My Never: a novella (7 page)

My eyes darted open. I
swung my legs over the side and shrugged into my robe. “What flavour did you
get?”

“Knew that would get you
moving.” He tugged on a pair of track pants. “Almond, custard - they were out
of blueberry.”

“Aw.” I grabbed an almond
Danish.

“So, what’re we doin’
today?”

“Some boxes have to go to
Mum’s - she wants to re-meet you, so we are having dinner there tonight.”

“And this morning?”

“Uploading pictures of
your naked butt to my laptop.”

“Hm. Not sure I can let you
do that.”

“You’re not the boss of
me.”

“Am too.”

“Oh, and did I tell you
that Mum wants to throw us an engagement party?”

He thought about that for
a second. “You can get us out of that, right?”

“Will you let me upload
the photos?”

“That’s blackmail.”

“I know.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll see what I can do,”
I said.

He tore off a chunk of
Danish. “When did you take these photos?”

“I’ll never tell.”

His eyes roamed over my
belongings. “Are you sure everything’s gonna fit?”

“It has to. I’m not
leaving Perth without my books.”

“I could always strap you
to the roof.” He smirked.

“That’s not funny,” I
said.

“It is.”

“We are stopping for
coffee, right?”

“Yep.” Troy enclosed me
in his arms. “I know you’re gonna miss your apartment.” His lips touched my
forehead. “But Ruby and I have something special waiting for you back home.”

Home. I couldn’t wait to
be there.

I chugged the remainders
of my melted iced coffee.

“Just
a few more kilometres,” said Troy, “And we’ll be on the longest straightest
road in the world.” His face lit up.

My
eyes drifted from the road to him then back. “You’re really excited about
seeing it, aren’t you?”

“Yeh.”
He unwrapped a muesli bar. “You’re not?”

“Thrilled.”
Maybe not as much as him. But who doesn’t love a road trip?

The
Prius coughed and spluttered.

Troy
cut his eyes to me. “What was that?”

“I
think-” The car slowed. My foot squeezed the accelerator. Nothing.
Oh no.
No, no, no, no, no! Not here
. I managed to pull onto the side of the road,
in time for the engine to cut out.

Troy’s
forefinger tapped the fuel gage. “We shouldn’t have run out of petrol. I’ll
have a look.” He jumped out.

I
popped the bonnet and followed.

Beads
of sweat formed on his forehead. His eyes swept over the battery and radiator.
“Hm.” He slid under the vehicle.

“What
are you doing?” I said.

“Checking
the fuel tank.” He was silent for a moment. “Ah, not good.”

“Is
it fixable?”

“There’s
a dent in it. We’re out of petrol.”

“Someone
will come along, right?”

He
straightened and dusted his hands off. “Could be hours.”

I
kicked the wheel. “Stupid car.”

The
journey home is never easy. I should have known there would be a hiccup or two
along the way.

“Let’s
get some shade.” He reached for my hand and towed me over to a large tree.

Two hours later, not a
car had passed. No mobile reception, either. I paced under the line of trees.
“I’m hungry.” We would have been eating lunch by now.

Troy
stood and stretched. “There’s a couple muesli bars left.” He reached into the
back seat.

Bleating
emanated from behind us. Four single-humped camels came into view.

I
froze. My eyes widened. “Troy.” Was I so starved that I was envisioning this? I
clenched my eyes shut.
Cheeseburger and fries. Cheeseburger and fries.
I
opened one eye. Nope. Not a single fry in sight. Damn.

Troy
swivelled then backed up, pushing me behind him. I peeked around his shoulder
at the giant creatures as they crossed the highway.

“They
aren’t dangerous.” I swatted his arm away and reached for a bar.

He
sighed. “Someone should come along soon.”

Neither
of us wanted to sleep here.

“We
could hop on a camel,” he teased.

I
shot him an icy glare.

“Thought
you said they’re not dangerous?”

“I
call dibs on the back seat,” I said.

“Don’t
bother.” He grinned and pointed down the highway.

I
squinted.
The
black dot on the horizon was headed our way.

“I’m
gonna see if they can take me to the nearest town,” he said.

“You
are going to leave me here alone?”

He
touched his lips to my forehead. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

He
better be.

“Lock
yourself in the car,” he said.

I
brushed dirt off his back as the Hyundai slowed. The window rolled down. A
couple in their twenties grinned at us.

“You
guys need any help?” said the man.

“We’re
out of petrol - dent in the tank,” said Troy, “Could you give me a lift?”

“Sure,”
he said.

The
woman peered around him. “There’s room for both of you.”

“Oh,
thanks,” I said, “But everything I own is in that car.”

She
smiled, reassuring. “Okeydokey.”

Troy
handed me the last muesli bar. His hands cupped my face as he kissed me. “Love
you.” He slid into the back.

I
waved as they sped off. Was I ever going to see him again?

I chewed on my thumbnail.
An hour had passed and there were no signs of them. Had I lost my husband
before I married him? I checked my phone for the hundredth time - still no
service. Where was he? Was he safe? And was he bringing food?

Ten
minutes later, I heard a rumble of an engine. It cut off. I sat up and peered
out of the back window.

Troy
smiled at me as he loped over. He leaned through the window. “Are you glad I’m
back or that I brought food?”

I
unlocked the door. “A little of both.”

He
lifted me into his arms for a beat then dropped me on my feet and pressed his
lips to my forehead. “Roni and Ryan.” Troy gestured behind himself. “They’re
good people - from Cairns. She’s a little-” He searched for the right word.
“Eccentric. Owns a cupcake bakery.”

I
felt my eyes widen. “Cupcakes?”

He
nodded. I flicked my eyes to them. Roni grinned and waved.

“She
wants to bake for Ruby’s birthday,” he said, “I told her yes. Do you mind?”

“Not
at all. But, they are strangers, Troy.”

He
placed his hands on my shoulders. “There’s nothing to worry about, you’ll see.”

She
jogged over. “Hi! Troy’s told us a lot about you.”

“Oh?”
I slid my eyes to him. “He better have been nice.”

“He
was. Super nice.” She flashed another grin.

Ryan
ambled over and nudged her.

“Oh,
and I got you an iced coffee.” She offered me a plastic take-away cup. “Troy
told us you were a caffeine addict.”

“Just
a little.” I returned her smile and took it. “Thanks.”

She
vibrated with energy. “I can bake anything you want me to for the party - cake,
cupcakes, pastries, m-”

Ryan
rolled his eyes. “Never mind her. She had a double espresso back at the petrol
station.”

Roni
raised her hand. “Guilty.”

“We’ll
let you guys go. You must want to get back on the road.” Ryan reached for her
hand.

“Call
us about the party!” she said, “Troy’s got our number.”

“Okay,
I will.” I returned their waves as they sped past then swivelled to face Troy.
“This has turned out to be the worst damn day of my life.”

He
cut his eyes from them to me.

Uh-oh
. “Except for the day we
broke up.”

“Sure.”
He held up a paper bag. “C’mon, let’s eat.”

“You
didn’t have lunch?”

He
propped himself up against a tree. “No. My fiancée was alone and starving. Why
would I leave her longer than necessary?”

Butterflies
fluttered in my stomach. How lucky was I, to be marrying him?

“I
got’cha two burgers.” He smirked. “Thought I was gonna get my hand ripped off
last time.”

“Hm.
Don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not.” I shovelled fries
into my mouth then blew a sigh. “I can’t wait to get into bed.”

He
arched an eyebrow.

“With
or without you, doesn’t matter.”

“Soon
as I finish eating, I’ll get the Prius running again.”

My
lips tugged into a grin. “Love you, awesome car nerd.”

I flopped face-down onto
the mattress. “Bed. Feels good.”

“Uh-oh.”
Troy pitched his messenger bag onto the bed. “You’re speaking in broken
sentences. You must be really tired.”

“Mm-hm.”

“You
wanna grab an early dinner or crash first?”

“Food.”

“Okay.
I’ll go get us something.” His lips pressed into my hair. “Back soon.”

My
eyes closed and I drifted into slumber.

Moments
later, a ringing dragged me out of my sleep. Troy’s phone vibrated on the
bed-side table. I groaned and tugged the pillow over my head. It stopped and I
convinced myself that I was dreaming. After a beat, the phone rang again. I
sighed, peeled back the corner of the pillow and stared at the screen - Lauren.

Should
I answer it? Whatever she had to say, I could handle. I reached for it.
“Hello?”

“Who’s
this?” she said.

“Monique.”

“The
bitch trying to steal my family? Yeh, I heard about you.”

I
sat up. “I’m not trying to replace you, Lauren. I could never do that.”

“Right.”
She snorted. “Is Troy there?”

“He’s
out. Did you want to leave a message?”

Beep,
beep, beep.

Super
.

The
door opened and Troy stepped through. “Hey, Gorgeous.” His eyes roamed over my
face. “What’s up?”

I
rested my chin in a hand. “Lauren called. Said I was a bitch.”

He
heaved a sigh, dropped the containers on the table and sat next to me. “Sorry.”

I
shrugged a shoulder. “Not your fault.”

His
brow furrowed. “She’s the mother of my daughter. It partly is.”

I
reached for a container and flicked it open. Fries. “She’s jealous. And nuts -
no offense.”

“None
taken.”

“She’s
not going to make it easy for us, is she?”

His
arm curled around my shoulders. “Don’t you worry about that.” His lips brushed
across my temple.

Us
getting married had to be hard on her.

“So.”
He grabbed a handful of fries. “You wanna watch some TV? I think there’s a
repeat of
The
King of Queens
on.”

“Sure.”

Before I passed out
again, I called Mum.

“Hi,
Darling!” she said, “How are you?”

There
was no simple answer. Between spending hours by myself, not knowing if my
fiancé was alive, to the problems with Lauren, I wasn’t sure how I felt.

“Moni?”
Concern flooded her voice.

I
had taken too long to answer. “I’m fine.”

“Ah-ha.
And I’m Martha Stewart.” She was silent for a beat. “Where’s Troy?”

“Shower.”

“So,
you wanna tell me what’s really going on?”

I
filled her in.

“She
hurt my step-granddaughter-to-be? What’s her address?”

I
smirked. “What are you going to do - send her a nasty letter? You are on the
other side of the country,” I said, “Speaking of, when are you coming for a
visit?”

“Soon.”

“Let
me know. I’ll buy you a ticket.”

“No.
I’ll buy my own ticket, thank you.”

I
heard a male voice in the background. “Who’s that?”

“Jay,”
she said, “He, uh, wanted to borrow the Ute again.”

His
dad had one. Something’s up. “What are you hiding?”

The
bathroom door opened.

“I’d
better go,” she said and hung up.

Troy
strolled out, a towel secured around his waist. “Who’re you talking to?”

“Mum.”

His
eyes widened in mock curiosity. “Oh? How is she?”

“There’s
something she’s not telling me. And Jay was there.” My brow creased.

“I’m
sure it’s nothing.” He turned his back to me as he dressed.

“What
are
you
hiding from me?”

He
pulled a shirt over his head. “I’m not hiding anything.”

I
marched over and grabbed his jaw. “What happened to
no secrets
?”

“I
promise, it’s nothing bad.”

My
grip slackened.

“It’s
a surprise,” he said, “I can’t tell you anything more.”

I
released him. “Fine.” It had better involve chocolate.

He
tugged on a pair of track pants, a smirk growing on his lips. “You’re so cute
when you’re frustrated.”

“I
am?”

“Yep.”
His arms knocked my legs from under me then pitched me onto the bed. His
fingers unbuttoned my shirt, brushing his lips across the bare skin as it was
revealed.

I
tugged on his collar and he shifted
closer, his lips trailing
up my neck.

“We
have an early start tomorrow, remember?” I said.

“And?”
A hand slid over my stomach. “I’ll buy you a double espresso in the morning.”

* * *

“Make it a quadruple,” I
said the next morning as we waited in line for breakfast. I didn’t get a lot of
shut-eye. Restless night, I guess. Too much on my mind.

His
head swivelled in my direction. “You’re talking espresso, not pancakes, right?”