Fresh Beginnings

by Iris Blobel

  ****

  A little while later, they arrived at a campground north of the city. Jared gave them instructions to help, but it didn't really take that much to get set up. Mia liked it. She looked around and took in the snow-peaked mountains around. She'd seen snow on Mt Wellington, but this place was surrounded by mountains. One stood higher than the other, and it seemed, more impressive as well. She really liked what she saw.

  "They had the Olympics here in 2002."

  Josh startled her and even though, deep inside, she would've loved to ask more, she turned to go to the ladies room. "I couldn't care less," she said, without looking back.

  Okay, the toilets weren't all that interesting, so she went a bit further to the common room where she inspected some magazines, local information leaflets and some books.

  "Can I help you?" a lady asked.

  Mia looked up and smiled back at her. "Thank you, but I'm only having a look around."

  "Escaping the male race," she said as she nodded towards Jared and Josh.

  Mia's smile widened. "In a way, yes."

  "You'll be all right, honey. They like to talk tough, but deep down inside they're all same—easily wrapped around a woman's finger."

  That brought a chuckle from Mia.

  "And I'm sure Australian men are the same," the lady continued.

  Mia turned and gazed at the guys starting a small fire in the barbeque area. It just hurt so much. Why would he be so stubborn? And why would Sophie organise for him to come here as well?

  "Use reverse psychology, honey," she heard the lady saying. "It always works."

  Her gaze went back to the woman behind the counter. Holding a soft drink towards her, she added, "My girl's eighteen and only recently left home. I'm not only talking the adult talk." A big grin spread across her face, and that made Mia laugh again.

  "I haven't got American Dollars, yet."

  "Honey, it's my treat. I can't stand seeing a young lass' heart broken."

  "Thank you. That's truly kind of you."

  "Now go and work on your man," she said with a wink.

  Mia opened the bottle and took a sip of the drink. It was exactly what she needed—a sugar rush.

  ****

  Dinner had been great. Simple but still delicious.

  "I had no idea you could cook that well," Mia said to Jared.

  "Mate, I live on my own. It's cook or die. I learnt to cook," he replied with a small shrug of his right shoulder.

  Mia laughed. "That theory didn't work with Mark, it seems."

  "Well, ya know Bev's cakes, don't ya? Her meals are as tasty as her bakin’."

  Bev was Mark's mother, and Mia had to admit, yes, her meals and cakes were beyond scrumptious. She usually ate so much at visits that she nearly had to roll into her room that night.

  "Too true!"

  They did the dishes, cleaned up, and were sitting outside by the fire enjoying the early night.

  "I s'pose Mia can sleep on top of the cabin," Jared said and then turned to Josh. "And you'll get the table area."

  They both nodded.

  "It's easy to set up." Jared took a sip of his drink and looked from one to the other. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

  Mia quickly jumped in first. "He's selfish and stubborn."

  The men chuckled.

  "Oh, right. How could I expect you to understand? You're from the same gene pool."

  "We've reached a bit of an impasse," Josh explained. "I would like to do my studies in Melbourne. Mia wants to stay in Hobart."

  "So what's wrong with that?" Jared asked.

  "What's wrong with that? You're asking what's wrong with that?"

  Mia had known from the moment she'd seen Josh at the airport that this was going to be a disaster. How could she possibly expect another man to understand the situation? Even Sophie didn't understand. And it was so simple. She was still glaring at Jared when something behind her caught his attention. Mia looked around and saw a woman coming towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jared had stood and took a few steps towards the strange lady. Her pace increased until she threw her arms around Jared's neck, sobbing into his chest.

  Mia looked over to Josh, who simply shrugged. He didn't know either.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ivy still couldn't believe it. She'd held on to the dream that her mother could fill the empty place inside her. But her mother was gone. Dead. It went like a shockwave through her. Over and over again. Breathing was hard. It ached. Her chest was tight and life around her a sudden blur. The conversation with Dale went through her mind continually.

  "Would you like to come in?" she heard Dale saying.

  He stood in front of her, but it sounded like he was far away in the distance.

  She shook her head. "No. No, but thank you."

  Tears slowly started to fall down her cheeks, and she felt his hand on her arm. Instinctively she stepped back.

  "Ivy, please come in."

  Shaking her head again, she said, "Thanks, but… I've got to… I need to go."

  He reached out for her again. "Please just wait a minute. I've got a few things for you."

  She looked up, and she watched him walk into the house. Nausea crept up in her, and she turned to leave.

  "Ivy. Please."

  She stopped and, with a big sigh, moved towards him again, tears still running.

  "Here's a letter for you from your mother." Dale gave her a small box with various things in it. "She talked a lot about you. She was very proud of you."

  Proud? Of her? Another wave of nausea went through her. She hadn't achieved anything. Nothing. She'd run away from everything she'd owned, which had been close to nothing anyway, and now she was in the middle of Utah, with nowhere to go and only a few bucks in her pocket.

  A wave of loneliness swept over her. The realisation struck that she was completely alone in the world. The tears turned into sobs.

  "There are a few hundred dollars in there and some of her jewellery, but you're entitled to more."

  "But… but—" she said between sobs. "Mom didn't have anything."

  "She turned her life around and got a job. This house partly belonged to her and thus it now belongs to you."

  Ivy looked around. She had no idea about real estate, but it had to be worth a little bit.

  "The details are in there. Give me a call when you're ready, and we can sort out the financial details as well as anything else she left behind."

  Ivy was stunned speechless. Her mother had been able to leave the trailer life behind and live in this wonderful house. And she'd been proud of her. She, who had not been able to do the same thing at a younger age. Shame suddenly poured over her. Shame and sadness.

  Dale broke the silence. "I'm not going to screw you."

  The statement surprised her a bit, but she remained silent. She opened the box and tears started to flow again when she saw a framed photo of both of them in front of their first Christmas tree. And the necklace she'd given her when she'd turned forty. Ivy had saved for months. There was also the letter Dale had mentioned.

  "Thank you, Dale," she finally said in almost a whisper, then lifted her head and met his gaze. "I appreciate your help."

  "Honey, I'd have loved to contact you earlier, but lost the trace half-way. I'm really pleased you came, but wish chance would have brought you here earlier."

  She nodded. "Me too," was all she was able to reply. "Me too."

  As she closed the box, Ivy thanked Dale for both his help and the box. "I'll be in touch."

  "Take care of yourself. All my details are in there as well."

  Then she walked down the path towards to gate, but suddenly turned again. "Dale?"

  He turned as well.

  "Were you—" She hesitated. "Were you and Mom—?"

  "I loved her very much," was all he said.

  He was struggling with emotions as well now.

  ****

  Jared held on to Ivy as if his dear life depended on it.
Her fragile body was shaken by waves of sobs. He had no idea what would've brought on such an intense emotional reaction, but assumed it had something to do with her mother. Yet, at that moment, he merely stood there and ran his hand up and down her back in an effort to calm her down. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the noises behind him but didn't look.

  "Here's some water." Mia stood beside him holding a glass of water. Her face was full of questions, but he wasn't able to answer them.

  Ivy finally moved her head away from his chest and, with another hiccupping sob, murmured something like, "Thank you."

  Still holding onto her, Jared noticed the strained tone of her voice. The glowing happiness from the last few days had faded. Her beautiful, brown eyes were dull and withdrawn.

  "You must be Mia," she said quietly.

  Mia nodded, but didn't say anything. Jared assumed that any of the thousand questions Mia undoubtedly wanted to ask would have to wait.

  Jared and Mia waited until Ivy had a few sips of the water before Mia took the glass again and went back into the motorhome. He appreciated that she left them alone.

  The tight hold of her fingers on his shirt told him she wasn't ready, to talk yet, so he gently pushed her head back against his chest for a few minutes.

  Then she suddenly whispered, "I was too late, Jared."

  He placed a kiss on her forehead, not understanding what she'd been late for. As he stood there with her, he felt her pain. The unspoken pain was so strong that it nearly brought him to his knees. Something or someone had hurt Ivy in such a deep way the thought of it caused his stomach to tighten. All he wanted was to never have to let her go.

  "Mom died," she finally said, tears warping her voice.

  A surge of unfamiliar emotions choked him and pain suddenly spread through his whole body. He was only able to imagine what she was going through. Her body shook again, and he knew that saying the words brought on another wave of tears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Josh and turned.

  "Mate, it's goin' to be you and Mia on top of the cabin. Ivy will sleep on the table setting."

  Josh's eyes conveyed his surprise, but also that he wouldn't dare say anything. Although unclear of the situation, he accepted that he had just lost his bed for the night. Jared assumed Josh was the one who probably wouldn't mind the new sleeping arrangements. The opening and closing of the motorhome door told him that Josh had gone inside. It took less than a minute for a discussion between the two teenagers to erupt.

  "I don't want to cause trouble," Ivy said quietly.

  "They'll get over it. It might be exactly what they need."

  She tilted her head to look at him, and he noticed the question in her eyes.

  "Long story that can wait. Let's get you settled."

  Jared placed his hand on the small of her back and gave her a gentle push towards the motorhome. The thing was though, she didn't move. The voices from inside the motorhome didn't stop, but got louder.

  "Ignore them," he said to her.

  She shook her head. "I can't. It's their holidays."

  Choking back a laugh, he replied, "Actually, it is mine. Then I got Mia dumped on me, but she came in a double package with her boyfriend. So they're the ones causing trouble. Ignore them, Honey blossom."

  Ivy smiled a bit wider, and he was sure her eyes sparkled. He tried another gentle push, and this time she let him guide her to the vehicle. They stepped inside.

  "Okay, guys," Jared said to Mia and Josh. "No mucking around. Ivy's lost her mother. This is the way it's gonna be. Ya both have to sleep on top over there, and Ivy will sleep over there."

  He pointed to the table setting.

  "I can share the bed with you, Jared," Mia said as she stepped closer.

  Jared nearly choked on his own words. "Are you out of ya mind?" he asked louder than expected. "For crying out loud, Mia, Ivy's only found out—"

  "I'm sorry," Mia said, before he'd been able to finish his sentence. Then she turned to Ivy. "I'm truly sorry about your mum. I lost my mum when I was little." With a small sigh, she added. "Josh and I will be fine up here." She pointed to her bed.

  Ivy smiled. "Thank you," she said barely audible. "I'm so sorry causing all this trouble."

  Mia reached out and touched her arm. "No trouble at all. This is the time you need friends."

  Jared wasn't all that surprised by Mia's words. It was something the Levesque girls were good at—helping and reaching out.

  Josh came a bit closer and held his hand out towards Ivy. "I'm Josh. Nice meeting you."

  Ivy shook his hand. "Nice meeting you, too."

  Then he turned to Mia and said with a grin. "Come on, let's get comfy in there for the night."

  Mia's shoulders sagged. "You're such an—"

  Jared held a hand over her mouth. "We're dealing with one thing after the other. Righteo, first up the driver, who's extremely tired and exhausted. Go and do the shower thing and then get some sleep." Then he turned to Ivy. "Go and use the shower in here, it's connected. Then have a good sleep. Let's sort everything else tomorrow."

  Mia and Josh rushed to sort their toilet bags and left for the shower facilities. Ivy headed towards the shower inside the motorhome but, before she did, she stepped closer to Jared and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

  "Thank you."

  He nodded. He wasn't sure what to say or what to do. When Mia had asked to share the bed with him, he nearly choked on his own breath, but the thought of sharing the bed with Ivy had been tempting. Too tempting. So he cupped her face and leaned in for one hungry kiss.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mia's head was spinning. Not able to figure out what had happened the last six or something hours, she walked to the shower block on automatic.

  Until she bumped into a solid chest. Josh's face was only inches from hers. Those chocolate brown eyes always played mayhem with her mind. A slow grin started to spread across his face.

  "Muffin, you'll have all night to get close to me," Josh said.

  Hands on hips, she glared at him, ignoring the fact that she'd dropped her towel and everything that had been wrapped up in it.

  "You… you… you arrogant, ignorant—"

  She had no idea what she wanted to say, so she let out a litany of curses and picked up her belongings.

  Josh kneeled in front of her. "Mi," he said quietly. "Let's talk about this."

  She busied herself by placing everything back into the middle of the towel. "There's nothing to talk about."

  But she knew deep inside that wasn't the truth. There was a lot to talk about, but she simply didn't want to. He had made up his mind to do his three years of university in Melbourne without asking her. Fine, let him go to Melbourne all on his own. She couldn't care less.

  "Mia?"

  She looked up and met his gaze. Her breath caught and her heartbeat picked up a few notches. All her nerves were on full alert.

  She stood, and so did he.

  "What do you want, Josh?"

  He cupped her cheek with his hand. "You," he said simply.

  You. He'd had her. And he'd thrown what they had away.

  Josh leaned in, and she assumed he was going to kiss her. All her senses told her to walk. Walk away, but her body betrayed her, and she was utterly helpless against the rush of emotions that hit her body when his lips touched hers. She missed him. Missed his touch.

  She slowly pulled away from his kiss and exhaled a long breath.

  "Don't kiss me again," she said and turned to walk towards the shower facilities.

  Her heart ached so much she wasn't able to hold back her tears. A nice long hot shower was exactly what she needed. And to wash away his kiss on her lips.

  Half an hour later she was back in the motorhome, exhausted from her travels but also from the emotional turmoil she seemingly wasn't able to get under control.

  She stepped in and saw Ivy asleep on the bed where the table setting usually was. Angry with herself for blaming Ivy for the changed s
leeping arrangements, she quickly reminded herself that Ivy had just found out about her mother's death. Out of all people, she should know how that felt, and she made a promise to be more welcoming towards her.

  "She's asleep," Jared said quietly as he stepped closer. Then he leaned against the kitchenette bench. "Hey, I'm sorry about ya havin' to share the bed with Josh."

  Mia shrugged. "It's okay."

  He held out a hand. "Need a hug?”

  A few years earlier, Mia's dad, who she had never met, had all of a sudden stood in front of her door. She'd only been fourteen at the time, and, without admitting it to anybody, the hormones that day had gone completely haywire. It had hurt to know that everyone had known about him but her. So she'd run away. And somehow had ended up at Jared's house. He'd been really good about it. So good, they'd become really good friends afterwards.

  She did what she always had done—walked right into his arms and let the tears run down her cheeks.

  "He's going to Melbourne after school next year," she explained.

  "Josh?"

  She put some distance between them and stared with her eyebrows raised. "Who else, Jared?" she asked and then gave him a gentle slap when he had the audacity to smile.

  "Why?"

  Mia rolled her eyes and stepped out of his embrace. "Honestly, Jared." She looked at Ivy. "Has she fried some of your cells?"

  She apologised straight away as soon as she saw his stern look.

  "He's going to uni in Melbourne."

  "That's bad?"

  "Duh!" She crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed. "Yes, it's bad. What about me?"

  "What about you?"

  That really took her aback. What about her? he asked. Seriously? She looked over at Ivy again, trying to figure out whether she'd somehow cast a spell on him. But before she was able to reply, the door opened and Josh came in.

  There was silence as she and Jared looked at him.

  "What?" Josh asked.

  "Your intention to study in Melbourne is not going down very well, I heard," Jared said.