The Road Home

by Annie Reynolds

  “Gabe?” I whisper, “Can you please tell me what we are doing here?”

  “Em, I’m not trying to scare you, I promise. Just a few more steps and you’ll be able to see for yourself.”

  I didn’t question him further, I didn’t need to once I felt the sea breeze on my face, softly tussling my hair around my face and the sound of the waves crashing in the distance. I squeezed the hand of Gabe’s I was still holding. A soft orange glow had just started to spread on the horizon, cascading different hues in an arc above it.

  Once my eyes had a moment to adjust to the low light I could see Gabe had lead me down the path to watch the sunset over the Twelve Apostles. In silence we stood linked by our hands as the sun began its climb into the morning sky. I was transfixed by the sight, as if it were a special show just for the two of us.

  “Thank you.” I couldn’t avert my gaze and my words come out barely a whisper on the breeze.

  Letting go of my hand, Gabe wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in closer to him, planting a kiss on top of my head before turning his attention back to the sunrise. “You’re welcome.”

  ~ CHAPTER seven ~

  Gabe and I had stayed at the lookout beyond the sun rising in the sky, until after the pink and orange lines had given way to blue skies; we had sat there until after the first tourist bus had come to arrive.

  The illusion of our own private escape was shattered by the constant chatter of the bus load of tourists and the shutters on their cameras working overtime.

  We had both sighed before standing to leave the majestic sandstone pillars braving the elemental salt and sea below, following the path back to the car.

  “Since we’ve missed breakfast, how about we get something on the road?”

  “Sure, It’s my turn to drive.”

  After returning to our cottage long enough to shower, pack the car and check out before hitting the road again, Gabe types furiously at the laptop sitting in his lap. We ride in silence for a while with just the sounds of tapping keys and static of the radio filling the car. The tapping slows before he closes the screen down and places the computer onto the backseat. He offers me the smile I had come to love seeing light up his face.

  “So, driver, where is breakfast scheduled for? Warrnambool? Port Fairy?”

  I return his smile, “You can choose.”

  “Why, Mrs. Carter, are you meaning to tell me you didn’t have a breakfast stop planned for us already?”

  I laugh at the name he refers to me as, “No, Mr. Carter. I have nothing scheduled.”

  “I’m stunned, just when you think you’re beginning to know someone. I have no idea who I married anymore.” Gabe shakes his head, doing well to keep a straight face following his silly statement.

  “Yeah, well. Marriage has changed me.” I said, playing along.

  “Did Mark want kids?” Gabe becomes suddenly serious.

  “I don’t know, our mothers did, wanted grandkids. Mark and I never really talked about it but we knew it was going to be expected at some point.”

  “What about your sister? Will she now be expected to have a baby soon now that she’s getting married?”

  “Maybe.” I hadn’t thought about what my leaving meant for Amelia and we hadn’t discussed it since I had left. The biggest differences between Amelia and I were that she wanted kids, being a pre-school teacher held her in good stead for wanting a brood of her own and she loved the man she was marrying without expectation or reservation. They had fallen in love organically without the scrutiny of my mother’s watchful eyes. “Tell me about your sister and mum?”

  “My mum lives with my sister and brother in law, she has her own unit at the back so she keeps her independence and gets to see her grandchildren on a regular basis and they kind of have a live-in babysitter. It works perfectly for them really.”

  “So you’re an uncle?”

  “Yep, Uncle Gee Gee. That’s me.”

  “How old are they?”

  “Tess is eight and Jack is six.” Scrolling through his phone, Gabe lifts it up to show me a picture of him and two children. Jack is the perfect copy of Gabe, his hair is dark and he is smiling that same cheeky smile Gabe has.

  “Wow, Jack looks exactly like you.”

  “He’s adorable, right? Tess is the spitting image of my sister. Mum has a picture similar to this of my sister and me with our dad,” A ghost of a smile plays on his lips. “One of the last photos we had together actually, looks almost identical.”

  “What do you feel like for breakfast?” I ask, changing the subject.

  Gabe suggest we eat our breakfast down on the beach. After digging out a towel from his backpack, Gabe lays it on the sand as a make shift picnic rug. The sand was already beginning to warm from the morning sun’s heat. Other than another couple of other beach-goers at the far end, we had this stretch of beach to ourselves.

  “So, you’re going to be home in a couple of hours, how are you feeling about that?”

  I take a sip from my coffee cup before I answer him, “I guess I have to face the music at some point. I’m definitely not looking forward to it but the sooner I get it over with the sooner I can move on.”

  “Are you ready to see Mark again?”

  “I won’t lie to you, I think I’m dreading that more than I am seeing my mother. I’m sure he’s going to have a long string of questions and I’m scared I don’t have the answers for him.”

  We sit silently for a time lost in our own thoughts, eating and watching as the water shyly kisses the shore before retreating back within itself.

  “What if you see him again and think you were wrong to leave?” There is a level of concern in his quiet voice that I had never expected.

  “That’s not going to happen, so much has changed since I’ve left; I’ve changed. He’s not what I see as my future anymore and our mothers won’t bully me into changing my mind. I need someone with more to offer,” My statement earns me a skeptical glance from Gabe, “I’m not talking financially or assets, I mean, more consideration and understanding, I want to be with someone who gets me and loves me because of the person I am and not because of who my family is or what can be gained from the match, you know what I mean?”

  “I think so. You want to be loved as you are.”

  “Yes! I’m not an accessory. It isn’t too much to ask that I’m in love with the man I want to marry one day, right?”

  He shrugs.

  “Gabe, have you ever been in love?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “How come?”

  “Seriously? Isn’t this a bit too heavy for breakfast conversation?”

  I can tell he’s trying to dodge answering the question but I’m not about to give up on him that easily. “Why are you avoiding answering my question?”

  Gabe sighs heavily before pushing his cup down into the sand. “No one has ever made it hard for me to leave so I guess then no, I’ve never met anyone before that I felt that way about.” His shoulders sag in defeat. I can’t understand his reaction but I feel there is more to the story than he’s telling me and this time I won’t push him.

  “Should we go?”

  Standing, Gabe picks up the towel and shakes the sand from it before we trek back to the car.

  Gabe insists on driving, even after I protest he takes the keys from me before climbing behind the steering wheel.

  “What’s next for you?” I can feel my heart begin to race with trepidation waiting for Gabe to answer. It is beating so loud I’m not sure I will even hear his answer.

  “What do you mean?”

  “After I get home, what will you do?”

  “Well, first I have a date for a wedding I promised I would go to, then after that, who knows.”

  “I already told you that you didn’t need to do that. I’m a big girl and really okay with going on my own.”

  “I know, Emmy.” He places his hand over where mine is on my knee and offers me a smile. “But I’m coming for
the cake.” I leave my hand to rest beneath his as his thumb caresses a space on my leg backward and forward.

  Gabe flicks on the indicator, slowing the car to pull off to the side of the road.

  “Why are we stopping?” I look around to see if the reason is obvious.

  “There is something I want to do before we get you home.”

  Shutting off the car I follow his lead and climb out of the car, we’ve stopped at the Victorian and South Australian border. Gabe takes my hand and tugs me along behind him to the Stateline.

  “Ever been kissed in two places at once, Emmy?”

  Confused by what he means, I play coy and shake my head.

  “Put one foot on this side of the line and the other there.” He points toward the patch of dirt on the other side of the line. I follow his instruction before looking back up at him. “Now you’re standing in two places at once.” Gabe steps close enough to me that our breaths are mingling as one.

  Our bodies pressing together, with Gabe holding me by my hips flush against him. His eyes fixed on mine, I am paralyzed by their intensity.

  “Gabe,” His name crosses my lips as a whisper, as he leans in so there is barely a paper width between his lips and mine. I slide my hands up to rest on his chest. “Are you going to kiss me now?”

  He doesn’t answer me with words; instead, I feel his lips press lightly against mine. A little moan escapes Gabe as I run my hands through his hair, holding his head close to mine as the kiss becomes more desperate, searching deeper with the passion of our embrace. The heat of his tongue runs against my bottom lip, begging for entry into my mouth. Our kiss is beyond anything I could dream of, there were no fireworks shooting off or cartoon hearts circling around our heads, instead, there was a weak in the knees feeling and my mind began to whirl as if our lips were the eye of the storm and everything surrounding us was the tornado.

  Not until we are both breathless and panting do we break the kiss. Gabe steps back first. “Wow.”

  If I could find the words, I would’ve agreed with him.

  A feeling of dread swims in the pit of my stomach when we get to the welcome sign, the familiar sights invade my view. Gabe reaches down to squeeze my hand in reassurance.

  “Are you ready for this?”

  “If I said no, would you turn the car around and take me away?”

  “If that was what you needed right now, I would but we both know you aren’t going to miss your sister’s wedding.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Absently I watch as my hometown passes by the passenger’s side window of my little car. So much is still the same as when I left but it all feels different and unfamiliar to me now. I realise that it is me that has changed and not this town. Gabe lifts my hand to place a kiss on each of my knuckles, bringing my attention back to him.

  “I’m here for you, Em.”

  Letting out a deep breath I mentally prepare myself to give Gabe the instructions to bring us to my parent’s estate.

  “In two blocks, take a right.”

  ~ CHAPTER eight ~

  The gardens surrounding the sandstone house where I had grown as a child stood in perfect precision. The trees were manicured to flawless symmetry, hedges were boxed along the path and the blossoms were all full of vibrant colour.

  “This is where you live?” Gabe awestruck.

  “Yep, this is where I grew up.” In more ways than one silently I add. Memories of my first time being intimate with Mark return, the whole experience had been a disaster but we’d kind of expected it to be and managed to laugh afterward.

  Grabbing the bags from the backseat of my car we head toward the front door, it is promptly opened in the style in which my mother expected all employees to behave.

  “Emerson! You’re home.” Maria pulled me in to an awkward hug as we crossed the threshold. Gabe was busy turning in the foyer taking in the size of the entrance with its two-storey high ceilings and marbled floor.

  Breaking the embrace I step back, “Maria, this is Gabe Carter.”

  Gabe drops his bag to the floor with a thunk before he offers Maria his hand to shake. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Upstairs I show Gabe to one of the empty guest rooms.

  “Are you sure you parents aren’t going to mind that I’m here, Em?” Scanning the room I bring my eyes back to him.

  “I doubt they’d even notice to be honest.” I tried to keep the bitterness from my tone, but as personal experience would have it, growing up in this house I’d only been noticed as a matter of convenience when they were hosting a lavish dinner party or we’d achieved some kind of merit or needed some kind of punishment. Our parents had firmly believed in children only being seen and not heard.” The bathroom is two doors down the hall on the other side.”

  Gabe rushes over, jumps and lands with a flop on the bed. Sitting up he leans back on his elbows. “Come sit beside me?” He asks as he pats the bed beside him.

  I take a step toward him when the light rap on the door interrupts us. Maria is standing in the door way avoiding eye contact with both of us, history has taught me well enough that she has come to deliver a message from my mother.

  “Emerson, your mother has requested yours and your guest’s presence in the sitting room.”

  I thank Maria before turning back to Gabe. “It appears you and I have been summoned. I can go down alone though, it’s fine. You get unpacked and I will be back shortly.”

  “Well, it would appear your parents have noticed my being here. I’m coming with you, after all I’m staying in her house, so it’s the least I can do to thank her for the hospitality.”

  “Well, you’ve been warned.”

  We find my mother sitting in the high backed chair near the windows that overlook the gardens and swimming pool. If she has heard us enter she does nothing to give it away. She doesn’t move an inch until I have reached her.

  “Hello, mother.”

  “Oh, Emerson, you are finally home.” Placing her teacup and saucer back on to the breakfast cart she stands to greet me, with weak arms she pulls me in to a limp hug. Looking over my shoulder she spies Gabe. “Oh, and you’ve brought a guest with you.”

  “Yes, this is Gabe and I told you I was always going to be back for Amelia’s wedding.”

  If my mother’s cold expression or pinched face had intimidated Gabe at all he does well to hide it, he steps forward with a hand extended to my mother. “Lovely to meet you.”

  She takes his hand and it is a credit to her refined composure that she does and is pleasant. To someone who hadn’t met my mother before, as Gabe hadn’t, you would be easily convinced she meant the words that she rolled from her spiteful tongue. From the look in her eyes, I could tell she was doing her best not to snatch her hand back from Gabe’s.

  “Right, well, I assume Emerson has you settled in a guest room, Gabe?”

  “Yes, ma’am. All settled in. Thank you.”

  “Good. Emerson, your father is at the club and we have a fitting scheduled for later this afternoon. Because you have left everything to the last minute, I would suggest that you go and freshen up before we have to leave in an hour.”

  “Your mother is delightful.” Gabe whispers to me as we climb the stairs again back to our rooms.

  “Yeah, she’s a real peach.” I say, dryly.

  “Seeing her again, that didn’t go so bad.”

  I laugh at him as if he’d just told me a funny joke. “Oh, Gabe. That isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. That was more like the ice cube in the tray in the mini fridge on the tip of the iceberg.”

  “Like the calm before the perfect storm?”

  “Yeah. Like the tail wagging of a rabid dog about to bite you.”

  “Like the sunscreen you put on your skin before stepping in to the Sahara desert?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know about that one. Points for trying, though.”

  “So, should I cower in my room in the dark when you go out to your fitting?” Gabe jokes.

  “Th
at would be a little dramatic, don’t you think? Besides, mother is no doubt coming with me so she can tsk at the dress not fitting properly because I wasn’t home early to get it measured. She can’t express her disapproval from the sitting room as effectively as she can in the changing rooms.”

  “What should I do while you’re gone?”

  “Have a swim, take a shower, or watch some TV. Whatever you like. I have some movies and a TV in my room, so you can hide out there if you wanted.”

  “All of that sounds really good.”

  “Take advantage of being here, Gabe.”

  He stops and turns to me at his door, watching me with hooded eyes, “Does that extend to you, Emerson?”

  My breath catches as I understand what he is asking. His hand finds mine as he gently pulls me back in to his room, the door closes behind us as Gabe walks me backward to rest up against it.

  “How is it that I feel like I have already known you a lifetime, Em?” His nose nuzzles against my neck as my heart pounds in my ears. For a moment I feel like I have spoken those words to him. “You already feel so familiar to me like I’d met you in a past life.”

  The cool mahogany wood against my back feels ice cold in comparison to Gabe’s fiery lips leaving a trail of kisses along my collarbone. I don’t want him to stop but it isn’t the right time to let things between us get carried away, I wouldn’t put it past my mother to come looking for me.

  It takes all my willpower to beg Gabe to stop. “I’m sorry. We need to stop.” As soon as Gabe lifted his mouth from my skin I missed the sensation he had caused.

  I watch as his chest rises and falls as he takes a calming breath. His forehead rests against mine. “Okay, Emmy.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, you have nothing to be sorry about.” I could see from the look in his eyes that he means it. My heart squeezed a little at the sight.

  “I’ll see you later?”

  “Sure. I have some work to catch up on anyway.”