rehashing it with Ally at every opportunity. She wished now she’d kept her opinions to herself.
Harrison had taken a while to get used to Ally again. She hadn’t expected that. But then she realized it had been six months since she’d last seen him. That was a long time to a two year old. That’s how long Matt had been away from Beck, and she had probably been much the same age. Ally couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like, to have your own child not know you.
“Aren’t you going to have a drink, Ally?” Meg asked.
“Harrison’s just getting used to me again, I don’t want to ignore him now.”
“Cluck, cluck,” Nic taunted.
“Anyway, we have our big shopping excursion tomorrow, I can do without the hangover.”
“One or two glasses of wine won’t give you a headache, Al,” Meg frowned. “Here Harry, want a bok?”
“Bok” was Harrison’s word for iceblock, his favorite thing, even in the middle of winter. He looked wide-eyed at Ally and repeated “bok” happily, clapping his hands together. He scrambled to his feet.
“Kiss for Ally first?”
He stopped in his tracks, and with a shy smile he leaned forward, puckering his lips and pressing them against Ally’s.
“There, he still loves you. Now come and have a drink.”
Ally got up onto one knee and then stood up. “Ow, my bum’s gone numb. I always feel like I’m a hundred years old after I’ve been sitting on the floor.”
“At least you’re not sleeping on the floor anymore,” Nic threw at her.
“Don’t bring that up again.”
“Are you really over the illness now, Ally?” asked Meg.
“Completely.”
The best thing for her had been to have her own place. She was going to bed early every night, often after a deep, hot bath. The whole cottage was surprisingly warm. There was a little cozy heater in the living room which Ally lit each afternoon. And she was eating well, enjoying the novelty of cooking again.
“You’ve lost heaps of weight,” Meg observed.
“Have I?” said Ally, looking down at herself. “I haven’t been dieting or anything.”
“No, just working eighteen-hour days and living on cup-a-soup,” Nic frowned.
“Funny, if I was trying to lose weight, I wouldn’t be able to. Then when I don’t think about it, it falls off.”
“Haven’t you noticed your clothes getting loose?” Meg asked.
“A little, but I’ve only been wearing baggy tracksuits and leggings. They’re all the warm clothes I’ve had.”
“Mm, she’s quite the fashion plate,” Nic observed wryly.
Ally pulled a face. “That’s why I want to go through my boxes and take some stuff back with me. Now that I’ve got somewhere to put it all!” she added happily.
Meg was refilling their glasses, draining the bottle. “To Ally’s new place,” she declared, holding up her glass.
“And to a successful shopping trip tomorrow.”
“And to a fabulous night out tomorrow night,” Nic added.
“You’re really looking forward to this, aren’t you?”
She nodded eagerly. “I love a good girls’ night out.”
“God, it’s been so long, I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like,” Meg said wistfully.
“We’ve had plenty of girls’ nights!” Ally insisted.
“Yes, but they were girls’ nights in. We haven’t gone out in ages.”
“It’s not a real girls’ night unless you go out,” Nic insisted. “I just love the anticipation, getting dressed up, putting on makeup, doing each other’s hair—”
“How old are you?” Ally interrupted.
“Oh don’t be such an old fogey,” Meg scoffed. “Go on, Nic.”
“And then, when you’re out, the guys notice you because you’re, like, in a pack—”
“Okay, so now you don’t realize how old we are!”
“Speak for yourself, Ally. And then, Nic?”
“There’s all that flirting. The guys approach, they buy you drinks, they ask you to dance…”
“They stagger when they walk, they slur their speech,” Ally sighed.
“What is wrong with you?” Meg frowned.
“Nothing,” she insisted. “I just think the best thing about being in a relationship is that you don’t have to put up with all that. It’s not as exciting as she’s making out.”
Oh yes it is, Meg thought privately. “And remind me, just how long is it since you were in a relationship? It must be six months since you and Bryce split up?” she said.
Ally nodded, sipping her wine.
“Don’t you miss the sex?” asked Nic.
Ally thought about it. She shrugged. “Not really.”
“Yeah, but that’s only because sex with Bryce was, well,” Meg hesitated, “sex with Bryce!”
They all burst out laughing.
“To Bryce,” Ally raised her glass. “Or should I say, Bruce.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bruce. That was his real name.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Didn’t I ever tell you that?”
“No!”
Ally grinned. “Mm, he went to one of those success gurus who follow the latest trend. Numerology, feng shui, you name it. Anyway, they told him he’d be more successful if he changed the ‘u’ to a ‘y.’ I could have told him that. That was in the days when Bruce was about the dorkiest name you could be saddled with. Anyway, one little extra stroke of the pen, Bruce became Bryce, and it changed his whole persona.”
“You never told me.”
“I think I was probably sworn to secrecy. Not that that ever stopped me before.”
“Did he know your real name?”
“What’s your real name?” blurted Nic.
Ally dropped her head in her hands.
“Haven’t you told her?” said Meg. “It’s not that bad, I don’t know why you don’t use it now. You used it at college.”
“I could get away with it at art college.”
“Will somebody tell me?” Nic exclaimed.
Ally sighed. “Okay, but don’t laugh. It’s Alaska.”
“Oh, that’s so cool!” exclaimed Nic. And then she giggled. “Pardon the pun.”
Ally rolled her eyes.
“You know there’s a song by someone,” Nic mused. “About a girl they called Alaska.”
“Mm, they used to sing it to me at college all the time,” said Ally bluntly. “It’s about a drug addict. Can we drop the subject?”
“Okay, what were we talking about before?” said Meg. “I know. Sex. So you haven’t been getting any for six months?”
Ally shrugged. “I’ll live. I’ve sown my wild oats.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” Meg frowned. “I don’t think women have wild oats.”
“Maybe they scatter their free-range eggs?” Nic offered.
“That’s disgusting.”
“But ‘losing your virginity’ sounds like you’ve just been careless.”
“And it’s not as though you can find it again.”
“This conversation is getting out of hand,” Ally interrupted.
“So, back to where we started. Do you miss sex?”
“I think I must be in a slump at the moment. You know, low biorhythms or something. It just se
ems like too much of an effort.”
“I don’t think Matt would take much of an effort,” Meg winked.
“Has Matt—?” Nic started.
“No, nothing has happened, it’s all in Meg’s fertile imagination.”
“Well, I think you might have had a chance with Matt once,” said Nic. “But you’ve pissed him off well and truly now.”
Ally felt as though her heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach. She drained her glass. “Have you got another bottle, Meg, or should we go to the liquor shop?”
The following night
“I can’t believe you’re painting your toenails!” Ally shook her head.
“Well, technically, she’s painting my toenails,” Meg corrected her.
“Do you want me to do yours next?” said Nic.
“I haven’t painted my toenails since I was at college!”
“All the more reason you should.”
“I would rather rediscover my youth in a more meaningful way. Like, maybe you could ground me tonight, Meg?” Ally said hopefully.
“You’re not welching on us, Ally, I’m not going to let you. We drank just as much as you did last night.”
“Except that you didn’t go on the shopping spree of the century today.”
“I did!” Nic piped in.
“Yes, but you’re under thirty. I could do it at your age too.”
“You should hear yourself, Ally!” groaned Meg. “Next it’ll be a lecture about how the kids today show no respect. Lighten up!”
Ally was nonplussed. “I’m just not sure how my stomach will stand up to the ferry ride…”
She shut up when both Meg and Nic stopped what they were doing and looked up at her, clearly disgusted.
“I’m going to have a shower.”
* * *
Ally was dressed and ready to go, sitting on the lounge, reading Harrison his favorite Dr. Seuss. Nic and Meg were still doing each other’s hair. The blow-drier was working overtime in the bathroom.
Chris strolled casually into the room and perched on the edge of an armchair, just as Ally finished “One Fish, Two Fish.”
“More?” said Harrison, his eyes gleaming, looking up at Ally.
As if she could refuse him anything. “Okay, go find another one.”
“You’ll never get away,” Chris smiled, watching Harrison scramble off the lounge and totter across to the bookshelf.
“Suits me.”
“What, you’re not keen on the big girls’ night?”
Ally shrugged. “I must be getting old.”
“Well, you’re younger than Meg, and she can’t wait to get out of here.”
He was staring at his feet, frowning. He looked around in the direction of the hallway, and then back at Ally.
“I don’t expect you to break any confidences, but has Meg said anything to you?”
“About what?”
He shrugged. “Anything that’s bothering her? She seems to have something on her mind lately.”
Harrison plopped a book on Ally’s lap. “Green Eggs and Ham! My favorite. ‘I don’t like them Sam-I-am!’” she chanted, tickling Harrison as he climbed up onto the lounge again.
She looked up at Chris. “I think you should be asking Meg about how she feels, not me.”
“But whenever I ask her what’s wrong, she always says ‘nothing.’”
“And you let her get away with that?” Ally said, lifting an eyebrow. Harrison had settled himself beside her. She opened the first page of the book.
“‘I am Sam,’” she started to read.
* * *
Thankfully it was a calm night and the ferry ride was bearable, out on the deck, with the fresh breeze blowing on her face. Ally gazed across at the city skyline as they approached the Quay. She thought that she would miss it more. Still, it was good to be here tonight.
When the ferry docked, Nic made a beeline for her favorite nightclub in Darling Harbor. Just as well, because it had been a long time for Ally and Meg, and they both admitted they wouldn’t have had a clue where to go.
They found a table easily. Apparently nine o’clock was ridiculously early, the place wouldn’t really start filling for at least another hour. Good, it would give them time for a quiet chat, though Ally kept that thought to herself.
“Look at his bum! Couldn’t you just bite it?”
“Nic! You’re such a perve.” Ally frowned.
“What’s wrong? They do it to us.”
“Exactly, and we don’t like it!”
“Who says we don’t like it!”
“Don’t like what?” Meg asked, arriving back with their drinks. She’d taken first shout.
“Ally was saying that we don’t like guys looking at us.”
“I meant, we don’t like being objectified. Isn’t that right?”
Meg shrugged. “I don’t mind them looking. And to be fair, I don’t know a man that doesn’t enjoy being perved at by a woman.”
“I give up,” said Ally, shaking her head.
“Mind you,” Meg continued, “the prettiest ones are all looks, no substance. That goes for men and women. You should hear what comes out of the mouths of some of the models we get into the agency!”
“Who cares?” Nic scoffed. “It’s not as if I want to discuss the global economy or anything.”
“Doesn’t it turn you off when a guy starts talking and he’s got the intelligence of a screensaver?” said Ally.
“Who wants to talk? Haven’t you noticed how quiet Rob is?”
“I often wonder about you two,” Ally admitted.
“He’s my ideal man,” said Nic. “You know how tall he is?”
They nodded.
“And have you noticed his hands, his feet?”
“Huge,” Ally agreed.
“Well, the rest of his…” Nic cleared her throat, “… appendages follow suit.”
Ally shrieked. “I’ll never be able to look him in the eye again!”
“Oh sure you will,” she grinned. “Or else where will you look?”
Ally and Meg burst out laughing.
“Would any of you ladies like to dance?”
They all looked up suddenly, like they’d been caught at something, which they had, sort of. A pleasant looking man, probably in his early thirties, stood smiling down at them, waiting for an answer.
Nic nudged Ally, but she ignored her. “Not at the moment, thanks,” she smiled.
“What’s wrong with you?” said Nic after he walked away.
“Nothing.”
“Then why wouldn’t you dance with him? He looked alright.”
“I’m not interested in picking up anyone.”
“But you’re the only one out of the three of us who can.”
“I’m not here to give you some kind of vicarious thrill.” Ally frowned. “Besides, why couldn’t you dance with someone? It’s not exactly cheating.”
Meg glanced nervously at Ally.
“Most guys can’t dance anyway, I just like to flirt,” said Nic.
“Chris can dance,” Meg mused wistfully. “We used to dance all the time.”
“So why don’t you anymore?” asked Ally.
“Maybe we’re playing the wrong tune.”
“Oh, I think I’m going to throw up,” said Nic, tossing back her drink.
Meg started to laugh. “Okay, I admit, that was pretty bad.”
“You’ve been in advertising too long, if that’s your best material.”
“I’ve been in a lot of things too long,” Meg sighed.
Nic stood up. “I’ll get this round. Same again?”
She walked away, and Ally leaned back in her chair, considering Meg. “Have you talked to Chris about the way you’ve been feeling?”
“What would I say? It’d break his heart if I told him I was unhappy.”
“You don’t think he can tell something’s going on?”
Meg looked at her warily. “What do you mean, something’s going on. There’s nothin
g going on.” She was sure Chris didn’t suspect a thing.
Ally frowned at her. “I mean, he can tell things aren’t right.”
“Oh,” she said, realizing. “Do you reckon?”
“Of course.”
“But if I talk to him, then it all becomes real, and out there…”
“And you have to do something about it, instead of just complaining.”
“And you say that I’m blunt,” Meg frowned.
“If you can dish it out…”
“I tell you what, I’ll talk to Chris, if you give it a go with Matt.”
Ally stared at her, wide-eyed. “Give what a go? You act as if he’s there for the taking. Didn’t you hear what Nic said last night, she thinks I’ve missed my chance.”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Think you’ve missed your chance?”
Ally sighed, exasperated. “I told you before, I’m not even sure about him in the first place.”
“Why?”
She looked over toward the bar. Nic was still waiting to be served.
“I didn’t want to say any of this in front of Nic,” Ally began.
Meg leaned in. “What?” she whispered, her eyes gleaming.
“It’s just about Matt, she knows him, it wouldn’t be right to tell her.”
“What is it?”
Ally paused for effect. “He walked out on his wife and child.”
“What, recently?”
“No, I mean when his daughter was a baby.”
“But I don’t understand, isn’t she a teenager?”
“Yes, now she is.”
“So what are you saying? He walked out on his wife, like ten years ago? What’s your point?”
“He walked out and left them, for six months. Just like that.”
“I’m sure there must have been more to it,” Meg said, dubiously.
“I suppose. But I still don’t think I could trust someone who could leave that easily.”
Meg frowned at her. “It was a long time ago. People change, you know.”
“Not in my experience.”
Nic returned, setting their drinks down on the table. “Why all the serious faces?”
“Nothing,” Ally said lightly.
“Well, if we’re not dancing with any men this evening, that doesn’t mean we’re not going to dance at all. I’m off to charm the DJ and see if he’s got anything more your pace.”
June
Call Waiting Page 27