by C.J Duggan
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tonight Onslow hosted its famous annual Summer Show.
There were food stalls that sold hotdogs, fairy floss, kebabs and Danish pancakes; there were craft stalls with handmade jewelry, tie-dye clothing and knitted blankets and toys that smelt like lavender and old ladies. Come midnight, fireworks filled the night sky, casting a glorious reflection over Lake Onslow.
Everyone in Onslow and the surrounding regions flocked to these events. It broke the monotony of daily life in these sleepy towns, and got everyone together. For me, it had mostly been worth going because every year I had been guaranteed to spot Toby.
This year, I'd hoped it would be different, that I wouldn't be mooning over Toby from a distance.
Ellie and I didn't even manage to break out a sweat in the evening shift, only a handful of meals for the regulars and a few touristy blow-ins for drinks. Yet with so little to do, I hadn't even noticed the bar empty out. Without even a goodbye, the Onslow Boys were gone. So much for me not caring. Chris didn't seem to care about missing out on the show. I suppose he wasn't exactly a show bag kind of guy. Still, I would have thought he would at least want to hang out with his friends.
I did my best not to openly whine about my reluctance to be at work. I didn't want to be that girl, but being next to Ellie's increasingly enthusiastic nature (it seemed things were back on track and she'd made amends when I slipped out between shifts) tended to drag me down further. I delivered a meal to a couple enjoying the sunset on an outside table. My heart ached as I could hear the distant beat of music, laughter and screams from the show. It taunted me. I had never missed a Summer Show. Ever. Sadly, there was a first time for everything.
I had just hoped it wouldn't have been this summer. So far, my holidays had wildly exceeded all my low, low expectations, not to mention confused me more than ever. And now I was angry, angry at being stuck here, angry at Ellie's happiness, at Toby for the effect he had on me.
I would be stuck working until midnight, probably witnessing the fireworks on the front porch of the Onslow (if I was lucky), in my smoke-infused work clothes. Ellie was miffed about it, too, but was pacified by checking her mobile every possible chance behind the staff room door. She would smile and giggle and sigh with every incoming message. Stan.
Ellie would no doubt meet up with him after work, he would come and pick her up, and hopefully offer to take me home so I could go to bed and dream about the things that were a joke to think I could have.
By eleven I was wiping down the last of the kitchen benches; I wasn't able to hear the distant screams from the show, which I was happy about. I was about to throw myself in the fires of hell when I took it upon myself to grab a bucket and dust pan and clean out the open fireplace in the front bar. I moved the fireguard and was about to get on all fours when a voice startled me.
"We have a cleaner that does that."
Chris leaned against the bar, his arms crossed, gaze transfixed on the mute TV. Was he watching Grease?
"Well I wish you had've told me that when I was scrubbing the kitchen floor."
Chris shrugged. "She's no spring chicken, you did her a favour."
"Yeah, well, I don't think this fireplace has been cleaned out since 1974."
"You can do it if you want, I just thought you'd have preferred to head down to the show."
I froze mid-sweep, studying his emotionless face as he watched Olivia Newton John sing 'Hopelessly devoted to you'.
"Oh, um, does that mean that ?"
He sighed. "Knock off, Tess, it's dead tonight. Go and enjoy yourself."
"Ellie, too?" I all but squealed.
"Do you honestly think I could stop her? Go!"
I returned the fireguard quick smart, doubling back to the kitchen to dump the cleaning supplies. Ellie was sitting on the kitchen bench with her mobile when I burst through the door.
"Think you can get us a lift?"
My mood had lifted (as any person's would for early release on their sentence for good behaviour).
The show turnout was huge, bigger than last year. I had felt the giddiness of what it was like to go to the show, but this year it wasn't for show bags, water fights, or rides. This year I just wanted to hang out with fun people. The very people we now pulled up next to. Stan parked next to a huge convoy of utes and cars lined up along the edge of trees opposite the main strip. It looked like a Show and Shine inspection except the cars weren't anything special and just had a bunch of people hanging out, like they did every year. I remembered always looking over at the older crowd that lurked along this strip and thinking, wow! They were out of school, had jobs, drove cars and were so cool. Now here I was, climbing out of Stan's Hilux, about to infiltrate the gang.
"Well, look who finally made it." Sean was perched on the edge of a ute; everyone turned to witness our arrival. A sea of inquisitive eyes rested on us, but there were two sets in particular that made me wish I had been dropped off at home instead.
Toby's unreadable gaze and Angela's murderous one.
Angela was wrapped around Toby like one of those anacondas you see on the Discovery Channel. Seriously, she was going to give him a neck injury. I had to pretend like they weren't there, that I had no interest in their presence. Yeah, that would be best.
I, the third wheel, broke away from Ellie and Stan who had managed to not unlink their hands since exiting the car. I made my way over to prop myself next to Sean on the ute tray, the only friendly face I knew.
"How was work?" He nudged me with his shoulder.
"Dull and long."
"You missed me that much?" Sean grinned.
Rolling my eyes, I said, "So what have all the cool kids been up to?"
"Oh, you know, leaning on cars trying to look cool. It's exhausting."
"I think the problem is that you're just not doing the lean right?"
He curved his brow at me. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, you have to give it more elbow action, perhaps the odd bobbing of the head to an imaginary beat."
"Like this?" He propped his elbow on the edge of the ute for the cool casual lean and then bobbed his head in an over-the-top fashion that made me giggle.
I grimaced. "You look like you have a nervous tic."
"Ha! A cool nervous tic." Our laughter broke off at the slamming of a car door. Toby's car door.
"Are we going to the Point?" Toby seemed impatient when he spoke. Snappy. Sean jumped off the tray and stretched, revealing a flash of muscled stomach in the dark.
"Okey dokey." Sean groaned mid-stretch.
"Did you just say okey dokey? Is that the lingo for yesterday's generation?" I teased.
"Yesterday's? Youch! So what should I be saying? 'Like, whatever dude!'" He drew it out like an American surfer boy.
"Now you just sound like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle." I shook my head, my legs swinging from the tray. The engine to Toby's ute roared to life as he revved the accelerator an impatient two, three times.
"Any day now, Murph." Toby adjusted his mirror in agitation. Angela was busying herself by looking in the reflection of her side mirror, pouting and fixing her lip balm.
Sean turned to me, offering me a hand off the edge of the tray. "We're all heading up to the Point to watch the fireworks, you wanna come?"
Stan broke away from nuzzling Ellie's neck. "Best seats in the house."
"Okay, cool."
We all piled into Stan's car, Sean in the front passenger seat, Ellie and I in the back. Half a dozen other cars followed as we left the Show behind and made our way out of Onslow, over McLean's Bridge and up into the Perry Ranges. Toby's car was directly behind ours and the last in the long line weaving up the hills. Our windows wound down, the hot summer night whipped through our hair. Stan navigated the turns like a rally driver, and I tried not to think of the increasing drop on my left as we climbed higher and higher. Instead, I kept turning to see if Toby's headlights were visible; his car was close enough behind us for me to see thei
r silhouettes but not close enough to make out faces. No doubt Angela was burning a hole in the back of my head.
It was then I saw the flicker of Toby's indicator. He turned into a side track, marked by a sign I couldn't make out.
"Oooh, looks like someone has their own fireworks in mind," laughed Sean, looking in his side mirror.
"Where are they going? Should we wait?"
Stan peered into the review mirror. "They're heading to the Falls."
My stomach plummeted. Everyone knew about the Falls. There was only one reason anyone went to the Falls of a night time, and it wasn't to see the impressive waterfall that flowed into a series of natural pools. It was a parking hot spot. If you wanted to socialise, make out, watch fireworks, you went to the Point. If you wanted privacy, you went to the Falls.
"I doubt they will be gracing us with their presence this evening," Sean half laughed.
"No wonder Toby seemed so toey," added Stan.
I stopped looking back; instead, I focused on the back of Sean's seat.
That was that, then. I convinced myself that it should be a relief. I didn't have to waste my time with romantic fantasies, by analysing every look Toby gave me, every touch. That was that. The last nail in the coffin. Absolute closure.
Ellie reached for my hand in the darkness and gave it a squeeze of silent support. It was then I felt the ache in my heart, the churning of my stomach. I breathed deeply to control the emotion that threatened to well. If this was a good thing, then why did it hurt so bad?