Swell (Complete)

Chapter Five (Part Two)

"Do you believe in fate?
Do you believe in destiny?"

....

Adora adjusted the jeans and stood nervously in front of the mirror in the bathroom. It was the only full-length mirror upstairs. Her long, dark hair was tied up in a ponytail and she nodded at herself.
This was good; the black top was pretty but practical. She could show Tom the cove and still look like she was out on a date if they had dinner.
Was she really going on a date with Tom?
Had he really asked her on a date in the library?
Of all places...
She left the bathroom and grabbed her cardigan from the bed. Agatha got up from her spot near the pillows and followed Adora out of the room.
The sun was shining and there was no breeze; at least not at Edgar's Escape.
Tom had insisted on picking her up, he wanted to see where she lived, someone had told him about it and he claimed to be interested.
Marti had made Tom out to sound like he would have gone for a more fashionable date, someone tall, and pretty... and popular.
Adora had imagined one of the typical high school jocks from the movies; but then maybe they had imagined a small town from the movies, which in honesty wasn't that far from what Wheeler Falls was like.
Adora held the door open for Agatha and then closed it behind her, locking the upstairs away from guests.
She gasped in surprise when she stepped into the lounge room and saw Tom waiting on the couch.
"Hey." He smiled at her and stood up. Agatha sat beside Adora's legs and looked at Tom cautiously.
"Hi." She stood awkwardly in the doorway between the reception and the lounge. She absently tucked wisps of hair behind her ear, the ones that always fell from her ponytail.
"Cat person?" He looked down at Agatha beside her and Adora let out a small laugh.
"I like dogs too, it's just that Agatha kind of claimed me as her person when we got her."
He was wearing dark blue jeans and a light cream jacket. It looked a bit like a jacket she had seen on Will in music that week and she wondered if they shared clothes.
The twins seemed too different to really share anything other than family and genetics, but maybe some clothes suited both tastes.
"Fair enough. Have you got a dog?" Tom moved closer to her and Agatha tilted her head to study him. His eyes seemed unsure as they looked at the cat and Agatha seemed just as unsure of him.
"We have a dog, he's probably out with mum in the yard setting up clues." Adora bent down and scooped Agatha up. "I think you two should be properly introduced. Agatha, this is Tom, Tom, meet my Aggie." The fluffy cat sat back comfortably in Adora's arms as she walked to Tom and looked up at him.
He looked down with an uncertain smile at the cat and then reached out and stroked Agatha's fluffy head.
"Nice to meet you, Agatha." He said. "You've got lovely, soft fur."
Adora could tell he was just being nice and humouring her. She laughed a little and gave Agatha a kiss on the head before putting the cat down on the carpet and shooing her away.
"Come on, I'll show you around and introduce you to Edgar, our dog." She gestured for him to follow her and walked into the kitchen. "So, my parents bought this place before I was born, there's a photo album scrapbook type thing in the lounge that shows people what it was like and all the different changes they made to get it to this point." Adora began to explain. "This is the kitchen, obviously. We have communal meals when there's groups booked in, like there is this weekend, the cottages outside are also self contained though." She led Tom outside.
"Wow. This is some kind of backyard." Tom said, not bothering to hide the impressed tone in his voice. He'd already seen what she had shown him so far, but she didn't know that.
"It was a lot of work growing up and helping build it. I think half the town could say they spent a few hours hanging out here and doing work." Adora laughed loudly and he bit his bottom lip as he looked at her face.
She looked so innocent and cute when she laughed.
"Edgar?!" Her loud voice was a surprise and Tom looked around the bushland as they moved along the sandy path. He saw the chocolate coloured fur shimmering in the sunlight as the dog broke through from some low shrubs and bounded towards them. He wondered where the dog was while they played the murder mystery, did he have a gated area or was he just well trained?
Adora knelt down and held her arms out wide and Tom grinned as the dog tried to slow down before he landed in her arms, the dog's four legs scrambled together and Edgar barely managed to avoid knocking Adora over.
"Edgar? As in... Edgar's Escape?" Tom asked as he watched Adora rough the dog up.
"As in Edgar Allen Poe." Adora ruffled the dog more and stood up. "Tom, meet Edgar, Edgar this is Tom."
Tom ruffled the dog's head as he panted excitedly, his tail wagging violently.
"Nice to meet you Edgar, you're a lot friendlier than your friend, Agatha." He remarked.
"Aren't all dogs?" The voice was familiar and he looked up to the blonde woman walking towards them. She had a duffle bag hanging from her hand now and she stopped in front of them, wiping her free hand on her jeans before she held it out towards him. "I'm Anne, Adora's Mum, you must be Tom Taylor?"
Tom nodded and shook her offered hand, did that mean Adora had spoken of him? "Nice to meet you, Mrs Dodgers."
"Please, call me Anne, everyone else does." She smiled. Seeing her up closer Tom could see properly that her lips were indeed the same, plump shape as her daughters, but that was where the similarities ended. "Gee, you look so much like your father."
He frowned. "You've met Dad?" Anne was a broader build than Adora, she looked like she would be strong, maybe an athlete.
"I was at the bakery Thursday, discussing catering." She explained.
"Ohhh, well, yea. We all got Mum and Dad's looks, our sister Marti looks like Mum, and us boys look like Dad, as you said." Tom smiled and put his hand into his pocket as she let it go. Edgar was sitting between them all, his tongue hanging from his mouth and his tail swishing strongly on the ground; it left a triangle of cleaner paving as sand and dirt gathered either side of his wagging boundary.
"So, Adora tells me she's going to show around, do be careful when she takes you to the cove, it can be a bit hard to climb for the first time." Anne warned.
Tom smiled and looked down to Adora standing beside him. "So I've heard."
Adora beamed up at him. "It's one of my favourite places. The weather is good for it today."
He looked up and shrugged. "Alright, well, should we get going on this tour then?"
Adora nodded and moved over to her mum. She kissed the older woman on the cheek. "I'll let you know when I'll be home. Have a good afternoon with the guests."
Anne winked. "You know I always love the suspense once the victim has been cleaned away." She let go of an evil laugh and Tom couldn't help but chuckle at it.
Adora grabbed Tom's arm and started to pull him back towards the double storey. He liked the fact she was pulling his hand from his pocket as she dragged him by his arm.
Instead of going back through the house, she led him around it and he marvelled at the landscaped garden.
He looked over his shoulder as they passed one of the cabins. "Not showing me around Edgar's Escape?" He felt a little disappointed to not be shown further along the sandstone paving and see where his date lived.
"There's guests staying in the cabins and searching for clues, so I shouldn't really show you around the Escape at the moment." Adora answered as she pulled him to the front of the house and stopped. "I assume you found the driveway easy enough?" She looked at him expectantly.
"Yea, and I parked in the car park." He nodded and jerked his head towards the car park that was bordered by small wooden sleepers. There had been a couple of other cars and a minibus parked in the car park when he arrived, and they were still there. Obviously belonged to the amateur detectives trying to solve Adora's murder.
"Great. Lead the way, and when we get to the main street, I'll direct you to the cove." Adora seemed unfazed at the thought of being a tour guide, as if it was second nature to her.
Tom led the way to his car and unlocked the doors with the remote. He opened the passenger side door for her and smiled at her as he closed her into his car. Walking around the front to his side he glanced at her as she buckled her seatbelt.
This was going to be the best day he'd had for a while, he could tell.