by Mo Johnson
‘I think so. We’ll probably decide once we’ve taken the photos.’
‘Take the spare key. We’re heading into Sydney for the afternoon.’ He chucked it at me. ‘And McBay takes the catch! ’ He bounced once on the spot and then raced to give me a high-five. He’s so like Dad at times that it’s freaky.
‘Lock up behind you and hang onto the key until next week.’
Simone, his wife, gave me a wave. ‘You sure you don’t want me to pack some sandwiches?’
‘I’m fine,’ I insisted.
‘Don’t forget to eat lunch then,’ she called as I slammed the door. She’d obviously been talking to Mum again. Terry reckons that if we develop an eating problem Mum will be so happy to have her suspicions confirmed, she’ll get off our backs.
I was halfway to the beach when my mobile rang.
‘It’s me.’
A vein pulsed in my left eye. ‘Did you do it?’
No reply.
‘Terry?’
‘No, I’m just about to.’
‘So you called me to tell me nothing?’ I demanded.
‘Pretty much.’
‘Get a grip, Terry! Do it now and ring me right back.’
I hung up and then felt terrible. I contemplated re-dialling, but maybe she needed me to be bad cop this morning.
While I waited for her call, I crossed the sand and headed for the ocean pool. I can’t believe how many beaches here have them. Some have formed naturally in the shallows and others, like this one, have been made right on the water’s edge from concrete. I quite like them: deep layers of ever-sifting sand and the salty tide keep them germ-free.
I stretched out on the pool’s wide stone wall. The sun fell on my face and I couldn’t help enjoying it – until a shadow cut the rays.
‘Hello.’
My automatic smile froze when I saw it wasn’t Sam. I jumped to attention.
‘What are you doing here, Ferris? Are you following me?’ I didn’t want him around when Sam arrived.
‘I live here, remember? I’ve just been for a surf. Couldn’t help but notice you as I was passing.’
I suppose he did have a surfboard tucked under his arm.
‘Well, unnotice me and go away. Shouldn’t you be in Queensland? Or wouldn’t they let you in?’
‘The flight’s at two. Feeling any better after your near-death experience last night?’
I refused to answer.
‘Sam not here yet?’
‘Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not special, Jack. The powers of observation you’ve got there are truly superhuman.’
I was certainly not going to admit that I was over forty minutes early.
‘Perhaps you’re early,’ he said.
I glared, betting Molly Phillips had told him exactly when I was meeting Sam today so he could spy on us. The penny dropped. That must have been what she was asking him to do. I couldn’t believe he’d agreed to be her little slave. I had to get rid of him.
‘Do you want anything else, Jack? It’s just that once I’ve finished listening to you I’ll be able to do something heaps more interesting, like chew off this ragged fingernail.’ I held my thumb up.
‘Actually, there is something.’ His voice had changed, the light-hearted tone gone.
‘What?’
‘Sit down, just for a minute. I need to ask you a question.’
I sat. He remained standing. Good, perhaps he wasn’t going to stay long after all. I shifted uncomfortably.
‘At the risk of you having a spaz attack again – and I certainly don’t want to see that – I need to talk to you about your sister.’
He took me completely by surprise.
‘There’s no easy way to say this, but Molly Phillips thinks her brother, Sean, and your sister, Terry, are…well…you know, seeing each other.’
What did he know?
There was no way he was getting any details from me. ‘So?’
He squirmed. ‘It’s just that Molly thinks…that…her brother’s girlfriend…er, Terry…’
‘Jack, get to the point.’
‘Is she pregnant?’ he blurted out.
‘What?’
I couldn’t work out how he knew. Terry was adamant that Sean hadn’t told anyone.
When my brain caught up with my ears I realised that if Sean had told Molly, Jack wouldn’t be here fishing for her. Obviously she had nothing concrete to go on.
I had no clue what to say next. It was one thing for Terry and me to suspect she might be pregnant, but to hear an outsider say it was scary. We were losing control of a situation that we’d barely had a handle on to begin with.
I slid down the pool wall to the sand on the other side. Jack dropped beside me. After a few moments he said, ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Not really.’
We watched some kids heading to the surf.
‘Molly does.’
‘Like I care about Molly.’
‘You care about your sister, don’t you?’
‘Of course I do, but that’s got nothing to do with you.’
‘Hey, I’m only trying to help. Molly thinks you guys should meet. She’s worried, Isla. So if you decide you want to help, give me a shout and I’ll pass the info on, okay?’
‘Why not just ask me herself?’
‘You’ve got to be joking,’ he spluttered. ‘She probably didn’t fancy having her eyeballs torn from their sockets.’
‘She’s mean to me, too.’
‘Yeah, yeah…the kick and the swimming pool.’
When he rose to go, the feeling of being abandoned was overwhelming. I didn’t want him to leave me alone with the problem.
‘Terry might be pregnant,’ I whispered.
He settled back down.
‘We aren’t sure.’
‘Why not?’
‘She still hasn’t taken a test.’
‘Oh.’
‘She’s scared. Once you know something you can’t unknow it. Until then she can hope it’s not true. Does that make sense?’
‘Perfect non-sense,’ he agreed with a smile.
‘She’s supposed to be doing it now. She said she’d call me back soon.’
‘Why don’t you call her now?’
‘Okay.’
I gave it a go, but her phone was switched off. I called the landline instead.
‘How was your party?’ Dad said when he heard my voice.
‘My dad,’ I mouthed to Jack. ‘Great. Is Terry around?’ I said to Dad.
‘No, she’s gone to the beach. Try her mobile.’
I cut Dad off and relayed the news to Jack. ‘I need to see her before I speak to Molly, so we can’t meet today, okay?’
He shrugged.
‘If that doesn’t suit you and your new best friend, too bad.’
‘She’s not my new best friend. I’ve been hanging out with her for years.’
I sniffed. ‘I don’t see you hanging around much in school.’
‘We do sometimes, but I mostly see her when I visit Dad. He’s been spending some time down your way recently because he’s—’
‘Yeah…the lobsters.’
He looked pleased. ‘So you do listen to me.’
I ignored him. ‘How did Molly find out about Sean and Terry?’
‘Last week, she was searching Sean’s desk for a ruler and she came across an email from Terry, telling him she was…late.’ He blushed.
‘So let me get this right, Molly was looking for a ruler…inside Sean’s computer mailbox?’
A tiny smile played at the corner of his mouth.
‘What kind of ruler did she expect to find?’
He grinned.
‘Why didn’t she just ask him?’
‘For a ruler?’
‘No, idiot, for an explanation.’
‘She says she doesn’t want to get in his face yet, in case it’s a false alarm.’
‘You mean she doesn’t want to alert him to the fact that she’s the w
orld’s biggest snooper because he’ll change his password?’
‘Probably.’ He smiled indulgently.
‘She’s a nut,’ I said.
‘No, it’s her parents who are nuts.’
Again with the Molly defence! I took my irritation out on the sand, stabbing at it with a ragged shell.
‘They’re really into study and qualifications. Molly and Sean have to do hours of homework at night and they’ve both got tutors.’
‘I’m glad my mum’s not a uni professor.’
‘You’d think their mum would be worst, wouldn’t you? But Molly reckons it’s her dad. He’s so hung up about being a builder who left school in Year 10 that Molly says he’ll kill them both if they don’t go to uni.’
‘What’s so bad about being a builder? Builders make loads of money.’
‘It’s not about the money. He’s just got a big chip on his shoulder because he doesn’t have any qualifications.’
‘You’re right, he does sound crazy.’
‘I know, and can you imagine what he’ll do if he finds out that Sean is going to be a dad before he gets to be a brain surgeon?’
‘He’ll probably be just as disappointed as my parents when they discover Terry’s going to be a mum before she gets to be a check-out chick.’
As soon as the words were out I felt bad. They weren’t true; Terry has lots of plans for the future. She’s really into science, and Australia has inspired her to consider marine biology.
‘What are you thinking?’ Jack asked.
‘I don’t know why I said that. It wasn’t fair.’
‘Don’t worry. I didn’t believe you. It was just you being you.’ Before I could decide whether that was a compliment or not he added, ‘Sure Terry’s plans might have to be put on hold for a while, but she wouldn’t have to abandon them, would she?’ He had a reassuring knack for being optimistic.
I ran with it. ‘And I suppose even if she is pregnant, she doesn’t have to keep it.’
His face clouded over. ‘Abortion?’
‘Termination, or adoption, I guess. There are options.’
‘What about Sean?’
‘What about him? It’s not his body.’
‘It is his baby.’
Even though he was voicing the same doubts that had been haunting me, I felt compelled to argue with him.
‘It will be her decision in the end, Jack.’
‘Well, that doesn’t seem right to me.’
‘Who cares what you think.’
‘Does anybody care what the baby thinks?’
Terry and I hadn’t even gone there yet.
‘Fetuses don’t think,’ I insisted.
‘How do you know? What about those documentaries on the human body that say they can hear and feel stuff when they’re in the…there?’
‘I don’t believe you watch documentaries, Jack. You’re a Simpsons-repeats guy for sure.’
‘Can’t we have a serious conversation for once?’
He scooped up some sand and watched it drain through his fingers. I concentrated on the glinting trickle instead of answering his question. As the silence was allowed to stretch, I had the oddest feeling that he was somehow disappointed in me.
Although I didn’t want it to, it bothered me.
‘Has Molly told Sam about Terry and Sean?’ I asked.
‘Not sure.’
‘He is “sort of ” her boyfriend, after all.’
‘Yeah, but it’s a pretty huge deal. Imagine if Sam mentioned it to someone before we work out what to do?’
When he said ‘we’, I wondered if he meant me-and-him, or him-and-Molly. If it was the latter, his defensiveness whenever he mentioned her name was starting to make sense.
Perhaps Jack was in love with Molly.
The idea just kind of pounced on me the way Gran McGonnigle’s cat used to. I never saw it coming, and its jagged claws drew blood.
‘I don’t think Molly would risk any rumours getting out,’ he continued, oblivious to my dismay. ‘She only told me because she couldn’t figure how else to get to you. She’s freaking. She’s not calm like you.’
‘I’m not calm! I’ve been a wreck all week,’ I protested, thrashing out at the sand with my heel.
‘Nah…you’re always in control.’ The statement was accompanied by a little dismissive flick of his hand. Such a tiny gesture, but I felt it robbed me of something I couldn’t quite name. A tide of emotions thundered over me: indignation, disbelief and jealousy. It ebbed quickly, leaving only a white foamed sadness behind. I was determined not to step in it.
Anger swelled then: I resented Jack’s intrusion into my backstage world. Only invited guests were allowed – their opinions were the ones I sought, the only ones to matter. I couldn’t understand how Jack had acquired an Access All Areas pass without my permission. I’d only just allocated one to my sister.
Some shrieking from the surf reminded me that it was a beautiful morning and people were having fun. I wanted to have fun. I was so weary of Terry’s problems.
I longed for Sam to arrive. He was the one for me after all. This was supposed to be my perfect day.
‘I’ve got to go,’ Jack said finally, looking at his watch. This time I had no desire to delay him. I was drained.
‘Don’t say anything to Molly yet,’ I said tightly. ‘Give Terry and me some time. You can arrange for us to meet when you get back.’
He seemed to pick up on my tone; he got up and grabbed his board. ‘Okay. See you next week, then.’ And he walked away.
As I watched him leave, I tried Terry’s phone again.
Nothing!
I thought about Molly and almost felt sorry for her. We were both being kept in the dark by our siblings, and neither of us could help until we knew what we were dealing with.
The possibility of Molly and me being aunties to the same baby sank in then and blew my mind, not least because we were way too young. Aunties are old. They hang around with mums, guzzling alcohol and complaining about uncles. I’d have to start a new trend: I’d hang around with the kid, scoff Diet Coke and complain about its mother and its evil Aunt Molly. I chuckled and felt a little better.
‘Window-shopping is a waste of
time, Isla, if you live in a tent.’
(Gran McGonnigle)
Sam was ten minutes late, but that didn’t matter. He brought with him a sun much brighter than the one that had momentarily disappeared behind a cloud.
‘Hi,’ he yelled and waved. ‘You been here long?’
‘Just got here.’
He padlocked his bike and jumped the low fence to the sand in a sexy, movie-action-hero kind of way, crossed the sand quickly and sat on my rock. I beamed a welcome.
‘We missed you at the party. You should have stayed. Did you get home okay?’ He seemed pretty interested. I remembered Jack’s comment from last night. Sam never gets serious. That’s not the message I was getting. Hope soared.
‘Yes,’ I said, giving him my sexiest smile and thrusting my boobs out until a cramp between my shoulderblades made me stop.
‘You’ve recovered from your dip in the pool, then?’
‘Oh,’ I said, as lightly as I could, ‘I just got a fright, that’s all.’
I pulled out a stray strand of hair and tucked it provocatively behind my ear. With my thick mop, I had to give it a good yank, so perhaps that spoilt the illusion.
He didn’t seem to notice. ‘I never thought to ask you last night – will you be okay in the surf?’
‘Fine. Shallow water…lots of germ-killing salt…tide constantly cleaning itself…’
‘Eh?’
I didn’t bother to elaborate on my pool phobia; I ran my tongue over my lips instead.
‘Have you got the cameras?’ he asked.
I gave up trying to be a screen goddess. It wasn’t working.
‘Yes.’ It probably came out as an exasperated growl.
‘Right then…er…you shoot first, okay?’
&n
bsp; We waded out until we were chest-deep in the ocean pool, and when he dropped to the sand-covered bottom I ducked my head under and began snapping shots. I felt perfectly safe because I was standing with both feet on the concrete, my bum safely hidden in board shorts and my frizz tightly secured in plaits. My body felt light in the crystal water, and so did my mind.
Sam mucked around a bit, picking up seaweed and putting it on his head. I photographed that, laughing.
When the film ran out, we swapped roles. This time I clowned around, never once taking my feet off the bottom. When his film was finished, we climbed out and headed back to the sand.
I relaxed. I didn’t even have to worry about my hair: a quick check had told me it was still tied back within a centimetre of its life.
‘I took some great shots, Is-la.’ As usual, he pronounced my name wrong.
‘Me too. Are we still going to my uncle’s place to work on them?’
‘Yeah, I hope so. Is it okay with him?’
I nodded. ‘Can we take a few minutes to dry off first?’
‘Sure,’ he agreed and I was thrilled. Now I could raise the issue of the secret photos. We stretched out on a rocky ledge, our togs steaming in the sun.
‘So, what’s Scotland like?’ he asked.
I was instantly diverted. ‘It’s cold and wet most of the time, but when it isn’t grey, it’s purple and green, with the most amazing light. It’s a beautiful place. I miss it.’ I choked up. Wham! Just like that, I’d become misty-eyed again. I pretended to be squinting at the sun.
‘Must be hard. I’d totally hate to have to leave all my friends behind.’
I gulped. ‘It wasn’t easy. I email my best friend, Fi, all the time, but it’s just not the same.’
‘You’ve made heaps of new friends here though, haven’t you?’
‘I suppose.’ But I couldn’t think of anyone who I was particularly close to.
‘How come you came here?’
‘My parents wanted to change their lives, and they changed mine by default.’ I held my hand in the air to block out the sun’s glare.
‘Do you have any other brothers or sisters apart from the one who hangs around with Molly’s brother? Terry? Is that her name?’
I stiffened. Where was he taking this?
‘No. Have you got brothers or sisters?’ I asked quickly.