Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Thirteen

Liz’s day started badly. She overslept, wakening, her eyes blurred with sleep, to see it was eight o’clock. She wandered through to the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine, hoping a cup of coffee would help get her awake.

There was a message on her phone.

Don’t forget Gary and I are bringing over all my stuff this morning. Hope to be there around nine. xx

Hell, it was Saturday. Mandy was moving in. Liz had made an effort to clear the spare room the previous evening, carting some of the larger items down to her storage locker, but she’d planned on making an early start to finish it off this morning. She wanted the room to look inviting when Mandy arrived. Too late now. Liz downed her coffee quickly, took a few bites from the toast she’d made while the coffee was brewing and headed for the shower. Maybe a blast of cold water would help her feel more human, more welcoming to the daughter she didn’t really want to move in and disturb her peaceful existence.

She was just out of the shower, had pulled on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, and dragged a comb through her hair when there was a familiar pounding on the door.

Mandy was standing there, looking as if she’d been awake for hours. Behind her stood a tall young man wearing a pair of board shorts and a tee-shirt with the dive school logo, his blond hair tied back in a ponytail. ‘Hi, Mum. This is Gary.’

‘Hello, Mrs Phillips. Good to meet you. ’

‘You too, Gary,’ Liz said. She hugged Mandy but didn’t know what to do with Gary. He didn’t look the sort to shake hands and they weren’t on hugging terms.

‘We have everything in Gary’s ute,’ Mandy said. ‘I took your advice and rented a storage space for the bigger items. Can we bring it all up now?’

‘I suppose so. Do you want to check out the room first, to work out where you want things to go?’

‘No, we’ll be right. Gary?’ They disappeared again.

Liz made another cup of coffee. She had the distinct impression this was going to be a long morning.

She was right.

After so many trips back and forth from Gary’s ute Liz lost count, Mandy finally said, ‘I think that’s it. I’m dying for a coffee, and do you have anything to eat? We skipped breakfast.’ She opened the fridge and peered inside.

Liz had forgotten Mandy’s annoying habit of doing this. She tended to do it with the pantry too, had done since she was little, and when asked what she was looking for, always answered, “Nothing”.

‘How about you make the coffee and I do bacon and scrambled eggs,’ Liz said. ‘You know how it works?’

‘ I do, Mrs Phillips,’ Gary said.

‘Call me Liz.’

‘I think you know my dad?’

‘Jamie? Yes. From school… he was in Year Twelve when I was in Year Ten.’

‘Mum only came to Pelican Crossing then, didn’t you, Mum?’ Mandy said, dropping onto one of the stools by the kitchen bench. ‘Gary’s dad grew up here,’ she added for Liz’s benefit.

Liz decided not to respond. There was always the danger of revealing more than she wanted to or intended. She took the packet of bacon and six eggs out of the fridge and broke the eggs. ‘So, it seems your dive school is going well, Gary,’ she said instead.

‘Really well, Mrs… Liz. It was lucky Dad had the extra space, and the council have been good with allowing me to use the rock pool. It’s been a brilliant summer, though I guess demand might drop off in the cooler months. ’

By the time the food was ready, Liz was feeling quite comfortable with Gary. He was a nice boy, well-mannered and communicative which was more than could have been said for some of Mandy’s boyfriends in the past. Liz hoped this one might last and judging by the way Mandy looked at him and hung on his every word, her daughter did too.

‘Thanks, Mum, that really hit the spot. Have to go now and put the rest of my stuff into storage. I’ll be back sometime in the afternoon. I really appreciate you letting me come here. I know I’m putting you out. We…’ she glanced at Gary who nodded, ‘… we’d like to take you to dinner tonight as a thank you. How does the yacht club sound?’

Hiding her surprise and sure it must have been Gary’s idea – her daughter would never have been so thoughtful – Liz said, ‘Thanks, it sounds lovely.’

‘See you later.’ With another hug from Mandy, and a smile and a wave from Gary, the young couple were off again, leaving a pool of silence and a table of dirty dishes behind them.

Liz cleared up, then couldn’t resist peeking into the spare room. She gasped. Every surface, including the bed, was covered with Mandy’s belongings. The floor was home to so many boxes it would be difficult for anyone to move, and what looked like Mandy’s personal training equipment was spread around. She closed the door quickly.

This was what it was going to be like with Mandy living here , Liz thought. It would be like having a flatmate, but one who felt no requirement to do her share of the chores. Well, it would be good to have her daughter there, to see her every day, even if it was only for a short time. Mandy had said it would be till she came back from the dive trip. Liz wondered what would happen then.

*

Liz was feeling more cheerful by the time she was getting ready to go to dinner. As promised, Mandy had returned in the afternoon, and they’d enjoyed a lovely walk on the beach together, Mandy reiterating how much she appreciated being able to “come home” even though Liz’s apartment had never been her home. Liz had bought the apartment after Tommy left, after the divorce. Mandy had moved out around the same time to a shared house in town.

Now, as she dressed in her favourite calf-length green dress, the one Tara told her brought out the colour of her eyes and which always made her feel good, Liz found herself actually looking forward to having Mandy living with her. Maybe they’d find time to do some of the things she’d always wanted to do with her daughter, but which had been too difficult to arrange.

‘Ready, Mum?’ Mandy popped her head into Liz’s bedroom. ‘Wow! Looking good,’ she said. ‘Gary’s just texted he’ll meet us there.’

‘Ready,’ Liz said, taking one last look in the mirror and deciding she didn’t look too bad for fifty. This is what fifty looks like, she thought, remembering a celebrity saying those self-same words. It was still a shock to realise she’d hit that milestone. She’d read somewhere it was all downhill from here, but it didn’t feel that way to her. She had so much to look forward to. There were Julie and Tilly who were coming to visit over Easter, the prospect of Mandy finally settling down with Gary – she crossed her fingers – and… she drew in her breath… the possibility of meeting Finn Hunter again. Pelican Crossing was a small town and just because their paths hadn’t crossed till now, didn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future. She hurried out to join Mandy.

Gary was waiting for them at the entrance to the yacht club, looking very smart in a pair of pressed jeans and a flowered shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His ponytail had been tamed into a neat bun. Liz wondered if it was for her benefit or if he felt the yacht club demanded it.

‘Hey,’ he said when he caught sight of them. ‘Liz,’ he nodded, then, ‘Looking good, babe,’ to Mandy who blushed.

Mandy was wearing a pink dress with cut-out shoulders and a handkerchief hem. It wasn’t a style Liz admired, but it looked good on her daughter.

Once inside, the three were shown to a table by the window overlooking the marina. Liz always loved the marina at this time of night, as the setting sun’s rays turned the sky and the ocean to various shades of pink and gold. It was so romantic. Perhaps one day she’d have someone to share it with, someone other than her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend. But for now, she’d make do with present company .

‘This is lovely,’ she said. ‘You must have booked to get such a good table.’

It was Gary’s turn to blush. ‘Mandy said I should,’ he muttered. ‘The club’s always busy on Saturday evenings.’

Mandy was gazing around as if looking for someone.

Oh, no! Liz had the awful feeling she was being set up, that Steve, the hot air balloon man, was going to suddenly appear. Mandy had said he normally came here on Thursdays, and this was Saturday, but…

She realised her fears were groundless when a waiter appeared with menus.

‘On the other side tonight, Mandy?’ he asked with a smile. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting.’

‘I thought you were on tonight.’ Mandy chuckled. ‘We expect special service.’

‘Always. I’ll be back when you’ve made up your mind.’ He glided away.

Liz studied the menu and quickly decided on the crispy skin salmon with salad. Then, feeling more relaxed, she picked up the glass of wine from the bottle Gary had ordered, took a sip and gazed around the restaurant. Her breath caught when her eyes fell on a table on the far side of the room where a small boy was seated with a woman who appeared to be his mother and… it couldn’t be, but it was… Finn Hunter.

She quickly dropped her eyes, feeling herself redden. When she dared to glance up again, he was looking straight at her. As their glances met, a blast of heat flowed through her. She began to tremble.

‘Is something the matter, Mum?’ Mandy asked, her eyes following Liz’s. ‘Oh, isn’t that the editor of the local paper? Do you know him?’ Her eyes gleamed.

Liz could read her mind.

‘No, not really. We met when he and Martin Cooper brought old Agnes into the medical centre.’

‘Martin Cooper, the photographer?’ Gary said in an awed tone. ‘Wish I could get him to come on one of our dives. His underwater shots are amazing. When he… Sorry,’ he said, clearly seeing the glazed looks of his companions. ‘I tend to go on a bit sometimes.’

‘A lot of times,’ Mandy said but there was an affectionate note in her voice. ‘Are we ready to order?’ she asked as Liz saw the waiter approaching again.

They were waiting for their meals, Gary in full flight describing a dive he’d taken on the Great Barrier Reef the year before, when out of the corner of her eye, Liz saw the three people at the far table rise to leave, the little boy running ahead intent on reaching the doorway first, the woman, presumably his mother, hurrying after him. Where was Finn?

‘We meet again.’

Liz looked up at the figure towering over her. She gulped. Her heart began to flutter so hard she thought it might jump out of her chest.

‘It’s Liz, isn’t it, Liz Phillips? We met at the medical centre when…’

‘… you brought old Agnes in,’ Liz said.

He nodded, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said with a smile, ‘Enjoy your evening.’

Before Liz could reply, he was gone, hurrying after his companions.

‘What was that about?’ Mandy asked.

‘I… I don’t know.’ Liz stared after the man who’d stirred her emotions, picked up her wine glass and gulped the contents down.