Brick by Brick

Part Eleven

He wasn't sure why he'd noticed the distinctive woman sat on a wall above the beach. Was it her beautiful auburn hair that flashed red in the sun? Or the contrasting pale, almost luminous skin? Or the unusual and rather conservative black fifties style swimsuit that rather than looking dowdy actually coated her curvy figure and made her seem more exotic than anyone who paraded around in a skimpy bikini? All he knew was that she was different, and she caused the first spark of intrigue that he'd felt during the whole trip. He was more than fascinated; she was the complete opposite to everyone else they'd met on their trip, the tanned, and the glamorous. She hadn't been either, but she'd been so serene, so happy, so content as she sat observing the views from the harbour wall and that confidence poured off her in luxurious waves.

A shout from the water caused him to look up and see Marcus disappear beneath a wave, a blonde woman wrapped around him. Another woman. He half laughed, half groaned, but then when he turned back the wall was empty, the siren had gone.

He'd hidden his disappointment well, aware that he'd already been the voice of doom on this trip, not enjoying it half as much as he could have. A quick tour of the harbour and he was devastated to come back without a further sighting of the beauty, and instead he got roped into yet another boat party that cruised late into the night.

But she remained in his mind, a beautiful memory that he never thought he'd see again. Then she appeared on the ferry out of the blue the next day, as stunning as he remembered, and walked straight into the radar field of Marcus.

Whether Marcus realised that he was intrigued by Sammy Joel wasn't sure, but he'd nudged him in the ribs as she came into view and whispered, "twit-twoo...first dibs on her Joel...after all you still owe me!"

Joel had turned to him and glared, the misunderstanding with Meredith many years earlier was regularly tossed in his direction. He hadn't gone near Marcus' girlfriend, he'd never have stolen a someone from his best friend, but when Marcus was dumped because Meredith told him she preferred Joel, there had been a real rift in their friendship, and despite Marcus assuring him that he believed he was without blame; it was still thrown back in his face repeatedly.

And now that he'd expressed an interest in someone and used the 'Meredith' card, Joel was in a catch twenty two situation, if he protested at this, then Marcus would always doubt his intentions with said female for as long as he was in a relationship with her, so he had no option but to stand back and ignore his attraction to the woman who Marcus ended up marrying. And that was as far as it went.

For what it was worth. He had to go and see her, had to explain things. He had no idea what he'd say, what he'd do, but he had to do SOME thing.

He showered in some way, his head still throbbing beyond belief, then tried three times to get dressed. The sight of his bed was more than tempting, but he had a job to do and he had to do it now.

Sunglasses helped, he felt a little more human after some coffee and paracetamol. His stomach churned, he needed food but had nothing sensible in his fridge. The thought of picking up a greasy breakfast roll brought mixed reactions to his sensitive stomach, but it needed lining and he needed carbohydrates.

As he reached the foyer of his building, he heard someone call his voice, and looking up he saw Daniel sat on a ledge near the front door.

He rolled his eyes in frustration, even though it almost killed his head to do it, he had neither the desire nor the tolerance to speak to him of all people, "I have nothing to say to you Turner, you need to get out of my way."

Marching past him into the sunshine Joel flinched at the brightness of it all despite his shades. That split second of hesitation gave Daniel the time to catch up with him, fall into stride beside him.