Page 42 of Fast Forward

“And Ben’s dressing up as The Frake, my accomplice.” I stared blankly at Ryan again as he spoke. “Frog. Snake. Frake?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.” God, I hope it wasn’t released just last week or anything. I should really learn to think before I speak. “So, Ben’s coming, huh? Have you thought any further about telling him how you feel?”

Ryan dipped his head and sat on the bed. “I was thinking about telling him tonight, but I’m still not sure. What if he doesn’t feel the same and then storms out and our band breaks up and he never speaks to me again and I can no longer get discount bungy jumps?”

I sat next to Ryan on the bed, touched that he could talk to his mother about these things. I must be pretty cool. “You’ll never know if you don’t try,” I said.

“I know. I’m just… scared.” He picked up his tail and fiddled with the spikes protruding from it.

Awareness of how important this was to him hit me like a slap on the face. All day I’d been concerned only with myself, but somehow, this future was real, even if it wouldn’t eventuate again once I got back home. Ryan needed my help, my words of wisdom, if I could summon any.

I drew a sharp intake of air, still somewhat in oxygen debt from the recent trauma, and said, “If you truly love someone and want to be with them, you can’t waste any time wondering. You have to take a risk, take the opportunity when it arises and tell them how you feel. Because one day you might wake up and they could be gone. Don’t let the chance of happiness slip through your fingers.”

Ryan’s wide eyes looked at me from beneath his crocodile mask and he smiled. “You’re absolutely right, Mum. I’m going to tell him. Tonight.”

I seriously hoped I’d given him the right advice and didn’t just dig a proverbial grave for his ego. I said what felt right and the rest was up to him. He was a grown man, er… Lizardile.

“Are we having the party in here instead?” Will pushed open the bedroom door and walked through, lifting his tie over his head, kicking off his shoes, and placing a shopping bag – no doubt containing our bedroom supplies – in the corner of the room.

“Mum and I were just having a chat, but I’d better get back out there before the guests arrive,” said Ryan. “You should get a move on with your costume, Dad.”

“Yep, I know. It won’t take long, it’s a one-piece suit,” he said and Ryan and I burst out laughing. If only he knew what I’d been through with my one-piece suit.

Will eyed us with a curious smile and I flicked my hand at him. “Private joke, don’t worry.”

“Fair enough.” He unbuttoned his shirt then paused to glance at his e-pad. “Bugger, I won’t have time for a shower.” He withdrew a deodorant bottle from his bedside table, giving each of his armpits a quick spray, a warm spicy scent filling the room. “Hey, why aren’t you wearing your costume?”

“She’s going as her twenty-five-year-old self,” Ryan explained, smiling and exiting the bedroom, leaving a whiff of fruity aftershave in his wake which battled with the opposing scent of Will’s deodorant.

“Is that so?” Will sidled up to me. “In honour of the age you were when we first met again, huh?”

“Yes, I thought it would be a nice idea.”

“And you’re even wearing the same dress you wore that night.” He ran his hand down my arm and eyed the length of my body. “Looking good, honey.” He removed his shirt and shoved it into a chute like the one in the kitchen, revealing a light layer of hair on his chest and surprisingly sculpted abs. Not model material, but he obviously looked after himself. For an old guy.

“Thanks,” I said as he undid his belt and, realising I’d see a whole lot more of Will than I was used to if I didn’t act soon, I shuffled my tightly enclosed body over to the en suite and opened the door. “I, ah, I’ll just fix up my hair and make-up.” I slid the door closed behind me just as the pants slid down his legs.

I rearranged my make-up back to its correct geographical locations and found a brush, hair elastic and bobby pins in the bathroom cabinet to pull my hair back in as close to a chignon as I could manage. I finished off with a spray of some perfume I’d never heard of, but smelt divine, and opened the door a fraction to make sure Will was decent. My jaw dropped as I opened the door to find Will in a Superman outfit, standing with his fists planted firmly on his hips and the moulded muscles of his suit making him appear bigger than he was.

“I’ve come to rescue you,” he said, scooping me off the ground and into his arms then collapsing on the bed with me in laughter. “Okay, my superpowers might kick in a bit later. I need to get warmed up first.” He smiled and I couldn’t help but smile too. He was such a dork. But a cute dork nonetheless.

Ding, dong!

“Sounds like our first guests have arrived,” Will said.

“Can you help me up? My dress is a little on the tight side.”

He pushed on my back to lift my rigid body from the bed and I took a preparatory breath.

“Shall we?” He offered his crooked elbow and I linked my arm with his and headed to where the party was about to begin.

Chapter 14

Party Time!

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau

“It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s–”

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