I re-read the message over quickly before hitting send. After I pressed the button I wanted to bring it back again. I groaned to myself and pushed the computer away. A ding made me grab it again.
Hi Bea,
Nice Dutch ;)
Looks like you might have to come to Belgium to get your piano fix after all!
I don’t know where I’ll go yet. I’d like to go to Australia actually. But I don’t know when. It’s so far away compared to everywhere else! For now I think I’ll just have to stick to small European trips. I might be going to Vienna next month. Or maybe Budapest. I’m not sure yet.
Anyway. Bed time for me. Work tomorrow.
Sweet dreams,
Leo xox.
I grinned at the computer screen, and then put it down. I lay back on my bed and started day-dreaming about completely inappropriate things that would probably never happen.
I wandered along the aisles of the bookshop, trailing my fingers along the book spines. I'd always loved books. My mother had bookshelves scattered all around the house, overflowing with books.
I'd learned to read before I started school. I'd wanted to know what was in those mysterious pages my mother so revered. I loved losing myself in a story, coming up only to eat and drink, and sometimes even forgetting to do those. I'd start to clean my room after threats from Mum that she was going to flick a match in there if she couldn't see the floor by the end of the afternoon. I'd pick a few things off the floor, then inevitably start tidying and re-arranging my bookshelf. The next thing I'd know, it would be 5pm and I would be half way through a book I'd already read three times. I know some people don't like re-reading books, but I've always enjoyed it. Lewis thinks it's because I read so fast that I'm not taking everything in. But I do. You always pick up something new on each re-read though, and sometimes I just like revisiting old friends. Pop in again on Elspeth at Obernewtyn, or Harry, Ron and Hermione, or Axis and Azhure, Frodo and Sam, Fitz and the Fool. When I was in primary school I would read The Silver Brumby books over and over again. I'd read others in between of course, but I'd always be cycling through the Brumby books.
I loved the smell and feel of a new (or old) book in my hand. The heftiness of it; the possibilities. Who would I meet between these pages? Would it become a favourite, to be savoured again and again, or a forgettable yet enjoyable summer read? Or worse, a teeth-gritting torture that I'd force myself to get through. I used to always force myself to finish every book that I started. I don't anymore. Time is too short and there are too many awesome books out there to waste time forcing myself to read a book that I'm not enjoying or that's making me yell into the ethers.
I'd always thought working in a book shop would be cool. Kind of like Bernard Black, but less grumpy.
I liked working in Rosemarie's shop. It was quaint, and peaceful. She had a mix of second-hand and new books. There were a few delightful little reading nooks, where a couple of regulars could usually be found. She even had a kettle and tea for people to help themselves if they wanted to linger.
It was much nicer than the big chain stores. Unfortunately not everyone agreed. It wasn’t nearly as busy as the place deserved.
I'd only had a couple of customers today. Well, three, but Bert hardly ever bought anything. He came in each morning and would grab a book, hole himself up in one of the nooks and read. Rosemarie was quite fond of the old man - he'd been coming here for thirty years apparently, but it would be nice if he actually bought a book occasionally…
The bell over the door tinkled. Annie stood there, smiling brightly at me, hair in disarray from the wind outside.
“Ahoy!” I said, pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Just passing by; thought I’d see if you want to grab a coffee or something?”
I looked around the shop and bit my lip. It was empty apart from Bert, but I couldn’t really leave. I briefly considered closing it up for ten minutes, but I knew I’d want to chat to Annie for longer than ten minutes.
“Ummm. I can’t, really. Rosemarie’s not here, and we’re not due to close for another couple of hours. I haven’t had many customers today, and it would be just my luck that they would come when I wasn’t here.”
“Oh. Right, yeah, I didn’t realise you were going to be alone. How about I go and grab us some coffees and bring them back here?”
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
“Sounds good. I’ll grab you some money.” I started walking back towards the counter, where my handbag was sitting under the seat.
Annie shook her head. “Nah, I got this one.”
She came back about ten minutes later, balancing two takeaway coffees in her hand. I held the door open for her.
“Sorry I missed you last night. You were asleep by the time I got home,” Annie said as she handed me one of the lattes.
“No worries.” I shrugged. “I was pretty pooped. You probably wouldn’t have gotten much sense out of me anyway.”
Annie smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “Mmm, needed that.” She put the drink down and tucked a stray strand of bright red hair behind her ear.
I blew on my own drink for a moment before taking a mouthful. I didn’t like coffee all that much, but sometimes I just needed the caffeine hit. I hadn’t slept all that well last night and was feeling pretty groggy today. I’d had some pretty vivid dreams that had woken me up a few times. It had been hard to get back to sleep.
“So how was it?” Annie leaned over and picked up a new book that was sitting on the counter. An autobiography from another starlet. I hadn’t even heard of this one. I wasn’t sure why Rosemarie even had it in the shop.
“It was great. Just what I needed. I think…”
“Mara said you met someone?”
I felt myself blush.
“She’s exaggerating. He was… he is nice. We kissed. Once. It wasn’t a big deal. I probably won’t see him ever again.”
“That’s not really the point, Bea. And it’s probably a good thing. No offence or anything, but diving straight into another serious relationship probably isn’t the best idea.”
“Yeah, I know. No one’s talking relationships or anything. It barely even qualified as a fling.” I bit my lip. “He was really nice though.”
Annie smiled. “Hun, there are a lot of really nice guys out there. You’ll meet another one.”
I sighed. “I know you’re right in theory.”
“I’m always right.” Annie winked. “So,” she said. “I haven’t actually heard much about the trip apart from Mara gushing about Pedro, Gemma hooked up with a Kiwi, and saying you met someone. What else happened?”
I took a deep breath. Where to start?
“Well. You know I needed a break-”
“Yeah.”
“Tom’s still...” I paused, not quite sure how to go on.
“Tom’s still what?” Annie cocked her head at me.
“I’m not over him. I want to be. I wish I was… but I’m not.”
Annie sighed and shot me a sympathetic look.
“I know, Bea. But... you have to give it time. It’s only been, what? A month? It’s not long, matey. God, you saw how messed up I was after the whole Scott debacle! It took me six months to get over a four month relationship! You and Tom were together for nearly three years. Of course it’s going to take time. It’s naive to think it won’t, sorry to say.”
“Yeah, I know.” I did know that. I was just impatient. I seemed to be getting worse at getting over break-ups, not better. Breaking up with Jimmy McLeod in Year 10 had been relatively easy. I’d cried for a week when Dave Simpkin had dumped me two days after mid-year exams in Year 12. Thank goodness we’d been on school holidays. And thank goodness we’d only had one class together that year. I’d been miserable for a month, when Harpinder had decided he preferred Sarah to me in our first semester of uni. Then I’d fallen for Tom. We talked about getting married one day, and joked over what we’d name our kids. He’d ruled out Gertrude and Hen
rietta, so I’d suggested we could name our chooks that.
“So, Lisbon? You did like it right?” Annie brought me out of my reverie. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been sitting there, staring into my coffee.
“Oh! Yeah, it was awesome. Now I know why you and Mara were raving about it so much when you went last year. I think I’d like to go back...”
“Mmmm, I’d love some more of those Belem tarts. Damn they’re tasty.”
I groaned. “I want some now!”
“They sell them at that Asian supermarket down by the pub. They’re not as good though - but the best I’ve found around here. Anyway, tell me about this guy you met?”
“Well, his name’s Leo. He’s a Belgian.”
“What’s he look like?”
“Tall, dark and handsome,” I said with a laugh.
“So, the opposite of Tom?”
“Yeah, pretty much!”
“And who’s this Greg guy Gem keeps mentioning?”
I laughed for a moment. “Ah, Greg. He was pretty cool. Not really my type, but Gemma certainly seemed to like him. He was at the hostel too. Surfer-hippie-type. Had a lot of necklaces...” I paused.
Annie raised her eyebrows. “Is that all? Hippie type that wore necklaces?”
I snorted.
“No. He’s a good sort. Nice. Good sense of humour. Seems generous. Getting out and seeing the world. He’s a Kiwi though…”
“Well, how horrible!” Annie laughed.
I spent the next half an hour filling Annie in on every detail of the trip I could remember.
“Have you been thinking about Tom much?” Annie asked after I fell silent for a few moments.
I groaned. “Yes…”
Annie looked at me expectantly.
“I can’t seem to help it. I try not to, I really do. It’s just… ugh. He just keeps popping in there. I keep telling myself to stop it, he’s not worth it, all that… But then I see something that reminds me of something he said once, or smell his brand of soap on some random dude on the tube or… but now I also have Leo popping in there too, which is a nice change. I think I have a bit of a crush on him. Which is weird. Coz I still have these massive raging confused feelings towards Tom, but Leo was... I dunno. It was nice hanging out with him. We kissed the last night he was there.”
“Ohh. How was it?” Annie asked.
“It was sweet,” I said after thinking for a moment.
“And you do know you can have feelings for more than one person at a time, right?” Annie said.
“I know, I know.”
“Maybe you should see Leo again. Just to get Tom out of your system. Just be careful not to fall in love with Leo as well! On second thoughts, maybe we should just go to the Walkabout, you can hook up with and shag some cute American backpacker and that can be the end of it! How’s that sound?” Annie raised her eyebrows at me.
I laughed. I’d never been any good at hooking up with strangers. All my witty comebacks came to me half an hour after they walked away. And see Leo again? I wasn’t sure. I was definitely building a nice little crush on him. I didn’t know how to handle it.
“We emailed a bit last night,” I admitted.
Annie blinked at me. “Who? Tom?”
“What? No. Leo. The Belgian.”
“Oh! Did he email you, or did you email him?” she asked.
“He started it. That’s good right?”
Annie laughed. “Yeah, that’s usually a good sign.”
“Good. I think.”
“Be careful, Bea.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
Exactly two weeks after our return from Portugal I opened my inbox to see an email waiting for me from Leo Temmerman. I smiled and opened it. I was getting used to his almost daily emails. This one wasn’t just to me though.
Hello girls,
I hope this letter finds you all 'awesome'! I will be in London next week for some business, and was hoping you would like to catch up for a night of fun and frivolity!
See you soon,
Leo
I checked the top of the email - he’d also sent it to Mara and Gemma. I put my laptop down and wandered into Mara’s room.
“Mara? Did you see that email from Leo?”
No response. She had her headphones in and eyes shut while she leaned back on her desk chair.
I tapped her on the shoulder. She almost fell backwards out of the chair.
“Geez Bea, way to creep up on me.”
“I didn’t creep! I was talking to you when I came in, you had your eyes shut and ear plugs in, what was I meant to do?” I said, feeling slightly peevish.
Mara shook herself.
“Sorry, yeah, I just don’t like being surprised. My heart’s pounding. Feel it.” She grabbed my hand and pulled it onto her chest where I could feel her rapidly beating heart.
“Well, maybe lock your door before you sit with your eyes and ears shut.” I sat down on the edge of her bed. “I was asking if you saw Leo’s email.”
“No, what’d he say? Confessing his undying love for you?”
I blinked, then realised she was joking.
“No, not yet,” I said airily. “He’s coming to London next week and he wants to meet up with us.”
“Oh cool. Yeah, of course. Which night?” She started flipping through her calendar. I wasn’t sure why, seeing as she was still unemployed.
“I don’t know yet. You busy or something?”
She looked up from the calendar and then snorted.
“Nope.”
“Okay, well do you want to write back to him, or should I? Or should we all? He sent it to Gemma too.”
Mara gave me a funny look that I couldn’t read, then opened her laptop.
“Too late, Gemma’s already replied.”
I looked over Mara’s shoulder, and sure enough, there was a reply from Gemma.
Heyyy Leo,
Great to hear from you. I for sure will be able to meet up with you next week, and I’m pretty sure the other girls will soon chime in as well :) Will be great to see you in London, mini-reunion! Yay!
Hope all is well in Ghent!
Gemma
I shrugged.
Mara quickly typed:
Sounds great to me, see you next week, Leo!
“Now you’re the last one,” Mara smirked.
“So?”
“So, nothing... You do know that by ‘a night of fun’ he means ‘a night of fun in your pants’, right?” Mara smirked. I punched her lightly on the arm.
“Shut up, he does not. What’s for dinner anyway, isn’t it your turn?”
“Steak and kidney pie.”
“Ew, gross,” I groaned.
“Yeah, just kidding. I don’t know how to cook kidney’s. Or pie. Or anything really. I’m making pasta. With vodka sauce. Wanna help me cut up onions?”
“Sure.” I had been Mara’s designated onion cutter for years. I don’t know why, but they rarely made me cry. Even cutting garlic or spring onions left Mara in tears.
“Shall we get started? I’m hungry.”
We went out to the kitchen and I pulled the chopping board out of the cupboard. Mara handed me a couple of small onions. I started peeling them.
“Any luck on the job front?” I asked.
Mara sighed. “Not really. Although to be perfectly honest, I haven’t been looking all that hard yet. I’m enjoying this time off. It’s nice being able to just do whatever the hell I want each day.”
“Which is usually watching daytime trashy TV?”
“No! Well, some days. But I have been working on a few little projects. I started drawing again. I haven’t done that for awhile. It’s been good.”
“Can I see some?” I asked. Mara was a fantastic artist. I was glad to hear she’d started again.
“Maybe… So are you looking forward to seeing Leo again?” Mara asked and tossed me the garlic. She started chopping up a pile of mushrooms.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, it�
��ll be nice.”
“Have you been talking to him much?” I looked at her sideways. I wondered how much Annie had shared with her.
“A bit. Why?”
“No reason, just wondering. I got an email from Pedro last night.”
I laughed. “Really? What did he say?”
She shrugged. “Nothing much. Just hoping I’ll come back to Lisbon one day.”
I grinned at her and passed the finely diced onions and garlic.
“Thanks chickadee, you’re the best.” Mara poured the mix into the frying pan where a knob of butter was melting.
“I know. Did you reply to Pedro?” I breathed deeply as the onions and garlic started cooking in the melted butter. I loved that smell. So simple, yet so good.
“Not yet. Think I should?” She stirred the sizzling onions and garlic.
“Yeah, why not?”
“I dunno… Okay, I will. What do I say?”
I snorted. “Yeah, like I’m the expert. I dunno, Mara. Whatever you feel like.”
“You’re a great help.” Mara scowled.
“Ask Annie. She’s good at this sort of stuff. Do you like him?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course. He’s a likeable fellow.”
“And bloody gorgeous,” I added.
“There’s that too.” Mara added the mushrooms to the pan.
“You might want a bit more butter. Do you want to see him again?”
“That’s where I get stumped. Sure, he was lovely to flirt with in Lisbon, but… let’s be realistic. It’s never going to go anywhere. He’s probably got hundreds of girls he emails and flirts with. And more.”
“So? Just keep it casual. Emailing him back doesn’t mean you want to marry the poor bloke.”
“True. Okay. Go away now and let me cook in peace.”
I laughed. Knowing her, she’d spend the next half hour composing the ‘perfect’ response to Pedro.
The next week seemed to drag by. Leo and I exchanged our daily emails, some longer than others. I found myself thinking less about Tom and more about Leo, which was a relief in a way.
I sat on the couch in the lounge room, late on the Wednesday night, just finishing off an email to Leo regaling him with a story of a most unusual customer I’d had that day. Gemma and Mara came stumbling in. They’d been hanging out at the pub where Annie worked. They’d invited me, but I was feeling a bit run down and tired and decided to be a good girl and stay home. Turns out that had been a good idea.
Unexpected: A Backpacker Romance (The Backpacker Romances) Page 8
