A Place Beyond The Horizon

04. THE RIPTIDE

His finger taps the screen and he watches it working with a horrific fascination. The link is there on the side, in his contacts. He presses it and is met with his wife's face, smiling back at him from the screen. It's a post from yesterday, out on a boat on the lake back home, a group shot with Rosa in the middle effortlessly drawing the eye. She's in a tank top and tight, white pants with shades tucked into her hair, arms across the shoulders of two girls he doesn't recognise. He scans the rest of the faces. They're all new to him, except the man standing behind his wife raising a beer in a toast to the camera. It's Davey.

Aidan places the phone down on the table and runs a hand through his hair. He can't look away. Rosa is smiling for the camera, absolutely gorgeous, her eyes sparkling. She looks relaxed and happy. He looks at Davey, his friend, the property guru, the guy always between girlfriends. His guts churn and he blanks the screen.

The voice in his head is insistent now: what did you expect? It was always going to come to this. Rosa is stunning; it stands to reason that there would be a line of men with whom she could fill the gap left behind in her life by Aidan. That Davey would be the first to try doesn't surprise him. That was Davey's mode of operation: an opportunist, a wheeler-dealer. He'd simply seen an option come up unexpectedly on a prime opportunity and was moving to secure it. The worst part is that there's nothing Aidan can do. She'd cheated. He couldn't just turn up and beg for her to come back. Yeah, it was always going to come to this.

He picks up his phone again and flicks to his photos, anything to banish his wife from the screen. There is a picture of himself with Kat, with the Harbour Bridge lit up behind them in the dark. He finds himself staring at her face, but he doesn't feel the same. Kat had been wonderful, but it feels like a shallow impression next to Rosa. But, he chides himself, wait: it was always going to be hard starting new things, comparing with the past.

He flicks through his messages and finds the one he's looking for, taps the number and waits as it rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi Marley, uh, we met this morning. It's Aidan. I was wondering if you had time to talk. You mentioned you had some work."

"Aidan, hi. Nice to hear from you. Uh, I'm in the middle of something right now, but yes. Do you want to meet up face to face? Are you still down in Manly?"

"Yeah."

"I'm just north of there. How about I pass by in an hour? There's a coffee place at the north end of the beach."

"Sounds good."

"See you then."

"See you."

He ends the call and downs the last of his beer, stuffing his phone roughly into the pocket of his shorts. He has that strange feeling again, like he's just reacting to things, caught in the flow. He strides downstairs and out into the sun, turning towards the beach and Hardy's face comes to him all of a sudden, unbidden. He remembers the way Hardy had looked out at the horizon, picking his wave and then turning. Aidan looks out now at the same view, then down to his feet. He turns left, heading north along the promenade to his meeting.

---

Marley is waiting for him, legs crossed in her activewear, grey hair coiled in a tight bun, slim and wiry. He hurries across the road.

"Hi," he says, "Sorry."

"No, I'm early. It didn't take as long as I thought."

Aidan nods. "Do you want a coffee, or...?"

"I'm fine with the water, but please sort yourself."

Aidan goes to the counter and orders himself a coffee. The beer hasn't slowed him down, but he's nervous and he wants to make a good impression. It's been a long time since he's been interviewed for a job.