Page 56 of Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

While it’s still winter, the chill is coming off the days a little – or maybe it’s an unusually warm August. Or maybe Josie just feels warmer in Brett’s presence, because they’re sitting in her parents’ garden at five o’clock and enjoying the golden light of the day’s end.

She still can’t quite believe that he is at her home, and that her parents have even gone out and left them alone. Then again, she suspects it’s a ploy on Erin’s part to keep Josie living at home: if she ‘lets’ Brett come to visit, Josie won’t have any reason to move out.

Except her reasons for moving out include far more than Brett, and the reasons to stay are greatly outweighed.

The main reason to stay is the cost of living outside of home. Then there’s the fact that a big change is always hard and moving out would be the biggest change of her life thus far.

Or would it? The accident – being so badly damaged and having to recover – has shown her she can manage difficult things, and sudden change, and be just fine. As terrible as it was, it did her a favour.

Her reasons to leave – apart from being able to spend time with Brett more easily – are that she can determine the shape of each day, and her life, without constantly having reference to what her mother in particular wants her to do.

She can eat what she wants, spend the weekend doing what she wants, even go away if that suits her, and she doesn’t have to worry about what Erin will say.

Her mother will still have opinions, obviously, and she’ll still worry about Josie, but Josie won’t feel as overwhelmed by it all.

The cloak of maternal love will not smother her the way it has thus far, even as she feels ungrateful for thinking it.

‘I love this time of year,’ Brett says, smiling to the sky. ‘The waves are still good but spring’s about to happen, so I can almost ditch the steamer.’

He’s talking about his wetsuit. She knows this now because they’ve talked a lot about surfing, even to the point that he’s offered to teach her how.

‘Girls don’t surf!’ she said, because she didn’t know any who did.

‘Sure they do,’ he replied. ‘Pam Burridge – she’s ace.’

Josie was barely aware of Pam Burridge but she agreed to learn, as soon as she was steady on her feet.

‘We can get you in the water soon,’ he says in the late-afternoon light, still smiling. ‘I’ll get you a spring suit.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Short-sleeve wetsuit. I reckon you’ll look great in it.’ He raises his eyebrows and laughs, as if he’s caught himself being suggestive. ‘But you look great in everything.’

She blushes; he probably can’t see it in this light even though their chairs are angled toward each other. They’ve been sitting and chatting for about half an hour. The temperature will drop as soon as the sun does, so they’ll want to head inside soon.

‘Did you get a surf in at lunchtime today?’ she asks.

‘Nah,’ he says lightly. ‘Too busy.’

‘Oh.’ She bites her lip. ‘You could have gone after work. Instead of coming here.’

He gives her a funny look. ‘Why would I want to do that?’

‘Because you love it. Because it’s fun.’ When she invited him to come over she didn’t mean to deprive him of his surf.

He reaches over and takes her hand. ‘This is more fun.’

‘Is it?’ She keeps doubting him when he says things like that, even though he tells her not to.

‘Absolutely. What’s nicer than this?’ Once more he lifts his head to the sky. ‘Look at it. Perfect colour.’ Then he looks at her again. ‘And my perfect girl.’

She laughs, surprised, and points to her cast-bound limbs. ‘Not so perfect.’

‘Of course you are. And they’ll be off soon.’

The day is indeed drawing closer when the plaster will come off and then she’ll start the rehab process. Which will be tedious and she won’t be able to move out until it’s over, but moving out gives her a goal to work toward.

‘Can’t wait,’ she says.

‘Then we can have some adventures.’ He waggles his eyebrows at her.

She giggles. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Some road trips, maybe. We could go north. And a bit of a day trip to Sydney. We could even stay overnight – my cousin has a place in Manly.’

She can feel it, sitting here in her parents’ back garden: there’s a fence around her now but her life is opening up in a way that it wouldn’t without Brett.

He makes plans. He does things. And he wants her to be part of it all.

Road trips may not seem like much to some people but to her they mean going further than she ever has; seeing things, meeting people, becoming someone who has a full and interesting life.

‘I’d love to do that,’ she says.

‘You want to travel overseas?’

She’s dreamt of it, of course, but that’s never seemed possible, financially or practically. Her mother would never let her go anywhere on her own and because she hasn’t had many friends to date, she put it out of her mind. But with him …

‘Yes, I do,’ she says.

‘Yeah?’ He looks excited. ‘Where to?’

‘Everywhere!’ It’s out of her mouth before she realises how ludicrous it sounds. Who wants to go everywhere ?

He laughs. ‘Me too! Where will we go first?’

We. How sweet that sounds.

‘I don’t know! There are so many places to choose.’

He nods. ‘We’ll have to save up. So we have time to think about it.’

‘You probably want to go somewhere you can surf, right?’

‘Not really. The beaches are so good here. Why would I go anywhere else?’ He screws up his face. His sweet, tanned, lovely, wonderful face. ‘I reckon Italy is top of my list. Venice, yeah.’

‘Venice?’ She’s surprised – she would have thought he’d like California or Florida or someplace where it’s sunny.

‘You don’t think it’s wild that the whole city is on the water?’

He looks so animated, and she thinks that this is yet another side of him to discover: the part that is curious about the world, that wants to see and experience things.

‘And there’s all the art and stuff. Yeah, I reckon Venice is the go.’

‘I’ve love to go there. I’d love to go anywhere.’

‘That makes it easy, then, doesn’t it.’

He moves his chair closer to hers, a little to the side so he doesn’t hit her cast-bound legs.

Thrillingly, she realises he wants to kiss her. It’s still so new, this idea that this young man wants to kiss her, put his hands on her skin, be so close to her. Be as close to her as she wants to be to him. It all feels so natural, as well as amazing.

As they kiss it’s as exciting as it was the first time.

More so, actually, because now she knows to look forward to it.

They keep kissing and she thinks about kissing him in Venice.

In Rome and Florence. In Paris and London and New York City.

So many places to go with him. So many places to be happy with him.

Once the kiss is over it’s almost dark. Who knows how long they’ve been entwined.

The outside light goes on and Josie realises her parents must be home.

The back door opens and her mother steps out.

‘Hello, Brett,’ she says, smiling. It looks like a genuine smile, although maybe she’s just good at pretending to be happy to see him.

‘Hi, Mrs Martin,’ he says, pronouncing it the Spanish way.

‘Would you like to stay for dinner?’ Erin asks.

Josie knows she can’t hide her surprise at the invitation.

‘I’d love to,’ he says, getting to his feet. ‘Can I help you with anything?’

Erin looks pleased. ‘If you could help Josie inside, that would be wonderful.’

‘Sure thing.’

As Erin closes the door Brett offers Josie his hands. She holds them and with what seems like hardly any effort he pulls her up and wraps his arm around her.

‘I’ve got you,’ he says, and she knows he means it for today, tomorrow and as far into the future as she can see.

‘I’ve got you too,’ she replies, nuzzling her nose against his neck.

‘You sure do,’ he says, laughing, and as he walks her inside she relaxes into him, feeling as light as air.