Chapter 33
One year post dive
I stare out the window of my studio apartment. If I squint, I can make out a sliver of the deep blue Pacific Ocean. I found a place right next to Bronte Beach, home to Hugh’s favourite breakfast spot. I had to sell all my furniture at home (thankfully, most of it was from IKEA), but there’s a used furniture store near my new place, and in no time, I’ve filled my flat with an old table and a soft armchair, a worn wooden bedframe, and mismatched nightstands. The only thing I bought new was a big plush bed for Murphy, as a treat for sticking with me as we moved across the world. Murphy and I walk on the beach path every day, and every time I smell the ocean air and watch the frothy white tide smash into the cliffs below me, I wonder how I got so lucky.
Sometimes I remind myself it wasn’t all luck. It was constantly applying to vacancies at the University of Sydney until one stuck. It was spending days in Boston with Hugh laughing, remembering Derek’s antics and Andrew’s inability to control his own flotation. I finally got to tell Hugh how scared I was that Natalie would tell everyone I was Andi, which made him laugh so hard he had to wipe tears from his cheeks. ‘ That’s what you thought she was doing?’ he asked. ‘She was trying to convince me to try sunscreen made with seaweed .’ He breathed out, before collapsing into laughter again.
When I whisper-called Millie from the bathroom the morning after our first night together, Hugh still sleeping under our mussed hotel duvet, she shouted, ‘FOUR TIMES?’ so loudly through the phone that I dropped it in the sink.
‘You told me it was good but not that good!’
‘Well, it’s much better now that we’re not in the sand!’ I countered, laughing.
I told my family after I returned from Boston that I met a guy. That we were ‘seeing where it goes, but he lives pretty far away’.
My mom wrinkled her nose at that. ‘Does he live in Boston?’ she asked, with as much disdain as a proud Midwesterner can muster when confronted with the Northeast.
‘A little further than that,’ I replied.
Millie snickered from her place next to me.
Eventually, I got an entry-level position, something I was technically overqualified for, but something that gave me an employment visa. I jumped at the chance.
And as much as I hate to admit when Hugh’s right (which is all the time), he was right when he said I should move to Australia – it looks good on me. I feel stronger from my walks up and down the cliffs, I’m eating healthier food, and I have a sun-kissed glow, the freckles on my nose are out in full force. Plus, the coffee here is incredible.
The oven beeps, startling me from my thoughts. We’re headed to Hugh’s mom’s house for dinner, like we do every other weekend. Hugh’s mom, Gracie, lives in a little white clapboard house smack in the middle of the city. A jade tree sits on her front stoop, beautiful and gnarled. Gracie looks just like Hugh and always greets me the same way. ‘Andi!’ she says warmly, pulling me into a hug like I’m a long-lost friend.
Shaggy, Hugh’s little brother, is already here and Hugh runs to greet him, picking up a rugby ball on his way and immediately initiating a game of toss. Hugh is in his element at home, his body relaxed, his limbs fluid, his eyes a bright, turquoise shade of blue.
I help Gracie set the table as stragglers arrive. Hugh’s aunt and uncle usually come, as do the older couple that lives next door. Everyone assumes their positions – Hugh’s uncle starts manning the grill, Heather, Hugh’s aunt, starts refilling drinks. Shaggy darts in and out of the house, arranging bowls of coleslaw and salad on the table.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, which never happens at this hour considering most of my social circle is still in the US. It’s Millie. I step out to answer it, panicked. My heart is racing. Millie gets scans every six months as a follow-up to her double mastectomy.
‘Everything OK?’ I say, as soon as the FaceTime connects.
‘Andi!’ Millie yelps as her face slowly comes into focus. ‘I didn’t know if you would answer but thank God you did – I have great news!’
‘Millie, you scared me!’ I tell her angrily, although I’m so relieved my anger is fleeting. ‘It’s so late for you,’ I say, ‘you never call me at this time.’
‘I know but I just found out and I had to tell you.’ She’s practically jumping up and down.
‘OK, what is it?’ I’m sceptical. Millie’s last great news was that she found her new favourite bagel place. Not that I don’t support great bagels, but I didn’t exactly think it met the bar for ‘great news’.
‘You really want to know?’
‘Yes! Tell me. I’m at Hugh’s mom’s so I can’t be on the phone for forever.’
Millie rolls her eyes, but she smiles. ‘Cleveland’s sending me to Australia for THREE MONTHS!’ she shouts.
‘You’re kidding me,’ I say, my face exploding into a grin.
‘Nope!’ She launches into an explanation.
‘Ahhhhhh!’ I scream as she talks. I’m so excited I can’t contain it.
She tells me the cities she’s visiting, the dives she’s supposed to take for work, why she didn’t tell me when she applied – it was a long shot, she wanted it to be a surprise . . . I zone out as she launches into her tourist visa application and how quickly she thinks it will process. Instead, I think about all the things we can do together, all the stuff I’ve been dying to show her.
Hugh heard my scream and has looked up from his rugby throwing, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
He must be able to hear snippets of the FaceTime because he mouths to me, ‘Millie? Here?’ He raises a single eyebrow – he still doesn’t see eye to eye with Millie . . . at all. But they’re learning to love each other, and that’s nothing a little bonding time can’t fix. Right?
He mouths at me again. ‘She’ll be staying with you, won’t she?’ He rolls his eyes, but I can tell from the crinkle in their corners that he’s happy. He hasn’t met Millie in person yet.
I roll my eyes back, nodding, but I can’t keep the smile off my face.
‘Is Hugh there?’ Millie asks.
I nod. ‘Yes.’
‘Tell him the news!’ she squeals. ‘And that I read his latest article—’ she blows a raspberry with her lips ‘—and I’m ready to prove him wrong.’
Hugh walks over to say hello.
While they talk, I think about what I want to do with Millie.
A weekend in Brisbane. Trips down the Gold Coast. Byron Bay. Even hitting a casino after we dive the Whitsundays.
I hope she’s up for an adventure.