The Beat of Safiri Bay (25 page)

“I know baby, and you are everything to me. But if it is friendship you want then I will try my best to keep it the way it was.” He gives me a quick hug and turns to leave. “Where are you going?” I ask.

“Hey, it’s Friday, I need to get out of these,” he says and tucks at his dress shirt.

“Lin wants to know if we want to join them tomorrow at ‘The Shack’ for dinner.”

“We?” he asks.

“Yes, me and you and Alex,” he pulls a face and I drop my shoulders.

“Okay okay I am just pulling your leg,” he says and leaves. I am thrilled that the air has been cleared between me us. He really does mean a lot to me and I can’t imagine my life without him. Sometimes I wish he would turn out gay so I will never have to share him with another girl but my wishes are selfish and unfair to him so I will do whatever I can to help him and if I have to find him another girl in order to do so I will. I find him outside in shorts no shirt lying on a chair in the sun. “So what have you been doing all day except for entertaining my new girlfriend?” he says jokingly.

“Actually not much. Listen do you know where Alex is? He keeps on disappearing for appointments but he doesn’t say with whom.”

“Are you jealous Lany baby?” he teases. I roll my eyes at him,

“No off course not,” but he doesn’t buy it, “Okay so maybe I am just a little.” He laughs at my confession.

“No need to be, Alex would never cheat on anyone or lie to anyone or swear or...”

“I get the picture Matt,” I say and wonder about something, “Are you jealous of him?”

“What? Off Mr Perfect? No ways. Why would I want to be jealous of him?”

“Just wondering,” I say and sit down on the chair next to his. He turns over and lies on his tummy. The dragonfly tattoo pulls into a weird shape and I try to figure out what it looks like. “What are you staring at?” He says and looks over his shoulder on to his back.

“I asked Alex about your tattoos the other day but he didn’t want to tell me, not unless you agreed to it.”

“Why are you suddenly so interested in these tats Lany?”

“Maybe because I have known you for so long and I never knew about it. How did you manage to hide it all this time?”

“I didn’t. You just never saw it I guess.”

“Yes well maybe because we always kept our clothes on before,”

“Not always,” he says and smiles.

“I can’t believe you are bringing that up, I swear if you tell Alex about it I will...”

“You’ll what? And I told you I wouldn’t tell, not unless I have to.” He says and yawns. I am very embarrassed about what I did. On my eighteenth birthday on Aunty Lee’s farm we had a little party with some champagne to celebrate my adulthood. Matt and I stayed awake till late that night and had a little bit too much to drink, for the first and last time of my life. When we were really wasted we started giggling and didn’t want to wake up anyone in the house so we took our little party outside. Before we knew it we have walked all the way to the farm dam. He dared me to take a naked dip in the dam to wash off my childhood years and in the state that I was I thought it was the best idea ever. So I took off all my clothes and swam around in the moonlight. I wonder if he forgot now that he didn’t need a second invitation to join me. We swam around in the ice cold water until we were both sober and then very shyly put our clothes back on and walked all the way back to the house in silence, obviously embarrassed by what we just did. Nothing happened though, it was just two drunk friends swimming naked in a dirty dam. That was the only time I have ever seen him without a shirt before. It was way too dark and I was way too drunk to notice a tattoo.

“So tell me, what is the deal with the tattoos?” He closes his eyes and pretends to sleep. “Seriously, why won’t you tell me?”

“If Alex didn’t want you to know then I am not going to go against his wishes. You saw what he did to me the other day, he is much stronger.” I remember when he took him down in the bathroom.

“Oh yes, what was up with that in anyway?” There is so much about him that I don’t know yet. “Too many questions Lany,” I sigh and pout but he ignores me flat out. “Could you at least tell me that it is okay for him to tell me about the tattoos?” He opens his eyes again.

“I’ll tell you if you really want to know but it’s a sad story,”

“I want to know,” I say and he pulls up his shoulders.

“You asked for it,” he says then he begins telling me of a summer when he was twenty and Alex was eighteen. He went back to France that summer to see his parents and Alex was there as well, visiting his mother. They became best buddies that summer together with another cousin named Aubry. They were very close during that time and the three of them were inseparable. Apparently they ruled the town and would get up early to go catch fish and then stay up late to go to parties. One morning while they were sitting next to the water watching Aubry fish a dragonfly came to sit on the end of his fishing rod. He was very excited about it and said it meant good luck. He said that he admired the beautiful little creature that lives such a short life but makes the most of it. He said that he was glad to have been named Aubry because it meant wisdom and that was what the dragonfly symbol stood for. Then one night on their way out to a party, still sober and eager to get the night started Aubry crossed the road without looking and a speeding motorcycle hit him. He died instantly. The cousins grieved for their lost friend and cousin for weeks. Then they decided to honour the short life that Aubry lived to the fullest by getting a tattoo of the one thing that would remind them of him forever. After that summer they went their separate ways and never spent time together again until Alex called and asked if he could spend some time here with Matt in Safiri.

Matt closes his eyes again and turns his head the other way. He was right; it is a very sad story but a beautiful one. I feel sorry that they had to endure such pain at such an early age. I know exactly what it feels like. I am lost in my own thoughts when Alex comes driving up the road. I get up and walk over to him quickly then hug him tightly. He is more than surprised at my sudden act of affection but hugs me back. “What’s wrong Lay? What happened?” How he is always able to tell when there is something wrong I don’t know but I am glad he can. “Nothing,” I say and we walk over to Matt.

“She’s lying,” he says and sits up. “I told her about the tattoos and Aubry.” He doesn’t look surprised at all.

“I'm sorry about your cousin,” I say and he nods.

“That was a long time ago,” he says then he picks me up and swings me around. “What are you doing?” I ask and giggle when he tickles me. “My girl is turning nineteen a week from tomorrow. I am just happy I can share that with you,” he says and kisses me softly on the lips. “Yeah and you better not get me anything, I have everything I want right here,” I say and pat his chest. He smiles and winks at me. “I’m serious Al, I don’t want you to get me anything. I have everything I want,” He kisses me again quickly and then sits down next to Mat with me on his lap. Thandi comes to ask him if she can prepare him something to eat but he said he already had something. “So it’s Friday, what are we doing tonight?” Matt asks.

“I thought we could have a moonlight walk on the beach and maybe get something to eat at Mary’s place.” It sounds like a wonderful idea but Matt puts up his hand. “I’ll leave the romance to you,” he says but Alex laughs, “No you are definitely invited because it won’t only be me and Lane.” Who else is coming to your moonlit night of fairy dust and unicorns?” Matt asks not impressed that he won’t be able to either drown his sorrows or drown himself. “You just be there okay, with your guitar,” Matt’s eyes light up.

“Well why didn’t you say so little cuz. What time and where?” Alex looks as if he is up to something but Matt doesn’t notice. I lean my head against his chest and he moves his fingers up and down my spine. “Where have you been all day?” I ask. I missed him and he didn’t say where he was going. “Just busy,” he says but the guilty look on his face says enough. “What are you up to?” I want to know. He smiles and pretends to zip his mouth. “How about a little afternoon swim before we hit the gym?” he says trying to avoid my curiosity. “Yes sure, why not,” I say in my sulky voice.

“I’m in,” Matt says and runs to the pool jumps in and splashes us.

“Let me just change first you idiot,” I shout at him but he doesn’t seem to listen and he continues to splash us.

My legs ache when I sit down in my bath. Lin was merciless today and made us do a hundred of everything. Even Alex took strain today and I loved seeing that. He said that he invited Emma and Jerry and Louis to come with us to the beach tonight. Jerry and Louis work for Cat. They renovate houses, she decorates them and then she sells it for a good profit. Safiri use to be a very active little town back in the eighties and many people had their houses built in what was known as ‘little paradise’. Unfortunately there was not much for everyone to do and many people were forced to move away and find work elsewhere. So after about twenty years Cat saw an opportunity as more people became interested in having a holiday home in Safiri. Matt also helped her with her business when he was still studying but he never really enjoyed the renovating thing and gave up quickly. I wonder why I haven’t heard from my dad today and decide to call him. It takes him a while to answer and when he does I am instantly worried. He sounds terrible. “Hey Rosie, how are things back in Safiri?” he asks trying to sound cheerful but I know him better he is not well.

“Dad, what is the matter, you sound sick.”

“Nothing to worry about Rosie.” He covers but I won’t have any of that nonsense. “Fine, I have to go, talk to you later.”

“No wait Lane. I just don’t want you to worry about me that’s all.”

“Well not telling me what is going on will make me worry more.”

“You sound exactly like your mother.”

“Don’t change the subject now dad, what is wrong?” I push for an answer. “The doctor says I have tick-bite fever. It will take about two weeks to get back to normal,” I can hear that he is tired and I don’t want him to lose out on necessary rest but now I am really worried. “You’ll be okay right? I say as normally as I can.

“Yes off course,” I will see you on Tuesday. Love you Rosie.”

“Love you too dad,” I say and hang up.

Matt and Alex are both in Matt’s room when I go looking for them. They look very serious when I enter the room but quickly change their attitudes when they see me. “Are you ready to go?” I ask and they jump up from the bed. “Ready as can be,” Alex says and gives Matthew a weird look. “Lany, may I borrow your Gibson for tonight?” Matt asks. Off course I agree to it, he looks after stuff else I wouldn’t let him use it. “I’ll go fetch it,” I say and turn to leave,

“Wait I’ll come with you,” He says and slips an arm around my waist. Alex looks at us leave but it is as if he doesn’t see us at all. “Is everything okay with Alex?” I ask worried about his seriousness but Matt assures me that he is just fine. He takes a long time tuning the guitar to perfection even though it was relatively in tune and then rubs lemon oil on the wood, to protect it from the salty air. I get the feeling that I am kept here for a reason but when Alex joins us in the closet and gives me a sideways smile like only he can, my suspicions are gone. We take Matt’s car to the beach and meet up with the rest of the group except Emma; she said she will be a little late. It has just gone dark when David’s car pulls up coming from the village. Emma says goodbye to her dad and greets the men. Then she walks over to my side and we start walking down the beach. Louis seems like a very active young man and runs up and down the beach chasing crabs just the way Rocky did this morning. Jerry is quieter and walks next to Alex. Emma seems to be happier at night and we laugh at Matt’s poor attempts to tell scary stories. The carcass of a whale-shark that was spit out by the sea offers us entertainment and something to talk about for a long period of the night. Crabs are eating its flesh and Louis and Matt shine their flashlights on it and lift up parts of its dead body to reveal little starfish still holding on, unaware of the fate that awaits them once the scorching sun starts shining down on them. I am relieved that it is not an old carcass which means it has not started to rot yet. Matt pretends to want to grab my face with his fishy hands and I run to Alex to hide in his arms. He chases Emma and she hides behind a very reserved Jerry. I stay with Alex and we sit down on the dry sand just far enough from everyone else so they won’t hear us whispering. “This was a very good idea,” I say and move a little closer to him. He puts his arm around me and his chin on my head. “I just want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can and besides I like Emma and the others. I thought it would do Matt good to get out a bit.”

“Yes, he works way too hard,” I say.

“And thinks too much,” he adds. He looks me in the eyes then and lifts my chin with his finger. Then he kisses me on the lips softly. The sea air makes his lips taste salty but it is soon gone and all Alex again. This kiss is just as overwhelming as the first one. My head is spinning my stomach clenching and my hands shaking. But he is much gentler this time almost too gentle, almost as if he is holding back purposefully and my guess is that it is not only because he doesn’t want to hurt me. He strokes my cheek and closes his eyes. “I love you Lane,” he whispers and I swallow down the huge lump in my throat. “I will always love you. Doesn’t matter where we are or why, just remember that.” Emma and Louis walk over to us and show us their collection of glow worms. We get up and slowly start walking back so we can have dinner at the Beach Cafe’. Matt has fallen behind and is dragging his feet. When we reach the cafe’ I leave to go wash my hands. Emma is still talking to Louis so I go alone. Matt and Alex walk with me while Louis talks to his Aunt Mary who’s cafe’ is exceptionally busy tonight. I walk over to the mirror and flatten my windblown hair with my palms. I hear Matt and Alex in the next door men’s room. I am alone in the room and it is so quiet that I can hear every word they say. “When are you going to tell her,” Matt asks.