Twenty-eight
It had been another busy day in Emergency. Erica was enjoying a mug of hot chocolate before going to bed, having decided that an early night was on the cards, and reliving her time with Jamie the previous evening.
Her reflections were interrupted by the ringing of her phone and at first, she chose to ignore it. Then it occurred to her it might be something important, a call in to work for an emergency, bad news from Perth. Had something happened to Briony, or Ava? Without looking at the number on the screen, she pressed to accept the call and, her heart beating rapidly, said, ‘Hello?’
‘Erica, it’s Jamie. I need your help.’
Erica heard the cry of a child in the background. ‘Where are you?’
‘I’m at Gary’s… babysitting, and…’
The crying became louder, turning into a scream. Erica heard Jamie give a groan of anguish, then emit an expletive. She chuckled. It was amazing how the cries of a baby could undo even the strongest man. Geoff would have been the same, though Geoff had never made any attempt to look after Kieren when he was a baby, considering it to be women’s work. ‘Give me time to get dressed and I’ll be with you.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. Were you in bed? There’s no need to…’ Jamie’s voice rose in an attempt to drown out the baby’s cries.
‘Don’t be silly, and no, I wasn’t in bed. Text me Gary’s address… and in the meantime, try letting the baby suck on your finger.’
‘Okay.’
A few seconds later, a text came through with the address for an apartment in an area of town Erica didn’t recognise. She dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved tee-shirt, pulled a brush through her hair and applied a smidgeon of lipstick before heading out to enter the address into the satnav in her car. Then she set off.
Now wide awake and filled with a frisson of excitement at being the one Jamie had chosen to call on for help, Erica discovered she was enjoying driving through the night, the sky lit by myriad bright stars. Before long she arrived at a new apartment block close to the river where she remembered she and Jamie going swimming. She was surprised she hadn’t recognised the address, but back then they hadn’t been too concerned about street names, and this apartment block hadn’t existed.
When she reached the ground floor apartment, the sound of the baby crying reverberated through the door, piercing Erica’s ears. When she knocked, Jamie opened it immediately, the crying baby in his arms.
‘Thank goodness you’re here,’ he said. ‘I’m at my wit’s end.’
Erica took one look at the little boy’s red face, the tears running down his cheeks, his nose running too. ‘Give him here,’ she said, dropping her bag on the floor and reaching out her arms. ‘So this is Archie?’
‘My grandson,’ Jamie said proudly. ‘A chip off the old block.’
Erica stared at him, then grinned. ‘And I bet you yelled just like this when you were his age. Hello, Archie,’ she said to the little boy. ‘What’s your grandpa been doing to you?’ Having a baby in her arms again, reminded Erica so much of her own grandchild, an ache of longing rising up to almost choke her. She missed Ava so much. Hiding her distress by focusing on the young child, Erica began to rock Archie, murmuring to him all the while, and following Jamie through to the little boy’s bedroom. Gradually, the crying lessened, subsiding into sobs until his eyes closed and he fell asleep. Careful not to wake him, Erica placed the child in his cot and gently covered him with a blanket. When she looked up, she saw Jamie standing in the doorway, gazing at her with undisguised admiration.
Then she tiptoed out of the room, closing the door gently behind her, and followed Jamie into the kitchen where he took a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured two glasses.
‘I think you deserve this, and I need it,’ he said, handing one glass to her. ‘I’m sure Gary can spare it. If not, I’ll replace it. I don’t know how you did it,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It was magic.’
Erica took a welcome sip of wine and laughed. ‘It comes naturally,’ she said. ‘I’m guessing you didn’t have a lot to do with your two when they were babies.’
Jamie looked down into his glass. ‘I was away on the boat a lot. Didn’t often get to see them at bedtime… or any other time, come to think of it. I’m surprised Cindy put up with me as long as she did. But I did have a living to earn, and I was a fisherman. I know it’s no excuse,’ he said, clearly seeing Erica open her mouth to speak.
‘I was only going to say that most men would say the same, fishermen or not. It usually falls to the woman to take care of the children when they’re small. But you stepped up when you had to.’
‘Mmm.’
Suddenly, the ache of longing for Ava that Erica had experienced when she had young Archie in her arms, returned like a sharp pain for which there was no relief. Her eyes moistened.
‘Hey, what’s the matter, Rici?’
At the sound of what had been Jamie’s pet name for her all those years ago, a host of memories of those days resurfaced, and Erica began to sob uncontrollably. ‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘it’s…’ She brushed back the tears with her hand.
‘Hey, it’s okay,’ Jamie said, putting down his glass and moving closer. He took Erica’s glass and placed it next to his on the benchtop.
Feeling as if time stood still, Erica didn’t resist when he cupped her chin in his hands, then his lips met hers, gently at first, deepening into a passionate kiss, a kiss that felt so familiar, so all consuming.
So… wonderful .