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I ignored my sister’s sarcasm and continued my tale of woe. “Jet was drunk when he said it, and I don’t think he remembers but I sometimes wonder if he does. But tonight he said he really cared for me. Not like just friends, you know? Made me realise things between us crossed a line a long time ago and it needed to stop.”
“This might be my pregnancy hormones speaking—”Ash paused—“but none of that made any sense.”
I huffed and kicked at the sand.
“You’ve been sending him postcards for months. They’re all over the bar at work. How long has this thing been going on?”
I sighed. “It’s not a thing. But we’ve been texting for months. Since Mum’s speed dating night last year.”
“Ari, that’s like seven months!”
I groaned. “I know.”
“What exactly do you mean ‘you crossed a line’? Are you guys doing more than talking and texting?”
“So much more,” I muttered.
“He raved at work about a shell you sent him.”
“It was one gift one time.”
“That arrived before Christmas, before your family’s gifts.” Ash sniffed. “Not that I care, but I’m just saying.”
“Luck of the postal service,” I retorted.
“We love the baby onesie with the whale shark on it. Thank you.” Ash sniffed. “You have two minutes of my time left. May I point out that you share yourself with him. More than anyone else, I’m guessing?”
I groaned again. “You can’t say anything to him about this at work.”
“Course not. Sisters have a right to silence and to protect family. Can I also add it’s not like we have a staffroom here where we all gossip about the girl that Jet is texting and gettingpostcards from? Although the old fellas in the bar love your travel updates.”
Ash was silent for a moment, possibly drinking water. “So why did you go on a date?”
“I don’t know,” I whined. “I just said it while fighting with him, and then I opened an app and matched up with someone.”
“Come on, Ari. Think. Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because he’s in love with me and I’m not.”
“And that was your mature way as a friend to clarify your relationship with him?”
She had me there. “How did you know Cody was the one?”
“You have like thirty seconds left and you ask me that?” Ash inhaled deeply. “It felt right with Cody in a way that I’d never felt with anyone else. But Ari, how I feel about Cody isn’t the answer about you and Jet.”
For once, I let the silence settle. She was right.
“Would you come to my wedding?”
“Oh, I?—”
“I’d really like my sister here. You understand about what it was like when Dad left us, and now here I am about to get married, of all things. Please say you will.”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Cody will pay for your flights. A quick in and out trip for the wedding, and then you’ll be back to Bessie and your lap around Australia. It’s hardly cheating.”
A tight knot of anxiety niggled in my belly.
