Blossoms in the Wind

by Ross Richdale

  " HI ADRIAN," CHLOE said that night when he called around after she sent him a text asking him to visit.

  "What has your husband done this time?"

  She grinned but felt nervous. "It's not him but you, Adrian."

  "Me? What have I done?"

  "Impregnated me," she whispered and watched as his eyes widened in sheer astonishment.

  "I what?" he gasped, as the significance of her reply seemed to hit his brain.

  "Well there was nobody else that did it."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Of course I'm bloody sure Almost six weeks, the doctor said. It was confirmed by the midwife I've been in contact with."

  "Oh hell. This is one for the books."

  "Yeah, how come?"

  'Two rampaging teenage kids that I suspect are sexually active and it's us who ..." He laughed but turned serious. "What are you going to do about it?"

  "Me! It's us Adrian. What are we going to do about it?"

  He grinned. "What are we going to do about it?"

  She looked into his eyes. "This so-called love child comes from love, Adrian. Sure, it was unplanned but I guess for the first time in my life I am in love." She flushed. "I love my son, of course but that is a different kind of love, isn't it?"

  Adrian stepped forward grabbed her in a massive hug and kissed her almost violently on her lips. Has hand dropped down and gently massaged her stomach.

  "I love you Chloe and to think, I almost turned down that invite to visit last March and really only came for Ava's sake."

  "So we keep it?" Chloe whispered.

  "The final choice is yours and I'll respect whatever you wish to do."

  She slapped him on the shoulder. "Coward," she said. "I want to know what you want! There's still a little while before I need to make the choice of an abortion or otherwise."

  Adrian smiled. "Keep him but you tell Ava. Okay?"

  "And you tell Jeff but not just yet. Wait until I begin to show that she's on her way." She emphasised the word 'she'.

  "Point taken," Adrain chuckled.

  "Makes one feel all young again, doesn't it?"

  "Yeah but with different hassles," she whispered and felt as if two decades had been taken back from her life. "It's all how we feel, isn't it?"

  Adrian nodded and reached for a can of fruit juice from the fridge to hand to her. "No more wine, young lady and that's an order."

  CHAPTER 5

  "Your dad and Mum seem to be hitting it off okay," Jeff said when the pair were back in the school library on that wintery cold Wednesday lunch hour.

  "Meaning?" Ava replied.

  "Hell, you know they're always going out to shows and so forth and often when we go to my place, your Dad's there."

  "So?"

  "Oh don't be so abrupt. You sound like that first day I asked you to go to the Easter Dance. You can cut someone off with one icy stare, you know?"

  Ava broke onto a smile and dug him in the ribs. "Would you rather I fluttered my eyes at every boy around like Deanne used to do?"

  "Past tense," Jeff replied. "Did you teach her how to cut guys down with one glance?"

  "Watch it!" Ava whispered. "Anyway, I'm glad Dad and Chloe are such good friends. He took Mum's death pretty badly."

  "Perhaps they're doing it?" Jeff chuckled.

  "Doing what?"

  "Oh hell, here you go again. Having sex!"

  Ava stared at him. "Doubt it."

  "Any why not? They're both relatively young."

  "Dad's still getting over Mum," Ava replied. "Mind you, he's a bit more honest about her now."

  "How?"

  Ava grimaced. "She got pretty bitchy towards the end but Dad said it was the cancer talking and not really her. Lately though, he admitted that she had changed."

  "Perhaps my mum has helped him see things as they really were." Jeff replied. "So why not the next step?"

  "Adults like them never rush into things. Things were different when they were our age." Ava glanced it him. "Anyway, how did we get away from discussing that chemistry problem?"

  Jeff flushed. "I just thought that..."

  Ava glowered at him, turned away and stared at her iPad. "I wasn't going to tell you."

  "Tell me what?"

  She glanced back at him, lifted her right sleeve to show a small Band-Aid type patch on the inner side of her arm

  Jeff shrugged. "Get a flue injection?"

  "God, boys can be so naive at times. It's a birth control patch like the pill but I only need to change it once a week, Jeff!" Ava briefly explained how it worked and stared at him again. "I know you have trouble trying to stop but you always have and I love you for that." She sucked on her bottom lips as she often did when she was nervous. "I have trouble stopping too, you know."

  "So next time?" Jeff gasped.

  "We'll see, shall we?" Ava laughed and turned back to her iPad. "Now, that equation you reckon you've solved..."

  AVA WAS QUITE NERVOUS about how their parents would react to Jeff's and her own decision to have a weekend away together. Surprisingly, her father just rubbed his chin when she spouted out the news.

  "That's up to you, Dear," he said. "Just make sure Jeff tells his mum, too."

  "You don't mind?" Ava gasped.

  Adrian grinned. "It's better than just sneaking off somewhere. After all, you'll be eighteen soon and be able to vote at the next election."

  Jeff's mother was even more accommodating and actually brought up the topic when Ava visited the next evening to find that the men weren't there

  "Jeff told be about your trip to Orewa Beach in a couple of weeks. Said he booked a motel unit," Chloe said

  Ava flushed and just nodded.

  "Sounds like it'll be fun," Chloe said and stared at her intently. "Everything sorted?"

  "Meaning?" Ava almost retorted.

  "Birth control," Chloe continued in a blunt voice. "The man just using a condom doesn't always solve the problem, you know."

  "I guess not," Ava spluttered and pulled up her jersey sleeve. "A patch," she whispered

  "Oh Ava," Chloe stepped forward and grabbed her in a tight hug. "Things are so different nowadays. I told Jeff to respect you."

  "And what did he say?" Ava whispered.

  "He said he was not his old man and he would never ever be like him." Chloe stood back and appeared to be about to say something else but hesitated and just smiled.

  "Were you about to say more?" Ava asked.

  Chloe laughed almost nervously. "Nothing really. Just that with your mum gone, if you want to talk about anything at all woman to woman, I'm here for you."

  "Sometimes, it has been hard," Ava admitted. "I have an aunt but she's pretty old fashioned and you're so approachable. Thank you, it's so nice to have someone like you." She grinned. "Dad thinks so, too."

  Chloe actually looked embarrassed but nodded and changed the topic. "Jeff and your dad have gone out to pick up some pizzas we ordered. Adrian said he would shout."

  ON FRIDAY TWO WEEKS later, it was late afternoon at the beach resort about thirty kilometres north of Auckland. The Morning Sunrise was a typical small New Zealand motel that catered for families rather than business people or overseas tourists. Ava and Jeff's unit had its own kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom separate from a small living area. There was free Wifi but no accompanying restaurant or community rooms. Jeff's car, an ancient Mazda rotary engine vehicle was parked in front of their unit. Ava would have preferred to bring her near new Honda Jazz that she had inherited from her mother but decided not to be critical of his pride and joy.

  It was a cool winter's day with scattered showers predicted. They took their luggage in and Ava glanced around. She felt strangely excited but almost embarrassed about being there but unpacked before opening the refrigerator and taking out a container of milk.

  "Coffee?" she said and grinned at Jeff.

  They held hands as they walked along the beach and waded through the tiny incoming waves. There were other peop
le strolling around, from older couples to families playing beach ball, girls with dogs, runners and walkers. Auckland had mild winters and this was almost spring weather. Later they had a meal at a small restaurant and retreated to their motel for the evening.

  After hearing all sorts of weird tales from other girls at school about losing their virginity, Ava was nervous but everything just sort of happened, from gentle kissing to frantic love making throughout the night, time together the following day doing everything they wanted, another night together exploring each other's bodies, teasing, laughing, fondling and making love until, exhausted they fell asleep in each others arms.

  Ava awoke early on Sunday morning to the sound of something outside. Jeff was sound asleep beside her so she slid out her side of the bed and tiptoed across to the window. The blind was down so she moved it slightly so she could see outside.

  It was drizzling and the area was lit with several small night-lights that were probably designed not to be too intrusive on guests in the units. She noticed a line of vehicles parked facing the units that were built around a rectangular central parking area.

  It seemed empty and she was just about to return to bed when a close movement made her jerk in fright. Somebody stood up from behind Jeff's Mazda and walked away. He wore a hooded rain jacket and carried a small container or toolbox.

  Why was he there? She thought back to the sound that had awoken her. Could it have been a spanner being dropped on the ground? Luckily their car was locked. She watched as he walked diagonally across the parking area and out the front driveway. A moment later she saw the headlights of a vehicle come on and a car drove away.

  Curious rather than afraid, she grabbed her plastic raincoat and opened the door. It was quiet with only the sound being that of water running down a nearby drainpipe. She stepped out onto the wet pavement. It was cold under her feet but it was not worthwhile going back for her shoes. She stepped out and walked around their car. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. She tried the door, found it securely locked but when she peered closer she could see a handprint on the side fender.

  So someone had leaned forward and placed his hand on the car, probably while trying the door with his other hand. She looked closer but saw no scratches or dents. Jeff had just repainted the car and was quite proud of the dark green with a red and white racing stripes across the roof and bonnet. Perhaps the guy was just curious about the new paint.

  She walked around the adjacent car but noticed nothing out of the ordinary so returned to their unit, crawled into bed and dropped asleep.

  She awoke to see sunlight streaming in the window with the blinds pulled up. The smell of bacon cooking filled the room.

  "Thought, you'd never wake up," Jeff called from the bathroom. "Check the breakfast, will you? Bacon might need turning over."

  IT WAS LATE MORNING and the traffic wasn't too heavy as Ava and Jeff headed home on the Northern Motorway. Jeff chatted away about his car and how he reckoned it was now worth twice of what he had paid for it because of the new paint job. Ava sat back in the front passenger seat without really listening when she smelt something almost as if the engine was hot. No it was more like burning rubber!

  Her mind instantly jumped back to the night before and seeing that guy behind the car. She remembered the noise, too; it was definitely the sound of a tool being dropped onto the ground. Oh my God! Somebody had placed a bomb in the car!

  "Jeff," she screamed. "Pull over! We need to get out of the car!"

  "What?" he replied. "Cars aren't allowed to stop on the motorway."

  "In an emergency, you can. Do it!"

  Jeff must have noted the panic in her voice for he pulled off to the road verge and went to turn the engine off.

  "No!" Ava screamed as she grabbed her door and opened it. "Just get out and run!"

  She checked that Jeff was following and just tore along the grass verge. Jeff caught up to her and reached out as if to grab her hand when it happened!

  First she saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eyes, heard a boom and micro-seconds later a scorching blast of hot air hit her on the back. She was sort of lifted into the air and flung horizontally forward. She remembered skidding across the lawn verge and the pain of scrapped knees and elbows before she stopped and looked up. Jeff was beside her and also on the ground. He turned and just stared over her.

  She could feel the heat and her ears rang as she turned.

  There was no Mazda!

  Instead, flames and still exploding debris shot up in the air below spiralling black smoke. The Mazda looked like a blackened skeleton as it lay on one side with flaming tyres and a ball of fire replaced the engine. Jeff looked at her, his face as white as a sheet before he rushed forward to grab her in his arms.

  "How did you know!" he sobbed as something else, probably the petrol tank exploded and red and yellow flames burst ten or more metres into the air. A sheet of metal whistled over their heads and disappeared down a small bank beyond them.

  Ava felt a thud as a burning hot piece of metal hit her with such a force that she was flung down onto the ground She heard a distinct snapping noise and excruciating pain. Her arm felt floppy. Something was wrong!

  What followed was a blur in her mind. She remembered cars stopping, people running towards them, voices, somebody lowering her back down on the grass and shortly later the sound of sirens replaced that of the burning vehicle.

  "Jeff!" she cried as she found it difficult to breathe. "Where's Jeff?"

  "I'm here Ava," said his familiar voice and a hand grabbed and squeezed her own.

  She attempted to smile but when she attempted to move her left arm agonising pain shot though her body. She could smell the stench of burnt hair. This was worse than the smell of burning tyres!

  "Your friend is okay, young lady," said a stranger's voice. "Just lie back. An ambulance is on the way."

  She now felt cold, almost freezing. This was ridiculous. Why would she feel cold after a fire? Someone placed a rug over her but in spit of her arm that now felt numb, she struggled to sit up and saw that Jeff was also being attended to by a couple of strangers.

  A police car pulled up and two police officers ran across to them, orders were issued and the small crowd stood back to let the pair through. Moments later more sirens howled and almost simultaneously a fire engine and ambulance arrived. Medics arrived and soft words spoken to her, a mask was placed over her nose and she managed to breath in fresh air.

  Still disorientated, she remembered being lifted onto a stretcher and carried over to the ambulance. She looked up and felt relieved when she saw Jeff being placed in the ambulance beside her. Further out she had a fleeting image of the fire fighters pumping a cloud of white foam over the burning car.

  It was like a terrible nightmare and she almost expected to wake up in that comfortable bed with Jeff beside her. She grimaced and realised that everything had actually happened. Somebody had tried to kill them both but they were both alive. She lay there but couldn't stop the hysterical sobs.

  AVA WAS BACK AT SCHOOL by Wednesday with a broken left arm in a sling and a shortened haircut that tidied up singed hair. Her cheek was still red but luckily there was no scarring and her lower leg, on her left side, had a large bandage between the ankle and knee. Jeff was still away and recovering from bruises and burns to an arm and his chest. After her dad dropped her off for she couldn't drive her own car, she ambled into the Year 13 common room at twenty to nine and gasped. Instead of half a dozen other students there the room was filled with close to a hundred who clapped and cheered.

  "Thanks guys," Ava stuttered and felt her face burn in embarrassment when a large canvas painting was unrolled from the top of a row of lockers.

  Ava and Jeff's Hot Weekend it stated with a very arty looking picture of the burning Mazda and a caricature of Jeff carrying Ava away from the flames.

  Ava glowered at Deanne and Fluer who stood nearby grinning. "You two are responsible for this, aren't you?"
<
br />   "Us?" the pair chorused and everybody began clapping again.

  Ava grinned and accepted a glass thrust in her hand, She gasped when she sipped it and realised someone had brought a wine to school. This was strictly against school rules. She looked around at the expectant faces, smiled and swallowed it down.

  "I needed that," she said with a grin and nodded at the canvas. "No it wasn't a hot weekend, guys but one that was really cool."

  Laughter broke out and Ava found her eyes watering at the affection shown towards her and the realisation what a lucky escape Jeff and she had had. Her mind went back to the memory seeing the guy by the car at the motel and that hot smell in the car. If it wasn't for those two now obviously related events, they wouldn't have survived the tragedy.

  THE FORENSIC EXPERT from Auckland University stood back from the burnt out Mazda parked in the warehouse and turned to the two senior police detectives standing beside him. He pointed to molten metal that would have been part of the car body.

  "I don't believe that the initial conclusion that the explosion was caused by a leaking fuel pump that was ignited by a hot exhaust pipe was correct. The fragments of metal here suggest otherwise." He bent over and wiggled a piece of metal with a gloved hand "See how the jagged edges point in and not out?"

  "Suggesting what Doctor Lockyer?" the detective inspector asked.

  "A device was attached to the exterior of the car, probably beneath the front wheel hub on the passenger's side. When it detonated, the resulting explosion blew inwards. A leaking fuel pump or fuel line ignited by say a spark coming up from the road would have blown outwards. These fragments would, therefore be facing the opposite direction."

  "So it was a bomb?" the younger detective whispered.

  "Yes. Fortunately, the assassin had wrapped it in those plastic packing bubbles, probably to stop it rattling. An amateur designed the bomb with a timing device that started when the ignition was turned on and set to go off a few minutes later. Perhaps two exposed wires touching heated enough to cause the plastic to melt and give off fumes before the bomb exploded."