Summers with Juliette

While October had lulled them into a false hope that summer was on its way, November brought them back to reality with a thud. As the last month of spring rolled in, so too did the rain and with it, a wind of change. A lot of change.

Like the false hope of summer, Juliette’s steady good health assuaged them all. Besides the occasional bouts of fatigue, she seemed, on the whole, well. She still woke most mornings to bake at least one batch of muffins either at home or at the café, and she worked a full week at The Bookworm, balancing both the café and bookstore side of the business. It tricked them, fooled them into thinking that she would easily see it through to the end of summer, that she would be there for the Summer Fair.

But the weekend after Halloween changed all that. Looking back, Anna would always remember the exact moment she realised she was starting to lose one of the best friends she’d ever had, the closest anyone had ever come to being a sister to her.

The day had started off relatively normally. She’d left fairly early to meet Jack for their weekly surfing lesson and despite the rain that’d set in the night before, they’d gotten a couple of hours of clear weather.

Surfboard in tow, she trudged down the wet sand and found him waiting for her, holding a reusable coffee cup in his hand.

‘I hope that’s for me,’ she greeted him and for the third week in a row she wondered how long she needed to wait until he kissed her again.

‘It is indeed. Strong bush tea.’ He handed it over and as the steaming liquid met her lips, Anna felt her whole body warm up – or maybe that had been the brush of Jack’s fingers. Either way, the tea had taken some of the bite out of the wind.

‘Okay, let’s go.’ She drained the rest of the tea and hurried after him to do the same. ‘I’m ready to stand today.’

‘You sure you can handle it?’ Jack threw out a challenge. ‘Swell’s pretty decent today.’

‘For sure. I’m pumped.’ She grabbed her board and headed towards the surf. ‘You coming?’ She skipped around and saw him shaking his head.

As they both hit the icy Pacific, Anna couldn’t recall a time that she’d felt so alive and happy as she did right here, right now. On the beach that was named after her ancestors with this man that had nothing to do with her past, but everything to do with her present, Anna Kendall began to feel something. She belonged.

She did it. Three weeks into her lessons Anna stood and caught her first wave. Granted it was for all of five seconds, but she did it.

Jack whooped and cheered, and despite all the restraint he’d been practising since her birthday dinner where he promised baby steps – he couldn’t help himself. As soon as she surfaced he swam over to her and pulled her close.

‘Did you see me? Did you see me? I did it!’ The elation in her voice was contagious and Jack laughed with her.

‘I sure did.’ He caught her gaze and saw her pupils grow wide and, shit, despite the freezing cold water, a certain part of him was growing too. But you promised her baby steps.

Was three weeks enough to take the first baby step? He wasn’t about to strip her and have sex on the beach, but a kiss should be fine.

Shouldn’t it? Her lips were so close and they were slightly purple. He would be warming her up. But before Jack had the chance to let the last of his resolve crumble, the ocean took over, dumping them both under a massive wave.

‘God!’ Anna’s lips were chattering as she tried to warm up. ‘I’m. So. Cold.’

The manly thing would be to wrap his arms around hers and create some body heat, but Jack didn’t do that. Instead he pulled his thermos out and refilled both the cups with tea.

‘Here,’ he said, wrapping her icy fingers around the cup. ‘This should help.’

‘Mmmm,’ Anna mumbled. ‘That certainly hit the spot. You make a great cuppa.’

‘Thanks, Bridie used to say it was the only thing I could make. I’m not much of a cook.’

Jack wasn’t sure what made him mention his ex-wife. While it wasn’t a secret that he’d been married before, he really didn’t want to be talking about Bridie with anyone, especially Anna.

‘Bridie, such a pretty name. I was always envious of Juliette and Seraphina’s names.’ Anna tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear as she sipped her tea. ‘I asked my mother once how they’d decided on a name for me. She said that my father thought I looked like an Anna. Yet another thing I can blame him for – my boring name.’

‘Are you kidding me?’ She turned to him in disbelief. ‘Anna is like…Sue or Jane or…Mary. Dull, uninteresting. Dull.’

Anna rolled her eyes. ‘You know what I mean. It’s not romantic like Juliette or sexy like Seraphina.’

‘While I do concur that I do not in any way shape or form consider my mother, whose name is Mary, uh, sexy, when it comes to Anna, in particular the Anna sitting right next to me…I completely disagree.’

She smiled shyly and blushed. Her milky white skin was tinged with colour and with warmth flowing through her. Anna’s lips were tempting. Too tempting. Damn the universe and signs. He needed to kiss her. With his mind made up he started in for the kiss but was halted by his ringing phone.

For fuck’s sake! It was the second time that morning that his attempt to kiss Anna had been thwarted. He was now listening to the universe loud and clear.

Shit. As soon as he heard Brett Taylor’s voice, he knew what was going down. Brett was a local police officer and the older, much more responsible brother of Johnno Taylor.

‘Sorry to call you so early but we’ve just picked up Tom Maloney and he’s demanding to speak to his lawyer.’

Jack rolled his eyes. Tom had lost his licence a month ago and he’d promised Jack he wouldn’t do anything stupid. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘Thanks, Jack, and I’m sorry to call so early. I know you’re out, ah, surfing with Anna Kendall.’

Bloody hell! Brett’s comment knocked him for six. Did the whole town know his whereabouts? The bush telegraph was very much alive in Ellesmere. He didn’t know why he was so surprised. What was next? Front page of the Ellesmere Gazette? He could just picture it now. ‘City Slicker and That Kendall Girl Surfing – Exclusive Pics’.

‘Problem?’ a concerned Anna asked, and Jack realised he was staring at his phone.

‘Of course, I’m his lawyer.’ It might not be where he wanted to be, but his client needed him. People relied on him. ‘Doesn’t matter that it’s not even seven a.m. on a Saturday morning and I’m still in a wetsuit.’ And I still haven’t kissed you.

‘Well, I’m still that Kendall girl,’ Anna added wryly. ‘It takes the townsfolk a while to drop labels, but you have a greater country heart – more so than many people that actually have spent their whole lives in Ellesmere. If anything, I’m a greater city slicker.’

Now he saw where she was heading. ‘I was born and raised in North Bondi. I had the beach at my beck and call and all the advantages of being in a big city. I went to Sydney uni, got a great job and moved my way up the legal food chain. Then when I had all that I thought I needed, I suddenly felt trapped, like I was suffocating…’ He left out the part where his marriage was beginning to disintegrate and he coped by screwing a work colleague. So we, or rather Bridie, decided we needed a sea change. And I tell you, one look at this place and it was love at first sight. But it wasn’t the same for Bridie.’

‘Ellesmere’s not for everyone, I know that too well.’ He heard the bitterness in her voice, but he also noted there was a sadness. Sadness that came from having the whole town turn on her and drive her away from the one place she knew and loved, the place she belonged.

‘Anna, I love Ellesmere. I’ve never felt more at home. I belong here. You do, too, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’

The rain started again as they left the beach. Heavy droplets splattered against Anna’s skin with greater intensity the faster she ran. She covered her head with her towel and bolted up the hill towards Ellesmere House. By the time she’d reached the front porch she was beyond drenched and she almost wished she’d asked Jack for one of the surfboards so she could’ve used it as a makeshift umbrella. Goosebumps covered her as the wind blew through but despite the chill, Anna felt all warm and fuzzy inside. After three weeks of lessons she’d taken her first wave and Jack had almost kissed her. Or at least, she was certain he was about to, right before a massive wave dumped them both. For argument’s sake, if Jack had kissed her, Anna wouldn’t have objected. They had been taking it slowly for a few weeks now, but the problem was it felt as if they hadn’t taken any steps towards anything to do with developing a relationship. Maybe it was time to let Jack know she was ready for that first step or maybe she could take it upon herself to initiate the first step?

Dreaming of a hot shower, she let herself in the house expecting to be hit with the sweet aroma of Juliette’s baking, but to her surprise all she was met with was quiet and there was no sign or smell to indicate either Juliette or Sera were awake.

It felt weird. She couldn’t recall a morning she’d woken up and Juliette wasn’t awake baking or prepping to leave for the café. Figuring Juliette was still tired from the Halloween party last night, she headed in to have that much-needed shower. While it hadn’t been a late night, the Halloween party had taken a lot of preparation and Juliette had done most of the work so a lie in was more than warranted.

When Anna had defrosted and could finally feel all her fingers and toes again, she headed into the kitchen for some breakfast and heard the distinct sound of the kettle coming to boil.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said, expecting to see Juliette. Instead, Anna found a dishevelled Sera making a pot of tea.

Sera looked up, bleary eyed, and her appearance startled Anna. Sera was, well, a little vain about her appearance. Yes, perhaps it came with the industry she was in but she always had been, even when they were growing up. Anna couldn’t recall ever seeing Sera looking anything less than perfect, so her current look was a big departure.

‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ Sera sniffled and it was then Anna realised she was unwell. Either that or she’d spent the whole night crying her eyes out and Anna couldn’t see Sera doing that.

‘No, I just thought Juliette would be up by now.’ She glanced at the clock. It was a little before nine. She knew Tilly was opening The Bookworm this morning, but even on the days Juliette wasn’t doing an early start she was up, usually baking.

‘Tilly’s opening this morning. Juliette’s probably zonked from yesterday.’

Sera echoed Anna’s thoughts and reasoning and yet something didn’t feel right.

Sera shrugged and sipped her tea. ‘Got caught in the rain when I was trick or treating with Levi, must’ve got chilled. Feel like crap.’

Anna thought the same but didn’t voice it. She didn’t want to get into a verbal stoush with Sera first thing in the morning.

‘Help yourself to some tea, I’m going back to bed.’ Sera grabbed a wad of tissues and shuffled out the room, leaving Anna alone with her thoughts.

She made some breakfast and took it to the seat by the window and watched the rain. When she was done, she went back into the kitchen and spotted a white cloth in the corner. It was covering something and even before she lifted it up, Anna knew what it was. Juliette often prepped some of the dry ingredients and laid out the utensils for her baking the night before, just to make the morning process easier.

Something was wrong. If Juliette had been planning to bake, she would’ve been up by now. But she wasn’t.

Anna knocked on Juliette’s door and waited. The sound of her heartbeat was deafening. She waited…

‘Jules? Honey, are you awake?’ She anxiously approached the bed and checked for any signs of breathing and let out a massive sigh of relief when Juliette moved and it was clear she was just asleep.

You moron, Anna, she’s just sleeping. Feeling like an idiot, Anna turned to leave and was almost out of the room when she heard Juliette moan. Her heart stopped and she bolted back to her friend’s side. ‘Jules? What’s wrong?’

‘Argh,’ Juliette rolled onto her back and clutched at her stomach. ‘I’m not feeling so good…’

Realising what was about to happen, Anna grabbed Juliette’s dressing-gown and held it out just in time, then she propped her up as she threw up.

‘What for?’ Anna was puzzled. Was Juliette apologising because she thought she threw up on her? Anna was impressed that Juliette was able to confine it to the dressing-gown.

She made a move to get out of bed but Anna stopped her. ‘Stay where you are, you’re not going anywhere.’

‘But I was meant to make muffins for an afternoon tea meeting at the council.’

‘Make muffins?’ Anna finished. ‘It might have been a while, but I still remember how to follow a recipe. You still have Maisey’s recipe book? I think I can manage choc chip.’

Anna nodded ‘Positive. You rest. I’m going to get rid of this,’ she held up the bundled dressing gown, ‘I’ll be back with a glass of water.’

She rinsed the gown in the laundry and put it in the sink to soak. It wasn’t the first time Anna had cleaned up sick. There were times her mother had passed out in her own vomit and it was left to Anna to clean it up. The difference between Juliette and her mother was that Juliette was dying of cancer, while her mother was just an alcoholic. Even when they’d moved to Sydney, Susan Kendall battled with the booze. It took years for her mother to get sober, but she finally did, and as far as Anna knew, she still was.

‘Here you go,’ Anna placed the glass on the bedside table and the bucket beside the bed. ‘I’m going to call Doctor O’Neil so she can come and check you out.’

‘There’s no need for that. I probably have a bug or something I ate. I’ve probably made myself sick from my own cooking,’ Juliette tried to joke about it.

Anna heard the fear as Juliette’s voice trembled. ‘Oh, Jules,’ she said, squeezing her hand and trying to keep her voice even as a lump formed in her throat. ‘It may just be a bug, but if it isn’t Sera and I are here, we will not leave you.’

Juliette squeezed Anna’s hand back as a lone tear slid down her cheek. ‘Thanks, Banana.’

Melancholy flowed through Anna at the sound of her childhood name. ‘Rest, okay?’ She wiped the rogue tear and fought back her own. ‘I’ll call the Doc then get on to those muffins.’

Anna closed the door then made her way to Sera’s room. She needed to let her know what was going on.

‘It’s Anna. I need to talk to you.’ She kept her voice at a whisper so Juliette wouldn’t hear.

Anna closed her eyes and expelled a breath before opening Sera’s door and quickly shutting it behind her.

‘Are you hard of hearing?’ Sera barked at her. Her eyes were puffier than before and her nose looked like Rudolph’s. Yeah, she was unwell, but she wasn’t dying. Juliette possibly was.

Anna stood at the door with her hands folded. ‘If you shut up for five minutes and let me…’ She stopped mid sentence and then got straight to the point to avoid any argument between them. ‘Juliette’s sick.’

Anna shook her head. ‘No, she’s throwing up. It’s not a bug, I think it’s…’

Realisation hit Sera.‘Oh shit.’ She paled and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘I’ve told her to stay in bed. She needs to make some muffins for a council meeting this arvo. I will make them, but I think we need to call Doc O’Neill.’

Sera nodded in agreement. ‘You make the muffins and I’ll call the doctor. I also think I should steer clear of Jules, we don’t need her getting sicker.’

Sera grimaced and mumbled ‘It’d take more than a doctor to cure my disease.’

Anna stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Her cryptic sentence sounded oddly like a line from a song but she had neither the time nor the inclination to deal with any Sera drama. Right now she needed to find Maisey’s recipe book and dust off her baking skills. She could do it, right? It would be a piece of cake. Or should that be a piece of muffin?

She headed for the pantry and spotted the box on the top shelf that Juliette had told her about. Using the stepladder she grabbed the box, but as she did, something else fell down off the shelf.

She climbed off the ladder and picked it up. It was a notebook. Curious, she flipped it open and realised she was wrong; it wasn’t a notebook, it was a sketchbook, an artist’s sketchbook, and the subject in question was Juliette. Her heartbeat quickened in pace as she turned the pages – this had to be the sketchbook, right? The one from Noah? She recalled the information that Juliette had shared with Sera, that the sketchbook was a visual journey of her chemotherapy. As Anna made her way through the pages there were two things that jumped out at her. Juliette looked unbelievably lost and scared at the beginning of the treatment. Anna’s heart broke at the fear that was captured in the sketches.

I should’ve been here for her. But she didn’t know about the cancer. Yeah, but you knew about Chris and Maisey.

And she hadn’t come back. Because she was scared. Because she felt like she didn’t belong in Ellesmere. But it was now clear that while the town hadn’t needed her, Juliette had, and she had not been there for her friend. That was something Anna wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive herself for.

As Anna moved through to the end of the book, the second thing that hit her was how happy Juliette looked. She didn’t doubt how hard it would’ve been to go through the cancer and chemotherapy alone. Except, looking at Juliette in the later sketches, she didn’t look alone and scared. She looked beautiful and in love. Could that have anything to do with Noah? Whoever the artist was they were good, damn good. When Anna reached the end of the sketchbook, she found a letter.

Juliette,

I know this notebook will only strengthen the stalker tag because chances are you had no idea I was sketching you but I wanted you have a diary of your journey, a journey that I was part of and one that doesn’t end with treatment, but continues with your life. A very long and happy one and I hope that I am a part of that life…

Holy crap! Anna shut the sketchbook with a thud. This is what they had been looking for – the sketchbook. They suspected Noah had been important to her, but even Anna was unprepared for just how much. Clutching the book closely to her chest, she headed towards Sera’s room – this time she didn’t even knock, she just let herself in and, ignoring her protests, thrust the sketchbook in her face.

Chapter Sixteen