Dreams in Moonlight

Part 24

Greg went to the beach every evening. And he wished he had asked her, when she was due back.

He couldn't get her out of his mind. And apart from turning up at her house, which he really didn't want to do until he got everything sorted in his head, his only option was to bump into her on the beach. She said she came often.

Except she wasn't there. Five days straight, and she wasn't there. He'd checked with Amelia, and according to her, Mallory was only going away for the long weekend. By the time he decided to take matters in hand and talk to her at her home, she'd already left. He phoned, left messages, got no reply. He drove to her house, rang the doorbell, even though the car wasn't there. He waited. Nothing.

Mallory took the whole week off. When she returned to her house she was more relaxed and she had a plan. She was going to get on with her life. Ok, so he didn't fancy her anymore, and she was still in love with him, but she had been in love with him for nearly half her life, seeing him around wasn't going to make that much difference to the way she felt. She just had to make sure she didn't give away her feelings. She didn't want to hurt Amanda. Or him, for that matter.

It wasn't his fault he'd gotten the note. Though she did think he could have come to see her, rather than believe her capable of writing such a note. She hadn't believed he'd left her, had been all set to go after him, until she'd been to see his parents and had a chat with her uncle. Their reactions had convinced her that he really didn't want her following him. For though his parents told her he'd gone to his Aunt's in Hamilton, they weren't willing to give her his aunt's contact details. They were reluctant to talk to her at all. And with her uncle's interpretation of events ringing true with his parent's reluctance to pass on details, Mallory was fairly sure he'd made the decision.

Mallory arrived back in town on the day she was due to have dinner at Amelia's house. She'd expected it to be Jack, Amelia, David and herself, but when she pulled up in the drive way, there were several cars there. She recognized Greg's car. And Amanda's car. And Seth's car.

"Showtime." Mallory whispered to herself. She ran her hands down the side of her jeans, then took a breath, closed her eyes for a second and then ran through her plan. With a soft sigh she headed for the front door.

"Mallory." Jack held the door open wide, "Perfect timing."

Mallory smiled, "Hmm, by the looks of things, I'm late." She said, "But as walking takes just that little bit longer without the walking stick, I keep forgetting that I need to factor that in."

"Ames said you'd been given the all clear to ditch the stick. How's it going?"

"Slowly." Mallory told him and then consciously steadied herself to take a step forward. "You look like you've quite a crowd here tonight."

"Blame Amelia. She invited Greg and Amanda at the game. And then Seth and Evie. So a foursome became an eight." He told her and waited patiently for her to make her way past him. "You're moving well."

"I just need to work on my balance. I've gotten used to relying on the stick, so relearning balance is probably my challenge. But I've had a week, so I am actually heaps better.

"There you are!" Amelia held the door open to the lounge. She studied Mallory as Mallory slowly made her way toward Amelia.

"Something smells good." Mallory said before Amelia gave her a hug.

"BBQ!" Amelia announced, and stepped back, "You are moving better." She'd seen Mallory walk without her stick, as she practiced for this eventuality. "Everyone is out back."

"Everyone. How many have you invited."

"You, David, Evie, Seth, Amanda and Greg." Amelia sighed happily. "Ben's away meeting his prospective in-laws!" Mallory and Amelia grinned before Mallory started to move forward. Amelia watched Mallory move, and smiled, "Is it getting easier?"

Mallory nodded. "You know I've been giving it a go before I got the all clear, but just a few steps, you know. But not really risking it. But now, I'm doing it full time. It's strange you forget just how much you have to work out to move forward without a stick!"

Amelia could see that Mallory was delighted.

"Won't be dancing. But at least I can walk, and I don't have to think about how to juggle using a walking stick and carrying stuff at the same time. It's amazing how liberating it is."

They had nearly walked the length of the corridor. "Everyone will be surprised when they see you without the stick." Amelia said.

"You didn't tell them?"

"I thought that should be your news."

Jack held the door open to the deck out the back and Amelia and Mallory stepped forward. Mallory did a quick scan, as Amelia had said, there was a small group of people Greg and Amanda, Evie and Seth, and David. Once again, Mallory reminded herself about her plan, she schooled her features and stepped forward.

"Sorry I'm late."

"You're lucky we saved you some food." David got to his feet and came toward Mallory. "Hey, no stick." He grinned, "When did that happen?"

"Just this week. I'm still getting my balance now that I don't use the stick at all. I am a bit slow still." Mallory told him.

"Can I be macho and pick you up and carry you across the lawn?"

"Yeah, why not!" Mallory grinned.

David returned the grin, and swept Mallory up into his arms, "You are such a lightweight."

"You say the nicest things." She giggled and laced an arm across his shoulder and enjoyed the experience of being carried.

"Here she is! Better late than never eh?" David slowly lowered Mallory to sit down.

"Thanks."

Greg who'd had the dubious pleasure of watching Mallory being carried did his best not to react. The minute David had picked her up, Greg's blood pressure had soared.