Everyone murmured Amen, along with a begrudging Dad. Even he couldn’t find fault with that prayer.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Everyone looked around the table, wondering who would be visiting or door knocking at this time of the night. Besides Jehovah’s Witnesses, of course.
I offered to answer it so everyone could start eating. I pulled my serviette off my lap and ran to open the door. Standing there was Roman.
ey,’ he said, a little unsure of himself. Weird, for Roman.
‘Hey, where were you today?’ I demanded, immediately regretting my tone of voice.
‘I took the day off,’ he said, blue eyes blank, but hiding something. This was certainly out of character.
‘Why?’
‘I had to.’ He offered the same gaze.
‘What does that mean?’ I asked, folding my arms.
‘It was important.’
‘Roman, it’s my birthday. I haven’t seen you all day. We’re supposed to be best friends.’ I was losing control with his vague responses.
‘I know. Sorry. You’ll understand soon, hopefully,’ he said, even more cryptic.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, beginning to feel uncomfortable.
He opened his satchel and took out a small, crushed gift bag. He tried to straighten out the creases in it but they wouldn’t smooth. Sighing, he looked up at me, his eyes getting caught at my neck. ‘Nice necklace, is it new?’
‘Yeah, Nate bought it for me,’ I said awkwardly, putting my thumb over the heart at my chest. Did it stand out that much that another guy would notice it instantly?
He flicked his eyes up to my hair. ‘Cool. Your hair is back to normal, just like you said it would be.’ I frowned, trying to remember this conversation. The markets. ‘Well, happy birthday. Eighteen is quite a milestone.’ He handed me the crushed pink bag and turned to go.
‘Thanks. Hey, what’s with the formalities? Can’t you come inside for a while? I’d like it if you did,’ I said, trying not to sound pleading.
‘Who’s there?’ he asked.
I shrugged. ‘My brothers, Nanna, my parents. Nate.’
He looked like he might have come in up until the last word. He shook his head firmly and said, ‘Nah, you go back in and enjoy yourself. Hope you like the gift. It’s just… yeah …’
‘I’m sure I will. You’re always great with gifts. Don’t you want to see me open it?’
I thought this would surely get him to come inside. Then I could get Mum to bully him into eating with us.
‘Open it by yourself,’ he said softly and, almost as an afterthought, leant in and kissed me gently on the cheek.
I was so startled by his presence, the gift and his sweet gesture that I didn’t know how to respond. My cheek burnt where his lips kissed; it was spreading like wildfire across my face and down my neck.
My deer in the headlights face was no way near sufficient to make up for his efforts, but I simply couldn’t match it at this point in time. He let me off easy.
‘Have a great night. See you soon.’ And with that, I watched his back walk away from me until I couldn’t see it anymore in the darkness.
In my room seconds later, I sat on my bed staring at the bag.
The parcel inside was perfectly wrapped in pink paper with black balloons on it and there was a small card attached to the top left corner. I ripped that off first.
To Daisy, on your eighteenth birthday,
I wish you all the very best things in life.
You deserve everything that is good and pure.
I’m so glad I know you and can be called your best friend.
I miss you.
Roman xx
P.S. I remembered.
My curiosity was bursting; I couldn’t wait any longer to open this mysterious gift. Ripping the paper open, I gasped at what fell back on to the doona. Three very special items.
This is what he remembered. How could he have possibly been able to notice how I felt about these things, when I was acting so weird to him that day? Here I was cursing him in my head that he wasn’t at school to make my birthday what I thought I wanted it to be.
My humility had no more time to bask as I heard a soft knock on my door. I shoved the precious gifts under my pillow and sat back, legs crossed.
‘Come in,’ I said cheerfully. Hopefully whoever it was wouldn’t hear the lie in my voice.
Nate stuck his head around the door. ‘Hey. Is everything all right? You’ve been gone a while. I thought you might have been kidnapped or something.’
‘Nah, I’ve been sitting here the whole time. Roman came by to say happy birthday. It was real nice of him. Had a few things to do in my room before I was coming back out to eat, but I’m ready now. You haven’t finished have you?’
I got off the bed and went to stand in front of him.
‘No, but nearly. Quick before everything gets cold,’ he said, kissing me on the same cheek Roman had. I looked down.
‘Who was that?’ Dad asked as I sat back down at the table. ‘You were gone for ages. Did you tell whoever it was to nick off and that we don’t want to join their phone company or buy their stupid fire extinguisher?’
‘No Dad, I didn’t tell them that,’ I said, reorganising the food on my plate.
Dad frowned at me. ‘Why not? I would have. You’re soft, Daisy. Haven’t I taught you to be assertive?’
‘Dad stop. It was Roman,’ I said quietly, not wanting the whole table to erupt into the Spanish Inquisition.
An interesting thing happened then. Dad’s face changed dramatically. ‘Roman? Our Roman? Well why didn’t you invite him inside girl? You’re not thinking tonight.’
Deep breaths. ‘I tried. He said he didn’t want to stay long.’
‘What did he come over for then?’ He stuck his fork in a potato and folded his arms stubbornly.
‘To wish me a happy birthday.’
‘And that’s it?’ He looked doubtful. I tried to glare at him to drop it but he ignored me, as usual.
‘Pretty much.’
‘So no birthday kiss?’ Josh asked slyly.
Pamela looked confused. Her thick black eyebrows knitted together and she nudged Josh’s arm, whispering to him loudly, ‘Baby, I think her boyfriend is sitting right next to her.’
Josh shook his head and dusted off his hands, saying to Dad in a low voice, ‘She’s not the only woman in this room not thinking properly right now.’ To Pamela, he said, ‘I know that. I’m not daft. I like teasing the bloke, is that all right?’ The annoyance in his eyes made her shrink in her seat.
Nate’s leg went stiff next to mine. I checked his eyes. Was he angry? Had Josh got to him finally? Or did he not believe me either that Roman came around only to say happy birthday.
I didn’t want to tell Nate that another guy had given me a birthday present. It might make him feel there was something there when there wasn’t. He was the only one in my life at the moment and I didn’t want him to question my loyalty to him, or another guy’s interest in me that I technically had no control over.
Besides, if I told him the truth, he might feel bad again that I could only wear half his present, whereas Roman’s present was exactly what I wanted.
No, it was better this way. I might show Mum sometime but Nate, along with everyone else, must never know about Roman’s gift.
‘Don’t go. I’ll miss you,’ I begged, as Nate kissed me goodnight for the fiftieth time.
‘I’ll miss you too. If your parents weren’t so prudish I’d stay the night. But I’m still on eggshells with your dad, so we’d better keep it clean,’ he winked at me.
I pushed his arm. ‘I don’t want you to stay for that.’
‘Really? Fine then. If you don’t want me I’ll go find someone who does.’ And he slowly turned away, not quick enough for me to miss his arm to pull him back.
‘Don’t be silly. Of course I want you to stay. I’m pretty sure I’m not ready for that sort of thing yet. As you said — ther
e are plenty of other things you have to teach me first.’ The memory of last night at the park replayed in my mind and my heart fluttered. He leaned down to kiss me again.
‘That’s true. Where do we start?’
‘You’re the expert.’
Nate’s hands found their way around the back of me again. I could get used to this.
The porch light went on.
‘Daisy? You’ve got school tomorrow,’ Dad bellowed from inside.
I giggled. ‘Murphy’s Law, hey,’ I said, rearranging my shirt.
‘See what I mean? Next time you’re coming to my house late at night. I doubt my dad would even know I had someone living there for months. We’d be fine,’ Nate said.
I shivered nervously in his arms. ‘OK.’
‘Goodnight my darling. I hope you’ve had a great birthday. I’ll see you soon.’
‘Thank you. You’ve been amazing. What on earth did I do with my time before I met you?’
‘Nothing nearly as exciting as this,’ he grinned cheekily.
‘Go, before I follow you home,’ I threatened.
He waved over his shoulder and whistled down the street.
‘Do I have to have a chat with that young man, Daisy?’ Dad asked sternly as I shut the front door. ‘Is he coming on too strong?’
‘No, Dad, don’t be silly. I can take care of myself.’
‘Just checking. Let me know if you change your mind.’
‘I will.’
Doubtful. Whatever horrible things Dad was thinking up that Nate would do, chances are I wanted him to do them to me. Not that I’d ever tell him that of course.
Before bed, I wrote a birthday presents list in my diary and added a bit about the day. When I began writing about Roman, my mind suddenly went blank. I didn’t know what to include. My chest, on the other hand, felt like something really heavy was sitting on it. I could feel what I wanted to say, but couldn’t think it.
Why did I feel so sad when I saw him walk away?
t was the time of the term where everyone started to wind down, whether it was wise to do so or not. The weather turned much cooler, the days grew shorter and everyone at school needed a break from each other; teachers and students alike.
We had what was considered a large year twelve cohort, but it felt small and restricted after seeing the same people for more than six hours a day, five days a week.
Only a week left. I had handed in pretty much all of my assignments, with only one or two to think about over the holidays.
After Portsmouth. Long after.
‘What else do you think I’ll need?’
I grabbed my checklist out of Mum’s hands and ran through it again, panicking. ‘I feel like I’m forgetting something still.’ My gear was strewn across my bed in piles; double the amount needed for a short trip.
‘Stop fretting, Daisy. You’ve got everything. It’s only two nights for goodness sake,’ Mum scolded. I kept looking anyway. Opening up all my drawers, I checked if I would need one more pair of bikinis, or different coloured thongs, to match certain coloured t-shirts and shorts.
My parents had not been overjoyed at the prospect of me going to Portsmouth alone with Nate. They thought I was too young to be putting myself in such a tough situation. Nate had originally booked us in for four nights. Two was a good compromise, considering I hadn’t expected them to say yes. I guess it was part of them getting used to me becoming an adult and making my own choices.
Then Dad brought up the Roman thing. I put my head in my hands when he laid on the guilt trip about me saying no to his family and then going with Nate.
‘Does he know you are going away with Nate?’ Dad demanded.
‘No. And he won’t, if you don’t tell him,’ I said, laying on a similar guilt trip. ‘I don’t want to hurt him, Dad.’
‘It would be much easier, Daisy, if you’d dated Roman in the first place,’ Dad rambled. ‘Then we wouldn’t have to test out some new guy.’
Mum interjected to save me. ‘Stop. What’s done is done, so let the girl go enjoy herself. She’s earned a holiday after a hectic first term and if this boy is going to pay, then let him. It’s a gift. ‘
I smiled at Mum with gratitude, but she still had a stern look in her eyes. I knew she wasn’t happy about me going, so she laid down some ground rules before I left.
Mum tried to make me promise I wouldn’t do anything ‘stupid’, like have sex with Nate. My face had gone bright red, not just because she’d asked me in front of Dad, but also because I didn’t know how to talk to her about this stuff. I felt like she’d judge me if I did something wrong, or make me feel silly about being curious. Not that she was a bad Mum at all; she was wonderful. It was my problem. I was naive.
On Sunday morning, Nate arrived in his VW Polo bright and early, ready to pack his car with my gear. He made a special visit inside the house to see Dad and assure him he only had the best intentions and would drive slowly for his daughter. Similarly, he said hi to Josh and Shane, who were completely disinterested in his presence on a Sunday. Treston was a little livelier and punched Nate in the arm as we were walking out the door.
‘Behave yourselves. Don’t come back pregnant or anything, or you’ll give Dad a heart attack. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.’ He grinned at me and waved from the front door.
Mum stood with her arms crossed at the driver’s window, with Dad’s arm slung across her shoulders. This was supposed to be a happy event and they were acting like they’d lost me forever.
‘Guys, I’ll see you on Tuesday night. Don’t stress.’ I gave them my ‘I’m fine’ smile to reassure them.
‘Are you sure you’ve got enough fuel in the tank?’ Dad said sternly to Nate. Nate nodded good-naturedly and pointed to the ‘full’ gauge on his dashboard.
‘Do you need to take any food?’ Mum fussed. ‘We’ve got plenty here if you need some for lunch.’
‘Thanks Mrs Brooks, but we’ll be there by lunch. It’s only four hours away.’
‘Well, have a nice time then. Watch out for kangaroos and cops.’
They watched us drive all the way down the street, waving furiously, until we were out of sight.
‘I’m so embarrassed. Sorry about them. They’re just protective of me.’
‘Don’t worry. It’s cute. You’re lucky they care so much about you.’
I nodded. ‘I guess so. So what music are we listening to?’
I reached under the front passenger seat to grab his iPod and connect it to his sound system. The sun was beaming in through the front windscreen and having the windows closed while we drove helped take the edge off the cool air outside. It was perfect weather and timing to get away from Twin Rocks for a few days. Oh how I wished we were living fifty years ago when cars had bench seats and a man could sling his arm over the seat while his girl snuggled up under his shoulder and held him tight. One hand on the wheel, one on the girl. How romantic.
The best I could do in my more current, modern situation was leave my hand on Nate’s leg the whole trip and every now and then tell him I was watching the road while I grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips. He laughed at me, but too soon turned his eyes back to the road.
We sang music together, played stupid ‘I spy’ games and made at least three toilet stops for me at small garages on the way. Nate surprised me with Cornettos, lollies and chips.
We did see kangaroos; though no live ones. Flocks of ducks would run in a line across the road; I’d see them in time to tell Nate to slow down and I’d pray we wouldn’t hit their fluffy little bodies. Emus ran with us along the road until they’d suddenly veer off into the bush. Typically Australian shrubs, sand dunes, long stretches of wide roads and animals large and small roughing it in the outback were part of our drive.
Around midday, we drove past a sign that said, ‘Welcome to Portsmouth. Town centre 4km.’
‘Where are we staying?’ I asked, realising I hadn’t officially asked names and places yet.
&nbs
p; ‘In a beach shack.’
‘So not a hotel?’ I asked, excited about trying something different.
‘Nope.’ His hand rested on my knee, squeezing it gently.
‘Where is it?’
‘Near a beach.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Good one. I could guess that. But where?’
‘Just past city centre. I’ll let you know when we’re there.’
His hand slid up my thigh and rested on the inside of my right leg. I froze, wondering if his hand would stay where he put it. He kept driving, casually. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the numbing sensation running down my legs.
‘OK. How many rooms does it have?’
‘Besides the bathroom, you mean? One.’
He smiled at the road. I said nothing. My eyes grew bigger and he chuckled at my silence.
Finally I asked, ‘So, where do I sleep?’
‘Next to me,’ he replied simply.
‘Nate, I thought —’ I started.
‘You thought right. We aren’t in the same bed, but we are next to each other on single beds.’
‘A minor technicality.’
He nodded. ‘Exactly. You can join mine if you like, but there’s no pressure.’
‘Thanks,’ I said dryly.
My legs relaxed, getting used to Nate’s hand’s new resting place. Every now and then he would take it away, needing to turn a corner or change gears, but it would always come back faithfully, in the exact same spot. I was afraid to tell him how much I liked it. Or show it.
Nate pulled up to a small fish and chip shop and got out of his car. ‘Wait here,’ he said, briskly walking into the shop.
Seeing the sign Portsmouth Fish and Chips and smelling the scent of freshly cooked potatoes reminded me of my times with Roman. We would have eaten truckloads of chips over the years. Little did Nate know our history with fish and chip shops, and I wasn’t about to tell him; I couldn’t predict how he would react and, frankly, it was my business with Roman.
Friendship on Fire Page 22
