Anna
The Summer Fair arrived with a big bang. One the first day, Anna helped Tilly set up a stall that showcased a sample of Maisey’s recipes. They had gone through and handpicked a selection of cakes, tortes, muffins, slices and cupcakes and Tilly had baked them with some assistance from Anna.
As they spread out the smorgasbord of sweets Anna looked around. It was early in the day, but the crowds were already building. To their right, Joyce Mather was displaying her doilies, weaving her sales magic on a couple of tourists, and to her left, Dave was manning his stall, selling of all things, cultured vegetables and, according to Dave’s sales pitch (which Anna had overheard five times already), cultured vegetables act like a SWAT team inside your body, fighting off viruses and bacteria. Apparently (according to Dave) cultured veggies were pivotal in healing chickens with bird flu.
She was supposed have left a week and a half ago, right after Juliette’s funeral, but a small matter of inheriting a house and a café, not to mention Juliette’s request that Anna and Sera stay until the Summer Fair had changed all that.
Staying the extra time had helped Sera and Anna come to terms with the enormity of Juliette’s bequest and also work out what they were going to do with each of the properties.
The café had been the easy one. Sera was staying in Ellesmere (and moving in with Patrick and Levi), so she was going to help Tilly run The Bookworm. But the house had been tricky. It wasn’t your regular bricks and mortar – it was Ellesmere House, sacred to them all. To sell it would be blasphemous, to have strangers live there would be wrong. They still hadn’t made a decision about the house.
‘Anna!’ Sera called out as she ran towards the stall. ‘I need you. Laura woke up with tonsillitis this morning and can’t do the kissing booth.
Kissing booth? No way. She would help out doing virtually anything, but she drew the line at the kissing booth.
‘Umm, I’m kind of busy here,’ she motioned around the stall.
‘It’s only for a couple of hours until the next girl can fill in.’
‘I can handle it,’ Tilly helpfully pitched in and Anna tried to catch her gaze.
‘But it might get super busy and you’ll be run off your feet.’
‘Anna!’ Tilly laughed. Look at the size of the stall it’s tiny. Now go and help Sera.’
Anna threw Sera dirty look. ‘I hate you, Seraphina.’
‘Awww, come on,’ Sera pouted. ‘You might kiss a few frogs, but who knows, you might also get to kiss a prince.’
‘You owe me big time,’ she muttered as Sera all but dragged her over to the booth and proceeded to fill her in on the rules. Anna was somewhat surprised to see a rower, treadmill and spin bike set up next to the booth. In order to score a kiss, the guys needed to complete each three machines within a specified time. It was like a mini triathlon. Surely there wouldn’t be that many successful attempts? Anna was beginning to feel slightly less apprehensive about it all as she took a seat on the bench inside the booth.
First up was Boof Hawkins, who reached the target times for the bike and treadmill but failed on the third miserably. At least he did better than Damo Mitchell, who bombed out on all three. Mick Macreedy was next and judging by his precarious balance on the bike, he wasn’t going to do well either. Anna had to admit that while she wasn’t keen on kissing any of the men that attempted the challenge, it was kind of amusing watching them.
Her time at the booth was almost up, Anna couldn’t believe how fast it’d gone, but as she was about to step down, Ellen, the adjudicator, announced she had one more guy and when Anna saw who it was, her relief turned to dread.
It was Jack. She hadn’t spoken to him since the night he delivered the will. He had called her and texted her, but she had deleted each message unread. She had nothing to say to him.
He caught her gaze, flashed his pearly whites, but Anna’s lips remained drawn into a tight line. As he climbed on the bike she willed him to lose, but Anna knew just by looking at him how easily Jack would smash the target. And he did. Then he did the same on the treadmill. Finally, on the rower Jack seemed to struggle at the beginning, but somehow, from somewhere, he clawed his way to victory and with seconds to spare, Ellen declared that he’d beaten the clock. Word had gotten round and a decent crowd had built up. Cheers and whistling broke out as they all waited for Jack to kiss her. Anna gripped the bench so tightly that her fingers were going numb.
Jack bided his time, having a drink of water, wiping his face with a towel, but Anna wished he would just get it over with. When he was ready, he walked and stood before her and she could see his breath was still slightly laboured. She wished he wouldn’t stand so close – well really, she wished she wasn’t in the situation at all.
Anna offered her cheek and saw him shake his head and before she could inform him that was all he would get, Jack pulled her up and against him and claimed her lips.
Her stiff, shocked body collided with his sweaty one, her lips under the assault of his salty kisses. While his tongue explored her mouth softly, then possessively, Anna found herself slowly softening and somehow her hands found themselves snaking around the back of his neck. The noise around them seemed muted and Anna was so completely consumed with the kiss she completely forgot where she was.
When Jack pulled out of the kiss she found herself disappointed it was over. She removed her hands from his neck and told herself that her body’s reaction to Jack meant nothing. So what if she still had feelings for him. It was only a chemical imbalance, one that would eventually be restored. She just needed time and distance. And judging by the light-headed feeling she was experiencing, she needed both in abundance.
‘Can we talk?’ Jack asked and while she wanted to say no, Anna found herself doing the exact opposite.
‘Okay,’ she nodded and allowed him to take her hand and lead her away from the still cheering crowd, away from the hustle and bustle of the fair and only once they approached the area did Anna realise where they were. They were at Opal Head where she, Juliette and Sera had carried out the pinky swear.
The area was now a lookout, complete with trendy wooden benches and a fancy plaque with some historical spiel on it. And, as always, it was blowing a gale and despite the late January sun, Anna shivered.
‘Cold?’ Jack asked, his hazel eyes concerned.
‘I’ll be fine.’ She ran her hands over her goosebump-covered arms; the last thing she need was for Jack to touch her again.
‘I need to, I want to tell you everything about Bridie, about my marriage and why I cheated.’
‘Okay, tell me.’
She could tell Jack was nervous. He fidgeted next to her, relentlessly kicking a patch of grass in front of him. Anna listened to him as he went over parts of the story she already knew, about the baby, the stress it placed on their marriage, and then he told her about the affair.
‘It happened at a work function. She was a colleague, it was one night and I was completely honest with Bridie. I told her the next day.’
Anna didn’t care that it was only once. A one-night stand was still cheating.
‘Moving to Ellesmere was supposed to fix our marriage, but it was only a band-aid solution. In the end Ellesmere ended up being what fixed me. The town, the people, the relaxed pace of life.’
Anna said, ‘So you told your wife, the woman you cheated on about the affair, straight away, but you couldn’t tell me?’
‘I’ve asked myself this question before. Why I told Bridie, but couldn’t bring myself to tell you. By the time I cheated, my marriage was essentially over, with us, we were just starting, and there was all the history with your family. I was scared that if told you I would lose you. And the irony is I lost you anyway.’
Anna closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted Jack’s confession to do anything but reaffirm her decision to end things with him, and she certainly hadn’t changed her stance on infidelity – she would never tolerate it. But could she accept his reason for keeping it from her?
He’d been scared of losing her. She’d been scared of losing someone once too. She kept their parents’ affair from Sera because she was afraid of losing her. How was this different? She wanted to say it was, but the reality was she was scared of losing someone she loved.
But could she trust Jack not to cheat on her? Anna thought of what Sera had said that day after the wake, about how every relationship was different. Sera was right. Jack wasn’t her father and she certainly wasn’t her mother.
But could she take the risk? Juliette hadn’t taken the risk; she’d held back from love and ended up with heartache. Sera had been right about that too.
Anna looked around the lookout where many years ago she’d made a pledge with her friends and decided to make one with herself.
‘If I said I understood why you kept it from me, what would you say?’
Anna turned to see hope flicker in Jack’s eyes as his mouth curved ever so slightly. ‘I would say I would do anything for a second chance. I love you, Anna. I want a relationship with you. Whatever it takes, however long you want to wait. I’ll wait.’ Jack took her hand and pressed his lips on top of her knuckles. No one had made her heart pound this much. No one had ever told her they loved her.
Did she love him? She’d never been in love before, she’d always controlled her life not to allow it, but she was sure that from the first time she saw him at Elle’s, when he made her feel welcome in her own town, when he stood up for her, when he kissed her for the first time, she was sure that she loved him all those times and right now, sitting at Opal Head, she loved him still.
‘Then I want you to promise me something.’
‘Anything.’
‘I want you to promise me that you will always remind me to take risks.’
Jack smiled and gathered her close. ‘I’ll do one better. I’ll take the risk with you and be there if you fall.’
Once upon a time three girls made a pledge and they sealed it with their pinkies. Anna and Jack’s pledge was sealed with a kiss.