Eleven
Jamie awoke on Easter Saturday to find a gale blowing. There would be no fishing trip today. He sighed and turned over in bed but was unable to fall asleep again. Yesterday had been good. The breakfast on the beach had gone without a hitch, and he’d spent the rest of the day with Rory and Gary preparing for the three-day trip up the coast they’d planned. It wasn’t often the three of them were able to spend time like this, and he silently cursed the unexpected change in the weather.
Rising and going through to the kitchen, his eyes fell on the large chocolate Easter egg. Mandy’s mother, Liz, had presented everyone with one saying it wasn’t Easter without Easter eggs. It was a long time since he’d had an Easter egg. When the boys were small, the house had been filled with them, and he could remember their excitement as they hunted for the eggs the Easter Bunny had left for them. But Cindy had never been a fan, too worried about her weight to indulge in chocolate, unlike…
Jamie’s mind went back to one particular Easter, when he and Erica had been a couple. They had given each other Easter eggs which they’d eaten on the beach after spending the morning surfing. The chocolate had begun to melt, coating their hands and faces. They’d kissed, becoming even more covered in chocolate before jumping into the sea to wash it off.
As he brewed coffee and made his morning toast, Jamie’s eyes kept straying to the egg, the memory of Erica sparking an idea. She’d loved chocolate, and he was willing to bet she still did. She’d clearly been shocked to see him that day. It had been a surprise to him too. But now she’d had time to recover, perhaps it was up to him to take the first step, to make an overture of friendship. After all, they were neighbours. She couldn’t ignore him for ever. And they had been friends… more than friends… all those years ago. A lot of water had flowed under the bridge since then. They’d both married. He’d had children, probably she had too. And what better time than Easter to renew their friendship? The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. He’d go to visit Erica and take her the Easter egg.
Jamie tidied up the kitchen then showered and dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, one which Gary and Mandy had given him for Christmas and which was smarter than those he wore for work. Checking himself out in the mirror, he wondered how he looked to Erica. The thirty years they’d been apart had taken its toll. Whereas she had kept her looks, only becoming more elegant over the years, his hair had more than its share of grey and the time he’d spent on boats had weathered his skin, adding a network of wrinkles and sunspots, some of which had been removed by the skin specialist he visited every six months.
Finally, he was ready. He could delay no longer. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the egg, locked up, and walked along till he came to Olivia’s cottage.
It was quiet at this time in the morning, the only sounds the roar of the ocean and the squawking of the seabirds overhead. Jamie made his way up the path to the bright blue front door with its stained glass panel and knocked. There was no reply. He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him that Erica might not be at home. He stood confused for a few moments, then placing the Easter egg on the doorstep, turned to return home.
*
Erica opened her eyes and stretched. Seeing the sun streaming through the window, she realised she’d slept longer than usual. It had been late when she arrived home the night before after a long shift in the Emergency department. It had been a typical Easter Friday. Busy all day with a variety of minor injuries and complaints due to the GPs being closed on the holiday – a holiday for everyone but the medical and nursing staff at the local hospital. Things had begun to taper off in the late afternoon, only for the victims of a car accident to be brought in, sending everyone into a flap which only eased when all the casualties had been treated and dispatched either to surgery or to a ward. It had been close to nine o’clock before she arrived home, and she’d fallen into bed without taking time to eat.
Erica had always loved these long shifts as it meant she got more days off between them, but she was glad to have a change in the next week. At fifty, she didn’t have as much energy as she used to, and she was finding the long hours more difficult to handle.
Now, after a good night’s sleep, she felt re-energised, and it was Easter. She had always loved Easter and everything associated with it. As a child, she and Joe had hunted for Easter eggs, then as a teenager, too old to believe in the Easter Bunny, she’d gone surfing with her friends, but she’d still enjoyed seeing a chocolate egg at her place on the breakfast table. The memory of an Easter spent with Jamie Whittaker and the chocolate eggs they’d eaten on the beach flitted into her mind, to be immediately quashed.
She jumped up, showered and dressed in a pair of three-quarter pants and a favourite tee-shirt, thinking as she did, how much Geoff would have hated this casual look. It gave her a sense of satisfaction to know she could now dress as she liked.
After a breakfast of bacon with scrambled eggs on toast washed down with a cup of lemon and ginger tea, Erica pulled out her phone to Facetime Briony. As Ava was too young for an Easter egg, she’d sent her a soft pink bunny and wanted to make sure it had arrived safely – as well as wanting to check in on Briony who she called each week.
This morning, Erica was surprised to see Kieren’s face appear on her screen.
‘Hi, Mum,’ he said. ‘Happy Easter. Briony’s just getting Ava up. We had a difficult night with her. Briony thinks she’s started teething.’
‘Oh dear! I remember when you were that age. It’s no fun.’ It sounded as if Kieren was being more of a help to Briony than Geoff had been to her. Perhaps everything was fine with them, and she’d been worrying needlessly. ‘How’s everything?’ She felt a sense of guilt that she had barely spoken to her son since leaving Perth.
‘I’ve been meaning to contact you. I have an offer on the house, not as good as I’d hoped, but I intend to accept. If you let me know where to send everything, I’ll make arrangements to have it shipped.’
‘Thanks. I haven’t checked out storage here yet, but I will do and let you know. Everything else okay?’
There was silence for a moment, then, ‘I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out some of Dad’s paperwork – or lack of it. I don’t know what he was up to, Mum. There are so many debts.’
‘Oh!’ Erica didn’t know what else to say. ‘Your dad never shared anything with me about the yard. You don’t think…’ She couldn’t bring herself to say what she suspected – that Geoff had been involved in something illegal.
Kieren said it for her. ‘I hate to say it, Mum, but I’m afraid Dad might have been dealing with some dodgy characters. I think I may have to get the business audited before tax time.’
‘You know best, Kieren.’ She hoped he did, and that he didn’t get himself embroiled in whatever Geoff had been up to.
‘Here’s Briony,’ he said, and Erica saw the phone being handed over.
‘Happy Easter, Mum, and thanks so much for the bunny. Ava loves it, don’t you honey?’ She turned the phone to show Ava holding the pink toy.
‘I’m so glad. Happy Easter to you too. Sorry I couldn’t call yesterday. I was working all day.’
‘Not a problem. I knew you had to work. Kieren was working too. He seems to spend all his time at the yard. I hope it’s all sorted soon.’
Erica winced at the despondent note in Briony’s voice. She hoped so too and wondered if she’d been too hasty in leaving Perth. Then she remembered that if she’d stayed, she’d have been sharing Ava’s room. She’d have been the one whose sleep was disturbed, and it would have been even more difficult to leave.
By the time the call finished, Erica was in a state of confusion. She missed Briony and Ava. She wished there was something she could do to help them, to help Briony with Ava, to help Kieren sort out the mess Geoff had left him. But she knew she’d made the right decision in leaving, in coming back to Pelican Crossing.
She needed to clear her head so, taking her hat from the hook behind the door, she headed out and crossed the road to the beach. Once there, with the sand between her toes, the roar of the waves in her ears and sniffing in the salty tang of the sea, she felt her cares fall away. It was gusty this morning, and she had to hold onto her hat to stop it from blowing away, but it meant she had the beach to herself. No one else was foolish enough to venture out in this weather, but Erica found it bracing as she leant into the breeze. It was as if it was blowing away any regrets she might have about leaving Perth, Briony and Ava. Strangely, she felt no concern about leaving Kieren. He’d cope. He was like his dad in that respect, though hopefully not Geoff’s complete counterpart. Briony had seemed less anxious this morning. It was a good sign.
Finally the wind became too much for her, and Erica turned to walk back to the cottage she now thought of as home. She hoped that, by the time Livvy returned, she’d be in a position to buy a place for herself, but had no idea when that might be. Her mind on future possibilities, Erica was at her front door before she noticed something sitting on the doorstep. It was a large Easter egg. She picked it up and looked around, but there was no one to be seen.