Page 62 of Love Is…?

“Oh my God! Thank you!” she cried, and, holding the book carefully in one hand, flung her arms about Jayde’s shoulders, then pulled away, and proceeded to explain to Abby—who’dreturned from Sydney that morning—and Sam exactly why the book was so amazing.

Tessa gave Jayde a long look, a smile lifting the corners of her lips,

“You didn’t have to buy a present. I know how expensive a signed copy of anything is, so how on earth did you get a copy of that?” Tessa whispered, leaning close. She inhaled Jayde’s scent. The only way she could describe it was like a dark flower. Not in colour but in depth. An all-encompassing, intoxicating, dark flower.

Jayde held Tessa’s elbow, keeping her close, then slid her hand down softly to play with Tessa’s fingers. Tessa nearly swooned.

Jayde spoke near Tessa’s ear. “I have secret book people who know secret book things about secret book discounts, and I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I thought Grace might like it.”

They looked at the fifteen-year-old currently bouncing on her toes.

“I’m going with yes,” Tessa said, grinning, and turned her head to catch Jayde’s equally happy expression. Tessa bumped her shoulder. “Kind of matches my gift.”

“Oh?”

“Handmade bookmarks from the Turkish crafts stall at the artisan markets in the old Northside nunnery.” Tessa winked. “Grace isn’t a corner folder.” Then, even though they were Not Making This A Big Deal and therefore she shouldn’t be noticing such things, Tessa paid too much attention to Jayde’s slow exhale. Jayde’s lips forming a soft ‘O’, her dark eyes holding Tessa’s gaze.

It was too much. Tessa jerked her head.

“What time are the bowling lanes booked for again?” she asked in a higher pitch than normal, so she cleared her throat. “We probably should make a move.”

Abby nodded towards the internal elevator.

“Marina’s got the car ready.”

Abby had announced when she’d breezed in the front door that all five of them would travel together because it made perfect sense. Tessa wasn’t going to argue. Abby on a mission—armed with gorgeous hair, a husky American/Australian accent, and hands that demonstrated punctuation—was unstoppable. Sam had stared at her fiancée with heart eyes the size of dinner plates.

Marina did indeed have the car ready, and once everyone was buckled in, drove up and out of the driveway into the city traffic.

Jayde leaned forward from the back seat next to Tessa. “Marina?”

“Yes, Ms Ferg—Jayde?”

Jayde smiled. “Can you finish this sentence?” she asked.

Driving around trams and cars as if they were rocks in a softly flowing river, Marina flicked her eyes to the rear vision mirror.

“I will try to.”

“Okay. So the sentence is: Love Is…”

“Love is?”

“Yes. That’s the sentence to finish. I’ve made everyone answer it and I was hoping you’d like to answer it as well. May I use your response in my book?” She whipped out her phone and opened the recording app.

Marina nodded, hummed, then slid in behind a car that seemed more inclined to follow instructions from the traffic lights than the one she’d followed for the last five hundred metres.

“Yes. In the Philippines, a common saying is nang dumating ka sa buhay ko, naging makulay ang mundo ko.” Her melodic tones made the phrase sound like a lyric in a song.

“That’s lovely, Marina,” Abby sighed.

“It means when you came into my life, my world became colourful.” She paused, flicked the indicator and turned into the bowling centre. “Jayde, for your book, it means Love Is to colour life into someone’s world.” She brought the car to a stop. “It is usually said to a Filipina, a woman.”

Jayde flicked a glance and a smile at Tessa.

The noise of crashing pins,the thud of bowling balls that probably shouldn’t be making that much contact with the wood, the 1980s tunes blaring from the speakers, the strip lighting pulsing along the sides of the lanes, then up the edges of each step leading to the shoe exchange booth, assaulted Tessa when she followed Grace into the centre.

“This is…”

---