Читать книгу Bird of Paradise - Rosemary Esmonde Peterswald - Страница 6

‘What will I wear?’ Merryn asked. ‘I mean what does one wear for a wedding in New Guinea? I can’t imagine waltzing down the aisle in a long, white dress and veil would be very practical.’

They were sitting under a weeping willow in the garden of a small weatherboard cottage on the shores of the lake at Wangi in New South Wales, after Jake had returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam. It was a perfect late summer’s afternoon, with the sun’s warmth and the smell of newly mown grass. Before them, the photo of the thatched palm chapel at Karu Barracks in Port Moresby lay open on the table.

Jake lifted the coffee pot from the wooden tray and filled her cup. ‘You’re quite right. It’s far too hot up there for a long dress.’

‘Will it be much hotter than here?’ Merryn asked.

‘It’s a different kind of heat. You get used to it.’

‘Maybe I should wait until I get up to Moresby to buy my dress. I’ve heard there’s a good boutique there.’ She grabbed a biscuit off the table, breaking it in two. ‘No, on second thought, I think I’ll get it in Sydney. Probably safer. We can choose Mum’s as well. And Amy’s. Isn’t it fabulous they’re coming up for the wedding? I’m glad we decided to get married there. It looks so romantic... much better than a staid old wedding here.’ She laughed. ‘A bit like eloping, isn’t it?’

Jake reached his hand towards her face and followed the outline of her chin. ‘It’ll be a great day, my darling. I can’t wait.’

A few minutes later he stood up and moved towards the house. ‘Wait here,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘I’ll be back in a sec. There’s something I need to get.’

When he had disappeared inside, Merryn picked up the photo of the chapel at Karu Barracks. She imagined herself coming out of the sac sac building—into the startling sunlight and the searing heat.

We’ll be a married couple then, she thought. Not just acting like one.

Yet as a shadow passed over the sun, Merryn felt the familiar stab in her heart. She shook her head. Surely once they were married she would be able to move on and forget what she had done.

Now she heard a rustle in the leaves behind her and turned. Jake was there. In his hand, he carried a package.

He dipped his head under the lower branches and threw her the smile that never ceased flipping her heart. ‘I was going to wait. But well...seeing as you’re worrying so much about what to wear, I thought I’d give this to you now.’

Lowering his body down on the grass beside her, he placed the package on Merryn’s knee.

‘What is it?’ she asked, surprise written all over her face. ‘There aren’t any shops around here.’

‘I know. I got it in Singapore, on the way back from Vietnam. It will suit you. Go on—open it. It won’t bite.’

Carefully, Merryn unwrapped the paper. Inside was a delicate cream fabric. She caressed it softly as if it may tear with her touch and realised it was silk. Standing up, she lifted it out of the package and held it in front of her. Falling just above her knees, it was the most beautiful dress Merryn had ever seen. Around the neck was a collar of heavy silver beading; the shoulders cut away to where the beading sat.

‘Your wedding dress,’ Jake said. ‘All you’ll need is a flower behind your ear and you’ll be the most beautiful bride known to mankind.’ With his fingers, he took her hand and held it to his lips. ‘I love you, Merryn O’Neill. You will make a great Mrs. Hawkins.’ His eyes met hers. ‘I’m a very lucky man.’

For a moment Merryn’s eyes rested on his. ‘And so am I, Jake.’ But then she turned away as a pang of regret washed through her once more. She tried to hide a tear threatening to slide down her cheek. ‘If only...’

‘Don’t say it,’ Jake said, reaching out to her. ‘What’s done is done. In New Guinea we’ll start again.’

Merryn knew he was right. She was stupid to dwell on the past, dreaming of lost things. They would be married in Moresby as soon as she finished at flying school. For a while she had thought of throwing the course in. But Jake had said that would be foolish. She’d come this far, so she might as well finish it. And she knew he was right. It was the money her father had left her in his will, for when she turned twenty-one, which was putting her through the course. To throw it in would be letting him down — letting herself down.

‘Can I try it on?’ she asked.

‘God no,’ Jake exclaimed in mock horror. ‘And show your husband to be your wedding dress.’

‘But you bought it. You’ve seen it.’

‘I know, but I want to wait until you’re walking down the aisle before I see you in it. I just wanted you to have it now. I know it will fit. I stole that yellow dress of yours when I was home on R&R, the one with the cut away shoulders. You always said it was one of your favourites.’

Merryn laughed out loud. ‘I wondered where that went.’ She held the fabric to her face. ‘It’s beautiful, Jake. The most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.’

‘I’m glad you like it. When I saw it, I knew it was you. But you don’t have to wear it. It was just a thought.’

Laying it carefully back in its wrapping paper on the ground, Merryn threw her arms around his neck and gave him a huge kiss. ‘Thank you, Jake. I’ll treasure it all my life.’ She inclined her head and looked into his eyes. ‘Not many men would have the gumption to buy their fiancee’s wedding dress. And know just what she likes.’

He grinned. ‘Not many blokes are lucky enough to have a girl like you.’ He lay down, resting his head on her knee. For a while, this is how they remained, Merryn’s feet dangling in the lake with a couple of fairy wrens now visible within the reeds, the red patch on their dark backs glistening in the bright sun rays. Across the water, flecked with tiny squiggles of white foam, the hills opposite were clear and sparkling, painted in parts with great swishes of yellow wattle and dotted with tiny blobs of white sheep.

Reaching out to feel the dress lying within the paper, Merryn exclaimed ecstatically, ‘I’m the luckiest girl alive.’

When the sun had moved and they were no longer in the shade of an overhanging willow branch, Jake stood up, stretched his long arms in the air, and gazed languidly across the lake.

‘You can try it on later by yourself—when it’s cooler. Now it’s too hot. A swim would be good. We could go to the island ... and ...’ his blue eyes danced, ‘you never know what may follow.’

Merryn looked up at him and laughed. ‘Are you propositioning me, Jake Hawkins?’

Leaning down he took hold of her hand and dragged her to her feet. ‘Well, my gorgeous girl, you’ll have to come to the island to find out.’

He led her through the long grass to where there was a small jetty with a wooden rowboat tied to the end. Merryn slipped her cotton sundress over her shoulders and dropped it on the timber slats. Together they dived into the lake. For some time, they trod water with Merryn’s arms around Jake’s neck, their bodies touching below the ripples on the surface. Afterward, they swam out to the thickly wooded island, where a small deserted beach bathed in late afternoon sunshine. Here they lay on the soft sand and made love.

Later, with the heat dissipating and the remains of the day now disappearing on the far horizon, they lit the barbeque and cooked the succulent blue swimmer crab Jake had caught that morning from the tranquil waters of the lake. Afterward, with the last embers of the barbeque glowing crimson in the darkness, Jake fell asleep in the deck chair.

Standing up, Merryn kissed him gently on the forehead. She then crept inside and tried on her wedding dress. When she looked at herself in the walnut oval mirror in the bedroom, she thought that for the first time in her life she truly did look beautiful.