The Ripple Effect Part 14

"You wouldn't have to deliver it," said Mel scornfully. "Shay could."

"What if he doesn't want to?"

"He's family. Of course he'll want to."

"For heaven's sake. He isn't your family, Mel." Joelle slammed the knife into the tomato. "You always expect everyone to help you. You swan about doing what you like and get other people to pick up after you. Mum was right."

"But she's not your Mum, is she?" said Mel. "If we're going to play nasty," she added in a vain attempt to soften the blow.

Joelle dumped the tomato pieces into the bowl and attacked the lettuce, ripping it with trembling fingers.

"Where's your corkscrew?" Mel opened a drawer and rummaged about.

"The next one down." Mel was impossible. How were they ever going to survive living together? How long was she expecting to stay? She rinsed the lettuce and mixed it in with the tomatoes and dressing.

"Here." Mel thrust a gla.s.s of wine under her nose. "I'm sorry, Jo. I know I can be a real b.i.t.c.h at times. I'm really grateful you let me stay."

Joelle took the gla.s.s. Mel was looking at her with that same expression of underlying fear she'd worn earlier. Unsure of herself, unsure of her welcome. Afraid she'd overstepped some invisible boundary of which she'd only just become aware. Perhaps she was finally growing up.

"I'm sorry, too. It's been a tough day."

Mel said with an accompanying grimace, "I know and I'm not helping, am I?"

"Actually," said Joelle. "You are." She raised her gla.s.s and clinked with Mel's.

Mel grinned. "You know your brother is one hot looking guy." Joelle sipped her wine and headed for the couch to cover her embarra.s.sment. "If I didn't know better I'd say he really fancied you. The way he looks at you-"

"I'm his sister, Melanie."

"Yes, but not really," she said trailing after Joelle. "Well, you are but not the way we are. You didn't grow up together. What if you'd met and didn't know you were related? What then? What if he'd asked you out and you'd fallen in love and all that? Plenty of people could have already done it, couldn't they?"

She sat down, still talking, running with her idea. "I bet that has happened. It wouldn't be anyone's fault. You could fall in love with your brother because to you he'd be a total stranger. You could live your whole lives together and never know. Wow!"

Joelle said nothing. She couldn't. There was nothing to say. For once, in her crazy, scattergun way, Mel was absolutely right. What if he'd walked into the flower shop-a total stranger-and she'd fallen head over heels...

But Mel hadn't finished. "Just imagine," she said. "How terrible it would be to find out. Too late. After you'd fallen in love or even got married. Or had kids! Wow!"

Chapter 7.

Shay drove back to Sydney, his mind bursting over with thoughts and images of his sister. His gorgeous, real, alive and breathing sister. Her beautiful face, her smiling mouth, her gentle personality, the curls that teased around her cheeks, her deep blue eyes. Joelle was smart and ambitious as well as lovely. She was kind and caring as evidenced by her treatment of that crazy, irresponsible Melanie. Quite simply she was perfect. Plus she'd dealt with the shock of the whole thing pretty well.

The parents would just have to ride out the storm. Joelle would forgive them for what she saw as their betrayal of her trust eventually. She wasn't a vindictive girl. He'd do his best to steer her back towards them when the raw edge of her pain had worn down.

Melanie was a character and a half. Very strong but just a little fearful of her new role as pregnant single girl. She'd been defiantly adamant the father of her baby was out of the picture but there'd been a definite softening when she began to realise the lifelong implications for her child. It'd be interesting to see where that led. Joelle may well be right in her a.s.sessment of William and Natalie. They'd come through for their daughter, for sure.

Families. So complex. Shay grinned with delight. He had a family for the first time. A real family. Now he and Joelle could go about discovering the rest of theirs. "Where will you start?" Mel had asked and she'd asked again when he drove her to pick up Joelle's yellow Beetle. She seemed fascinated by their story and anxious to help.

"I'm not sure," he'd replied.

"I reckon you should start with those two grandparents, the Graysons. Where did they come from?"

"Toowoomba."

"There might be others still around up there. Great aunts and uncles. You should check the phone book."

"Good idea."

"I'll do it," she said eagerly. "And I can get on the internet too. Joey's got a computer."

"Joey? Do you call her that?" Shay laughed. He liked it.

"She hates it when I do." Mel grinned back at him. "I'll make up a list of Graysons. It's not all that common a name. We can write to them all and ask if they're related to yours. Do you know their first names? Their Christian names?" Her lip curled in disgust. "What a contradiction that is."

"I'll have to ask Stan, my Dad."

"I'd love to come with you when you go to Birrigai with Jo," she said.

Shay shook his head. "Not unless Joelle wants you along. I think she'd probably rather just go alone. With me, I mean."

"Mmm."

Mel raised her eyebrows and sent him a half-smiling, teasing look he didn't understand. She was a character all right.

"Shay," she said when he dropped her off. "Can I come to see you as a doctor, about the baby?"

"I think you'd be better off seeing someone in this area, Mel," he said. "Not that I don't want to, it's just better at the other end, for the birth. And you'll need to line up a gynaecologist."

"Jo's given me her doctor's name."

"Call him then and he'll be able to refer you to a gyno. It's much better to have a specialist just in case there's a problem along the way."

"Do you think there will be?" she asked in alarm.

"Of course not. You look fine but no-one can guarantee anything."

"All right, Doctor," she said and laughed. "Thanks. I guess I'll be seeing you quite a bit from now on."

"Maybe." Shay waved and left her standing waving next to the Beetle.

Back at home, Mel's idea ran rampant in his head. Contact all the Graysons in Toowoomba and radiate out from there. He sat down at his computer with a piece of defrosted pizza in one hand and a gla.s.s of red wine in the other. He put the gla.s.s down, took a bite of pizza and began composing a letter.

He ground to a halt very rapidly. He typed, "I am trying to contact any relatives of..." and stopped. He didn't know their first names.

Stan answered the phone after a couple of rings.

"Stan Brookes."

"h.e.l.lo, Dad."

"Shay, how are things? Any news?" He realised with a start of guilty remorse he hadn't told them anything of his results.

"Good-brilliant-Dad. I found her. My sister. Her name is Joelle Paice and she lives in Sunshine Point near Wollongong."

"Have you contacted her yet?" Stan's voice was measured and calm.

"Yes. I found her a week ago but Dad, she didn't know she was adopted and her parents didn't want me to talk to her. I met them last week."

"They hadn't told her?"

"No. It'd got to the point where they were afraid to tell her because of how it made them look."

"Oh Shay, mate," groaned Stan. "We warned you it might cause trouble."

"Yes, you did but it's all right. They were glad, I think, to have it all in the open. They told her today while I was there. She was upset with them but she'll get over it. They're a very loving family and she's had a happy life. Her sister is staying with her so she'll be fine."

"What does she look like?" asked Stan softly.

"She wants to meet you," said Shay. "We thought we'd come at Easter. She has deep blue eyes and reddish blonde hair, curly. She's very pretty. Small boned but not a small girl. More delicate. Fair skin."

"Sounds just like her mother," said Stan.

"That's what I thought from your description."

"We'd love to meet her. So would Olive."

"Dad, we want to find our father if we can. I thought we may be able to track him down through her parents. Kind of work forward from there."

"You'll probably discover some other relatives," said Stan.

"Yes, I hope so. Do you remember their names-Emily's parents?"

"Rebecca and Joseph. She had the mother's name as her second name."

"Thanks."

"Keep in touch, son. Let us know what you find, won't you?"

"Of course, Dad. How's Mum?"

"She's got a cold at the moment. Lost her voice or I'd put her on to say h.e.l.lo."

"Tell her to stay indoors and rest," said Shay.

"Funny, I seem to remember her saying the same to you starting when you were about eight. You took no notice."

"No, well, I'm a doctor and Mum's not eight. Give her my love."

"Will do, son."

Back to the letter. But first another slice of pizza hot from the oven. Juggling the steaming piece and dripping cheese and mushrooms onto the plate Shay faced the screen again. Vigorous two finger typing brought the letter to a stage where he was reasonably satisfied. He could do multi copies at work on Monday. No idea how many he'd need but a visit to the Post Office should solve that. He opened the Sydney phone directory for a rough figure. Not many. Less than two columns. If Joelle and Melanie helped they could cover them as well.

Joelle woke before dawn on Sunday. She was mildly surprised to discover she'd woken because she didn't think she'd even been asleep. It seemed to her she'd lain wide eyed with thoughts tumbling about her head from the moment she'd crawled into bed. There was absolutely no chance now of more sleep despite the time. Her brain was awake and firing. She slipped out of bed, pulled on her red cotton j.a.panese yukata with the white flying birds and padded barefoot to the kitchen. Standing on the balcony in the cool morning air with a cup of tea clasped in both hands, she stared out towards the ocean.

Last night's storm hadn't eventuated. A pink and yellow glow on the distant horizon marked the arrival of the sun. Another hot day on the way according to the forecast. She sipped the tea and the scalding liquid coursed down her throat.

Shay. She had to see him. They had so much to talk about, so many questions to ask and answer. Yesterday she'd been stunned, too shocked to think at all beyond the rush of anger that William and Natalie had lied to her all her life. Just thinking about it brought tears of impotent, uncomprehending rage. She didn't want to see them, wouldn't see them.

Joelle gritted her teeth, her mouth tightened into a hard line. She wouldn't cry over them either. They'd denied her her birthright. Her brother, her family. How could she forgive them?

Shay.

The glow on the horizon grew stronger and the first rays broke over the surface of the gently heaving waves. Shining like molten metal. Bra.s.sy and hard. A shaft of golden light dazzled her so she had to drop her gaze to the treetops and houses, illuminated and fresh now in the clear morning air.

She drained the tea in her cup, a decision forming in her head. She would go to Sydney and visit Shay. Spend the day with him and begin to acquaint herself with the man she should have known all her life. And he would begin to know about her, the sister he'd sought for so long.

Dressed and ready to leave by six thirty, Joelle scribbled a note for Mel saying she'd be home that night. The roads would be clear so early in the morning. She'd be in the city in under an hour and a half, including a petrol stop.

Joelle stood beside the Beetle holding the nozzle in the tank as the pump clicked and whirred, racking up the dollars at an alarming rate. Maybe she should telephone and tell him she was coming. It was very early-too early to call someone on a Sunday. The pump stopped. Forty-two dollars. She replaced the nozzle, screwed the cap firmly onto the tank and headed for the cashier. Unless he was like her and hadn't slept. Wait until she was closer. Ring about eight. Was he a churchgoer? She had no idea. Her hands smelled of petrol.

Joelle left the freeway and stopped again in a deserted side road somewhere near inner city Darlinghurst to study her Sydney map for Shay's street. He'd written his address on the back of the card with his phone numbers. The stick-on dashboard clock said ten to eight. Not too early.

She pressed the numbers with a trembling finger, missed the four once and had to start again. Ringing. Click.

"h.e.l.lo." His voice blurred with sleep.

"Shay, it's Joelle."

"Joelle!" Now he was wide awake. "I'm glad you called."

"Is it too early?"

"No. Of course not."

"Shay, can I come to visit you? I need to see you. I have so many things I want..." He cut her off.

"Yes, yes of course. Me too. When?"

"Now?"

"What, today?" Surprise? Or shock?