Chapter 12
TWELVE
I can barely concentrate for the rest of the afternoon, and it gets even crazier when I finish for the day and see I have another message from Frankie.
After I wrote this morning, a friend in Shell Beach asked if I could come up and help him move some stuff, so I’m around for the evening if you want to meet?
I’m a bit worn out from the events of the day, but hearing that Frankie is in town instantly wakes me up.
Me: Sure. I’m just leaving work. What did you have in mind?
Frankie: Come and meet me at Jade Forest. I’ll buy you dinner.
Jade Forest is a fancy Asian fusion restaurant at the other end of Main Street.
I’m not exactly dressed for it, but I’m not looking too shabby.
My work requires a certain standard of presentation when dealing with the wealthy customers who buy the gallery’s artworks, but should I go home to shower and change anyway?
Me: What time?
Frankie: I’m already here at the bar. I’m fine to wait.
That answers my question about going home first. I stop by the bathroom next to the gallery and check my reflection in the mirror.
I look a little tired, but my hair and makeup are still relatively intact.
I quickly touch up my lipstick and spritz on some of my Opium perfume.
I’ve been wearing it most of my life—my maternal grandmother wore it when I was young—and when she died, I asked to keep the bottle she had on her dresser.
I’ve since bought it many times because it’s comforting to have a remaining link to her.
My middle-aged customers seem to like it too, and some of them say their mothers wore it as well.
I make my way up Main Street. I rarely eat dinner down here since I spend so much of my daytime in this part of town, but it’s a lovely place to be after sunset. There are several large trees decorated with fairy lights, and they give the street a magical vibe.
As I walk past the path leading to the beach, a cool breeze blows in from the water, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms. Why does this feel so much like when I was a teenager?
I enter the restaurant and look around. I haven’t even seen a photo of Frankie since we split, so it takes me a moment to inspect each customer and imagine what they might have looked like in their early twenties.
But then a face turns to the doorway, and it’s obviously him.
He has that same pale skin that wouldn’t look out of place on a vampire, and those blue-grey eyes I remember staring into my soul.
His hair is neater than in the nineties, cut short at the sides but slightly longer on top, and when he sees me, he smiles widely.
I smile back—my heart pounding—and make my way over to his table.
He stands and immediately embraces me, kissing me on the cheek. I’m not ready for it, and I almost can’t breathe.
“God, it’s good to see you,” he says.
“Ah, you too,” I reply, suddenly feeling robotic.
He keeps smiling and indicates for me to sit opposite.
I oblige and take a moment to get my emotions under control. I actually don’t know how I feel, so it’s difficult to figure what I should be aiming for.
“You smell exactly the same,” he marvels. “I suddenly experienced a flashback of the first time we met at the Coral Club. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone else who wears that perfume.”
I chuckle, embarrassed. “It’s kind of an old fragrance, so I’m not sure how many people under the age of fifty buy it anymore.”
“I remember you telling me it reminded you of your grandmother,” he says.
“You remembered that?” I ask, surprised.
“I remember everything,” he says, his eyes serious.
“What have you been up to for the past couple of decades?” I say, trying to keep the tone light.
“Well, I was in Sydney for two years, and then I moved back to Queensland. I’ve been living in Brisbane since 2002.”
I stare at him. He only lived in Sydney for two years?
“Was taking your dream job worth ruining our marriage over?” I blurt out.
He looks down at the table. “No. Definitely not. And if I could have my time over, I would have stayed with you.”
I didn’t expect him to be so honest, and it catches me off guard.
A waitress appears. “Would you like some sparkling or still water to start?”
“Still,” I say at the same time Frankie says, “sparkling.”
The waitress nods and collects two jugs, returning and filling each of our glasses.
I’m kind of glad she’s given me a moment to take a beat. I wonder if having to deal with Jarvis earlier in the day has made tonight more surreal.
I think one of the things I’d always wondered with Frankie was whether our life would eventually feel mundane. But if anything, the news of inheriting half a castle and then having Frankie appear in front of me feels just as movie-like as the past.
When the waitress leaves, Frankie looks at me again.
“I’m sorry for putting you through all that suffering when you were so young.
I always felt too embarrassed to contact you once I moved back.
But I checked out your online presence today, and I saw you were doing well. Your current job looks amazing.”
“I am pretty fortunate to have that position,” I say. My boss is lovely, and I’m working in the industry I trained in.”
“Lucky you.” He shakes his head ruefully.
“I only got to live my dream for a year, and then I got transferred to the sports column. I hated sports, but it was the only way I could remain employed with the same publication. I lasted another year, and then I realised I’d rather be back in Queensland. ”
“Are you still working in the media?”
“No. I’m a landscaper now. I considered going into real estate since I’d been a property manager before, but I needed a complete change.”
“Oh.” He must slather himself in zinc sunscreen every day to maintain that pale appearance. “Do you enjoy it?”
“I do. It’s so much more satisfying than producing words.
I thought being a film reviewer would be the ultimate, but it kind of sucked.
It took all the fun out of movies, and I had to watch a bunch I didn’t want to.
I think I got transferred to sports because I complained too much about having to review stuff like Miss Congeniality and Coyote Ugly. ”
“Hey! Both of those movies were awesome,” I say, faux-outraged.
He chuckles. “But when you don’t get to review Memento and High Fidelity, it can feel a bit rough.”
The waitress returns to take our order, and Frankie looks at me curiously. “Do you still like crab?”
I nod.
“We’ll have the ginger and scallion crab,” Frankie says to the waitress. “And the cold noodles with Sichuan dressing.” He addresses me again. “With a Pinot Gris?”
I nod again. This feels too strange. I didn’t drink Pinot Gris when I was with Frankie, but it’s my favourite style of white wine now. Did Frankie just guess? Or did he see it mentioned when he was stalking me online? Would I have said that anywhere?
The waitress leaves again, and Frankie wipes his hand across his mouth. “God, I can’t believe I’m here with you. This is wild.”
“Did you finish helping your friend move their stuff?” I ask.
He blinks. “What?”
“You said you had to help a friend move some stuff, which is why you’re in town.”
“Oh, right. Yeah. That all went smoothly.”
“Do you come up to Shell Beach often?”
“Every now and again, although not as much as I’d like. My work keeps me pretty busy.”
I glance at his ring finger and see that it’s empty. “Do you have a partner?”
“No. I’ve dated over the years, but I’ve never remarried.”
“You don’t want to?”
He shakes his head. “Not exactly. I… I didn’t think I deserved to after what happened with us.”
I stare at him. “Seriously?”
He fixes me with those blue-grey eyes. “Splitting up with you was the single biggest regret of my life. And I’ve never met anyone who comes close to you since.”