by Anna Jacobs
She found a Chinese restaurant and had a delicious meal, then, since it was getting dark, strolled back to the flat. Sitting on the balcony she sipped her wine, now nicely chilled, and watched the town’s lights reflected in the water. She didn’t even switch on the TV.
The following day she went for a ride round the canals in a large tourist boat, looking at the houses of rich people – to her anyone who owned a large house right on the water was rich. She envied them the beautiful views, but it was no use longing for what was out of reach, so she’d just borrow their scenery while she was here then go home to her small English terraced house.
When the boat returned, edging slowly into place alongside a jetty right in the town centre, she wondered what to do with herself next. She saw some people sitting by the water, eating chicken and chips out of boxes, and suddenly she was hungry. OK, it was junk food, but there was no harm in having it occasionally. She joined the queue.
She took her box further along the foreshore and sat down to eat, opening it and sniffing in appreciation.
Suddenly something large and soft landed on the grass next to her. She let out a squeak of shock, then realized it was a pelican. It didn’t seem at all aggressive, just stood watching her. She forgot her food, entranced by being so close to an exotic bird. When she was sitting down, it was the same height as her.
It edged slowly forward and she sat still, not wanting to frighten it away. Then suddenly it lunged at her and before she could move, it snatched her box of food.
Fleeing in a clumsy run, it jumped off the walkway and lifted up into the air, crossing the water, still carrying the box.
‘Are you all right? It didn’t hurt you?’
It was the man she’d bumped into at the flats.
She burst out laughing. ‘Oh, they’ll never believe me when I go back to England. I’ve been mugged by a pelican.’ The more she thought about it, the more she laughed, and he did too.
Then her stomach rumbled and reminded her of why she was sitting there. ‘I’d better go and get something else to eat. I’m ravenous.’
‘Since you’re a visitor to our town and a resident has stolen your lunch, would you allow another resident to buy you a replacement?’ He swept a bow. ‘James Brennan at your service.’
‘Oh. Well, that’s very kind. But there’s no need.’
His disappointment showed clearly. ‘I’d enjoy some company, but I’ll not impose myself on you.’ He turned to leave.
‘No, wait! I’d enjoy some company too. But I’ll buy my own meal.’
She felt a bit shy as they walked back to the café strip, but the sun was shining and he had an infectious smile.
‘Let’s eat indoors,’ he said. ‘You’ve caught the sun a bit today.’
‘That’s because I haven’t got my daughter here to tell me off and nag me into the shade. I do love to feel the sun on my face.’
‘Are you staying with your daughter?’
‘I have been. She lives up in Perth. It’s the first time I’ve been abroad since my husband died. Do you really live here in Mandurah all the time? How wonderful that must be.’
‘I love it. Look, this is a good café. I’m a regular here and I promise you their chicken is much nicer than the fast food stuff.’
He took her to a table by the window, from which they could see the estuary and the boats going up and down it: big ones, little ones, and suddenly a group of fins.
‘Dolphins!’ she exclaimed, leaning forward. ‘Oh, how wonderful! Dolphins and pelicans in one day.’
They lingered over the meal, finding they had a lot in common: films, music, a love of the sea. When they eventually left the restaurant he hesitated. ‘I’ve really enjoyed your company. May I see you again?’
She felt suddenly shy. It’d been nearly forty years since a man had asked her for a date – and that man had become her husband. She was so out of practice at what to reply, she settled for the plain, unvarnished truth. ‘I’d like that. I’ve enjoyed your company too.’
‘I’ll walk you back to the flats. How about a trip out for lunch at a restaurant up the river tomorrow?’
She beamed at him. Even Jan couldn’t say that was unsafe as a first date, if she ever told her daughter, which she probably wouldn’t. ‘I’d love to do that.’
‘I’ll pick you up at ten o’clock.’ He pulled a card out. ‘Here’s my phone number and address.’
‘I’ve got a mobile. My daughter bought it for me, just a very basic one. I’ll give you my number, too, in case you change your mind.’
‘I won’t.’
His smile made her feel breathless.
That evening Sarah sat on the balcony again, sipping her wine, then went inside and tried to read a book of Jan’s that she’d borrowed. But it was a dreary tale, even if it had won a literary prize. Thank goodness for the magazines someone else had left in the flat. She settled down to a crossword.
When her mobile phone rang, she saw it was Jan and nearly didn’t answer. But if she didn’t, her daughter might come rushing down to check on her, so she picked it up.
She loved Jan dearly, but she and her husband were so earnest about life. They stared at her sometimes when she laughed at things.
The next day was even hotter. Sarah wore a light summer dress. She didn’t even think of taking a cardigan because there wasn’t a single cloud in the blue sky.
There was a knock on her door at ten o’clock and she opened it to James’s smiling face.
‘We can walk to the jetty if those pretty sandals are comfortable enough,’ he said.
‘They are and I love walking.’
The boat was large, capable of taking about a hundred people, but it was only half full. They sat on the upper deck and James pointed. ‘Look, some of your friends.’
Sarah shaded her eyes with her hand and watched four pelicans riding a thermal current in the sky above some more waterside houses. ‘It’s amazing to think that such huge birds can be so graceful.’
The boat took them down one of the residential canals and stopped. ‘Ladies and gentleman, a shoal of fish must be up here today, because there’s a group of cormorants fishing and if you watch very carefully, you’ll see some pirates attack them.’
Sarah looked at James in puzzlement. ‘Pirates?’
He grinned. ‘You’ll see.’
Suddenly several pelicans landed and pushed into the group of diving cormorants. One took hold of a cormorant by the neck and shook it till it dropped its fish.
Sarah gasped. ‘I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!’
James chuckled. ‘They don’t only mug humans, they mug other birds as well.’
‘And here was me thinking how romantic it was to see them.’
The boat set off again, stopping at a waterside restaurant, where they had lunch.
‘I’ll never eat again,’ she said as she pushed her empty plate aside. ‘It was so kind of you to buy me crayfish. Such a luxury.’
On the way back she said, ‘Do you live in one of the flats, or were you just visiting someone when I bumped into you.’
He hesitated.
‘You don’t have to answer if I’m being too nosy.’
‘No, it’s all right. Only don’t let it put you off me. I own the block of flats, actually. I was just checking that some repairs had been finished properly.’
So he was rich. Well, he was by her standards, which put him way beyond her reach. And wasn’t she silly even thinking that sort of thing about a man she’d only just met?
‘You looked a bit sad then. Are you all right?’
She forced a smile. ‘Yes, of course.’
When they got off the boat, he walked back to the flats with her and hesitated. ‘Would you come and have dinner at my house tomorrow? I’ve got to go up to Perth during the day but I’ll be back by five.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Certain. I’m quite a good cook, actually. Is there anything you can’t eat?�
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She hesitated. So far she’d managed to hide it, because some people got upset when they found you were a coeliac. She explained that she couldn’t eat wheat and was lactose intolerant, and he nodded.
‘A friend of mine’s the same. I’m used to catering for that.’
The evening seemed too quiet after her lovely day so she put the television on. But she spent more time daydreaming about James than watching the programme.
The following day as five o’clock approached, she got ready, determined to enjoy this brief holiday flirtation. She wondered what James’s house was like. He hadn’t told her anything about it.
The knock came just before five and there he was, beaming at her. He had such lovely brown eyes. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Yes.’
His car wasn’t large but it was luxurious. Her son-in-law would have known what make it was, but she hadn’t a clue.
‘This is the most comfortable car I’ve ever ridden in.’
‘That’s exactly why I bought it.’
He stopped at a large house, a strange-looking place, with a garage and high walls being the main street features. It was like a miniature fortress. The garage door lifted up and he drove in.
When they went into the house she couldn’t help exclaiming as she realized it was on the water. ‘This is one of the houses we sailed past!’
‘I’m afraid so. Don’t hold that against me. Let’s go and have a cocktail on the patio.’
‘Nothing too strong.’
‘OK. I’ll do a strawberry surprise. Help yourself to some nibbles.’ He pulled a platter out of the fridge and set it on a low table outdoors, right on the edge of the water.
The only thing wrong with the evening was that James didn’t kiss her. She’d have liked to have Prince Charming kiss her, even if this was only a holiday flirtation.
He kissed her the next night, though, and the one after that. And very good kisses they were, too.
When the last evening came, she entertained him to a meal, insisting on repaying his hospitality.
‘I wish you weren’t going back to Perth,’ he said wistfully.
‘So do I.’
‘You could stay another week.’
‘My daughter would have a fit. And there probably isn’t a flat free.’
‘There is, actually. Or you could be my guest?’
She hesitated. ‘Do we know each other well enough for that?’
‘Not yet. But we will. So you’ll stay in the flat?’
Did she dare? Of course she did. This was . . . important. Or it might be. She hoped it would be. ‘Yes. And thank you.’
Jan did have a fit when she phoned, and they insisted on coming down on the Sunday to check that she was all right.
The next day she went round to James’s beautiful house for lunch and wandered on to his jetty as he was getting the meal ready.
There was a thump behind her and another pelican landed. This one had a malformed foot and it stumbled, bumping into her and sending her flying into the water.
She let out a yell of shock and by the time she surfaced, James was there on the jetty. Without hesitation, he dived in and came up spluttering next to her.
She bobbed about in the water, laughing at him. ‘I didn’t actually need rescuing. I used to be a good swimmer.’
He grinned at her, water streaming down his face. ‘Don’t say that. I’ve always wanted to be Sir Galahad and save a fair damsel in distress.’
‘Is that what I am?’
‘Oh, yes. A very fair damsel.’ He pulled her to him in the water.
This time his kiss was very different, full of passion. When they clambered out of the water, he held her hand as they dripped their way into the house.
In the guest bedroom, she changed out of her wet clothes into his silk dressing gown and came out looking like a drowned rat, she thought.
He was waiting for her with a tender smile on his face. ‘Dear Sarah, you seem as if you belong here. Would it be too soon to ask you to stay with me tonight?’
She gave up fighting the attraction. ‘No. Definitely not too soon. In fact, it’s perfect timing.’
‘And would it be too soon to ask you to stay on here with me, with a view to making that permanent?’
Joy flooded through her and she gave up fighting her own feelings for him. ‘No. Not too soon for that, either. If you’re sure, James?’
‘I’m very sure, Sarah darling. I’ve felt happy with you since the first time we had lunch.’
‘I’ve felt the same.’
‘It’s amazing, isn’t it, how two strangers can suddenly feel attracted. I thought I was past all that, but I’m not.’
She gestured around her to the magnificent house. ‘I feel like Cinderella, only I’m staying at the palace, not going home.’
‘In that case, you’d better marry the prince. It’s the obligatory ending to the story, you know.’
She couldn’t help chuckling. ‘Strange kind of fairy godmother, a pelican.’
‘I shall never think badly of them again.’ He drew her into his arms, gentle as ever, and it felt so right she pulled his head down and kissed him rather less than gently.
Take A Chance
Anna’s Notes
I’m not a big gambler, but I do like to buy a Lotto ticket every now and then. I once won $700, and as this came at a time when we were a bit short of money, it was very exciting.
I enjoyed giving my heroine a much bigger win, and this story led to me writing my book Licence to Dream.
I love writing about happy ever afters and fantasies that lift people’s lives out of the ordinary.
Louise got herself a cup of coffee and sat cradling it in her hands, staring into space. Thirty-eight! No husband, no family, nothing she’d once hoped for. She was just good old Auntie Louise. She sighed and opened the Sunday paper.
As usual, she checked the Lotto results last. She liked to dream about winning for as long as possible. It was the only thing she ever gambled on. She was definitely not the sort of person to take chances. But one dream a week wasn’t much to ask. She picked up a pencil and a minute later it dropped from her trembling hand.
‘It can’t be true!’ she whispered. She checked the numbers again. A whole line of them. She’d won the first division! She was – she might be – rich.
The day passed in a blur after that. She lived alone and didn’t want to ring her elder sister Rosemary, who would come over and start telling her what to do with the money. Of course, it might not be a lot of money. You didn’t find out until the next day whether it was shared among several people.
She didn’t tell anyone at work, but when she phoned the Lotto office and discovered that she’d won just over a million dollars, she pleaded a headache and left work quickly.
Two days later, she walked into her boss’s office. ‘I’d like to hand in my resignation.’
He gaped at her. ‘But Louise, you’ve been with us for ten years! What’s wrong?’
‘There’s nothing wrong. I just need a change.’
Her whole life needed changing because time was running out and her biological clock was ticking. Now she had the money to do something different, get away from her sister and her sensible ways, take a chance or two. Even, perhaps, meet someone who . . . no, that would be wishing for too much.
Although if you could win Lotto, maybe you could win the other things that gave you the chance of a happy life . . . like a husband and a family. And if that made her old-fashioned, so be it.
She was going to have a go.
In the end Louise told her family she was taking a holiday because she felt rundown. She ended up in the south-west, in the wine country. She’d always loved that part of Western Australia: the forests and beaches, the clean tangy air, the vineyards, the winding tree-lined country roads.
She had enough money now to manage without working, if she was careful, but she couldn’t imagine sitting around all day. She needed to do somethin
g that would let her meet people.
With the help of a friendly real-estate agent she investigated several businesses, and ended up buying a run-down café just outside the holiday town of Margaret River.
She still hadn’t told her sister about her win and didn’t intend to do so until after she’d signed the contract to buy the café.
She took the coward’s way out and rang Rosemary. ‘I’m back in Perth, but only temporarily.’
‘Oh? Have you found a job somewhere else? I think you were very foolish giving up your job like that.’
‘No. I’ve bought myself a business near Margaret River.’
Silence. Then, ‘What sort of business? You surely haven’t cashed in your superannuation?’
‘It’s a café with the chance of putting a B and B behind it.’
‘How can you afford that?’
Here it came. ‘I won Lotto.’
‘Ha! Ha! Very funny.’
‘I really did.’
Dead silence. ‘When?’
‘A few weeks ago.’ She listened to a tirade from Rosemary, and when her sister ran out of words, said simply, ‘It’s what I want to do, and it’s too late to change, even if I wanted to, and I don’t.’
To her relief, Rosemary and her husband were about to go away on a trip to Europe, and once Louise moved down to Margaret River, she was three hours’ drive away. And, actually, there was nothing Rosemary could do to interfere.
Her sister knew that too. So she sulked.
Louise sometimes wondered what she would have been like without Rosemary. Would she have been quite so sensible? Or would she have let her sense of humour loose occasionally and had a bit more fun?
The day after Louise moved into the run-down café, there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find a man clutching a bloodstained hand.
‘I’m your neighbour. I’m sorry to trouble you, but I’ve cut myself pretty badly.’
She drew him inside and examined it. ‘It needs stitches.’
‘Oh.’ He looked at it doubtfully. ‘I don’t think I can drive. Could you possibly—’
‘Take you to a doctor? Of course.’
‘My name’s Richard, by the way.’
