Page 25 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

‘Left?’ Ed’s heart sank. ‘When will she be back?’ he asked, fearing the answer would be never.

Max shrugged. ‘They’re heading back east. Shopping for a wedding dress, and who knows how long that will take. Tia has four days off, so we may not see either of them until she’s due back at work.’

Ed walked back to the garage, his feet dragging and his head spinning. Four days before he could see Helen and explain to her. Four days for her to begin hating him.

‘I’ve decided I want an orange wedding gown. With a long purple veil.’

‘Whatever you …’ The reality of what she had heard slowly seeped through into Helen’s muddled thoughts. ‘What?’

Beside her, Tia spoke gently. ‘That’s better. We’ve driven all day and you have barely said a word.’

Helen could hear the concern in her daughter’s voice.

‘I am so sorry, Tia.’ And she was. Buying a wedding dress with her daughter was something she had always dreamed of doing. During their years of estrangement, she had clung desperately to the hope that it might happen. And now it was. She should be enjoying the experience. Sharing Tia’s happiness and not moping like a teenager over some man she hardly knew.

‘Don’t be. There are times I have to wonder why on earth we even bother with men!’

‘That’s a horrible thing for a girl to say when she’s about to buy a wedding dress. Max is lovely.’

‘I know he is. I’m lucky to have him. And I’ll tell you something else, Mum, Ed Collins is a good man too.’

Helen didn’t answer.

‘One thing Max taught me is that you can’t run away from the past. It’s always with you because it’s a part of making you who you are. But you can let go of it and take your life wherever you want.’

Helen cast a sideways look at her daughter. ‘That’s the sort of thing a mother should be saying to her daughter. Not the other way around. When did you get to be so wise?’

‘It’s Max rubbing off on me.’

The depth of the love and respect that was so obvious in Tia’s voice almost brought a tear to Helen’s eye. She was happy for Tia, and maybe just a little bit envious. Helen had never had the sort of relationship Tia had with Max. And she wasn’t about to get it with Ed Collins. He was a married man, and his wife had come back. Helen believed in marriage. She had never been involved with a married man. That was just wrong. A marriage was not something to be lightly thrown away.

‘We’re nearly there, Mum.’

Helen looked out of the window. The harsh dry flat plains she had been seeing all day had been replaced by gentle hills. There were trees and the grass was green. They were almost in Toowoomba now and houses were appearing. The homes were made of timber or brick. Most were surrounded by well-tended gardens. There were flowers and green lawns. The people who lived in those homes were, to Helen, affluent and very lucky. They had good jobs and never struggled to put food on the table. The women who lived there had their hair done whenever they wanted. They bought new clothes whenever they needed them. They didn’t live in fear of what their men would do when they got home. They didn’t spend their lives searching for the daughter they had lost. At least, not in Helen’s dreams they didn’t.

This was the sort of life Helen had always dreamed about, but never had. Yet now, it seemed far less desirable. Her mind flew to Coorah Creek’s red soil and weathered buildings. Something about the sun-faded paint and the lonely cries of the crows had wormed its way into her heart. The very greenness around her now seemed strange. She had become accustomed to Coorah Creek’s browns and reds. She had grown fond of the pub, with its delicate wrought iron. And the people in it. She had become used to waking up and glancing across an empty road to the garage. It was slightly grimy and worn, but none the less there was something appealing about it. And the man who owned it.

Helen pushed that thought away. Ed was married. There was nothing for her there. Just as with these lovely homes – appearances can be deceptive. There was probably heartbreak behind those walls, just as there was heartbreak across the road from the Coorah Creek pub.

The day was almost over, the light softening into evening and Tia was turning into the driveway of a motel.

‘You must be tired after all the driving,’ Helen said. ‘I could have taken some of the load, you know.’

‘Mum, you we so distracted we probably would have ended up in Cairns instead of Toowoomba,’ Tia joked. ‘It’s fine. I like driving.’

‘Well, you need a good night’s sleep. Because tomorrow we have a lot to do.’ Helen vowed silently that tomorrow she would forget Ed Collins. And devote herself entirely to her daughter.

Chapter Twelve

Stephanie paused by the gate and looked at the place she’d once called home.

It looked just the same as it always had. The garden was neat, but that was mostly because it consisted of just a few trees and bushes. There were no flower beds and the earth was far too dry for lawn. It had been like that when she lived there too. Neither she nor Ed were gardeners. The house itself was the same cream colour it had always been, although it did look newly painted.

She had run away from here a long time ago, looking for something better than a shabby house in a one horse town. Better than the man who lived here. She’d found it too. For a while. But things didn’t always work out the way you planned, and now she was back. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. She wasn’t going to think too hard about that. She’d always done what she had to do. This was no different.

She couldn’t stand in the semi-darkness forever. She was here to talk to her son. And spend time with her husband, in what had once been their home. Her hand shook as she reached for the gate. What if the house was still the same as all those years ago? What if it wasn’t? How would she feel if Scott rejected her? Even more importantly, what would she do if Ed rejected her?

Stephanie took a firm grip on herself and swung the gate open and stepped through. Shutting the gate firmly behind her, she hesitated. Should she go to the front door or to the back? When she lived here, the whole family had used the back door all the time. It led straight into the big kitchen that was the centre of their lives. But she was a visitor now – not quite a stranger – but very close. She probably should use the front door. The door used by people who were not family. Except … she was family. She was Ed’s wife. Still.

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