by HC Michaels
It was his aversion to arguments that was the catalyst for him to fall so madly in love with Elvira. She never raised her voice. Not ever. They’d been married for ten years now, and he’d still not heard her yell, not at Amelia, not at the television, and thankfully not at him.
He’d found her peacefulness very restful to begin with. It hadn’t lasted, though. Well, the soft quality to her voice had, but the underlying peacefulness had long ago disappeared. She was wound-up, tense, and fragile, ready to explode at a moment’s notice (quietly, of course).
Elvira reminded him of the way his older brother used to fart.
She was silent but deadly.
That was another thing he’d never told her, mainly because he wasn’t stupid. There was no woman in the world who’d want to be likened to a fart, even if in its own way it was a compliment.
He wheeled his suitcase into the kitchen and opened the cupboards, looking for a glass. He needed some water. It was so warm on this island. He’d taken his time to get here. He could have flown straight from Sydney, but he’d needed a bit of space before he faced Elvira and her grief.
Elvira wasn’t an easy person to be around when she grieved. Truthfully, she wasn’t even really an easy person to be around when she wasn’t grieving.
He swallowed a lump of guilt at this thought. She was his wife. He was supposed to be there for her, to hold her, support her and lift her spirits. But whenever he looked into her face full of tears, he felt his own grief come billowing out in a way that made it almost impossible to stuff back in.
He told himself that her sadness only affected him so much because he loved her. If he felt nothing for her, then he’d feel nothing in return, wouldn’t he?
He wasn’t sure anymore.
All he knew was that it was easier to solve the problems presented to him at work than the ones he found himself involved with at home. He’d far prefer to eat dinner at his desk than to sit across the table from Elvira’s frown each night.
He found a glass and filled it with water, drinking it in several large gulps, trying to decide how he felt about his mother-in-law’s death. He’d loved Carina and Roberto when they’d lived in Melbourne. But they’d become somewhat harder to love after they’d abandoned them, choosing sunshine over family.
Paul had been raised to believe family were the most important thing in the world. His sister, Fran, may be overbearing at times but at least she wanted to keep him close. How poor Elvira must have felt to have her parents run away like that. Right when she’d needed them most. Paul sometimes thought almost all the problems he had in life could be drawn right back to their decision to leave. It was difficult not to be resentful about that.
But now that Carina was dead, it looked like he was going to have to spend the week in mourning. Nobody had to know that what he was really mourning was the mother-in-law he used to know, rather than the one she had ultimately become.
Leaving his suitcase in the kitchen, he set off to explore the apartment. It had taken him some time to convince the woman at the accommodation desk at the airport to give him a key. He’d had to show two forms of identification, which she matched to the name on the booking form.
Thankfully, Elvira had thought to add him to the booking. Or more likely Tessa had. He couldn’t have imagined Elvira was capable of booking anything at the moment, which was why he hadn’t told her his plane was coming in. She had enough to think about without having to worry about him.
It was a nice apartment. Two bedrooms. It looked like Tessa must be bunking with a no doubt very excited Amelia. It would be his daughter’s idea of heaven to wake up to see her beloved nanny sleeping beside her.
Amelia adored Tessa. He sometimes wondered if she loved her more than she loved Elvira. She spent more time with her and had more fun with her. The poor kid would be heartbroken when Tessa had enough of Elvira and headed back to England, as would inevitably happen.
Another unpopular opinion to add to his secret list.
His phone beeped and he glanced down at it to see a message from Fran.
Great to see you’ve arrived safely! Give our love to Elvira x
Paul huffed. Why hadn’t he turned that bloody tracking app off the moment he left Fran’s house? No self-respecting thirty-five-year-old man needed to be tracked by his sister. Clearly, she’d had her son pretend to want to share locations with him. Poor Joseph was even more under the thumb than he was.
He texted Fran back, deciding to turn the app off later when he had time to figure out how.
Thanks! Just arrived at the accommodation. Haven’t seen Elvira yet but will pass that on x
Going to the master bedroom, he smiled to see his blue gym bag that Elvira had taken for herself almost as soon as he’d bought it. It was like she knew his good intentions to go to the gym would be as far as he got. Dealing with Elvira’s moods every night was a daily workout enough. It was preferable just to stick with his running. Somehow, that didn’t feel like hard work.
He was fortunate enough to have been blessed with an athletic frame. He could get away with avoiding the gym. He’d been avoiding the hairdresser too, which was something he needed to sort out sooner rather than later. Maybe he’d cut his dark hair into a bob like Elvira’s, just for a laugh.
Maybe he was being too harsh. She did try to be a good wife. It wasn’t her fault she’d become the person she had. Sometimes you don’t just make things happen in life—they happen to you all on their own. She was just a product of an extremely unfortunate accident.
But that same accident had happened to him, and he was fine. Just fine. Really, he was.
He undressed and headed for the shower. A change of clothes would give him a change of attitude.
He’d find Elvira and give her the support she needed.
Or maybe he’d check his emails first. Do a little bit of work, then look for her. That was a better idea. There was no hurry. After all, once he found her, who knew how long it would be before he’d be able to escape again.
He really wasn’t very much like Jesus at all…
Tessa walked out of the gift shop at the zoo and collided with Tino.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, annoyed at the familiar feel of the firmness of his chest. God, he was gorgeous.
“Too intense at the apartment. Went for a walk,” he said. “Forgot you said you were going here.”
“Tiiiiino,” said Millie, looking up at him.
“That’s right.” He squatted down. “I’m your Uncle Tino.”
Millie frowned at him. “I don’t like you.”
“Millie, that’s not nice,” said Tessa, suppressing a smile. She was a smart kid. If only Millie had been with her in Mykonos, she could’ve avoided a whole lot of trouble. And earth shattering, amazing sex. The kind that she was definitely not thinking about right now.
Tino smiled at his niece.
“You’re just like your mother,” he said.
“Tessa my mummy,” she said, crossing her arms.
Tino stood back up and winked at Tessa. “You have a fan.”
“At least someone likes me.” She took Millie’s hand and walked away.
“You’re not still mad about that, are you?” he asked, falling into stride beside her.
He said that like it was nothing. What an arse! That had been her giving herself to him, lying naked before him in body and soul. Sex for him clearly didn’t mean the same thing as it did to her.
“You hurt me, Tino,” she said, making sure to use his real name. “I mean, I didn’t think we were going to get married or anything, but after everything we…shared…I at least thought I deserved a goodbye.”
“I said goodbye.” He brushed his hand across her behind.
“True. Although, it sounded a little more like fuck off.” She whispered the last two words as she swatted his hand away. The last thing she needed was Millie repeating that kind of new vocabulary to Elvira. She was parroting more and more of her words the older she was ge
tting.
Tino laughed. “Oh, come on, Tess. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re being a bit sensitive don’t you think?”
They were walking uphill now, and she concentrated on her breathing, preferring the donkeys in Mykonos to the donkey’s arse sauntering along beside her now.
“You told me you didn’t have any brothers or sisters,” she said, still trying to piece together how much he’d lied to her.
“I don’t.” He shrugged.
Tessa rolled her eyes. “What do you call Elvira then?”
“It’s hard to count someone as your sister when they want nothing to do with you.”
She shook her head. This guy was a joke! He had an answer for absolutely everything.
“And what about your parents?” she asked. “You told me they lived in Mykonos.”
“I said they lived on the island.” He grinned at her. “This is an island.”
“Just leave me alone.” She tried to increase her pace to get away from him, but with his long legs and Millie’s short ones, that was never going to work.
“I’ve missed you.” He grabbed for her hand, and she pulled away, hating the way the contact had made her stomach pull into a knot.
“Which part exactly did you miss?” she asked, remembering what he’d said the last time they spoke.
“Lots of parts.” He glanced down at her cleavage. “Do you reckon you can sneak out for a bit tonight?”
“Absolutely not.” How ridiculous of him! Did he actually expect her to meet him after how they’d parted in Mykonos?
“I’ll wait for you outside my dad’s apartment at nine o’clock.” He reached out his hand again, then seemed to change his mind.
She shook her head and looked down at Millie marching silently along beside her. “Can you just leave me alone? As in right now? You’re upsetting Millie. Don’t you think the kid’s been through enough this week?”
“Okay, okay. Nine o’clock. I’ll see you there.” He grinned at her, so certain she’d fall right back into his arms.
“You’ll see me nowhere.” She smiled right back at him.
He stopped walking and slunk back down the hill.
“I don’t want to walk,” wailed Millie. “Carry me.”
Tessa smiled. This was the Millie she knew.
“Come on Mills, I can’t carry you. It’s too far.” She put a hand on Millie’s back and tried to urge her forward. “You’ve had such good walking legs today. You can walk a bit further.”
“I’m tired.” She planted her feet and raised her arms above her head.
“I'll tell you what.” Tessa tried to inject some excitement into her voice. “If you can walk up this little bit more, then down the big hill on the other side, I’ll buy you an ice-cream.”
Millie eyed her suspiciously.
“Don’t you remember the shop at the bottom of the hill?” asked Tessa.
“Bubble gum ice-cream?” Millie asked.
“Any flavour you like.” Tessa smiled to see her plan was working.
Millie nodded slowly and trudged up the hill.
“Good girl.”
She really was. It had been fun at the zoo. They’d seen koalas and crocodiles and two dingos being led around on leashes. It’d taken Tessa’s mind off Tino for a little while. If he hadn’t come looking for them, it might’ve taken her mind off him for more than a little while.
She thought about what possible reason the universe had for putting that man in her path once more and came up blank yet again.
She was going to take great pleasure standing him up tonight. That smug bastard really thought she was going to meet him. Let him see for himself what it felt like to be rejected.
8 Days Before The Break
Elvira woke early to the sun streaming into her eyes.
She rolled over, turning her back to the window and started to find Paul lying next to her. It had been almost a week since they’d shared a bed and she’d forgotten he’d arrived on the island.
She’d ended up returning to the apartment after her drive to the lookout. She’d needed more time before she could go back to her father’s apartment and face Tino.
There’d be no avoiding him today. They were going with her father on a boat to Airlie Beach and then taking a bus to Proserpine to finalise her mother’s funeral arrangements. Maybe she could push Tino off the boat and pass it off as an accident? She could ask for a two-for-one deal at the funeral parlour.
Paul made a groaning noise in his sleep. She was used to him making sounds like that, almost like the frustrations she knew he kept bottled up while he was awake were leaking out against his will.
He’d been sitting in front of his laptop when she’d arrived back at the apartment. He said he’d only just arrived, but she knew that wasn’t true by the stack of work papers on the table beside him.
Normally she’d have called him out on his lie, but she didn’t have the energy. She was just glad to see him, so instead fell into his arms.
Surprised at her unusually affectionate greeting, he’d taken her to the bedroom and made love to her. She was grateful for the distraction. It allowed her to pretend for a while that they were on holiday and not here to say goodbye to her mother.
They hadn’t had sex for such a long time before then. It had been months maybe. She usually blamed his long working hours, but he’d always worked hard and that had never interfered with their bedroom activities before. Sometimes she blamed Tessa, saying she was uncomfortable doing anything with her in the house. But they’d lived with Elvira’s parents before they were married and knew how to satisfy their needs in silence when required.
The truth was that it wasn’t his work’s fault, and it wasn’t Tessa’s fault.
It was theirs.
Their marriage had been falling apart for a long time now. It was like it had received a massive blow with a sledgehammer that weakened its foundations. The cracks only appeared slight to begin with, but as time had gone on, they’d deepened to the point that large chunks of their marriage were now falling away.
They were no longer friends or lovers. They were Amelia’s parents with their lives and their history so closely intertwined that it was easier to leave it that way than to try to pull it apart.
She still loved him. He was very handsome in his own way, and she saw the way other women looked at him. But it was hard to tell if being married to him made her a better person. Maybe if she walked away from him, she could leave some of her anger behind as well.
But he was the only person who understood her. She could never leave him.
He opened his eyes and squinted.
“Doesn’t this place have any blinds?” he asked, bending his arm across his face.
“It does.” She glanced at the rolled-up blinds, then out at the trees. Not exactly an ocean view but it was private and tranquil. Far nicer than the view they had at home. “I asked you to close them when you got back from your run last night.”
“You did?” Paul seemed surprised. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, remembering how distracted he’d seemed when he got home. “It was late, anyway. Besides, it’s nice to see the sun for a change.”
“What time is it?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Must be early.” She resisted the urge to check her phone. “I can’t hear Amelia and Tessa yet.”
“What happened to your hand?” she asked, noticing a long scratch on his palm. “I didn’t see that yesterday.”
“Fran made me help her cook.” He closed his fingers into a fist. “She got this new knife from the supermarket with some kind of reward program, and it was like a bloody surgeon’s scalpel.”
“Gnocchi, or lasagne?” she asked, knowing Paul’s sister’s favourite meals.
“Gnocchi.” He grinned.
Her mouth watered at the thought. Fran may be overbearing but she sure knew how to cook. Elvira really let down her Italian heritage in that department.
“Yesterday was good.” Paul reached up and stroked her cheek. “I missed you.”
She kissed his fingers as he swept them across her lips. Maybe there was hope for them after all.
“What time’s your boat leaving?” he asked.
“You’re not coming?” She’d told him about her plans yesterday, assuming he’d be there to support her.
“I’ve got so much work to do.” He sighed. “Think I might just stay here and catch up on a few things. And I’d like to spend a little bit of time with Amelia.”
Elvira drew in a deep breath and sat up, breaking the contact between them. “Are you serious? I could really use your help. And we have Tessa to look after Amelia.”
“I missed her. And I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back. I’ll take you out to dinner to make it up to you. I’ve just got so many emails building up.” He leaned over and picked up his phone. “I really need to clear them from my head so I can relax.”
“We’re not here to relax.” All the tension that had been swept from her body, returned with force. “We’re here to bury my mother.”
“I thought you said she was being cremated.” He yawned as he scrolled on his phone, showing her exactly how much he really cared.
“It’s just an expression.” She swung her legs out of bed and went to the ensuite.
Just when she’d been thinking they were in a good place. Maybe the endorphins from the orgasm had been clouding her judgement.
Their marriage was just as troubled as it had always been.
It looked like she was going to have to face Tino alone. Well, her father would be there, but he was next to useless. Why had she surrounded herself by such pathetic males?
She almost missed being at work. The males there weren’t nearly as hopeless. That was if she still had a job. Her boss hadn’t been too impressed when she called to say she wouldn’t be returning for another week. He’d given her the time off, of course. He’d look like a bit of a bastard if he made her miss her mother’s funeral so she could be at the monthly department head meeting.
