Thirty-five
Jamie was holding his breath as he listened to Erica’s phone ring, wondering what her reaction would be this time. There had been no sign of her at the cottage when he walked by on his way to or from work on the past three days and he wondered if she had been inside, asleep, the thought of her lying in her bed flooding him with yearning. Perhaps she hadn’t even been home. He had no idea what her day looked like when she was on night shift. But he intended to find out.
He’d decided he couldn’t wait till Saturday to see her again, when she’d be accompanied by her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and there would be lots of others around. So, after a glass of beer to give him Dutch courage – much like he had when he was younger – he’d picked up the phone.
Erica answered on the third ring.
‘Jamie? I thought I wasn’t going to hear from you this week.’
Was she pleased? Annoyed? Jamie couldn’t tell from her tone. What the hell! He’d just say what was on his mind, but he’d start off casually. ‘Hi Erica. How has your week been?’
‘Busy, but good. You?’
It was the opening he’d been waiting for. ‘Mine’s been busy too.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I had such a good time on Sunday. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you. I know you’re going to be busy preparing for your visitors, but I can’t wait till Saturday to see you again.’
Did he imagine her gurgle of laughter? He ploughed on. ‘Is there any chance we could meet tomorrow? I only have a short morning charter. I don’t know what your days look like when you’re on night shift, but if there’s any chance…’ He let his voice trail off, wondering if he sounded too needy. He was out of practice at this stuff, but it was Erica…
This time he didn’t imagine her laugh.
‘I’m always so exhausted when I get home that I go straight to bed, so mornings don’t exist for me. But I do usually emerge in the early afternoon, and my shift doesn’t start till seven so…’ There was a pregnant silence.
Jamie couldn’t believe his luck. ‘Could we meet around two, two-thirty, three?’
Erica laughed again. ‘Three might be best.’
Jamie thought quickly. ‘We could have coffee at The Blue Dolphin or take a walk along the beach or…’ He tried to think of something else they might do at that time of day.
‘A walk along the beach sounds good. I’ll be feeling in need of some fresh air by then. It’s been a pretty hectic week.’
‘That’s great. I’ll pick you up at three.’
Jamie gave a whoop of delight when he finished the call. Erica had sounded good, pleased to hear from him and most importantly, had agreed to meet him again next day. He couldn’t wait.
*
Next day, Jamie couldn’t wait for his charter to finish. Luckily, it was a small, well-behaved group, who were happy to be there, regardless of their success in catching anything. Afterwards, he went straight home to shower, change and have a bite to eat, then had to figure out a way to keep himself occupied till it was time to meet Erica.
He wasn’t used to doing nothing. Normally, when he was home, he’d get stuck into gardening, or turn on the telly to watch the cricket, but it was the wrong time of year for cricket and he didn’t want to get himself dirty gardening, now he had changed. Searching around for something to occupy himself with, he caught sight of the shelf containing some old photo albums. They mostly contained photos of the boys in various stages, though some predated his marriage to Cindy – shots of the old days when he, Cam, Jack and Joe had gone around together. He’d been meaning to throw them out, but looking at them now brought back memories. He was about to close the one he was looking at when a loose photo fell out. He picked it up, stunned to see it was one of his old sailboat, his first Princess 18, and there, sitting cross-legged on the deck, grinning up at the camera, her long dark hair curling around her face and tumbling over her bare tanned shoulders, was Erica.
Jamie remembered that day. It was a week before she left for Sydney. On that day, he’d been on top of the world. Erica had promised to come back as soon as she could. She had intended to find a nursing position in the local hospital, and he had planned to ask her to marry him as soon as she graduated. What a fool he had been. He should have asked her there and then. But they had both been so young. They had thought they had all the time in the world. It had never occurred to him she’d meet someone else, marry him and move all the way across Australia to Perth.
He slipped the photo into the top pocket of his shirt, closed the album and put it back on the shelf, amazed the photo had lain there for all that time, only to fall out now when he and Erica had started seeing each other again. It was an omen.
*
Erica was filled with a strange inner excitement at the prospect of seeing Jamie again. As a result of her conversation with Rhana, and those she’d had with herself since, she had managed to stifle her qualms, decided to accept what fate had to offer, and enjoy their time together.
Jamie’s kiss when they parted on Sunday had unlocked something in her, a tumult of emotions she’d forgotten existed, and although she’d tried to deny the shaft of desire that shot through her, she’d known she wanted to investigate where it might lead.
She was glad Jamie had called, glad he’d suggested the option of a walk on the beach. She didn’t want them to meet in a café where there would be other people, where there was the risk of being recognised. She wasn’t ready to become fodder for the Pelican Crossing gossip mill just yet, and the beach opposite the cottages was normally deserted, unlike the other beaches in Pelican Crossing.
Erica felt like a girl on her first date as she waited for Jamie’s arrival. She knew it was silly, as they’d already had dinner together and gone kitesurfing and sailing. But that had been before… when she was still unsure about him… unable – or unwilling – to trust her own judgement. Now, although nervous, she felt confident she was making the right choice.
Although she’d been expecting it, Erica was startled when she heard the knock on the door. Grabbing her hat from the hook just inside the door, she opened it to see Jamie standing there with a smile on his face. ‘Hi,’ she said, suddenly feeling shy with her old friend.
‘Hi, yourself. Ready?’ He was wearing a pair of well-pressed jeans and an unzipped, lightweight, beige jacket over a white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, and looked as if he might have walked out of an advert for men’s cologne. Erica swallowed.
‘Yes.’ She felt in her pocket to ensure she had her phone, though didn’t expect to need it, then went out, closing and locking the door behind her.
When Jamie tentatively reached for her hand as they crossed to the beach, Erica didn’t reject his touch as she might have done a week earlier. Today she relished the warmth of his fingers holding hers, the warm glow which filled her as they made their way across the soft sand to the firmer surface close to the edge of the water.
Once there, they stopped. It was peaceful here, the only sounds the lapping of the waves, the cries of the seagulls, and the whirr of a helicopter overhead. They looked up. ‘It’s one of those joy flights.’ Jamie said, shading his eyes. ‘The American fellow who runs the hot air balloon rides has started offering flights along the coastline. Seems to be a bit of an entrepreneur, though no one knows much about him. He arrived in Pelican Crossing out of the blue a few years ago. Lives outside town and keeps himself to himself, though I’ve heard he sometimes drops into the yacht club for dinner.’
‘Mmm. Difficult to keep a low profile in this town.’
‘You’re not wrong. I’m glad you agreed to see me today,’ Jamie said, as the helicopter disappeared into the distance. ‘It’s been a long week.’
‘For me too,’ Erica admitted. ‘Tell me about yours.’
They began to meander along as Jamie described the various groups which had engaged his services in the past few days, making Erica laugh at some of their antics.
‘How about you?’ he asked, when they had almost reached the end of the beach.
‘Oh, you know, the usual collection of broken bones, car accidents, a couple of elderly people who suffered falls, a suspected heart attack…’
‘Wow! I had no idea.’
Erica laughed. ‘There’s never any downtime.’
‘But you enjoy it?’
‘I do.’ She smiled, remembering all the years when she wished she could get back to her chosen profession.
‘And your daughter-in-law, who’s coming to visit. Tell me about her.’
‘Briony? She’s lovely. I worry about her.’
‘How so?’
‘It’s Kieren, my son.’ She bit her lip, wondering how much to reveal, then, seeing the tenderness and concern in Jamie’s eyes, continued, ‘I worry he’s becoming like his dad.’
‘And that would be bad?’
Erica stopped in her tracks and turned to face Jamie. She took a deep breath. ‘I haven’t told you everything about Geoff. He…’ her voice broke then strengthened, ‘… he was a control freak. They call it coercive control. Then he became violent. It’s why I left him, came to stay with Joe last year… then, when he died, I felt I could go back home. I see so much of him in our son that I fear for Briony.’
‘Oh, Erica!’ Jamie pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
Erica allowed her head to drop onto Jamie’s chest, the warmth of his body seeping into her and filling her with a sense of calm and release. She felt safe here in his embrace.
They stood like that for a few moments, lost to the world, then Jamie gently drew away, keeping his hands on Erica’s arms. He gazed into her eyes. ‘I wish I’d known.’
‘There was nothing you could do, even if you had.’
‘No, but… The bastard!’
‘He was, and I was too afraid to leave. I thought it was my fault that he…’ Erica’s voice broke again.
‘I know it’s a terrible thing to say but I’m glad he’s dead, that he can’t hurt you anymore. Is that why he was here in Pelican Crossing?’
Erica nodded. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Geoff was her past. Maybe, just maybe, Jamie was her future.