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One
Beatrice Rushton-Pike got married tooyoung. She mused over this thought as she ran a fingertip along the marble bar in the den. It was dust free, and she smiled to herself, grateful for the cleaning crew that’d come through the previous day and scrubbed the house from top to bottom. She and Preston were twenty years old when they tied the knot. And now that their daughter had reached the same age, she shuddered at the thought of how young it really was.
She and Preston had been children only three years prior to their wedding day. Who let them think it was a good idea? She vaguely recalled her mother saying something about them being too young for such a big commitment, and Dad mumbled some gentle words about how a long engagement was often a good choice. But at the time, it’d gone in one ear and out the other. They were in love. And to them, love was all that mattered.
But there was no chance she’d let Danita consider marrying while she was still at university. In reality, she knew it wasn’t up to her and there would be nothing she could do about it if Danita chose to take that step, but she liked to cling to the illusion that she still had some sway over her daughter’s decisions. Thankfully, Danita had never had a real boyfriend and the subject of marriage hadn’t come up, so it wasn’t likely she would have to address the issue for a while yet.
Their son, Harry, was a very young eighteen. He’d left for university two weeks earlier and until then still liked to have his mother pack his lunch for school, and take naps on the weekends. It was hard for her to believe he was an adult. Sometimes she still saw those adorable, brown floppy curls and imagined him the happy, uncoordinated toddler she chased around the house hoping he would’t fall and hit his head on the furniture.
The house felt so empty now he was gone. He was only one person, but the noise he generated when he was home was enough that she never felt lonely. Now, it was a different story. The house was like a cavern. Every sound she made echoed through its empty halls and bounced off the tiles. She’d never really thought of the tiled floor as cold before, but since Harry left home, she’d found herself visiting carpeting shops to look through swatches. She’d talked to Preston about giving the house a facelift, maybe getting an interior decorator in to redo the place entirely.
He’d simply shrugged and hadn’t lifted his eyes from the phone in his hands. “Maybe we should downsize. We don’t need a place this big anymore.”
His words had saddened her. She didn’t like change. And this house was where they’d raised their two children. Should they sell it and move into something smaller right away? Would the kids miss out on cominghomefor the holidays, instead visiting a strange, impersonal townhouse in an overly built-up part of the city?
There were no smaller houses in their neighbourhood, so it would mean leaving everyone they knew behind and starting over somewhere else. Surely he couldn’t mean it. But instead of addressing these questions to the side of his head, she ignored the niggling thoughts and decided not to raise the subject again for a while since he’d seemed perfectly content with their sprawling suburban property before she’d said anything.
It’d been twenty-five years ago that they’d stood on that wide, sandy beach on Coral Island and pledged to love each other forever. It seemed like yesterday. She sighed at the memory. So much had happened since then. Was it possible they were the same people who’d made that heady commitment, with their eyes blinded by passion? She felt as though she was an entirely different person, and Preston certainly behaved like one. Sometimes she wondered if she knew him at all. Still, they were both excited to renew their vows. The party was tonight — the perfect way to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
Everyone would be there. Well, everyone other than Dad, who had made some excuse not to travel from Coral Island to attend the party. He rarely came to the mainland these days. Always had something to attend to. The house needed cleaning, the fencing was broken, the chicken coop had been battered by a storm. And her brother Bradford had made a similar excuse — he had a business to run, he couldn’t get away from it in the busy season.
If she wanted to see her father or brother, she’d have to go there. But she hadn’t done that in years. And so most of the time, she only saw her father’s face over a video call. She missed him.
It was infuriating the way he resisted the idea of travel. He knew how busy she was with the catering and the children, although now that both kids had officially finished high school and were out of the house, she had more time than she had before.
Perhaps it was time to go back to Coral Island for a visit. The thought filled her with a longing for her old home, something she hadn’t felt in an age. Could it be that she finally missed the place after all this time?
It would be her birthday next week. Perhaps she could catch the ferry to the island and spend a few days with her father to celebrate. Preston wouldn’t mind—he had that sales conference in Melbourne to attend. When she’d suggested she should come with him so they could spend her birthday together in the city, he’d told her they could postpone and enjoy a meal out together when he got back.
She’d hoped he might make more of a fuss over her forty-fifth birthday. It felt like a big milestone, especially now that both children were out of the house. But Preston had never been much for birthday gifts or thoughtful surprises. He was more of the steady, reliable type of husband. At least, that’s what she told her friends.
It was true — he’d always been there for her over the past twenty-five years. He was a good provider with his management position in the sales division of a large scientific devices supply company. He’d travelled the world in his role, spending weeks at a time away from the family while she kept the home fires burning.
She nursed their babies. She ferried them to kindergarten, then school. She supervised homework and listened to piano practice. She drove Danita and Harry to ballet and soccer. She went to all their sports carnivals and recitals at school. She’d even managed to build a moderately successful small catering business on the side.
And their hard work had paid off — Preston’s job had given them a comfortable lifestyle; she’d never had to worry about money. And now their children were grown and both were generally loving, kind and successful young adults. They could both be proud of what they’d achieved. After twenty-five years of what had often felt like a slog in which they’d barely had time to acknowledge one another, it was finally time for the two of them to kick back, put their feet up, and spend some quality time in each other’s company.
The first thing she’d do after this anniversary celebration was book a trip somewhere. She’d always wanted to go to Paris. Maybe they could spend the New Year there. It would be a romantic adventure and just the thing they needed to get back some of the intimacy and passion they’d lost over the years of living like ships in the night.
The doorbell rang and Bea bustled to answer it, wiping her hands on the apron tied neatly around her waist. She tugged the door open. She lived on the outskirts of Pennant Hills, an old Sydney community on the upper north shore with leafy green neighbourhoods and generously sized blocks. Bea and Preston owned one of the largest blocks in their subdivision, and all of the neighbours knew one another well. Popping in for a quick chat was a community pastime.
“Good afternoon, Bea.” Nellie Armstrong from next door stood on the doorstep with a casserole dish balanced on one hand and the leash tied to her straining blue heeler in the other. The dog wanted to get in through the front door to search for Bea’s pug—she knew it. And she also knew how that would end, with the dogs dashing madly through the house, the blue heeler hot on the trail of the pug whose tail would be tucked between her legs with several items of furniture smashed on the ground in their wake.
Deftly she stepped onto the porch and pulled the front door shut behind her to prevent a catastrophe.
“Hi, Nellie. What do you have there?”
“I made tuna mornay. I thought it might be nice to serve tonight at your big anniversary doo.” Nellie smiled, her teeth impossibly white. Her toned abs showed beneath the Lorna Jane crop top she sported, and her fake tan glowed a perfect shade of bronze.
Nellie always made Bea feel frumpier than usual. She pushed her curly hair back from her face and found it had stuck to her forehead with the sweat she’d worked up moving furniture and baking treats for the party all day.
“That is so kind and thoughtful.”
“Are you excited about it?”
“I suppose so. It’s a lot of work. I’ve wondered why I decided to do this to myself about fifty times today. Of course, I should’ve hired more help, but I love to cook, so I thought it would be fun. And besides, my usual staff are all invited guests, so I didn’t want to bother them.”
Nellie chuckled. “Cooking is definitely not my idea of fun, but I’m sure you’ll do a fantastic job. I can’t wait to try everything. Anyway, I must get moving if I want to take a shower before the party. I’ll see you then, okay?”
