Magic Within the Waves

Chapter Thirteen - Dad's New Girlfriend

Chapter Thirteen

Dad’s New Girlfriend

***

Of course, I knew things at school would change once it got out that Thomas Gavins and Melinda Brown were an official couple. I had expected it. We were different kinds of people – on the outside. But we were very similar on the inside – caring, compassionate and faithful… and both obsessed with each other.

The repercussions of our budding relationship weren’t all good. Aaron Kirt, Thomas’s lifelong best friend, began making excuses to separate us, especially after Thomas managed to switch a few classes, just to be closer to me. That on its own was a decent effort – since it was our final year at school. The daggers I received from Aaron’s dark-blue eyes were enough to make me retreat into the protection of Thomas’s arms every time. If he was trying to split us up, he was failing miserably.

His friends were more than welcome in our newly forming group, but Chris, Jason, and Cooper kept their distance, usually siding with whatever Aaron said or did. Daniel, on the other hand, welcomed us with over-friendly, open arms. Carmen was excited about his presence, but she hid it well, and grew shy, concealing herself behind her blonde hair when he paraded past shirtless, showing off his six-pack while kicking the football around with Thomas.

Hobby and her gaggle of plastic-fantastic followers, weaselled their way into Thomas’s old group, hanging off Aaron and trying to grab Thomas’s attention, but it failed every time. More often than not, his attention was on me, always watching when I smiled, soaking up how I laughed or even talked. Every moment together was like his last moment with me, and he had to take it all in. He knitted every moment perinatally to his memories.

With the bad came the good. Ruth began to dress in a more flattering way – in shirts that showed the shape of the large breasts she had been hiding all this time. Her hair was more vibrant. And just like Carmen was with Daniel, Ruth became giddy at the mere sight of Cooper. But just like Aaron, Cooper ignored all our attempts at trying to connect with him.

The night after we had become official, I had rung Sarah and told her. I may not have seen it, but I knew she had fallen off her chair.

‘A boyfriend … you have an actual boyfriend! Wow…’ she teased. ‘You’re my girl Melinda, through and through – until the end of days … but I never thought this day would come.’

‘In all honesty, neither did I Sarah. He just whisked into my life and swept me off my feet.’

‘So, when am I going to meet this, Thomas?’ Sarah asked keenly.

It had been over a year since I had last seen her. I could still imagine her brown eyes twinkling at the thought of visiting the beach. Packing for a visit would be torturous for her. She would pack more than enough clothes, squeeze in over a hundred pairs of shoes, and all her jewellery and then – redo it all over again. Sarah the perfectionist was her nickname at my old school. The last guy she dated had to shower and brush his teeth before she would even kiss him. Let’s just say that relationship lasted a week. My quirky Sarah, who I missed intently.

‘I will have a word with Dad and get you over here as soon as possible.’

‘Not soon enough,’ she groaned. ‘I miss you…’

‘It should be okay to get you up by my birthday … I’ll ask Dad asap. But I’m warning you, the house is far from a palace.’

‘Hey, if you’re there, I really couldn’t care – as long as the toilets are clean. You know how I am about germs.’ I heard her audibly shudder.

‘I know … Oh boy, do I know.’

Thomas and I spoke every night without fail. And during the weekends he would drive his pride and joy – motorbike over to my place and offer to help Dad with any housework. Sometimes when we kissed, the sense of déjà vu returned. I ignored it, putting it down to the closeness we shared.

‘I could just laze here all day,’ I sighed as I tanned my legs in the sun, while Thomas mowed our backyard – topless. The sun always defined every muscle and every movement he made. I could and would have watched him all day.

‘Mighty fine boy, that one,’ Dad commented, handing me a glass of lemonade.

‘Yeah, I couldn’t agree with you more Dad,’ I sighed, still hypnotised by the half-naked body before me. ‘I told Sarah, you said she could visit … then emailed her a photo of Thomas. Now she’s getting her Mum to book her flight over for my eighteenth, just to meet him. She said he looks good enough … she could possibly learn to like him – maybe… but you know what she’s like.’

Dad laughed. ‘I guess she hasn’t changed much.’

‘Not one bit.’ I chuckled. ‘At least when she’s here, you know the house will be spotless.’

‘Have a break, son… I can take over in a bit…’ He waved to Thomas as he perched on the decking beside me.

‘No problem,’ Thomas replied. ‘I’ll put this over by the shed for you.’

‘Thank you again, Thomas…’ Dad unloaded another cup of lemonade on the table beside us for Thomas. ‘I have to say, Bright Eyes, you know how to pick them. It’s like how it used to be for me and Molly – from the moment our eyes met, I just knew she was the one. We were about your age … and I fell head over heels for her.’

‘As far as I was told, she was the one that fell,’ I teased, elbowing him.

It brought a shine to his face. ‘That’s true. You know … I’m thankful there are these mythical creatures out there ... even if I have never personally seen one.’

‘Why is that?’

‘Because I would never have met your Mum … I owe the tree nymph a big thank you.’ He leant his head on mine and exhaled a long breath. ‘I’m also grateful for you. It’s me and you ...’

‘And I wouldn’t be me without you,’ I added.

‘Exactly,’ he kissed the top of my head, ‘my dear sweet Bright Eyes.’

***

It had been two weeks since Thomas’s last visit, and since I had seen him. His sister, Heather, had pulled him out of school for a family holiday that had been booked for a year. The entire time apart from him, I suffered separation anxiety. My heart was only beating at half its normal pace. I couldn’t eat … my schoolwork was up and down … and even Carmen and Ruth mentioned how pale I had become.

‘Hey stress-less, he’ll be back soon,’ Daniel reassured me, after watching me struggle to concentrate on my poetry English assignment. ‘Trust me.’

‘I hope you’re right, Dan.’ I dropped my pen and turned my head to look across at him. ‘I can’t function without him.’

‘You’ve got it bad…’ He chuckled. ‘I would love to feel that…’

‘I honestly do…’ I rubbed the tense skin between my eyes. ‘Arh – I can’t focus…’

Occasionally, I cried myself to sleep with one of Mum’s books to keep me company. Without Thomas, half my soul had been torn away. I was sure this kind of attraction was unnatural, but I didn’t care. I needed Thomas.

The day he called to tell me he was back, my heart did cartwheels inside my chest, breathing new life back into me. ‘Thomas, I have missed you so much.’

‘I missed you too, Mel,’ he replied, sounding just as happy to hear my voice as I was to hear his. ‘I was wondering if you would accompany me to the beach party I’m throwing tomorrow night? My eighteenth would be nothing without you there.’

‘I would love to, but I don’t think my Dad would allow it.’ I half laughed.

‘I could ask him. He likes me, doesn’t he?’

It was true, the only person who had missed Thomas just as much as I had, was Dad… ‘When’s Thomas coming around? How’s that boy of yours going? I’ll have to take young Thomas fishing soon and show him how a pro does it.’

The idea of him asking my Dad was more plausible than me asking him. So, we devised a plan for Thomas to ring once Dad, once we were off the phone, and personally ask him.

‘’Till we meet tomorrow, beautiful Mel. I will be counting every hour.’

Once we hung up and his voice was gone, my heart sank into the bottom of my chest. I was missing him again. Just on cue, the phone rang. I left it for Dad to answer and lingered in the doorway.

‘Ah, Thomas, how have you been, son?’ Dad asked. ‘That’s good to hear. Did you want me to get Mel for you?’

Clutching the owl pendant, I closed my eyes and prayed. Please, Mum, please let me go to Thomas’s party. Influence Dad in the right direction, please.

‘Sure thing, but remember our little talk ... no later than eleven.’

Opening one eye then the other, I peered around the corner at Dad. He hung up from Thomas with a look on his face that was more suited to someone who had won the lottery. With a skip in his step, he retreated to the lounge room, pausing in the hallway to call back to me. ‘Oh, Bright Eyes, that was Thomas on the phone ... be ready by six tomorrow night, you’re going to a beach party with him. His sister Heather will be there supervising.’

Smiling and at the point of screaming, I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. ‘Thank you so much, Dad!’

Kissing my cheek, he held me before him, his blue eyes gluing me to the floor. ‘I know your Mum raised you well, Melinda. So, prove that to … behave – and no smoking and no drinking.’

‘I promise Dad.’

That night, I slept more easily, reaching for Thomas in my dreams and finding him reaching back. Morning broke through my curtains and since, so far, I had luck on my side, I hurried to see if I could catch the sun nymphs. Once again, I had missed them.

‘Don’t fret daughter.’ Mum’s voice again filled my thoughts. ‘Nymphs are very shy creatures, but none so much as the maggeti, a cat-like creature with woollen fur and spines down its back. They can camouflage themselves in trees, shrubs, rocks, tall grass and even as the common house cat.’

Since Thomas had been away, I had been burying myself in her books. The book I had just finished was on werewolves, ‘Werewolves, Friend or Foe?’ Out of all the creatures, I had to admit, werewolves, mermaids and vampires were the only ones I found hard to believe were real – yet they were the ones that were mentioned the most often.

‘Oh, werewolves are real, darling.’ Again Mum’s voice was inside my head. ‘They could be anyone – your neighbour, a friend, a relative or someone even closer. They first change form at a young age, brought on by the light of a full moon. They mate for life … age more quickly than a human … have incredible agility and strength. They run hotter than your average canine. After reproducing, the males tend to die. The reasoning behind this is unknown.’

‘Well, that’s a bit sad,’ I thought aloud. ‘What a terribly short life…’

The rest of the day, I cleaned the house, hung out the washing, helped Dad clean his car and prepared us both lunch.

‘Bright Eyes, I have something to tell you,’ Dad began, standing beside me at the kitchen sink.

‘Sure, Dad anything you want to tell me, I’m here – an open book.’

His blue eyes stayed on mine. ‘Well, I – I, oh how do I say this… I have met somebody.’

‘Met somebody?’ I half laughed. ‘Dad, we meet people every day, be more specific.’

‘I met ... I met – I’m dating Florence Schubert ...’

‘The English teacher ...?’ I cut him off before he had a chance to say anymore. The cup I had been drying slipped from my hands and landed back in the sink, splashing suds over my top. ‘It hasn’t even been an entire year since Mum died. How can you even think –?’ Turning away from him, I covered my hands over my face, and cried – for the first time since Mum’s death. ‘What would Mum say? You can’t replace her. How could you even ... it’s Mum!’

‘Oh, Bright Eyes.’ Dad’s arms found their way around. ‘I’m not replacing your Mum – no one ever could. But it’s been a long time, and Florence has been helpful, caring, and respectful of our boundaries. She’s kept her distance until we knew you were ready. I really like her…’

Shaking my head, I wriggled from his arms. ‘No, I need time to process all this. Dad, I need time!’

‘Sure, Bright Eyes, I understand that. But I’m letting you know that I’m taking Florence to a restaurant in town tonight.’

If looks could kill then mine would have been murder. ‘That’s why you’re letting me go out tonight. ‘What? So, you can gallivant like a lovestruck teen around town with Miss Schubert?’ Grinding my teeth, I backed out of the room. ‘Don’t be fooled by her looks, Dad … She is nothing like Mum!’

I ran to my room, slamming the door behind me. ‘How could he? Why would he? Mum, why is he doing this?’

Clutching my heart, I searched for the phone and called Ruth.

‘Miss Schubert?’ she snorted. ‘Wow, she’s a cow on the best of days. Who’d want to date her?’

‘Apparently my Dad,’ I sniffed, falling onto my bed, with the phone still against my ear. ‘What do I do? How do I enjoy the beach party now, knowing our grumpy, give-everyone-an-F English teacher is dating my Dad?’

‘Easy,’ Ruth interrupted, ‘you will be too distracted by Thomas and his hot surfer’s body.’

‘That’s true. I guess since it’s a beach party everyone will be swimming at some point.’

‘Yeah, pity Carmen and I won’t be going.’ Now it was her turn to mope. ‘This sucks … I’m going to miss out on so much.’

‘Why aren’t ...?’

‘Mum grounded me for failing my English exam ... thanks to Miss Schubert, and Carmen’s grandparents are visiting from interstate.’

‘I will tell you everything,’ I promised. ‘Every little – tiny – minute detail, so it will be just like you were there.’

‘Honestly, I’ll take anything I can get, Mel.’ She chuckled. There was a muffled grumble behind her that made her gasp. ‘I better go, Mum’s coming. Talk soon.’ With a click, she was gone.