Sunlight and Shadows

by Christine Cross

  “So, are you going surfing tomorrow, Victoria?” Natasha said as they finished their meals. “You seem to have really hit it off with Nick. Anything happening there that I should know about?”

  “Oh, n-n-n0,” Victoria stammered. “I guess we’re just friends. And besides that he probably has a girlfriend already. And I might just check out the surf somewhere else tomorrow. I would love to explore the rest of the coast while I’m here.”

  “That’s a good idea, Vicky,” said Natasha. “There is a great surfing beach twenty kilometers down the road from here. It’s called Greenmount Beach and you can rent surfboards there too.”

  “You know, something, Tash. I might buy my own surfboard tomorrow. I can always leave it at your house if I go back home, and use it when I come to visit.”

  “Or you could just move here and keep it at your own house,” suggested Natasha eager to convince Victoria to move to Australia.

  That night after they had all arrived home, it dawned on Victoria that she had totally fallen for Nick. And that not since Tom had she ever wanted someone in her life this badly. I need you Nick. I want you more than anything. But I guess you’re taken.

  *****

  For the next few weeks, Victoria avoided any more surf lessons with Nick as well as visits to the Beach Bar. Instead she spent her days surfing at different spots along the twenty kilometer stretch of sand known as the Gold Coast, as well as doing some sight-seeing with Natasha while Dan was at work.

  “Nick was asking about you this morning,” Katie said, feeling curious about why her mother was no longer seeing Nick, or visiting the Beach Bar. “He wondered if you might want to come along to church this Sunday. Christopher and some of the other kids are getting baptized during the service, and then there’s a lunch banquet at the Beach Bar afterwards to celebrate. He asked if you were okay?”

  Victoria felt confused and surprised. Maybe he’s just being his usual, friendly self? “Oh, I don’t think so, darling,” she answered. “I had planned to spend this weekend visiting Brisbane. It’s only an hour away, and Natasha wants to show me some of the tourist spots up there. It’s our last weekend here, so I don’t want to miss the opportunity.”

  “Oh, okay, Mum. I’ll tell him you’re busy, but I think he’ll be disappointed. He always asks me how you are. I think he really cares about you.”

  “Oh, Katie, he’s just being polite and friendly, that’s all. You are such a romantic little thing. Don’t ever mistake friendship for romance. You have such a lot to learn about men and this world.”

  “But, Mum, I think he really does like you, a lot.”

  “Well, I like him a lot too. But I’m sure he has his own life and his own friends. He doesn’t need me.”

  Katie shrugged in frustration. “You are so stubborn Mom. And I think you are so wrong about Nick. I think he likes you more than a friend.”

  Victoria remembered vividly the way she saw Nick looking at that blonde woman in the restaurant. There was a lot of obvious intimacy when they were together. “No, I’m not wrong, Katie. But somehow I wish I was.”

  “So you do like him! More than a friend. I knew it!”

  “So what if I do, Katie. We’re going home in a week. I’ll never see him again, so there’s no point to it.”

  “But, we can always sell the house, Mom, and come back! I really want to come back. I just love it here. And Miranda and I have been best friends since we were two. I’ll never have a best friend like her again!”

  Victoria saw how serious and passionate Katie was about moving to Australia. She put her arms around her, and said, “Okay, we’ll talk about it all on the trip home. We’ll have tons of time on the plane to work things out.”

  ***

  Victoria found it difficult to get Nick out of her mind. Throughout the entire weekend, despite the fact that she tried to enjoy the many sights in Brisbane, memories of Nick kept reappearing, flooding her mind in waves. Who is that blonde woman? She felt haunted by the image of them sitting together in that restaurant. After five years of grieving and being single, Nick was the one she hungered for.

  “Well, here we are home again,” Natasha said as they pulled into the driveway. It was late Sunday afternoon, and a cool breeze was blowing in from the ocean fanning away the humidity with welcoming fingers.

  Suddenly, Victoria spotted Nick’s sport car parked in the driveway. “Looks like you have visitors,” she said, knowing that now she would have no choice other than to face Nick.

  “Well, Dan did mention that Nick and his sister would be popping in for drinks and dinner tonight. Oh, I forgot. I meant to tell you earlier.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that Nick had a sister.”

  “Yes, Dan was telling me that she had just broken up with her fiancé in Melbourne, and the poor thing has been so depressed that she flew up here to see Nick for some moral support. Apparently she was heartbroken about it.”

  As they entered the house, Victoria could see Dan out the back with Nick. They were chatting and laughing with a cold beer in hand.

  “Let’s just take these sausages and steaks out to the boys, Vicky,” Natasha said, pulling a plate of meat out of the fridge. “Dan promised he’d do a barbeque for dinner tonight.”

  Just then the girls came running down the stairs excited to see both their Moms home again.

  “Nick’s here, Mom,’’ Katie was saying. “He said it would be so nice to see you again.”

  Victoria blushed. She felt strangely nervous about facing Nick again, knowing now that her feelings for him were much stronger than she had realized.

  Trying to delay facing him, and needing time to regain her composure, she mumbled, “I’ll stay here and get some salads ready, Tash. Here, Katie help me chop some of these tomatoes and cucumbers.”

  It took ten minutes to get the salads ready but to Victoria it felt like an eternity. Nervously she took a gulp of the fine wine that Natasha had opened and poured out for the girls. Three glasses.

  “Okay, Katie, let’s take these salads out, and help set the outdoor table.”

  As soon as Victoria laid eyes on Nick sitting relaxed by the barbeque, she went weak at the knees and melted. “Hi Nick. So nice to see you again,” she almost whispered. Sitting next to him looking a little sad was a lady hiding behind a large hat and huge sunglasses.

  “Hi, Victoria. I want you to meet my sister, Julie. Julie this is Victoria. Julie’s come up to visit for a while and I know she’d love some female company so Dan invited us to dinner so that you girls could get together.”

  “Hi Julie, lovely to meet you,” Victoria said as she suddenly realized who Julie was. She’s the girl from the restaurant!

  *****

  A picnic had been planned for the following day. Dan had taken a few days off work to spend time with Victoria and Katie before they flew back out to Georgia at the end of the week. Nick and Julie were joining them for the picnic as they headed up the steep winding road to the top of the Springbrook Mountains. Some of the most breathtaking country lay here sleepily nestled in the rugged hinterland of the Gold Coast.

  As they climbed higher and higher through the bushy terrain full of tall, majestic gum trees, the valley below appeared to be swallowed up in a mist of low-lying clouds sweeping across the wilderness. A waterfall appeared out of nowhere, cascading over reddish boulders into a lake below.

  “This is where we stop for a swim before we head up further to have our picnic at the top of the range,” said Natasha, as they pulled into the car park near the Twin Falls. “There are three rock pools at the bottom of this waterfall, and the water is as crisp as ice.”

  “Well, that sounds refreshing on such a hot day, Tash,” Victoria said, longing to dip her toes in the water holes below. “But, I’ve noticed it’s much cooler up here in the mountains than down further. And I really love the smell of those gum trees.”

  “Yes, that would be the perfume from the eucalyptus gums. Koalas just love eating those leaves. We might even
see some on the way if we look up high into the trees.”

  “Oh, I hope so,” squealed Katie. “I’ve brought my camera.”

  As they trekked along the bush track to the rock pools, Katie became the avid photographer, snapping up photos of the scenery, the waterfall, and even arranging the group into pairs and singles to take a shot of their adventures to paste into her photo album when the photos were printed.

  “Look, we’re at the rock pools,” Katie said, taking more shots. “And up there I see a koala.”

  The water was refreshingly cool as they splashed around enjoying the icy bits that swirled around from time to time. An hour passed before they dragged themselves away from the delights of the rock pool. They headed once more up the steep mountain road, which became more narrow and winding. Treacherous cliffs fell to one side. They stopped to pull into a lookout from which they could see the entire Gold Coast spread out before them.

  “This is magic,” said Julie, turning to Nick. “Thank you for bringing me up here, Nick. This is exactly what I need right now.”

  It suddenly dawned on Victoria that Julie was raw with pain over the break-up of her relationship with her fiancé. She quietly slid up and put her hand into Julies, squeezing it gently. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? I wish I could stay in this moment forever.”

  “I think we all do,” said Nick, putting his arm around his emotionally fragile sister. “You’ll be alright, Jules. Trust me everything gets better with time.”

  “Yes,” said Victoria, giving Julie a much needed hug. “Things will get better.”

  Finally they arrived at the picnic grounds high up on the peak of the ridge. From here there were many walking trails and an abundance of local wildlife, especially birds. It was just after noon when the sun is at its hottest that they sat down in the shade of an ancient tree to share the picnic spread before them.

  Natasha and Victoria had prepared it all, and it was more like a banquet or a feast than a simple picnic. There were three cold roast chickens, a platter of leg ham, a platter of salami and various cheeses, a green salad with plenty of tomatoes and thinly sliced red onions, bowls of both green and black olives, a jar of preserved artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, French bread sticks and loads of cold bottles of spring water in the basket.

  “Wow, it will take us the rest of the day to get through this,” said Nick, feasting his eyes on the culinary delights.

  “You forget,” laughed Natasha, “we have hungry children and we brought all of them here today. And besides, we’ll have to walk lunch off with a bush walk.”

  “Yes, well, regrettably I’ve never had children. I might have to adopt Katie here,” said Nick playfully.

  Victoria almost choked on an olive. Of course, he’s just joking. She looked at Katie who was lapping up all of Nick’s attention.

  “I would love that, Nick. Then you can teach me how to ride the big waves in Hawaai.”

  Victoria was curious. “Have you been to Hawaai, Nick?”

  “Of course he has, Mom,” Katie said. “Nick was a pro-surfer in his younger days and traveled the world surfing. If you’d come to more surf lessons you would have found all that out!”

  Nick just shrugged and looked sheepish. “It’s something I don’t brag about. Katie found some old surfer magazines in the club and read the articles in there about me. So I had to tell her the stories. She forced me!” He laughed.

  “That’s my headstrong Katie,” Victoria said. “So where else did you surf?”

  “Well, actually, I did surf in Georgia, believe it or not. In a place called Sea Island.”

  “Sea Island! That’s in Waycross. That’s where we live, Nick!”

  “Well, maybe I should come over and visit you when you go back. We can all go surfing together.”

  “Is surfing the only thing you have in mind, Nick? For us to do together?” Victoria said, feeling bold and cheeky.

  Nick collapsed into laughter. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  *****

  The picnic had been the most romantic time that Victoria had experienced with Nick up until now. It was mid-afternoon when they finally packed up the picnic blanket and set off onto one of the bush walking tracks around the mountain.

  “Don’t forget to bring your knapsacks with plenty of water bottles,” cautioned Dan. “It gets very hot walking these trails.”

  At last they were moving along the walking trail, excited to see the sights along the way. They had all voted on doing the four kilometer walk which would take approximately two hours. The first part of this circuit wound through a eucalyptus forest full of local wildflowers and natural flora and fauna. Katie was busy taking photos as they descended further and further into a gorge.

  “Look, I can see the falls from here!” Katie shouted down the trail. “And I can see some more koalas.”

  “Careful you don’t slip!” Victoria yelled back. “Keep your eyes on the track Katie. The last thing I want is for you to slip and hurt yourself.”

  The trail was becoming hazardous in places, with paths that edged right onto a steep descent into the gorge below.

  After an hour of walking they all stopped for a drink and a quick five minute rest sitting down to admire the view. The wilderness surrounded them on all sides stretching for miles and miles into the horizon. In some places, away from the track, the bush appeared to be so dense that it sent shivers down Victoria's spine The thought of ever being lost out there was terrifying.

  “Stay on the trail at all times,” said Dan, as if reading everyone’s mind. “If you take a wrong turn, you may never find your way back.”

  “Yes, that looks so scary out there,” said Katie shuddering.

  It was close to four o’clock in the afternoon when the group restarted their walk, eager to get back to the safety and security of the picnic area. Up ahead there was a suspension bridge which would take them to their final destination.

  “At last,” said Victoria, feeling desperately in need of another rest. She checked her watch. “We’re almost there and it’s nearly five o’clock. We timed that well.”

  Nick walked up alongside her as they arrived back at the picnic grounds with Julie trailing behind them. She was looking a lot happier than she had been since she had arrived in Paradise. Nick inched in closer to Victoria, close enough to whisper in her ear, “This has been a fantastic and magical day, Victoria. One I will never forget.”

  “Me either,” she said, gazing up into the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.

  Then suddenly she heard Natasha scream, “Where’s Katie?”

  ***

  Miranda sobbed in large, racking, uncontrollable sounds. “But she was there one minute, Mom, and then I thought she went to join you! She said she saw a large dragon lizard and she wanted to take a photo of it. The last time I saw her was before the suspension bridge.”

  “It’s okay,” Natasha was saying. “It’s not your fault, Miranda. We just need to know where to look for her, that’s all.”

  Dan came over to comfort the now-hysterical Miranda, while Victoria stood there numb with fear, trying to process what had just happened. Katie’s not here. She’s lost! Oh, my God, my God, please God help me find my daughter! I can’t lose her too! Please God!

  Nick put his arms around her as tears flowed like rivers silently down her face. She couldn’t speak. It was as if she was paralyzed in her body and would never be able to speak again! Katie, my Katie! Where are you? Oh, God, help me!

  “Don’t worry, Victoria, if it’s the last thing I do, I will find Katie. I know this terrain. And I need to get going before it gets dark.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Nick!” Dan said forcefully. “We don’t need two people lost!”

  “I’ve got a two way radio phone in my car. I’ll call for help, and take that with me while I go look for Katie. You’re not stopping me, Nick. But what you can all do to help me is pack a knapsack with food, medical supplies and more water because who knows when I’ll find
her…but by God, I will find her. And no one can stop me!”

  Nick was as good as his word. He immediately radioed for help talking to whoever responded to him and telling them the situation and where they were and to get help as soon as possible. Dusk was falling, and as the sun began to sink far below the horizon, Nick set off to look for Katie. Despair was beginning to create panic in Victoria’s heart as soon as she lost sight of Nick heading back into the wilderness. Please God, keep them both safe!

  “I think we should all pray,” said Dan, holding a terrified Miranda on his knee. “That’s all we can really do right now. Other than that we’ll just have to be patient, and wait for some rangers, or searchers, or the police to arrive.”

  Victoria had never prayed so hard in all her life. All she wanted more than anything was to see Katie and Nick again. And soon. Surely, God, I can’t lose both of them, surely! Natasha had given Victoria a good shot of brandy to calm her nerves. The elixir made her feel a little calmer and she began to hope that Katie would magically appear out of the wilderness with Nick and that they could all go home together.

  By eight p.m. it was deathly dark, and there was still no sign of Katie or Nick. Then suddenly, a huge beam of light flooded into the car park. Help had finally arrived. A half dozen four-wheeled trucks appeared out of nowhere, followed by two police vehicles.

  “Folks, we’re here to look for that missing girl. Now we need some more information.” It was the police sergeant from Nerang, which was the nearest police station to Springbrook.

  Once again, Miranda retold the story of where she had last seen Katie, and what she had been doing. “She just wanted a photo of that lizard, that’s all,” wailed Miranda. “It’s all my fault. I should have stayed with her!”

  “It’s not your fault at all,” said the kind policeman in charge of the search. “Don’t worry, we’ve got the best experienced trackers here, and the area around the suspension bridge is not too far from here. We’ll keep trying our two way radio to talk to your guy out there. But so far we haven’t been able to contact him. Sometimes the mountains can block the signals from getting through, but rest assured, we won’t give up trying to contact him.”