The Islands (48 page)

‘Oh. I hadn't thought of resigning,' said Catherine, although she wouldn't miss the club activities. ‘But I hope I can still see you, Julia.'

‘I'm afraid that's not really possible, Catherine. We're all very shocked. Sad, too, of course.'

For me or Bradley, thought Catherine. ‘I'm no longer welcome at any navy functions? I've let the side down, sort of thing?'

‘Commander and Mrs Goodwin told us you were no longer part of the navy family. We assume you'll be going back to Australia. After all, Bradley has gone to Washington. Just as well you didn't have any kids,' she added.

‘And did Mrs Goodwin, or my husband, I mean, Bradley, give you a reason for our separation?' asked Catherine tartly, thinking how glad she was that the bossy woman no longer had any say in her life.

Julia hesitated. ‘Er, no, not really. I mean, she speculated . . . but it's happened, so you aren't exactly a navy wife anymore. I'm really sorry, Catherine,' she said awkwardly.

Catherine could well imagine what the speculation might be. They had all closed ranks, freezing her out. ‘Well, I'm sorry we can't meet for coffee, or that you might want to hear how I feel. I thought we were friends.'

‘Our husbands are friends and fellow officers, that's what our friendship was based on,' said Julia.

‘Well, I can't say I'm sorry not to have Mrs Goodwin running my life anymore. I hope things work out for you, Julia. Who knows, our paths might cross again,' said Catherine briskly.

‘I don't see how as Jim said that there was no chance of reconciliation. But good luck with things, Catherine.'

In spite herself, Catherine had to admit that Julia's final words had sounded quite sincere, but as she slowly hung up the phone, she was stung by the rest of her comments. How could Bradley discuss something with Jim and Julia without first discussing it with her? How quickly events rolled on, thought Catherine trying to put the uncomfortable conversation out of her mind.

Later she rang Mollie but before she could say anything, Mollie was in full flight, barely pausing for breath.

‘I know, I know. I tried to call you at your apartment after your mother rang me. Your parents are very upset. Shocked, I suppose, but trying to take it in and understand. As am I.'

‘It wasn't working . . .' started Catherine.

‘Hey. This is me. I have to say I'm not entirely surprised. I saw your face when that woman told you that Bradley was coming home. But I'm really pleased that you stood up for yourself. Yes, strike a blow, get out, quick and clean. I have to admire you. You are pretty sure about this?'

Catherine almost smiled. ‘Bit late if I'm not. I just got turfed out of the Wives' Club.'

‘The pigs. Well, that's one good thing. At least you'll have that old battleaxe out of your life. What did she say?'

‘She handed the dirty work over to my ex-friend Julia. I'm no longer part of the navy apparently.'

‘You didn't join up when you married Bradley, for heaven's sake.'

‘It was beginning to feel I had. Oh, Mollie, I feel so confused now. Have I done the right thing? I just couldn't face living in a place like Washington. Suddenly I could just see how my life was going to be, how I'd be under Bradley's thumb, how it would never change and how I'd never be able to do things I want. Am I nuts?'

‘Of course not, silly. So how's Bradley taking it?'

‘He's hurt, shocked, but I'm sure he has masses of support. He left straight away to go to Washington, so I guess he felt uncomfortable.'

‘His ego is dented I'll bet, but it shows that when it comes to a choice between his work and you, he chooses his job. So what are you going to do?'

‘He's changed the locks on the apartment because it's naval property, so I can't get in.'

‘He's what! That's pretty outrageous, Cath. I think that locking you out of your place, even if it does belong to the US government, is awful and spiteful. Where are you staying?'

‘I'm staying with Kiann'e. Bradley's selling the car to some guy who just arrived. But I don't want to be pushed out of the Islands and I don't want to come home either, so I'm going to go to Kauai for a bit and think things through.'

‘Sounds good to me – after all, it's your decision, your life. But of course you know you can come to Sydney. Stay here, any time, as long as you want. A big city might be a nice change.'

‘Thanks, Mol. But I'd rather stay here, until my money runs out, anyway. I might have to ask Vince for a raise,' she tried to joke.

Kiann'e and Willi were out so Catherine answered the front door when she heard the bell ringing insistently.

A delivery man was standing there with a huge box. ‘Sign, please. Whose birthday?' asked the man.

‘I'm not sure.'

But as she signed the chit she saw the parcel was addressed to her. Catherine carried the box to the kitchen, snipped the tape and lifted the lid. Inside were a dozen long-stemmed roses, each rose end wrapped in a cylinder of water. Her first thought was they must have cost a fortune. Roses weren't grown commercially in Hawaii, so these must have been shipped in from the mainland.

There was a white box inside and a card. She opened the box and found an ornate glass bottle of expensive perfume. She drew the stopper from the bottle and sniffed and wrinkled her nose. The sickly sweetness was cloying. She would never wear anything so overpowering.

Finally, she opened the card.

Dearest Catherine,

You are my wife and I love you. Come home, stop this madness. Think what we have and the life we can have together. I am willing to forgive you. I hope we can start over.

Yours,

Bradley x

If Bradley's extravagant gesture had meant to win her over, he had, yet again, not tried to understand her point of view.

‘Bradley! You don't understand! You still don't!' she shouted. ‘Forgive me! You expect me to crawl back to you and go on as before. Well, I won't! I can't!'

She ran into the garden and sat crying until she couldn't cry any more.

Later she threw the roses in the car and drove to Waikiki. She stopped by Mrs Hing's and put them on the counter.

‘I thought you might like these, Mrs Hing.'

‘Oh my heavens, oh my goodness. They're beautiful. So expensive. Why you give this away?'

‘I'm allergic to roses,' said Catherine stonily.

‘Oh my, oh my. Here, you take.' Mrs Hing began putting a selection of malasadas in a bag.

‘That's enough, that's fine, thank you,' said Catherine and fled the little shop.

‘These are good,' said Lester biting into his third malasada.

‘Mrs Hing's finest,' said Catherine and managed a smile.

He finished eating, took a sip of his coffee and gave Catherine a good hard look. ‘So you've told me you're going to Kauai for a bit. Now, do you want to tell me why?'

‘Oh, Lester. It's sad. Hard and sad. Bradley and I have broken up.'

‘Ah, are you sure? You're still deciding?'

‘No,' sighed Catherine. ‘He's on the mainland and he sent me roses and an expensive bottle of perfume. I didn't want them. Everything I dislike. It was such a cliché. And he wrote a card that was supposed to make me apologise and crawl back to the box of my marriage. You know, a tiny, inexpensive, thoughtful gift would have meant so much more.'

Lester nodded. ‘I never seemed to have money to buy my gal costly gifts. I made her a shell necklace once. She liked that.'

‘What am I going to do, Lester?'

‘Go to Kauai. Take deep breaths. Get in the water. Watch the sun rise and set.'

Catherine smiled. ‘Not the sort of advice I'm getting from my folks back home.'

‘They love you, honey, they'd be worried. You'll be fine. You never seemed wildly happy or in love to my mind anyway.'

‘Oh. Well, I suppose once you're married, settled in a routine, getting on with things
. . .
that's how it is, right?'

‘Don't ask me, I never got married. But I never fell out of love either.' He brushed the crumbs from his shirt and changed the subject. ‘You better hang onto your job at the paper. I'll miss our talks, and who's going to take me out and about for a bit of a surf?'

‘PJ still has his business here. You know he'll always be around in between surfing jaunts. Kiann'e will still be by every day or so. And I'll be back. I have no plans, Lester,' she said, suddenly feeling unnerved at the prospect.

‘Best way to be,' said Lester firmly.

‘Come on, let's go for a drive and do some shopping.'

Catherine called in to the
Hawaii News
and after telling Vince she was spending some time in Kauai she collected extra rolls of film and a couple of reporter's notebooks.

‘I'll try to find some stories for you. Thanks, Vince.'

‘It's hard to get colour pieces from the outer islands. We're supposed to be a paper about all the islands, not just Oahu, so I'll look forward to being able to expand our stories. If you can't develop the films, just send them to me. Have fun.'

She drove to PJ's house, but he wasn't home. Catherine wrote a note for him, put it on the kitchen table and anchored it with a bottle of kimchee sauce.

Hi PJ, I'm heading to Kauai for a bit. Is it okay to take my surfboard with me? Or can I borrow one from your friends over there? I'll probably stay with Kiann'e's mother, Beatrice, or see if I can do a deal with the Palm Grove. I'll meet you by the Outrigger Club at 6 tomorrow. Catherine.

The following morning PJ was waiting for her.

‘Hi. You obviously got my note.' She dropped her towel on the sand and put down her board. ‘I'll leave this behind if you need it.'

He nodded his head. ‘Plenty of boards over there you can use.' He gave her a quizzical look. ‘How come you're going to Kauai, too?'

‘I don't want to be around here. There are people I'd rather not see and memories I'd rather forget. What do you mean “too”?'

‘I'm going over. Couple of people coming in to the Islands I want to meet. Maybe sell some boards. Surf should start to come up soon. Why don't you stay at
Nirvana
? Plenty of room. Ginger is there with her baby.'

‘Really? And Doobie? Leif and the kids?'

‘I heard Doobie disappeared. Things were getting a bit heavy. He'll roll back in.'

‘Oh, poor Ginger.'

He shrugged. ‘You know how it is. People come, people go. He'll turn up again.'

‘I do need somewhere to stay till I find my feet. I was going to talk to Eleanor.'

‘Nice if you have the money.'

‘I don't. I thought I could work for her. Surf in between times.'

‘There'll be plenty of boards there. Leave that one here.' He gave her a steady look. ‘You all right? Seems you've turned your life upside down a bit.'

‘Seems so. I thought Kauai might help, be a kind of transition into my new life, whatever that is. I'll be chasing a few stories for the paper, as well,' she said, trying to keep her voice calm. She suddenly felt teary.

‘Plenty “talk story” on the Garden Island. Ready to hit the water?'

She nodded, picked up her board and followed PJ.

The surf soothed her. Today the waves did not challenge her but rose soft and swollen, creamy crests that slowly unfolded in a slope before breaking apart to dribble onto the wet sand. She rode easily, sliding across the gentle waves and after an hour she coasted back in to the beach. She sat on the sand and watched the knot of surfers and further out, on his own, the unmistakable shape of PJ.

It seemed strange just to make plans on a whim. She'd got out of the habit. Bradley had always arranged everything but once she'd booked her airline ticket she felt a slight rush of confidence. Just the same, she did miss Bradley being around. This feeling surprised her, but she felt that she knew his habits and they had a system of sharing their life. Bradley was a man set in his ways. He liked routine. Perhaps she, too, needed order and purpose in her life.

‘I'm going to see how Kauai works out,' she told Kiann'e. ‘I could stay at
Nirvana
.'

‘Sounds from what you've told me you'd have lots of company,' agreed Kiann'e. ‘But you know my mother and Eleanor are there as a backup.'

Catherine rang Eleanor to break her news.

‘I'm sorry to hear about your marriage. If you're absolutely sure that you're doing the right thing, then you're wise to move on and not be miserable for years. You're young, you have a whole life ahead of you. Get out and live a bit, Catherine. When are you coming over? I'll get Abel John to meet you.'

‘Eleanor, that's kind of you, but really that's too much trouble. I thought I'd stay out on the north shore again.'

‘With those hippie people that Abel John knows? Is that really your scene? How are you going to support yourself? What will you do for money? You know you can stay here if you like. At least come and have a meal with me.'

‘Yes, I'd like to. I'm going to do a few stories for the paper. And I've got a bit of money put aside, but I was hoping that I could work for you, doing something. I don't know what.'

‘Well, let me think about it. Mr Kitamura does all our photography, so I can't use you in that department, but I'll try to think of something for you.'

‘Thank you, Eleanor, I'm grateful. How's the new wing progressing?' asked Catherine.

Eleanor sighed. ‘Not well. I'll talk to you when I see you. Now give me your flight time and Abel John will be there.'

Seeing the tall, smiling Hawaiian striding towards her outside the little airport terminal gave Catherine a great sense of relief. She hugged him.

‘Abel John, you're so kind. It's like seeing ohana again!'