Michelle Vernal Box Set

by Michelle Vernal

  “Shut the door! You’re letting all the cold air in,” Melissa screeched, having commandeered her place in the driving seat again.

  “Alright, alright, let me get in, for goodness’ sake,” Rebecca grumbled, pulling the door closed before vigorously rubbing her hands together and blowing on them at the same time. Jennifer had seemingly regained her composure by the time she twisted in her seat to address Rebecca and Melissa with a steady voice.

  “We need a plan. It’s no good us just driving around in the dark trying to spot Jack.”

  “You’re right.” Rebecca butted in. “How about we do a search of the park and the school? If he’s not there, then I vote we go home. He might have shown up there in the meantime, and if he hasn’t, then I think it’s time we contacted the police and Mark.”

  “The police?” Jennifer looked aghast.

  “It’s not that I think anything sinister has happened to him, Jen; it’s just that they’ll have a better idea of how to go about finding him. Are we all agreed?”

  Jennifer swallowed hard and nodded, as did Melissa. Rubbing at the fogged patch of windscreen obscuring her view, Melissa swung the car in a U-turn towards the park.

  By day, the waterfront park was filled with the squeals of children, but by night it was eerily silent. The only sound was the rhythmic slushing of the waves sliding in and out over the stony shore below. Not a bit fazed, Jennifer strode off towards the dimly lit, rickety pier, ordering Melissa and Rebecca to cover the park. Thankfully it wasn’t a large area. Rebecca linked arms with Melissa in what they both understood to be a silent agreement not to leave each other’s side. The silence was shattered as they all hollered out Jack’s name.

  As Rebecca and Melissa’s footsteps squelched into the wet grass, a slight sea breeze stirred the rusty hinges of the three swings hanging forlornly from their frame, causing both girls to jump. “This is ridiculous,” Melissa complained. “At the very least, we should have a torch, not to mention a jacket. I’m freezing.” She huddled in closer to Rebecca.

  “Exactly, and so will Jack be if he’s out here, so stop moaning.”

  “I’ll bet you anything he’s sitting at home, warming his feet by the fire. He’ll wish he was missing when I get my hands on him.”

  “What was that?” Rebecca shushed her.

  “What was what?”

  “Wait—there it goes again. Listen.” Both girls held their breath as a violent scuffling noise erupted over by a shadowy clump of bushes.

  “You go first,” Melissa directed. Rebecca took a step closer and then sprang back as the prickly outline of a hedgehog on urgent business burst forth from the bushes. “How could you mistake a hedgehog for your nephew?”

  “Oh, shut up, Melissa.” Rebecca didn’t need night vision goggles to know that Melissa was poking her tongue out at her.

  Jennifer’s white face was illuminated against the black night as she appeared beside them both a few minutes later. “This is hopeless. Even if Jack were hiding out here, he might not want to be found. At least not by me.”

  Rebecca draped a limp arm around her sister’s shoulder and steered her back towards the car. They had searched everywhere, but there was nowhere left to look.

  The three women were quiet as they drove back, probably reserving their meagre energy supplies for the long night ahead of them. Rebecca jumped a moment later as her cell phone sang out, alerting her to an incoming text. Pulling it from her pocket, she quickly glanced at the caller display.

  “Is it from David?” Jennifer’s tone was urgent.

  Rebecca frowned as she read the short message of “Are you ok?” and shoved the phone away. “No, Jen, sorry; it’s from Ciaran.” She’d reply once she knew Jack was alright.

  “Oh.” She hunched back down in her seat.

  The first thing they noticed as the car lights shone over the house was that it was still smothered in darkness. “Maybe he’s down in the classroom with Betty and Hannah,” Rebecca said hopefully as Melissa stilled the engine.

  “Betty would have phoned me on my cell if he were,” Jennifer answered bleakly. They climbed despondently out of the car and at that very moment the words, “What in tarnation!” ripped across the still night.

  The three women exchanged inquiring looks as another shout went up: “C’mere ya no count, good for nuthin...”

  The voice trailed off, and Jennifer pointed towards the twinkling lights of the cabins. “I think it’s coming from cabin one.”

  The sound of crashing furniture split the air. Down by the classroom, the door flew open as Betty appeared, Hannah on her hip, to see what all the noise was about. Spying the three women, she waved out and made her way laboriously up the path. “What’s going on?” she puffed.

  Rebecca frowned and raised her hands in surrender. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Jennifer stretched her arms out and took Hannah, who was sucking her thumb sleepily.

  “Doncha try an skedaddle, boy, cos I’m gonna whup your ass when I git my hands on you!”

  The women’s eyes popped wide open as Mindy-Lou, in full battle regalia, staggered out onto the cabin’s porch, holding something small that was squirming for all it was worth. Jennifer raised her eyes to heaven and offered thanksgiving. “Thank you, God!” Then, with Hannah hanging on for dear life, she sprinted over to save her son from a good whupping.

  “Well, ya’ll make no mistake, I likely to pee ma pants when I first laid eyes on whad ya’ll say his name is agin?”

  “Jack,” the four women chorused as they clustered around the star of the moment, who was cowering under cover of his mother’s cardigan. Jennifer hugged her son to her and grovelled. “I can’t apologise enough for my son’s behaviour, Mindy-Lou. Right now, though, I think the best thing I can do is get him and Hannah home so I can get to the bottom of what’s been going on.”

  Mindy-Lou leaned forward and ruffled Jack’s dark hair. “I surely am sorry for hollerin’ at ya, Jack.” She raised her head to explain herself to the others. “But I was fixin’ to have me a bath when I spied ya boy here hidin’ under ma bed.” Her hand fluttered dramatically up to her bustier. “I was fit to be tied. A few minutes later and I woulda bin buck naked. Ya’ll can’t blame me for thinkin’ I’d caught me a peepin’ tom.”

  “Quite right, Mindy-Lou,” Jennifer assented, stroking Jack’s hair and smoothing Mindy-Lou’s ruffled feathers. “And I can assure you I’ll be having a stern word with Jack about what’s happened here tonight.”

  Rebecca cast an eye over Mindy-Lou’s generous proportions, straining desperately at the seams of her impressive attire. Seeing Mindy-Lou buck naked would not be a purdy sight; her nephew had gotten off lightly.

  “Say no more about it, sugar,” Mindy-Lou announced magnanimously. “Now I am gonna have me that bath or the water will be colder than the Mississippi itself.”

  Once the warrior princess disappeared back inside her cabin, Betty inched away, satisfied with the happy ending. It was a hint that the evening was coming to a close. Hannah’s weight was now giving Jennifer’s arms a work-out as she had dropped off to sleep, oblivious of the evening’s dramatic events. The little group stood huddled together on the cabin’s porch, watching as the Ute roared into life and vanished into the night.

  “You go on ahead, Jen. Get Hannah to bed. We’ll leave you and Jack to have a chat for a bit, won’t we, Melissa?” Rebecca prompted with a reassuring smile that told her everything would be alright.

  Melissa linked her arm through Rebecca’s and looked at her friend hopefully. “Yes, we’ve got plenty to talk about ourselves.”

  They watched as Jennifer, hand resting firmly on Jack’s shoulder, herded her brood of two back to the house.

  “Come on, we’ll go and sit in the classroom. I’ve got a spare key on my house set.” Rebecca shivered. “It’ll be nice and warm in there.” The two set off down the path with the crunch of a crisp frost settling underfoot.

  Melissa’s breath puffed from her mout
h in the chilly air as she spoke. “I am sorry, you know, Becs. If you think about it, though, it’s not my fault that I behave the way I sometimes do. It stems from being an only child.”

  Rebecca had to smile as she unlocked the door; it was such a typical Melissa thing to say to pass the buck like that. The poor girl was not going to take the news that she wouldn’t be going back to Ireland with her well at all.

  Chapter Thirty

  TO HER CREDIT, Rebecca thought, turning the key in the ignition, Melissa had handled hearing that she would be flying back to Ireland alone reasonably well. She had opened her mouth to speak, and Rebecca would have put money on it that her first words were going to be, “But what about me?” But then she’d shut her mouth. Rebecca watched, fascinated, as myriad expressions flitted across her old friend’s face. For the first time since she’d known Melissa, she was taking a minute to think about what she was going to say instead of blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

  “Well, Becs, I have to say that I am stunned. Simply stunned. I never thought I would see the day where you of all people would choose a career over a man so no, I didn’t see this coming. But you know what? I remember how gutted you were when you didn’t pass that last ballet exam. So, if this teaching dance thing is what you want to do, then all I can say is good on you. I wish you the best of luck, but you know that I am going to miss you heaps.”

  It was Rebecca’s turn to be floored. Perhaps her tirade the other night had gotten through to her after all. She reached out and gave her friend a tight squeeze. “I’ll miss you too.”

  Melissa broke away then as a thought occurred to her. “Of course, Becs, I hope it goes without saying that you’ll sub me half the rent until I can get a new flatmate in. It’s only fair.”

  Ha—now that was the Melissa she knew and loved.

  Rebecca sent Ciaran a quick text to let him know she was on her way over and left Melissa making herself a hot drink and rummaging for sweet leftovers to go with it. Now, as she pulled up alongside Sea Breezes, Ciaran stepped forth, materialising from the shadows to greet her.

  “You should have waited inside; it’s freezing out here,” she said, noticing he was rubbing his hands and hopping from foot to foot in a bid to stay warm.

  “What and risk you taking fright and running away if Mrs Doody answered the door? I don’t think so.” He shivered despite his jacket. “Come on. I’ll sneak you into my room. The old duck’s got the television on so loud the All Blacks could do the haka in the hallway, and she’d be oblivious.”

  Rebecca smiled at his comparison and hoped he was right because her day had been dramatic enough without adding an irate Mrs Doody to the mix. Following Ciaran inside, she felt like a teenager as she skulked up the hallway behind him. She was relieved to find the television volume was indeed at a level where she didn’t even have to tippy-toe.

  His room, she thought with a quick glance round, was reminiscent of the seventies. The orange drapes and brown duvet cover, lack of both television and toilet indicative as to why he had got the room at such a cheap rate. The bed was pretty comfortable, though, she thought, sitting down and giving it the bounce test.

  Ciaran looked at her quizzically. “I’ve got a bottle of some good stuff. Do you fancy a whiskey and Coke?”

  “Yes please, that’s exactly what I need after the day I’ve had. Make mine a strong one, ta.”

  He poured the drinks and apologised for the lack of ice as he sat down next to her.

  Taking a large swig and then shuddering, Rebecca waited for the alcohol burn to pass before she filled him in on the random events that had transpired since she had left him to confront her sister.

  As her tale came to a close with its happy ending, Ciaran shook his head in disbelief. “My gosh, girl, there’s never a dull moment with you around. I’m glad you sorted things out with her, though. It sounds to me like you both need each other.”

  “Yeah, I think we do,” Rebecca said, draining her glass.

  Ciaran was quiet for a moment, swilling the dregs around in his glass, and Rebecca studied his profile. He needed to shave, she noticed, liking the swarthiness of his day-old stubble. Suddenly, he inhaled sharply, as though there was something he needed to say.

  “What is it?”

  “What if I were to take a year’s sabbatical here?” He had been brooding on the idea since Rebecca had announced she was staying in New Zealand.

  She looked at him wide-eyed. “Here? Do you mean it?”

  “Yeah, why not?” His brown eyes fixed on hers. “I always planned on doing it one day, except I kind of imagined myself working in Sydney or Brisbane—you know, somewhere that was feckin hotter than Dublin. But so long as I don’t have to stay with Mrs Doody, then here would be more than fine. If you agree to keep me warm, that is. What do you think?”

  She gave him her answer by reaching up and pulling him down towards her. They fell back on the bed with their lips locked. As his hands began to roam and to gently stroke, she mentally buckled herself in for what she knew was going to be one hell of a roller-coaster ride.

  Afterwards, exhausted and spent, Rebecca lay with her leg thrown casually over his, her hand draped over his stomach. She closed her eyes, feeling the foreign sensation of utter contentment envelope her. Ciaran kissed the top of her head, and as the familiar tune of The Bill drifted under the door, she fell asleep.

  Stretching languorously the next morning, Rebecca woke to find herself momentarily unsure whether the events of the night before had just been a woman in her mid-thirties who was hitting her sexual stride’s frustrated fantasy. Then, feeling a warm and very real thigh stir next to hers, she smiled, happily noting it wasn’t the only thing that was stirring. Rolling on top for round—what would it be, three?—she caught sight of the time over Ciaran’s shoulder and rolled off him again. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Surely she’d read it wrong? No, it said ten o’clock. Damn! Mrs Doody would be up and about frying the bacon and eggs by now.

  “I’ve got to go,” she whispered, throwing the covers off. “Jen will be worried about me and I want to see how she and Jack are doing.” Standing up, she shimmied into yesterday’s clothes as Ciaran looked on admiringly. Sparing a second for a quick glance in the dressing table mirror, she frowned at her reflection. It was as she’d suspected. Her hair was mussed beyond redemption at the back and, leaning in for a closer inspection, she noted the telltale signs of pash-rash all over her chin. Yes, she looked like she had spent the night being ravaged.

  Reading her mind, Ciaran blew her a kiss and grinned over wolfishly. “Well, hurry back, lover.”

  She poked her tongue out at him. “You’ll have to get up, lover, and distract Mrs Doody for me. She’ll have me for breakfast if she realises I stayed the night.”

  AS REBECCA APPROACHED the house, she could hear what sounded like a disco hitting its peak. Smoothing her hair before going inside, she looked down at yesterday’s crumpled clothes with a sigh. She wondered whether she’d be as successful as sneaking past Jennifer to the shower as she had been in sneaking out of Sea Breezes.

  Opening the front door, her eardrums were assaulted by the blaring sounds of ABBA. Curiosity got the better of her and peeking round the living room door, she spied Jennifer with her long curls swinging free, clutching one end of a skipping rope while Hannah held onto the other. Mother and daughter appeared to be lip-synching along to “SOS” while Jack, his fingers jammed in his ears, was rolling around, laughing, on the couch as he watched them. She stood back unnoticed in the doorway and surveyed the unfolding scene with a smile.

  It was so good to see her nephew smiling, and the mother and daughter duet brought back memories. Once upon a time, it had been her and Jennifer at opposite ends of the skipping rope. They’d usually end up twacking each other with the handles as they fought over who got to be the blonde one, though. Jennifer, being the older sister and a blonde to boot, always won out in the end.

  Quietly pulling away,
Rebecca took the stairs two at a time and stood for an age under the steady stream of hot water provided by the shower. Getting out and drying off, she changed into her track pants and a sweatshirt before heading back downstairs in search of a cup of coffee. The music had been turned off, she noticed. She knew, too, that if she didn’t get caffeine into her system soon, the natural high she was currently experiencing would evaporate. She would be left feeling like what she was: a woman in her mid-thirties who had been bonking for the best part of the night.

  “I thought I heard you,” Jennifer said, pushing open the kitchen door. “I’d love a coffee if there’s one going.”

  Rebecca lolloped a hefty spoonful of the brown stuff in her mug and got an extra cup down for Jennifer, who came over and leaned against the kitchen bench.

  “I told Jack the truth,” she said simply.

  “The truth, truth?” Rebecca turned and looked at her, surprised.

  Jennifer’s expertly made-up blue eyes flitted out the window to make sure Hannah and Jack were out of earshot. They were involved in some ribald chasing game and so she continued, “I didn’t tell him exactly who it was he’d seen me kissing, if that’s what you’re getting at. I just explained that he was a friend of Mummy’s who she’s not friends with anymore.”

  “Huh! A pretty good friend, and does David know that you won’t be seeing him again?” Rebecca asked, looking directly at her sister, expecting an honest answer.

  “Yes of course, but do you honestly think it would make things any better if Jack knew his mother had had it off with his best friend’s dad?” Jennifer snapped in return.

  Rebecca held up her hand. “No, sorry. Look, I take it back; that wasn’t called for.” The tension went out of her sister’s shoulders. Picking up the two mugs, Rebecca asked, “Did you find out whether Jack overheard you telling David about your depression after he was born?”