by Lucy Clark
Zac stuck his hand over the fence and opened the gate that led to the back of the property. He waited for Julia and Edward to come through before walking up the path. ‘Hello?’ he bellowed loudly as they rounded the corner to the back.
‘Zac?’ His sister, wearing a bright red bathing-suit, was sitting on a step in the shallow end of the pool, her blonde hair pinned up on top of her head, out of the way. Her husband was holding onto Travis who had armbands on, while the twins splashed in the deeper water.
Zac smiled and waved as the twins started squealing, ‘Uncle Zac! Uncle Zac’s here.’
‘Julia!’ Vanessa squealed, and was out of the pool in one swift motion, gathering her towel around her wet body and rushing towards them. Julia held tightly to Edward’s hand as he loved swimming pools and was usually quite impatient to get in the water. She held out her free arm towards Vanessa and the two friends embraced, tears of joy in their eyes.
‘Wow! I can’t believe it’s really you,’ Vanessa said softly as they broke apart and looked at each other. ‘I have missed you so much.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Julia replied, smiling as she brushed a tear from her cheek. She sniffed and they both laughed. Edward was tugging on her hand.
‘I go swimming, Mummy. Swimming.’
‘Yes, all right, Edward. Just a minute. Come and say hello to one of Mummy’s special friends.’
Vanessa crouched down so she was at Edward’s eye level. ‘Hello, handsome,’ she said. ‘What have you got there?’ She pointed to his favourite toy which was tucked firmly under his arm.
Edward showed her his favourite character from a popular television show and smiled brightly at the new friend he’d found.
Zac watched the exchange with a tightening of his chest. He looked at Julia and found her smiling proudly down at her son. Good. She should be proud. He glanced over at Vanessa’s family in the pool, all laughing and having fun. A family. It brought back too many memories of Cara, too many hurts, and there was no way Zac was going to allow himself to be hurt again.
Clenching his jaw, he turned to his sister.
‘I’ll head on inside and then start unpacking the car.’
‘Want a hand?’ Mike, his brother-in-law, called from the pool.
‘No, thanks.’ Zac forced a smile and waved. He looked at Julia. ‘You two girls catch up.’
‘Uncle Zac,’ Wendy called. ‘Come in the pool.’
‘Soon,’ he answered, and hurried inside. After he’d unloaded the stuff, Zac started to feel in better control. Too many kids, too many happy families, bringing back too many memories.
Cara and the memories from his marriage usually surfaced whenever he came around to Vanessa’s house, and they all knew it. Even though it had been over three years since her death, Zac was still running from the hurt.
‘Everything all right?’ Vanessa said from behind him, and he turned, a pasted-on smile on his lips.
‘Fine.’ He placed his arm about her shoulder when she gave him a hug. ‘How about you? Recovered from your trip overseas?’
‘Yes,’ she said with relief. ‘Back home and relaxing. I’ve got another week off before I head back to work.’
‘So where is it?’ he asked.
‘It’s over here,’ Vanessa said, and rushed to the display cabinet in the lounge room. Zac followed her and she handed him the wall plaque with her name engraved on a shiny new nameplate.
‘Wow. My little sister winning the award for most outstanding medical breakthrough in vascular surgery,’ he said, and kissed her. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘Thanks. Now, tell me, what’s going on between you and Julia?’
Zac’s earlier frown returned. ‘Nothing. We’re friends.’
‘Oh, don’t give me that. The tension in the air is exactly what it used to be when you dated years ago. Are you going to stand there and seriously tell me that you feel nothing but friendship for Julia?’
‘No,’ he said after a pause. ‘I’m not going to tell you anything because it’s none of your business, little sister,’ he said in a forced jovial tone. Now was not the time to have a deep and meaningful discussion about Julia.
‘What do you mean, none of my business? I was the one who first introduced you. You’re my brother—she’s one of my closest friends. The fact that you’re refusing to answer any questions means there’s more going on here than you want me to know.’
‘So why don’t you take the hint and stop asking questions, then?’ he asked with an infuriating smile. ‘When you probe, Vanessa, you don’t know when to quit, and you keep on probing.’
‘Hey, I’m a surgeon. I like to know what’s going on, deep down inside.’
‘Well, I’m not your patient, sis.’
‘But, Zac, she’s here—you’re here—’
‘Shh.’ Zac placed a hand over her mouth. ‘Not another word, Vanessa. I’m just not in the mood.’
‘Sorry to interrupt,’ Julia said from the doorway, Edward’s hand still held firmly in hers. Both of them turned to look at her, guilty looks on their faces, and she assumed they’d been discussing her. She pointed to her bags which Zac had left in the hallway. ‘Edward’s getting impatient to get into the pool so I thought I’d get our swimmers out now.’
‘Sure,’ Vanessa said. ‘I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping tonight. Is this one yours?’
‘No. That one is mine.’ Zac collected his bag, picking up one of Julia’s in his other hand. ‘The other five bags belong to Julia.’
‘And her son,’ Vanessa defended, and turned to Julia. ‘You don’t need to tell me about travelling with children. Taking the three of them overseas was hectic—but a lot of fun. It was well worth the effort.’ She headed up the stairs and they all followed.
‘I go swimming, Mummy,’ Edward was demanding.
‘Yes, darling, but you need to get changed first. You don’t want to get your clothes all wet, do you?’
‘No.’
‘All right, then.’
‘Edward,’ Vanessa said, ‘can you guess what colour your room might be?’
‘Um, bwue?’
‘No, it’s not blue.’
‘Um, wed?’
‘Not red.’
‘Um, gween?’
‘Yes,’ Vanessa exclaimed with delight as she opened a door for them and walked into the room. ‘Look it’s green. You were right.’
‘I was wight, Mummy. I was wight,’ Edward chanted, as he jumped up and down excitedly.
‘Look at this lovely green room,’ Julia said, and pointed to the pastel green walls.
‘I love gween. I love gween. I’s my fabourite.’
‘Zac, you’re next door,’ Vanessa said. ‘The bathroom is opposite these rooms and you’re the only three who’ll be using it so make yourselves at home.’
‘Thank you.’ Julia’s thanks were heartfelt and she reached out to hug her friend again. ‘Thank you so much for having us.’
‘My pleasure,’ Vanessa replied.
‘I go swimming, peeze, Mummy!’ Edward demanded, and both women laughed.
‘I see he has the usual three-year-old patience,’ Vanessa said. ‘We’ll leave you to get changed. Come on, Zac,’ she said as she walked out. ‘Can you guess what colour your room might be?’
Julia shut the door, giggling like a schoolgirl. Oh, this was great. Fantastic! Right at this moment, she didn’t want to think about Zac or the fact that he’d been married. She wanted to concentrate on her son and relaxing and having a good time. The thinking would come later—it always did.
Soon they had changed into their swimsuits and were walking down the stairs. Julia had made sure that Edward had a special swimming T-shirt on as well and had applied sunscreen to the parts of his body that weren’t covered up. Armbands had been inflated, so that Edward could quite easily float in the water by himself.
She wore a black one-piece swimsuit, nothing fancy, just sensibly cut. Slathering her body with sunscreen, as she hated to burn, J
ulia and Edward made their way out to the pool.
Zac was already in the water, playing with the twins. Their gazes met and held before his quickly appraised her slender body. She felt herself begin to blush, so lowered her head to look at her son. They’d brought their own towels and she placed them on one of the chairs as Edward was tugging furiously on her arm.
‘Tum on, Mummy,’ he urged.
‘All right.’ Julia stepped onto the first step and squealed.
The twins laughed and Zac smiled. ‘It gets easier with each step you take,’ he said. ‘And a swim is just what your doctor is ordering to ease the stiffness in your back.’
Julia pulled a face at him. ‘Know-all,’ she accused lightly, and he laughed. The deep, rich, sound washed over her and she shivered, rubbing her arms.
‘It’s not that bad,’ Mike said as he gently swung Travis around. ‘Just dive right in. Get it over and done with quickly.’
‘Once you’re in, it’s not so cool,’ Vanessa offered from behind them as she, too, came back into the pool.
It was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature quite high. A nice cool dip was what they all needed but Julia wished the water was just a few degrees warmer! She decided to take Mike’s advice and asked Vanessa to hold Edward’s hand for a moment.
‘Big breath,’ Zac teased, just before Julia dived beneath the water.
‘Ooh,’ she gasped as she came up seconds later, and they all laughed. ‘When? When does it get better?’ she demanded. She held her arms out to Edward who was squealing with delight. He let go of Vanessa’s hand and jumped towards his mother, sending a spray of water all over her. ‘Just as well I was already wet,’ she said with a laugh.
They all played for about an hour, sometimes making up games and sometimes just moving about. Julia was relaxing and having fun. Zac seemed to be doing the same, and for the moment the unspoken truce they’d called was lovely.
Mike cooked a barbeque for lunch and they all ate their fill. Afterwards, the twins started climbing a tree in the backyard and Travis and Edward were happily playing with their cars. Mike and Vanessa had gone inside to take care of the dirty dishes, insisting that their guests stay outside and relax.
Zac sat down in the deckchair next to Julia, who was by the pool. ‘Having a good time?’
She turned and smiled at him. ‘Oh, yes. It’s great. I’d forgotten what good fun Vanessa could be.’
‘Hey? What about me? Weren’t we the Three Musketeers?’
‘Hmm…’ She pretended to consider the question thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. ‘Were you good fun? Let’s not go there right now, Zac,’ she said with a laugh.
‘How’s your back feeling?’
‘Much better.’ He made her report in every morning on the status of her bruised coccyx.
‘Good, but, still, take it easy. Did you take your anti-inflammatories this morning?’
‘Yes, Doctor,’ she jested, and he laughed.
They started talking about a controversial article they’d both read in a medical journal about pelvic fractures, discussing the pros and cons of a particular surgical technique. Edward came over and sat beside her for a while, yawning once or twice before going to the edge of the pool. He still had his armbands on but Julia watched him like a hawk.
‘Be careful,’ she warned him. He sat on the bottom step and dangled his feet in the water. They continued to talk.
‘By performing an anterior and proximal incision in one go, it means there’s more muscle and tendon in the way and an increased risk of cutting something we shouldn’t,’ Julia added.
Edward stood up and started walking around the perimeter of the pool. Again her gaze followed him, watching his every step, looking for wet spots, but the sun had dried out most of the water around the edge. ‘Edward. Come here,’ she said.
‘No,’ he answered back.
She looked at Zac. ‘He’s getting tired. It’s been a big day for him.’
He continued to walk around the perimeter twice more. ‘All right. That’s enough,’ she said, and when he came close, she reached out to grab him. Edward managed to elude her.
‘One,’ she counted as he rounded the deep end. ‘Two.’
He looked up at her with a cheeky grin on his face.
‘Watch what you’re doing,’ Julia chastised. The moment the words were out of her mouth, Edward slipped and fell. Splash!
‘Edward!’
Julia was on her feet and heading for the pool, but Zac beat her to it. He dived into the water as Edward’s head and shoulders bobbed up, his armbands keeping him up, but as his hands were splashing about as he started to panic, his head went under again.
Zac lifted him up and held him firmly in his arms as he waded back through the pool towards the steps. Edward clung to him, his arms wrapped tightly around Zac’s neck. Julia had a towel ready as Zac handed him over.
‘He’s fine. Just a little shaken up.’
Mike and Vanessa had come out of the house at Julia’s cry, and the other three children were all crowding around Edward.
‘He’s fine,’ Zac said reassuringly. Julia sat down with Edward who was crying with both shock and tiredness.
‘You’re all right,’ she told him. ‘You’re a goosey-gander some days.’ She cradled him tightly and kissed his head. ‘How about you and Mummy go for another swim in a few minutes?’
‘Me, too,’ said Travis.
‘Us, too,’ the twins piped up.
‘Sounds like another pool party,’ Vanessa agreed. ‘You just need to wait for…’ she consulted the clock inside ‘…another twenty minutes to let your lunch settle properly.’
When the crowd had disbursed and Edward had snuggled into his mother for a little cat-nap, Julia looked across at Zac. ‘Thank you,’ she said, her eyes filling with tears and spilling over her lashes onto her cheeks.
‘Hey,’ he said softly, and reached over to tenderly wipe the tears away. ‘It’s all part of the service. He’ll be fine,’ he reiterated.
‘Oh, I know, but it’s that millisecond heart-stopping moment of dread that takes a while to get over.’
He nodded. ‘You’ll be fine.’ Zac smiled at her and Julia knew in that instant that she was head over heels in love with him. When it had happened she wasn’t quite sure. Whether she’d never really stopped loving him was quite on the cards, but of one thing she was now positively sure. She was in love with Zachary Carmichael and there was nothing she could do about it.
Zac looked at Edward who had his eyes closed, relaxing in the secure comfort of his mother’s embrace. It wasn’t right that such a cute little fellow should grow up without a father. Zac’s dislike for Julia’s ex-husband grew. During the time he’d spent with Edward today, Zac had come to realise that he liked the boy. Liked him for himself, not just because he was Julia’s son.
There was no doubting the attraction between himself and Julia and, regardless of how many times they fought it, it still managed to overwhelm them. One thing was for sure—Zac knew he had to tell her about his past. If there was ever going to be anything more between them, then the past had to be laid to rest. The question he had to ask himself was, was he capable of doing it?
Later that night, after the children were all settled in bed, Julia went downstairs to join the adults. They all talked for a while about various topics and Mike urged the three of them to recount some of their medical school anecdotes.
Just before midnight, Vanessa and Mike said goodnight and headed upstairs.
‘I’d better get some sleep as well,’ Julia said, smothering a yawn. ‘The time went so quickly, I had no idea it was so late.’
‘You don’t have to go—on account of me, that is,’ Zac said softly as he came to sit beside her on the sofa.
Julia smiled. ‘No, it’s not because of you. It’s because my son wakes up at six-thirty on the dot every morning and demands his mother’s attention!’ Despite what had transpired between them either in the past or in the last few w
eeks, Julia loved being in his company. She knew there was still a lot to be said between them but for now she was quite content to let the unspoken words remain unspoken.
‘Have you had a relaxing day?’ he asked, his arm leaning across the back of the sofa, his body angled towards her.
‘Yes, except for when Edward fell into the pool.’ Julia shuddered as the terrifying memory flooded back. ‘I knew he’d be all right. He had his armbands on and it was only a few seconds before you plucked him from the water…’ She smiled gratefully at him. ‘But, still, I feel awful. I should have stood up and gone and got him. He wasn’t listening to me, wasn’t obeying verbal commands, which he’s usually very good at. He was tired and impatient and that’s usually the sign that I go and get him to ensure he doesn’t hurt himself.’
Zac shook his head. ‘Don’t beat yourself up about it, Julia. You were watching him, you’d protected him as best you could and if he hadn’t panicked, he would have been as right as rain. When you took him in the pool later on, he was quite happy about it. I’ll bet you, right now the thought has completely gone from his head with no horrible after-effects.’
She shuddered again. ‘No. Just after-effects for his mother.’
Zac moved closer. ‘You’re a terrific mother, Jules. You love him with every fibre of your being and he loves you back. The emotion isn’t forced—it’s given freely, from both sides. He’s a credit to you.’ Zac’s tone was quiet and sincere.
Julia’s smile had become wobbly and her eyes started to mist with tears. ‘Thank you,’ she said softly. ‘It means a lot to hear you say that.’ Especially as she knew his opinions on marriage and families. Then again, did she?
She looked down at her hands and fidgeted for a moment before looking back at him. Biting her lip, she wondered whether she had the courage to ask him about his wife. Deciding it was probably going to be now or never, she took the chance.
‘Will you tell me what happened between you and your wife? Why you divorced?’
He slowly shifted in his seat, as though her words had made him uncomfortable. She had no doubt that they had. ‘Don’t you think you owe me at least that much? I’ve shared with you—’
