It had been a good evening. The dinner was lovely—it was at one of their favourite local restaurants in Kangaroo Ridge, after which they drove to Bendigo for the movie, which had been one of those big blockbusters with loads of effects and mind-boggling explosions. Going to the movies was still a treat and Dylan had picked her up from the house, since he preferred to go in his car rather than her motorbike. Tonight she didn’t care, at least her hair wouldn’t get messed up by the helmet.
Going out openly with Dylan felt a bit weird, especially because most of their relationship had consisted of secret rendezvous in other towns and general sneaking about. They went out but it was always somewhere other than Kangaroo Ridge. But all that was done with—it was a new start and Tam had to learn to embrace it.
‘So did you like the movie?’ Dylan asked as he drove down the dark road towards home.
‘I wasn’t sure at first but it drew me in,’ Tam said as she watched the headlights illuminate the gum trees as they passed.
‘The opening was a bit slow but then it took off,’ Dylan agreed as he reached over for her hand and then brought it to his lips. ‘I liked tonight, there was something freeing about it.’
Tam gave him a smile. ‘It was lovely.’
‘We didn’t have to worry if we ran into anyone, it was good. Hey, tomorrow, do you want to get coffee at the bakery,’ he asked.
‘Okay, but why?’
‘Because then I’ll really feel like we’ve turned a corner and everything is out in the open.’
Tam stifled a sigh. ‘I don’t know if it’s necessary as you think the entire town already knows about us.’
‘I’d still like to do it,’ Dylan said as he glanced over at her. ‘So are you coming to my place tonight?’
‘Nope, I have an early start and my bike is at my place.’
‘Damn, I really didn’t think that one through, did I?’ Dylan chuckled.
‘If you’re good I might be persuaded to come over tomorrow night,’ she replied.
‘How?’
‘You buy the coffee tomorrow,’ she said with a laugh.
‘Done.’ He grinned at her.
‘I was going to ask you before but I wanted to enjoy our date: did you see Seb?’ Tam turned her attention back to the road.
‘No, he couldn’t make it in the end but he gave me a quick call and we’re going to catch up in a couple of days.’ He gave her a nudge. ‘Don’t worry, if he wasn’t open to talking about it, he wouldn’t have rung at all.’
‘I suppose that makes sense,’ she said. ‘We’ve been avoiding each other.’
‘Probably a good thing, the two of you can be a little … volatile.’
Tam laughed again. ‘Well that’s one way of putting it.’
‘But seriously, give him some time to get used to the idea and then sit down and have a talk with him. Meanwhile, I’ll try and smooth things over when I see him in a couple of days.’
‘Do you really think you can?’ Tam asked.
Dylan shrugged as he turned down her road. ‘I don’t know, but if it comes down to it he’ll be angrier with me than you. You’re his sister … his twin.’
‘Perhaps, but you’ve been his best friend since you were kids.’
Dylan was silent for a moment as he pulled into her drive. ‘Which means that he can’t stay annoyed at us for long. Besides, you know that he’s all bluster. Just chill, it’ll be fine.’
‘You sound so confident.’ Tam wanted to believe him but she wasn’t convinced.
‘Babe, it’ll be fine,’ he said as he stopped in front of the house. ‘It’s about us, our decisions and our plans for the future. Once Seb finally gets that in his head, he’ll stop being an idiot.’
‘I hope so.’ Tam unclipped her seatbelt.
‘You’re allowed to be happy and have a future, Tam,’ he said. ‘Let’s make it together.’ He leant over and kissed her.
Her mouth softened under his, he tasted of coffee and sugared popcorn. Her arms wound around him and she kissed him back. He was like her touchstone, whenever he kissed her, held her and cherished her all her doubts and worries subsided. His calming presence had pulled her back from the enveloping darkness more than once.
They savoured the kiss, postponing the moment until they finally pulled away.
He gave her a wink. ‘Now, get out of here before I change my mind and drag you back to my place,’ he said with a glint of laughter in his eyes.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ Tam replied as she started to get out of the car.
‘Looking forward to it,’ he said. ‘I’ll meet you at the bakery.’
‘Are you tempting me?’
‘Always,’ he said with a laugh. ‘See you tomorrow.’
* * *
Tam lingered on the top step and watched as Dylan drove away. He was right, they did deserve to have a future together. As his tail-lights disappeared down the drive, she wondered why she sometimes got those dark and twisty thoughts telling her otherwise.
Walking into the house, she found Lix in the kitchen, watching the newly filled coffee plunger.
‘Smells good,’ she said as she sat down at the kitchen bench.
‘Yeah, it’s almost done.’ He looked up and smiled. ‘Want one?’
‘Please.’
Lix grabbed another mug from the cupboard. ‘So how was the movie?’
‘Good, you and Gray would love it.’
‘Maybe I’ll see if he wants to go,’ Lix replied as he poured the coffee. ‘After you left, one of your brides and her boyfriend dropped off some signed paperwork.’
‘Ooh, which one?’
‘Angie Stevens,’ Lix said. ‘I put it on your desk.’
‘Thanks. You could have given it to Maddie.’
‘She wasn’t here either. She and Rori went to a barbecue, they’re still there as far as I know.’
‘Oh, I forgot about that,’ Tam said with a shake of her head. ‘I swear if I don’t write things down, I forget them.’
‘I took Angie and her fiancé down to the summer house. She said that she’d seen it but he hadn’t,’ Lix explained.
‘And?’
‘They both seemed happy and excited about holding their wedding here. Apparently, that’s why they showed up after closing because she was determined to get everything set in concrete—those are her words by the way.’
‘She’s a bit jittery about the whole thing because she’s already had to cancel her plans more than once,’ Tam said before biting her lip. ‘I kind of, sort of offered your photography services.’
‘And you’re only telling me now,’ Lix said with a chuckle.
‘Sorry. It’s only a very small wedding, I promise.’
‘It’s okay. So when is it?’
‘The actual date hasn’t been agreed on yet. Although it’s probably going to be on a Friday night.’
‘I’m sure I can fit it in.’
‘Thanks, Lixie, I owe you one,’ Tam said as he handed her a coffee.
‘I might even hold you to that,’ he replied with a smile.