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“Um, no, not at the moment. I was thinking of renting until I could afford to buy outright.”
“Don't bother. My sister is the manager at The Good Guys at the Hyperdome. I'll see if she can give you my 'family discount'. Hopefully, so long as you aren't too picky, we can get you the lot.”
“I've got bedlinen and towels and stuff, but no appliances, no furniture, no nothing. Thank you, Beth, that would be wonderful.”
“We can meet there if you'd like, and I can help you take whatever home with you in the Patrol.”
Allee could not believe just how helpful everyone was being and started to tear up. Tania saw her distress and diverted everyone's attention by shoving Darryl back into the pool. A raucous water fight ensued, and by the time it was over, Allee had composed herself and was ready to enter the water. She dove in quickly and surfaced close to the waterfall, pushing her sodden hair out of her face. She trod water, her mind wandering, before realising that Sammy had made his way over to her.
“Hi, Sammy, what's up?” she asked brightly.
“Allee, I just wanted to offer my help as well. My parents are downsizing, and they've got an entire bedroom suite that they want to get rid of. If you'd like it, I'm sure they'd be happy to finally get it off their hands.”
“Wow, thank you. How much would they want for it?”
“I’ll ask them. Maybe we could pick it up on Saturday while you're with Beth and meet you at your new home and set it up before you head over to IKEA?”
“That sounds marvellous. I really don't know how to thank you all!”
Sammy grinned, “Oh, that's easy. Beer and pizza. Plus, once you're all settled, you'll have to have a house-warming party and invite us all,” he laughed at his own joke.
“Beer and pizza it is then!” Allee laughed and nodded. They both trod water for a little longer before Tania joined them.
“C'mon, you two, stop hiding over here and join the rest of us before we have to drag you back!”
They all laughed, swimming towards the spa area, where Beth, Mark, Andre, and Darryl were already sitting. Tania got in and sat next to Darryl, and Sammy sat next to Mark. Allee shook her head and told them she'd like to just sit and relax on a deck chair for a little while but would join them later.
As she relaxed on the chair, Noah appeared, holding a couple of beers. He offered Allee one and then sat down next to her to drink the other. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, drinking their beer, when Noah spoke.
“It was a bad break up, wasn't it?” he said. Allee had no idea how to respond. Noah continued, “Look, I know it's probably none of my business, but nobody moves to another state and leaves everything behind unless they've gone through something nasty and want to start over. I can understand it completely, and I'm here if you need to talk. Believe it or not, I understand.”
Allee turned and looked at him, noticing how subdued Noah appeared at that point. He glanced back at her, smiling sadly, before continuing.
“I may as well tell you, you'll find out sooner or later, especially once this lot start drinking,” Noah paused, tipping back his beer and finishing it in three swallows. “A few years back, I was in a relationship with a woman whom I worshipped. To me, she was perfect, she could do no wrong, and I would have walked over broken glass had she asked me to. Instead, she screwed me over. I did everything for that woman, although it was never enough for her. She’d got it into my head that she was punching well down, and I was punching so far beyond my own level that I would’ve ignored almost any negative behaviour from her.”
“What? You’re a nice guy. How could you ever believe that?”
“Yeah, well, that’s not the worst part. At that point, I'd decided to propose, so I went out and bought a ring. I walked in to find her in our bed fucking some random guy. I couldn't believe it. When she saw me, she told me that I was lucky that she even lowered her standards and that I would never be good enough for her. That was it. I told her that we were over and to get out,” Noah’s shoulders hunched over, clearly uncomfortable with the memories. “Then I get this phone call from her telling me that she wants all this stuff from the house, and if I gave it to her, she'd leave me alone. Stupid me believed her. She turned up the next day with the same bloke and pretty much emptied the house. She took almost everything, except for the entertainment system, my computers, and an old couch that was downstairs. The bitch tried to get the house as well, but it was all in my name, so she was sent packing, but it took me a long time to get over that experience.”
“How long ago did she leave?”
“Two years. It took me just over a year to realise she was the one punching above her weight. It took a lot of help to realise that,” Noah got up and walked over to grab them both another drink, laughing at one of Darryl’s jokes as he sat back down. “The thing is, this lot are a great bunch. They were there for me, especially Charlie. Now I know you might find it hard to believe, but Charlie is a great person. Anyway, I meant to say that I know the look and sound of someone who is just starting over again. I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone, and if you need to talk, I'm here.”
Allee didn't know how to respond. She would never have guessed that he had been through such an ordeal. She gently touched his hand.
“Thank you for telling me that Noah, I appreciate it. I'll let you know when I'm ready to talk about me, and I will. I'm just not ready to do that yet.”
Noah smiled back, gently covering Allee's hand with his own momentarily, before shifting back to finish his beer. Allee followed his lead, finishing her beer in silence.
Later that evening, after having changed out of their sodden swimwear, everyone sat around the patio table, banter flying back and forth, plates empty and pushed back. Allee still had some pieces of bread and meat on hers, and she spied the dog lying next to Tania's chair with his head on his paws, his eyes longingly moving from person to person, hoping for a treat.
“Is it okay to feed these to your dog?” Allee asked.
Tania laughed and put an extra sausage and rissole on Allee's plate.
“Go ahead, Berg will love you forever though, and never leave you alone. Be warned!”
Allee slowly lowered her plate to the ground, removing her knife and fork, before quietly calling the dog over. He gulped down the food in seconds and then sat at Allee's feet, looking up at her with a mournful expression, hoping that more food would be forthcoming. Allee laughed and held her hands up to show that they were empty.
