Sixteen
Joe was humming to himself when Erica joined him in the car.
‘You sound happy. Good walk?’ Erica asked, rubbing her hair with the towel.
‘Very good. How was your swim?’
‘Amazing. I can’t believe the sense of peace I experienced out there just as the sun was rising. It’s magical. And they seem to be a nice group. Gill Dickson was there too. I told you she and Livvy are friends.’
‘You did.’ Joe decided to keep his exchange with Gill to himself for now. He had the impression she’d agreed to see him as a way of ending the conversation. She had looked so vulnerable standing there, water trickling down her face from her wet hair, hair which was plastered to her skull showing off her sharp features. He was sure she had no idea how attractive she looked. ‘So, you intend to make this a daily occurrence?’
‘I think so. Out there on the ocean, the sky above, it’s easy to forget…’
Joe felt humbled. Erica was still worrying about Geoff… even though he was on the other side of the country.
‘Will you and Coco be joining me?’
‘Probably not. I enjoyed today, but it’s a bit early for us.’ And he’d done what he set out to do.
Erica laughed. ‘I thought you might decide that. If I can have the car…’
‘Of course. I don’t need it till later. You might want to think about getting one for yourself.’
‘I would if…’ Erica bit her lip.
‘If it’s a matter of money. I can lend you the price of a car.’
‘Thanks, Joe, but I don’t want to be beholden to you. It’s enough you’ve put a roof over my head.’
‘It’s no trouble. How about I ask around, see if anyone has an old one they want to sell?’
Erica smiled. ‘There’s no stopping you, is there? But it would be good to have my own wheels.’
‘Especially if you get a job at the hospital.’
‘You’re right. I’ll be able to pay you back then. Okay, thanks.’
‘Good.’
They had just reached home, and Erica was sliding out of the car when the loose garment she was wearing slid off her shoulder.
‘What’s that?’ Joe asked, seeing what looked like a large bruise on his sister’s upper arm.
‘I didn’t want you to see,’ she said, quickly pulling the garment up to cover it, her eyes filling with tears.
‘Did Geoff do that?’ Joe pulled Erica to him and pushed down the loose top to reveal more bruising on her arms. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Erica pulled away and covered herself up again. ‘There was no point,’ she said, her voice flat. ‘What could you do? I’m fine now.’
Joe felt a flash of anger threaten to erupt. He wished Geoff was here right now. He’d like to make him pay for how he’d treated Erica. But he supposed she was right. What could he have done? ‘You were right to leave him,’ he said. ‘If I’d known…’
‘But you didn’t, no one did. And I’m here now. I’m safe.’
Joe pulled his sister into a warm hug. She was right. She was safe here, and he meant to ensure she remained that way.
*
Despite the revelations about Geoff’s treatment of Erica, Joe was smiling to himself when he arrived at the office. After their converstion about her bruises, Erica had become more cheerful over breakfast, planning to check out some other old schoolfriends Olivia had told her were still living in Pelican Crossing, and he had plans to call Gill before she had time to change her mind.
Settling behind his desk, he picked up the photo which had sat there for ages. It was of him and Barb, taken on the evening of his inauguration as mayor. He had been so proud that night, proud he’d been the choice of Pelican Crossing and proud to have Barb by his side.
Barb would have liked Gill. They were similar in some ways. When they’d first met, Barb had been a bit like Gill – prickly, proud… and vulnerable. Over the years she’d mellowed. She always said it was Joe’s influence, that he’d given her the confidence she lacked, completed her. He remembered how, in the final days of her illness, she’d told him not to be lonely, encouraged him to find someone to love, someone to spend the rest of his life with.
He hadn’t thought of her words till now, content with his own company, with his memories, despite the loneliness that often overtook him… until he got Coco. It was a strange quirk of fate that, now he was no longer alone, now Erica was living with him, was when he’d finally met someone who might be a cure for the loneliness that had plagued him since Barb’s death.
Joe checked his diary, an idea occurring to him. He picked up his phone.
*
Gill had been annoyed with herself ever since she left the beach. Standing in the shower, she blushed at the memory of how she had stammered like a schoolgirl at Joe Harris’s invitation. Why did he always seem to see her at her worst? And why had he invited her on a date?
Maybe he wouldn’t call, she consoled herself. Surely the invitation had been a spur of the moment thing, something he’d already be regretting. But hadn’t he mentioned wanting to bump into her again? She rinsed the shampoo from her hair wishing she could rinse away the memory of her embarrassment just as easily.
By the time Gill arrived in the office, she had almost persuaded herself Joe wouldn’t call, despite a tiny part of her wondering what it would be like to spend time with him, time which she’d prepared for, instead of being caught at a disadvantage. It was years since she’d been on a date; she’d avoided men ever since Max left and had only dated a few before him. She wouldn’t know how to behave.
Scrolling through her emails, Gill discovered her first client had cancelled. She sighed. It happened, more often than she’d like. Either the woman had second thoughts, the husband persuaded her to reconsider, or she just got cold feet. Gill could understand the last. She often wished she could call off the whole divorce process, forget about Max, and pretend the marriage had never happened. But it had. There was Freya. She could never regret having her daughter, even if she did refuse to communicate. Gill checked her phone – it had become a habit – but there was still nothing from her daughter.
Luckily, there was no new email from her solicitor either, which meant no new demands from Max. She was still waiting to hear his response to the last communication, the rebuttal to his demands, which had gone to his solicitor through hers.
She was about to immerse herself in the file she was setting up for Erica Masters when her phone rang.
‘Gill Dickson, how may I help you?’
There was a moment’s silence, then, ‘Gill, it’s Joe, Joe Harris.’
Gill felt her stomach flutter. Her mouth went dry. ‘Hello,’ she said, annoyed he’d caught her unprepared again. Did he do it deliberately ? Even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew how ridiculous it was.
‘I promised I’d call and thought it best to do it right away… before you forgot about me.’ He chuckled.
At the sound, the tension in her stomach began to uncoil. What was she fussed about? Joe Harris wasn’t Max. He was the town mayor, a man of good character. He’d been a good husband to Barb until her untimely death. And he was the brother of a client, she reminded herself. She’d always vowed to keep her personal and professional life separate and till now had succeeded. It had been easy, since she had no personal life to speak of.
She grasped the phone tighter, aware he was going to repeat his invitation. Should she decline? Would it be rude? Or could she break the vow she’d made to herself never to let another man into her life?
‘Look, this may seem like a strange request,’ Joe said, ‘but I’ve been invited to attend a Chamber of Commerce dinner in Bellbird Bay. It’s tomorrow evening. Sorry about the short notice. The invite includes a plus one, and I don’t have one. I wondered if… I’ll understand if you say no.’
‘What about your sister?’ Surely he could take Erica ?
‘She’s still pretty shell-shocked from what happened and not up to facing a room full of strangers.’
But I am ?
Gill could almost hear him holding his breath as he waited for her response.
‘I suppose…’ It wasn’t an agreement but wasn’t a refusal either. Bellbird Bay was some distance down the coast. Gill didn’t know anyone there, apart from Ali Wells, and it was unlikely she’d be attending a Chamber of Commerce dinner. Thinking of Ali reminded Gill she had still to arrange a date for the director of the women’s centre to speak to her Zonta group.
While she’d been thinking, Joe had obviously taken her words for agreement.
‘Oh, good. The dinner should be decent, and you might find it interesting. We’ve done a few joint activities with Bellbird Bay over the years. Their mayor is quite a character, a local surfing hero.’
Gill recalled hearing something about him, how he’d been the local surfing champion three years running. A strange choice for mayor, she’d thought at the time. It could be an interesting evening.
Joe was still speaking. ‘It’s to be held at The Leonard Family Resort , the local hotel which was renovated by Leo Carlson a few years ago. He used to own the Leonard international chain of hotels before moving to Bellbird Bay.’
‘Oh!’ It was too late to refuse now, and Gill was curious to see the hotel which she’d heard of, along with its owner. It had made the local and national news when Leo Carlson had sold the chain of hotels to move to the small coastal town. ‘Dress code?’
‘It’s black tie, I’m afraid, so something smart. And we need to allow enough time for travel in case of traffic, since it’s the weekend. Can I pick you up around five-thirty?’
‘That’ll be fine. I’ll email you my address.’
‘That would be good. Thanks for saying “yes”.’
‘No problem.’
As Gill hung up, she felt an unexpected flutter of excitement. It might be fun. There had been little of that in her life recently. And at least it might take her mind off her worries.