Melbourne, October 1993
There was a wedding, after all. A night-time celebration with fairy lights and candles hanging from the trees in jars, white roses that Wilma had cultivated especially. A celebrant came to my father’s garden, and read from a book of poetry. One of my favourites, by Emily Dickinson – the same quote, as it turned out, that my grandfather had once sent to me.
Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,
Past the houses – pass the headlands –
Into deep eternity –
An odd sentiment for a wedding, I’d once thought. But now it made me think of wide-open seas and endless new possibility. It made me think of braving the rain and thunder and finding beauty in the storm. It made me think of Fineflower escaping the dungeon to be with her soldier love, and venturing into the magical blue unknown where all things were possible.
Loud music nudged me from my musings.
Dad had cranked up the stereo. He was off his crutches, had shaved his beard and become a new man. I saw him catch Wilma about the waist and lure her onto the patio for a romantic waltz.
Nina was stunning in a vintage lace wedding dress that showed off her large baby bump. Coby took his bride’s hand and led her down to the lawn, where they kicked off their shoes and danced on the grass.
I kept glimpsing Morgan from the corner of my eye. One minute he was chatting to Gwen, the next he was collecting empty wine bottles and a while later, having a yarn with one of the elderly guests. The next, he had vanished.
I hadn’t seen him in the months since we said goodbye at my grandfather’s guesthouse. I had returned to London to farewell my life there, and once that was done I’d come back to Melbourne. I had moved out to Bitterwood, and was still settling in. Still trying to get my head around being there. The weeks I had spent there over winter had changed me. The place I had shunned for so long had gotten under my skin. Now, I couldn’t imagine a better home for Basil and me.
Morgan was avoiding me, I felt sure, so I went to investigate.
I found him sitting alone at the far end of the garden, back in his old place on the bench against the shed wall. It was October, a starry night with a full moon. It felt unusually warm for this time of year, but that might have been the wine and the dancing. Morgan had stripped off his formal shirt to the snug T-shirt beneath, and the sight of him gave me tingles. He’d raked his hair into disarray and the cool night air had flushed his cheeks.
He looked around as I approached. ‘Who’s this gorgeous creature?’
I had planned what I would to say when I saw him. I’d been rehearsing for a week, but the minute he spoke, I forgot myself.
Gorgeous creature.
He patted the seat beside him. ‘I thought you might’ve absconded back to London by now.’
I stayed standing. I wanted him to see the dress. My grandmother’s scarlet silk, figure hugging and just a little bit sinful when worn with heels.
‘I’m hardly going to miss my best friend’s wedding.’
He looked up at me and time unravelled. Suddenly, we were back in the cave with the ocean pounding the rocks below and the storm raging outside. That night he had asked me not to run, but I had. I’d run along the path that fate or the universe had set before me. And as I ran, the memory of our time in the cave stayed with me. In the smoky blackness, in Morgan’s arms, I had slept deeply. No dreams washed against my subconscious. No whispers, no cold ghostly hands. Just Morgan’s warm body beside me, his breath rhythmic as the sea, his heartbeat steady beside mine.
Passion might not last, I had realised. But love was eternal.
He must have seen the gleam in my eyes because he got to his feet, fixed his pale gaze to mine. He traced his fingers lightly over the tiny mermaid tattooed on my shoulder, then drew away.
‘Luce?’
I was possessed, I must have been. My arms went around his neck and I drew him near, pressed so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips.
‘I’m home, Morgan. To stay.’
Morgan smiled. He captured my face in his hands and kissed me. The world slid away. The garden faded, the fairy lights dimmed, the stars went out one by one. There was just the two of us, cocooned in the darkness together, right where we had always belonged.