Chapter 44
brANDON
For the past two weeks, I’ve watched Charlotte sit with my mom, take her for rides, and even sit outside and watch the ocean. While they talk for hours, I never ask about their chats. But I know I couldn’t survive here without her.
Some days, she comes with me to the winery, and for others, she chooses to stay with Mom. Dad has used all his leave to come to the US to watch me play and then to support Mom before and after her surgery.
Tonight, Charlotte cooked dinner for the second time, and no one contracted food poisoning. We finish up and head out onto the balcony to watch the sunset. Charlotte stays inside to finish the dishes so Mom, Dad, and I can have some time alone.
“Your girl is full of surprises.”
I look at Dad and smile. “Yeah. Don’t think she’s done a dish in her life until she came here.”
Mom laughs. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Mom has no idea about her life other than that she has money.
“It feels wrong, though, us out here while she does the work.”
“She wants to give us some alone time as a family. Besides, she said she wants to earn her keep.” I laugh as the words come out. “But yeah, she’s full of surprises.”
“You can say that again.” Mom smiles. “She told me to write Fuck Cancer ten times on a piece of paper, then burn it.”
Dad chokes on his beer. “She said what?”
“Yeah.” I can’t hide a smile. “She does it often, and the universe will set you in the right direction.”
“Sounds like a lot of hogwash to me,” Dad grunts.
I have to agree with him.
“It’s not nonsense. She did it for you.” Mum looks at me. “Used to write your name over and over and then burn it.”
I scratch my head. “She wanted to end me?”
“By the sounds of it, love, yes. And after talking to her, you needed a shake-up. But the universe set you two right. And I’ll try anything right now to be healthy again.
” Mom looks directly at me. “I want to live. But I don’t want you two to stop living while I fight this damn thing.
You need to see your friends. Show Charlotte more than this house and your winery. Take the girl on a date.”
I smile at her. “You’re starting to sound better. Bossy again.”
“Ha. I never stopped. I just said more things inside my head, so you two never heard me. But I mean it. And maybe in a couple of weeks, the four of us can go out for dinner somewhere nice. I’ve even ordered a new wig,” she says and smiles. “I want to live.”
“And we want you to, Mum. I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”
She smiles at me. “Call Aubree. She wants to see you. She knows you’re back and is waiting for your call.
” Aubree and I go way back—played basketball for the same club as teenagers.
She married an AFL player, Hunter, and they live on the Glenelg esplanade, within walking distance of my home.
While we drifted during the last five years, she checked in on Mom regularly, promised not to tell me about Mom until she was ready.
“You’re right. I’ll call her now.” I walk inside to find her number.
“BJ.” I don’t miss the relief in her tone.
“Hey. Sorry it’s taken me this long to call.”
“Please don’t apologize. I’m sorry your family is going through this.”
“Yeah. Thank you for coming to visit Mum. She told me what you did for her.”
“It’s fine. I’ve known your mum since my teens, and I was happy to help in any way I could.”
“Yeah, well, I feel like the selfish son who ignored his mother’s well-being while I was on the other side of the world.”
“You’re not selfish. You had a dream, and you were living it.
Your mum understood, and there was nothing you could do if you came home before her surgery.
She knew that. I understood it as well because my dream of playing ball in the US was stolen from me.
I wouldn’t have it any other way because I love my husband and kids, but you had a vision, and your mum was not about to steal it from you. ”
“It still doesn’t feel right.”
“She’s on the mend. We’re all here for her. And you’re here now. That’s important.”
I nod even though she can’t see me. “She’s doing better.”
“That’s great. And I’m guessing she told you to go out and have some fun.”
“Yeah. I want to see you, but…” I choke up.
“Hey. We’re not going out anywhere for people to get excited to see you and ask questions about you being home. Seriously, the whole city was behind you in the championships, and you’ll be mobbed at any bar for photographs.”
I moan at the thought because I’ve avoided anywhere public as much as possible.
“Come to mine. It’s close enough for you to go home if… you need. We’ll keep it small. Just Maddy and our families.”
I smile. “That’s not intimate with all your kids.”
“No. It also helps me out so I can put Iris to sleep here.”
“Baby number four. You’re a machine.”
“Is that a compliment?” She laughs. “We’re all looking forward to seeing you and Charlotte.”
We stroll along the beachfront path to Aubree’s house as I hold Charlotte’s hand.
“Please remind me of the kids’ names again,” she asks.
I start to name the kids, but it’s a test even for me, with years between visits.
Aubree has four children, and Maddy and Luke have two.
“My challenge in life is remembering kids’ names.”
I smile, loving that she’s trying. “No one expects you to. It’s overwhelming, even for me.
It’s been a long time since we all hung out, and none of us are the same people we used to be when we were friends in our late teens and early twenties.
Though Aubree’s eldest son is Brandon, you can’t forget his name. ”
She giggles. “Impossible, and I remember from the last time I was here. Have Maddy and Aubree remained close?”
“They have even though Maddy moved to the outback to manage a station.”
She frowns at me. “Oh, the ranch. It’s coming back to me now.”
I laugh. “Yeah. She divides her time between there and Adelaide. Hunter is still coaching football, and Aubree coaches junior basketball.”
“Fascinating.”
I look out to the ocean, where the sun is low in the sky, making it appear a lighter blue and the sun larger than it really is. A line of reddish glitter dances over the water all the way to the shore, breaking only with the waves.
Stopping to admire nature, I pull Charlotte against my front so we can enjoy the view. “It will be warm enough to swim soon,” I whisper in her ear as though that time in the future will also offer us some peace.
It took Charlotte a few minutes to settle into easy conversation with my friends. The children loved her accent and asked her to repeat several words, and they laughed dramatically, the joke at her expense.
“Enough, now go and watch a movie, or it’s to bed,” Aubree warned.
“One more,” her middle son says. “Say herb again.”
“Erb,” Charlotte repeats and shrugs her shoulders.
The older kids run into the house laughing.
“You need to teach your kids how to speak,” she says dramatically.
We laugh at Charlotte.
“Righteo.”
She shakes her head. “Sometimes, it’s like being on another planet.”
“I adapted,” I remind her. “Now, it’s your turn.”
She stares at me for a minute. “I never considered how hard it was for you, even with the little things.”
“Even with food.” Maddy holds up the herb we were just talking about. “Coriander, not cilantro.”
She nods. “It will take me a while.”
Aubree looks at me as though she is nervous about asking something. “Are you here to stay?”
“I’m here as long as BJ needs me to be.”
She smiles. “Great. I’ll get you to come to the courts where I coach when the time is right.”
“And,” Maddy says excitedly. “I’ll get you out on the station. You can visit the real Australia.”
“Here we go,” Aubree whines. “You’ll hear all about the hardship of living in the outback.”
“Nothin’ wrong with a little education.” Maddy turns to Charlotte, wide-eyed. We have weeks at forty-seven degrees, and you all complain when it’s the high thirties, and you live by the bloody ocean.”
Charlotte nods at my friends, but it’s clear she is confused by the numbers in Celsius.
“Forty-seven is one hundred and sixteen,” I whisper.
“Wow, that’s intense,” she blurts.
Maddy points her stick of cucumber at Charlotte. “I don’t recommend coming in late January or February. You’ll sweat like a crotch on a long-haul flight.”
Charlotte splutters a mouthful of wine. “Oh, excuse me.” She wipes her mouth and smirks. “That’s… different.”
“Maddy.” Her husband, Luke, comes to stand behind her. “Let’s not frighten the tourists.”
“Oh, I’m no longer a tourist,” Charlotte boasts.
“I guess not.” Maddy smiles at her. “So, tell me more about this winery.” Maddy refills her and Charlotte’s glasses.
“We’re a few months away from opening,” Charlotte says eagerly. “But you’ll be the first invited to the VIP opening night.”
I look at Charlotte in awe, as none of this would be possible without her. Some days, I want to pinch myself on being able to work alongside the woman I love, and I never dreamed it would be here in Australia.
Other days, when I’m at the hospital with Mum, I’m stuck in a nightmare and want it all to end.