By the time they left the gallery Nic felt they were in harmony. It was only a short drive to Iguana Joe’s, a waterfront restaurant and bar, splendidly sited between the ferry wharf and the sailing club. Serena happily commented on its architecture, asking if he thought it was inspired by the Sydney Opera House.
‘Only insofar as the visual effect is of a boat sitting in the water. The sails of the roof are a different shape and the deep blue facia being shaped like a wave just beneath them, is a masterly touch.’
She pressed for his opinion on other buildings that had changed Sydney’s skyline in recent years and this conversation continued until they were settled in the restaurant and given menus to peruse.
Without any hesitation, Serena ordered oysters, to be followed by the char-grilled swordfish with crab risotto and fig compote. She was perfectly at ease in this classy place, and with a classy menu. It raised the tantalising question of what she had done with her life in Sydney.
‘How did you and your sister manage when your parents died, Serena?’
Here it comes, she thought, her heart fluttering against the rise of tension that dispelled the far more comfortable sense of floating along in an enjoyable stream of light-hearted fun. But there was no dodging the reality of her life and Serena didn’t want to. This was the acid test. If Nic Moretti reacted negatively to her having been a hairdresser, it was best she know now.
She took a deep breath, fiercely telling herself there was no shame in being poor, in having to take what work one could get instead of being in a position where choices could be made. Nic’s expression was sympathetic. She watched his eyes, expecting critical assessment to take over from sympathy. A judgment would be made and all her senses were on red alert, acutely aware that this judgment would direct where their relationship would go.
‘Michelle and I had no idea how deeply in debt our parents were, the farm mortgaged to the hilt because of years of drought…’
‘Where was the farm?’
‘Near Mudgee. Dad ran sheep. He bred kelpies, too. Trained them as sheepdogs.’ She shook her head, remembering the shock of all she had known in her childhood and teens suddenly ending. ‘When everything was cleared, there was no money for us to continue our education. Michelle had been studying law at Sydney University. She dropped out and managed to get into the police force.’
‘And you?’
‘I had to leave school. Michelle took me to Sydney with her. The only job I could get was as an apprentice hairdresser.’
He frowned.
Serena lifted her chin in defiant pride. ‘I was determined to be so good at it they wouldn’t think of letting me go. It was a scary time for us, trying to set up a new life together and make ends meet.’
He nodded, the frown clearing, his eyes taking on an appreciative gleam. ‘I bet you were the best apprentice hairdresser they ever had.’
‘I topped my classes and won competitions for hairstyle and colour. This gave me the qualifications to move myself into a more highly paid position in a trendy city salon.’
‘So you kept on in this field until you trekked off overseas?’ he prompted, apparently finding this train of events acceptable.
‘Yes. In the meantime Michelle had married David and given birth to Erin. They were a very happy family unit.’ Not meaning to exclude her from it, Serena knew, yet she had felt like the onlooker, not really belonging. ‘I felt free to take off and travel,’ she went on, brushing aside the private feelings which could sound too much like envy.
‘Your sister was happily settled with her husband and daughter,’ Nic murmured, nodding his understanding.
‘Yes. So I took myself off. Luckily I managed to get casual work at an upmarket London salon to supplement my savings.’ She smiled at the whimsical irony of finding a job advantage in being a foreigner. ‘The clients quite liked having the Australian girl doing their hair. They used to ask for me.’
‘I’m sure you brightened their day,’ Nic commented, his smile seeming to approve what she’d done.
‘Whatever…it helped. The salon was happy to employ me in between my backpacking trips. I’d been based in London for almost two years when Michelle called me about David’s death.’
‘Killed in the line of duty, you said,’ Nic recalled. ‘What duty?’
Serena heaved a sigh to relieve the tightness in her chest before continuing. ‘He was a policeman. He’d caught up with a stolen car and the driver had shot him. I flew home straight away, and the next few months were…very hard. Michelle needed me.’
‘Another huge upheaval for her,’ Nic murmured.
Another load of grief. But how to explain grief to anyone who hadn’t experienced it—the vast emptiness of the hole left in one’s life at the abrupt and absolute departure of people you’ve loved and depended upon to be there for you.
‘Have you lost anyone close to you in your family, Nic?’
‘No, I haven’t. Even my grandparents are still alive.’
He’d never had the parameters of his world shaken, Serena thought, couldn’t possibly understand the effect it had. He looked so strong, invincible, and maybe that was part of his irresistible attraction for her, the innate confidence that nothing could ever beat him. Did that come from the secure backing of great wealth or was it in his genes? All she really knew was how good it felt to be with him—when she didn’t feel torn about their different stations in life.
A waiter arrived with the bottle of wine Nic had ordered. As they were served with it, Serena’s gaze drifted out over the water which had turned grey with the twilight. Life had many greys, she decided, and she was treading a very grey area with Nic right now, an area that could turn black.
Nic hesitated over breaking Serena’s pensive mood, even though the wine waiter had gone. The guy at the baby grand piano, providing mellow background music for the restaurant, had begun playing and singing Memories from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Cats. Maybe Serena’s memories were very poignant right now and Nic felt he had to respect them, give her time to come back to him.
He reflected on his own relatively smooth path to here and now. No real bumps. No big loads to carry. No huge adjustments to make. All in all, it could be said he’d had a fortunate life. It made him wonder how he would have handled the dark situations Serena and her sister had faced. Impossible to even imagine. He could only admire their strength in emerging from catastrophe and the love and loyalty that bonded them in an unselfish sacrificing of personal ambitions.