My Dusk My Dawn

by Henrietta Georgia

  “Barra?” I asked.

  “Barramundi,” David replied. “Used to be your favorite?”

  “It still is,” I replied. “Sounds awesome.”

  “I don’t know about you lot but I’m starving, so let’s eat,” Marc insisted. “A bit of a feed then a swim in the surf?”

  David nodded to the affirmative. “I’d be in for that. Teme?”

  “I’ll be catching up on sleep,” I told him. And waiting for Daniel to call me.

  “Sleep can wait,” Marc stated. “Have you ever slept under the blanket of the skies, sand as your bed?”

  David snuck me a side glance and a wink before stating, “Came close to it. Once upon a time.”

  Once upon a time. Many years ago, after an evening out on the town with friends, David and I had wound up walking on the beach, and he’d been so bold as to kiss me. It was our first and only kiss. I felt passion rise within me at the memory.

  I said nothing in reply, but saw the forlorn look in David’s eyes.

  “Well, water’s nice and warm out, sleep can wait,” Marc stated again.

  “I’ll join you then,” I vowed, slightly saddened at the memory of David and I. We’d been friends, and had enjoyed companionship for a time. I wasn’t looking for love. Up until that night when he opened me up to the possibility. A few days later, he was gone without a trace. The messages he’d sent me, I did not receive. As far as I knew, he had bounced, but the reality was that I had been very much on his mind, and remained on his mind since that moment we’d shared a kiss. Now, many years later, I wondered about David and the fact that he’d shut off the idea of love with anyone else in order to make himself be available to me. Now that I was no longer available, he still held out hope for us. It had to hurt some, but he didn’t seem to mind. He still held out hope for us being together one day.

  15

  SOMEONE ELSE

  “Rise and shine beautiful!” David said loudly, pulling the sheets off me, waking me up from my sleep.

  “It’s way too early to be up,” I protested, pulling the sheets back up.

  “You wanted to come with, didn’t you? Told you, shoulda gone to bed at a decent hour last night. All those late-night movies…”

  “You were up late too. Sun isn’t even up yet!” I protested.

  “It shouldn’t be, not just yet,” he said, standing by the window. He wore a fitted blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. Standing by the window he looked picture perfect, as though posing for a magazine. He sounded ready to take on the day, while I was struggling to get up.

  “Come on now,” he said. “Think of what you’ll miss out on. Fresh grapes, peaches, plums, mangoes…there might even be figs. Might even get the chance to drop in to the local for a sticky date pudding,” he said, trying his hardest to entice me.

  “I haven’t even showered yet…”

  “You can take a dip in the ocean no worries. Just pack your togs.”

  “My what?” I could hardly understand the things he was saying.

  “Your swimwear. Just get out of bed already,” he ordered, pulling open the curtains. The night light shone bright into the bedroom. “You’re beautiful as is,” he said.

  I sat up, stretched. He stood there for a moment, staring at me. I caught his gaze and he turned away abruptly.

  “Sorry for staring, but you’re too beautiful for words,” he stated. “If you were mine, I wouldn’t be able to bear being away from you, not even for a day. Don’t know how Daniel does it.”

  “David, you’re such a romantic,” I told him.

  “Um hmm,” he replied, changing topic. “Come on now, let’s get going. Ten minutes please. I’ve prepared something for you to eat on the go. I’ll be waiting out front.”

  The Eumundi Markets were a feast for the eyes. Music was in the air, as was laughter and joy. The warm sun and humidity kissed my face as I walked from stall to stall with David. I loved seeing him negotiate and walk away from a seller, only to be called back to purchase at the price he’d originally asked for. As I walked through the market with him, I caught a glimpse of what life with him would have been like. His shoulder length sun kissed hair, tanned skin and muscular physique gave people a chance to stare. Seemingly oblivious to it all, he didn’t let the attention get to him. His attention was on me. At one point, instead of letting me walk around a puddle, he swooped me into his arms and carried me over, surprising me and shocking me all the same. There, as we were, I could feel his love for me, and wondered how we could ever live our separate lives without each other around.

  After about an hour of walking around and grabbing a few things, we stopped at a vegan stall for lunch. He was actively encouraging and persuading me to switch to a vegetarian diet. “Sauerkraut and sausage stand is just next door, we can go there after,” he suggested.

  “This’ll be fine,” I told him. He smiled his beautiful smile, the one which I would grow to miss when he was no longer around.

  “So, I thought we could go and see my dad, Michael, when we’re done?” he suggested. “He lives in Maleny. Maybe have dinner with him or head into town for a meal before we call it a night?”

  “Sounds good,” I replied, eager to know more about him, and in so doing, learn more about Daniel.

  After visiting a few more stalls, we left the market, and David drove to his father’s.

  “You know, we haven’t spent much time talking about your life growing up,” he noted, brusquely taking a quick turn to the left, leaving the tar-marked road for a dirt road.

  “No, we haven’t. You haven’t told me anything about your childhood,” I added.

  “I don’t like talking about it,” he explained.

  “I figured that.”

  “I guess we better get talking then,” he said, somewhat morosely.

  “Guess so,” I stated. “Tell me more, and I’ll tell you more.”

  His father lived in a quaint cottage in Maleny. The steep drive up to the house was picturesque.

  We stopped at the entrance to the gate. David rolled down the window and entered a sequence of numbers on the digital key pad. The gate opened outward and he drove forward. Though the loose gravel was white, the red dirt had in places turned the stones pink.

  A Land Rover was parked in the driveway.

  David rapped on the door before calling out, “Honey I’m home!”

  He then cracked up laughing at the expression on my face which was clearly one of shock.

  Michael opened the door, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, Davey!!!” He gave him a firm embrace and a pat on the back. Eyeing me intently, he stated, “And who is this beautiful creature?”

  David smiled in response. “Go on, have a guess!”

  “Temwani,” Michael stated loudly. “Pleasure to finally meet you!”

  He embraced me strongly. I embraced him back.

  “Michael. My dad,” he replied. “My adoptive father, but my dad all the same,” David explained. We went inside and sat on the sofa. Damien, Michael’s partner got us all cold drinks, and David got straight into talking about his childhood.

  “I constantly wonder about the type of man I would have been had I not been given up,” he noted. “I was born with a deformity - a cleft palate. They gave me up and took Daniel in for obvious reasons,”

  “That’s not the whole story Davey,” Michael interjected. Michael was an obstetric surgeon in training at the time. He had been witness to the birth of the first child, and stood by while an abortion was attempted on the second one. One which was attempted but failed.

  Daniel, the first child, was given to the adoptive parents at birth, while David, the second child, was to be “disposed of”.

  “They knew there was something wrong with the second baby. The adoptive mother did not want him, and the birth mother was too out of it to care. They placed him in a bucket in the cupboard and asked the nurse to place formaldehyde in with him to ensure he would not survive,” Michael said.

  I gasped in shock at what I
’d just heard. My heart skipped a beat when I imagined David, a mere infant, defenceless and unwanted.

  “I felt for the baby boy with all my heart,” Michael said. “Despite their efforts to get rid of him through a post-term abortion, he was born alive, and I couldn’t stand to leave him. The nurse didn’t get to him. I took him out of that bucket, wrapped him in a blanket, and snuck him out. I raised him with the help of a whet nurse.”

  David sat with his head in his hands, and I slipped a hand across his knee, reaching out for him. He rested his hand on mine, and I hoped the small gesture was reassuring to him.

  “Their birth mother took her life in the weeks following the birth, but not before I had a chance to talk to her. She refused to look at David, and she refused to hold him. She said she mourned the loss of her perfect son, Daniel,” Michael said. “I raised David as my own. He always has been and always will be perfect to me,” Michael stated. “The surgical repair of his cleft palate took place eventually, but to me, he’s always been perfect.”

  “How did you end up in foster care?” I asked of David.

  David looked at Michael, Michael at David. “Oh, you want me to explain?”

  “If you don’t mind,” David stated.

  “Well the long and short of it is I messed up,” he started. “Police had a sting operation the night they nabbed me; I was out looking for fast love, cruising, if you know what I mean. Happened to proposition an undercover police officer. Ended up spending 12 months in the slammer,” he recalled, running a hand through his deep brown hair. Pausing for a moment, he added, “I’ll never forgive myself for the things that happened to David when he was in foster care.”

  “Dad, that’s all in the past…”

  “Is it?” Michael asked, walking across the room to gaze through the window. “If it was all in the past, why are you still searching for answers?”

  David sighed heavily, then responded, “I’m just wanting closure,” he stated. “I needed to know who Daniel was and I needed to make him aware that I was around. I wanted to see Jolène face to face and impress on her how much her decision to take in Daniel and not me changed my life.”

  “David, your father raised you and he raised you well,” Damien, commented. “I know you wanted for nothing when you were growing up.”

  David agreed. “No arguments there, I don’t take issue with the way I was raised, at all, I’m lucky Michael raised me and I’m convinced things happened the way they did for a reason,” he said pensively. “I just had this burning desire to get closure,” he clarified. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way, anyway,” he stated. “Daniel wasn’t supposed to fall for Teme…anyway, guess that’s just how things go,” he stated, somewhat sadly.

  “Well, whatever the case, she’s here with you now. She’s in your life. Now, what’s this about Jolène?” Michael asked.

  “I haven’t confronted her about what she did.”

  “And you will not,” warned Michael. “No sense in dredging up the past,” he said.

  “No, but if the shoe fits…” David commenced.

  Damien chuckled. “She’ll have to wear it alright!” he exclaimed. “Nothing like a bit of karma to bite her in the behind,” he added.

  I presumed that David would tell me all eventually, so instead of pressing the issue, I resolved to enjoy the time we had at his father’s place.

  “Michael?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Can I raid your fridge for some food to eat? Can I cook up something and possibly bake up a storm?”

  The troubled look on Michael’s face softened, and he got up and gestured for me to join him in the kitchen. “You certainly can,” he said. “Now to you, Temwani. Forgive me for not asking before, but can I take you on a tour around the house?”

  “Of course,” I said, linking my arm in with his. David, smiling affectionately at me with Michael sent a nod our way before settling down on the sofa and engaging in conversation with Damien.

  David received a phone call that afternoon that had him on edge. He pulled over to take it and was clearly distraught when he hung up. Immediately, he asked whether I minded driving to a town an hour away to pick up something he’d left behind. When asked what that something was, he remained tight lipped about it all.

  We drove in silence for most of the journey, stopping twice for food and a toilet break. He remained noticeably on edge.

  “You need to tell me what’s got you so stressed out,” I insisted.

  “Someone’s broken into one of the properties I own. I have something of value there. I hope it’s still there,” he said, panicked. He refused to tell me what it was.

  “No secrets,” I reminded him.

  “There are some things you shouldn’t know at all,” he said in response. “Trust me.”

  When we got to Maryborough, he asked me to stay in the car, doors locked while he checked out the place. It was an old worker’s cottage, very similar to the one we stayed in, in Nambour. There were no visible signs of damage or forced entry from the front of the house.

  David came back not long after, urging me to go in with him. The stairs leading to the front entrance creaked as we walked up them. A single key opened the deadbolt while another key dabbed with a touch of black paint opened the other lock.

  He flipped on a light on entry. The house had a distinct smell of sanded timber.

  “Smells nice,” I noted.

  He nodded in agreement. “Cypress. Floorboards haven’t been sealed yet. It’s a work in progress.”

  I hesitated before walking further. “Is it safe?”

  “A window in the second bedroom’s been broken. Other than that, nothing else has been touched. It’s safe. I’m here with you. Just watch the glass on the floor down there,” he said, motioning towards one of the bedrooms.

  He brusquely opened the wooden blinds in the living room, letting in warm rays of sunlight. Dropping to his knees, he quickly moved the chaise-longue and rug out of the way to reveal a panel in the floor. Popping the panel open, he reached within to reveal a wooden box. I watched with anticipation as he flipped the lid and rummaged through the contents. He sighed heavily. “It’s gone.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “My notebook,” he said, his tone solemn. “It’s a notebook with some very powerful information. Part memory, part investigation.”

  “If it’s that important, why would you leave it here?” I asked.

  “I didn’t think it’d be touched.”

  “Why not keep it with you?” I asked.

  “I couldn’t keep it on my person. The information’s powerful. In the wrong hands…” he said, his voice trailing off. “Damn it.” He wasn’t about to tell me what the information was. At least not yet, anyway.

  “Craig’s not going to be too happy about this,” he said.

  “Oh David, whatever it is, it’s probably not as bad as it seems.”

  “You’re right. It’s worse,” he said, looking up at me, clearly distraught. Sneaking a quick glance at his wristwatch, he stated, “We should be heading back soon.” Placing the box back under the panel and shutting the lid, he moved the rug and chaise-longue back over the panel.

  Trying to distract him, I asked, “Can you show me around before we leave?”

  “Sure,” he said. The house was beautiful and quaint. Decorative cornices adorned the roof, and the skylights stretching across the ceiling brightened up the main living area. Long expansive windows with painted white frames looked out into an extensive back yard. The grass had recently been mowed. “I envisioned having you here with me one day. Just not under these circumstances,” he said. “I envisioned this being our home.”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  “I’m still holding out hope that one day it’ll be our home.” Pulling the sheer curtains back across the window, he noted, “Gotta remember to patch up the broken glass before we go.”

  I lay down on the Queen sized bed, watching him fit a panel of wood between the pane and the glass, then
patch up with duck tape across the broken glass. “That’ll do for now,” he said.

  “You’re quite the tradesman,” I noted.

  He laughed lightly. “That’s a funny thing to say. I wouldn’t quite call myself a tradesman. I can do most things, and if I can’t I’ll give it a go,” he said. “That’s the Aussie way.” All done, he extended his hand to me. “Come, let’s get out of here,” he requested.

  Outside, he gave the place a quick once over before we headed to the car.

  “You alright to drive?” I asked, noticing that his hands were shaking.

  “You’re in no condition,” he stated, motioning towards my heavily pregnant belly.

  “I’m in a better condition to drive than you are right now,” I replied.

  After a moment of hesitation, he handed me the keys.

  The skies were a foreboding grey as we drove back. I drove halfway, and he slept through my part of the drive. He took over when we got to Gympie, noticeably refreshed but still on edge.

  “Cyclone weather,” he mentioned. “Might be time to consider heading back to Texas,” he suggested.

  “Trying to get rid of me already?” I asked jokingly.

  “No,” he replied swiftly. “Just trying to keep you safe. In more ways than one.”

  When we got back, he ventured out to the shops to get some food and a few supplies in preparation for when the storm would hit. I used the time alone to take a long, soothing bath. By the time he’d gotten back I’d fallen asleep on the settee.

  “Everything alright?” he asked.

  “All good,” I replied, feeling a sudden urge to clean and prep for the babies.

  “Rest up good,” he urged. “Babies are notorious for arriving at times like these, when storm season’s in full effect.” Closing the blinds around the house, he announced, “I’ve signed up to do a shift at the General tonight. You gonna be okay?” he asked.

  “Of course,” I replied. He was throwing himself straight into work again. “Are you gonna be okay?” I asked.