Apartment 255

by Bunty Avieson

  She had been startled to see an outline appear in the shadows of Sarah and Tom’s balcony. At first she had thought it was Tom, sharing her yearning, knowing she was there, and answering her call. She felt like a siren as she stood, buffeted gently by the fresh breeze, calling silently across to her imaginary lover. When the dark shape moved into the moonlight Ginny realised it was Sarah. She carefully and slowly withdrew back into her own apartment, sliding the tinted glass door shut, feeling safe again sealed inside her own cell.

  *

  Sarah waited till dawn broke at 5.40 am before heading out for a run. She powered through the park, pushing her body harder and harder. She wanted to feel it burn. By the time the clock radio by their bed burst to life at 7 am she was showered and reading the newspapers in the kitchen. She felt strong and powerful, ready to take on the world. She assumed it was the endorphins kicking in from her run and resolved to do more exercise. She felt so good.

  Tom frowned when he found her. ‘Have you been running again?’ he asked.

  ‘Yup,’ said Sarah. ‘And I feel great.’

  Tom didn’t look happy. He sat down opposite Sarah and helped himself to coffee.

  ‘Do you think you may be overdoing the exercise?’

  There, it was out in the open. Tom didn’t want a fight but he wanted to know what was going on. He could feel Sarah slipping away, retreating inside her own head. It had happened before and he was going to make damn sure it didn’t happen again. He was paying attention this time. And he wanted her to know it.

  Sarah stared him down.

  ‘No, I don’t think so,’ she replied. ‘I think it’s good for me. Frankly, I think you could do with a bit more exercise.’

  Tom refused to take the bait. ‘You don’t think you are becoming – obsessive?’

  Tom chose the word carefully. It sounded innocent enough but it carried a special resonance for them both, within the context of their relationship. There was a time, six years ago, when that word had been bandied about a lot. The word sat between them, taking them back to that raw and painful time.

  ‘No, I don’t,’ replied Sarah. ‘I know what you are getting at and may I say I think you are an arsehole.’

  Tom considered this new information. ‘I see. Well, I guess there’s nothing more to say then.’

  They sat in silence. It was uncomfortable but neither wanted to walk away. Part of Sarah did want to talk to Tom, to express the emotions spilling about inside her. But she was frightened. It would mean going back to that dark, malevolent place where she had no bearings. She couldn’t risk going back there. It was too scary. And she could feel Tom coming too close. She felt threatened.

  Tom sat staring at Sarah. He wanted her to see him, to feel him, there, right in front of her face. ‘I’m not going away,’ was his silent message.

  The only sound in the apartment was the chipmunk voice of the breakfast announcer, shrill and distant, floating to them from the bedroom.

  They both listened, without comprehending, as he read out the newspaper headlines of the day. It was soothing, in a domestic, grounding kind of way. The heat of the tension between them eased slightly.

  Finally Tom spoke. ‘The car needs re-registering,’ he said.

  Sarah looked up. ‘Does it?’

  Sarah paid the bills for the couple. It had just evolved that way. Tom was often away researching stories and Sarah had said she was happy to do it, to assume responsibility for the day-to-day running of their lives. It was unusual for her not to have been on top of something as simple as the car registration. The Roads and Traffic Authority sent out a reminder notice weeks in advance.

  ‘I guess I must have forgotten it.’

  ‘It runs out on Sunday,’ said Tom.

  Sarah twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

  ‘Do you think you could pay it this week, Sarah?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’ll send a cheque today.’

  ‘You will have to. It will take them a while to process it and send out a new sticker. Perhaps you should go in to the RTA and pay it over the counter.’

  Sarah felt annoyed. Why was it always her responsibility? What had seemed an act of love, as their lives became entwined, was now a burden.

  ‘And when would I have time to do that? Perhaps you could make time in your busy day to take care of it. You could go into the RTA and stand in the queue.’

  Tom sighed. ‘Sarah, you know I am working on a big story right now. I will most probably have to go to Canberra for a few days at the end of the week to talk to some people. I think I’ve convinced the body builder who killed his wife in a steroid rage to talk to me.’

  Sarah wasn’t interested. She resented what she saw as the unspoken assumption that his work was more important than her own, his time far more valuable than hers, so she should be the one to waste it standing in a queue.

  ‘Fine, Tom, let me do it. Your time is far too important to be spent on such trifles.’

  Tom held his tongue. She was spoiling for a fight and he wasn’t in the mood. He was running out of patience.

  ‘As long as they get the cheque we are registered and legal,’ he replied. ‘It should be fine if you just make sure you send it today.’

  Sarah downed the last of her coffee and went to get dressed. She left for work without kissing Tom goodbye. He was shaving when she left and he came out of the bathroom to an empty apartment.

  *

  Ginny opened her notebook at the page headed ‘Bitch’. With a happy little smile she recorded Tom and Sarah’s conversation. She wrote the word ‘arsehole’ in capitals, each letter at different angles to the other. It was the writing of an angry child.

  CHAPTER 10

  Ginny was excited all morning. So excited she could hardly concentrate on her work. Hal had arranged to bring in Laddie at 11 am. Ginny had told Dr Black he was a friend and would he mind if she saw to him. Dr Black, himself distracted by the forthcoming start of the horseracing carnival, his busiest time, was only too happy to have one thing less to do. They didn’t have a full book of appointments but he had a lot of reports to finish ready for the weekend and he hoped to get out to visit some stables on the outskirts of Sydney.

  ‘If you need me, just holler,’ he had told her.

  The receptionist, Annie, had been told to alert Ginny as soon as Hal arrived.

  Annie was surprised by Ginny’s excitement. While Dr Black had been too preoccupied to notice, Annie hadn’t been. She noticed everything.

  ‘Is he a friend of yours?’ she asked innocently, but with just enough emphasis on the word friend to let Ginny know she knew something was up.

  Ginny was such a closed person. Annie had often wondered about her. She was pretty enough, though Annie thought she could have done more with herself. She didn’t wear make-up and wasn’t the least bit interested in fashion. That alone, in Annie’s book, made Ginny strange.

  Annie was nineteen and spent every cent she earned buying fashion magazines. On her salary she couldn’t afford what she saw on the glossy pages, but she loved to sew and would create her own versions of whatever caught her eye. She wasn’t particularly good at sewing so she often looked thrown together. But somehow with her youth and bravado, she managed to carry it off.

  Today she was trying out a hot pink sarong skirt with a lopsided hem, which she had run up the night before, and a wildly clashing orange bolero, stretched tightly across her ample bust. Her hair was streaked with electric blue highlights.

  ‘How do I look?’ she had asked Ginny that morning, more for her own entertainment than because she cared what the older girl thought.

  Ginny always felt uncomfortable around Annie. She was so saucy it unsettled her. Ginny knew she was being teased and it annoyed her.

  ‘Like a clothesline that has fallen over,’ said Ginny. ‘Just tell me when he gets here.’

  Annie poked her tongue out as the doors to the inner sanctum swung closed behind Ginny.

  When Hal did arrive, ten minute
s early, with Laddie on a leash, Annie chose to forget her instructions and sat him down where she could get a good look at him. She set aside her pile of typing and eyed him up and down. She took in the washed-out denim jeans, the cowboy boots and the leather vest over the white singlet. Pretty good for his age, she thought. Handsome, though a bit older than she would have expected for Ginny. Nice blue eyes. Muscly arms.

  ‘You’re a friend of our Ginny’s?’ she said to him innocently.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Hal, petting Laddie who was unsettled by the smells of the other animals.

  ‘Aaaaah,’ she said.

  Hal ignored the invitation to elaborate. He devoted all his attention to his dog, holding him gently by the scruff of the neck and whispering soothing words.

  Annie pressed on. ‘Been friends long?’

  Hal looked up. He hadn’t really noticed Annie when he came in and said who he was. He took in her blue streaked hair, the heavy make-up and sassy tone.

  ‘Laddie and I have been together for fourteen years,’ he said slowly and deliberately. He wasn’t rude but he made his point.

  Reluctantly Annie turned back to her typing. They could have each other, she thought to herself. What a boring pair. Usually she offered customers a drink or pointed out the pile of magazines, Pet Monthly, Racehorse News and Dogue. But if he didn’t want to be friendly, well he was on his own. He could just wait till Madame came and got him.

  At ten past eleven Ginny, dressed in a white coat with a stethoscope around her neck, came to check at reception and was annoyed to find Hal and Laddie sitting there patiently waiting.

  She shot Annie a withering look, which Annie ignored, and welcomed Hal. He rose to greet her and she noticed, with disappointment, how he looked less like Tom in the daylight. Then he smiled and it was like looking at Tom again – sparkling blue eyes and a warm, open smile that invited you to trust him. She felt herself grow warm and realised she was blushing. Annie noticed too and raised an eyebrow. This was just too interesting.

  ‘Ginny, your friend is here,’ she said pointedly.

  Ignoring her, Ginny led Hal and Laddie through the swinging doors into a consulting room. Hal and Ginny helped Laddie onto the table.

  ‘He’s a border collie cross?’ asked Ginny.

  ‘Yes, crossed with a labrador,’ said Hal.

  ‘How old?’

  ‘I’ve had him fourteen years,’ said Hal, stroking Laddie’s head with affection. He held the dog steady, looking all the time into his eyes to comfort him. Ginny was touched by how much Hal obviously cared for the old dog.

  Laddie was well and truly past his prime. His black coat was no longer glossy and his white underbelly was yellowing with clumps of bare patches. His eyes showed a little build-up of mucus in the corners. Nevertheless, they were bright and focussed. He seemed to have no problem seeing. Ginny ruled out cataracts.

  Laddie stood patiently while Ginny inspected him. She pressed her fingers gently but expertly on his major organs looking for swelling and tenderness. Everything seemed fine. She listened to his heart. There was the faint sign of tachycardia, a slightly fast heartbeat, but nothing unusual for his age. She believed Dr Black would have been impressed. She was conducting the examination just as he would have done. Ginny moved down to the legs. She tenderly lifted up a hind paw. On the underside was a rash. It was red and angry.

  ‘Is he urinating normally?’ asked Ginny.

  ‘Um, no,’ said Hal. ‘He’s always been really good about going outside. I’ve got a doggy door and he lets himself in and out. But lately he’s been wetting himself while he sleeps.’

  ‘Aaaah,’ said Ginny, sounding much like Dr Black did when he was coming close to a diagnosis. ‘Can you get him to lie down?’

  Hal patted Laddie, gently pushing him down on the table. Laddie was tired of standing and needed little encouragement. He curled up on his side, tucking his hind paws beneath him. He looked up at Hal with big trusting brown eyes. Ginny looked at him thoughtfully.

  ‘Is that how he sleeps?’

  ‘Well, yes, I think so,’ said Hal.

  Ginny straightened up and smiled.

  ‘It’s not serious, Hal,’ she said. ‘I think your Laddie has nappy rash. Or the canine equivalent.’

  Hal looked confused and Ginny laughed.

  ‘He is getting old,’ she told him gently. ‘He’s becoming a bit incontinent and when he urinates in his sleep the acid in his urine is burning the tender skin on his paw. Walking is causing him a lot of pain. That’s why he has lost his bounce. I can give you some cream for the rash, which should clear it up in a few days, and at night I’m afraid you will have to put a nappy on him.’

  Hal looked relieved.

  ‘But, Hal, please understand, he is old.’

  Hal nodded. ‘I know. It breaks my heart but I know I’ll lose him one of these days.’

  Ginny wouldn’t let Hal pay. Annie watched with conspicuous amusement as she waved away his chequebook.

  ‘Can I at least take you to lunch?’ said Hal.

  Ginny was thrilled.

  They arranged to meet at a café down the street in a few minutes.

  ‘Shall I charge that consultation to you?’ asked Annie after Hal had gone.

  ‘No,’ said Ginny. ‘There will be no charge at all. Dr Black has said that is fine. Thank you, Annie.’

  Annie made a big production of tearing up the account.

  ‘It would help me if you had told me that before I wrote it up,’ she said grumpily. ‘It’s not like I don’t have anything better to do. Anybody would think I just sat here waiting for more work …’ She was still complaining as Ginny took her bag and cardigan and closed the door behind her.

  Ginny forgot Annie instantly. It was warm and sunny outside. A perfect summer day. Ginny hurried along to meet Hal. She found him sitting contentedly in the sun at an outdoor table with Laddie tied to his chair. He stood up as she arrived, towering over her as he pulled out her chair.

  They talked about Laddie and how Hal had found him as a stray pup and taken him home. Ginny talked about Kitty and the other strays she had collected along the way. She thought of Isabel, the first pet she had truly loved, and started to tell Hal about taxidermy and how it still comforted her to have Isabel there at home with her. Laddie’s time couldn’t be too far off and Ginny thought Hal might like to have him stuffed.

  Hal was horrified and Ginny was instantly sorry she had spoken.

  ‘It’s just something to think about,’ she finished lamely. She wasn’t sure what horrified Hal – the idea of Laddie dying, the taxidermy or the combination of the two.

  The waitress arrived to take their order and Ginny and Hal settled back in silence.

  Ginny tried to move the conversation to safer ground. She broached the topic that she wanted to find out about.

  ‘Tom tells me he has only just been reunited with you,’ she said. ‘That must be very strange for you both.’

  Hal smiled that Tom smile. ‘I’ve rediscovered my son. He seems a fine young man. I’m very proud, although I can’t take any of the credit. Sarah said you are her oldest friend so I guess you’ve known Tom for some time too.’

  It was on the tip of Ginny’s tongue to say she had known him first, before Sarah, but she stopped herself. ‘I see a lot of Tom. He is one of my closest friends too,’ said Ginny. ‘He is a fine man. You should be proud of him.’

  Hal nodded as he chewed.

  ‘How old was he when you last saw him?’ asked Ginny.

  ‘He had just had his eighth birthday. He was a good kid even then. I knew he would be in safe hands. Do you know Thel, Tom’s mother?’

  Ginny nodded.

  ‘She’s a pretty amazing lady. I knew she’d bring up Tom to be a decent lad. Lord knows I couldn’t give him any sort of stable life. And that’s what a kid needs.’

  Ginny wondered what had happened between Hal and Thel but didn’t feel it was her business to ask. ‘What have you been doing in the past twenty or so ye
ars?’ she asked instead.

  ‘Oh, lots of different things. I worked for a while on a fishing trawler up north, spent time on the oil rigs, travelled a lot around Australia. Spent time in Papua New Guinea. Then about fourteen years ago I came to Sydney. I’ve always had motorbikes so decided it was time to be my own boss and bought out the motorcycle dealership.

  ‘I didn’t know Tom was living in Sydney until I read a story he wrote. I’d often thought about him, wondered how he had turned out. But I had long since lost contact with his mother. When I rang the newspaper I thought it was a long shot that it would be the same Tom Wilson, Tom Wilson my son. But it was.’

  ‘It must have been pretty amazing to see him again,’ said Ginny.

  ‘It was. I remembered him as an eight-year-old kid and instead I had this fully grown man in front of me. It was quite disconcerting, but good. He looked kind of … familiar, you know?’

  ‘Tom was really pleased that you rang,’ said Ginny, remembering the look on Tom’s face when they were standing close together on the balcony.

  ‘Yeah, so am I. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. But I don’t feel like there’s any hurry. I’ve got my son back and that’s enough. And I’m delighted that he has such a wonderful girl in Sarah, and such nice friends.’

  Ginny flinched when he mentioned Sarah. It took her a moment to realise he had been paying her a compliment too. She smiled at him, looking happily into his sparkling blue eyes. Ginny revelled in the attention. ‘Perhaps you could take me out on your bike one day,’ she said.

  ‘Sure. Anytime you like,’ replied Hal easily.

  ‘How about this weekend?’ suggested Ginny, her heart racing.

  ‘Okay, this weekend it is. I shut the shop at twelve so we could go for a ride after that.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Ginny. ‘Saturday it is. You can pick me up from work just after twelve.’

  Ginny was humming when she walked back inside the door to the vet practice. Even Annie’s scowling face couldn’t affect her mood.

  ‘I’ve got a date with Tom’s dad, Tom’s dad, Tom’s dad,’ she was singing to herself under her breath.