Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Thirty-nine

The next couple of weeks passed in a flash. Finn spent almost every evening with Liz and his feelings for her deepened. While he hoped she felt the same about him, he was unsure, aware of her ability to hide her feelings, and her fear of being hurt as she had been in the past.

The campaign was still going well. Finn thought of it as Joe’s campaign, partly because he was the driving force behind it, and partly because, given his current position at the paper, Finn couldn’t be seen to be acting against the interests of his employers. But the end of the financial year was drawing closer, and the deadline was looming large in everyone’s minds.

Sadly, he’d lost two of his reporters who had accepted positions interstate, and their leaving had sparked unrest among some of the others. Now it was known the paper was slated for closure, Finn himself had received an approach. To his surprise, it wasn’t from another newspaper, but from one of the regional television channels who invited him to send them his CV with the possibility of a position on the production team of their morning news programme. While he and Adele had laughed about the idea of him working in television, he hadn’t completely dismissed the possibility, if things in Pelican Crossing fell apart. He hadn’t mentioned it to Liz; there was no sense in worrying her unnecessarily.

Today was Saturday and he planned to spend the day with Liz. He knew she was still worrying about Mandy, though she didn’t talk much about it, preferring to focus on stories about Tara, Julie and Tilly, all of whom were now getting along famously. Tilly was hugely admiring of her new aunt, and Tara seemed happy to have given up her role as Liz’s oldest daughter to Julie.

He’d asked Liz to join him, Adele and Sandy at the Pelican Crossing Primary school annual fete in the hope of taking her mind off her worries. Run by the P&C, the fete was always held the day before Mother’s Day, when from 9am till 4pm the school grounds were transformed into a vibrant hub of festivities for parents, students, local business people, and members of the community. In addition to being a reason to celebrate, it was also used as a fundraiser for the school, but this year they had decided to put all funds raised towards the Save the Courier campaign.

Sandy was so excited he could barely sit still for breakfast, and Bluey, sensing his master’s excitement, was careering around the kitchen getting under everyone’s feet. Adele had to give Sandy a stern warning and threaten to forbid him to go to the fete before he settled down to eat his cereal.

Finn was glad to leave the house, promising to meet Adele and Sandy in the school grounds where Sandy was eager to show his grandfather the paintings and craft items his class had on display.

He greeted Liz with a hug and a kiss, relishing the peace of her apartment after the rumpus in his own home.

‘Have you time for a coffee?’ Liz asked. ‘You look frazzled.’

‘Thanks, that would be good. Sandy is so excited about the fete, I was glad to leave him and Bluey with Adele. Sometimes I think I’m too old for this lark.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ Liz said, turning on the coffee maker. ‘You love the little monkey. The school fete is a big deal. I remember what it was like for Tara and Mandy. And it doesn’t get any easier as they get older. Those were good times.’ She gazed into space.

‘Penny for them?’

‘I was thinking about Julie… and Tilly. I’ve missed so much of their lives. It’s hard to imagine what they were like as small children, what Julie was like as a teenager.’ She sighed. ‘Sorry, I know I should be grateful to have them in my life now, but sometimes…’ She shook her head. ‘Oh, ignore me. I’m only being fanciful.’

The delicious aroma of coffee filled the kitchen as Liz poured two cups. ‘Shall we take them out to the balcony?’ she asked .

Finn opened the door, and they sat on the wicker chairs which this morning were catching the sun. From here, he had a good view of the marina where yachts glistened in the sun, and small figures moved around preparing them for the day’s sailing. Many of the owners were weekend sailors, while others were visitors to the coast who had moored there to enjoy a pleasant break. A group of pelicans were perched on bollards at the edge of the water hoping for something to eat, and a few seagulls flew overhead, their cries the only sound breaking the stillness of the morning.

‘You have a lovely place here,’ Finn said.

‘So you’ve said before. I like it but I miss Tilly. She was like a breath of fresh air, reminding me how insular and selfish I’d become. It’s easy to get that way when you live alone.’

‘She and Julie are settling in well?’

‘Very well. Tilly’s a different person from she was when she arrived, and Julie seems to be thriving too. She’s enjoying the work Tara found for her in the law firm. It’s different to what she was doing before, but she says much of the tasks are similar. She’s doing a lot of cataloguing and data entry and had to learn a new software system. We’re all going out to breakfast tomorrow for Mother’s Day.’

‘Of course. I’d forgotten.’ Finn scratched his head. ‘It’s why the fete is today, and Sandy did remind me. He’s been talking about something special he made for Adele at school. Perhaps we should go out for breakfast, too… or lunch,’ he said quickly, seeing Liz’s expression.

‘Do what you want,’ she said, but Finn could tell she didn’t mean it. He had no intention of breaking in on her family gathering again.

‘It must be time to go,’ Liz said.

Finn checked the time. ‘You’re right. I said we’d see Adele and Sandy there at ten. If we leave now, we should just make it.’

When they arrived at the school grounds, Finn was surprised to see the transformation was complete. The concreted area where the children normally played their ball games and lined up for class was almost completely filled with market stalls selling everything from cakes and jams to plants and second-hand books. The wall of the wet weather shed was being used to display artwork from each of the classes, and the shed itself was host to a variety of musical events which were being announced through a loudspeaker. In the grassy area of what Finn recognised as a football pitch, a number of different carnival rides had been set up, plus a jumping castle and donkey rides. The place was a circus. But everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The area was so crowded with people, parents, children and other members of the community, Finn couldn’t see how he was going to be able to find Adele and Sandy. He was gazing around, and Liz was examining a stall containing bric-a-brac, when a small whirlwind came flying towards them.

‘Grandy!’ Sandy yelled. ‘You came!’

‘Of course I did. I promised.’

‘Come and see what my class did.’ Sandy grasped Finn’s hand and pulled him in the direction of the shed. Shrugging to Liz and leaving her with a laughing Adele, Finn allowed himself to be led away.

By the time Finn had duly admired the large frieze depicting the ocean and containing cutouts of fish, one of which Sandy proudly pointed out as his work, and had been led past a table of craft items which defied description, Liz and Adele had joined them. Sandy, bored now he had shown off all his work, decided it was time for a donkey ride, and they all made their way through the crowd to the grassy area where the grownups were able to take a seat while Sandy enjoyed his ride.

After this ride, and several of the carnival ones, the scent of sausages and onions cooking on a barbecue made Finn realise he was hungry, and they headed to where the food was being served.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, with Sandy going on more rides, and Finn and Liz wandering through the stalls where she found a couple of books by authors she admired, and he bought her a pot of herbs to add to the collection on her balcony and a jar of apricot jam for Adele.

By the time Finn and Liz returned to her apartment, they were exhausted.

‘I’d forgotten how tiring these events can be,’ Liz said, kicking off her shoes and dropping into a chair. ‘And to think, when Tara and Mandy were students, Tommy and I used to go back in the evening.’

‘You mean it doesn’t finish at four?’

‘The fete itself does, but there are still the draws for the raffle and the silent auction. These are held in the school hall in the evening, along with drinks. It’s quite a party… or used to be. ’

‘Wow!’

‘It’s a great money raiser. The campaign should do well out of it.’

‘If everyone spent as much as we did.’ Finn groaned at the thought of how many dollars he’d shelled out on rides and other things.

‘They did, believe me. Hungry?’

‘Not really. How about we order a pizza?’

‘Sounds good to me.’

*

‘You do know how much you mean to me?’ Finn said, brushing a lock of hair back from Liz’s face. It was later, and he and Liz were lying together in bed, having made passionate love.

‘Mmm.’

Finn leant up on one elbow and gazed down at the woman whom he now knew he was beginning to love. Was it too soon to tell her he loved her ?

‘You mean a lot to me too, Finn. But it’s all happened so quickly and…’

‘I know. Your family.’ Finn sat up and leant against the bedhead.

Liz put her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling him and sending ripples of desire through him again. ‘It’s difficult at the moment, with Mandy… As we said earlier, we both have family obligations. But…’

Finn held his breath.

‘I do have feelings for you, strong feelings. You must know that. I don’t normally behave like this.’

‘I should hope not.’ Finn chuckled and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

‘Let’s get our other things sorted first, then maybe we can think about ourselves.’

‘If it’s what you want, but you should know that I don’t normally behave like this either. You are the first woman I’ve been… interested in since Adele’s mother.’

Afterwards, when he was driving home, Finn relived the conversation, wondering if he’d said too much, too little, if it had been a mistake to even mention Karen who he hadn’t thought of for years. He was really no good at this sort of thing. He hoped Liz understood and would see through his awkwardness.