14. Henry
Iwoke just past six o’clock. With a fresh coffee and my phone in hand, I stepped onto the balcony and into the blazing sunshine. Dozens of surfers were out, making the most of the perfect weather, and people were dotted all along the beach. I sat down and pressed the quick-dial button to ring my son in Italy. I heard the familiar tone of the international connection and counted the rings as I waited for Tom to answer.
“Hey, Dad. Merry Christmas.” Lots of chatter was in the background, and wondered if Tom was at a party.
“Merry Christmas to you too, buddy. How are those crazy Italians treating you?”
Tom chuckled. I missed my son so much. He’d been away for nearly two years, and it was two years too long. I made a mental note to make an effort to visit him in the new year.
“They’re a little crazy, Dad. My friend invited me to his family’s Christmas dinner. There are about a hundred people here, and every one of them brought food. We could hunker down for a month and still not starve.”
I laughed. That was exactly how I remembered Italy, too.
“How are you, Dad?”
“I’m great, mate.”
“Who’s there with you?”
“Well, Maleigha and Mason went to Fiji for Christmas.”
“Oh, that’s right. Don’t tell me you spent Christmas day alone?”
“Ummm, no, not really.”
“What does that mean?” The curious inflection in his voice suggested he knew what I was hinting at.
“I’ve met someone. But it’s early days. We had a few drinks together last night, and it was... it was exceptional.”
Tom sighed. “That’s great, Dad. I’m so happy for you.”
I had deliberately not introduced Tom to the various lovers I’d had over the years. Most of them were fleeting. Some ladies I’d only seen for one or two nights anyway, and there was never any intention of getting serious. Jane, however, had been different, but I didn’t introduce her to Tom either because I’d known all along that our relationship wasn’t meant to last.
The urge, however, to show off Roxie was incredibly powerful. It was another good sign.
After a long chat where Tom talked about his studies and his weekend snowboarding trips, I said goodbye and ended the call.
I then tried my daughter again. She hadn’t answered on Christmas Day, and I hated leaving a message, but after a couple of minutes trying to ring her again, I gave up and sent her another text message.
With a few hours to kill, I went for a run.
It seemed like the minutes were dragging along, and by the time I climbed into my rental car and reversed out of the hotel parking lot, my heart was thumping out an excited beat. I whistled to the music on the radio as I made my way to collect Roxie from our rendezvous point outside the dinky little café at Fingal Beach.
Maybe she agreed to that place to keep me away from her family.
Was she embarrassed to be with me?
I wouldn’t blame her. As I sat in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, my mind tumbled into that emotional roller coaster where I wondered what the hell I was doing. Roxie was way too young for me. Just like Jane had been.
In twenty years, I will be eighty. Hell, I may even be dead, and she’d be a widow at sixty. My heart sank. She deserves better than an old man like me.
God, I’m a fool.
The racing pulse I’d had when I first jumped into the car slowed, as did my driving. I contemplated stopping and turning around. But I wouldn’t do that to her. Roxie needed an explanation face to face.
But as I approached the café, I spied Roxie, and all my depressing thoughts evaporated. I couldn’t help the grin broadening on my lips when she waved and smiled a glorious smile. Holding her bag and a floppy hat, she skipped across the road to meet me as I pulled into the parking space.
By the time I yanked the brake and went to open my door to greet her, she’d already opened the passenger door and jumped in.
“Hey.” She was the picture of excitement, and I was immediately pleased I hadn’t turned around.
I leaned toward her, and when she met me halfway, we kissed. I could picture myself greeting her like that every day. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Don’t you know by now? I’m always hungry.”
“Good.” I reversed the car, and as I kicked it into drive, I reflected on just how different her response was to my ex-wife’s relationship with food.
“How was your morning?” I asked.
“It was okay.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “You don’t sound so sure.”
“It’s my sister. She can be a pain in the ass.”
I huffed. “Tell me about her.”
Roxie shifted sideways on her seat so she could face me. “Ahhh, is that your question?”
I chuckled. “It wasn’t a question; it was a request.”
“Oh. That’s sneaky. I’ll remember that.” She ran her fingers through her hair, and the golden curls tumbled back into place. I liked how she had a messy natural style, and I imagined that she’d take no time at all to get ready. Unlike my ex-wife, who’d always allocated an hour to preparing herself before we went out.
I shoved that shitty memory aside. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin my day by comparing Roxie to Helen.
“I swear some days Priscilla thinks she’s royalty,” Roxie said.
I laughed as I turned the car onto the highway and crossed over the river.
“She does. Lucky for her, she met her husband Todd when she was fifteen. High school sweethearts. So he knows how to handle her.”
“Does she need handling?”
Roxie sighed. “I don’t know. But she’s such a hothead, not like me.” She giggled.
“I bet.”
“It’s true. Priscilla and I are so different. You’d never pick us as related, let alone sisters. We don’t look alike or act alike, and we have completely opposite tastes in everything from food to clothing.”
“My kids are like that. Exact opposites. But then again, they are a girl and a boy. Do you and Priscilla get on?”
Roxie scrunched up her nose. “I guess so. But most of the time, I only see her when I pick up one of her kids to take them somewhere. Todd works at a mine, so he’s away six weeks at a time.”
I sucked the air through my teeth. “That makes it hard.”
“Yeah, I help her out a couple of times each week.”
“Aunty Roxie, huh.”
“Yep, that’s me.” She grinned, and it was clear how much she loved those kids. I wanted to ask her why she’d never had children of her own but resisted. That was a sensitive subject that I hoped she’d share in her own time.
We began making our way inland from the Gold Coast, where the scenery alternated from tropical rainforest with towering trees to breathtaking views of the ocean. My ears popped halfway up the hill, and I assumed Roxie’s did too when she squeezed her nose. I was amazed at how relaxed she was, actually how relaxed we both were. I’d been on many dates since my divorce, too many to count. But I could count on my hands the ones that hadn’t felt awkward.
Even my initial meetings with Jane had been awkward, mostly because she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Roxie, however, just seemed to be herself.
It was a nice change.
Eagles Nest was a quaint little village at the top of the mountain and nestled amongst the tropical rainforest. I pulled the car into an angled park and tried to race around to open the door for Roxie, but again, she’d beaten me to it. I did manage to help her out, though.
“Damn! I forgot to bring Band-Aids.” I grinned.
“Haha, well, I guess you’ll just have to hold my hand all day so I don’t topple over.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” I hooked my arm, and when she curled into my side, all my stupid thoughts earlier about her being embarrassed to be with me were obliterated.
We strolled along the little shops, and Roxie tried on hats and scarves, and she smelled candles and checked out dozens of earrings. She was fun and funny and cute, and I loved every minute watching her. “Did I tell you I have an extensive hat collection?” she said with an aqua-colored fedora on her head.
“No, you didn’t. I love hats, too.”
“Actually, now that you mention it, I recall admiring your hat when I first met you.”
“You mean from your bird’s eye view above me.”
“Ha, yes. Exactly.” She snapped her fingers. “What do you think of this one?” She turned away from the mirror to face me.
“I love it.”
“Don’t just say that if you don’t mean it.” She waggled her finger at me.
“I mean it. It really suits you.” It truly did. Although, with her gorgeous smile, I assumed any hat would suit her.
She glanced in the mirror again. “Honestly.”
“I always tell the truth.”
“Oh really?” She spun to me. “That would be a refreshing change.”
“I do! Ask me anything.”
“Alright then.” She giggled, and her eyes lit up. “What’s your favorite sexual position?”
“Roxie!” I shot a glance at the middle-aged woman at the counter who, by the open-mouthed expression on her face, had probably heard every word.
“Whoops.” Roxie squealed, tossed the hat back onto the rack, and shot out the door.
I turned to the saleswoman. “Sorry about that. Have a great day.”
I walked out, paused, then turned back into the store, grabbed the hat, and approached the counter. “We’ll take this one.”
By the twinkle in the woman’s eyes, I assumed she was itching to ask something, so in a bid to curb her curiosity, I leaned forward and said, “It’s our first date.”
She did a little jig with her shoulders. “Well, it sounds to me like you’re in for a lot of fun.”
“I think you’re right.”
I found Roxie still laughing behind a plush hedge. When she glanced at me, and then at the package in my hand, she gasped. “Oh, Henry, what did you do?”
“I had to buy the hat after that. Go on, put it on.”
With a beautiful grin, she tugged the dangling price tag from the fedora and plonked the hat on her head. “And?”
“It really does suit you.”
“Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“I know you will.”
Her eyes bulged. “Oh, you do, do you?” She wrapped her arm around mine, and we bumped hips as we continued our stroll along the shops. “Where’s this restaurant? I’m starving.”
“We’re nearly there.”
At the bottom of the hill, I led her across a small footbridge that crossed over a pond with a dozen or so giant Japanese koi carp swimming about. “Oh, look at those big fish.”
Roxie’s joy was almost childish, and it was another fascinating facet that I loved about her.
We entered the restaurant, and the waiter checked our booking and led us out to seats in a secluded part of the back deck that overlooked the rainforest. Below us was a trickling stream that foamed white water over every rock it tumbled across.
“This is so lovely. How’d you find this place?” Roxie removed her new hat and placed it on the spare chair at their side.
“Google.”
“Where would we be without Google?” She rolled her eyes.
“We coped before it.”
“That’s true. I think I told you I’m hopeless on a computer.”
“You did, and I haven’t seen you use a phone either.”
She shrugged. “I hate them too. So, tell me, how come you know so much about the Gold Coast when you live in Sydney?”
I hesitated, but in light of my comment just a few minutes ago about always being honest, I had to tell the truth. “Do you remember me telling you about Jane?”
“The woman half your age?”
I huffed. “Yes. Jane was the manager of the Hot Horizon Hotel at Surfers Paradise. So, I flew up once a month or so to see her.”
“Wow, must’ve been serious.”
“Yes and no.”
“Sounds cryptic.”
I glanced toward the trees where a large kookaburra sat on a thick branch. It looked proud, and it made me think that I should be proud of how I handled my relationship with Jane. I turned back to Roxie. “Right from the beginning, I knew Jane and I weren’t meant to be together. We were in different stages of our life.” I hesitated a moment and then said, “I was about to be a grandfather, and she wanted to settle down and have children. I broke up with her so she could pursue her dreams.”
Roxie fiddled with one of the rings on her left hand, and it was clear a question was brewing in her mind. The waiter returned with menus, interrupting the moment. He told us about the specials, topped up our water glasses, and offered me the wine list.
“A wine for the lady?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“What do you prefer?”
“A white wine would be nice.”
“Okay then.” I scanned my finger down the page. “How about Catalina Sounds from New Zealand?”
“Sounds perfect.”
The waiter noted my selection and said he’d be back in a moment to take our orders. After he left, we took a moment to peruse the menu, and once we’d chosen, we sat back and glanced at each other.
“What?” she giggled.
“I’m just trying to work out my next question.”
“Oh god, I’m nervous now.”
“So you should be after that episode in the shop. That poor woman looked horrified.”
“Exaggerator.”
I chuckled. “Ok, I’m exaggerating, but still...”
The waiter returned and poured our wine, and we placed our meal order. After he left, I took a moment to ponder a question for Roxie. I wanted to ask so many, and I hoped we’d eventually get to them all, but the one that was most on my mind was the one that I expected would answer many of my questions.
“So.” I rubbed my hands together, trying to give her the impression my question was a shocker. “What are your plans for the future?”
She burst out laughing. “If that’s your question, then you totally wasted it. Because my answer is...” she held her hands wide, “absolutely nothing.”
My jaw dropped. “Nothing?”
“Henry... I’m a single, forty-two-year-old woman. My life revolves around my work, my sister’s family, my costume designs, and my crazy cat. That’s it. I’ve been single so long, there’s never been a need to plan for my future.”
“You don’t want to travel?”
“Of course, I want to travel.”
That was a relief. But still, I raised my eyebrows. “But?”
“But it’s not that easy. For one, I’ve never traveled, so I wouldn’t know where to start. Also, I’d want to share the experience with someone.”
I nodded. “I know what you mean. I’ve never traveled alone either.”
“See?”
“Why didn’t you travel with your fiancé?”
The waiter delivered a still-steaming golden-crusted garlic cob loaf to our table on a wooden paddle. Roxie licked her cherry lips and reached for a slice as soon as the waiter departed, but it wasn’t cut through properly.
She grabbed the serrated knife and began attacking the bread so vigorously that I wondered if it was my question that had instigated her aggression.
Next second, the bread shot sideways, slipped right through the gap in the railing, and plummeted to the creek below.
With a look of horror, she held up the slice still in her hand. “Want to share?”
We burst out laughing. Both of us truly belly laughed until Roxie had tears streaming down her face. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d laughed so hard.
Roxie had already shown me a couple of good laughs. So, if that’s what the future held with her, then I was prepared to jump in with both feet.
“I’ll order some more bread, shall I?” I spoke through my chuckling.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“It was worth the laugh.”
“At least you can say I’m not boring.”
“Oh, you’re anything but boring.” I indicated toward the staff, and as I awaited their arrival, I studied her. Something I’d said had her frowning, but I couldn’t pinpoint what.
“Can I help you, Sir?”
“Well, we kind of had an accident, and the bread... well, it’s in the creek.”
“Oh.” The waiter’s eyes bulged, and he leaned over the balcony. “Oh yes, there it is.”
Roxie’s shoulders wriggled up and down, and she’d tugged both her lips into her mouth, trying not to laugh.
“Not a problem, Sir. We’ll arrange another one.”
“Thank you.”
The second he left, we picked up our laughter again.
“Did you see his face? Obviously, I’m the first to do that.” She rolled her lovely flame-colored eyes.
Her little mishap set the tone for the rest of our lunch, and we spent the entire time laughing about some of our own embarrassing mishaps. It was nice to hear a woman actually laughing about herself. I couldn’t imagine my ex-wife doing that, especially now. She was so worried about what people thought it was a wonder she ever left the house.
And Jane, too, had some serious lack of self-esteem issues when I first met her.
Roxie, however, was the opposite.
After our meal, we left the restaurant hand in hand. It felt so natural holding her palm to mine.
“Hey, look, a walking trail.” She pointed at a council sign, showing pictures of animals that were likely to be seen along the track. “Fancy walking off some of that chocolate mousse?”
“God, yes, I already undid my top button.”
Smiling, she wriggled her eyebrows. “We could undo a few more buttons later if you like.”
“Oh, I like.”
She chuckled and tugged me closer to kiss my cheek. “Good.”
The path was wide enough for us to walk side by side, and we ambled along like young lovers. She pointed out one thing after another, and I tried to emboss every tiny aspect of our date into my brain. And Roxie, for that matter.
Even though I’d tried to be careful, I already knew she’d touched my heart.
And that was dangerous.
What I couldn’t decide was whether I could handle having my heart broken again.