Someone Like You(50)

Had all the other options passed Lizzie by? Was this all she was due?  Was this all she could expect? And what about the whole husband and kids  package? Lizzie had learned not to wish for what seemed impossible. She  definitely wasn't hanging out for the tradition of it. It wasn't the  convention of it that she wanted, not the white dress or the ring or the  ceremony. It was the love and friendship and wild sex part of it. The  in-jokes and the shared stories, the history and the comfort of being  loved and loving someone. She wanted what she'd seen Julia fight so hard  for. And seeing Julia get it had made Lizzie think more about what she  might be missing out on.

Lizzie dragged out a chair from Harri's kitchen table and fell into it,  all those sentiments overwhelming her. What if she ended up alone? She  could do that, she'd already done it. No one to answer to. That is, if  Joe ever moved out. She could be a free agent, eat cheese on toast for  dinner if she wanted to. Stay up late. Get grumpy. Wear her PJs all day.  Give up on shaving her legs. She would be able to come and go as she  pleased.

Except she never went anywhere.

And now, it all seemed so … ordinary. For so many years, she'd wished for  ordinary. And it had been enough. But now it just seemed like the  ambition of someone who was scared to think about what she really  wanted, someone who was too scared to wish for more.

Someone who'd spent her whole life settling for less.

Dan's words were like a recurring dream in her head. What happened to  you, Lizzie? Why, of all people, was it Dan who could see her for who  she really was? That she was someone too scared to face the truth of  what had happened to her and what it had done to her.

How the hell could he know?

She covered her face with her hands, trying to block out the light and  everything else. When Julia had come back to Middle Point, filled with  the burning desire to get the hell out of there as fast as she could,  Lizzie had reminded her that it was the one place she could really be  herself. 'You don't have to pretend to be something you're not when  you're here,' she'd told her self-righteously.

The lie of that speared Lizzie right through her heart. She hadn't known  it at the time, but she'd lied to her best friend. She'd lied to  everyone. Most of all, she'd somehow managed to lie to herself and have  herself believe the lie. For fifteen years, she been pretending to be  someone she wasn't. And it seemed it was finally catching up with her.

When her mobile rang, vibrating in the pocket of her jeans, she fished  it out with a frustrated sigh. The caller ID announced it was Stinkface  and she pushed the phone to her ear.

'Joe? What's happening? Where are you? How's Harri? Is she okay?' Lizzie's words came out in a tumble.

'Woah, slow down, Mosquito. Here's the story. You guessed right. She's  broken her hip. I'm still here at the hospital. They've just taken her  into surgery now and it'll be a few hours before she's out of there.'

'God. Poor Harri.'

'Lizzie, don't worry about her. She's a tough old broad. Hey, one of her  sons showed up too. He was pretty cut up. Told me his brother's on his  way, too.'

Lizzie let out a huge sigh of relief. She knew Harri would feel better with her sons by her side.

'I'm going to stay here and wait until she's out of surgery, make sure  she's okay. It could be really late. You'll be all right?' Lizzie  listened for any sign of fatigue in Joe's voice and was surprised to  hear him sounding confident instead.

'I'll be all right,' she told him.

'Is Dan still there with you?'

'No, he left,' she said flatly, and her voice caught in an emotional knot in her throat.

He hesitated. 'You okay?' God, did nothing escape him, either?

'Really, I'm fine. Except for being worried sick about Harri. You'll  call me when she's out of surgery, let me know how she's doing?'

'I'll text you. It could be really late and you sound like you need to get some sleep, little sister.'

Lizzie agreed to wait for Joe's text and then clicked off the call,  pushing the phone away until it slid to a stop on Harri's kitchen table.  Joe was right, yet again. A tidal wave of exhaustion seeped into her  and she knew she needed to go home. She locked Harri's door behind her  as she went and staggered home to her bed. Fell into it face first.         

     



 





CHAPTER


27


Dan was about ready to chew off his own arm. Lizzie hadn't answered one  of his calls in the days after Harri's fall. And he'd made twenty of  them. At first he tried really hard to be understanding. After five  messages, his tone morphed into slightly pissed off.

And now, he was simply bat-shit crazy.

He'd tried burying himself in work for a while, throwing himself into  the Windswept Development, driving up to Adelaide for a couple of days  and then working the phones and communicating via long distance from his  beach house with the sea view.

But none of that scratched the itch he felt at not seeing Lizzie. At  worrying like hell about her. At knowing there was something she didn't  want to share. That feeling that she didn't trust him enough to tell  him? That hurt the most.

He needed to see her. Needed to prove what he'd said.

Finally, he'd had enough of the shut out. Late one night and, yeah,  after a few too many beers, he found himself roaming the dark Middle  Point backstreets on auto pilot until the pink flamingos came into view.

Around him, the night was calm but he felt none of it. Above, the Milky  Way had exploded like fireworks in the night sky and a mild breeze  danced with Middle Point.

Because it was late and the house was dark, he knocked on the door  instead of barging right in. He tried to tamp down the crazy he was  feeling. Took a deep breath. Tried to let the beer buzz do its work.

A minute later he heard padding feet on the carpet and when the door  opened, Lizzie emerged out of the darkness. She looked sleep drunk and  his heart lurched at the sight. Her hair was a ruffled mess and she was  wearing a barely there singlet top and her knickers.

When she blinked a couple of times and realised it was him, she stiffened, shrunk back from him. 'What do you want, Dan?'

I want you. Could he risk saying it out loud? Would she slam the door in his face? 'Can I come in for a minute?'

'It's really late,' she said, not looking at him. 'I've got to work tomorrow.'

Dan jammed his hands in the pocket of his boardshorts. Anything to stop  them from ripping the screen door off its hinges and reaching for her.

'I was wondering how Harri is. Have you heard anything?'

Lizzie squinted and rubbed her eyes. 'You've come here now, at this hour, to ask me about Harri?'

'Yeah, I have.'

Lizzie paused, the look on her face an indication that maybe she was expecting him to say something else.

'She's out of hospital. She's in a rehab place for a couple more weeks  until she's stronger on her feet. Her sons are there for her.'

'That's great. Will she be home soon?'

'She should be back in Middle Point in time for the wedding.'

'The wedding,' Dan repeated. 'Yeah, of course.'

'Dan, I-'

'Elizabeth-'

They both spoke at once but neither of them could seem to finish the  sentence. The air was heavy with secrets and Dan felt the burden of his  like a stone in his stomach. He shifted his weight from his bad leg to  his good one. Lizzie blew out a breath that fluttered her fringe.

'You at The Market tomorrow morning?' Dan finally asked.

'Yeah.'

'Maybe I'll swing by.'

'Maybe I'll see you tomorrow then,' Lizzie said.

Dan stepped back into the dark. 'Great.'

Early the next morning, Lizzie leaned against the rear stone wall of the  Middle Point pub and sipped her first strong coffee of the day. All  around her, stallholders were setting up for the final Sunday market of  the summer holidays. As she watched the trestle tables unfold and people  set out their wares, she was awash with a strange mix of relief and  sadness at the fact that it was almost over. It had been a wonderful  summer season at The Market and now the school holidays were almost  over, it would be coming to an end.

The whole venture had been more successful than she could ever have  imagined, with growing crowds as the weeks went on and some positive  coverage in the local papers, thanks to Julia. Ry had promised her that  it would all happen again next summer, if she wanted it. And she did.

At the rear of The Market, under a shade sail, she could see Ry already  cranking up the barbecues to begin cooking breakfast. He'd become a  regular on Sunday mornings, had won a reputation for his delicious bacon  and eggs breakfasts, clearly loving the atmosphere and the way his pub  had become the centre of community life in his adopted town.

Lizzie was about to head over and say hello when she realised someone  else was with him this morning. Someone was next to him, bent over an  esky. Lizzie squinted through the bright morning light to make out who  it was.         

     



 

When he stood to his full height, she knew who it was. Dan.

She let out a weary sigh and walked over to the two men, clutching her  coffee. She could hardly avoid him all morning so there was a part of  her that wanted to get this encounter over with. Ry was sporting his  cooking attire of a striped apron and a baseball cap. Dan was by his  side, in shorts and a T-shirt, wielding a spatula.