Mia’s laughter ended with a snort. ‘I’m being your wingman. Err, wingwoman.’
‘I’m totally not interested. In fact, I’d rather get one of those bull-nose piercings than date a newly divorced dad with a newborn, and you know how much I hate those piercings.’
‘I’m talking about proud uncles and colleagues coming in with big bunches of flowers, you doofus. I’m not a loony. The mums in there were lovely. As soon as they heard I hadtwo single best friends, they gave me a heads-up anytime a prospective match came in.’
‘Nope, not happening,’ Clem said, picking up her pace again. The girls would be home soon and she’d promised them fresh biscuits. ‘I’ve got a firm rule about blind dates, and that’s “when hell freezes over”.’
Mia’s intentions were good, but her chances of finding love for Clem, when Clem wasn’t sure she even wanted it, were slim to none.
The sky was ablaze with red, yellow, pink and orange in all its panoramic glory as the cray fishing boat glided across the ocean on a spectacular spring morning.
‘It’s not bad, eh?’ Jeff was wearing only a light jacket over his shorts and t-shirt, and even though it had been cool enough to light the fire two days earlier, the day was off to a warm start. He and Spencer worked together unpacking the equipment needed for a day of hauling in southern rock lobster, letting the boat’s autopilot lead them to their first stop. This afternoon they’d be having lunch with Mia and the boys, but for now it was just him and Jeff, the boat, the water and the sunrise.
‘Magnificent,’ Spencer agreed, his smile stretching almost from ear to ear. He hadn’t been out on Jeff’s boat since last spring, and as nature put on this spectacular show, and the water reflected it back up at them in every direction, he wondered why he’d left it so long between trips.
‘Not a bad office,’ Jeff said, checking the trio of monitors displaying the GPS, ocean depth and floor mapping images. ‘I can’t imagine spending my days inside a classroom, all cooped up with entitled teenagers, then dealing with emails and calls from their parents the moment you’re clocked off. “My darling Tarquin wouldneverdo that.” “Can’t you seehow gifted my precious Beatrice is, she shouldcertainlybe school captain.”’ He shuddered, slapping a hand on Spencer’s back. ‘Couldn’t think of anything worse.’
‘They’d never hire a grumpy bugger like you, anyway. And there’s plenty to like about the job, I bet Mia’s shed a few tears at Year 12 graduation ceremonies in her time. The kids make you proud, even the ones that give you the most grief. When they nail their exams or score an apprenticeship, man, it hits hard.’
Jeff laughed. ‘You’re an old softie, mate.’
Their banter made the journey pass quickly, and by the time Jeff had finished telling Spencer about the new Ducati motorbike he had his eye on, the sun was up and they were nearing their first GPS mark.
‘I hope you’re feeling lucky today, Hawkie,’ Jeff said, slowing the engine and pulling up alongside three buoys. The technique to hook the rope, loop it around the winch and bring up the pot from ten fathoms below was like lamb marking and drenching, a series of tasks that ran together automatically when you’d done them enough times. Jeff did a drumroll on the boat’s fibreglass side as the pot came into view with a dozen red flapping crustaceans inside.
‘Yeeeowww,’ he howled, giving Spencer a fist bump. ‘It’s gonna be a good day, man.’ Jeff measured the crayfish while Spencer removed the half-empty bait containers and replaced them with fresh ones.
‘You’re good luck, Hawkie. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’ Jeff’s grin broadened when the next five pots they pulled up were equally successful. ‘Tell me about this TV sheila. Guessing there won’t be wedding bells ringing anytime soon?’
Spencer looked up from the carp, mackerel and bony cod he was stuffing into the bait pot.
‘Nope.’
Jeff had been knee-deep in nappies and running Reggie around since baby Fred’s arrival, and Spencer was surprised that the topic of Emily was even on his radar.
‘Would’ve thought you had bigger fish to fry than worrying about me, mate.’
Jeff feigned a hurt look. ‘Course I worry. That’s what mates do. And who else is going to jump on the cray boat at a few hours’ notice and help out when my pain-in-the-arse deckie pulls a sickie?’
‘I’m no good to you on a school day.’ Spencer laughed, tossing the old bait to the hovering albatrosses that followed the boat. ‘Lucky for you he had the courtesy to get crook on a weekend.’
‘If he’s even sick, that is,’ Jeff said, tossing the craypot overboard and throwing the rest of the line in after it. ‘Here’s hoping he isn’t racking up a drug debt or locked up in a police cell in Robe. I want a clean boat, is that too much to ask? But stop deflecting. What’s shaking with Madam Brewington-Major?’
Spencer watched his friend tap at the GPS and power the boat forward.
‘Nothing, it just wasn’t a good fit. I should’ve listened to my gut instead of going through with the whole kit and caboodle. I’m glad it’s over, honestly. Give me a swarm of bees or a drug-hungry deckhand over TV cameras and fast-tracked relationships any day.’
There was something about the vastness of the ocean, being on a single boat bobbing around on the waves with no land in sight and only the occasional albatross for company, that felt more poignant than any counsellor’s room or confessional box.
‘That sucks, Hawkie.’
‘Half the cast were having it off with people they weren’t even matched with, and the other half you probably wouldn’t want to touch with a ten-foot barge pole. If the agricultureindustry was relying on any of those people to produce our country’s food and fibres, we’d be up the creek. Maybe I’ve had my chance at true love, and anything else would be greedy.’
Jeff pulled back on the horsepower and they slowed as the next buoys came into sight. ‘I don’t think it’s greedy. Mia doesn’t either, and I bet if you asked Addison, or Ian and Louisa, or your folks, they’d say you deserve it.’
Spencer felt his friend’s laser focus, but he kept his gaze trained on the fluorescent orange buoys and the rope he needed to hook to bring them on board. They were halfway through the eighty pots Jeff was licensed for, if he didn’t broach the subject now, he never would.
‘Have you seen Clem recently?’
