Heart Note

by Cassandra O'Leary

  Giselle sidled up to me again by the cash register as I rang up a beautiful bottle of imported Italian eau de toilette with matching shower gel in a heart-shaped box. I studied the box as I placed it in a shopping bag with the customer’s receipt, ignoring Giselle as long as possible.

  Finally Giselle stamped her stiletto heel and demanded, “Well?”

  I raised my left eyebrow and pretended innocence. My strained giggle might have given me away though. “Well, what?”

  Giselle sighed. “Did you passer a la casserole with the handsome Mr Security?”

  “Make a casserole? No, we did not. We did share croissants this morning though, so I think you’d approve.” My cheeks stretched into another grin and my face heated.

  “Oh, I approve. Mmm-hmm.” Giselle fist-bumped me in a most un-Giselle-like way.

  I turned back to the floor to see a determined Petula speed-walking in my direction. She skidded to a halt right in front of the teetering tower of gift-wrapped fake presents. My eyes widened. I watched to see whether they’d topple.

  I reached for the top of the pile and Petula slapped her hand over mine, squeezing my fingers. “Psst, tell me. Tell. Me!”

  My new friend was aggressive as a pit bull over a titbit of gossip. Okay, it was more than a titbit. I’d been well and truly laid after a drought of almost two years. It was certainly newsworthy. Especially on the cosmetics floor, where admiring the finer specimens among the male staff was a favourite spectator sport.

  “Me, Christos, breakfast this morning. You can join the dots.” I leaned closer to her, lowering my voice. “He crossed all the Ts and dotted the Is too, if you catch my drift.” I nodded meaningfully.

  Petula removed her hand from mine and pressed it over her own mouth, to muffle her squeal. It leaked out anyway. “I knew he was meant for you. He gave you the man-in-lust eyes from day one. I knew it!” She gestured to her wrist, then mouthed, “Lunch, one o’clock.”

  I agreed to lunch and Petula sauntered back to her counter. I pressed my lips together to keep from bursting out laughing. It took me a minute to recognise the bubbly, frothy feeling in my belly, the light-headed excitement overtaking my whole body.

  It was probably silly. It was undeniably hopeful. It was happiness. Grumpy cow mood deactivated.

  EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY...

  So much for a gossipy lunch with Petula. At five minutes to one, the wailing alarm and the recorded emergency voice sounded and we all looked around with startled kangaroo-in-headlights faces. This wasn’t a fire drill, this was real.

  I signalled to my team to follow me. Giselle and Gillian, who had just arrived, lined up behind me. We had to exit the cosmetics area and head towards the emergency exit through the main double doors. I checked on two casual staff who were rostered on as perfume spritzers near the main entrance. They knew to evacuate.

  Christos and his offsider, Jason, a younger, sandy-haired, chubby-faced man with ill-fitting jacket and trousers, were ushering people through the main doors. They were talking to two staff with fetching yellow Fire Warden helmets.

  Our area warden was the scary floor manager, Hyacinth. I saw her lurking by the door. She spoke into a mobile phone and stood with one hand on her hip.

  The automated voice on the overhead public address system did little to calm people’s panic. The whole store was being evacuated, everyone exiting right out into the street. Customers went where we directed them.

  Something was going down, and it wasn’t good. Likely a bomb threat.

  I wouldn’t panic. It was probably just kids messing around, getting a thrill out of setting off the alarm. Unless...

  What if it was the criminals Christos was investigating? What if something real was going down, right here, right now? I should have been scared, but a strange thrill snaked its way down my spine.

  I cast a glance over my shoulder as I exited the main doors. Christos was in the middle of a powwow with three yellow hats. He towered above them all, and his eyes connected with mine. The expression on his face softened, melted like butter on the top of a pancake. I only held his gaze for a second but I pressed my hand to my chest to keep my heart in place.

  I swooshed out the door, carried forward by Giselle and Petula and a bunch of girls from the make-up-artist crew. I spotted a customer with one eye made-up with heavy winged eyeliner and one eye still nude.

  The cool air-conditioning evaporated instantly as I stepped outside, and the sun’s rays pounded against my exposed face and arms. It had to be over thirty degrees outside. I was pasty, being a redhead, and I needed a hat or I’d burn in no time. The shade of a spindly gum tree planted next to the pavement would have to do. Petula was on my heels.

  “Do you think we’ll have to go back to work today? I could really use an afternoon off. Maybe I’ll go to the beach.” Petula sounded wistful, her head tilted upwards at the cloudless blue sky.

  I shaded my eyes with my right hand. “I’d either be sunburned lobster red or I’d get heatstroke. If we get the afternoon off, I’m going home to my air-con and putting my feet up. Maybe I’ll watch a movie. Have a glass of white wine or two.”

  Petula tossed her hair over one shoulder and sighed. “No hot security guard to keep you warm if the air-conditioning gets too breezy?”

  “I might invite him over to rub my feet. He’s good with his hands.” I let the comment hang there for a few seconds, until we both descended into fits of giggles. Honestly, we were both mature adults.

  A few metres away, our elusive store manager, Mr Harrison, made an appearance. His grey hair glowed in the sunlight. He stood on a low concrete wall and spoke through a megaphone. “Please follow instructions from fire wardens and the fire department. Move to your nearest emergency assembly point. There’s a potential gas leak and we need everyone to stay back from the building.”

  I spotted the red whoosh of a fire truck coming down the main driveway, the nee-naw of the siren blaring. It followed the road alongside the shopping centre, turning into the parking area nearest the main doors of the department store. A team of fire fighters headed inside the building. We couldn’t see anything else from our spot outside.

  I chatted to Petula to pass the time. She was thinking of inviting Kurt to her family’s Christmas dinner. This was clearly a big step, so I didn’t press for too much information, since she had a pinched look around her eyes. Petula needed to go and buy Christmas presents, so she wandered off.

  Half an hour later, most of the customers had gone and there was only a handful of us still standing around waiting. A lot of staff had gone for lunch, with or without permission. Who knew where Giselle had disappeared to?

  I gasped when someone snuck up behind me and whispered in my ear. Someone tall, with a familiar scent. Heat flushed from my chest and neck all the way to my face. “Lily, you should go home.”

  I spun around on my heels and faced Christos and started, my mouth hanging open. He’d stripped off his jacket down to his white business shirt. And he was wet. The cotton fabric of his shirt was semi-sheer and stuck to his chest and stomach in a lickable way.

  Christos tilted his head to one side. “We’re closing the store for the rest of the day since the sprinkler system went off in the offices and everything’s wet. But I have to work.” He ran his hand through his hair, slicked back with water.

  I must have pouted. Christos’s gaze dropped to my mouth. He mumbled under his breath, something like ‘dammit’ and ‘later’. I distinctly heard the words, ‘that sexy mouth’.

  A warm ribbon of velvety desire unfurled deep inside me. I wanted to wrap him up in ribbons and never let him escape.

  He took a step back from me and shook his head. “I’d better get back.”

  “I understand.” I did, even though he didn’t tell me the whole story. Something was going on, beyond a gas leak. Something required his urgent attention, since he took off at a jog.

  I hesitated, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. My phone was inside, in my
locker. I needed it, since I expected KC to call. She’d be arriving soon and I wasn’t even prepared. This whole week had been one unusual thing after another. I didn’t know which way was up.

  But I was more preoccupied about Christos maybe calling me later than where my own sister was. How bizarre.

  A young woman with curly blonde hair was outside now, handing out bottled water and telling staff to go home. She approached me with water in her outstretched hand, and a gap-toothed smile. She reminded me of my sister.

  “I’m Bron from HR. You should collect your personal items and leave for today. The store’s closing.” She spoke to a few of us still milling around. I couldn’t see any of my team though.

  I accepted the water with thanks, then entered the staff door and made my way to the locker area. I couldn’t wait to get home.

  How would the night unfurl? Would Christos call me and come over? Would I be able to introduce him to KC and get her opinion on my spunk of a date? Maybe we could all spend Christmas together.

  I couldn’t wait. I had a skip in my step as I walked home.

  Chapter Twelve

  I don’t know why I’d been so excited. Nothing ever worked out the way I thought it would.

  I walked into the house to find it emptier, quieter than usual. There was no music playing, no noise at all. All the beer bottles and general mess from last night’s band party had been cleaned up. Things were missing from the bookshelf, and the kitchen table. There was no sign of my uncle.

  All signs pointed in one direction. Bill had left, without warning. I thought he’d planned to stay until the new year.

  I wandered through the house, looking for signs of life. Nothing. His clothes were gone, most of his instruments. I shuffled into the kitchen, feeling more than a little lost.

  Then I saw the envelope. A note on the kitchen counter. He was already on his way to LA. He took off earlier than expected because he’d be playing at a music industry shindig on New Year’s Eve.

  Bill had given his new address in the US and left me two sets of keys to this house. I gasped when I pulled something else out of the envelope. A bundle of cash in a rubber band. I flicked through it. Five hundred dollars. I let out a slow breath from between my teeth. What a relief. He’d used enough electricity last night alone to send me broke.

  Thank you, Bill. I was grateful. He’d really helped by offering me a place to live.

  I’d have to call him and thank him properly, once he’d settled in.

  I wandered around the quiet house for a while, then showered. I found myself with nothing to do and no one to talk to, with three days to go until Christmas. How sad.

  Home delivered pizza, popcorn and wine substituted for a healthy dinner, which was fine and dandy. I settled into the sofa in my floral kimono, air-con at full blast and Die Hard on TV. It was the perfect Christmas movie, since 80s Bruce Willis ignored all the seasonal shenanigans to blow-up the baddies, all while focusing like a true hero on getting home to his wife. For some strange reason, this time I was tearing up as I watched it.

  And Christos? I tried calling him, I tried texting. I thought about catching a taxi to his house to surprise him. But I didn’t have the confidence in our new thing to arrive at his place looking to stay over.

  KC took her sweet time too. She texted at ten o’clock to say she as on her way. It was nearly midnight before I heard a car pull into the driveway. I was sitting up waiting for her but pretended I wasn’t.

  I’d only just given in to my mood and downloaded When Harry Met Sally, because I was a sappy fool. I wanted to watch the New Year’s Eve scene at the end when Harry finally declares his love for Sally, happy-ever-after style. But it wasn’t fair, because I wasn’t having what she was having.

  My sister rang the doorbell and I got off my behind, taking time to stretch out my spine. I strolled to the door, casual as could be. No need to let on I’d been worried about her. When I checked through the spy hole in the front door, it was definitely KC.

  It was also definitely Christos standing right behind her, towering above her head. I flung the door open, held my kimono closed at the front and let out a strangled shriek.

  “What the hell took you so long to get here? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” I didn’t know which one of them I was yelling at, but I flung my arms around my sister and pulled her close.

  Christos stood with his head half in shadow, the porch light giving off a dim golden glow. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, a serious yet confused look on his face. I couldn’t help feeling worried. Worried about him. This was new. My family were the people I worried about, not boyfriends.

  I dragged KC inside the hallway by her shoulders. “Where have you been?”

  She ducked her head so her honey-blond hair fell around her face. “I had business here this afternoon.”

  Business? She was eighteen years old, just out of school and as far as I knew had never uttered the word business before in her life. She was an artsy-fartsy type, like Dad and Bill.

  “What are you talking about?” She didn’t reply.

  I flicked my head from KC to Christos, who was hovering on my doorstep. I pulled him forward by the front of his shirt. “Come in. Christos, meet my sister, Katherine. Everyone calls her KC. Sister, meet Christos. My...”

  I was struck dumb. Brain boggled. What was Christos to me? We hadn’t discussed it.

  He stepped forward and extended his hand to my sister. “I’m her friend. From work. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  KC looked up at me, raised both eyebrows and then shook Christos’s hand. “Hello, Christos-friend-from-work.” My sister turned her head towards me and mouthed the word ‘sexy’ at me. She reminded me so much of Bill, all I could do was stare.

  My attention landed on three enormous suitcases on the front path. For a wild moment I thought Christos was moving in with me. But no, of course not.

  I pointed to the luggage outside, then wagged my finger at KC “What’s all this? You’ve got some explaining to do, missy.”

  KC groaned and stepped towards me. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  I opened my mouth to yell and she interrupted, seamlessly. “I know you don’t like surprises, but this one is good. I’m moving to Melbourne too. I got into the college of the arts.”

  The college of the arts? In Melbourne? I didn’t even know she’d applied there. I stumbled back a good few steps and put my hands on my hips. “What? When? What are you talking about?”

  Over KC’s head, I saw Christos move. Quietly, efficiently, he pulled the suitcases inside the front door. He stepped inside again, but seemed at a loss for what to do with himself. He leaned against the wall and put his hands in his jeans pockets.

  KC turned to him and smiled in her shy way, then she briefly caught my eyes. “I didn’t tell you I’d applied because I knew how worried you were about money. And other stuff.” She raised her head and met my stare this time.

  Something defiant was lurking there behind her blue eyes. “I broke up with Johnno so you don’t have to worry about him. I want to live here with you and go to uni. I’ll get a job, too. I can wait tables or something.”

  I had no words. They were lodged somewhere in the back of my throat. My girl was growing up after all. I extended my arms and she fell into my hug, letting me wrap her in my arms. She hadn’t let me hug her for over a year. Not since our massive fight over her awful boyfriend. After a moment, I whispered, “What are you studying?”

  She beamed at me then. “I had the panel interview today for the Fine Arts degree. I want to study photography.”

  I grinned, kissing the top of her head. Her hair smelled like sunshine. “Fantastic! Better than fantastic. It’s sublime. Isn’t that an artistic word?”

  KC laughed, her eyes twinkling as she pulled away. “It’s totally arty. I’ll put my things in Bill’s room. He said I could.”

  I tilted my head to one side. A couple of things fell into place. Bill’s sudden departure m
ight not have been so unplanned after all. “When did you speak to him?”

  My sister shrugged. “Last weekend. I told him I wasn’t sure if I’d got into the college yet, but he said I should stay with you anyway. He said you missed me.”

  I sniffed, since my nose had apparently started dripping. Not to mention my eyes. I wiped them with the back of my hand. Then Christos was there, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

  KC laughed again, a sound I was thankful to hear. She’d gone off the rails in the last couple of years, especially in the first year after Dad died. But now maybe she was back on track.

  “I’ll leave you and your boyfriend to chat.” With a last waggle of her pierced eyebrow, KC walked off, dragging one of her cases behind her. She looked so grown-up suddenly, wiggling away in her black dress.

  I gaped after her. Christos rubbed his hand up and down my back in a soothing yet tingly way. I was confused. Also grateful. And aroused.

  “Come and sit down.” Christos took my hand and directed me to my own sofa. I went willingly. Maybe he’d kiss me soon.

  He sat down next to me, but left a sizeable gap between us. “I’m glad your sister’s here. I want you to be happy, Lily.”

  Why did he sound so ominous? “What’s going on?”

  “I need you to trust me.”

  Alarm bells were clanging in my head now. “Trust you, in what way? To remember my birthday and give me orgasms?”

  “I don’t even know your birthday yet,” he deadpanned. Seriously, his face was as expressionless as a frying pan. I certainly wanted to throw an egg at it.

  “Fourth of June. But that’s not the point.”

  “Right. It’s the work situation. I’m not allowed to see anyone personally who might be involved in a case. My supervisor had words with me.”

  I crossed my arms over my belly. “He had words with you? About me?”

  “Yes. I told him I’d been with you the other night. Let’s say he was less than impressed with my ‘conduct’ during an investigation.”