“Yes?” she said.
“Hi Nina, I’m not sure if you remember me but we met in the supermarket a little while back? I’m Ivy.”
Nina looked her up and down, her eyes narrowed.
“Mm,” she said, “your face is vaguely familiar.”
Ivy heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her and knew that James was furious on her behalf.
“Is Walt here?” she asked
“No, he’s out.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“No. He’s sorting out things for our move.”
“Oh,” Ivy sighed softly.
James pushed forward, not about to be put off by Nina’s unwelcoming attitude. He’d dealt with far bigger bitches than her, he told Ivy later.
“We noticed the sign. Moving somewhere local?” he asked.
Nina’s eyes narrowed, she clearly thought the question was none of their business. But James refused to back down under her stare.
“No,” she finally answered. ‘We’re moving to the city. Walter’s work is very in demand there.”
“I thought his name was Walt?” James said in an aside to Ivy.
“It is.”
“Walter sounds more professional.” said Nina.
‘So you just renamed him?” James gave Ivy a look that clearly said, ‘this woman is nuts’
“Look, was there something you wanted? Only I’m very busy. Lots of packing and wedding preparation to do,” Nina said, throwing Ivy a triumphant smile as she emphasised the last bit.
‘Oh of course, that’s actually why I came by. Congratulations,” Ivy said, passing over the envelope containing the card and the beautifully wrapped canvas.
“It’s not much,” she said as she did, “just a little something I thought Walt might like.”
Nina took the offerings gingerly, as if it might contaminate her.
“Thank you. I’ll see that he gets it.”
And then the door was shut in their faces and that was that.
“Who does she think she is?” James said, “Royalty or something? Rude cow. I’ve half a mind to knock again and tell her what I think of her.”
Ivy linked her arm through his and led him back down the garden path.
“Don’t,” she said. “She’s not worth it.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” James said as they drove back into the village.
“What’s that?”
“If this Walt is as wonderful as you describe him to be, what’s he doing with her?”
“Good question,” sighed Ivy, “I have no idea.”
At the house they had just left Nina briefly considered throwing the painting out into the skip they had hired to get rid of rubbish accumulated during the move, but on her way out the back door she heard the shower turn off so she quickly hid it behind the couch in the lounge instead, planning to dispose of it later.
Walt emerged from the bedroom drying his hair, another towel wrapped around his waist. “Did I hear the doorbell?” he asked.
“Just some Jehovah witnesses,” she said dismissively. “I told them we weren’t interested.”
He went back into the bedroom and through to the ensuite and she followed him. Standing in the door of the bathroom she admired him as he finished towelling off. He made to walk past her back into the bedroom where he’d laid out shorts and a t-shirt on the bed but she put a hand on his chest to stop him.
“Where are you off too?”
“A run.”
She pouted, started undoing the buttons on the shirt she was wearing.
“It’s cold out, wouldn’t you rather stay here instead?” she said.
He smiled but it didn’t quite come across as genuine.
“Tempting,” he lied, “but I really need to unwind, it’s been a busy couple of days. I need to stretch my legs.”
“What I’m suggesting is a fabulous alternative stress relief.”
“Not now, ok.”
“Fine,” she snapped, and went off to sulk in the lounge, barely even looking up when she heard the front door close shut behind him. Damn that Ivy woman. Once upon a time he couldn’t get enough of her; these days he hardly touched her. He claimed that he didn’t have the energy and said he was too exhausted from organising the move. She knew that wasn’t the real excuse though. Knew it had all changed when that woman returned. In fact, so distracted had he been that Nina was sure he was about to break up with her the night he proposed. She was deliriously happy to accept the ring and the proposal, and was confident that once they were married and out of this village, away from that woman and any reminders of her, they would be happy. She was sure of it. She could accept the fact that she was his second choice. Because she hoped one day that might change.
She had to believe it.
Chapter twenty nine
Walt ran for an hour without pause, his feet pounding the pavement with a steady rhythm. A very fine drizzle kept his skin cool. With every footstep he should have expelled the tension and stress that was keeping him up at night and causing his stomach to churn angrily whenever he tried to eat something. He’d lost four kilos in the last fortnight and although he looked in the best shape of his life it wasn’t how he would normally choose to lose weight.
He finally stopped at the dairy near the beach and bought himself a bottle of water, chugging the whole lot back while he took a moment to catch his breath. He was frustrated. Once upon a time a run was a good way to clear his head, and get perspective on anything that was troubling him. Not today though.
His head was as clouded with thoughts as the sky was with black clouds, and the nagging knowledge that he was making the wrong decision weighed heavy. He knew marrying Nina was not what he really wanted to do. But he couldn’t have who he did want, because she belonged with someone else. And that infuriated the hell out of him. But what could he do besides try and move on with his life? Never mind the fact that lately the thought of touching Nina made his skin crawl; a serious enough problem considering in less than a month he would be promising himself to her, and only her, for the rest of his life.
It wasn’t her fault; she was a beautiful woman.
She just wasn’t Ivy.
Shit. He felt like he was cornered and being attacked from all fronts but unable to defend himself.
Throwing the empty bottle in the bin angrily he decided he couldn’t face home yet and headed to the beach to see if the sand couldn’t exhaust the thoughts from his head. He was halfway down the beach running towards the mouth of the estuary when he noticed a figure in the distance. There was no mistaking that heavily pregnant body and the cascades of dark hair; it was Ivy. He dwindled to a halt and had just decided to turn and run back the way he had come when he saw Ivy lift her dress off over her head and stretch her arms up to the sky.
What the hell is she doing?
Surely she couldn’t be planning on swimming – it was a grey day with the slightest chill in the air.
He could see that she was wearing a bright red, 50’s style bathing suit that looked striking against her creamy skin. He watched as she started walking down towards the water and swore to himself. What the hell was she thinking? He ran towards her and reached her just as she was knee deep in churning white foamy water.
“What are you doing?” he called to her. From behind he could see the puckered scars across her shoulders from where she had been burnt. It made his insides tighten with anger that someone had done that to her.
She spun around; shocked to see him as she had thought she was alone on the beach.
“Are you following me?” she asked.
“Of course not, I was running and saw you strip off your dress. I can’t believe you would do something so idiotic as to swim on a day like this.”
She bristled at the word idiotic.
“I’ll have you know” she said, “that days like these are some of the nicest days to enjoy the water.”
“It’s freezing.”
“It’s merely brisk.”
“Come out of the water.”
“No.”
“Ivy,” his tone warned, “get out of the water now or I’ll come in and carry you out.”
Something in his tone told her he wasn’t joking, and rather than face the indignity of being carried over his shoulder like a pregnant whale she reluctantly left the water and stormed past him to where her towel lay on the beach.
‘Good girl,” he said, and there was a hint of mirth in his voice that made her look up sharply. When he saw the cross look on her face he couldn’t stop the smile from coming.
“I forgot how cute you look when you’re angry.”
“How would you know?” she asked. “From memory I don’t think we ever fought.”
His smile slipped. “No, but I saw you angry about other things.”
And she knew he was referring to the deaths of her mother and June. She wrapped the towel around herself and stood there shivering.
“Don’t mind me if you want to get dressed,” he said, knowing full well that she was simply waiting for him to leave so she could venture out into the water again.
She remembered how easily he seemed to read her mind and sighed, picking up her dress and pulling it over her head, struggling a little when it came to her stomach.
‘Not long to go now surely?” he asked, watching her.
“A couple of weeks, provided the baby comes on time.”
“Do you know what you’re having?”
‘No, I wanted it to be a surprise. I will be happy either way.”
He smiled a little smile, wistful. “God help us if she’s a small version of you.”
And Ivy heard the wistfulness in his voice and it made her ache. She looked up at him then, with such longing in her eyes that he almost crossed the sand between them to touch her. Then he remembered.
“Where’s your friend?” he asked gruffly.
She was confused, then she realised Nina must have told him about her visit to his house earlier.
“James?”
“I guess so.”
She shrugged. “At home probably.”
“He doesn’t mind if you go swimming in the ocean by yourself?”
“Why would he mind?”
‘Well it’s not exactly the safest thing to do, especially in your condition.”
“Don’t say condition like it’s some kind of disease.”
“You know what I meant.”
“It’s nothing to do with him. What I do is my own business.”
“You’ve changed,” he noted, “more bossy now.”
“If by bossy you mean more confident, then yes, I have changed. Travelling alone does that to a person.”
It was clear that he wasn’t going to leave her alone to enjoy her swim so she gathered up her belongings and stuffed them into her bag.
“I would have come with you, you know.” he said quietly.
She looked at him sadly, tears brewing in her eyes.
“I know,” she said. “But I was a mess, it would have ended badly.”
“Worse than how it did?”
He had a point. She had no answer.
“I guess we’ll never know.” he said.
“Walt,” she stepped towards him, stopping when she was just a breath away.
“I really am sorry,” she said. “For how I treated you, how I left you without a word. Not a day went by when I didn’t regret it.”
“Yet you never thought to pick up a phone,” he kept his voice even, though she could hear the hurt and resentment wavering in the timbre of it. “You could have called,” he went on, “at any time over the last ten years you could have called and I would have forgiven you. But you never did. Then you come back and let me find out that you’re here, and pregnant, in the supermarket.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again, wishing desperately that she could change the past, knowing full well she had made a complete hash of things but at a loss as to how to put things right.
He looked like he could have gone on but instead he took a deep breath and a step away from her.
“Forget it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Please don’t say that.”
“I wish you well Ivy. I really do. But I can’t pretend to be friends with you,” and with that he turned to leave.
‘You hate me that much?”
He was stunned, turned back. “You think I hate you?”
“Don’t you?”
He shook his head, still shocked that she thought him capable of that.
‘I could never hate you. Never.”
And she saw in his eyes that it was true. She also saw something she’d last seen over a decade before, love. Pure and unconditional – it radiated into her like warmth from the sun.
Walt saw the same thing in hers and it nearly brought him to his knees. He groaned and stepped towards her but came up short when she suddenly gasped and put a hand on her stomach.
‘What’s wrong, are you ok?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” she smiled, “the baby just gave me an almighty kick in the ribs.”
He pondered the miracle that was new life inside of her.
“Would you like to feel it?” she asked and for the briefest moment she thought he was going to accept but then he shook his head.
“No, thank you,” he said. “I’d better get going, Nina will be wondering where I am.”
At the mention of her name Ivy grimaced and although he noticed he pretended not to. She reached out a hand and grabbed his arm as he went to leave.
“Walt,” she said urgently, “why are you marrying her?”
“What business is it of yours?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to interfere, but she just doesn’t seem right for you.”
“Ivy you’ve been out of my life for a long time, what makes you think you can judge who or what is right for me anymore?”
“You’re right, it’s none of my business,” she said. “I just want to make sure you’re happy and making the right decision.”
“Nina is a perfectly nice woman,” he said. “We’re very happy.”
She tried to study his eyes to see if he was speaking the truth but he refused to hold her gaze.
“That’s all I want,” she said. “For you to have whatever will make you happy.”
And to him the words seemed loaded, but he knew she couldn’t possibly be meaning what he heard the words mean.
Did she know he still loved her? He wasn’t sure.
Ivy watched her words settle in as he tried to dissect them.
Does he know I still love him? she wondered. And it almost seemed as if the two of them were about to confess to the other when they heard a voice behind them from the top of a sand dune.
“Yoohoo!”
It was James.
Seeing him Walt’s face hardened.
“It seems you’re wanted,” he said and then he gave her a small wave and was gone, jogging off down the beach.
Ivy blinked back tears as James struggled through the sand and the wind that had suddenly come up to get to her.
“Who was that?” he asked as he reached her side.
“That was Walt,” she whispered.
“Wow, you didn’t do him justice when you described him. Quite good looking isn’t he, in a rugged manly way.”
Then James noticed Ivy’s fragile state and the sadness dripping off her face and reached out to hug her.
“Oh sweetie what’s wrong?”
“I love him,” she said. “I’ve never stopped loving him. He’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“How could I? He loves Nina, says she makes him happy.”
James didn’t know what to say to that. He wished he could give his friend the happy ever after she so deserved but love between others was beyond his control.
“Come on,” he said, gently leading her back towards the dunes with an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you
home and get some hot chocolate into you.”
And with one last lingering look at the figure down the beach Ivy let him lead her.
Down the beach, Walt stopped when he thought enough distance had passed and turned to see her one last time. He could see the other man had his arm around her and the jealousy he felt caused him to growl at the sky and kick hard at the sand.
It should have been him.
Chapter thirty
‘Ring Ring, Ring Ring’
“Hello?”
“Leo, its Devon Williams here, Ivy’s midwife.”
“Oh yes, hello Mrs Williams.”
“Please, call me Devon.”
“Alright, Devon, what can I do for you?”
“I’m just calling to check how things are going. Ivy missed her appointment this morning which I thought was out of character. I thought I’d better make sure everything is ok.”
“She missed an appointment? You’re right, that isn’t like her at all.”
“Is she home now?”
“No, she’s out. Probably at the beach, she’s been spending a lot of time there lately.”
“Is everything ok?”
“To tell you the truth Devon, I’m concerned about her. She’s been very quiet lately, not herself, and I think she may be going through a little bit of a rough patch.”
“Tell me if it’s none of my business, but do you think it has anything to do with her mother and sister? At times like these when you’re expecting a baby of your own, it can be a time for reflection. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she’s feeling the loss as fresh as she perhaps did when it happened.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I could be barking up the wrong tree entirely, but I just think we should keep a close eye on her. Make sure she knows she has your full support and doesn’t feel alone.”
“Of course.”
“Can you get her to call me to reschedule please?”
“As soon as she gets home.”
“Thank you.”
‘No, thank you for calling. My granddaughter means the world to me and I’m grateful you’re looking out for her.”
Chapter thirty one
Ivy sat at the reserve and stared out over the estuary. She was working on a painting but it just wasn’t coming together. The colours were all wrong, the dimensions were out.
When Stars Collide Page 15