An Ocean Apart

by Robin Pilcher

  David sat up and took a deep breath. “No, your reaction was quite justifiable. It does sound pretty harsh when you hear it cold like that. Just shows up all too clearly our difference in culture. What is it you Americans say about us Brits? Keeping the animals at home and sending the children off to kennels?” He let out a short laugh. “I can’t make excuses for it, Jasmine, but I think you know me well enough when I say that it was the best thing for them under the circumstances.”

  She sighed and raised her eyebrows, then sat down heavily on her chair again. “Yeah, I guess so.” She paused. “It’s just a pity we won’t get to meet them. How old are they?”

  “Sophie’s coming up to sixteen, Charlie’s twelve, and Harriet—well, you know how old she is.”

  Jasmine nodded slowly. “Charlie’s twelve. How about that? Pity we couldn’t get him and Benji together.”

  “Yeah, they’d hit it off pretty well, too. Both born enthusiasts. Problem is Charlie courts disaster wherever he goes. That’s why I over-reacted so, the time that I found Benji lying at the bottom of the pool. It was really Charlie I saw there, you know.”

  “For heaven’s sakes, yes. God, you must have been scared some.”

  David gave a brief shake of his head. “You can say that again!”

  She smiled. “So where are you taking them on their vacation?”

  “Don’t know yet. I’ll fix it up when I get back.”

  She looked at him, her eyes bright. “I have an idea! Why don’t you bring them out here?”

  David gaped at her. “What?”

  “Bring them out here to the States, to Leesport! I mean, why take them anywhere else? You know the place. You now have us and all your other friends over here. There’s the sun and the sea, and the pool and the tennis here. Go on, David, it would be so much fun for them.”

  He smiled at her and shook his head. “No, Jasmine, I think not.”

  “Why not? Give me one good reason why not?”

  “Because…”

  “I know what you’re going to say. Because no one knows about you and what’s happened to you all, and you want to be able to guard your privacy. Is that it?”

  “Well, in a word, yes.”

  “Well, in that case, bang goes your argument, because I know. So what other excuse do you have?”

  David shrugged and scratched at his head. “I don’t know, Jasmine. Maybe it would be better if I just finished off out here and went back to start again.”

  “No, it wouldn’t,” she said, her tone so sharp that it made David start back in his chair. She picked up a pencil that happened to be lying on the table and began to roll it over and over in her fingers. “Listen, David, I’m goin’ to tell you something. This house has never been filled with so much happiness and laughter than since you been around. We really want to keep you here as long as we possibly can.” She paused. “And I can tell you, that don’t just go for me and Benji.”

  He looked at her quizzically. “Meaning?”

  “Meanin’ that I was with Jennifer just after the doctor left. I gave her the sleeping-pill, but she kept tryin’ to sit up. She was pretty delirious, but she kept asking me, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ over and over again. I said that I didn’t rightly know, thinking that she meant Alex, but then she shook her head. ‘Where’s David?’ she asked. I said that it was all right, you were downstairs, and with that, she kinda slid back against her pillow and went to sleep—just like that—with a big smile spread across her face.” She let the pencil fall to the table. “The pill sure as hell couldn’t have worked that fast!””

  David sat in silence, staring at her.

  “David, you’re right on two counts. First, we couldn’t tell Jennifer about Alex. It’s not our business. The other thing is, yeah, I am her best friend. I know her like a kid sister. Goddamn it, I treat her like a kid sister! And I sure as hell could not cope myself with this thing with Alex if it came out, and neither could she, especially not right now when she’s sick. Whether you like it or not, you have gotten under all our skins. You’ve become our security, our—what was it Jennifer called you?—yeah, our Superman! You make things happen that ain’t ever happened before in this household. And if you went right now, and Alex then decided to head off, I think the whole ship would sink.”

  David shook his head slowly. “I can’t be around for ever, Jasmine.”

  “I’m not asking you to be around for ever. I realize that you have a life over in Scotland with the children an’ everythin’. But if you bring the kids over here, it would at least keep you here too another week or two, and maybe by then, things might have gotten sorted out between her and Alex—or maybe not.” She stretched out and put her hand on his. “Please, David, think about it, and think of all the fun the kids would have together.”

  He smiled at her. “My house isn’t very big.”

  Jasmine grinned, realizing that the discussion was turning in her favour. “It doesn’t matter! Kids love sleeping rough! Anyways, they could always come and stay here. Jennifer wouldn’t—”

  “No!” David cut in.

  “Why on earth not?”

  “Because I want no one else to know about my past, that’s why.”

  “For what reason?”

  “Because it would, well, just change everything. It would mean … that people knew about me … and that’s what I couldn’t deal with back in Scotland. I am quite happy with this identity of simply being David-the-gardener. I don’t want to be known as David-whose-wife-has-just-died. Am I making any sense to you?”

  Jasmine raised her eyebrows.

  “I know it sounds quite underhanded, Jasmine, but what difference would it really make? I promise you I will tell Jennifer when the kids arrive, and then everyone else in my own time.” He smiled at her. “As it happens, I was going to tell you first. Only you found out earlier than I had planned.”

  Jasmine slowly nodded. “So when d’you think the kids could come?”

  “In about two weeks.”

  She looked at David, the excitement returning to her eyes. “Gee, that’s wonderful! I could give you a hand to get some beds put up in your house. Hey, I can’t wait to meet them! And to think of all the fun we’ll have with Benji and with Dodie an’ all.” She suddenly sat bolt-upright. “Speakin’ of which, where is she?”

  Slapping his forehead in forgetfulness, David jumped up from his chair and looked around the kitchen, his sudden movement disturbing the dog, who had been lying, hidden from sight, deep within one of the beanbags next to the television. She stretched her woolly head up towards the ceiling and let out a loud yawn.

  “Never far away,” he laughed. He stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans and arched his back, suddenly feeling very tired. “I think I’ll go home now, Jasmine.” He walked round behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for the talk, and for the great idea—and also for being a friend. I really appreciate it, you know.”

  Jasmine put her own hand up to her shoulder and patted the top of his. “Goes for both of us, David, I can tell you.”

  He gave Dodie a whistle, and Jasmine turned in her chair to watch him as he walked across the kitchen to the back door. “Be here usual time tomorrow?”

  “Of course,” David replied, and with a fleeting wave, he let himself and Dodie out into the warmth of the night.

  Chapter TWENTY-SIX

  Seeing that Benji was staying with Sean overnight, which let him fulfil his golden wish of walking to school, David did not need to leave the house quite so early the next morning, and consequently he decided to use the extra time to make some initial arrangements for the children’s visit. Having called the airline in Glasgow and booked their flight, he realized that he might have been a little preemptive in doing this without first consulting the children, so he immediately put a call through to the school.

  Mr. Hunter was delighted with the idea, saying that a trip to America would be a wonderful experience for the children and a fully deserved break fo
r them all, especially Sophie, who had worked like a Trojan during the term, making him feel more than confident about the outcome of her GCSE exams. David heard him call through to his secretary to ask her to bring the children up to his study, and while she went off to search for them, the headmaster talked enthusiastically about how well each was faring, and how proud he had been not only of them, but also of their friends, who had given them all so much support. He had just begun to describe Charlie’s latest endeavours on the cricket pitch when David heard the door of the study being opened in the background and the sound of voices approaching the telephone.

  “Right, Mr. Corstorphine, that’s them here now. I’ll put on the speakerphone so that they can all hear you.”

  There was a click and David heard the sounds of their breathing coming down the line.

  “Are you all there?”

  “Hi, Dad!” David smiled to himself at the familiar enthusiasm in their voices.

  “Hi, you lot! How’re things going?”

  “Great! Fine!” Charlie and Harriet replied in unison.

  “Is everything all right, Dad?” Sophie asked, a worried edge to her voice.

  “Yes, darling! Couldn’t be better! In fact, the reason I’m calling is that I’ve just had this idea which I want to put to you all. You know that I said in my letters that we would all go off on holiday when I got home?”

  “Yes,” the three voices replied.

  “Well, I just thought it would be quite fun if you all came out here.”

  “What, to America?” Charlie gasped.

  “Yeah, to America.”

  “Wow! That’s amazing! Do you get cowboys and things where you are?”

  David laughed. “Not around here, I’m afraid, Charlie. I’m over on the East Coast, quite near New York. It’s a place called Long Island. I’m sure if you asked your geography teacher, she’d show you where it is on a map.” He paused. “Well, what do you think?”

  “Would you be around, Dad?” Sophie asked uncertainly. “I mean, you wouldn’t be working all the time, would you?”

  “No, not at all. It would be our holiday, and, I tell you, there is so much to do out here. Swimming, tennis, windsurfing.”

  “I haven’t got my swimming-costume here,” Harriet’s disappointed voice piped up.

  “Don’t worry about that, darling. I’m going to be telephoning Granny straight away, so I’ll get her to send your stuff to the school, okay?”

  “Yess!” he heard Charlie and Harriet yell out.

  “Sophie? What do you think?”

  “Yes,” Sophie answered, a hint of excitement now in her voice. “I think it would be a great idea.”

  “Well, in that case, I can now tell you that I’ve already booked your flights, and I’m going to ask Mr. Hunter to arrange for a car to take you to the airport, and then I’ll be in New York to pick you up. This is really exciting! I really can’t wait to see you all again! Now listen, you’d better get back to whatever you were doing, okay?”

  “Okay, Dad! We’ll see you in America!”

  There was a moment’s pause as they left the room, then a click as Mr. Hunter picked up the telephone. “Well, you couldn’t have wished for a better reaction than that!”

  “No, you’re right! Sophie, er, seemed a bit unsure to begin with.”

  “She’s fine, Mr. Corstorphine, believe me. Maybe your reassurance was all that she required, because she certainly went off with a beaming grin on her face.”

  “Thank goodness for that. Now, Mr. Hunter, I’d be most grateful if you could arrange the car for them. I’ve booked them on a flight on the first of July … tell you what, I’ll fax you all the details. That would be simpler.”

  “Very good, and I’ll just go ahead and fix it up at this end. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. I think it’s just what they all need.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it’s what we all need. Thank you again, Mr. Hunter.”

  David pressed the “disconnect” button and immediately dialled his mother’s number. It was she who answered, and from the instant she spoke, he was aware of a happiness in her voice that had been so acutely lacking over the past months. Her reaction to the idea was as enthusiastic as the children’s—“tickled pink” was the phrase she used—and she went on to say how everything now seemed to be turning out for the better. His father hadn’t been required to go into work at all over the past two weeks, really due to Duncan, who had completely come up trumps by keeping him so well-informed with what was going on, quite often actually taking the time to come out to the house to see him. She asked David when he thought he might return, and he replied that he would leave it open-ended, but he reckoned that they would all be back sometime in the early part of August. Then, having asked her to collect the children’s passports from The Beeches and to send them, along with some summer clothes, to the school, they ended the call with a final jocular comment from his mother about him beginning to sound quite American.

  He drove to Barker Lane that morning with a sense of excitement and elation tingling in his mind, not simply with the thought of the children’s coming out to see him, and how positive his mother had sounded during their call, but also with the relief of realizing that his secret was out, that Jasmine knew everything about him. It was like a weight lifted from his mind—no reason for pretence, no reason for keeping his guard up in front of her.

  He entered the kitchen to find her laying out a breakfast tray for Jennifer.

  “It’s all fixed, then!” he said almost triumphantly, pouring himself some coffee. “They’re flying out here on the first of July.”

  Jasmine took a sharp intake of breath and, with a yell of delight, hurried over and threw her arms around him in an all-enveloping bear-hug. “Oh, David, that’s wonderful!” She clapped her hands together in readiness for imminent organization. “Listen, as soon as everything gets back to normal here, I’ll help you find some foldable beds and sleepin’-bags. I’m sure we’ve got ’em stuffed away somewhere upstairs in the loft.”

  David smiled at her obvious excitement. “That really would be great, Jasmine.” He leaned back against the sideboard and took a drink of his coffee. “So how’s the patient this morning?”

  “Much better. I slept in the next-door room last night just in case she needed me. Heard her get up once, but besides that, I’m pretty sure she slept through. Anyways, right now she’s sittin’ up in bed and sayin’ that she might get up later on this morning. I told her just to stay where she was, and if I saw her down here, I’d chase her so fast up those stairs again that her feet would hardly touch the ground.” She laughed and, turning to pick up the tray, which was set with cup and saucer, a pot of tea and some toast and marmalade, she handed it to him. “I was just going to take this up to her, but seein’ you’re here and she’s already asked to see you, I think we could kill two birds with one stone, don’t you—nursey?”

  She gave David a wink, and with a shake of his head at her gibe, he turned and walked upstairs.

  Balancing the tray on one hand, he knocked on the bedroom door and, receiving a mumbled response, he entered in time to see Jennifer stuff something under her bedclothes and glance towards him with a flushed look of guilt on her face. She was dressed in a white, short-sleeved cotton night-dress, her hair hanging in loose strands against her washed-out cheeks, and the whole scene gave David the impression that he had just caught some impish child doing something that was very much against the rules.

  She let out a sigh of relief on seeing him. “Oh, thank God it’s you!” She retrieved a large acetate-covered document from under her bedclothes. “I thought it was Jasmine. She’d have given me hell if she’d caught me with this.”

  David laughed and carried the tray over to her bedside. “Where do you want this?”

  “Hang on,” Jennifer said, pushing back the bedclothes, “I’ll just put this back in my brief-case.” She scrambled on all fours across the double bed to the side nearest him, then tilted her head
up, a grin on her face. “I went downstairs and got it early this morning before Jasmine was up, so I’ve had to hide it under the bed. Wicked, huh?”

  David put the tray down across her knees. “So, how are you feeling this morning?”

  “Okay. A little woozy, but the headache has gone and I haven’t been sick again, thank God!” She took a piece of toast from the rack and crunched on it.

  “Glad to hear it.” He took a deep breath and turned to go. “Well, I suppose I’d better be getting to work.”

  “No, dom’p yep!” Jennifer exclaimed, her mouth filled with dry toast. She swallowed. “I mean, can you stay and talk for a minute?”

  He stood for a moment, indecisively scratching at the back of his head. “Well, okay, if you want.”

  She reached forward as far as the tray would allow her and patted the bed, and out of habit, David found himself dusting off the seat of his jeans before he sat down. Jennifer poured herself a cup of tea and put down the pot, then for a moment just stared at the tray, lost in thought.

  “David,” she said eventually, still looking down at the tray. “I just, uh…” She let out a short embarrassed laugh. “I actually don’t know what I want to say … no, I mean, yes … I do know. I just want to say … that what you did last night … was one of the kindest things I think that anyone has ever done for me in my life.” She glanced up briefly and a smile flashed across her face before she looked back down to the tray. “So thank you.” She looked up again and took in a deep faltering breath. “It sounds pretty inadequate, I know, but—”

  “No, look, it was nothing,” David interjected with a wave of his hand. “I tell you, we were all pretty worried about you. I think Jasmine’s probably right. You should just take things easy for a day or two.”

  Jennifer nodded. “Yeah, I will.” She took a long drink of her tea, then held her hand up mid-mouthful and gulped it down. “I know what I wanted to talk to you about. Benji’s song. Jasmine says it’s wonderful.”