Chapter 17
CHAPTER
As Robbo ribbed Thommo about his bottomless pit of a stomach and Kyle shot longing glances at a clueless Bindi, Elora wondered what the hell had prompted her to unburden her soul to Cruz.
Oversharing wasn’t sexy, yet that’s exactly what she’d done. Then again, he’d revealed far more of his past than she’d expected him to, so it seemed only fair she responded in kind.
Hearing about his parents’ marriage saddened her.
After chatting with Ferne over the phone then meeting her in person, she couldn’t imagine the attractive, vivacious older woman being shackled to a loveless marriage.
Though she’d seen similar with friends of her parents, couples who stuck together for the sake of their children, and she’d hazard a guess that’s exactly what Ferne had done: stayed in a dead-end marriage so Cruz could benefit from growing up on the farm and inheriting it one day.
If Cruz’s dad had been as much of a prick as he sounded, he probably would’ve cracked it if his wife left and took their son with her, and Cruz might’ve got nothing.
And as much as he professed to hate the thought of living on the farm for the next year, she’d seen the glint of excitement in Cruz’s eyes at the thought of opening a restaurant, however temporary.
Pride filled her at the thought of her idea coming to fruition. Before the end of the week, she’d pitch to him in person about how she could make his restaurant fly, and with a little luck, she’d leave Rosevale Grove with her debt to Jason paid and a nest egg in the bank.
Bindi pulled her stool closer to Elora’s. ‘Are you having fun? Because I know raucous trivia nights aren’t for everyone.’
‘I’m having a ball,’ Elora said, smiling at her new friend. ‘Can you tell I’m a total novice and have never been to one?’
‘Really? You must have a great grasp of general knowledge, because you beat that bozo Thommo to answers several times and he regards himself as the king of trivia.’ Bindi shot him a fond glance. ‘Useless facts, most of it.’
Elora laughed. ‘You guys have been friends for a long time and it shows.’
‘Yeah, these blokes are okay.’ Bindi pointed at Cruz under the table. ‘What’s his story? Are you two a couple?’
‘Hell, no!’
Bindi snickered. ‘You gave us the spiel about working for him to promote the farm, but I see the sparks between you.’ She fanned her face. ‘You two are burning up.’
Elora shrugged, feigning nonchalance. ‘He’s attractive, in a grumpy sort of way.’
Bindi laughed so loud that Thommo made circles at his temple with his finger, then pointed at her.
‘You think he’s grumpy now? He’s mellowed. A lot. At high school, he rarely spoke, knocked back party invitations and preferred to be home on a Saturday night rather than smoking joints and sculling rum and cola with the rest of us down by the river.’
While Elora understood the loneliness of high school, she’d gone out of her way to join in as much as she could, so the thought of Cruz eschewing normal teen stuff made her sad.
‘Anyway, to change tack, do you think he’s hiring?’
Startled by Bindi’s swift change of topic, Elora said, ‘I have no idea what his plans are, but he’ll be running the farm for a while, so you should ask him.’
Bindi screwed up her nose. ‘I don’t want to make it seem like I’m asking for favours after we’ve just got reacquainted after twelve years.’
‘But it wouldn’t be a favour if he has to hire pickers and packers during the ripe season?’
‘That’s a few months off and I can’t wait that long,’ Bindi murmured, so softly Elora had trouble hearing it over the din.
She had no right to ask what Bindi meant, but the fear in the woman’s eyes alluded to a problem beyond not being able to pay bills.
It wouldn’t be right to tell Bindi about the possibility of Cruz opening a restaurant on the farm, but she could offer some reassurance now and tackle Cruz later about hiring her.
She’d already mentioned involving his old crew in the pop-up, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to offer Bindi a job.
‘Leave it with me.’ She winked, hoping to ease Bindi’s sudden funk. ‘My promotional skills are exceptional so once I raise the farm’s profile I’m sure Cruz will have to hire extra staff to help him run it.’
The creases wrinkling Bindi’s brow eased. ‘Thanks. It’s a shame you’re heading back to the city soon, because I don’t click with many people, and I think we could’ve been great mates.’
‘We can do a long-distance friendship.’
‘I haven’t been to Melbourne in years.’
‘A girls’ weekend halfway in Charlton might be doable?’
‘You’re on.’
Elora didn’t tell Bindi that she made plans, keen to develop friendships, but often cancelled at the last minute when anxiety got the better of her.
She put herself out there with friendships and relationships, and people were drawn to her outgoing nature, but a fake persona meant she rarely shared anything beyond superficial stuff.
And deepening a friendship meant revealing too much.
That thought alone tightened an invisible vice around her chest.
Interestingly, Elora got the same vibe off Bindi, that she had something to hide and wouldn’t allow anyone to get too close.
Before Elora could say anything else, Bindi took a sip of beer and turned back to Robbo and Thommo, who were squabbling over who’d be writing down the answers for the final round.
Cruz and Kyle were deep in conversation, and she liked that Cruz’s shoulders had relaxed.
When they’d finished dinner and entered this older section of the pub, tension had radiated off him and she’d had no idea why, because the atmosphere wrapped her in a warm hug.
She loved the nostalgic vibe of the old pub.
This part must’ve been a sports bar once upon a time, considering the framed black and white footy photos on the wall, alongside pennants for a regional darts competition.
The pool table, covered in faded green felt, had locals in flannel shirts clustered around it, while the more serious competitors pointed at the scores on an ancient chalkboard and argued good-naturedly.
A table of grey-haired older women knitted, nursing their sherries as their needles clacked at a furious pace without them glancing at their creations once.
Elora wondered what it would’ve been like to stay in one place long enough to have a pub like this to belong to. A bistro to share meals with her parents, a bar that reeked of beer and fried onions to swap stories in, a raffle to win a gigantic meat tray that could’ve fed them for a month.
She loved her folks, but at times like this, surrounded by jocularity and camaraderie, she couldn’t help but resent them a little for their nomadic lifestyle and selfishness in putting their needs above hers.
The trivia host, a wizened octogenarian named Gazza, stepped onto the stage and picked up the cordless mic. ‘Time for you Einsteins to stop chattering and take your seats. We’re about to start the final round. Let’s see if you have more than one brain cell between you.’
A chorus of ‘boo’ rang out around the room and Gazza flipped them the middle finger. Elora laughed as he pointed to QUIZ-MASTER printed on his T-shirt.
‘I’m the boss here and what I say goes, and we’re starting in two minutes.’ He held up two fingers. ‘Same rules apply as the last round, so no googling.’
Good-natured groans filled the air, along with a few shouted insults between rival teams. The banter between the contestants had escalated as the evening wore on, fuelled by alcohol and competitiveness, Thommo and Robbo included.
‘Righto, brainiacs.’ Thommo thumped the table to get their attention. ‘The Galahs have got this in the bag, so I want you all to focus, put your thinking caps on, and don’t say anything stupid.’
‘That means you’ll have to shut your mouth for the entire round,’ Robbo deadpanned, and they laughed.
‘Dickhead,’ Thommo muttered without malice as he punched Robbo on the arm. ‘I want to win the week’s supply of beer that’s on offer.’
‘Which you’ll share with all of us, of course.’ Bindi flashed a sweet smile that made Kyle sway on his stool a little.
Heck, the poor guy had it bad for Bindi. If they’d been friends since high school, had he been pining for her for over a decade, or was his crush a recent occurrence? Elora would ask him about it tomorrow, on the pretext of putting in a good word for him with Bindi.
‘Everyone seated?’ Gazza barely glanced around the room before saying, ‘Good. Let’s get started. The first ten questions are Aussie general knowledge.’
Thommo picked up the pen and aligned the answer sheet in front of him, his tongue poking out as he concentrated. Elora glanced at Cruz, who pulled a funny face complete with crossed eyes, and she stifled a giggle.
Gazza cleared his throat. ‘First question. What colour skivvy does Anthony wear in The Wiggles?’
‘Too easy,’ Thommo whispered, jotting down Blue.
The Galahs nodded in unison, as Gazza said, ‘Second question. In 2000, which event did Cathy Freeman win a gold medal for?’
The crowd groaned as the Galahs’ collective brows furrowed.
When nobody spoke, Elora said quietly, ‘I think it’s the 400 metres.’
‘You think or you know?’ Thommo asked, glaring at her, and Cruz said, ‘Steady on. She’s the only one of us who has ventured an answer, so go with it.’
‘My dad’s an athletics buff, so I’m pretty sure,’ Elora said, remembering having to sit through countless dinners where her dad talked about random sporting facts and her mum pretended not to listen by covering her ears and laughing.
As the buzz of low conversation in the room got louder, Gazza tapped on his mic and feedback screeched through the air to more groans.
‘Sorry about that, folks, the equipment in this place is almost as old as me.’
Everyone laughed, but quietened quickly when Gazza said, ‘Question three. Is the iconic movie The Castle based on a true story?’
‘Doubtful,’ Bindi said, and Thommo wrote No without questioning it. Maybe it was only city girls he second-guessed?