The Understanding (Bk 1 Otago Series)

Chapter 19- Sharing the News

Cassies POV

"So that will be nice to visit Dave and Trace tonight,' I was talking too much, feeling a little nervous as Max started up the vehicle. After all the comfortable silence we had shared in the past, clearly this was not one of those times. Max seemed almost stern, and I couldn't put my finger on the other thing.

Without saying much he nodded a grunt at my comment. He pulled out into traffic and then turned towards the beach. Surfers came to St Clair all the time. Recently there had been a lot of damage down by the power of the surf to the promenade, but you could still sit in the top car park and watch the surf and surfers. Max leaned forward and turned off the key.

Sitting back he started hitting the steering wheel slowly with his thumb and staring out the front wind screen.

"I wonder if Mum is out there today?" I looked over in surprise.

" Really? She surfs? Wow. I didn't know that."

"She started a few years back, part of it I think was her reclaiming youth, but also finding a new outlet as we were growing and starting to get our own interests. She really is an amazing lady, I really respect the choices she has made."

There seemed to be more to that comment than he was saying but I let it go. I searched out the screen wondering if I would know Jo-An if I saw her, probably not from this distance.

I waited, not wanting to rush Max, and not wanting to pressure him, but he needed to realise that I was on tenderhooks a bit. "Is this about us?' Have you changed your mind or something?' I fingered the beautiful bracelet at my wrist. I hadn't taken it off since he gave it to me, wanting a constant reminder of the commitment we had given each other. Could I live without it? I snorted a dry laugh as I thought I probably couldn't live without him now. Sharing my life with him had been an effort at first, but well worth it. I looked over at his strong profile and took a deep breath, "Come on Max, please put me out of my misery here."

That seemed to startle him out of his reverie and he quickly reached for me and pulled me in. I snuggled back into him as his arms went around me, "I am so sorry, No, no, everything is fine. You are amazing, and I am loving being with you. I should say that maybe, well everything could be fine," his voice drifted off in uncertainty. I reached my hands up to touch each side of his face, "Well we will never know at this rate Max, come on you can do it. Just tell me. How bad can it be? Like a bandaid, come on, rip it off.' This managed to get a slight smile out of him.

"Can I tell you a story"? I nodded. He began telling me of the terrible depravity that everyday Solomon Islanders lived in. Trying to eek out an existence in a country ravaged by civil war. Their children were taken away from the villages at a young age and trained by whatever war lord had captured them. In recent times some of this had been rectified. There had been better training for police, less corruption. They had confiscated many of the weapons from warlords, and there had been an end to much of the civilian blood shed. As he was talking he had been slowly stroking my inside thigh. I had been able to listen to what he was saying but my body had started to hum and I didn't want to miss what he was saying. I gently took his hand and swung to face him.

I smiled coyly, "That feels nice, great in fact, but I need to concentrate," I smiled faintly. Obviously he didn't feel he was over the worst of his story. So I said, ' Go on.'

He looked out the window at the the side of my head but continued to hold the hand that was closest him.

"When I heard about this over the news at first, about 2 years ago, I was horrified that people lived like that in a country so close to ours, and yet they lived in fear for their lives and for the lives of their children. There was a police publication that came through telling us of an opportunity to be involved. There was a commitment from the New Zealand government to send a peace keeping force to join with the Australian one, to support and train local government and police. This has been happening for sometime now." H paused clearly reflecting on this and how to proceed with his story.