The Beat of Safiri Bay (13 page)

“Oh, well that is a good start.” I check the clock on the wall and get up to take my bag. “I will have to get going, it’s getting late.” He pulls a sad face and I laugh at his boyish look. He really does have the cutest baby face I have ever seen. “Can I see you tomorrow?” Yes, and the day after that and everyday that follows. “Sure, I’ll let you know when and where.” He picks up my crate and I carry my guitar. We load the equipment carefully on the back of the van; I will have to drive very slowly. I walk to the door of the van and he follows me, “Goodnight Lay,” and he gives me a long hug, my one arm stays rather stiffly by my side and the other hand touches his warm side, “Goodnight.” My shaky leg has difficulty pressing down the clutch but I drive away as calmly as I can. I have fallen for him, no denying it and no fighting it. Lane Rose, you are in trouble.

Chapter 7

My dad’s Jeep is in the garage and so is Christina’s little hatchback. That’s just great, the wicked witch of the west has returned. I carry my guitar on my back and the crate in my hands. It’s quite a load. I put down the crate and reach for the door but the voices coming from within stops me in my tracks. “You are making ridiculous accusations Tina. You need to phone Patricia and apologize.” 

“I will not do that Peter, you humiliate me and now you want me to apologise?” I think I have heard enough and I put my crate down at the door, open it and walk in. “Good evening,” I greet no one in particular and make my way to my room. I put down my guitar and go back to get my crate. My dad and Christina is standing looking at each other. I ignore them and walk back to my room with the crate. Boy do they need to sort out their stuff. I go about the task of unpacking and cleaning my equipment. I can’t think of anything else but Alex’s hands on my shoulders. I really think I can use to that. I am almost done when there is a knock at my door. “Can I come in Rosie?”

“Sure dad,” My dad looks very upset but mostly tired and he sits down on a couch. I carry on wiping and cleaning my guitar. Everything else is already clean and packed away. “I am sorry that you had to witness that tasteless confrontation.” I can tell that he is really embarrassed by it. “Its okay dad, I just hope you sort it out.”

“Yes, well I have. I have asked Christina to move out of the house. I won’t be discussing the reasons with you but I want you to know that we are no longer together and she will be leaving soon, for good.”

“Okay, but why wait?”

“She asked to stay for your party and I agreed to it.” I cannot believe that she really wants to stay for my birthday; I think she is actually trying to steal some time to try and get my dad back. I am just glad my dad actually made the move to leave her. He was so much happier this weekend. “I am sorry dad,” not for leaving her but for another failed relationship. “It’s okay Rosie.” I am suddenly curious and I wonder what dad’s reaction will be to my next question, “I don’t want to pry but is there someone else?” dad looks at me as if I have punched him in the face and then he starts to laugh. “Oh no Rose, I like women I know but I wouldn’t do that to anyone, nobody deserves to be cheated on.”

“That’s good to know. Thanks dad.” He gets up then and walks to the door. “Oh and dad, good luck,” with finding the right one this time, but I wouldn’t say that out loud. “I need that Rosie, thank you.” My dad is the best, I love him so much and he obviously trusts me enough to even discuss his love life with me. I don’t know what I will do without him. It is quite late already and I take a shower, get my Martin, and then go to sit in my studio in my pj’s to sing a few songs but nothing seems to catch my mood. An Avril Lavigne song jumps out at me from my file and it’s perfect. I sing,

I like your smile

I like your vibe

I like your style

But that’s not why I love you...

Hey do you feel, do you feel me?

Do you feel what I feel too?

Do you need, do you need me?

Do you need me?

I makes me think of something and I need to get it down on paper. I grab a pencil and my jotter and try to write what comes into my head. It is difficult to concentrate because all I see is his brown spiky hair and his bluer than the sky eyes. The picture in my mind makes me breathe faster and it makes my stomach clench but it also makes me relax and I love that part more than anything. Think Lane, what is it that you want to say to this man, what does he make you feel? I take a deep breath.

Hmmm, love... trust, his eyes.

So trust in me

Believe in me

Together we can get it right

Hold on to me

Succumb to me

I’ve loved you since the very first sight.

A chorus has just been born. I am so proud of it I sing it again and again. The rest will soon come, I know. My phone rings and I wonder who would want to phone me at this time of the night. I check the screen, Matt. “Matt, hi, you okay?”

“Lany,”
silence

“Yes, Matt, talk to me,” One word and he has me worried.

“I saw her tonight,” Oh no. I was so scared of this.

“I went to see a movie, you know, ‘Trouble’s Yard’ and then she was there, walking in the mall with another girl.” He sounds drunk but I am not sure.

“Matt, did you drink?” I hope not what if he did and he does something stupid. “Just a little,”

“Did she talk to you?”

“No, she didn’t see me, I was staying back but it was so hard, I wanted to talk to her so much.”

“I’m so sorry,” I am not sure what to tell him. He is supposed to be the grown up here but he acts like a boy and I am just not experienced enough with all this to give him any sound advice. “Matt, I think you should go to bed and just come home early tomorrow okay,” Matt doesn’t usually drink a lot but this girl has that affect on him and I’m scared he will repeat the other day’s binge. “I’ll try Lany but please don’t hang up yet, talk to me some more.” I have no idea what to say to him. I start with Sarah’s disappearance and he seems to hardly hear what I say. I keep on talking about Jay’s party and the party my dad wants to have for me. I don’t mention my dad’s breakup that might not be a good idea with the state he is in at the moment. I also leave out the part where I have fallen for a guy like a typical teenager and to top it all it is his ex-doctor-oh-so-handsome cousin. The fact that I am enjoying life so much makes me feel guilty when he is obviously in such pain. “Lany, you are such a good woman, do you know that?” I know that I am not really that at all, I use people because I don’t know how to overcome my own issues. I just use them and hurt them and then they drop me because I can’t move forward. “Thanks Matt, you are the best friend all people should have,” and I hope with all my heart that I will never lose that. “Goodnight baby, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

“Sleep tight,” I say softly.

“Love you.”

I hang up and put the phone back on the table. Forty minutes on the phone with him is enough to make anyone bone tired. His last words don’t sit right with me, I know he is affectionate but I love you? I wipe down the guitar, pack it away, wash my hands and climb into bed.

Before I fall asleep I see blue eyes looking at me... I’ve loved you since the very first sight.

It is raining softly when I wake up. I love the smell of wet earth and I open the window to let in the scent. I could stand and sniff up this clean smell all day. I take a quick shower and decide to go for run. I wonder whether Alex is awake already. I send him a quick bbm to check.

Me: Good morning. Wanna run? I’ll be at the beach in 15

Alex: See u there :)

I absolutely love the idea of seeing him. I cannot wait. The smell of coffee hangs in the air and I walk to the kitchen to get the keys of my bike. “Good morning Lane,” Christina greets me and I frown at the normality of it. “Morning,” I say back and walk over to the keys.

“I made some coffee but I know you prefer tea, would you like me to make you a pot?” okay, now I am very confused and slightly shocked, since when this change of attitude. “Thank you, but I am actually going out for a run, maybe later?”

“All right, enjoy your run.” Weird. I smile at her but it’s more like a ‘I’m-worried-you-may-throw-something-at-me-when-I-don’t-look’ smile. I walk backwards watching her, take my keys and walk out the door looking over my shoulder. She is in a very weird mood. As I leave the yard I see Emma on the veranda of their house and she doesn’t look happy. I stop by the small gate and walk in. I have a few minutes. “Hi Emma,”

“Hello Lane,” she says but she is not herself.

“I wanted to phone you earlier but I wasn’t sure whether you were still asleep.”

“Oh, you should have called, I don’t mind at all. Do you have more news?”

“Yes, they found her. She is in Mantleburg like your dad’s people said.” She bursts out in tears then and I go to sit down on the chair next to her. “Is she okay?” This doesn’t look good.

“When they found her she was drugged. The guy she met here took her to his friend’s house and they drug girls and hire them out as prostitutes.” She cries even harder and I think I might actually throw up. “Emma, I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay; I think they actually got there just in time. She hasn’t been given to anyone by that time and they took her to the hospital to get her cleaned up. My dad left very early this morning to go and fetch her.”

“Thank God,” I say and shoot up a little prayer of thanks for Sarah’s safety. “Did your mom go with David?”

“No, she stayed to prepare some food and tidy Sarah’s room for her return.” Poor Bessie, I am just so glad they found Sarah and that she is sort of okay. Geez this could have been so much worse. “And you Emma are you okay?” She has stopped crying and she nods her head.

“Yes thank you Lane,” I wonder how she will be getting to school tonight. “When is your dad coming back?”

“He will sleep over there tonight and if Sarah is able to travel they will come back tomorrow, it’s such a long drive my poor dad.” I wouldn’t worry about the driving part. David was a stock car driver in his young days. He is always talking about it when he gets the chance. If anyone can drive eight hours straight it is him. “Emma I will take you back to school this afternoon if you want,” It will give me some time to see my aunt Lee again. I haven’t seen her since December. “Are you sure? That would be great. It would be so bad for me to miss out on a week of school, especially if I want to keep my marks high.”

“Off course I’m sure, I know how important it is for you.” She is obviously very relieved. I get up then to go for my run with Alex; I hope I am not late. “What time does your dad usually leave here?” I need to add an hour to his time. “We always leave at three and then I am there at six.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.”

“Thank you so much Lane”

“You’re welcome.”

I ride the short way to the beach. It’s a beautiful quiet misty Sunday morning and the rain has stopped for now. Alex is there by the tap drinking some water. He ran here, very brave. “Hi there,” I say and he looks up. “Hello Lane,” he smiles. “How are you this very beautiful Sunday morning?” I shake my head and smile at him, his accent and good mood is a dangerous combination. “I am very well thank you,” I mimic his accent and he splashes me with water before he closes the tap. “Ready?” I nod and we start a slow jog. I have my music on but only softly so I can still hear everything he says. “What are your plans for tonight?”

“I am taking Emma back to school,” I say and he lifts his eyebrow and looks at me. “Is it not very far away?”

“Well no, it’s not very far away it is just a little way, about three hundred and fifty kilometres. “Is your dad taking you?”

“No, I am taking her,”

“On your own?”

“Yes”

“Does your father know?”

“Not yet but I will tell him later,” geez, what’s with all the questions?

“Well I am glad you didn’t tell him yet because I will be coming with you.”

“What? That is really not necessary, I am a good driver.”

“I am sure so let me rephrase myself, Lane may I please accompany you and Emma on the trip to her school?”

“Do you really want to? I am spending the night at my aunt’s farm but I am sure she won’t mind an extra mouth to feed,” I tease. “Actually it is my dad you should get past,” I don’t elaborate and he doesn’t ask. Maybe he thinks my dad is just very strict when it comes to boyfriends. What he doesn’t know is that my dad never had to deal with that before and now the one guy that might just become a boyfriend to his daughter is also the one he warned her against. I will just have to stand my ground. Until he can tell me why I need to stay away I will not stay away. I suddenly feel sorry for my dad; I really don’t want to start acting like a typical teenager at the age of almost nineteen. “Okay, you can come but I’m driving,”