She waved to a group of women further along the beach. They waved back but there were no longer any calls for her to join them. They respected her decision not to join a group they called the Mermaids who swam daily throughout the year. She did the same, except from a distance.
She deposited her things under a stone by the breakwater as usual, and walked down to the sea, no hesitation as she strode in and dived under as soon as she could. The smack of cold water cleared her head, just as she knew it would. And she swam freestyle, striking out through the waves until the waves grew calmer. Eventually she turned, treading water and looked over the rolling waves and long stretch of sand to the houses which sat on land that was once sand dunes. Behind these the hills rose abruptly into the blue sky.
She always felt there was something frontier-like about MacLeod’s Cove. The Maori settlement would have made little impact on the land, and the later developments still seemed a little incongruous in the raw landscape, with the soaring escarpment reaching up to 500 metres behind them. This morning the escarpment was bathed in easterly sunshine which glanced off the ridges, casting the gullies into shadow. The light made it appear enigmatic, but the hills were very real beneath their shifting, mysterious cloak of light. The essential reality of the hills never changed. They just appeared different.
She kicked away. A bit like her. A bit like him. They were just people, clothed in a few mysteries. How important were these mysteries, really? In the scheme of things, how often did someone come along who you were not only attracted to, but who you knew was fundamentally solid.
Daniel was right. They didn’t know each other, not really. What harm would it do to get to know each other? It wouldn’t mean revealing what had happened to her in the past. Those secrets could remain safe. He understood that now. And maybe she could help him to learn to trust again. And help herself in the process she thought, as she returned to shore.
By the time she emerged from the water, she knew she had no choice but to accept his invitation. Because her feelings for him flowed more strongly than the current at MacLeod’s Cove. And there wasn’t much point in swimming against a current, because you’d always find yourself in its grip. Like a rip, taking you out to sea, you had to swim across it before you were safe. There was no avoiding it. You simply had to deal with it.
And it wasn’t like her to avoid things.
The Mermaids had finished their swim and were walking past as she emerged from the sea.
‘It’s a bit rough for us today,’ one woman said.
She turned to look at the sea. She’d been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn’t really noticed how high the waves were. Raised beside the sea, she’d always been a strong swimmer, secure in her strength and skill to beat the waves, apart from the strongest currents. The trick was knowing when you were beat.
‘But you made it look easy,’ another Mermaid said. ‘Why don’t you join us sometime? If you’d like the company.’
It must be a new member she thought. She didn’t recognise the woman speaking. ‘Thanks, but I have my own routine.’
‘There’s something to be said for doing your own thing,’ said another woman with a smile. ‘Room for everyone.’
As she towelled herself dry, she watched the group of women leave. There was room for everyone in MacLeod’s Cove and that was one of the many reasons why she stayed. But, for the first time, she found herself looking at the group who were chatting and laughing together as they walked up the beach towards the steps which would take them to the road, with a twang of envy. How lucky they all were to be so easy with each other. She stopped, for a moment, imagining herself part of the group.
Then she turned, pulled on her kaftan, slipped on her sandals and began the return trip to her cottage.
She didn’t need to re-read Daniel’s letter. She went immediately to her laptop and sent him an email. She didn’t think twice. She simply wrote what came from her heart.
‘I’d love to.’
She clicked send before she had time to re-consider.
Ever since Dan received Augi’s reply, he’d been hyper. Kate and Lucy had been asking him what was going on, but he wasn’t going to make the mistake of telling them. This was between him and Augi. But when it came to Saturday night, it seemed he wasn’t able to slip down the stairs in his smart suit without anyone noticing. But it wasn’t his sisters who gave him away. That came from a surprising source.
Liam opened the door, just as he was going out.
‘Uncle Dan!’ said Liam with a big smile that went straight to Dan’s heart.
‘Liam,’ he greeted, looking over his shoulder in case his sisters had heard. ‘By yourself?’
‘Yeah,’ Liam said in a self-consciously casual way. ‘Just coming back from George’s. Sam said he’d pick me up from here because he and Mum will be a bit late.’
‘Ah, cool.’ As much as Dan loved his nephew, he was anxious to get going without anyone seeing. ‘Go on in then, your Grandma is out the back with your mum and Sam.’
Liam walked past, and opened the door and Dan thought he’d got away with it when he heard Liam tell everyone. ‘Uncle Dan’s dressed up.’
By the time he’d fumbled with the door knob and grabbed his phone from the hall table, they were upon him.
‘Hey, Dan!’ called Jen. ‘Where are you going all dressed up?’
‘None of your business,’ he said, shooting her a dark look. A look that softened when his mother appeared.
‘Darling,’ she said, kissing him on the cheek. ‘How lovely to see you’re going out.’
‘It would be even more lovely to know where he’s going. Or more to the point, who he’s going with,’ said Jen raising her eyebrows.
