Reality Bytes

by Jane Frances

  Emma found the thought of approaching friends for money appalling, but Pete—just like Tricia when she’d asked Emma to act as locum in her absence—was persistent and persuasive. Despite her misgivings, Emma found herself on the end of a phone line to Italy. As expected, it was Cathy who answered.

  “Em, Lisa’s not here at the moment. She’s on one of her marathon runs.”

  The mobile phone Cathy had purchased before leaving for Italy was obviously a good investment, her voice clear as a bell. If she didn’t know better, Emma could have sworn Cathy was in the next suburb and not halfway across the world, but wondering at the marvels of modern technology was not her primary objective. “Utilizing her network” as Pete so eloquently described it, was. Emma called it “scabbing money off friends” but, whatever it was called, it left Emma with a dry mouth and a churning stomach.

  “Actually, Cathy, it’s you I wanted to speak to…”

  Cathy snapped her mobile shut and placed it in the daypack that rested on the stonework next to the sun lounge. She adjusted the straps of her black bikini top before lying back down and closing her eyes against the glare of the Italian sun. It was still midmorning, but already the sun had a bite intent on working its way through the layer of sunscreen Cathy had applied. She decided that, if Lisa hadn’t returned from her run in ten minutes, she’d escape to the cool of their room and wait for her there.

  By the time another body sat down next to her she’d turned over to lie on her stomach. Fingers pressed lightly on the skin between her shoulder blades. “I think you’re done, honey.”

  Cathy turned over and smiled sleepily. Lisa’s timing was perfect. Another minute or so and she would have dozed off, giving the sun ample opportunity to do its damage. “Hi there. How was your run?”

  “Great.” Lisa had the glow of someone still in the midst of an endorphin high, but she grimaced as she rubbed her thighs. “It’s a killer climb back, though. Next time I think we should book a hotel closer to sea level.”

  “It does look like you had to work a bit hard.” Cathy reached to brush a strand of wet-with-sweat hair from Lisa’s forehead. “Tell you what, next visit I’ll book us a tent on the beach.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Lisa dangled an empty water bottle. “Have you got anything to drink? I finished this halfway up the hill.”

  “There should be one floating in there somewhere.” Cathy pointed to her pack and within moments Lisa was breaking the plastic seal on a fresh bottle of water. She watched Lisa down half of it in large, thirsty gulps. “Emma called while you were gone.”

  Lisa swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand and offered the bottle. “Did you tell her I wasn’t far away?”

  Cathy shook her head at both the water and the question. “Actually, she called to speak to me.”

  Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seems everyone’s forgotten who’s supposed to be friends with whom.”

  “Seems so.” Yesterday morning Cathy had taken a call from Toni but was soon handing the phone to Lisa. Apparently Toni was planning some construction work and, since Lisa worked in a related industry, was hoping to get some names of reputable tradespeople.

  “So, what did she want?”

  Cathy frowned, recalling their conversation. “I’m not really sure. After she said she wanted to speak to me, she didn’t really say anything at all. Actually, she went so quiet I had to check to see if she was still on the line. Then she just asked if we were having a good time, said she was insanely jealous and that she’d speak to us when we got back.”

  “And that was it?”

  “Yes.”

  Lisa rolled the water bottle in her palms, eyes out to the horizon. “I wonder what’s up?”

  Cathy dug into her pack and held out her phone. “Give her a call and find out.”

  The mobile was considered but refused. Lisa turned her attention to the pool. “I’m hot. I think I’ll have a swim first. Do you want to join me?”

  It took Lisa less than five minutes to jog to their room, don her bathers and rejoin Cathy by the pool. She dove straight in but Cathy chose the more tortuous method of easing in slowly. By the time Lisa had swum a couple of laps Cathy’s body temperature had equalized with the water. She waited by the edge of the pool, lazily kicking her legs until Lisa swam up to her.

  “I think I’ve turned into a sloth.” The water was particularly salty so there was little effort required to stay afloat, especially with her arms stretched along the edge. “I think I’ll ring ahead to Tuscany and change our bike booking to a tandem so you can do all the work.”

  “You can do that if you like.” Lisa pushed off the wall with her feet, gliding backward through the water before swimming a few forward strokes and stopping directly in front of Cathy. She tread water as her hands dipped below the surface, finding Cathy’s waist. “I’ll still think you’re sexy, even with a big jelly-belly.”

  “Is that so?” Cathy pushed Lisa to arm’s length, the comment seeming an opening for discussion on the topic that had not been mentioned since their last night in Rome. She wanted to ask what Lisa would think of her with a swollen belly, with fluid-filled ankles and probably a good layer of padding around her thighs. What she’d think if Cathy suffered morning sickness and had to make mad dashes to the toilet, and if Lisa would drive to the store in the middle of the night to satisfy some madder food craving. “You’d still find me attractive even if I was twice this size?”

  “Even if you were four times this size.” Lisa ducked her head under the water and Cathy felt lips slide along her stomach. Her head reappeared and golden hair was smoothed back. “But I don’t think I have to worry about that for a while.” Light lashes blinked away droplets of water and blue irises surrounded increasing pupils. “Because you’re so damn sexy right now…” Wet lips slid across Cathy’s neck to that most sensitive bit of skin just below her ear. They traversed Cathy’s earlobe. “Damn, you look good in that bikini.”

  Their hotel was full to capacity. Sun-worshipers surrounded the pool and they shared the water with at least a dozen other guests. As Lisa’s fingers slid between Cathy’s thighs, a scantily clad woman eased into the water not more than a foot away from them. It was a very public place to be sharing such a private moment. Cathy stayed Lisa’s fingers by grabbing her wrist. Desire clashed with disappointment at the missed opportunity for a baby debate.

  Desire won. Cathy was already lifting herself out of the pool as she said, “Let’s go to our room.”

  The room was cool, closed wooden shutters and thick stone walls providing efficient insulation against the heat of the day. Cathy stretched out fully, her thigh muscle twitching in response to the fingernails that traveled its length. She arched her back before settling, with a sigh, onto the mess of bedclothes. Once still, her stomach complained it was empty. It was no wonder she was hungry. Since she and Lisa had flung themselves onto the bed, their combined enthusiasm ensured an energetic workout.

  “Shall we go get some lunch?” Cathy suggested.

  “Mmm…” Lisa too stretched out on the bed, but her fingers continued their tour of Cathy’s thigh. She completely ignored the new watch strapped around her wrist. “What’s the time?”

  The small clock on the bedside announced it was now past one. As if to prove a point, Cathy’s stomach grumbled again. “Lunchtime.”

  Lisa ruffled Cathy’s hair, pulled herself upright and leapt off the bed. “Okay, lazy bones. Let’s go eat before you begin chewing on my arm.”

  Cathy headed for the bathroom.

  Lisa announced, since it was now past seven p.m. in Perth, she’d give Emma a call.

  Showered, Cathy emerged from the bathroom patting her still damp hair with a towel. “How is she?” she asked Lisa.

  “I have no idea.” Lisa’s phone was tossed onto the closest pillow. “She’s gas-bagging to someone. I keep getting the engaged signal.”

  “You can try again later.” Cathy stood in front of the closet, considering what to wear
to lunch. She decided, since they were in Capri, that a set of Capri pants would be appropriate. She coupled them with a light sleeveless cotton shirt and headed back to the bathroom. She was pulling a brush through her hair when she caught Lisa’s reflection in the mirror. Lisa was doing as she seemed to do every day now, leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded as she watched Cathy complete her preparations. And as was usual over the past few days, Cathy found Lisa’s expression unreadable, and a bit disconcerting. “Are you going to have a shower before we go?”

  “In a minute.” Lisa leaned her head against the wooden frame and shifted her weight to her other foot. “I’m just enjoying watching you.”

  Cathy looked at Lisa’s reflection in the mirror and smiled.

  “You really are beautiful, you know.”

  Cathy smiled again. “Thank you.”

  “I reckon your children would be beautiful too. Good genes.”

  Cathy locked eyes with Lisa, her brush stopping midstroke. “Thank you,” she repeated.

  “But there’s two sets of genes involved, aren’t there.” Lisa’s gaze didn’t waver from Cathy’s reflection. “Who’d provide the other set, Cathy? Because it can’t be me.”

  “I don’t know, Lisa. I thought we could talk about that together.” There was no response so Cathy pressed on. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly.

  Lisa’s eyes held to Cathy’s for one more second before she broke the contact. She unfolded her arms and looked down at her nakedness. “I think I’ll have that shower now.”

  “Hi, Mal.” Emma scratched Malibu under the chin before lifting her off the desk and onto her lap. “You sit here. That’s my keyboard, not your cushion.”

  Malibu did a couple of three-sixty-degree turns before winding into a tight crescent of fur and emitting a gentle purr. Emma absently stroked her in between bursts of keyboard tapping. She glanced to the clock at the bottom of her screen. It was past ten p.m. With the exception of an enforced fifteen-minute “booted” break, she and Pookie had been talking for three hours.

  Pookie had not been alone in the Fijian room when Emma entered. Shygirl was also present, as was Osmosis and FallenAngel. The conversation revolved around FallenAngel and her recent trip to New Zealand to meet Rabbit, the woman she had been talking with, both in chat and over the phone, for months. Apparently the trip had been a misery, the meeting in the flesh revealing that Rabbit was not the caring, sharing woman FallenAngel had been expecting. Rather she turned out to be quite the opposite, doing little to make FallenAngel welcome, and leaving her alone for extended periods while she retreated to globetrot on her computer. Finally having enough, FallenAngel booked into a motel for the last four days of her one-week stay and flew back to Adelaide, tail between her legs, ashamed at being so naïve as to fall for someone she had never met.

  Emma contributed nothing to the conversation; she just sat watching, appalled at what she was reading. To think she’d been on the verge of lifting her veil of secrecy and offering Pookie insights into her life. A heavy weight of disappointment settled over Emma as the Fijian Room emptied of occupants. Shygirl hung around for a while, flirting with both Emma and Pookie, but eventually left, getting no reaction from either. Shygirl’s continued pointless passes only served to reconfirm what Emma now knew to be true. This virtual world was purely that, a virtual reality that had the potential to suck you in and just as easily spit you out.

  Finally alone, Pookie had been the first to speak.

  Pookie: alone at last

  Kayisha: Yes

  Pookie: how r u kay? how did ur interview go?

  Kayisha: Okay

  Pookie: did u get the job?

  Kayisha: Don’t know yet. Three others applied.

  Pookie: when will u find out?

  Kayisha: Don’t know. Next week maybe.

  Pookie: do u want the job?

  Kayisha: It seems like a good position and the people are nice.

  Pookie: wot is the job exactly?

  Emma thought carefully about how much she should reveal.

  Kayisha: I’d rather not talk about it.

  The delay on the screen indicated Pookie was also considering her response.

  Pookie: ok then

  Kayisha: I’m sorry, Pookie.

  Pookie: wots wrong kay? have i said something 2 upset u?

  Kayisha: No. Not at all.

  Pookie: ok then

  Emma stared at her blinking cursor, knowing Pookie was waiting for her to say something. Finally, she began typing again.

  Kayisha: It’s the FallenAngel and Rabbit thing.

  There was another short delay on the screen. Pookie was either thinking carefully about her reply or typing an extended response.

  Pookie: its sad. i spoke 2 fallen the day b4 she flew out. she was so excited 2 b finally meeting rabbit. i never guessed rabbit could turn out like that. even if there was no chemistry when they met she didnt have 2 b such a bitch about it

  Kayisha: I’d never put myself in that position.

  Pookie: i never thought i would either, until now

  Kayisha: Now?

  Pookie: ive been thinking about u a lot over the last few days kay

  Emma held her breath as she typed. Her fingers spelled out, I’ve been a thinking a lot about you too, Pookie, but she quickly deleted the words and typed an alternative.

  Kayisha: What were you thinking?

  Pookie: that i missed u, n how strange that was since i really no nothing about u, n how i could pass u in the street n not no its u cos i have no idea what u look like, n how that may never happen cos u may get that job in albany n move away

  Emma’s heart thudded. Pookie had just verbalized her own thoughts during her time away. Both nights she lay on the bed in her motel room, wondering what Pookie was doing, where she was, who she was speaking to. She’d fall asleep trying to paste together an image of the woman who would later run through her dreams, and wake the next morning trying to capture fragments of the picture her subconscious had painted. For well over a year Justine had dominated her pre-sleep, post-sleep and dreamtime, and it wasn’t until on her way home from her lunch with Pete and driving past Justine’s house that Emma realized she hadn’t given her a thought for the past forty-eight hours. While walking to her front door Emma thought of Lisa and how pleased she would be to discover the flame Emma had carried for so long was finally extinguished. Then she cringed at Lisa’s likely reaction to the news that she was now plagued by thoughts of a faceless entity coming to her compliments of her computer’s circuitry. Emma could think of at least one occasion when Lisa had threatened to call the men in the white wagon on her behalf. This bit of information would have her ready to sign commitment papers.

  Emma typed slowly, the old saying “look before you leap” running through her mind. She read the words out loud, knew them to be true and, despite her better judgment, hit the enter key.

  Kayisha: I want to know everything about you, Pookie.

  Pookie: n i want 2 no everything about u

  Kayisha: But at the same time I’m scared of finding out.

  Pookie: i’m not like rabbit

  Kayisha: I don’t know that.

  Pookie: give me a chance 2 prove it

  Emma gave no response.

  Pookie: lets start with some easy stuff. u can tell me 2 go 2 hell if it gets 2 personal

  That sounded perfectly reasonable. And relatively safe.

  Kayisha: ok

  Pookie: my fav color is green. wots ur fav color n y?

  They had covered a lot of ground in the hours since Emma revealed that her favorite color was blue. She told how the gas-lift chair she was currently sitting on was blue and that many of her interior design choices had been influenced by her preference. Pookie asked if her color preference extended to her bedroom and Emma told her to go to hell for getting too personal. But she went on to tell Pookie that her continental quilt was predominantly navy blue, and how she’d overhauled the whole room, includin
g the color of the walls, in a post-breakup frenzy.

  Given the opening, Pookie skirted around the subject of partners until Emma finally gave in and relieved her curiosity, announcing she’d been single since the woman who inspired the redecoration of her room. Emma then worked up the courage to ask of Pookie’s status, hoping she was unattached, not quite sure just how she’d feel if she wasn’t.

  Pookie: i’m single

  Yay! Emma silently cheered.

  Pookie: have been 4 a year now. unless u count a 3 week fling

  Kayisha: Why wouldn’t you count that?

  Pookie: cos we slept together, but not much else

  Kayisha: So you reckon if you just sleep with someone it doesn’t count?

  Pookie: i didnt say that

  Kayisha: What are you saying then?

  Pookie: that she wasnt the right 1 4 me

  Kayisha: Was she with someone?

  Pookie: no

  Kayisha: Have you ever been with someone who was with someone else?

  Pookie: not as far as I no

  Kayisha: My last partner was with someone else. She left me to be with her.

  Pookie: that must have been hard

  Kayisha: I hated her and her new girlfriend for quite a while.

  Pookie: sounds reasonable. i went thru something similar last yr, but eventually got over it. lol i had 2 get over it. she was my boss

  Kayisha: Really?

  Pookie: still is

  Emma jumped at the opportunity to discover what Pookie did for a living.

  Kayisha: What do you do?

  Pookie: at the moment i’m on leave

  Kayisha: Holiday?

  Pookie: sick leave

  Kayisha: Not too serious I hope?

  Pookie: i’ll survive. should b back on deck next wk

  It was the moment before Emma hit the enter key on her repeated “What do you do?” question that her ISP booted her out. In the minutes that followed, the question was forgotten, Emma too busy swearing and cursing at her screen. Finally the damned machine made the correct noises and Emma flew through the sequence that would take her back to the Fijian room.

  Pookie: wb = welcome back