The Boys of Summer (40 page)

I had been on the verge of cracking open a
tub of ice cream out of depression until Toby picked me up. I had
been spilling out all my troubles when he asked me to pass him
something from his glove box. I was so engulfed in self-pity I
passed the white box with the pretty red bow to him without even
taking a breath. I only paused when he pulled over and looked at me
with an incredulous smile.

I touched my necklace again at the memory.
Every time I did, Toby broke into a smile, pleased.

He picked up his beer, and held it up towards
me.

“A toast to the Birthday Girl.”

I grabbed my ever so grown-up house white and
clinked our glasses together.

I was finally an adult!

I took a deep, confident gulp, only to gag
when it went down the wrong way. My eyes watered as I tried to draw
breath. Toby thumped me on my back as I coughed and spluttered all
over the bar.

Yep! I may be eighteen, but the stuff was
still vile.

Toby tried to salvage my dignity. “Chris, can
you grab us a glass of water and some menus, mate?”

Chris managed the water. “Sorry to be a
killjoy guys, but I’ll have to call last drinks. I’m shutting up
soon.”

Toby did a double take. “What, no
dinner?”

Chris shrugged. “Sorry mate, it’s what
happens mid-week.”

I looked at the wall clock, it was only
8.30pm, and I was starving. I saw the disappointment in Toby’s face
so I didn’t press the issue. Yeah, this was turning into some
birthday.

I didn’t even manage to finish my glass of
water as Chris stalked up and down the bar, collecting beer mats,
and wiping down.

Okay, okay, we’re going, geez …

I grabbed my bag and went to walk out the
front when Toby grabbed my hand.

“This way.” He pulled me in the opposite
direction with a devilish smile.

“But the car’s out front.”

He dragged me along until we were engulfed by
the darkness of the restaurant, where he paused and kissed me into
silence.

“I thought you might want to do some
reminiscing in the beer garden.” He nuzzled into my neck. I giggled
as his breath tickled me.

My eyes darted. “What about Chris?”

Toby kissed me again, and all of a sudden I
didn’t care anymore. This was the best birthday ever.

Just as I was relaxing, getting lost in his
kisses, he broke away.

“Come on.” He tugged me into action; my mind
was still drunk from his kisses.

I followed his long, confident stride through
the dark restaurant, and he guided me to the sliding door that led
out to the beer garden.

Now was as good a time as any
, I
thought.

I stopped him, just as he was about to open
the door.

“Toby, there’s something. Well, there’s
something I’ve been wanting to say.”

And just as I was about to form my next
sentence, the sliding door flew open and lights flooded the
garden.

“SURPRISE!!” roared the crowd, followed by a
rather hideous and ill-matched version of ‘Happy Birthday’.

I shielded my eyes as they adjusted to the
brightness, my other hand clutching at my racing heart.

They were all here. Mum, Dad, Adam, Ellie. To
my right, Uncle Eric, Claire, Amy. Melba and Rosanna clapping in
front. And a line of beaming Onslow Boys.

My eyes welled.

They hadn’t forgotten.

After the initial shock I turned to Toby.
“You!” I went to whack his arm but he caught my wrist and pulled me
into a hug. “Happy Birthday, Tess,” he whispered into my
temple.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough of that, you
two.” My dad broke in and took my hand. He flicked Toby his regular
‘
the jury is still out on you
’ glance. It always mortified
me. It had been six months, and Dad still hadn’t fully accepted
Toby. Toby still suffered through uncomfortable family
dinners/interrogations. Mum, on the other hand, loved Toby and came
over to link her arm through his with an apologetic smile.

Dad walked me over to a huge table fully set
with gold embossed china and sparkling crystal wine glasses, and
draped in crisp white linen. Tea candles and vases of white Iceberg
flowers ran down the centre. My chin trembled; it was so beautiful,
and it was all for me.

“Melba and I set it out this afternoon,” Amy
blurted out.

“It’s beautiful.” I touched one of the
intricately folded napkins.

I sat at the head of the table, Toby to my
left and Mum and Dad to my right. My eyes trailed down to the long
line of friends before me.

Ellie was explaining to Adam the order of
cutlery to eat with, Sean debating Aussie rules with Stan, Claire
Henderson fussing over Uncle Eric’s tie.

Whoa. Uncle Eric was wearing a tie?

My heart swelled with a deep, immense love
for them all. Even for Melba and Rosanna who ushered behind Amy
with platters of food. Food that Rosanna constantly reminded me
that she had spent
all
day in the kitchen cooking.

Toby leaned into me. “What was it you had to
tell me?”

I blushed at the memory. “Oh, I’ll tell you
later.”

Toby’s frown was broken by the clinking of a
fork on a wine glass.

Ellie stood up, her eyes already shiny with
emotion.

“Adam and I flipped a coin over who would do
the best friend speech. Even though Adam lost, he said he would be
pacified with the knowledge that Tess secretly held a flame for
him.”

Laughter was amplified by Chris punching Adam
in the arm.

“What? It’s true; sorry, Toby.”

“Anyway, I’ll make this quick. To Tess …” She
held up her glass. “… the most amazing person I know. My life will
always be brighter because you’re the one that shines next to
me.”

“To Tess!” Glasses clinked all down the
table, and Ellie wiped her eyes.

I fanned my face to stop the tears from
overflowing. Toby winked at me and squeezed my knee.

A long line of embarrassing speeches
followed. About my hopeless bar skills from Chris, my cappuccino
fear from Melba, the girl in the white bikini from Sean that made
me blush crimson.

“What bikini?” my dad asked, before the
subject was swiftly changed. The only person that didn’t speak was
Toby, who sat silently by my side.

After the cake and embarrassing childhood
stories and what seemed like hours and hours of laughter, the party
wound down and guests left. It was time to clear the table and blow
out the tea lights. I instinctively went to grab the empty
glasses.

“Leave it, honey, it will all be there
tomorrow.” Claire Henderson smiled as she and Uncle Eric retired
for the night.

They were the last to leave; now only Toby
and I remained.

“They better hope it’s all there in the
morning. What’s the going rate for fine china on the black market
these days?” Toby said, as he looked over the messy table.

I sidled up to him, wrapping my arms around
his neck. His attention quickly snapped from the table to me.

“I have a bone to pick with you, Toby
Morrison.”

“I have been keeping this party a secret for
three weeks! My life would not have been worth living if I slipped
up.”

I laughed. “Not that! I do believe you
promised me some beer garden reminiscing?”

A wicked smile broke out on his lips. “That’s
right, before we were so rudely interrupted.”

A stillness swept over Toby. His smile
changed into a serious intensity as he swallowed hard. “I love you,
Tess McGee. I don’t do big funny or heartfelt speeches in front of
people at birthday parties, but I’m excellent in private alcoves in
beer gardens.” He paused. “Okay, that sounded really bad, what I
mean is …”

I kissed him into silence. I pressed my
forehead against his with a sigh. “I love you, too, Toby. In fact,
that’s what I was going to tell you before we walked into the beer
garden. Right before the really bad singing started.”

Toby chuckled. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Ready to reminisce?”

I whispered my final word before he closed
the distance.

“
Always
.”

##

This is a twofold acknowledgment, first is
to my husband and the second for everyone else.

To Mick, for bringing me drinks and food on
the days I am locked away in my office with my head stuck in
imaginary worlds. For supporting and believing in everything I do
with your unwavering love and understanding. We have had 10
wonderful years together; I can’t wait for the rest of our lives.
No matter what happens, “It’s you and me.”

To my amazing team: it truly takes a village
to raise a novel. A deep heartfelt thanks to the following
villagers.

Ednah Walters, you introduced me to this
inspiring world and told me “
To own what I do
.” My life from
that moment on was never the same. I’m afraid there are no words
big enough.

Sascha Craig, you were the driving force
behind me. You pushed me on the days I wanted to kill off all my
characters in a freak mudslide accident. I will never forget our
endless hours of late night phone edits, but most of all for
believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

To my fabulous editor, Sarah Billington: you
have a true talent for making words shine. Your guidance and
attention to detail lit a fire within me. You pushed me to think
outside the box, and I adore your for that.

To my dear friend and incredibly talented
Cover Designer, Keary Taylor: my world is so much more beautiful
because you are in it. I cherish our friendship and look forward to
many more future projects with you.

To my delightful Copy Editor, Anita
Saunders: you are the icing on this cake. Your support and
enthusiasm through your emails always make me smile.

To the brilliant Heather Adkins, my
proofreading and formatting wing woman. You have such an incredible
eye for detail; you are the glue that holds everything together. I
would be lost without you.

To my beautiful mum for sharing her love of
books with me, and the hours and hours of re-reading the same story
and unwaveringly encouraging me to believe in myself.

To my crazy dad for taking me on a holiday
of a lifetime and never forgetting to ring me up everyday and
asking me, “How’s that book going?”

To my family and friends for their love and
enthusiasm in respecting and supporting my dream (especially in my
moody, reclusive moments.) I am so blessed to have you all by my
side.

And to all the passionate book lovers out there, you
make what I do an absolute joy, never stop day dreaming about the
make believe.

C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives
with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales,
Australia.

The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature
Young Adult Romance Series.

For more on C.J and ‘The Summer Series’, visit
www.cjdugganbooks.com