Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
H er mum and dad arrived together in Yeppoon the day before her birthday. As she knocked on the door of the motel room where they were staying, her stomach lurched and her hand shook.
Her dad opened the door, and for a while he stood still and stared at her. He looked a little different, but his moustache and dark eyes were the same. When he swept her into his arms and held her like he was never going to let her go, she felt like she was a little girl again.
‘My Evie. My baby, Evie.’ Tears pricked her eyes and she tried hard to stay composed, knowing that if she started crying, she might never stop. Her mum came to stand next to him, and Evie was shocked at how thin and old she had become. It had been less than four years since she had last seen her, but in that time her mum had aged ten years.
‘Come and sit,’ her dad said, gesturing to some chairs placed around a round table. Bustling back and forth, her mum soon had the typical afternoon tea set in front of them. The Arnott’s biscuits and cups of tea reminded Evie of when they had all lived together.
‘So, tell us all about your shop and how you’re going,’ Dad asked, his hand resting on Evie’s arm.
Evie had gone to a lot of trouble to look good, even buying some new clothes and shoes from the op shop. A bit of makeup she found in the bottom of her dressing table drawer, along with a few pieces of cheap jewellery from when she was younger, did wonders to make her look respectable.
A few times she caught her dad looking closely at her and she sat upright, making sure to sound bubbly and happy. ‘Bob’s working today, so he couldn’t come to meet you. He’s on a charter boat for the rest of the weekend, so you may not get to see him.’
‘On your birthday?’ Mother raised her eyebrows.
‘He gets paid well on weekends, and we have to take the work whenever we can get it. We’re doing really well with the shop and I love working there.’
Father’s eyes became downcast. ‘You were supposed to finish school and go to university. You’re too smart …’
Mother placed her hand on his arm. ‘Now, now. We agreed we wouldn’t talk about that. Evie has made her own choices. The most important thing is that we’re all together after too many years of separation.’
Bile rose in Evie’s throat. She had indeed made her own choices. Bad ones.
Thank goodness she managed to avoid them meeting Bob. It was the truth that he was on a charter, and luckily for Evie, the trip with Ziggy and some of his other mates, coincided with this weekend. Without Bob, Evie relaxed a little. On Sunday afternoon she took her parents to the shop and showed them around. ‘We don’t open on Sundays. It’s my day off.’
‘I would have liked to have met Bob,’ Dad said.
‘Maybe another time,’ she replied. ‘We might come and visit both of you.’
Her parents took her out for dinner and spoiled her for her birthday. Her father gave her a gold bracelet. ‘This is from your mother and me. Don’t ever forget that we love you.’
Her mum was quiet during dinner and ate very little. She did seem to enjoy being in Evie and Carlo’s company though, and she laughed as they reminisced about times from her childhood.
When Monday came around, she went to the motel just as they were about to get into the taxi to leave for the airport. She had risen late and almost not come to say goodbye. At the last moment she risked it. Hopefully Bob wouldn’t be home until lunchtime, and wouldn’t realise the shop had opened late.
‘We love you, Evie,’ Mum said, wiping tears from her face and hanging onto her like she was never going to let go.
‘Please look after yourself, Mum. Cairns isn’t that far from here. I’ll try and get up to see you as soon as I can.’
‘That would be nice. Take care.’
Placing both his hands on her shoulders, her dad looked into her eyes for a long while. ‘Promise me you will ring me if you ever need anything? We are your mother and father, and no matter what happens, that will never change. We’ve wasted the past years not talking and being angry with each other. No more.’
She wanted to get in the taxi with them and run away. For a split second the idea became a possibility, but then she thought about Bob and how he would come looking for her. ‘You can run as far as you want, but I’ll always find you. Remember, you’re mine.’
His words rebounded in her head as she stepped back and held her hand in the air, waving until the taxi rounded the corner and headed towards the highway.