The Byron Journals (7 page)

‘Maybe.'

‘Can you pose with the plants downstairs?'

He studied her expression, trying to work out if she was serious. ‘Why?'

‘I photograph all the illegal shit in my life. I reckon it's hot.'

He nodded. ‘But why do you need me to pose with the plants?'

She shrugged as though it was obvious. ‘Otherwise you can't tell how big they are.'

It was the first time she'd made an effort to talk to him. ‘Yeah, okay. Let's do it.'

He heaved off the couch, pushed the coffee table aside and folded over the rug. After lifting the cellar door, he retrieved two pairs of sunnies from the kitchen table and handed a pair to Jade. As they descended the stairs, he turned and asked, ‘You're not going to post the photos on Facebook or anything, are you?'

‘Don't worry, babe. It's just for my private collection. I hate Facebook. I'm not even on it.'

He nodded. ‘Yeah, me neither. Waste of time.'

She steadied herself on his shoulder in the darkness at the bottom of the stairs, put on the sunglasses and followed him through the curtains. It still thrilled Andrew to see them—all those dope plants under the hot, white lights.

‘Okay,' he said. ‘Where do you want me?'

Jade put a finger to her lips then pointed. ‘Can you climb in among them all and stick your head out?'

Andrew laughed. ‘Sure.' He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled between the raised pots. He found a gap, stood up and parted the branches of the two front plants. ‘Like this?'

‘Perfect.'

The camera clicked.

‘How about this?' he said and raised his hand to his forehead as though scanning the horizon.

‘Nice.'

The camera clicked again. Andrew worked his way through a series of mimes and positions amongst the plants, trying not to laugh.

‘Cool,' Jade said, ten minutes later. ‘That'll do.'

He followed her through the curtains and took off his sunglasses, his eyes adjusting as he climbed the stairs. He closed the door and returned the rug and table to their positions while Jade sat on the couch looking at the pictures.

‘Can I see?' he asked and sat beside her.

‘Sure.' She leaned against him, placed the camera on his thigh and slowly flicked through the photos.

‘Why didn't you ask Tim to pose in the photos?' he asked.

‘I did…But he wouldn't do it.'

Andrew's stomach sank. ‘Why?'

‘He didn't want me to photograph the plants at all, so umm…yeah…you might not want to mention this to him. He's paranoid that the photos might get into the wrong hands.' She laughed. ‘God! As if I'd be that stupid!'

She clicked past the last of the hydro shots, and he glimpsed a photo of Jade in black lingerie and suspenders, applying make-up. ‘Ha!' she said, turning the camera away from him. ‘You weren't meant to see that!'

‘Where was that taken?'

‘Oh, one of the girls snapped me in the dressing room at a shoot.'

‘Is that what you do for work? Modelling?'

‘Yep.' She turned off the camera and placed it on the table. ‘I've got regular work up the coast a couple of days a week. Catalogues for K-Mart and that kind of thing. Nothing special.'

The photo looked too racy for a K-Mart ad, but Andrew didn't say anything.

‘Andy?' She bit her lip and scrunched her nose. ‘Can I ask you something a bit weird?'

‘Okay.'

‘Have you ever…' She lowered her voice. ‘Lost it when you're having sex with Heidi?'

‘Lost what?'

‘Your erection.'

‘Not so far.'

‘Oh…' She seemed disappointed. ‘Not ever?'

He shook his head. ‘Why?'

‘It's happened to Tim a couple of times. And, let's just say, it's not something I'm used to.'

Andrew started to smile.

‘It's not funny,' she said. ‘And don't you dare say anything.'

‘Sorry.'

‘He gets angry if I bring it up with him.'

Andrew paused. ‘Maybe he's jealous. You're probably hanging around with lots of male models, aren't you?'

‘Yeah, kind of.'

‘And it doesn't help either that you work up the coast, come home exhausted and sleep half the day. Why can't you do some modelling work in Byron?'

‘There's no good paying work in Byron. Besides, it's fun staying up there. Everyone I work with is hot—like really hot—so we get invited to loads of parties—free drinks, free drugs. And the girls I work with let me stay with them whenever I want. If Tim can't get it up 'cause he's jealous, then he needs to get over it. How else am I going to make a living? Work a hospitality job on award wage like Heidi? I don't think so.' She yawned and stretched her arms. ‘You know what?'

‘What?'

‘I think it's good Heidi's found someone like you.'

He hesitated. ‘What do you mean: someone like me?' ‘Someone safe and dependable.'

Andrew cleared his throat. ‘That's not the most exciting description I've heard of myself…Safe?'

Jade fixed her gaze on something in the backyard. ‘You know, when Heidi first came to Byron, she was absolutely crazy.'

‘What do you mean crazy? What did she do?'

Jade threw her hands in the air. ‘You name it, she did it. It was like she didn't care about anything. That was when I first met her. And we had so much fun together— just partying, taking drugs and going out dancing. Then she started busking with Tim, and I guess both of us had a thing for him—but in the end, Tim chose me.'

Andrew looked down at his hands. ‘I see.'

‘Things were kind of tense for a while. But then you arrived. And it's great, 'cause you've brought things back into balance.'

‘I have?'

‘Yeah…And…well…Heidi can be a bit unstable at times. I mean, the scar on her arm…' ‘No, you've got it wrong. She was pushed through a window when she was a kid—' Jade laughed then stopped suddenly, covering her mouth. ‘Wow…oops…That's what she told you? And you believed her?' She stood and wandered into the kitchen, shaking her head. ‘No wonder she likes you so much.'

Andrew lay awake staring at the book Heidi had left on the floor.
1001 Baby Names.
It was bookmarked a third of the way in. She'd told him she was on the pill, but he'd never seen her taking it. He'd seen her taking sleeping tablets at night, but never anything that looked like the contraceptive pill on a regular basis. Maybe she wasn't on the pill at all. Maybe she was looking for a sperm donor and would kick him out of the house the moment she fell pregnant. He realised he didn't know much about her.

‘Are you still awake?' he whispered.

She sighed. ‘How could I possibly be asleep when you keep jiggling around like that?'

‘What's with the baby names book?'

She switched the lamp on and looked at him. ‘Don't you want to have a baby with me?'

‘What?'

‘We could have triplets,' she said, smiling now as, lying across his belly, she snatched the book off the floor and flicked through the pages. ‘Samson…Terrence and…Tariq.'

‘I'm not ready to be a father. And you'd be a terrible mother.'

‘Why?'

‘From the sound of things, you party too much.'

‘But I'd stop for our babies.'

‘Seriously,' Andrew said. ‘What's the book for?'

She threw the book onto the floor and cuddled up to him. ‘Sometimes I like to think about changing my name.'

‘But I love your name. It suits you.'

‘I don't like it.'

‘What would you change it to?'

‘Delilah.'

‘You don't look like a Delilah.'

‘That's 'cause you know me as Heidi. If I introduced myself as Delilah, you'd think I looked like a Delilah.'

‘You're actually serious about this?'

‘I've printed out the application forms—I just don't have enough ID.'

‘Please don't change your name.'

‘Why not? It'd be like starting over. Closing that old file called Heidi and opening a new one called Delilah.' ‘It would still be the same file.'

She rolled away from him, switched off the lamp and fell silent.

‘I'm gonna get really trashed this weekend,' she mumbled later, almost asleep.

The bed frame creaked as he propped himself up on one elbow. ‘What? All weekend?'

She yawned. ‘Yep.'

He searched for her hand, stroked her wrist and played with her fingers. ‘Why?'

She paused a long time before answering. ‘It's the anniversary of my mum's accident.'

‘What accident?'

‘I don't want to talk about it right now…It's complicated.' She sighed. ‘Jade has organised for her brother, Sam, to drive up from Sydney to party with us for the weekend.'

He stopped stroking her hand. ‘Why do you need him to party?'

‘He's a dealer…And he's going to bring coke. Lots of it.'

Andrew hesitated and Heidi sighed.

‘Come on, Andy. Don't be judgmental.'

‘I'm not. It's just…I didn't know you were into coke.'

‘I knew you'd say that, which is exactly why I haven't invited you to party with us. It's just for one weekend— and besides…There's another reason we've organised him to come up.'

‘What?'

‘He's just finished a sound engineering course and he's set up a studio.'

‘So?'

‘So Jade and I are going to convince him to invite us down to record with him.'

‘In Sydney?'

‘Yeah—pretty cool, hey?'

‘Yeah,' he replied.

They fell silent.

‘Heidi?' Andrew said.

‘Yeah?'

‘Tell me what happened to your mum.'

She freed her hand from his and moved away.

‘Sorry.' He rolled towards her, wrapped his arm around her. ‘I shouldn't have asked.'

‘I want to tell you about it…but it's difficult.'

‘But you will tell me eventually, won't you?'

‘Uhuh...'

‘Heidi?'

‘Mmm?'

He wanted to ask her about the scar on her arm, but couldn't find the right words. ‘Why did you choose me?' he asked instead.

‘What do you mean?'

‘You could have anyone you want—but you chose me. Why?'

She turned, traced the edge of his face in the dark and kissed him.

‘I don't know, Andy—'cause you make me smile. And there's something…I don't know…homely and familiar about you, something calming—maybe it's because we both come from boring old Adelaide.'

‘But you don't think that
I'm
boring, do you?'

She laughed. ‘Sometimes you're kinda dorky, but I like that about you. You're gentle and chivalrous. I know I can trust you. I'm sick of wild boys who do nasty things.'

Andrew pinched her inner thigh. ‘Hey, I can be wild.'

‘Yeah maybe.' She laughed again and ruffled his hair. ‘Maybe.'

‘I can.'

‘C'mon then. What's the wildest thing you've ever done? Stole some cigarettes from your piano teacher?' She laughed. ‘Played a Bach concerto in swing rhythm?'

‘Why? What's the wildest thing you've ever done?' he countered.

She paused and when she replied, her voice was soft. ‘Too many things.'

‘Like what?'

She sighed. ‘It doesn't matter. All I'm saying, Andy, is that I used to think wild was fun and exciting, and I still like wild sometimes, but I like other things now, too.'

‘What? Boring and safe?

‘No—sweet and dependable. What brought all this up, anyway?'

‘I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if I was just an easy option for you after Jade and Tim got together.'

She sighed. ‘I guess there was an element of that— initially.'

‘Oh…' ‘But now I've got to know you and I notice different things about you. I think we suit each other. I really like you.'

‘I think you're amazing, Heidi.'

They kissed briefly in the dark. Andrew slid his hand along her side and down the length of her arm, pausing when he touched her scar. She rolled away from him.

‘Goodnight.'

He put his arms around her, kissed her shoulder and rested his head on the pillow.

eight

Jade's brother sauntered down the hallway wearing a white singlet with Adidas track pants and sneakers. He had Jade's blue eyes and black hair, but a pale complexion and a medium, flabby build.

‘Boys,' Sam said, nodding to Tim and Andrew. ‘How are we?' Without breaking stride, he continued out the back door to Heidi and Jade. ‘You girls ready to party?' he called, the door slapping shut behind him.

Tim and Andrew looked at each other, unimpressed, as the girls jumped to their feet and fussed over him. Tim stood and made for the back door and Andrew followed. He slid his hands around Heidi's waist and breathed in the scent of lavender in her hair.

‘So…Sam,' Tim said. ‘Sounds like you've got a killer studio set-up. We'd love to come down and record with you.'

‘Don't be rude, babe.' Jade scowled, tapping the ash off her cigarette. ‘He's just got here.'

‘What do you guys play again?' Sam asked.

‘High energy instrumentals,' Tim replied. ‘Heidi's on the drum kit, I'm on djembe and Andy's on keys.'

‘How much moolah can you spend?' Sam asked.

‘Well,' Tim turned to Jade and, when she didn't intervene, he laughed. ‘None, actually.'

‘Look, mate,' Sam said. ‘Just 'cause you're seeing my sister, it doesn't mean you get a free ride. And no offence, but your music doesn't sound my kind of thing.'

‘So what is your kind of thing?'

‘I produce electronic dance music with chick vocals. I don't really do the whole hippy thing.'