Short and Sweet by Kris Pearson

Author:Kris Pearson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romantic relationships, new beginnings, finding a partner, kris pearson, new zealand romance, anthology of short stories, stories about love and relationships, heartwarming short stories, new partners, sweet and tender stories
Publisher: Kris Pearson

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THE TAJ MIRAGE

Thursday January 18th

“Sue!”

“David?”

Sue Menzies blinked, looked again, and laid down her sandwich. Yes, it was David. David from so long ago. David Turner from Acacia Street.

“Sue, by all that’s wonderful,” he said, checking a little too obviously that no jacket or briefcase lurked nearby to indicate she had company at Sydney’s Shorefront Cafe.

Sue watched him with amusement. As a boy David had always crossed his t’s and dotted his i’s. As a man he apparently still liked to be up with the play. “Will you join me?” she asked, amazed she had the courage to sound so casual. Her heartbeat had gone thumpy, and surely the sun had become brighter? “I’ve stolen a few minutes for lunch on the way home from work. I couldn’t resist sitting outside for a while in this gorgeous weather.”

It’s almost like one of our old dates, she thought once he was settled across the small table from her. The water shimmered; waves broke gently and rolled in over the golden sand.

She’d always loved being here after school with him, sipping her orange juice, nibbling at a chocolate Lamington or cinnamon bun, with never a gap in the conversation. At seventeen she’d felt so grown up. Nowadays, dates were a thing of the dim distant past, and feeling grown up was something she could do without.

She drew a deep breath. “I heard you became an architect just like you planned?”

He nodded at that and a hint of his once-shy smile tweaked at his lips. “How did you know?”

She managed a smile of her own. “Word gets around. Even though you and your mother moved away, some of the others who went on to uni or tech are still in the district.” She paused, and then ploughed on. “I presume you’re just passing through?”

David set his Italian coffee cup down on its thick brown saucer. “Yes, but passing through every week on my way from Hunters Hill. Mum’s moved back here to be close to her sister again.”

Sue looked away and took a small bite of her sandwich, wanting to make their unexpected time together last longer. “Hunters Hill’s so lovely,” she said, thinking of the gracious old Federation houses fronting Sydney’s harbour. Or would he have designed himself a fantastic new home tucked back into the leafy Jacaranda trees?

“Yes, Diana and I liked it.”

Past tense her brain alerted her but she couldn’t possibly ask him why.

“Passing through to where?” she asked, hoping she sounded friendly rather than nosey.

“Balmain,” David said. “I’ve a project on the foreshore there. Part of the wharf redevelopment—so I tie it in with a visit to Mum each week. And what about you?”

Sue shrugged, wondering what to say to make herself sound the least bit interesting. Widowed? Keen on quilting?

“Part-owner of the Daisy-a-Day garden centre. Almost a grandmother.”

“Never!” David exclaimed. “Granny Sue? It doesn’t seem possible.”

Oh, that smile, Sue thought. It hasn’t changed a bit.

“All too possible,” she chided. “My son Alan’s baby is only a few weeks away now.

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