Chapter 26
The rest of Lily’s life started with solitary walks on the beach and taking over most of what little work there was over the winter from her mother.
“Guess you need the money. This is why I never go on holiday,” tutted Birdie-Round-the-Back. “It’s just not worth it.”
Lily wanted to get back to normal, but somehow, after the trip to the US, she had completely lost her sense of what normal was.
Nicola’s friendship, which had been part of her daily life for years, was gone, as was Nicola herself.
The school routine they had shared was over, and the void it left yawned deeper and wider than ever.
It still rankled her that both Dorian and Wilson had seen her lack of concrete plans as evidence that she was looking for love, as though having a boyfriend would give her the purpose she obviously lacked.
It was infuriating that neither of them would ever be judged that way.
She had been so confident in the way she saw the world, and now Dorian, stupid Dorian with his stupid face, had thrown her into doubt.
She now saw Dorian and Alex and everything they had said and done in a completely different light—and looked back on her own snap judgments with dismay.
To make matters even worse, Dorian was all over the media as he had arrived back in Australia to make his movie.
And Alex himself was there at Pippi, walking around, smiling cheerfully, and waving at everyone, as handsome and charming as ever.
Whenever Lily encountered him, which she did as little as possible, he insisted they must catch up properly soon, but luckily something always got in the way.
Lily’s sister and mother’s chorus of shrill complaints was loud enough to keep her from dwelling quietly on anything for long. As the spring holidays approached, Rosie’s campaign to follow Florence, Theo, Ludo, Alex, and the gang to Queensland became more and more fevered.
“I’m in Year Ten! I haven’t been anywhere in months! Lily went overseas! All my friends are going skiing, no one will be here! I won’t need money, I can stay with Florence and Ludo! I can borrow money! Pleeeeezze! You’re such a cow, you’re ruining my life! Lily, make her let me go!”
But Lily had no intention of letting Rosie go.
Rosie was too young, too silly, and way too reckless to be allowed pretty much anywhere other than school, and certainly she should not be allowed on holiday with a shady character like Alex King.
So Lily put some effort into explaining to Lydia (without mentioning Alex specifically) why Rosie most definitely shouldn’t go anywhere, which only made Rosie complain louder.
“Oh God, shut up with the whingeing!” shrieked Lydia.
“The pair of you! You’re like some terrible comedy act.
I wish I could go to Queensland and leave you two here to moan about it.
” Which led to Lydia spending the rest of the evening looking at websites of airlines, train and bus timetables, and campgrounds.
The next day she announced that she had the perfect solution and her word was final, so suck it.
She would take Rosie to Queensland herself.
Silence.
Both girls looked at her with confusion and a little fear.
“Everyone else is booked into a youth hostel,” said Rosie eventually.
“I’m youthful,” trilled Lydia. “And I love unisex bathrooms.”
Oh dear.
“Mum, do you really think that’s a good idea?” ventured Lily.
“Yes. Yes, I bloody well do, Miss Hollywood USA,” she barked. “I never get to go anywhere.”
“What about the business?”
“It’s winter, there’s nothing going on anyway.”
“There are lots of places let over the spring holidays.”
“Then you do them.”
“Aunt Kitty invited me to Melbourne.”
“Then I’ll do them when I get back. Or Birdie-Round-the-Back can do them; God knows she needs the exercise.”
“Mum, I don’t think—”
But Lydia didn’t hear her; she was busy looking up a discount coupon for a wax. “And find the keys to the back pavilion, Rosie. We’re getting out the designer bikinis!”
Lily could barely contain herself, but she knew there was nothing she could do now that Lydia had made up her mind.
She would just have to trust that Lydia’s instincts as a parent were strong enough to keep Rosie or herself from getting into serious trouble.
And after all, this was better than Rosie going alone, right?
Right? She tried desperately to believe it.
Lily vented to Juliet when she next came to visit and Juliet comforted her with her usual optimism and faith.
“With both of them going they probably won’t have much to do with the others,” she assured Lily. “Lydia’s a lot older than them and Rosie really is too young. And Alex is with some other girl anyway.”
Lily grimly reflected that neither Lydia nor Rosie ever seemed to display much sensitivity to what was age appropriate or who was off-limits.
“And I don’t think either of them is interested in him,” Juliet added.
“If it’s not him, it’ll be someone else.”
“Why shouldn’t they have some fun?”
“Rosie’s idea of fun is practically criminal,” railed Lily. “And so is Mum’s! Not to mention expensive. She can’t afford to go, she’s supposed to be saving for a new car. The old one probably won’t even make it back.”
“She still needs a holiday.”
“She’s always on holiday.”
“You went away and it was good for you. Maybe all they need is a bit of time out.”
At that moment, who should saunter past but Alex King on his way to the jetty with a fishing rod and a beer. He waved to them both and flashed one of those smiles that made the world seem a better place.
“They’re biting,” he said. “Care to join?” The girls smiled and declined, but later, when Lily took the rubbish out after sundown, Alex was still there in the chill of the early evening.
“Good to see you home,” he said cheerfully.
“Looks like home to you too now,” Lily commented.
He smiled and shook his head.
“It’s divine here and I wish I could stay.
I feel it’s become a part of me. Like you said—it’s not just the people or the beauty, it’s the place, isn’t it?
But the people I’m house-sitting for come back next week so I’m moving on out.
Following the sun. And the work. There’s not much around here for me anymore. ”
“No bed at the backpackers’?”
“Can’t afford it,” he answered with no hint of embarrassment.
Lily wondered at him. Either he was a brilliant actor or he really thought she didn’t know about the fling with the owner’s daughter. But how could he?
“I’m quite destitute. Lucky I know how to fish.”
Lily smiled. “People are always happy to help out someone who is resourceful.”
“Your family is good to me. They’ve kept me from starvation while you were away. It was your mother who found the place for me here, actually, while you were being fancy in LA. How did you like it?”
“It was … beautiful. And weird.”
“So the high-flying Hollywood life isn’t for you?”
“I was very glad to get the chance to see it up close—and very glad to come home again.”
“Well, when home is this—”
He gestured to the expanse of dark water in front of them, the distant glitter of lights on the opposite shore and the stars. Silence.
She felt his closeness—the easy warmth of him right next to her—and reflected on how this romantic setting with Alex King would have thrilled her last summer.
She could still see how handsome he was, but now his friendliness, ease, and charm seemed to have an undercurrent.
A smugness, a self-interest. She couldn’t resist a little jab to see if that confidence could be touched.
“I saw a bit of Dorian Khan.”
“Really? He widened his circle to admit mortals?”
“I know. It was extraordinary.”
“So you got the five-star treatment, then?”
“Some of it.”
“Not all.”
“No, not all.”
“Good. High flying is fun. Even Dorian Khan gets that and he never has fun. It’s the crashing and burning afterward that hurts.
” He smiled ruefully. “I’m glad to be out of it now, to be honest. But what can you expect from people who make money off pretense?
I’m just happy you have the sense to see them for what they really are. ”
“Yes. I’ve been lucky, really. The more time I spent with Dorian, the clearer everything became. I found I got a very good sense of what was fake and what was real.”
Alex kept his eyes on the water and slowly started to reel in his line.
“Was that something? No …” He turned again to Lily with his most dazzling smile and she could tell that something in him had shifted.
“So. A master class in acting, then, from one of the best,” he said. “Lucky you. Do you mind, I’m starving—do you think I could take your mum up on that offer of a meal?”
And they walked back to the house in silence.