Chapter 27 #2
And then Lucas was there beside her. The smile she wore froze on her face, and the lens of the camera sought them out when the Whisked Away team realised what was going on.
Clem’s mouth was dry now, her palms slick.
She hoped she wouldn’t drop the trophy on her own toes, and hitched it up higher, tightening her grip.
What was Lucas going to say? She knew how much he’d wanted this, but she felt so validated.
She couldn’t not be happy with what she’d accomplished.
But at the same time, her stomach churned with worry for him, tarnishing the moment.
He didn’t say anything at first. He beamed at her and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing, and the warmth of his touch radiated through her. Up here on the stage, he was silhouetted by light, his dark hair and brows a stark contrast.
‘Clem,’ he said thickly. ‘Congratulations – I knew you could do it. That diorama was a work of art. And we have a winner in the cat versus dog battle.’
Even though pride surged within her at his words, Clem could see the disappointment in his slightly sloped shoulders.
A lock of dark hair hung over his forehead.
She wanted to reach out and smooth it down, to tell him that it was going to be okay – they would find a way to help his family.
But she couldn’t. The trophy was still in her hands, and Sylvie was speaking again, to Dwayne this time, who had joined Lucas on stage.
The judges approached them all once more in an excited whirl of comments.
When the cameras finally stopped rolling, they kept talking, telling her what an opportunity this was going to be for her and her baking career, in spite of the fire, how their past winners had gone on to do wonderful things.
Cookbooks and newspaper columns and TV appearances.
She nodded and chatted back, unable to believe that they were talking about her, that they had such high hopes for what she could achieve next.
‘So, Clem, what are you going to do with your winnings?’ asked Jonathan eagerly. ‘Any big ideas?’
She couldn’t respond. She stared through them, over their shoulders, at Lucas, who simply smiled and offered her a thumbs up.
*
Clem had finally escaped the judges and the crew.
She hadn’t wanted to leave so quickly and to seem rude and they’d wanted to film an interview with her, which had taken multiple takes because she couldn’t stop stuttering and trembling.
They’d all pressed business cards into her hand afterwards.
Somewhere amongst it all, Lucas had vanished.
When they finally broke free of the hall and into the fresh air, she still couldn’t spot him anywhere, and she could barely focus on Sylvie’s enthusiastic words in her ear.
‘Clem, you should be so incredibly proud of yourself,’ Sylvie was saying, her joy laced through every word.
The words came quickly, as if she couldn’t keep up with her own enthusiasm.
‘I knew you could do this – all of us at Catpurrcino did! You’re so talented and I think this is just the start.
There’ll be so many more opportunities for you from this . . . Clem?’
‘Oh . . . what?’ Clem hadn’t fully processed the last few sentences and was still searching the area and the distant car park, half on her tiptoes.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, I’m great!’ said Clem, not voicing what she was really thinking.
How would Lucas be feeling, knowing he couldn’t help his parents now?
Would he feel he’d let them down? She knew that if she were in his place, she’d be riddled with worry about what to do next.
‘I . . . I don’t see Lucas anywhere. Did you see where he went? ’
‘Ah. No, I didn’t.’
When Clem finally dropped onto flat feet again and looked at Sylvie, the older woman’s eyes were glittering, as if Clem had let her in on a secret.
‘What?’ said Clem.
‘You can’t think about anything but him, can you?’ Sylvie said. Before Clem could respond, she added, ‘Why don’t you go and look for him? We drove here separately anyway.’
‘Do you mind?’
‘Of course not. I need to get to Catpurrcino.’ Sylvie gave Clem a quick hug, squeezing her tightly. ‘Well done, Clem.’
Surprised, Clem squeezed her back. ‘Thank you,’ she said, smiling into Sylvie’s shoulder.
Sylvie headed across to the gravel car park and Clem watched her drive down the track, away from the hotel and back to Catpurrcino.
Clem stood next to the water running alongside the main path – the place where Reina had nearly upended her the first time she came here.
Lucas had agreed to speak with her when filming ended, but he wasn’t here.
A summer breeze fluttered through the trees, cooling her skin.
She tapped out a message to him, holding her hand around her phone to shield it from the harsh glare of the sun.
Where are you?
She waited a minute and he replied:
Down the gravel track, through the gate for the country walk. I went to get Reina from the farmhouse, walking her. Come meet me?
Clem shoved her phone away and hurried down the path, to the end of the gravel track and the wooden gate that marked the entrance to the hotel.
To the right, another country path forked off, leading into the trees, their leaves spreading out to create a canopy overhead.
A sign pointed the way onto the path and a popular walking route.
She peered down the narrow path – and spotted Lucas, Reina trotting at his heels, sniffing around the grass and the dirt with her tail hanging low.
She raced towards him. ‘Lucas!’
He looked over his shoulder, saw her coming and waited for her to catch up.
When she reached him, she was slightly out of breath.
Reina was delighted to have another person in her presence, her tail beating a furious, yellowy swirl through the air as she sniffed around Clem’s feet and nuzzled her hands.
‘Hey,’ said Clem, stroking Reina’s nose and glancing up at Lucas. ‘I was looking for you.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I needed some fresh air, so I thought I’d take Reina for a quick walk while you were talking with the judges.’
‘Are you good to talk? I could join you?’ she said hopefully.
‘Sure.’ He looked crestfallen, the light gone from his eyes, even though he was clearly trying to sound upbeat.
‘We don’t have to talk about anything specific right now,’ she said quickly. ‘I know how disappointed you must be.’
‘I am. But I don’t want you to feel bad for me. I’m happy for you, Clem, really, I am. You’re incredibly talented. I never doubted you’d do well.’
‘You’re happy for me? Even though . . .’ Clem bit her lip to keep it from trembling, fearing what he might say in response. ‘I didn’t enter Whisked Away myself?’
‘You’re still hung up on that?’ he said. ‘I told you, that doesn’t matter, Clem. You won because you’re talented. Who cares how the application ended up in the judges’ hands?’
The relief made her knees weak. He hadn’t been masking anything before; he really didn’t care that she’d ended up at the auditions because of a twist of fate.
She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his, so grateful to have met such an understanding person. His eyes were faraway. ‘Things will be okay, you know. I don’t need this money. I can help.’
His attention shifted from the bright field to their left, illuminated by the sun, to her face, and he shook his head. ‘I’d never take anything from you. You earned that money, fair and square, and you deserve it.’
‘I want you to take it,’ she insisted, ‘even if you only take some of it. For your dad.’
‘I won’t take your money, Clem. I was probably silly to bank on this contest as a solution, anyway. It wasn’t practical. I need to figure out something else.’
‘The money doesn’t matter to me, Lucas. But your father’s health . . . that’s important.’
He didn’t respond. And she knew he’d never say yes to this – accept it willingly. Because he was good and kind and had respect for her. She couldn’t believe she’d ever suspected him of sabotaging her chances in the competition. Here he was, being graceful and supportive after losing.
‘Lucas, please,’ she breathed, but she knew he wouldn’t.
He placed his other hand down over hers. ‘It’s yours, Clem.’
Specks of pollen danced across the fields; Reina was wandering the path, nose pressed to the edges, snuffling the myriad scents. A loose leaf blew between them, cartwheeling away. It was so beautiful out here but he looked so dejected and she couldn’t stand it.
She reached up, tracing his cheek with the tips of her fingers.
He didn’t stop her. He looked down at her, dark hair contrasting with the bright summer landscape, sadness in the curve of his mouth that she wanted to take away.
Should she? Had something changed now? She remembered the way he’d kicked aside debris to free them from the tent, so fierce.
How he clung to her hand in the hospital, kept texting her to check she was okay.
The way he looked at her, like she was precious.
‘I never thanked you properly for saving my life,’ she whispered.
Clem pressed her lips to his, softly, an invitation. Would he accept?
He did. He melted into it, hands rising up to wrap around her waist, kissing her.
His hands on her, as warm as the sun, gentle, safe, tugging her closer.
Something unspooled inside her, a tension she didn’t know she was holding, her hands shifting to his shoulders.
The rigidity seemed to have fallen away from him and she was glad when he deepened the kiss, pushing his lips harder against hers, fingers firm against her back as if seeking something there.
Her head spun, whirring like the pollen in the air, the movements of his mouth making her senseless, thoughtless.
They broke away slowly, breathlessly, her lips aching like they missed him. The hint of a smile was on his mouth now.
‘That’s better,’ she whispered, hooking her arms around his neck, on slight tiptoe. ‘I don’t like seeing you like this.’
‘I’ll have to save your life more often if this is how you thank me,’ he said, nudging her nose with his.
There had to be something else she could do to help him.
She thought of what the judges had said, about opportunity coming from this competition, and how everyone had been rooting for her and Lucas to get together.
Before, she’d seen that as a threat and something to be afraid of, because she didn’t want so much attention. But there were people out there who had been rooting for them. People who still did.
Maybe there was something she could do.
For now, though, she just wanted to kiss him again. So she did.
*
Lucas had spent several days researching quick loans he could take out.
He’d decided it was best to apply for one to help his parents with some of their more immediate concerns, like the rent struggles, and they’d figure out the rest later.
His mum wouldn’t like it if he told her where the money came from so he’d simply tell her he’d been paid a tiny sum for coming in second place.
She wouldn’t want to take it, so he’d send it direct to her bank account.
He didn’t want her to end up in credit card debt.
He’d just finished filling out an online application for a loan when his phone buzzed. He grabbed it and stood up to stretch; he’d been sitting at the desk upstairs for ages, and there was a crick in his neck.
It was his mum.
Mum: I’m going to take your dad to the cat café tomorrow. Will you come? We’d both like to see you
Lucas: Okay, let me know when
Lucas stretched out his arms and dropped them to his sides, glancing out of the window at the beams of sunlight stretching through the trees. He did need to talk to Clem properly, like he’d promised. About them, and what came next. And he’d been cooped up for almost a week, figuring things out.
He still didn’t know what the next step would be, but these loans were a start. It would help them get through the coming months and he’d work on the rest.