As THE plane to Melbourne took off from Adelaide airport the next afternoon, Eva touched Joseph’s hand. ‘Are you okay?’
He nodded, taking her hand and holding it tightly. ‘I’m fine,’ he said, before turning to look back out the window, deep in thought.
She closed her eyes, her mind drifting back to the night before. She’d been nervous but Lewis had been immediately welcoming. When they first arrived they’d stood on the verandah of his house, watching the hills around them change colour from yellow to purple as the sun faded right away, and listening to the sounds of magpies and kookaburras.
She’d immediately noticed small similarities between father and son. A facial expression here and there. Their laughs. Their hands. Over a simple meal Lewis had asked her about her art and her singing. She’d answered as briefly as possible, feeling a cloud
of guilt around her, changing the subject as quickly as she could. There was such a gentle, early trust between Joe and Lewis, she felt as though her fake life would spoil things. Taint it somehow. She felt uneasy, bringing her lies into the room when they had been sharing truths all afternoon.
Rex had helped lighten the mood. They’d let him out of the basket soon after they arrived and he’d entertained them by darting around the room, chewing at their shoelaces, before finally falling into a round bundle of sleep in front of the fire Lewis had lit.
‘It’s not quite cold enough,’ he said, ‘but I like it.’ After they’d eaten, they moved in front of it. She’d sat quietly, watched and listened to them talk. Then she’d gone to bed early, in the spare room Lewis had made ready for her. ‘I’m happy on the couch,’ Joe had said quickly, before there had been any awkwardness.
She’d lain in bed listening to the murmur of voices from the living room, finally falling asleep with the sound still drifting into her bedroom.
They’d left the Clare Valley early next morning, soon after breakfast. She hadn’t listened to their farewell, feeling intrusive enough as it was. She’d said goodbye to Lewis first and carried Rex, in his basket again, down to the car at the end of the drive. She couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other. But she saw Joe hug his father, and she saw Lewis hug him just as firmly back.
They had been driving for an hour, back down the long straight road to Adelaide, when Joe had started to talk about it. Eva had pointed to some trees further ahead. A parking place. They had stopped the car, got out and walked to an old tree stump. Sitting there side by side, he told her all his father had said. About his brother, the real reason his parents had divorced. She hadn’t interrupted.
He’d kept talking about what it had been like to grow up not knowing his father. How he had felt a part of him wasn’t complete. It wasn’t that he missed it, he’d never had a father so he didn’t know what it was like. But now he felt that he’d had a glimpse of what might have been.
‘And is that better or worse?’ she had asked him softly.
He turned and looked at her. ‘It’s both.’
The look in his eyes had nearly broken her heart. Gently, slowly, she’d put her arms around him. Kissed his face. And then she’d held him closely for a long time.
It wasn’t until they reached Adelaide airport that she’d remembered to phone Lainey again. While Joe took care of their tickets and checked Rex into the baggage section, she’d tried three times, getting only Lainey’s voicemail on her mobile. On the fourth try she’d left a message.
‘Lainey, it’s me. I’m on my way home and everything’s fine, I promise. With me and Rex. We’ll be
back at the flat in a few hours, so I’ll try you again then.’
Thinking about it now, Eva realised she’d been glad to get Lainey’s machine, not the real thing. She wasn’t in the mood for Lainey’s questions, or disapproval. It had been like that enough when they were children. She was thirty-one years old now. Not six. Not fourteen. Not twenty-three. And something about Lainey’s tone on the phone yesterday, and her questioning of her judgement, had been bothering her. As they started descending into Melbourne airport, she shook the thought away, feeling disloyal. This was Lainey she was thinking about. Her oldest friend.
Half an hour later they were in a taxi going into the city, Rex safely on the floor at Eva’s feet. She directed the driver to Spencer Street station, where she hoped Lainey’s car was still waiting. They sat side by side in the back of the taxi, speaking little. She knew he was still far away in his own thoughts but it didn’t feel strained between them. She felt… what was the word? Connected to him.
At the entrance to the railway station carpark, she opened the taxi door, holding Rex’s basket. Joseph spoke quietly.
‘Niamh, can I ring you later tonight?’
‘I’d like that very much.’
He gently touched the side of her face. ‘Thank you.’
‘Thank me? For what?’
He kissed her on the lips. A strong, firm kiss. ‘You know what.’ He got back in the taxi and it drove away.
At that exact moment at Melbourne airport, Lainey was waiting at the baggage carousel, tapping her foot impatiently.
She’d just checked her voicemail messages. Thank God there had been one from Eva saying she was on her way home, that she was all right. Lainey had been up the walls with worry all night, ringing her Richmond apartment and not getting any answer.
Lainey’s boss had been very understanding about her need to fly back to Melbourne. ‘Of course you can go home, Lainey. You’re nearly finished in Brisbane in any case. And it does sound urgent. Has your friend had these psychological problems for years?’
‘On and off,’ Lainey had answered, crossing her fingers behind her back and silently apologising to Eva.
But Eva definitely had some sort of problem, Lainey thought. Taking off on this mad jaunt across the country with Rex and a complete stranger. She always had been a bit innocent. A bit too trusting. It was her lack of confidence - she didn’t have a lot of faith in herself and her own judgement and was
easily taken in. Look how easy it had been for that Dermot fellow. Surely anyone else would have been a bit wary of all that sudden attention? But Eva hadn’t. She just had a bit of a blind spot when it came to men, Lainey decided. And it looked like it was happening again with this backpacker. Joe, or whatever his name was. Lainey’s suitcase came sailing past. She quickly grabbed it. As she walked up to the taxi rank, she knew she’d made the right decision. She’d be home in less than an hour. Then she’d sit down with Eva and have a good old heart-to-heart chat.
Eva and Rex had been back at the Richmond apartment less than half an hour when the phone started to ring. She answered it. ‘Hello, Lainey’s house.’ ‘Niamh?’ ‘Joe? Are you okay?’ ‘I can’t wait until tonight. Can I come and see you again. Now?’ She didn’t even pause. ‘Yes.’ She gave him the address and put down the phone. ‘Hurry,’ she said aloud.
was a long queue at the taxi rank. Lainey wanted to shout in impatience. ‘Let me go first. I need to go and see my friend who has lost her
mind.’ Three taxis came. She moved up the queue, giving her suitcase a nudge with her foot to move it along. The lock sprang open, clothes and other items spilling out.
That bloody case. Lainey wanted to kick it into the gutter. She’d only bought it last year. Three people went past her in the queue while she tried to stop her undies from blowing all over Melbourne airport. She put a foot on top of the case to make sure it didn’t spring open again and counted the people now ahead of her in the queue. Six, maybe even seven. Damn. She’d be here for ages yet.
Eva had just about worn a hole in the carpet between the living room and the front door. Rex thought it was some new game and was trit-trotting happily behind her as she paced back and forth.
She had never felt like this in her life. So full of anticipation. So physically conscious of her own body. The urgent longing she’d felt for Joe on the train had come back. Tenfold.
The doorbell finally rang and she pressed the intercom button. ‘Hello?’
‘It’s Joe.’
At last, Lainey thought. She helped the driver lift her broken case into the boot of the taxi, then came
around and climbed into the front seat. ‘Where to, love?’ ‘River Street, Richmond, thanks.’
Eva opened the door and Joseph followed her into the muted light of the living room, the sunlight blocked by the blinds. They were some distance apart but the electric current was strong between them again. She swallowed, so nervous she could barely speak. ‘How are you?’
‘Good, thank you.’ He closed the gap between them. He took one of her hands, then the other. Holding them tight he pulled her gently toward him. She lifted her face. He lowered his.
She shut her eyes as their lips touched. She didn’t want to see anything. She just wanted to feel. His lips brushed against hers. Soft. Strong. She pressed closer against him.
The kiss seemed to last for hours. She felt like she was dancing. Like they were swapping leading positions. The music in her head got harder and faster and suddenly their kisses weren’t feather-light any more. Standing like this, pressed up against each other in the middle of the living room, wasn’t even near to being close enough. The dress she was wearing had a long zip down the back. She shivered as he took hold of the clasp and slowly pulled it down. The barest hint of air ran
down her back as the dress opened. With sure hands, Joseph moved the dress down, baring her shoulders, baring the tops of her breasts. She breathed in sharply as he slowly, gently traced her skin, traced the line of her lace bra. His eyes were dark with desire.
Eva’s head swirled. No man had ever gazed at her like that. Touched her like that. His hand moulded her curves. For once she didn’t feel self-conscious. She was glad of her body, she could feel that he liked it. She moved closer to him, standing on tiptoes, reaching up to his face to kiss him again. The feel of his jeans, the cotton of his shirt against her naked skin, was the most sensual thing she had ever felt.
She pulled the shirt out from his waistband, feeling his skin. She unbuttoned it, pressing a kiss against his chest, touching the silky skin of his back. Her breasts in the lacy bra were pressed close against his chest.
Then they both heard the sound of the front door opening.
‘Why is it so dark in here? Hello? Is anyone home?’ There was the sound of a flick of a switch, then a bright fluorescent light filled the living room.
‘Bloody hell,’ the voice said.
It was Lainey.
She looked at them both and spoke slowly and calmly. ‘I’m going to go outside again for a few minutes, what do you think about that?’
‘I think that’s a very good idea,’ Eva said, pulling up her dress. ‘That’s my friend, Lainey,’ she said to Joseph after Lainey had gone back outside.
‘So you know her? That’s a relief.’
Eva reached up and kissed him. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Lainey was sitting out on the steps with Rex purring on her lap. Her feet were up on her broken suitcase. ‘That was quick. Would you like me to do up the zip properly?’
Eva gave Lainey an embarrassed smile. ‘I’m so sorry. If I’d known you were about to walk in I ‘
‘Would have kept your clothes on for a few more minutes?’
‘Lainey, you’re not making this any easier.’
‘That’s Joe the English backpacker, I presume?’
A
‘It is.’ ‘You certainly seem to have hit it off.’ ‘Lainey …’ ‘I’m just trying to make you feel better. Can I come in now?’ ‘Of course you can. And it’s fantastic to see you. I just wasn’t expecting you.’ ‘I gathered that.’ As she walked ahead of Lainey through the front door, Eva stopped so suddenly that her friend bumped against her back. ‘Lainey, I need to ask a huge favour,’ Eva whispered. ‘What?’ ‘I need you to call me Niamh in front of Joe.’ ‘What? Are you still keeping this up?’ Eva nodded sheepishly. Lainey frowned. ‘But why with him, Eva? I mean, I thought it was funny with Greg, but surely you haven’t been telling everyone you’re Niamh?’ Eva shook her head. ‘Not everyone. It’s a long story. A really long story. And I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But would you just go along with it for now?’ Lainey didn’t look happy about it. ‘Okay,’ she said, after a moment. Joseph was standing by the window in the living room. He turned as Eva and Lainey came in. Lainey moved Rex onto her shoulder and held out her hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Joe. Did Niamh tell you I’m
chronically short-sighted? I can’t see a thing unless it’s just a few centimetres away from me.’ He gave a quick grin. ‘That must come in very handy sometimes.’ ‘When you least expect it, actually. Please, sit down.’ The three of them sat. Joseph and Eva felt like they were being interviewed. ‘So, Joe. Niamh’s told me a lot about you. You’re travelling around Australia, I hear.’ ‘I am, that’s right.’ ‘And you’re an industrial designer?’ ‘Yes, I am.’ ‘Are you enjoying Australia?’ ‘Very much.’ Lainey glanced at her watch. ‘Well, isn’t this nice. Tell you what, why don’t you stay for dinner, Joe. Or better still, let’s all go out together. What do you think?’ ‘Joe?’ Eva turned toward him. ‘But Lainey has just arrived, are you sure I’m not in’ ‘In the way?’ Lainey said cheerfully. ‘Of course not. It’d be great to get to know you a bit better. I’ve heard so much about you from Niamh, haven’t I, Niamh?’ ‘Yes, Lainey.’ Eva wasn’t at all sure of her mood. ‘Joe, please come out to dinner with us.’ He glanced from one to the other. ‘Then thanks, I’d like to do that.’
Lainey stood up, putting Rex on the ground. ‘Niamh, could you give me a hand with something before we go? My suitcase has broken and I’ll need some help. Excuse us, Joe, won’t you?’
‘Of course.’
Lainey picked up her suitcase and went into her bedroom. Eva was barely inside before Lainey shut the door firmly behind her, dropped the suitcase and put her hands on her hips. ‘Evie, what on earth is going on here?’
Eva was taken aback. ‘You don’t need help with your suitcase after all?’
‘Of course I don’t. Eva, I’m serious. What in God’s name has got into you?’
‘Nothing has got into me. Why?’