3

 

Church was something of a culture shock. So much livelier than what he was used to, John found himself more than a little overwhelmed. Not just by the volume of the very loud music, either. Although several thousand voices raised in song was more than incredible and an experience in itself. He couldn’t hear himself sing, never mind the people standing either side of him, but maybe that was simply because there were so many of them.

If he could imagine heaven, it would be like that. Thousands of voices raised in unified praise to God.

It was the clapping and dancing which really threw him. He’d never experienced anything like that before. Jo surprised him with her enthusiasm. She replied to the pastor when he asked a question or if he said something she agreed with, something unheard of in his church. She raised her whole arms, not just her hands, whilst singing. John shoved his hands further into his pockets, trying to still his tapping foot. He wasn’t going to get caught up in the obvious emotion of the moment.

I’d be lying if I said I were comfortable with this, Lord, but so long as You don’t mind me just standing here worshipping You in my own way, everything will be fine.

After the service, Jo turned to him. Her eyes shone with joy and peace. “That was incredible. Don’t you think?”

John nodded. “It was certainly different.”

Her eyes clouded for an instant. “Different?”

“From what I’m used to.” John hurried to explain himself. He didn’t want to upset her. “I’m more used to the stiff upper lip, thou shalt not appear to enjoy thyself in church type of service. We don’t answer the pastor mid sermon, actually we don’t even respond to his good morning. There’s no clapping or hand raising or anything like this.”

“Wow. That sounds kind of boring.” Color filled her pretty face. “Did I really say that out loud?” She grimaced. “Sorry.”

John laughed. “Yeah, you did, but it’s OK. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.”

“Yeah. Anyway, come see the book and music stands and grab a drink. There’s about half an hour before the next service.”

“Next service?”

“We’re too big for one service, hence the three. I normally stay for two of them, but you don’t have to.”

“Is it the same sermon?”

“Yeah, but I always get something from it that I didn’t the first time.”

John let Jo lead him to the hall where several stalls were set up, selling CD’s of the church’s music, books and other things. This was alien to him as well. The verse about the den of robbers crept unbidden into his mind. Surely it’d be better to have a shop open Monday through Saturday, rather than this.

Different culture his mind repeated. You’re not in Berkshire anymore. And even the UK no longer closes on a Sunday—not since Sunday trading started.

Not wanting to appear rude, he glanced at some of the CD’s, committing the titles to memory. There must be somewhere he could get them during the week.

Jo reappeared with a cup of fruit juice. “Here.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded down at the table. “Most of those CD’s are live recordings. We learn the new songs over the course of a few weeks, and then we all turn up on a Saturday, and spend the day singing. Nigel preaches a couple of times during the day, but it’s mainly singing. Shame you won’t be here for the next one. It’d be something to remember us by.”

He nodded. “It would be. Have you been coming here long?”

“Since I became a Christian four years ago. I love the warmth and fellowship here. God is just so wonderful and gives us so much.”

John nodded. “Not quite all we want though, but yeah, stuff that matters.”

Jo shot him a curious look. “Like what? What do you want?”

He thought quickly. He wasn’t about to complain about being single, not to someone he hardly knew and especially not to Jo. “God knows what’s best for us, besides life would be boring if we got everything we asked for. We may well end up like spoilt children. Always whining and wanting more and throwing tantrums when we didn’t get it.”

“Very true.” She finished her drink. “We’d all end up doing time out on the naughty step. Are you coming back in?”

John held her gaze for a moment. “Sure.” He wasn’t convinced he was ready for another full on session, but he’d be with her, so he’d do it.

 

****

 

In the intense heat of the afternoon sun, Jo handed John a tall glass of juice. The ice chinked against the side of the glass, the sunlight sparkling off the cool liquid. Music played on the stereo, and the chicken sizzled on the grill. Rob’s deep laughter wafted over the verandah. Jo knew without looking he was skillfully managing the cooking with one hand, his other arm wrapped around Pip’s waist. Jo tried hard not to be jealous, but it wasn’t easy.

John took the glass. “Thank you.” He chugged it, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed.

Her gaze lingered on his face before she tore it away. “How do you normally spend your Sundays? I assume you don’t work.”

“No, I have every weekend off. Sunday’s we go to church first thing, well the service starts at half past ten. Then Dorrie, her husband Fraser, and the kids come over to Mum and Dad’s for the day. Or we go to them. We play a couple of board or card games after lunch. Then it’s tea then back to church for the evening service.”

“What do you play?”

“Uno or phase ten mainly, or we play football with the kids. My nephew, Taylor, is football mad. Eats and sleeps it. Dorrie hates it.”

Jo laughed. “Does he get his love of the beautiful game from his dad then?”

He grinned. “You know the Brit term for it?”

“The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes.” She wasn’t going to admit to having deliberately looked it up.

John shook his head, his deep chuckle thrilling her. “To answer your question, nope, he doesn’t. Fraser hated football at first, which Dorrie thought was wonderful, but now he seems to love it. She reckons she’s going to end up as a football widow in a few years’ time.”

“Probably. What about you?”

“Love football.” He winked at her. “I may have had more than a passing hand in corrupting both Taylor and Fraser.” He sipped his juice. “What about you?”

“I love football. Aussie football that is. What you call football, we call soccer.”

“Ah. See that’s not true football then.”

She raised an eyebrow, loving the simple banter. “Why’s that?”

“It’s football, the clue is in the name.” He winked. “Foot. Ball. See, anything you throw is hand ball or throw ball. Or rugby.”

Jo tilted her head. “Perhaps.”

Pip came over and joined them. “You two look cozy.”

Jo felt heat rush to her cheeks. “Just discussing the differences between football and soccer.”

Pip rolled her eyes in mock shock. “I’m not sure which is more shocking, Jo. You knowing the difference or actually discussing them.”

She must have looked as uncomfortable as she felt because John leapt to her rescue, changing the subject.

“I love your Christmas tree. Though it’s a little early to put it up, isn’t it? It’s only the middle of November.”

“Pip’s away in the UK for Christmas, so we’re going to celebrate this month instead. But I love Christmas. God did so much for us then. Set a whole chain of events in motion purely because He loved us.”

John nodded. “After all, if there was no Christmas, there’d be no Easter.”

“Exactly.”

He looked at Pip. “Are you going anywhere nice?”

“England,” Pip grinned. “Going to stay with Gran for Christmas itself. She’s too frail to put me up the whole time, so I’m doing the tourist bit before I get to her place on Christmas Eve. Rob’s on call otherwise he’d come with me. I’m going to miss him like crazy and I wish he were coming. Next time, maybe.”

“Lunch is ready,” Rob called. “Come and get it before Pip eats it all.”

“That’s totally uncalled for.” Pip laughed, crossing over to thump him playfully on the arm.

Jo tried to push down the spark of envy as the two of them fought over the spatula. She sighed and looked away.

“What’s up?” John asked, concern masking his dulcet tones. “You look really sad. Are you worried about Pip going away?”

“No. She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. I was just thinking how nice it’d be to have someone like Rob in my life. He looks out for Pip, plays with her, laughs with her.” She sucked in a deep breath, then setting her glass down, pushed her hands roughly through her hair. “It’s just hard being single at times.”

“I know how that goes. Two sisters married, the other sister married to her job, and all my mates are taken. My social life consists of watching a movie once a month with Dorrie and Fraser. Not that they all have a happy ending.” He winked. “Last movie we watched ended up costing me a fortune. I decided to stop for chicken take away on the way home. I hit the curb and punctured a tire.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yeah. And it gets worse.” He grinned. “Problem was I couldn’t get the wheel off and I’d forgotten my phone. By the time I walked back to Dorrie’s to use her phone to call the breakdown people, she was in bed.”

Jo giggled. “Oops.”

“Big oops. I never lived that down. Every time we have chicken now, I get teased about spare tires.” He paused, patting his stomach. “Yes, Dorrie uses both meanings of the phrase.”

She eyed his flat stomach. “You look fine to me, but I must admit I do the same to my brothers.”

“It’s getting cold.” Pip called.

“We’re coming.” Jo got up and grabbed John’s hand pulling him to his feet. “Oh, your hands are cold.”

“Cold hands, warm heart. Though why they are cold I have no idea. It’s lovely and hot out here.”

Jo smiled and then jumped at the mild electric shock that passed between them. “Sorry. My shoes keep doing that on this decking.”

“No worries. I assumed it was your natural electric personality.”

She laughed as they walked across to the others. “I’ll blame that next time. Sounds much better than my shoes.”

He looked over the selection of food. “This smells wonderful.” He picked up some chicken.

“Better than take out any day. And it won’t even cost you a new tire.” She looked at him hoping he wouldn’t mind the teasing.

He laughed. “Just as well. The exchange rate is horribly high today.” He took a bite. As he swallowed he added, “Tastes much better than the take away.”

“I told you it would. Rob’s barbie’s are to die for.” She lowered her voice. “I think that’s why Pip’s marrying him. So she never has to cook again.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” John chuckled. “Back home Barbie is a doll my niece plays with. She has loads of them.”

“I remember them. I had both a Sindy and a Barbie. I spent hours playing with them and my brother’s action man.”

“I had several action figures,” John grinned. “Most from my favorite TV shows.”

Jo laughed. “My brothers did, too. They would never call them dolls, no matter how much I pushed it. Only girls have those. His favorite was from Star Trek.”

“That program gave me nightmares. I woke every night for weeks terrified Mr. Spock was going to mind melt me.”

“You mean mind meld.”

“Oh…I thought he was going to melt it.” John laughed at himself. “Oh well. Believe it or not, one of my favorite shows was Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.”

“Oh, wow. You guys got that in England?” Jo finished plating her meal, ignoring the others around her. All that mattered was John.

“Yep. Along with Neighbors and Home and Away.”

“Do you still watch them?”

“If I’m home from work in time, I watch Neighbors. Though we’re probably months behind you in both of them.”

Jo nodded. She took a bite of the chicken and chewed slowly. “So what do you do?”

“I’m an analytical chemist. Test water samples all day long.”

“Oh, that sounds thrilling.”

John laughed. “Sometimes I drive miles to stand in a river to fill test tubes.”

“That makes waiting on tables sound fun.”

“It’s not bad. Bit cold at times, and rather wet, but as long as I don’t go in too deep, the Wellington boots keep me dry. Then I take the samples back to the lab and run tests on them. Actually, apart from Dad, we all work in the medical line—more or less.”

Jo walked with him back to the chairs overlooking the edge of the verandah. “Do you miss it?”

“Work or my family?”

“Both.”

John ate for a moment, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. “My family, yeah. I live at home, so they’re always around at some point. Work? Nah, not so much.”

“You live at home? Seriously? At your age?” She kept the light teasing tone, not wanting to upset him.

He nodded. “It’s not uncommon in the UK to live at home until you’re married, unless you need to move for work like Ann and Emma did. After graduating from uni, I got a job about fifteen miles from home, so moved back. I live over the garage, pay rent, and get Mum’s home cooking.” He grinned. “She even does my laundry occasionally. But I’m a free agent to come and go as I please. We don’t have miles of real estate like you guys do here.” He glanced over at the others. “They do make a good pair.”

She sighed, watching Rob top up Pip’s glass. “Yeah, they do. He seems to know what she needs before she does.” The conversation had gone full circle. “Do you believe God has someone special set aside for everyone?”

“Yes I do. It may take a life time to find them. It may not even be marriage, just a best friend who’s always on the other end of the phone or something. But yeah. It says in Genesis that it wasn’t good for man to be alone, so God provided a helper.” He studied her face, his hand touching hers briefly. “Pip getting married won’t spoil your friendship. It might change it slightly, but it won’t end. I don’t believe for a moment you’ll be alone for long when she moves out.”

Jo sat and watched his face bathed in the hot sunshine. Would he be prepared to give it all up for her? She shook her head. Stupid idea. She didn’t even know if he were interested in her, never mind anything else. Long distance relationships never worked. Especially when the distance was twelve thousand miles.

 

****

 

The next two days seemed to fly. John hadn’t seen Jo again since Sunday as his planned day trips meant leaving early and getting back late. But the days seemed empty without a cheery comment or smile from her, and he often found himself thinking about Jo and praying for her. In particular he prayed that God would provide that special someone she craved so badly.

He hardly dared pray what was really on his mind. The more he thought about her, the faster his heart raced and the thought of speaking to her, left him tongue tied in case she found him boring. But if he could choose any woman to spend the rest of his life with, it would be Jo. Even though they hadn’t known each other long. But there was so much else to consider. So many other lives revolved around and touched the two of them.

But he knew that God knew his inmost thoughts and desires, even the ones he couldn’t voice.

Wednesday evening he looked through his meager selection of clothes and wondered for the tenth time why he hadn’t gone clothes shopping properly, instead of grabbing the first things he saw. His new white shirt was creased and his old jeans had seen better days. He tucked in his shirt, then picked up the cologne. Dorrie had given it to him for his birthday and he honestly wasn’t sure why he’d packed it. It was one of the few original things he had left as it had been in his rucksack.

He slid into his jacket, not sure he’d need it in this heat, but he wanted to look as smart as he could. He was meeting Jo outside the restaurant at eight. Yes, he knew there were going to be a lot of others there, but part of him wished it was just Jo. A large part of him.

He wanted to spend time with her. Just her.

Not that that was fair to either of them, but that’s what he wanted.

The table in the restaurant overlooked the harbor, with the bridge in the background. Lights reflected from it onto the water, and John made a mental note to take some photos before they left. The conversation was lively, but he found his gaze constantly drawn across the table to Jo.

Christmas music played in the background. Fairy lights hung above her head, lighting her hair in a halo. She looked like an angel.

The way she moved her hands, ate, the way her smile lit her eyes all warmed him, yet she kept to herself, reserved, as if something bothered her. If he was sitting next to her he could ask, but Pip had insisted he sit the opposite side of the table. That made conversation hard. As much as he loved looking at her, he craved conversation and the way his name sounded in her gorgeous Australian accent. He pulled out his camera and took some photos of Jo, catching several of her pulling faces and doing bunny ears over the top of Pip’s head, before he finally managed to get one of her smiling.

At least he had that photo to remember her by. He wished he had more time. Time to get to know her properly. But he didn’t. His flight left Sydney at ten o’clock Friday morning for Ayer’s Rock. He’d gone from not wanting to be here, to not wanting to leave. All because of someone he hardly knew. Love at first sight was only something that happened in the romance novels his sister wrote. It didn’t happen in real life, and especially not to people like him.

Tomorrow he’d ask her to dinner. There’s always tomorrow. Yes, he was out in the Blue Mountains from dawn ‘til dusk on a coach tour, but maybe she’d have dinner with him in the evening. He wasn’t going to lose anything by asking and if she said no? Well, he’d leave the day after tomorrow and would never see her again.

Rob looked at him. “Have you enjoyed Sydney?”

“Yes, I have.” He looked at Jo as he spoke. “It went from being a mistake to one of the best places I’ve visited. Even if my case still hasn’t arrived anywhere.”

“Glad to hear it. We should have another barbie. So how about we do it tomorrow? All head down to the beach for your last night?”

John fixed his gaze on Jo and smiled. “Actually, I would like to take Jo out tomorrow night.”

From the sudden silence that descended on the table and the stunned look on Jo’s face, he wondered what had gotten into him. He wasn’t impulsive. His sisters would be the first to say that. What if she said no?

His cheeks burned as he waited for her to turn him down, just like every girl he’d ever asked had done.

 

****

 

Jo looked at him, shock resonating through her. Did he just say what she thought he said? It sounded suspiciously like I want to take Jo out. Her pulse raced and for a moment she almost convinced herself she was hearing what she wanted to hear. Was she imagining things? Please, don’t let me be imagining things.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, looked at Pip and then back at John. Either way he needed an answer. And there was only one answer to give him.

He looked at her and then glanced down for a moment before looking up again, the hope in his eyes fading and embarrassment flooding his face. If anything, the color made him so vulnerable all she wanted to do was hug him, however inappropriate that would be. He had said it. And she wasn’t going to make him ask twice, because something told her that he wouldn’t.

“I’d love to.” The words tumbled from her lips. She didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind. She caught the look Pip and Rob gave each other but shrugged it off.

Her heart sang. This was more than she could have asked and even if one night was all she had—all either of them had—he liked her. He liked her enough to ask her out, to spend his last night in Sydney with her.

If only…

“Wonderful,” he said smiling at her. His foot caught hers under the table. At that moment he and she were the only people in the room. Everything faded around her and she lost herself in his smile.

She’d fallen completely, utterly and past the point of no return, for a man she could never have, because in just over forty hours from now he’d be getting on a plane and she’d never see him again.