19. Henry
When I had been invited to Nicholas’ New Year’s Eve party, I hadn’t thought I’d still be on the Gold Coast. Not only did that come true, but I was also bringing my hot date. Roxie. And I couldn’t wait to introduce her to my friends.
While Roxie was spending the morning with her sister and her family, I went shopping in search of a new outfit for that night. I caught a taxi to Pacific Fair, one of Australia’s biggest shopping centers, and one that I knew fairly well. I took my time, mainly because I had several hours to kill before I was due to pick Roxie up, but also because I couldn’t decide on what to wear. It was a new dilemma for me. I was usually very decisive and could pick an outfit in ten minutes flat, including shoes and a hat.
But I was nervous about impressing Roxie. I wanted to try something a bit fun or funky without looking like I was trying too hard. It was proving to be harder than I thought, so I decided to grab a coffee and do a bit of people-watching to see what the fashions were.
I chose a front table at Café Cherry Beans, and after a young waitress approached my table to take my order, I sat back to watch the world go by. Right across from the coffee shop was a travel agent, and I realized that I still hadn’t booked my flight home. As much as I didn’t want to think about it, I needed to do that soon. I made a mental note to sort that out soon.
It was a funny thing, not wanting to go home; I’d never felt like that before. Even when I was with Jane. But what I’d had with Jane was a thousand times different to what I was feeling with Roxie. Each time I’d been with Jane, I knew it was a limited opportunity. We were never a couple.
But already, I was thinking of Roxie like we were intertwined. My heart clenched at the thought of leaving her. But despite the need to go home, I knew that without an ounce of doubt, I’d be back to see Roxie again soon.
“Hello stranger.”
My jaw dropped, and my eyes bulged. “Jane!”
She looked stunning in a pretty floral frock. With her hair up in a high ponytail, I was reminded of just how young she was.
“What’re you doing here?”
She frowned. “I work around the corner, remember? I should be asking you the same question.”
“Oh.” I chuckled a nervous laugh, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt awkward in front of a woman. “You’re right. I’m up here for our annual conference.”
Again, she frowned. “That’s a bit rude of them to hold it over the new year.”
“Well, ummm, actually I decided to stay a bit longer. How are you anyway?” I shifted the conversation off me.
“I’m excellent.”
When I’d last seen Jane, she’d had tears streaming down her cheeks and a look of utter devastation. By the look of her now, though, brimming with confidence and a genuine smile on her face, I’d say she’d well and truly moved on from me. I wanted to ask her so many questions but bit my tongue.
“Would you like to join me?” I expected her to decline, but instead, she fussed about putting her bag on the spare chair and then sat opposite me.
The waitress appeared at her side. “May I help you?”
“Yes please, I’ll have a skinny cappuccino, and do you have your Tahini lime cheesecake today?”
The waitress raised up on her toes to look toward the counter at the back of the coffee shop. “Yes, we do.”
“Great,” said Jane. “I’ll have a slice of that with extra cream.”
The waitress left, and Jane clasped her hands together. “So, what’s been happening?”
I felt like a boy who’d been caught with his pants down, and it was a whole new sensation for me. “Well, I’m a grandfather now. Maleigha had a baby girl, Olivia.”
“Oh, that’s gorgeous. I bet you spoil her rotten.”
“Not as much as I’d like to. I don’t get to see her often.”
“That’s a shame.”
“What about you? Anything new?”
“I’m engaged.” She held her hand forward, showing off the stunning single diamond on her finger.
“Congratulations. I’m so happy for you, Jane.”
“Yeah, life’s pretty good. Thanks to you.” She touched my hand, and I instantly wanted to pull my hand back. I had the unfounded feeling like I was cheating on Roxie.
Jane cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Henry, you look like you have ants eating your insides.”
The waiter’s timing was perfect to save me from answering straight away. As our coffees and Jane’s cake were positioned in front of us, I tried to mentally slap myself into gear.
The second the waiter left; Jane tapped my arm. “So, come on, spit it out. What’s going on?” The Jane I’d met over two years ago wasn’t even slightly as forthright as the Jane sitting before me.
“Am I that transparent?”
“You must be, and I know you always tell the truth, so come on, tell me.”
I chuckled. “Well, if you must know, I’ve met someone.”
A huge grin touched her lips. “You have! Wonderful. Tell me about her.” She grabbed her fork and cut a wedge from her cheesecake. I’d actually forgotten how much Jane loved her food.
“Her name’s Roxanne, Roxie. She lives on the Gold Coast, and she’s a costume designer.”
“A costume designer, wow, maybe I should meet her.” She giggled again.
When I’d met Jane, she’d been in a disguise and pretended to be a woman named Memphis. I wondered if she was still wearing her costumes but chose not to ask. “Roxie is a lot of fun, that’s for sure.”
“How did you meet her then if she lives up here?”
I cringed. “It’s a long story.”
“Oh, come on, we have time; you haven’t even touched your coffee.”
I picked up my mug, and as I sipped, I realized how awkward this was going to be. Sighing, I placed the cup down. “Do you remember that tree I took you to that time?”
“The one where you lost your virginity.”
“Oh God.” I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that one.”
“Of course I do. I’ll never forget it.”
“Well, I met her there.”
She scrunched her nose, and I knew she wasn’t going to stop the questions there. So in the end, I told Jane everything from why I was at the tree in the first place to my nerves about what to wear to the party tonight. By the time I’d finished, I’d also finished my coffee.
“Oooo, you really are smitten.”
I grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Now it’s my turn to be happy for you.”
“It’s early days, but yeah, thanks.”
“Okay, well, I’ve got to dash, good luck with your shopping. Purple suits you.” She plucked twenty dollars from her purse and placed it on the table. “It’s my shout; I owe you.” Jane pushed out her chair, leaned over, and kissed my cheek. “Don’t let her get away.”
“I won’t.” As I watched her walk away, I had a flush of pride, knowing that I had made a strong contribution toward helping Jane find her confidence. With that lovely thought, I stood and went in search of a purple dress shirt.
Jane was right, purple was the right choice. Although the saleswoman called it grape. I paired that up with a gun-metal gray waistcoat and a pair of black slacks. When I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, I felt like I’d achieved my goal of looking a bit trendy without trying too hard.
I thanked the young woman for her help and paid for my items. By the time a taxi delivered me back to my hotel, I had just enough time to shower and get ready to pick up Roxie.
As the taxi made its way toward Roxie’s rendezvous point, I felt the now familiar nerves dancing about my stomach. It was a strange sensation to be so excited to see a woman; I just hoped she was having the same thoughts.
My breath caught when I saw her. She was in a dress colored like red wine. It showed off her slender waist and fell down to her calves. For the first time since we’d met, she was wearing high heels.
The car pulled to a stop, and I jumped out to greet her. “You look amazing.” I leaned in to kiss her and noticed she was a bit taller than me now.
“Wow, look at you. I feel totally underdressed.” Her fists scrunched the sides of her long dress.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you look gorgeous.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure. Roxie, you look beautiful.” A cute flush colored her cheeks, and I leaned in to kiss her. She smelled divine too. I guided her toward the taxi, opened the door, and helped her in.
I then raced around the other side and jumped into the back seat beside her.
The car moved off as I plugged in my seatbelt. When I noticed the slit in Roxie’s skirt, I rested my hand upon her knee. “How was your morning?”
“Not too bad. Priscilla keeps hounding me to have you over for a barbeque.”
I frowned at her. “You don’t want me to?”
She huffed. “Priscilla hasn’t liked any man I’ve introduced to her. Not even my ex-fiancé.”
“She hasn’t met me yet.”
“She’ll eat you alive.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure she’s not that bad.”
She placed her hand over mine, and I savored the lovely warmth of her palm. “Have you arranged your flight back to Sydney yet?”
I shook my head. “I keep forgetting.”
Her eyebrows did a little wriggle. “Don’t you have work to get back to?”
“My practice is closed until the 10th of January, so I still have a bit of time.”
She tugged her bottom lip into her mouth. “Well, in that case, let’s put my silly sister out of her misery. Would you like to come for a barbeque lunch the day after tomorrow?”
“Sounds perfect.” But I frowned. “Are you busy tomorrow?”
She tilted her head back, huffed out a sigh, and turned her eyes to me. “Priscilla and I are going to talk to Mom.”
“Oh, that talk.”
“Yeah, that talk.” She shook her head. “It’s not going to go well.”
“You don’t know that.”
Roxie spun the ring on her middle finger, and I’d noticed many times that she did this when she was thinking. “I know my mother. She’ll deny any knowledge of it at first. Then she’ll blame us for our stupidity. Then she’ll say our father made her do it and then, if we get past all those, she’ll break down and cry and fake a panic attack. But she won’t admit fault. Not in a million years.”
“Wow, sounds like you’ll need a few drinks after that.”
“A few bottles, you mean.”
“Would you like me to take you out tomorrow night then?”
She rested her hand on my thigh. “I’d love that, but no, I think Priscilla and I will need to get through this together.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
She squeezed my leg. “Thank you.”
We drove in silence for a while. “So, tell me. . . where are we going again?”
“Oh, so this is Nicholas’ place. You met him at the yacht.”
“Oh yes, he seemed nice.”
“He’s great. Every year he puts on a New Year’s Eve party. I’ve been to quite a few of his bashes over the years, and it’s always a huge night.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It should be.”
The taxi pulled up to a boom gate, and a guard came out to greet us with a clipboard in his hand.
I wound down my window.
“Hello. Your name please?”
“Hi, Harold.”
The guard glanced in and smiled. “Hello, Sir, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Enjoy your night.” The guard backed away, and a second later, the boom gate lifted, and the taxi driver continued into the gated community.
We arrived at Nicholas’ place, and it looked like every single light in the house had been turned on. In addition to that, colorful Christmas lights had been hung along his whitewashed brick fence that framed the entire end of the cul-de-sac. Two waiters greeted us at the main gate with a choice of red or green cocktails.
We both selected the red drink, and holding her hand, I led her into the front yard. It was a lush tropical garden with a pond lit by a couple of underwater lights, and a curtain of water spilled from a classy water feature that was bigger than my car.
“This is amazing.” Roxie glanced open-mouthed around the front courtyard.
“Wait till you see inside.”
Heading toward the music, we stepped through giant double timber doors and onto the highly polished white marble floor. Roxie gasped, and I was pretty certain I’d done the same thing the first time I’d visited Nick’s place.
“Wow.”
“I know. Come on, let’s see if we can find the man himself.”
Roxie slowed right down as she pointed at one amazing design feature after another. I managed to lead her right through the house and onto the back entertainment area before we’d met a single person. The music was coming from a band that was set up in the corner of the yard next to the enormous pool. Beyond that, lights from several boats shimmered on the broad expanse of canal water.
“There he is.” I turned to Nick’s voice and smiled as Nick stepped away from a group of women.
“Hey, Nick. How are you?” I offered my hand, which Nicholas shook, and we both clapped each other on the back.
“So glad you could make it. And I see you brought a friend.”
“You remember Roxie from the other day.”
“Of course I do.” Nick reached for Roxie’s hand and kissed the back of her hand. “Lovely to see you again.”
“Thank you for having me. I’m already having a wonderful time.”
Nick clutched his chest in mock surprise. “We’re only just getting started. Make yourself at home; anything that’s mine is yours.” Nick flitted off to greet another couple.
“Wow.” Roxie squeezed my palm. “I’ve never been in a house like this.”
I led her toward a large circular fire pit that had about twenty or so chairs positioned around it. I recognized a couple of people once my eyes adjusted to the glare from the flames.
“Oh hello, Peter, Nicole, it’s lovely to see you again. I’d like you to meet Roxie.”
Roxie stepped forward and offered her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
I stepped toward Peter, and Roxie moved toward Nicole; the two of them struck up a conversation like they’d met before. I was impressed with how comfortable Roxie seemed.
Trays of food were handed around by waiters dressed in Christmas elf outfits. One of the poor young guys looked terribly embarrassed by his green tights, especially when some of the ladies made a point of feeling the shiny green material covering his thighs and ass.
As the night rolled on, the music got louder, and the crowd did too. I estimated about one hundred or so guests, some of whom had slipped into the pool and were sitting at the swim-up bar.
I’d been keeping an eye on Roxie and was so impressed with her ability to mingle. She seemed to be able to strike up a conversation with anyone and compared to some of the dates I’d been on over the years, it was a pleasant change.
She came up to me with a grin so big, I wondered if she was getting to the limit of her alcohol. “Hey, where’s the bathroom?”
“Oh, it’s down the hall on the left. Do you want me to show you?”
“No, no.” She flicked her hand and then passed me her empty champagne glass. As she waddled away, I decided I’d get her a glass of water for when she returned. I approached the bar and ordered a glass of water.
“Hello, Henry.”
I knew exactly who was behind me. My balls shriveled as I turned.