‘Not really’ I said, ‘although you were close. I’ve just got out of the shower. I’m in my towel, dripping …’ I stamped my legs trying to shoo Noodle away as she licked them dry.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.’ He was suddenly serious, his tone softer, his words slower.
‘I wondered whether you would call at all,’ I said, nudging Noodle out of the door and then closing it quietly behind her and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
‘I wasn’t sure at first.’ His voice was dispassionate and I wished that I could see his face.
‘It must have been a bit of a shock. I’m sorry you had to hear like that.’
‘That’s okay,’ he said. ‘You’re a long way away. It would have been hard to pop over for a beer and a chat.’
‘Yes, I guess so.’ I nodded even though he couldn’t possibly see.
My hair was making the sheets wet. I tried to wrap a towel around it one-handed finally managing to look like a lop-sided Sikh.
‘I was waiting to hear about a plane,’ he continued, ‘instead I got you.’
‘Yes well … I could see how that would have been confusing.’ My turban came undone and flopped over my eyes. ‘I mean, I eat pickles at midnight and can do an infinite number of yo-yo tricks, but I’ve never managed to master taking off.’
He laughed.
‘I was the last thing you would have expected,’ I said.
‘The past has come knocking at my door.’
‘I guess so.’
‘Strange, how things work out,’ he said. ‘There was a lot of stuff going on back then. Mostly in my crazy family, nothing to do with Deb. She was lovely …’ He seemed to drift off into his own contemplations. Earth to Nick, Earth to Nick.
‘Nick?’ I said, holding the phone away from me for a second to check the display and confirm that the call hadn’t dropped.
His voice cut in abruptly and I put the phone back to my ear. ‘To be honest it was a pretty fucked-up time.’
I wasn’t sure how to respond.
‘Excuse the language,’ he apologised, ‘but that probably sums it up best. It was a difficult time for my family.’ Certainly wasn’t that great a time for Deb either once she realised that I was on my way, I thought.
‘It’s a long time ago now. We all need to move on.’ His words made me wonder whether he had. ‘So how long has it been? I could work it out I suppose, but you tell me. How old are you?’
‘Eighteen.’
‘Wow – eighteen. To be eighteen again.’ He sounded thoughtful. ‘I feel so old. I didn’t even know that you existed, didn’t even sense it.’
‘Well you couldn’t have.’ Weren’t you even a little suspicious?
‘No?’ He seemed to sense my mental reproach. ‘I suppose not. Suddenly I have an adult daughter. It’s beyond strange!’
‘Must be weird.’
‘Deb’s kid! My kid. Life’s surprises find you … You wake up one day, about to buy a plane and instead you get a daughter, an eighteen year-old daughter! It feels surreal. I guess I missed out on the nappies – that’s good. Right?’ He sounded sad.
‘Sure.’
He remained silent.
‘Does it fit that I would be your child, Nick?’
‘If Deb said that I’m your father, then I wouldn’t doubt it,’ he said. ‘She wouldn’t lie.’
‘She seems lovely,’ I answered, without hesitation.
‘She is.’ He thought for a moment. ‘What’s she up to now?’
The inevitable question. I carefully considered my response.
‘Farming overseas. She has three sons.’
‘Oh …’
‘She’s happy,’ I added, as an afterthought.
‘Well, that’s good,’ he said, when I offered no further insights. He seemed to sense my reluctance and didn’t object when I steered the conversation in another direction.
‘Do you have any kids … other than me?’
‘Other than you …’ he repeated. ‘No, it didn’t work out for me. I’ve done okay business-wise, but the relationship thing, well I just wasn’t much good at it.’ He was silent for a beat. ‘What about you Kate?’ he asked, ‘Have you been well looked after?’
‘My parents loved me; they were desperate for a child.’
‘They couldn’t have one naturally?’
‘No.’ He remained silent, and I wondered whether he got what that meant and what that then meant about him … his life. Loneliness.
His response was insightful. ‘You completed them.’
‘I guess so,’ I agreed.
‘I wish I could have been there for you, Kate. Wish I’d known.’ The tone of his voice brought home the fact that he had never known the completeness he had spoken of earlier, that he was plagued by regrets.
He sighed. ‘But things happen for a reason. I mean … well … I’m not good at those sorts of things. Relationship things.’
‘You’re not being fair to yourself, Nick. You and Deb were so young.’
‘True,’ he said, ‘but eighteen years have passed and it’s still just me.’
‘But …’
‘Stop, stop,’ he cried, belatedly realising the path our conversation was taking us down and not ready to go there yet. ‘Why wallow today? Today I’m the lucky one. Blessed to be talking to you. We should meet … if you like.’
‘That would be great, although you’re so far away.’
I considered my bank balance, imagined my parents lighting a funeral pyre, mine, when I told them I was packing my bags and heading to the other side of the country to meet him. Not possible.
‘I’m all over the place with my work.’
‘Where are you right now?’ I asked.
‘Queensland. You?’
‘Melbourne. I’m always here.’
‘You’re used to the cold. I need the heat, the sunshine … water you can actually swim in. I can’t stand being stuck inside all of the time.’
‘It’s great right now, really warm. I’ve been in the pool most days.’ I looked through the window to the heavy sky, the wind whined.
‘I don’t like ice on top of the water when I swim,’ he said, ‘it plays havoc with my breaststroke.’
‘Oh come on, it’s invigorating.’ I laughed, relaxing a little and he joined in.
‘I’m used to Melbourne weather but there’s a reason so many of us escape to Queensland when we get the chance.’
‘I have a plane,’ Nick said. ‘I can come to you.’
‘Wow, the final frontier, you’d do it?’
‘I’d do it for you, Kate. Besides, I’ve just bought an arctic fleece. I need to try it out.’
‘You’ll look good in it,’ I replied. ‘Just remove the hood before you land, or you might get shot down.’ We shared another chuckle.
‘It’s what I do, planes,’ he said.
‘I know, that’s how I found you.’
‘Oh?’ He was only mildly curious, someone who had ways and means of accessing information about others should he so desire.
‘On the internet, your website.’
‘Well, I can fly to Melbourne in my plane.’
‘O…kay.’
‘It’s just a small plane,’ he quickly clarified. ‘I’ll fly into Essendon Airport and then catch a cab into the city to meet you.’
6
DEB AND NICK
For a while the beach became a place of blissful amnesia, smothering unhappiness quickly in a balmy blanket of sand and sun. We joined the others, often straight after school. Toes touching the sand, flicking the switch, on to off, letting the endless blue thunder carry our burdens for a while.
And at night, still feeling the gentle rocking of ocean songs, I dreamt about the surf lifesaver I’d seen on the beach. He became my rescuer, his strong muscular arms easily carrying me over the scorching sand, his startling green eyes clouded with concern and moving from my eyes to my lips as they drew nearer and nearer.
One mid-day my
dream became real as George and I ambled through the car-park towards the beach.
‘Hey, Nick,’ George called, waving to someone.
The boy he greeted turned to look at us and my world immediately turned upside down. Glancing momentarily at me and then back to George he strolled over to us.
‘This is Deb, my sister,’ George explained as he neared.
‘Hi Deb,’ he said offhandedly, the depth of his vivid eyes taking my breath away. This close I realised just how big he was. My gaze was about level with his nipples, but thankfully he had a t-shirt on. I flushed with shame at the thought, anyway. He had all of George’s height, but with none of the lankiness. Instead he was well filled-out, more man than boy with the broad shoulders and narrow waist of a swimmer.
‘Hey,’ I answered shyly, squinting up at him for a moment before looking away towards the beach. He turned to George, ‘What are you up to?’
‘Surfing.’ George pointed to the sand where a couple of his friends were leaning on boards and chatting.
‘Ankle snappers today,’ Nick remarked.
‘Ankle snappers?’ I wondered anxiously. Surely not crocs?
‘Tiny waves … barely worth it if you’re surfing,’ he clarified with a wink which made me blush and hate myself. He caught a stray ball heading directly for my head before I’d even realised that I was about to be knocked out, and threw it back effortlessly, his aim straight and powerful. I noticed sweat on his biceps and the smoothness of his golden skin, before drawing my gaze away guiltily and hoping the way it had stuck for a moment hadn’t been noticed.
‘We saw you, a few weeks ago, rescuing that guy who nearly drowned!’ George remarked. I tried to breathe evenly.
He shrugged indifferently. ‘I come from an amphibious family, swimming before I could walk. The only swimming lessons I ever had consisted of Dad tossing me into the pool when I was a baby.’ I frowned at what seemed like a cruelty, but he laughed. ‘Luckily it’s in the genes. We all float, and so I bobbed straight up to the top.’
Nick gestured towards the lifesaving tower. The flag was fluttering in the breeze. ‘You should try out if you’re interested.’
‘Maybe.’ George was non-committal.
I noticed how the slight breeze made the curls at the base of Nick’s neck move. Some of the strands of hair looked damp. I swallowed.
‘I’ll see how things go, get a bit fitter first,’ George continued, ‘and used to those rips.’
‘Do you like the water Deb?’ Nick asked suddenly, turning to me and catching me off guard.
‘Oops,’ I said, tripping over a rock the size of a small island in the sand. He grasped my arm to help me up.
‘Sure, um, just as long as it’s not too cold!’ I answered, cursing my clumsiness.
‘You look athletic,’ he stated evenly, as I squirmed under his appraisal, wondering whether he had just passed me a compliment or implied that I lacked contours.
He stopped. ‘Anyway, I’ve got to go, but it was nice meeting you, Deb.’ I caught my lower lip between my teeth nervously. ‘I’ll see you guys around,’ he said moving away.
I made an effort not to look back. I didn’t believe I could pull it off without making a complete fool of myself and falling flat on my face again, cracking my skull open this time.
No sooner had we dropped our bags onto the sand than George had set off into the loud white surf. It didn’t look at all small to me. Pulling off the shorts and top I had on over my bikini, momentarily disappointed at my lack of bustiness, I flopped back onto my towel with a sigh and covered my face with my hat. The day was pleasantly warm. A hint of freshness lingered in the breeze. Before long I was drowsing contentedly, my book set aside for later, and enjoying planet Deb, where I was a stunningly beautiful princess, served by an adoring knight, who looked very much like Nick.
‘You look comfy.’ My eyes flew open under my hat. God, it was my Knight. Grabbing my hat from my face I pushed myself up onto an elbow so that I didn’t have to squint unappealingly into the sun.
‘You startled me,’ I said, a little abruptly. His eyes danced.
‘Sorry,’ he answered, lowering himself onto the sand uninvited and flipping Ray-Bans from the top of his head onto his nose. He looked out across the ocean, a smirk playing with his lips.
‘You don’t look sorry,’ I said, because I didn’t know what else to say. Somehow it came out harsher than I had intended.
‘Should I go?’ he asked, shifting awkwardly on the sand, suddenly uncertain of his welcome. This must be a new experience for him, I thought.
‘Don’t go.’ I searched desperately for something to say. ‘How do you know George?’
‘School.’
He was at a Catholic boys’ school one town over, and I was at the equivalent ‘sister’ school. There were no senior schools in Three Kings.
‘What about a walk?’ he asked unexpectedly.
‘Sure, sounds good.’ I stood and wrapped my towel around my waist quickly. The last thing I wanted were any further comments about my athleticism.
We walked along the edge of the sea in the shallow tepid water, foam clinging to our ankles until the bubbles popped. Tiny white clouds had appeared, drifting leisurely across the pale sky and the wind had picked up, flinging bits of sand which stung at the backs of our legs. But the sun was still hot on our shoulders and not in the least intimidated. He asked questions about my family, my brother and me. Where we’d come from, why we’d moved, whether we liked it, how we were settling in. I was flattered and slightly confused by his interrogation, but when I tried to turn the enquiry to him he gave little away, cleverly deflecting the conversation back to me.
‘Have you been to MacArthur’s Lake yet?’ he asked, as we returned.
‘MacArthur’s Lake?’
‘It’s a fresh-water lake, about half an hour away. The water is unbelievable, translucent around the edges, and turquoise in the middle where it’s deepest. It’s so clear and pure you can drink it.’
‘Sounds amazing.’
‘I’ll take you one day,’ he promised, as we sat down on the sand and waited for George who was just coming out of the water.
Girls passed us like a merry-go-round, too often and a little too close, the nicest glances in my direction openly envious, the worst, positively resentful. A couple almost kicked sand in my face. Nick seemed oblivious to the attention, occasionally waving offhandedly to someone, but reserving the intensity of his unsettling deep green eyes and lopsided smile, for me. Today, someone somewhere had picked my name out of a hat and it wasn’t for mowing the lawn or washing the dishes.
‘Come back to our place for fish and chips,’ George invited, shaking the water off himself like a wet dog, his board-shorts flapping against his legs and then clinging to them with determination. I threw him a towel.
‘Uh, sure,’ Nick replied, caught by surprise for a moment and sounding unsure. I wondered what that meant.
‘Let’s go,’ George beckoned, water still running in rivulets down his legs, the towel thrown carelessly around his neck and his light brown hair standing up in tufts, like he’d stuck a finger in a power socket.
We followed, stopping on the way to buy fish and chips from the sweaty little shop on the hill, and then continuing our upward climb with the afternoon glare in our faces. The breeze seemed to have lulled and perspiration trickled down my neck. I gathered my hair up high into a swinging pony-tail which brushed my shoulders.
‘You look hot,’ Nick said. His fingers touched the nape of my neck for an instant as we reached the gate. I shivered despite the heat and drew a ragged breath.
‘Don’t call my sister hot, unless you can handle a fat smack,’ George half joked as he held the gate open for us. I cringed and Nick laughed.
‘Okay then, she’s not hot she’s just sweating like a pig.’ He yanked on my ponytail and I had to look up at him. Great Goliath he was tall. And yes, my eyes were definitely level with his chest which was awkward anyway, although
maybe it was better than continually looking into his eyes. His smile dazzled me and my tongue became an obstacle which couldn’t be overcome for a moment. It was so unfair. Eventually I managed a weak, ‘thanks a lot,’ which was meant to be sarcastic, but was too long after the comment he’d made to really make any sense at all.
I could feel George’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head as we neared the house and turned to face him. He looked concerned, although he immediately tried to shrug it off by plastering a reassuring smile on his mug. It wasn’t convincing.
Mum wasn’t at home. Allegedly she was doing more overtime, but either her boss was a ghoul who forced his employees into slavery, or she was seeing aforementioned boss, which seemed more likely. Especially since he had allegedly dropped off some invisible work for Mum a week ago, and only been able to stay for a total of twenty seconds, eighteen of which involved looking for a shoe, when George and I arrived home earlier than expected due to cancelled afternoon sports.
‘So, how are you settling in?’ Nick enquired politely, as we sat outside the kitchen at an old wooden table in the garden, thongs discarded and feet bare, digging hungrily into enormous portions of fish with warm lemon wedges, and fat soggy chips leeching oil into the paper which flapped as the breeze picked up again. I picked up a can and placed it on the corner to keep it down.
‘Pretty well,’ George answered, ‘although it’s been a bit of a shock to the system after Victoria.’
‘What, all the sunshine?’
‘Well that, and the community. It’s a bit different to what we’re used to.’ He flipped a chip into his mouth and I rolled my eyes. ‘We felt like pond-scum for the first few weeks, but I think we must be cool now if you’re talking to us!’
Nick laughed heartily. I popped a cola and glugged some down thirstily. It burnt my throat and I almost choked, mortified as his attention swung around to me.
‘Have you felt like pond-scum too, Deb?’
Awakening: Book 1 The Last Anakim Trilogy Page 5