Reid’s attention drifted momentarily from the half finished glass of brandy & coke on the bar counter in front of him. It was a nice bar, he thought. I wouldn’t mind one in my own house one day when I have one, he thought casually. Bob, or “Ex, ex, Uncle” as Reid’s brother referred to him, had done some pretty amazing work building it, although Pat, Bob’s wife, certainly did not share the sentiment. To her it was nothing more than a crudely constructed dark oak & railway sleeper eyesore, vulgarly dominating the vast expanse of her fine & very expensively decorated lounge.
The brilliant late afternoon summer sunlight that had only minutes before blazed through the huge French doors, as everyone was strolling into the lounge from the dining room, stretching, groaning & discreetly loosening belts & pant buttons to make space for the gluttonous Christmas lunch just consumed, was fading eerily fast.
Any another place in time & this would carry with it an aire of supernatural presentiment, since it was after all only 3 in the afternoon, but the freshness of the ozone rich breeze that sent the net curtains in front of every window into horizontal chaos, plastering them to the ceiling in a demented ballet, foretold of the approaching thunderstorm. Reid gazed dreamily out of the now unobstructed French doors; their curtains dancing playfully above his vision, remembering the last thunderstorm he’d watch roll in.
Standing waste deep in the soup green water of the Air Bases’ swimming pool, so far from home, from here & now. Brandy & coke in one hand; cigarette in the other, he gazed at the bruised, oozing dark purple bulk of cloud that stretched toward him like the wings of a vengeful fallen angel, slowly enveloping the early evening sky above him. Occasionally blinded by the intensity of a vicious bolt of lightening that seemed to dissect the sky with its violence, silhouetting the plight of the fallen angel & instantly evaporating the very air around it. The exhilarating, chest-pounding rumble of thunder that followed instantly, reverberating through heaven itself, immediately stimulating every nerve in his body. “Beautiful,” or, “insanely romantic,” could not come close to describe the experience as endorphins pulsed through his every fibre, & as the angels electric strike grew ever closer.
Vaguely off to the left he saw where the lightning’s power met the earth in a flash of superheated steam. The elevation of the swimming pool made it possible to see over the wall of the Air Base, to not more than a kilometre away on the side of a gentle hill devoid of trees. “I’ll take a ride there tomorrow to take a look,” he thought indifferently in the instant before the thunder cracked around him, & before the electric blue flash itself had even completed it’s destructive stroke, rattling the windows of the nearby single block living quarters. Any reason to take a ride on the monster road bike he had just bought himself. A Honda, 900cc of tuned ego dreams.
The static ‘tingle’ that engulfed his every hair follicle to the verge of spasmodic pain brought the realisation that perhaps a swimming pool was probably not the best place to be standing right now. He smiled defiantly to himself, or at the ‘angel’; it didn’t matter, as he moved to the side to get out. “Life is good,” he thought.
His brother’s roar of laughter at one of Bob’s notoriously vulgar jokes summoned Reid back to the present. He was still gazing romantically toward the French doors at the very same vengeful fallen angel. The rain had started to fall in obscenely large drops & someone had closed the French doors & the curtains no longer danced. In a flush of sheepish embarrassment, he realised he was in fact gazing off toward the people seated at the couch in front of the once open doors, his defiant smile in context now just a stupid grin. As he slowly turned back to the chortling men beside him in an attempt to look like he’d actually caught the joke, he sighed in relief that no one had noticed his introspection, since they were all engrossed in their womanly conversations.
All except the demure & strangely captivating girl sitting on the floor in front of the ladies’ couch. While Reid thought, “was I just grinning at her like some weird-ass psycho,” her translucent cerulean eyes arc-welded their way through him in an electric bolt to shadow the effects of the lightening he’d just daydreamed. And as he darted his stare back to the half finished glass in front of him, he was sure she’d just begun to smile back. His chest constricted, his stomach turned & his skin flushed. “What the Hell?!” Who was she & where did she come from? What do I say, what do I do... Oh, thank goodness for the alcohol.
The rain had really begun to pummel the roof & huge leafed Elephant-ear plants outside the nearby window pattered in an Amazonian chorus, while frogs tried their best to kwaak their living dominance in a mixed cacophony of exotic pitches from very high to very low. Geoff & Bob were still exchanging crude jokes that they had both heard a thousand times before yet somehow found every bit as side-splittingly hilarious as the first time. They would be acting out soon.
“You guys look way more interesting than the old girls couch over there.”
Although her sudden presence seemed to marginally surprise the stand-up duo, they grunted a polite acknowledgement & went right on uninterrupted.
Reid on the other hand had been acutely aware of her every step as she had approached the bar at which they stood. Secretly, through the extreme corner of his eye he had seen her float to her feet as if lifted by an invisible force of nature. And as his eyes began to hurt from the strain of the extreme side stare, he’d seen her glide across the large room. Noticing the ever so slight duck toes he couldn’t help thinking she had to be a dancer. His mother had had classical ballet when she was young & had kept her stance the rest of her life; hence the name Reid’s brothers had assigned her for as long as he could remember, “Ducks.”
Reid flushed a little more & his arm hairs rose as if toward a biological magnet with each step closer she took.
“Hi,” he replied, putting on his best & most nonchalant & charming smile.
-----------------------------------------------
“Boys!” Ducks called from the centre of the ‘the old girls couch’, “it’s getting late. Are you two ready to go?”
It was almost dark outside. The setting sun had barely managed to dart her dying days’ rays out from under the thinning storm clouds, sending beams of rich golden light in random easterly directions. The rain had stopped too; leaving only the languid drip of rivulets as they bounced off glistening leaves & branches. A rhythmic metallic clunk from the gutters as they channelled water from the roof into crystal clear puddles in perfectly manicured flowerbeds.
The heady fragrance of lavender & jasmine flooding the air from rain beaten shrubs, mixed with the freshness of the newborn air, & even the frogs’ had begun to settle for the night.
“Yea, but you’re driving.” he slurred back.
“What had just happened,” Reid pondered in brimming desperation, as Geoff’s reply threatened to tear his heart from his chest. “Where had the last 3 hours gone? This can’t be over! Not now, not yet!”
He glanced down at the diminutive 4foot 9inch girl he’d spent the time so absolutely engrossed with. He knew they had talked & maybe even laughed, & was almost certain she was standing just a little bit closer. He could smell the freshness of her long bronze hair & the feint fragrance of a perfume he didn’t recognise, but would certainly never forget. Time & people & the very thread of reality itself had ceased to exist & he couldn’t remember a single word they’d exchanged – not even her name. Right there & then he wanted to put his arms around her & never let go. Her sapphire eyes had fused their way to his soul with such ferocity it was destined to sculpt the rest of his life in a way so powerful destiny herself would cringe in jealousy.
“I think I should also get going.” Her voice was quiet & unobtrusive but carried a confidence Reid had never before encountered, let alone from a source so petite. Soft & sweet & as precise as a rapier through the chest.
Had she peered mercilessly into his thoughts or had she seen the desperate puppy-dog plea behind his green eyes, as he’d looked down at her to slowly drink in & savour just one last parting look at her.
“I can give you a ride home if you like,” she said, tilting her head slightly to study Reid’s reaction. A reaction that must’ve been so obvious even the ‘old girls couch’ seemed to pause for a moment.
“'cos I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to call it a night just yet. How’d you feel about just taking a walk along the beach? I always love it after a storm, when it’s all deserted ‘n stuff.”
“Ok, now this is just weird,” he thought. “Maybe she really did read my mind.”
There was something bigger than the sum of things driving this & although acutely aware of it, Reid really didn’t care. All that mattered to him was the prospects of adding every possible second to the time he could be with this girl whose name he still didn’t know.
In her little white Honda sedan, a Shakespeare’s Sister track played seductively in the background. He had only a few short weeks earlier been blasting the same newly purchased album from his oversized speakers at the Air Base. Waking neighbours, infuriating most & ultimately caring less, it was definitely his current favourite. Reid watched lovingly as she operated foot pedals & gears, her confidence & aire of maturity for their 21 years again surprising him.
“Definitely the legs of a dancer,” trying not to stare. “Wow! If I was God Himself & wanted to create a masterpiece ... this is what she’d look like,” he thought, holding back the lustful smile that teased the corners of his alcohol dehydrated mouth. He couldn’t help his feeling of diminished machismo at being reduced to the passenger seat, but still did not care just as long as he was with her.
City neon’s & deserted hotel foyer lights reflected romantically off the rain drenched streets as she parked. The hoards that frequented this upmarket beachfront were home with family & friends, revelling in the dying throws of Christmas day celebrations, & while rhetorically expecting Gene Kelly to splash in puddles & spin around a nearby street light, he climbed from the passenger seat of the now parked Honda & glanced up, noticing for the first time the full moon breaking through the quickly dispersing storm clouds. Fixing his most powerful glare on the enormous silver orb he muttered in muted defiance, “Bring it on!” A challenge he had submitted once before but had felt her full wrath, to ultimately be reduced to a pile of whimpering heartbreak & pain.
Damn, he needed a smoke.
