Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Banora Point
The next afternoon, Mima was soaking in the swimming pool at her retirement resort in Banora Point with her friend Betty.
She had a lot on her mind, but her body was utterly exhausted.
She planned to do absolutely nothing all afternoon but lie in the cool blue water or in a comfortable reclining chair beside the pool and perhaps read the latest James Patterson novel, which was currently casting a small rectangular shadow on her striped towel.
Betty occupied the next chair over, her mouth slightly ajar and a soft snoring emitting from it.
Betty always fell to sleep in that banana lounge.
But Mima wasn’t one to sleep in public. She had no idea how Betty managed it so gracefully.
The other swimmers couldn’t tell Betty had dozed off, since she wore a big pair of sunglasses to hide her eyes from scrutiny.
Everything Mima had been through the previous day kept playing over and over in her mind like a movie reel.
She’d wondered if the show might have been an attempt by Luca Falco to reconnect with her due to a sense of regret over what he’d done when he walked away from her all those years ago.
But she hadn’t let herself consider that her baby might still be alive.
The hope would’ve killed her if it’d been dashed away again.
She should’ve considered it was a possibility at the time.
They’d taken Fran’s baby—why not take hers as well?
They’d told Fran to her face what they’d done.
They were clearly capable of it. But to lie about Mima’s baby dying .
. . that was beyond anything she’d believed the staff were capable of.
She’d known them well enough to realise they could be cold-hearted, cruel even at times.
Still, that level of cruelty was inhuman.
There were laws that protected her rights.
It wasn’t legal to tell her that her baby had died, to hand her paperwork that signed away her rights, when she was out of her mind with grief.
Someone should be held to account. But would they?
Not very likely. Mima was old enough to understand how these things went.
The perpetrators of crimes rarely saw justice for what they’d done after the passage of enough time.
Most of them had probably already passed away.
And history had never been kind to women.
Especially women who didn’t conform to society’s expectations.
Women who rebelled against the norms. Women like Mima.
And now she had a son. All this time, she’d longed for a family, wished she’d been able to marry the love of her life and have children together.
She’d cried so many tears into her pillow and on Edie’s shoulder when Allen was out there all along, missing her, searching for her, hoping he’d someday get a chance to meet her. Life was too cruel.
“Mima!” Jack’s voice snapped her out of her reverie.
She looked across the top of the sparkling blue water and gave him a wave as he shut the pool gate behind him. He walked to the edge and peered down at her with one hand cupped over his eyes to cut the glare. “Nice day for a swim.”
She grinned at him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. What a pleasant surprise.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Okay, I’ve waited long enough. Come out here and talk to me. You’ve had no smart-aleck quips about my hat, or my smelly socks for ages. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think it’s time to let it out.”
Jack went to sit beside Betty while he waited.
Mima inhaled a long, slow breath. He was right.
She had to talk to someone about what’d happened or she’d go mad.
She hadn’t wanted to burden the girls with the details—all three of them had enough on their own plates and didn’t need to worry about her.
But Jack would listen and understand. He was a good friend and had been for as long as she could remember.
The realisation surprised her a little. They’d always had a combative, teasing type of relationship.
He and Edie were in love, while he and Mima sparred.
But now, he was her rock, her confidante, the only one left from her old life, the only one who’d been with her through some of the most difficult seasons and who understood her pain against the backdrop of his own.
She gathered her things together, said goodbye to Betty, and led Jack back to her unit.
It was a cosy little space with a small garden outside, a verandah, one bedroom, a kitchenette and living room, along with a neat garage for her car.
It had everything she needed, including an entire wall adorned with newly framed photographs of the various seasons of her life and the people she’d loved along the way.
“I like what you’ve done with the place since I was here last,” Jack said as he studied the photographs. “Very homey.”
Mima set the kettle to boil and retrieved two mugs from the cupboard, along with some tea bags and sugar. “Thanks. I like it here. It’s not the Waratah, but it’ll do.”
She poured the tea and then carried it to the small table out on the front verandah.
The shaded space was one of her favourite places to sit, read and contemplate life.
She could see the other residents coming and going, could hear the splash of the swimming pool, and could feed the many brightly coloured rosellas and rainbow lorikeets that came calling with their darting black eyes looking for the birdseed she kept handy.
When they were both seated and sipping their tea, Mima cleared her throat. “I know you’ve been wondering what’s going on with me. I wasn’t ready to talk about it before. Heck, I didn’t know what to say. But now I’m ready. If you are.”
“I’m champing at the bit. Let’s hear it.”
Mima cleared her throat and set down the tea cup on the small, glass table beside her. “I have to go back to 1953 before I can tell you what’s been happening lately.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t say a word.
He simply listened as she spoke. She told him everything, leaving out no detail.
There was no shame for her any longer, no need to keep the truth in the darkness where she’d hidden it for decades.
The shroud of secrets, lies and disgrace had been lifted the moment she laid eyes on the tall, strong man who was her son.
Who looked at her with a love that she’d never known but had always grieved missing out on.
Seeing his face had opened up something in her heart that she would never allow to close again.
When she was done, Jack sat quietly for a few moments, taking in her words. Then, he stood and moved over to where she sat. He squatted in front of her and embraced her.
“You have a son?”
She nodded. “He’s incredible. Looks a lot like me.”
He blinked. “Well, strike me pink. I didn’t see that one coming.”
She grinned through a blur of tears. “Me neither. I’m not sure if I’m coming or going, to be honest.”
“I can understand that.” He stood again with a grunt, stretching out his legs. “I can’t squat for long these days.”
“If I struck that pose, I’d never get up again,” Mima replied.
“You’re a good friend, Jack. I’m glad you came over here and pressed me to tell you what was going on.
I might’ve kept it to myself otherwise. I’ve been struggling to get the words out, to tell anyone what I was going through.
I don’t really even understand it myself.
How did this happen? Why didn’t I look for him?
Why did I believe them when they told me he died?
I’ve missed out on so much of his life…”
Jack released a breath. “You can’t go there, love.
You’ll drive yourself mad. It’s like what happened to me.
I’ve asked myself a hundred times, why did I stay in Italy when the war ended?
I had the dog tags, I could’ve come back to Australia, they would’ve found my family.
But instead, I lost years with the love of my life and the chance to know my son. ”
Mima nodded. “But then you wouldn’t have your other children.”
“Exactly that,” he replied. “I wouldn’t be the man I am without those experiences.
I wouldn’t have the children, grandchildren and years of memories with a wife I loved.
Did I miss time with Edie and Keith? Yes.
And I’ll always regret that. But at the same time, we can’t go back.
We can’t change the past, as much as we might wish we could.
The only thing we can do is choose to live differently moving forward.
You can’t fix what was done, but you can be his mother now.
He looked for you and wants to know you.
That’s a good thing. And this is your chance to be there for him finally, after all this time. ”
Mima inhaled a slow breath. “You’re right. I wish… but I can’t change anything with a wish.”
“If only we could.”
“If only.” They smiled weakly at one another.
Mima stood to her feet. “I’ll boil the kettle again. Our tea’s gone cold.”
“A cold cuppa just isn’t the same.” Jack patted her on the back as she walked by him, his voice full of emotion.
“You can say that again.” She switched on the kettle and leaned against the bench to wait for it to boil. He followed her inside. “I always wanted children, you know.”
He nodded, then came closer and reached out a hand to squeeze hers. His fingers were knobbly, weathered and coarse. “I know.”
“I didn’t get to do that. I’ll never…” she sobbed. “. . . never get to do that.”
His eyes crinkled at the edges as his face crumpled for a moment. Then he composed himself. Always Jack. Always strong. Always kind, but never out of control. “I know, love. I know.”
“They stole that from me.”
“Bloody awful.”
She nodded, her vision blurred. “Stole it from him, too. He said he’s always had a hole in his heart, always longed for me. It broke me, hearing that.”
More sobs keened from her body. Jack wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, her tears wetting his shirt as she shook and heaved. He shook gently too as he grieved in silence along with her.
When he stepped back, he wiped his eyes with his fingertips.
“You know, the girls wouldn’t be who they are without you.
Edie told me how much you meant to her and Paul, and to the kids.
You helped to raise them. I know they weren’t your own daughters, but they love you like a mother.
You and Edie were their surrogate mothers when they lost their own. And that means something.”
She found a tissue in her pocket and blew her nose.
“I’m grateful for them. Of course, it’s true—they’re like my own children.
I love them as much, and I was there for a lot of their big moments.
The inn has been my baby too. I’ve nurtured and grown it into something I’m so proud of today.
The girls have taken it over now, but my heart and soul were woven into its life years ago. ”
“You should be proud. You’ve given so much of yourself… we’re all grateful for you.” He cleared his throat.
“Thanks for that. I know you don’t like to use so many words, or talk about feelings and such very often.”
He cocked his head. “Seems like this was the right time for it.”
“Indeed it was, dear friend.”
He grinned. “Besides, I need you to get back to ribbing me over my health food and snarking about my TV-watching habits.”
“I still can’t believe you like Blue Heelers. You always say the cops aren’t there to rescue you—they’re just the clean-up crew. And yet here you are, lapping up a cop show on the telly every week.”
His brow furrowed. “The Heelers are different. They actually care.”
“They’re fictional, Jack.” Mima clucked her tongue. “Deary me.”
He grunted. “There you go, spoiling all my fun.”
He winked at her, and she leaned in for a quick hug.
“Don’t you go changing on me,” he said as he squeezed her.
She stepped back to wipe her eyes. “Never, darl. When I’ve got all this…” She waved up and down her ample frame with both hands. “Why would I want to be anyone else?”
Bemused, he shook his head. “You’ve got that right, love.”