New Beginnings

CHAPTER 4

The ferry ride back to Devonport and the walk along King Edward Parade gave Blake time to digest the events of the day. Jack was amazing; funny, smart, articulate. He learned his son had a part-time job at Waiheke’s only large supermarket and that he was saving for a car. He also learned Jack was a keen pilot and was slowly working towards obtaining his pilot’s licence which he could do at the age of seventeen. Alex’s father was a licenced pilot and as soon as Jack showed an interest he was in the air with his grandfather. By the time Blake reached his front gate, his thoughts had turned to Alex and the twist of pain in his gut was so acute he almost doubled over. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if he was having some sort of medical event because his breath was coming in short gasps and his palms grew clammy. He slowly walked up the long drive to the house, glad to be out of sight of any prying eyes. He stopped next to an old Pohutukawa tree and, putting his arm out to brace himself he took a few deep breaths to steady himself. He made the short distance from the tree to the house without any further problems and once inside he poured himself generous whisky, not knowing if it was wise given what he’d just experienced or not, but he didn’t care.

He eased into an armchair and sipped his drink. Did he need to see a doctor? Probably not, before he left New York he’d undergone his regular medical check-up and nothing untoward had been found. Sitting in the stillness of this big house with the stunning views over the Waitemata harbour and out to the Hauraki Gulf, he was forced to admit that the pain wasn’t physical in nature. It was being driven by unfinished business between Alex and himself. Business he was less and less feeling he wanted to finish. He couldn’t wind the clock back; he knew that but what if he could make a new start with friendship? His phone pinged with a new text message and he reached for his phone. Anger flared through him. Genevieve.

I need to see you, Blake. You can’t just ignore us!”

Blake groaned; he so did not need this crap.

I’m busy right now, Genevieve.

Please, baby?

Don’t call me that, Genevieve. There is no us, there never was.

Blake waited for her response, wanting to switch his phone off to avoid another prolonged texting drama which Genevieve seemed so good at. His phone pinged again.

Eloise misses you. Misses her daddy.

Jesus, Genevieve, I am not her father. You know that so why do you persist with this crap?

He levered himself out of the chair and refilled his glass, as he did so Genevieve responded,

Why do you say that Blake? It’s always the same.

Genevieve, we did a DNA test, and you know for a fact that Eloise is not my child.

Blake lifted the glass to his lips, appreciating the silence from his phone and thought about switching it off. But what if Jack wanted to speak to him? Taking his glass, he walked into his study, slid behind his desk, found Alex’s name in his contacts, and held the phone to his ear.

“Blake?”

“Hey.”

“Is something wrong? You sound…”

“Nothing too serious. I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to spend time with Jack and you, of course, today.”

“You’re welcome.”

The deeply sexy husky voice sent his libido into overdrive and he took a moment to get himself under control.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I was wondering whether it would be appropriate for me to contribute something to the cost of Jack’s first car?”

“He’s saved quite a bit, although I doubt he has factored in the cost of insurance, things like that. He and Dad have had a few discussions and I think Dad has convinced him a newer car is better than an older one.”

“Makes sense for a whole lot of reasons; safety, less pollution, fuel economy.”

“Exactly. I remember your first car.”

“Yeah? I loved that car; I saved every bloody cent for that it.”

“I remember. Jack wanted the motorbike.”

Silence settled over them and Blake remembered Jack’s passion for motorbikes, realising his best friend knew how to be free, unconstrained by limits on his personal freedom.

“He loved motorbikes. Remember that bike he bought for fifty bucks? I thought your father was going to explode when he proudly called your parents outside to look at it.”

She gave a throaty laugh, “God yes! Mum almost fainted!”

“Your parents were always so positive; despite everything Jack threw at them. I hated going back home on a Sunday night or at the end of the holidays.”

“I know, Blake. Mum and Dad miss you, talk about you all the time. Dad stalked you, courtesy of the internet.”

“What about you?” The question was out before he’d had a chance to stop it, “Sorry, that’s a stupid question, just ignore it. I totally surprised that your family can find anything positive to  say about me,.”

“It’s not stupid, Blake. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check on you from time to time. In those first few months I hounded Jack for information, but he said it was best I forgot about you and what you were doing. We had a huge argument two months before Jack was born, a few weeks after that he had the accident. I never got to say sorry to him, never got the chance to tell him how much I loved him or how lucky I was to have a brother who looked out for me.”

“Sorry,” he rasped, the ache in his throat tightening, “If it’s any consolation, Jack contacted me quite a few times during your pregnancy. We talked about you, I told him I loved you but that – well, what could I offer you? My mother was like a woman possessed when she learned you were pregnant. I begged Jack to keep you safe from her, from my father as well, especially once he’d tried to buy you off.”

“Can we change the subject?”

“Absolutely but can I tell you one more thing?”

“Okay.”

“I never met anyone else, there was just you, you were such a huge part of my life, a part I associated only happiness with. You always had my heart, Alex.”

“Nobody else?”

“Nothing serious, just to scratch an itch, nothing meaningful. I didn’t lead anyone on, didn’t give anyone the idea it could be more.”

“And Genevieve? Is she still around?”

“I haven’t seen her for more than a year, although she somehow managed to get my cell number and harasses me every now and then.”

“But there was a child? Your child?”

“Eloise is a lovely girl but she’s not mine. My lawyer insisted Genevieve agree to DNA testing and that proved I could not be her father.”

“When Jack was two or three years old your mother sent me the vilest letter, telling me how I had ruined your life, that you and Genevieve were meant to be together and that you were having a baby together.”

Blake groaned, “My parents wanted Genevieve to be the one. As soon as they realised the feelings you and I shared had progressed beyond simple friendship, they moved heaven and earth to intervene.”

“Has she ever married or is she still waiting for you?”

“Oh, she’s still waiting! In fact, moments after I got home this afternoon and I thought I was having a heart attack, she started texting.”

“A heart attack?”

He laughed, “Pretty sure it wasn’t, I was just having a moment, feeling sorry for myself, feeling sorry for missing out on fifteen years of my son’s life and I can’t wind the clock back.” And fifteen years of not having you in my life, he wanted to add.

“Maybe you should get checked out just to be on the safe side.”

“I had a medical six months ago which showed nothing,” he paused, “Truly, physically I’m in tip top shape.”

“Is she still here in Auckland?”                                          

“No, she’s living in Sydney now, but I think she visits Auckland regularly and I daresay she’s still cosy with my parents.”

“Do you think they gave her your number?”

“Probably. I have a new phone sitting in its box, once it’s charged, I’ll give you and Jack the new number. If you want it, that is.”

There was a palpable hesitation at Alex’s end and for a moment a kernel of self-doubt crept into his mind. But when she began speaking again, his heart bounced off his ribs.

“When you’re ready. Can we talk about your parents?”

“Do we have to?”

“Blake, your mother is the scariest person on this planet and your father seems content to fall in line for fear of being mortally wounded.”

He laughed, his mother sure as hell scared him at times, “You know they’re not my parents, don’t you?”

“What? No!”

“Thing is they don’t know that I know.”

“I guess it all adds up because physically you bear no resemblance to them. When did you find out?”

“About five years ago. Not long after I tried to see Jack on his birthday. I was angry with them, angry with myself for being so easily coerced into the family business when it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

He explained to Alex how a “cousin” let the truth of his adoption slip during a conversation. His first response had been to confront them, instead he asked an agency dedicated to assisting adoptees locate their birth parents. That search had taken almost three years because Arlene and Royce Winchester covered their tracks so effectively.

“Have you met your birth parents?” Alex asked.

“No. My birth mother died in an accident when I was ten and my birth father married a woman who didn’t want him having any contact with me.”

“Oh, Blake! I’m so sorry!”

“I won’t lie, it was all devastating, but I did learn my birth mother’s parents pressured her into relinquishing me, a decision backed up by my birth father’s sister whom I found a couple of years ago.”

“I don’t know what to say, Blake. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you; you shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.”

He heard her sniff and his throat tightened again, “I’ve upset you.”

“I’m okay. Really.”

“Liar,” he replied, “You always did have a soft heart, Alex. Just remember all those fish you made Jack and I throw back into the sea. Besides, my abandonment of you and Jack was far worse than anything you think you have done.”

“You mean to say he called you to discuss Jack’s birthday and you spent two hours talking? Two hours?” Marron wore an incredulous expression and although Alex had expected Marron to grill her, what she hadn’t expected was the mischievous grin she also wore. They were sitting under the canopy of a graceful old Pohutukawa tree, protected from salty breezes by its waxy leaves, it offered welcome shade from the late January heat. With their intensely beautiful crimson flowers that arrive on cue in early December, it was no wonder the species had been called New Zealand’s Christmas tree for many years. The tree was still covered with its stunning blooms although the intensity of those first weeks prior to Christmas had lessened. Maori legend told of a young warrior Tawhaki, who fell to his death while attempting to find heaven, the flowers represent his blood. Between Marron and Alex sat a tray with glasses and a large pitcher of lemonade.

“That’s right. Do you think it’s a record?” she responded glibly.

“Oh, no you don’t! No deflection here. Tell me everything!”

“I already gave you the details.”

She poured a glass of lemonade and handed it to Marron.

“Yes, but two hours?”

Alex sipped the icy cold lemonade slowly, relishing the fresh coolness in her mouth,

“You know, I never thought I would say another word to Blake which, in hindsight was a little simplistic wasn’t it?”

“How so?”

“We share a child. I suppose, human nature being what it is, Jack might have sought his father out at some point down the road, so perhaps this is not quite as weird as it seems right now.”

“And if Blake is in a relationship?”

Alex slowly shook her head, placed her glass on the tray, “There’s no relationship. There hasn’t been a significant relationship since – well since me.”

Marron spluttered into her glass,

“Seriously? Geez, Alex, do you honestly believe he’s lived the life of a monk all these years?”

“No! He’s a man, so no, he hasn’t been without a woman for fifteen years and he didn’t say he’d been celibate.”

One look at the wide grin on Marron’s face told Alex she’d been well and truly skewered by her friend,

“You’re defending him which, I have to say, is quite sweet, but I want you to be careful Alex because I won’t be answerable for my actions if he crushes you again.”

“Oh, Maz. You’re the best, I know you have my back and I’m grateful for that.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the low hum of a tractor working somewhere in the distance, birdsong and the occasional gull, the only sounds.

“Jack invited him to the cricket final as well,” Alex said at length.

“Okay. Does Blake know that your dad goes with the boys to cricket?”

“Jack told him. Actually, Blake went to the house not knowing they were on holiday.”

“Let me guess, Mrs Compton pounced on him?”

Alex laughed, “Yes. I’m sure she’ll be on Mum and Dad’s doorstep before they’ve had time to open a suitcase.”

“She obviously didn’t recognise Blake?”

“No. Although she has seen Jack often enough and believe me, the physical similarities are scary.”

“Did I tell you I invited Olivia Wainwright and her son Leo to the birthday lunch?”

“I saw her last week and she mentioned it. I’m so happy she’s come home to Waiheke and she’s doing such a great job as high school principal. Leo is such a happy kid, always smiling. Can’t be easy being the principal’s son.”

“I know. He loves helping Xavier with the goats and Lucas told me he’s a fantastic basketballer and swimmer,” Marron paused and drained the last of the lemonade from her glass, returning it to the tray, “And, just a bit of gossip, I heard Hunter Lewis is coming back to take over the winery from his dad.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. He has a nerve after the way he messed with Olivia. I know it was fifteen years ago but that was a low act.”

“Imagine taking the word of the viper Nina over Olivia and then Nina pretending to be Liv’s best friend. Ugh!”

“Don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but Nina was trouble[GN1] , the minute she got here.”

“Where do you get all this gossip?

She tapped the side of her nose, “I have my sources.”

They both laughed, then Marron said, “Don’t know about you but I’m starving. Fancy lunch in the restaurant today?”

“Sounds good, although I have a ton of paperwork to go through as well as a load of washing.”

Marron got to her feet,

“Come on, lunch then you get to the boring stuff. I’ve also been putting off a mountain of paperwork and with the harvest fast approaching I need to get on top of it otherwise you’ll not see me for months!”

Lunch in the St Lucia restaurant was fabulous as always and it gave Alex an opportunity to go over the menu for the combined birthdays for Jack and Lucas as well as add one more guest to the list. Now, sitting at her desk Alex fiddled with her pen, thoughts dithering around in head instead of dealing with the small pile of paper in front of her. The notion that so many suppliers still used paper invoices constantly amazed her in a world that was supposedly electronic centred. A glance at her watch told her Jack would be home from work soon and all she had achieved today was sit under a tree, eat a sumptuous lunch and was now unable to think rationally, sensibly.  

“Mum?” Jack called from downstairs.

“Up here.”

He appeared in the doorway, backpack slung casually over once shoulder, hair tousled and shirt hanging out over his trousers. He flopped into a chair and let out a long breath.

“Hard day?” she asked.

“The worst. Ben Melvin tried to rough me up because coach cut him from the swimming team.”

“Roughed you up?”

“He was waiting for me when Lucas and I left work, It’s nothing.”

“Was there a reason for him being cut?”

“An indiscretion of some sort. Who knows, he’s a jerk.”

Alex smiled, but something with Jack was off and she was concerned. Ten years ago, she could have given him a cuddle and told him it would all work out, but she didn’t think that would work now.

“Do you want a snack, something to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll make a start on my homework.”

He eased out of the chair and she watched him grimace,

“Jack? How rough was rough?”

She moved closer to him and noticed the angry red marks around his neck,

“He had you in a headlock?”

“Yeah, managed to land a couple of punches as well, that’s when Lucas stepped in and told Melvin to bugger off.”

Alex tentatively touched his neck, “And the punches?”

He unbuttoned his shirt; tears pricked her eyes when she saw the bruising that was forming around his ribcage.

“Come on,” she urged gently, “I think we need to stop in at the Medical Centre.”

“I’ll be okay, Mum.”

“You might need an x-ray, Jack. You have your cricket final in two days, how are you going to bat and bowl like this?”

At that, her brave, sixteen-year-old son, broke down. Alex held him, gently rubbing his back,

“Medical centre?” she asked him.”

“I’m sorry for being such a baby.”

Alex pulled him into her embrace, “Want to a know a secret? I love Jack so, so much but it’s the gorgeous baby, who can still make my heart do a somersault. So, don’t knock the baby.”

He gave her a weak smile before turning for the stairs.

The medical centre was busy, but the wait wasn’t too long. Kerry, the Practice Nurse, had been to school with Alex and Marron and was now married to one of the doctors who owned the practice.

“Hello, stranger,” she welcomed, ushering them into a small room, “You’ve been in the wars, Jack?”

“Something like that.”

“Okay, take a seat and I’ll get someone to see you soon. By the way, thanks for inviting us to your birthday lunch and good luck for the cricket final.”

She turned, pulling the door behind her.

“What if I can’t play. I so wanted Blake to be there, and Granddad will be pissed as well.”

“Jack, I’m sure both will understand that your wellbeing comes first. Anyway, glass half full remember?”

They didn’t have to wait long, one of the newer doctors examined Jack and sent him along for an x-ray and they were back waiting for the doctor in no time.

“So,” he said as he held the x-rays up one at a time, “The good news or the not so good?”

“I’ll have the not so good first,” Jack murmured.

“You have two cracked ribs. The good news is they will heal without too much intervention.”

“Will I be able to play cricket this weekend?”

“Batsman or bowler?”

“Both. I open.”

Alex watched the doctor grimace, “How bad is the pain and don’t say it’s okay.”

“No, it hurts like a bit…” he broke off, giving Alex and sheepish look.

“Will you promise to rest until the weekend? Nothing physical and I can strap them. I can’t guarantee no pain and I’d advise taking something for pain about an hour before the match,” he paused for a moment, then, “And obviously you’ll be wearing protection around your ribcage. Right?”

Jack nodded, adding “I’ll rest as well.”

The doctor gave Jack a reassuring pat on the shoulder,

“Any questions, Mum?” he asked Alex.

“Rest does mean rest?”

“Absolutely. Of course, you don’t need to run yourself ragged looking after him, but he should take it easy.”

With his ribs strapped, a prescription for pain relief and the promise of pizza for dinner, Jack spent the rest of the day telling Lucas about his injuries and reassuring him that he would still be okay to play cricket. Jack also spoke to his coach, then Marron had a word, explaining how Jack had come by the injuries and he needed to take some affirmative action about Billy Melvin before did some serious damage to someone.

 [GN1],