Heat

Flirting with Disaster

I drive through town rather than heading straight back home. They are setting up for tonight's "Community Carols by the Sea". Traffic is slow in our little coastal village and the beach esplanade is choked with cars but it gives Tom time to check out what's happening in the park by our local surf club. His eyes are darting here and there like an excited child.

Once I make it up to the roundabout I turn round and come back down the street and detour through the carpark so he can get a good view of what is happening without straining his neck looking across me.

It is small-town ingenuity at it's best. A big truck has been backed into the park to act as tonight's stage and hundreds of white chairs have been set out in front of it. I roll down the windows and slow even more and Tom takes a deep breath. You can already smell the aroma of cooking onions and sausages and hear the musos warming up at their hastily organised one and only sound check and rehearsal.

While the big swanky carols down the road at the brand new yuppy suburb, fly in performers from around Australia. Our little event is all about the locals it's daggy but it's ours.

There will be performances from local amateurs and professionals and lots of school children, including my own niece Rhia and other members of the family.

I'm obliged to attend a bit later with the rest of the family. Tom is looking out the window, sniffing the air and looking wide-eyed at the event. We aren't in London now Toto and I could imagine he's never quite seen anything like this. I wouldn't know how to describe it to a non-local if I tried.

It's not big and fancy but it's ours and despite it's down-home nature Tom still seems enthusiastic and keen to come and "experience the ambience" - though I wonder if he'll make it. He seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm but I'm sure he'll crash soon - he has to doesn't he? He must have been going for hours. He surely can't keep going?

And I'm right, by the time I get home, I'm talking to myself (a normal occurrence in my life) and Tom is dozing with his head against the window. We had been talking about being married to our occupations - at least for now - and sharing the pit falls of dating when your career comes first.

It hasn't taken me long to feel comfortable with him- unusual for me - I'm not a people person preferring my own company and a canvas to people but I sense that maybe he's the same and it's nice.

It has helped that we have friends in common - something we've just discovered. These include my on-again off-again (depending if he can entice someone better into his bed) London "boyfriend" Mitchell Jones. Mitch is an expat Aussie who runs one of the more exclusive little galleries in Nottinghill and we hook up if I'm in town and we're both single. He is also a drinking mate and old school friend of Tom's, which is where, obviously, his love of my work has stemmed from. I try not to wonder what Mitch has been saying about me - not that I care any more. You can only be someone's "phone a friend" for so long.

I drive the car into the carport next to Scott's hire car and gently shake Tom awake - I hate to do it but I can't leave him in the vehicle in this heat and as much as I would love to drive around for an hour and just watch him sleep. I have things to do.

His eyes flutter a little and he gives me a sleepy smile which goes straight to my stomach. We were just forging a nice friendship and then he does that. I'm trying not to imagine waking up next to him, I'm trying not to imagine what we would have done for him to look that tired. I'm trying - but not very hard (I'm only human). We've both made it clear we aren't looking for love - which is kind of a weird thing to do in the first five hours of knowing someone - isn't it? But that doesn't mean I won't be using him for the odd night-time fantasy.

We both admire each other's work and I suppose that could be mistaken for attraction - well that and the fact that he's easy to talk to and just as easy on the eye. He's also an ally as I enter happy families/couples hell for the next few days.