Falling Walls (III)

Chapter 44

We had been on Hamilton Island, in the Whitsundays, for three days. All the wedding preparations had been completed. I had bought my dress with the competent assistance of Emma and Dave a week earlier and it was Dave's job to bring it safly along two days later and hide it, so Tom wouldn't see it before the wedding. Tradition wasn't something I cared for too much. Well, maybe a bit, but considering this was my second wedding - being pregnant - I somewhat felt white wasn't the right colour. I hadn't worn white at my first. This time, I wanted the real deal. I chose a white dress regardless, elegant, layered with frothy tulle and strapless, accented with a thin silver belt. I'd picked a plain veil, and Emma had found a pretty silver hairpiece to attach it with. The bridesmaids would wear a dress in a similar style, each in a different pastel colour.

I enjoyed our time at the beach, snorkling and all the other nice things life had to offer. It was still four days until the big day, but we had to carefully negotiate our trip with the Australian and German school holiday calendar, which allowed us another week of honeymoon with the kids after the wedding. We had already spent so much time apart in the last week's that we agreed this would be a trip for the four of us together. Tom and the kids had made the plans for that week and kept it secret. Tom's mum and dad, his sisters and part of my family would stay longer in Australia, making use of the six weeks German summer holidays, compared to our two week break. Tom didn't know yet, but I had booked him and his entire family, including some extended members who would come, into a resort in the Hunter Valley, only two hours away from where we lived, so they had the chance to get to know each other better.
The break in Switzerland, as it seemed, had put some distance between Tom and his business.  He had willingly handed over a lot of responsibilities, which would allow us more time with each other, and the Thymann family time to heal.

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I'd woken up to an empty bed. The clock on the bedside table showed that it was just before one in the morning. The warmth of the crinkled bedsheets next to me was witness that Tom had not been gone for long. Often, over the past days, had I gone to bed without him, while Tom spent time with his mum.  At first, I was unable to fall asleep until he came to bed, but after a few nights I was so used to it, that I woke up a few times in the morning without having noticed him come to bed at all.  This night, we had fallen asleep next to each other. Tom had been nervous, I could tell, because his father would arrive the next day. 

After waiting in vain for Tom to come back to bed, I went out on the balcony and saw him sitting on the beach just outside our room. I put the hotel bathrobe on, leaving the room to join him.

"Can't sleep?" I asked Tom as I sat down next to him on the soft white sand, glistening like diamonds in the moonlight. It was a cloudy night, with patches of dark sky disrupting the white blanket. The moon just disappeared behind another band of white, illuminating its surrounding.
"You should go back to bed, Schatz." But Tom's arm crossed over my shoulder, pulling me closer.
"Mhm," I smiled. 
"Can't sleep either?"
"Nope."
"Doesn't it look amazing how the clouds blend in with the ocean? You can hardly tell where one starts and the other finishes." The moon reappeared, throwing it's shadow onto the water surface. "It looks like a walkway, doesn't it?"
"Yes," I nodded against Tom's shoulder. "Did you know that in Broome, in the north, the moon throws a shadow onto the ocean that looks like a staircase?"
A soft kiss touched my head. "I'd love to see it.  We should go one day."
"Yeah.  We should." We were quiet for a while, listening to the sound of the waves.  I loved the fresh breeze and light layer of salt on my skin. Another cloud pushed in front of the moon, causing the shadow on the water surface to disappear. We both knew why we were sitting there, staring at the night sky and sea.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"
I felt the nod against my head. "I just think it might be a bit awkward.  I mean, with Eva it was really easy, but she's so open with everything.  She said I was a lot like him. What if we both don't know how to react. And what if I'm not the person he expects me to be?"
We had come a long way.  Tom was honest with me. I pulled both my arms around him and sqeezed. "You worry for nothing.  If your dad is anything like you, it's going to be so easy. Just remember, Eva married him. And I'm sure she's had her reasons.  It'll be fine."
Talking about Eva, her silhouette appeared down the beach, at the end of the rows of bungalows, in the middle of the night.
We watched Eva stride along the beach.  Instead of looking out at the ocean like we had just done, Eva's head was bowed down, looking at her  feet.  I was wondering when she'd notice us.

"What are you two doing out here in the middle of the night," Eva asked, settling next to Tom in the sand.
Tom sighed deeply, like he was preparing an answer, but he remained silent.
"Just stargazing," I answered, tapping Tom on his leg to let him know he didn't need to explain how nervous he was about meeting his dad.
" Your father loves the stars." She knew.  Of course she did.  A mother knows. Eva's arm went through Tom's as she told us about Johan's interest in astrology and how he often used to take her out to look at the stars when they were younger.  From the way she spoke, I had the feeling this may have changed after they had lost Tom.
I loved listening to Eva's stories and often wondered what feelings and thoughts they triggered in Tom. At some point I drifted off, my head nestled against Tom's shoulder, Eva's against his other.  I hoped Tom was happy.

I woke up when the first lines of orange appeared along the horizon and Tom lifted me up, trying to carefully carry me to the apartment, he explained. But I woke up before he could take the first step. Eva stood next to him, smiling, as Tom put me down on my feet.  Have those two been talking the entire time I had been asleep? Eva stroke a few times over Tom's check with her flat hand, looking at him with loving eyes.  Then she stretched and gave him a hesitant kiss. She then gave me a tight hug, kiss and said "Thank you," while looking at me with her arms stretched out. Then she left us, walking back towards the last row of bungalows while looking out at the sunrise.
"We better head back and get some sleep," Tom announced.  I didn't correct him that I felt bright awake.