Sunrise in Bali - Across the Pond Trilogy (Book 1) (13 page)

After
about 30 minutes the girls joined Mark and Henry in the bar for a
quick drink before moving into the main restaurant for dinner. For
the next couple of hours they went through several courses, drinking
copious amounts of wine as they did. Jenny could tell that the drink
was slowly getting to Sarah, her eyes beginning to wander towards
Mark once more who, similarly tipsy, seemed to be reflecting her
interest. Jenny could sense something in the air, and this was
confirmed shortly after dinner when the two of them quickly absented
themselves from the table and dashed off up to the girls room. “We'll
be back in 20 minutes,” Sarah had whispered into Jenny's ear as she
got up to leave. Jenny knew what she meant.

Jenny
remained at the table with Henry for a while. They talked further
about their lives back home, about their families and their ambitions
for the future. Eventually, they got round to talking about their
past relationships, a sore subject for them both. Jenny started,
describing her relationship with Trent: how she thought they might
have had a future, how she found him in bed with her roommate, how
she later discovered that he'd been cheating on her the entire year.
“I guess he seemed to be the best guy I'd found, or that's what I
thought at least. He was sweet to me most of the time...I just think
he wanted more from me that I wasn't ready to give him.”

Jenny
could see that Henry knew what she was talking about. “That's the
cowards way out,” he said. “If you want more from someone, you've
got two options: you either wait until they're ready, or you end the
relationship first and then look elsewhere. You don't do both at the
same time. If you truly care for someone, you should be willing to
wait.”

Jenny
agreed with what Henry was saying. He had a very mature attitude, and
his tone of voice and seriousness made it clear to Jenny that he was
utterly against cheating. Jenny couldn't help but ask: “have you
ever cheated on anyone?”

Henry's
response was very matter of fact: “no, and I never would. If you
feel you have to cheat, the relationship isn't right. I know it's not
as simple as that, but that's how I see it. If you're in a position
where you want to cheat, you need to either work on the relationship
or end it. If you love someone, cheating should never be on your
agenda. You might have feelings for other people, or might think
about them in that way, but it's easy enough to just not act on those
feelings. It's about self control.”

“
You
really do seem heavily against it...which is obviously good.”

“
Well...”
Henry paused.... “my dad cheated heavily on my mum. It broke our
family up. I'd never want to inflict the sort of pain my mum suffered
on anyone. Never.”

They
sat for a moment in silence before Henry spoke again. “That's also
why my last relationship broke down.” Jenny could see that there
was a deep river of emotion running through Henry that was starting
to bubble to the surface. “I lived with my girlfriend at
university,” he said slowly. “By the time we got to our final
couple of months, things were getting more difficult. I found out
that she'd been seeing someone else but....but we had to carry on
living together. It was hard....” he began to trail off.

“
But,”
he continued after a few moments, “that's all over now. My feelings
for her are gone, they've been taken....by someone else.” He locked
eyes with her as he spoke those final words, leaning in closer and
stroking the hair out of her eyes. “You've changed things for me
Jenny.”

Jenny
could relate to everything he was saying. It was as if he was
describing her own feelings, her own thoughts. She looked straight
back into his solemn eyes, “and you me.”

As
they were about to kiss a sudden laughing and flurry of feet could be
heard behind them. “Alright you two lovebirds, save it for a
private setting,” it was Mark, bounding along with Sarah, both
looking somewhat disheveled.

Jenny
and Henry drew back from each other as the other two sat back down.
“Apparently there's a cinema here....a private cinema,” Mark
carried on, rushing his words. “We've booked us in to watch
Titanic
at 9, so in like 10 minutes....it's all just us, no-one else in
there. Cool huh?”

Despite
the badly timed interruption, Jenny liked the idea of it. “You can
bring food and drink in as well if you want, or get it
delivered...like room service,” Sarah had added.

With
that, they all got up and headed to a small convenience store next
door to the hotel to grab a couple of drinks and snacks. Soon after
they were stepping into the mini-cinema and settling in to watch the
film. There were about 6 rows of seats, 3 on either side of the
walkway down the middle, each of them large and comfortable. They sat
at the front, Sarah and Mark on one side and Jenny sitting with Henry
on the other. She wanted to sit closer to him, but the large chairs
were like armchairs, and there wasn't space for them both to sit in
one comfortably. Shortly into the film, however, Henry reached over
to Jenny's chair to grab her hand, giving her a kiss on the cheek as
he did. He seemed deep in thought though, and not totally focused on
the film. She could only assume he was thinking about his ex.

After
a mammoth 3 hours during which several more drinks were drunk and
Mark and Sarah disappeared to the 'back row' to make out, the film
finally took its bow. The ending always got to Jenny and she couldn't
help but keep a few tears from rolling down her cheeks. Henry turned
to her and smiled consolingly, wiping the tears from her eyes with
his big hands. They all left as the credits were rolling, Henry
holding Jenny's hand as they walked up and out of the room. “Mark,”
he shouted forward to Mark and Sarah, who were already stepping out
of the door, “we'd better get going.”

He
then turned back to Jenny. “I'd love to stay longer but we've got a
few things we need to do tomorrow morning. I know what he's like as
well....if we stay any longer he'll get more drunk and will be
nightmare tomorrow.”

Jenny
nodded. She knew that they'd be leaving early the following morning
and so tomorrow would be their last proper day on the island. “OK,
that makes sense.”

“
I'll
be back here tomorrow though, I'm excited about our first 'official'
date.” He said it with a bit of sarcasm, and Jenny knew it was
because it would probably end up being their only date. “I can't
wait as well,” she responded.

With
that Henry gestured to Mark to head off to the lobby where they'd be
able to order a cab, although Sarah was putting up a bit of a fight
to keep him with her. After telling her that he'd be back to see her
tomorrow though, Mark managed to extricate himself from her grasp,
and he and Henry disappeared off to the front of the hotel to make
their way back to Kuta.

Jenny
and Sarah wandered back to their rooms, Jenny hoping that it wasn't
too badly ransacked following Sarah's inevitable antics with Mark:
thankfully, only Sarah's bed had been used. Jenny didn't ask what had
happened - in all honesty she didn't want to know the details - but
Sarah couldn't help but enlighten her anyway. They talked for a
little while before Sarah eventually passed out, leaving Jenny alone
with her thoughts. She lay there, finding it hard to sleep, a mixture
of excitement about the following day, and sadness at what it
represented filling her mind. With her mind tumbling in both
directions, she finally succumbed to sleep as dawn approached.

By
the time Jenny woke up it was already the afternoon. She drowsily
looked over to the twin bed on the other side of the room to see
Sarah still purring away in her sleep, arms and legs sprawled
everywhere. She hadn't slept until late: the last time she even
checked the time it was 4.30 am, and she didn't think she got to
sleep for a little while after that.

Her
head ached a little bit, partly due to dehydration, partly lack of
sleep, so she rummaged around in her bag for some medication. As she
filled a glass with water and downed a couple of pills, she could
hear Sarah stirring. She knew she'd need something for her hangover,
so left the pills and water next to her bed before heading off down
to the pool to read. After a few minutes of trying to re-engage with
Thomas and Charlotte's burgeoning love affair, however, she gave up,
her mind preoccupied with her own dramas. She didn't know when Henry
would arrive later, but hoped it would be soon: the more time she'd
get with him, the better.

By
about 1 pm Sarah appeared looking groggy, and suggesting they get
some food. “Fried food, that's what I need,” she said, before
gingerly walking to the beach bar to check the menu. Minutes later
she'd ordered a place of chicken wings, fries, and onions rings, to
be washed down with pepsi. It was her classic hangover cure, and
tended to work more often than not.

The
afternoon wasn't a particularly productive one. Except for a short
trip down to the local beach, they did little more than relax by the
pool. Jenny didn't want to go too far, seeing as neither Henry nor
Mark had taken down either of their numbers, and she had no idea when
they'd appear. Being restricted to the hotel and pool area, however,
wasn't overly problematic for them, and they were both happy to
recuperate where they were.

By
5ish they decided to check if the cinema was taken. The boys hadn't
arrived yet and they were confident they'd check the cinema if they
couldn't find them by the pool, bar, or in their room. As soon as
they found out that it was free, they got a classic rom-com –
How
to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
– up on the big screen to keep them
entertained until Henry and Mark pitched up. Jenny was starting to
get strangely nervous as each minute ticked by: a mixture of classic
nerves she felt on any first date, and concern that maybe he wouldn't
show up. As the film began to draw to a close, she was beginning to
think that maybe he'd decided to cut their relationship short where
it was...maybe he didn't like goodbyes? Maybe he couldn't find her
and had already left?

With
irrational thoughts circulating through her mind, she returned with
Sarah to their room. She walked out onto the balcony and looked out
over the pool: it was sparkling bright under the darkening sky, with
only a smattering of people still enjoying its warm grasp.

She
looked down and then saw him: Henry, looking up at her from below,
clasping a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand. He smiled, his
bright white teeth shining against his dark skin and five-
o
-clock
shadow, set within a strong dimpled jaw. His brown wavy hair was
swept to one side, set back in place by a pair of sunglasses. He wore
a white shirt, a couple of buttons down, sleeves rolled up, and a
pair of dark blue jeans, hoisted up around his hips by a brown
leather belt. He quickly stepped forward, disappearing beneath the
balcony and up the staircase. She turned and walked to the door and
within moments he was there, rounding the top of the stairs and
marching quickly towards her. When he reached her he slowed his step,
stopping two feet from where she was. “There are for you,” he
said, handing her the flowers, “they were the best I could find.”

“
They're
beautiful,” she replied, smiling, a tear of joy...relief...sadness,
creeping from the corner of her eye. “I...I need to get ready...I
didn't know when you'd come,” she continued.

“
That's
OK, there's time. I'm sorry I took so long....I'll be down at the bar
waiting for you. Sarah, Mark's hungry for some dinner at the
restaurant if you're keen.”

He
left, and wandered back down to the beach bar, sitting over a quiet
beer with Mark. Sarah didn't take long to get ready, and was soon
headed off with Mark to the hotel restaurant, leaving Henry alone at
the bar. Jenny could see him once more, writing in his journal, as
she prepared herself in the room above. After a further 10 minutes,
she appeared in front of him, wearing a beautiful summer dress.

“
You
look stunning,” he told her as she walked towards him, catching the
attention of everyone who remained near the pool. He stood up and
clasped both her hands, “truly stunning.”

He
led Jenny off towards the lobby, where a car was waiting, “oh no,
has that car been waiting the entire time....won't he charge for
that? You should have told me...I'd have been quicker.”

“
Jenny,
don't worry. It's not a problem. I'd rather you take as long as you
want and pay extra for the car than have you rush.” He opened the
back door for her and she stepped in, noticing the lavish leather
interior and bar. He appeared at the other door, and
signaled
to the driver to get going. As they set off he opened a small cabinet
door to reveal a bottle of champagne and two chilled glasses. This
was far more than Jenny expected. He poured them a drink as they
cruised along, mopeds rushing by, colorful lights guiding their path.

It
wasn't long before they came to a beautiful bar overlooking the beach
just beyond the main hustle and bustle of Kuta. Henry got out, walked
round the car, and opened Jenny's door before paying the driver. He
then turned and led Jenny up into the bar, climbing the stairs to
find a small table on the balcony with beautiful views of the
coastline. They ordered some drinks and chatted for a while, both
commenting on the view down to the beach and beyond. Henry spoke so
eloquently about what he saw, the words trickling so easily off his
tongue: Jenny was sure that his ambitions to become a writer were set
on good foundations.