Eight
Jamie gazed out the window to the beach where a group of young people had set up a net for beach volleyball. It looked very different from what it had yesterday with the floral arch and the bridal couple. It was as if the wedding had never happened. For the first time in his life, Jamie felt lonely, saw the passage of years stretching before him, every day like the one before.
Was it seeing Gary married, seeing Cindy again? Whatever the reason, Jamie knew he didn’t want to spend the day alone, so instead of making his usual Sunday breakfast, he set out to walk into town.
When he reached The Blue Dolphin Café he stopped, seeing Cam and Poppy sitting at one of the outdoor tables as they did every Sunday.
‘Morning,’ he said.
‘Morning, Jamie.’ It was Poppy who spoke. ‘Here for breakfast? Why don’t you join us? You can tell us all about the wedding.’
Jamie hesitated, unwilling to intrude, but when Cam nodded his agreement, he pulled out a chair. He’d be glad of the company. Cam and Poppy were two of his favourite people, and he might be able to learn more about Erica. ‘Thanks,’ he said.
‘Well?’ Poppy said, when Jamie had ordered breakfast, choosing a breakfast wrap along with a macchiato, and leaning her elbows on the table.
Jamie felt uncomfortable. He drew a finger around the inside of his collar – he was wearing the same shirt as he had the day before but today it was teamed with a pair of cargo pants and sandals. ‘It was a wedding,’ he said.
Poppy laughed. ‘We know that, Jamie. What were the bride and groom wearing? Were there any surprises, any disasters? How did your grandson behave?’
Jamie stared at her, stunned.
‘You’ll have to excuse Poppy,’ Cam said with a grin. ‘She loves weddings, and all of ours are already married, so she has to make do with hearing about other people’s.’
‘Oh! Well…’ Jamie racked his brains, trying to recapture the event, but only seeing Cindy’s smirking expression at first. Then his mind cleared, and he had a clear picture of the happy couple. ‘It was good. All went according to plan. It was what you might call a perfect beach wedding. A small group, family only. Mandy was wearing something white and loose, Gary was in white too, both barefoot. There was music and we all joined in. Little Archie slept through it all. I guess that’s it.’ He paused. ‘Then we had a meal at the yacht club. Phil did us proud,’ he said, referring to the owner of the club.
‘And…?’ Poppy asked, as if she’d recognised the reason for his initial hesitation.
‘Cindy was there.’
‘Oh! I did wonder if she’d turn up. It’s been a while…’
‘Fifteen years,’ Jamie said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. ‘It was good she made the effort for Gary’s sake.’ He could see Poppy was about to ask more about Cindy, so was glad when his breakfast arrived at that point.
By the time the waitress had left, Poppy seemed to have forgotten what she was going to say about Cindy. Instead, she said, ‘Did you know Erica Harris is back in town? I heard she’s back for good this time. Didn’t you and she…?’
Jamie almost choked on his coffee.
‘Poppy!’ Cam said.
But Poppy affected an innocent expression and grinned. ‘I seem to remember one summer…’ she said. ‘She was a few years below us in school and… what?’ she asked as Cam glared at her. ‘I’m only asking.’ She gazed at Jamie, waiting patiently for his reply.
Jamie cringed. He’d been hoping to learn more about Erica, about what she was doing here, how long she intended to stay. He hadn’t expected to be the subject of an interrogation on their teenage relationship, though perhaps interrogation was too strong a word. Poppy was just being Poppy. She was always interested in other people, but in a nice way, concerned for them. ‘We dated for a bit,’ he said, ‘before she went to uni in Sydney.’
‘See, I was right,’ she said, turning to Cam. ‘I remember the two of you looking very happy together.’
We were , Jamie thought. Had he ever been that happy since, even with Cindy in the early days? Maybe when Rory, then Gary was born, when his fishing charter business began to take off. But there had been nothing like the heady exhilaration of his first love. ‘It was all a long time ago’ he said. But sometimes it feels like yesterday.
*
Erica had had a quiet morning. She’d enjoyed pottering about in Livvy’s back yard and had now turned her attention to the front garden which was showing signs of neglect since Livvy had been gone. She was pulling up a particularly vicious weed when she heard someone on the other side of the fence.
‘Erica?’
Turning so rapidly she almost fell over, Erica found herself staring into a pair of familiar brown eyes. She gazed wordlessly at him, her heart pounding, then, ‘Jamie!’ she said, too surprised to say more.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, gesturing to the cottage behind her. ‘I thought Olivia was still overseas.’
‘I’m looking after the place for her… until I find somewhere of my own.’
There was an awkward silence, during which a new and unexpected warmth flowed through her.
‘Amazing,’ Jamie said. ‘I live a few doors along.’
‘Oh!’
A warning voice whispered in her head, memories of their teenage passion filling her mind. The last thing she wanted in her new life was to be reminded of what life had been like before she met Geoff, what it could have been like if only… ‘I’m sorry, I have to go.’ Erica picked up her garden implements and hurried inside. As soon as the door closed behind her she stood against it, her breath coming in gasps. It was foolish, she knew, but the sight of Jamie Whittaker, looking every bit as handsome as she remembered – even better than he had on that fishing trip the previous year – had sent her heart racing.
Taking a deep breath, she went through to the kitchen. She dropped the tools she was carrying on the table and turned on the electric jug, before taking a packet of camomile tea out of the pantry and a mug out of the cupboard.
A few minutes later she was sitting outside with her tea, thinking about what had just happened. Jamie Whittaker was a neighbour. He lived in the same row of cottages as Livvy! Had she known? Had Rhana known when she’d suggested Erica move in here? Of course they had. They both knew about her history with him. All three had been friends back then. They had shared everything. Erica felt a wave of anger erupt. She picked up her phone.
‘Rhana!’ she said when her friend answered, ‘How could you?’
There was a pause, then she heard her friend chuckle. ‘You’ve met, then?’
‘You knew, you and Livvy. Did you plan this together? Was this your idea of fun?’ She remembered how they used to play pranks on each other, but this was no prank.
‘Calm down. I’d forgotten Jamie lived there when I suggested you talk with Livvy, then she reminded me and we thought… Oh, Erica, it’s perfect. You were so good together back then. We all thought you’d stay together, that you’d come back to Pelican Crossing when you graduated. I bet he thought that too.’
Erica winced. There had been a time when she had planned to come back, then she’d met Geoff, and he’d swept her off her feet. It was only much later she realised how he had quickly isolated her from Pelican Crossing and all her friends and family.
Rhana was still speaking. ‘Now you’re both single, Livvy thought… maybe…’
Erica was shocked. ‘You thought we could get back together, just as if the past thirty-odd years had never happened?’
‘Not exactly, but…’
‘I can’t believe you could be so stupid. I’ve just lost my husband, come out of an abusive relationship. The last thing I need is to get involved with another man… especially someone like Jamie, who…’ Erica’s voice broke. She knew Jamie was nothing like Geoff, but she was no longer the na?ve young girl who had been flattered by the attention of the boy who was one of her brother’s friends and local lifesaving champion.