There was nothing from Tim. Again. Dejection dragged at her, turning her limbs into dead weights and the voice in her head critically malicious. You’re the woman nobody wants.
The phone rang and she stared at the unknown number before deciding to answer. “Hello?”
“Alice, it’s Tim.”
A delicious shiver raced across her skin and she twirled on the spot. His deep and melodious voice was the exact pitch her imagination had generated.
“Tim, hi!” Her own words were not modulated or melodious and they squeaked out in an unfamiliar register. She sucked in a calming breath and tried again. “How are you?” Why has it taken you so long to call me?
“Great. I’ve just cracked a bottle of Lightfoot & Sons pinot and I’ve got myself some Maffra cheddar. I was wondering if now was a good time to talk?”
Her heart leaped. “Give me a second to pour myself a glass of sauv blanc.”
“Really? I thought you liked a bold red?”
Not for the first time, she regretted that hastily written bio. She’d only mentioned bold reds because of the general belief in the community that red wine and serious conversation went together. “I do but my—” Do not say parents “—friend left half a bottle last night. Can’t let it go to waste.”
“New Zealand or Australian?”
“I’m not sure I should admit to New Zealand when you’re doing such a great job supporting local producers.”
“My motto is drink what you enjoy. Have you got something to eat with it?”
Alice peered into the fridge and found a container of dip. “Olives and hummus.”
“Excellent. I thought we’d jump right in. What’s your take on the proposed mine at Fingerboards?”
Wine, cheese and conversation! Alice was dizzy with delight.
Their pre-dinner-drink conversation extended way past dinner time, finishing closer to liqueur, coffee and chocolate time. For almost three hours, they ranged from the political to the personal and many topics in between, leaving Alice energized, excited and hopeful. So, when Tim said, “Alice, it’s been amazing. Let’s do it again next week,” she bit the bullet.
“Shall we try and do dinner next week?”
“You asking me out on a date, Alice is Wonderful?”
She heard the smile in his voice and the wordplay of her online handle, and the breath she’d been holding released. “I was thinking more along the lines of improving our health and wellbeing. Dips, cheese and wine for dinner every Friday’s not sustainable.”
He laughed. “How about I come to you? I’ve been wanting to try that seafood place on the barge, but I s’pose you’ve eaten there heaps already.”
“I tend to avoid the local restaurants during the summer,” she said neatly side-stepping the fact she’d been avoiding spending any money on eating out. “But as long as we avoid the long weekend, we won’t have a problem getting a table.”
“Do you mind making the booking?”
“Too easy. I walk past it every day. What time?”
Tim muttered something about packing the trucks, logging the paperwork and the hour’s drive. “I should be able to make it by 7:00.”
Excitement jittered deep in her belly. “I’ll book for seven thirty just in case.”
“Great. And I’ll phone a mate and let him know I’ll probably be crashing on his couch.”
Probably? Did that mean just in case he drank too much and couldn’t drive? Or just in case this palpable attraction that simmered between them didn’t hold up in real life? She couldn’t imagine that it wouldn’t. They already knew they could talk for hours and they’d exchanged enough photos for her to see he had dimples and a cheeky smile. She was definitely attracted to him—his voice alone made her quiver.
Was this when she was supposed to say “You can stay the night at my place’? Except she couldn’t offer that. The thought of having sex in her childhood bedroom was one humiliation too far.
“Sounds like a plan,” she said brightly. “See you Friday!”
Alice spent the next six days in a lather of preparation and anticipation. She got her hair cut. Subjected herself to hot wax in places that hadn’t been waxed in months and rummaged through the thrift shop desperate to find an outfit that fell between her Melbourne workwear, her hospitality uniform of black and white, and her boat-cleaning grunge gear.
“What do you think?” Alice asked Libby, feeling a little guilty that she’d dropped in unannounced at six o’clock. The girls were wired after swimming lessons and tickle-wrestling with Nick. Libby was throwing together a salad and fielding calls from her relief doctor.
“What do I think of what?”
Alice wafted her hands from her breasts to her thighs. “This outfit.”
“It suits you.” Libby’s hand paused on the vegetable peeler. “Hang on. You never ask me for fashion advice. What’s up?”
Alice’s excitement bubbled over. “I’ve got a date. I’m terrified and thrilled all at the same time.”
“Oh, Alice, that’s wonderful.” Libby hugged her. “Where’s he taking you? It is a he, right?”
Alice couldn’t tell if Libby was teasing her or being deadly serious. “It might be five years since I last went on a date, but I haven’t changed teams since then.”
“Just checking. More than one woman I know who’s come out of a filthy relationship breakdown has switched sides. It’s a trauma response.”
“Lawrence didn’t hit me or steal my money.”
Libby muttered something that sounded a lot like stealing self-esteem. “All I’m saying is, I can see why some hetero women try a same-sex relationship. I mean, women offer one another so much emotional support.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice. “In so many ways, Jess understands me better than Nick.”
Alice glanced at her brother-in-law, who was lying flat on his back with his daughters sitting on him as if he was a couch. They were listening wide-eyed as
