After Summer

by S R Silcox

  “Oh my God, are you kidding? It was amazing.”

  Brooks drops my hand and puts her arm around my shoulder and pulls me in. “I’m glad.”

  I put my arm around her waist. It feels so good to be with her. “How long have you been helping Rosie out?”

  “The last two years.”

  “And the turtles have been nesting on here for how long?”

  “We’re not sure. Rosie did some digging and found out that they used to nest here a long time ago, but she thinks that all the development on the mainland might have put them off until a few years ago.”

  “Why would that matter?”

  “Something about the way they navigate,” Brooks says. “The bright lights from Roper’s used to throw them off, or so Rosie thinks, and since the council changed them to orange lights and got rid of a lot of them off the esplanade, the turtles seem to have come back.”

  I consider that for a moment and then a thought occurs to me. “Is that why you don’t like Dad’s development? Because of the turtles?”

  “Yeah, mostly. But he had to do an Environmental Impact Statement, and part of it was how he’d protect the turtles during construction and afterwards when people start staying on here.”

  “So will the turtles be protected then?”

  Brooks doesn’t answer straight away. Finally she says, “Rosie seems to be happy with the EIS, so it must be okay.”

  We come to the end of the track and step out onto the dune and down onto the beach. Brooks turns on her head torch and looks around for the canoe.

  “Oh shit,” she says. She drops my hand and looks around frantically, the light from her head torch flicking around wildly.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The canoe. It’s not here.” She turns her head to the water and scans. “Shit. I can’t see it.”

  I turn my head torch on and search around the dunes. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

  “I’m positive. I know this place like the back of my hand.”

  She walks up the beach a bit and then calls me. “Come look at this.”

  I stand beside her. “What am I looking at?”

  “There,” she says, pointing to what looks like drag marks. “Someone’s freaking stolen the canoe. Shit!”

  She throws her head back, throwing a stream of light straight up into the air.

  “Wait a minute. There’s footprints. Look.”

  Brooks bends down and looks at them. “Let’s go see where they lead.”

  “Shouldn’t we just go back to Rosie? I mean, we can get back to the mainland with her.”

  “She’s staying on the island for a couple of nights,” Brooks replies. “And we don’t have any camping gear.” She takes off up the beach, following the footprints with the light from her head torch. I have no option but to follow her.

  A few hundred metres up the beach the footprints turn and head into the dune. As I follow Brooks, I realise where we are. “This is where the development is,” I say.

  “How do you know that?” Brooks asks, breathless as she powers up the hill.

  “I was over here with Dad and Jason this afternoon. Dad was showing us where the camp sites are going to be.”

  Brooks stops and turns, sucking in short breaths. “You came over with your dad?”

  I shrug. “Yeah. He took the afternoon off and we paddle boarded over.”

  The corner of Brooks’ mouth turns up, just a little. “You paddle boarded over here?”

  “Yes I did.”

  “Look at you being all sporty and trying new things.”

  “Can we just go find your canoe so we can get back?”

  Brooks laughs. “Yeah.”

  We head into the trees, and this time I lead the way. I pick my way around small trees and bushes until we come into the clearing where the equipment is being stored. The site is surrounded by low orange lights and now I know about the turtles, I know why the lights are orange instead of white.

  “There it is,” Brooks says. She’s pointing to the site office where Dad showed us the plans today. The canoe is laying beside it. Brooks and I head straight for it. We’re halfway there when there’s snarling and growling coming from inside the office.

  “That’s a dog,” Brooks says, stating the obvious.

  The door flings open and a security guard comes out, his flashlight shining in our eyes, his German Shepard looking like it wants to eat us.

  “What are you kids doing here?” the guard asks. His hand is hovering over the gun on his belt.

  “Getting our canoe,” Brooks says, sounding a lot braver than I feel with that huge dog still growling on the end of its leash.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the guard replies.

  “It’s a free world, and the island’s not off-limits,” Brooks counters.

  “It is until construction’s finished.”

  “No it’s not,” I say. Brooks’ defiance has given me the confidence to speak up. “I was here today with my dad, Scott Fisher. I know you know who that is, don’t you?”

  The guard looks thrown, just for a second. “Everyone knows Scott Fisher,” he says. “And I wasn’t here today, so I have no idea who you are.”

  “I’d be happy to call him so he can tell you who I am. Although I don’t think he’d be happy to be woken up at this time in the morning, do you?”

  The guard narrows his eyes. “What’s in your backpacks?”

  “None of your business,” Brooks says. “Just let us get the canoe so we can go home.”

  “I can’t let you go until I check your backpacks.” He takes a step forward, his German Shepard walking beside him. Brooks backs away and the guard says, “If you run, she’ll catch you.”

  “You know she’s not supposed to be on the island? She could kill the wildlife,” Brooks says.

  “She doesn’t kill anything,” the guard replies. “Unless she has to.” He sneers, but Brooks doesn’t back down.

  “It’s in the EIS. You guys aren’t supposed to use guard dogs on here at all.”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” the guard says. “I just do what I’m told.” He’s now standing right in front of us. His dog now sits quietly beside him, watching us. The guard holds out his hand. “Backpacks, ladies. As soon as I see there’s nothing dangerous in there, you can take your canoe and go.”

  I take my backpack off and open it up.

  “Riley, he can’t make you do that. He’s got no right.”

  “I just want to get home. Don’t you?”

  She sighs. “Fine.” She flings her backpack off her back and opens the top. The guard peers inside them both, gives us what I guess he thinks is an evil eye and says, “Thank you. Was that so hard?”

  Brooks grunts. He watches us as we go over to get the canoe. As we walk past him again, I say, “I’ll be telling my dad about this.”

  He has the nerve to smile at me. “See you later,” he says and waves to us as we head back to the beach.

  Twenty Four

  Brooks

  By the time we got back to the mainland in the canoe and I walked Riley home and got home myself, it was well after two in the morning. I just couldn’t get that guard dog out of my mind, so I got out the paperwork for the development that I’d gotten from Mum back when I was protesting and went through it all again. I must have fallen asleep in the middle of it all, because when Ben wakes me the next morning, (thank God, since I forgot to set my alarm), I have it spread out all over my bed.

  “I’d ask you what you’re studying for but I know you never did that at school,” Ben says when I finally make it out to the kitchen. I drop down onto a stool at the breakfast bench and lay my head on my arms.

  “You’re so funny,” I mumble. I know I only have half an hour to get ready for work, but I am so tired I can hardly move. My whole body feels like lead and my eyes feel like they’re full of sand.

  “How late did you get in?” Ben asks. He fills up the kettle and turns it on.


  “Around two.”

  “Wow. That’s late, even for you.”

  “The canoe got taken by some stupid security guard while we were helping Rosie.”

  “What security guard?”

  “The one at the work site.”

  “Scott’s employing security guards now?” Ben leans back on the bench and folds his arms.

  “Yeah, well, he’s got a lot of equipment over on the island, so I guess he doesn’t want it stolen. That’s not even the worst part,” I say, sitting up and stretching.

  “What’s the worst part?” Ben asks.

  “The security guard had a dog with him. Can you believe it? I’m sure there’s something in the EIS or some other paperwork about protecting the turtles.”

  “So that’s what all the paperwork is,” Ben says.

  “Yep.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  “No.” I sigh. “But I’m positive Mum said that if Scott hired security for the site there wouldn’t be any dogs there because it was one of the things Rosie brought up, so I’ll have to go see her to find out whether that’s true.”

  “Your mum or Rosie?” Ben asks.

  “Rosie,” I reply. “There’s no way I’m talking to Mum about it. We’d only end up in another argument.”

  “Fair enough,” Ben says. “What time do you start work?” He pulls two coffee mugs from the mug tree and makes us both coffees.

  I look up at the wall clock. “In about twenty minutes.”

  Ben pulls a face. “You look like death. Maybe you should take the day off?”

  “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I could use the time off work to do some more research into the development paperwork.”

  “I meant so you could catch up on some sleep,” Ben says, handing me my coffee.

  “I’ll do both.” I smile at him as I sip on my coffee and he just shakes his head. He picks up the phone and dials.

  “Hey, Reece. It’s Ben. Brooks isn’t feeling the best. Yeah. Girl stuff I think.” He pulls a face and I laugh. “Yeah me too. A day off will do her good. She should be in tomorrow. See you.” He hangs up.

  “Girl stuff?” I ask. “God you’re embarrassing.”

  “Hey, that’s the only guaranteed way a guy won’t ask any more questions.”

  “You’re a shit.”

  “You’re welcome.” He grins and drinks his coffee.

  When I wake up it’s mid-afternoon. I check my phone for messages and discover that I have a message from Gloria asking if I’ll do the take away deliveries again tonight and a text from Riley telling me how much she loved last night. I dial her number and roll over so the phone is between my head and the pillow. It takes a couple of rings before she answers and I can’t help smiling at the sound of her voice.

  “Hey,” she says. “Finally out of bed?”

  “How did you know I’d been sleeping?”

  “I can hear it in your voice.”

  “Here I was thinking I was just sounding sexy.”

  Riley laughs. “Actually, I called into the surf shop and Reece told me you weren’t feeling well. I figured that meant you were tired after last night.”

  “Oh, shit. You didn’t tell him we were late home, did you?”

  “No,” Riley replies. “Why?”

  “Nothing. If he thinks I pulled a sickie he might drop my hours, that’s all.”

  “Oh.”

  “It’s no big deal,” I say, trying to reassure her. “I had a great time last night.”

  “Me too,” Riley replies. I close my eyes so I can concentrate on her voice better. When she speaks, she sounds like she’s right beside me. It sends chills up my spine. “Hey, that reminds me. I left a note for Dad about the dog on the island. Hopefully I can catch him today to tell him about it.”

  I sit up, the spell broken at the memory of last night and thinking about the damage that dog could have done if we hadn’t have found out about it. When I don’t reply, Riley says, “Are you still there?”

  “Yeah. I’m here.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “You’re not saying much,” Riley says.

  “That’s because I just like listening to the sound of your voice.”

  Riley giggles. “Oh my God, that’s so corny.”

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  Riley doesn’t reply. Instead, I hear her take a breath and let it out slowly. “Now you just sound like one of those heavy breathers,” I joke. Riley snorts.

  “So, what are you doing later?” I ask.

  “Going through some more of Mum’s boxes,” Riley replies.

  “Still?”

  “Yeah.” Riley must be moving around, because her voice is a little muffled. “Jason’s offered to help, so that’ll be good.”

  “Does that mean you’re busy tonight then?” I ask.

  Riley must get that it’s a loaded question because she replies playfully, “Unless I get a better offer.”

  “Is helping with the deliveries a better offer?”

  “Anything with you is a better offer,” Riley replies, making my skin tingle.

  “I’ll swing by around six to pick you up then.”

  “It’s a date,” Riley says.

  After she hangs up, I lay back on my bed, my arms behind my head and close my eyes. I used to love spending time with Riley over the summer, but now we’re older, and we’re reconnecting in ways I could never have imagined, the time I spend with her is that much better.

  Twenty Five

  Riley

  Over the next few days, and with Julie’s and Jason’s help, I go through the rest of the boxes. Julie insists on keeping the boxes I want to give to charity stored in the garage for a few more months, just in case I change my mind. I doubt I will but it’s nice of Julie to be concerned. I’ve kept everything I want to keep, which is basically my old school stuff and the photo albums, and one of Mum’s favourite scarves she wore when she started losing her hair. It still smells like her lavender body wash and it’s become a bit of a ritual to smell it every night before I go to bed.

  Brooks has had to work the rest of the week, and the only real time we’ve been able to spend together has been when we’ve done the take away deliveries for The Hut. Not that I’m complaining. After the last deliveries every night, Brooks and I have been laying on our backs on the picnic table at the back of the shop, looking up at the stars and talking about everything and nothing, just like we used to when we were kids. Although, you know, we never kissed each other when we were kids. We’ve had so much to catch up on, and by the time Saturday rolls around, I feel like the five years we didn’t see each other never existed.

  I’m just getting ready to jump in the pool at home when I get a phone call from Brooks.

  “Riley,” she whispers frantically. “Can you come to the surf shop? I need your help.”

  “Why are you whispering?” I whisper back.

  “I’ll explain when I see you. Can you come now?”

  “Sure. Is everything okay?”

  “I can’t talk. See you soon.”

  Before I can say anything more, she hangs up.

  When I get to the shop, Brooks rushes out and pulls me behind a rack of clothes and ducks down. “I need your help,” she says.

  “Who are we hiding from?” I ask.

  “No-one. I just don’t want Reece to see us together.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he needs to think you came in here by yourself.”

  “I’m confused.”

  Brooks pops her head back up over the rack, she looks around for a bit and then ducks back down. “Reece is with a lady over by the thongs. I need you to distract him away from her.”

  “What? Why? Brooks, what’s going on?”

  “Shh,” Brooks says. She pushes her finger onto my lips and I have to resist the urge to bite it. “I need to get that lady.”

  “What’s the matter with that lady?”

  “
That lady,” Brooks says, “has enough clothing in her hands to put me ahead of Reece in sales for the first time this month.”

  Now it all makes sense. “So, let me get this straight. You want me to distract Reece so it leaves that lady open for you to take the sale?”

  “Isn’t that what I said?” Brooks asks. She doesn’t wait for my answer. “We have to hurry up before he gets her to the counter.”

  I go to stand up but Brooks pulls me back down. “You can’t come in with me,” she says. “Reece will cotton on. Just wait a minute after I go back in, and then go straight over to Reece.”

  She goes to stand up but I pull her back down this time. “Wait a minute. Doesn’t Reece know about us?”

  “Irrelevant,” Brooks says. “Reece still thinks he can get you.”

  Arrogant little— “Does he now?”

  “Yeah,” Brooks says. “He tried to bet me the other day that he could get you to go out with him.”

  “Oh, really? Does he not respect boundaries?”

  “Nope,” Brooks says, matter of fact. “So. Are you in?”

  “Oh, I’m so in,” I reply.

  Brooks gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t forget to wait.”

  “Okay,” I reply, and watch as she takes some clothes off the rack we’re hiding behind and heads back inside. I wait for a bit before I stand up. I spot Reece near the back wall and make a bee-line for him. He glances up and I give him my most electric smile. When he smiles back, I know I’ve got him.

  Twenty Six

  Brooks

  “I can’t believe he fell for it,” Riley laughs again. We’re floating on pool mattresses in her pool, trying to beat the heat. There are more storms around judging by the stickiness in the air.

  “I can,” I reply. “He’s a dick.”

  Riley pulls her sunglasses down on her nose. “Jealous, are we?”

  I splash her and she splashes me back. She pulls off her sunglasses and gets all serious. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Because,” Riley continues, “I had to put up with a jealous ex- last year. It’s not fun.”