A Place Beyond The Horizon Ch. 03

[Aidan's marriage has been shattered by his wife's cheating. Unable to cope with the thing she did, he boarded a plane and put as much distance between them as possible. He finds himself in Australia, making new friends in Sydney, including a pair of mates on a road trip around their vast, empty continent. He's also met Kat, sharing her bed, the first time in many years that he's been with a woman who isn't his wife.

The background to Aidan's story can be found in Oxygen Games by oneagainst, continued here with permission.]

---

A FORK IN THE ROAD

Aidan pulls on his running gear quietly. Hardy and Flint are still passed out on their bunks, Flint laid out on top of the sheets in just his underwear, face buried in the pillow. They'd tumbled into the room at one o'clock, boisterous, gabbling about a near miss with someone's boyfriend. Aidan had already been in bed for an hour at that point, having slipped out of Kat's bed at midnight, well before her roommate returned from their scheduled night out.

He closes the door softly and heads down the stairs, turning right on the street in the direction of the headland that forms the northern side of the gateway to Sydney harbour. The land rises steadily and Aidan pushes on, shedding the tiredness from the night before. The narrow road opens out into bushland, threading its way along the crenelated edge of the clifftops until he reaches a lookout and stops.

Gasping, he leans on the railing, on the brink of a dizzying drop to the crashing surf pounding the rocks far below. It's early, and the sun is still low over the ocean to the east. His view extends all the way to the horizon, lit in a shimmering path of golden reflections in the morning air. He thinks of Rosa, then he thinks of Kat.

It hadn't felt wrong. Going back to her hotel room after the beach, they had made love again between her sheets, gritty from the sand still on their skin. He hadn't thought of his wife at all after that point, just revelling in the closeness of contact with the woman up from Melbourne for the weekend with her friends. It had felt easy and uncomplicated, and he had to acknowledge that when Kat smiled up at him as he lay on top of her, it had felt good.

Now, though, with the morning sun in his face and the half-bottle of wine out of his system, he was taking stock of the thing that he'd done. It's not cheating if it's over, he reminded himself. Why should he feel guilty? He wasn't the one who had broken their relationship; he was the wronged party. But the feeling of righteous indignation didn't surface this time, as it had before. Sleeping with Kat had changed something.

Curled up with a stranger, he had seen a little fragment of what Rosa must have found when she'd succumbed to the cliché and fucked the barista from a coffee shop: a moment of escape from the pressures of infertility and trying for babies, of running a business, of bearing the hormone treatments, always having to be the star in the gym and on the socials, the light on the hill.

Despite himself, Aidan reluctantly finds that he can see his wife's point of view. What they went through would have been too much for anybody. It didn't change the outcome, it didn't undo the damage of the betrayal, but it did grant a measure of absolution. In hindsight, they were never going to have been able to survive it.

An awful, choking sadness wells up, and Aidan fights it back, turning quickly on his heel and jolts into motion, putting one foot in front of the other until he's flying down the road, full pelt, lungs heaving, burning away that dark feeling, racing headlong back down towards the beach.

His pace slackens eventually, and he decides not to head straight back to the accommodation. Instead, he drops down onto the beach, running barefoot in the sand above the waterline. He passes the steps where they'd made love on the sand, keeping up a steady pace until he was halfway down the beach. Ahead, he can see a group of women arranged in rows, all in identical poses as they progress through yoga positions. They're being led by an older woman, lean and wiry with grey hair rolled up into a tight bun.

There is a sudden commotion, and one of them begins to wave. One by one, the other women stop. Aidan drops to a walk and then halts. The only one not waving has long, dark hair and as Aidan sees her, she shrugs.

"Aidan!"

It's the hen's party, taking a class in the morning sun in the beach in front of their hotel. Not all of them, but enough to cause a fuss. Kat looks mortified. The blonde woman next to her is the one who called his name. He turns towards them and Kat jogs down to meet him halfway.

"Sorry," she says, "You're famous."

"So you told them all about me?"

"Yeah, I boasted about my conquest at breakfast, how good I was in bed, how much you loved it."

Kat's grinning, then she nods over to the blonde woman.

"Nah," she confesses, "Carla's made sure that everyone knows what happened last night. Kelsey was pissed off that I was somewhere else with a rugged stallion instead of her party, but, y'know, I just don't give a fuck."

Aidan watches her face as she talks, delighting in the way her lovely eyes dance between her friends and him. There's a confidence in the way she holds herself that wasn't there before.

"They're gonna make your life hell, aren't they?" Aidan replies.

"Shit yeah, I'm gonna get paid out for months," she tells him, and her face softens, "But it was worth it."

There is a pause. Her name is called, and Aidan can see it's Kelsey.

"I tell you what," Aidan says, "Let me finish my run and I'll come back. I guess you'll all be getting coffee after. I'll introduce myself, how's that?"

"You want to meet the coven? Really?"

"Your dirty little secret's out. Might as well add fuel to the fire."

"Oh Aidan, you have no idea what you're doing," Kat laughs, "But, yeah, we'll just be up on the promenade."

Aidan can feel many eyes watching them. "See you soon," he says, turning back on his way.

"Yeah, see you soon," Kat calls behind him.

Aidan smiles to himself as he picks up the pace again. It hadn't felt forced, he hadn't felt awkward. He would sit down with all her friends and allow himself to be inspected. It would do her reputation no harm for them to see her with him, how she'd snagged a man, how she was back on the horse after her marriage ended. He would get to sit next to her, in the cold light of day, and see how it made him feel. After the thoughts about Rosa on the run, he desperately needed perspective.

He grinds through another few minutes, reaching the northern end of the beach and then turning around, putting his shoes back on and running on the promenade this time. His calves are aching from running on the sand, and he knows he's sweaty, but something tells him that Kat won't mind. He spots them in the distance, sitting at a table outside, and angles across the road to meeting them. Kat sees him approach, though she doesn't wave or cause a commotion. She's playing it cool, but all the same, she's saved an empty space on the bench next to her.

"I got you a coffee," she says, by way of introduction. "I don't know how you like it though."

"Time enough for that," says the blonde woman sitting on the other side of her, smirking lewdly.

"This is Carla."

Aidan smiles at her. "Hi Carla," he says, and the smile he receives in return tells him a lot.

Kat goes around the table and he nods to acknowledge each of them, pausing to note Kelsey's disposition towards him. Unlike Carla's knowing smile, Kelsey's surveying him coolly. She looks like a woman who doesn't like coming in second place, he thinks, and somehow Kat's snagged the prize. He sits down and picks up his coffee, looking around the table, bracing for a question, but he's at one end and the conversation at the other is already picking up again. Kelsey turns, launching with a little too much zeal back into her story from last night. Yes, Aidan thinks, that's the issue: Kat's story is better.

Sitting opposite across the table from him, and the last to be introduced is Marley. She's not one of them, she's the yoga instructor, taking a coffee with the group by invitation, like him. She's lean, with light grey eyes and a narrow face, lined but striking. The way she bears herself belies a subtle confidence in the way she looks; she's nearly twice as old as some of the women at the table, but she hasn't coloured her hair; she's wearing the grey proudly.

"Marley put us through it," Kat says, "I think some of the girls are regretting coming along."

"Looks like you got a few drop outs anyway," Aidan responds.

"Oh, yeah. Apparently, I wasn't the only one last night."

Kat stops herself, and suddenly looks embarrassed. "I mean, not that any of them actually got, uh...."

"But I guess they were drinking a lot longer than you," Aidan interjects, "You must feel pretty good compared to some of them."

Under the table, he feels her tap his leg. "I do," she says, and she's smiling again now.

Kat is keeping it low-key in front of her friends. He fends off a barrage of questions from Carla with good humour, until Kat eventually intervenes to put a stop to it. She diverts the conversation to Marley, asking about her business, how she'd come to be taking hungover women through classes on Manly beach on Sunday mornings. Aidan forms the impression that Kat had been the one to arrange it, as the maid of honour.

"I'm more than happy," Marley replies. "I'm an early riser anyway, and I don't really go in for huge Saturday nights out anymore."

"Thanks for going easy. As you can see, not all of us made it down. You got more sessions this morning?"

Marley nods. "I do the grey warriors up at the northern end, though they're a little later. They need time to get going in the mornings. You tend to creak more as you get older."

Marley's eyes shift to Aidan.

"So, Aidan, I heard you're in the same line of business."

"Yeah, fitness."

"I can tell, up at dawn on the sand. How's the calves?"

"Aching. It's a long beach."

"No sand where you're from?"

"No, I'm inland. It's all pavement, or tracks."

Marley nods. "How're you finding Sydney?"

Aidan laughs, "A whirlwind."

"I bet. How long you here for?"

At this, Aidan just shrugs. "No plans," he says, "I'm just seeing how it goes. This is only day three."

"Well you seem to be packing it all in."

Aidan studies the older woman's face, her wry smile, conscious of Kat's body next to his. She pauses for a moment, then drains the last of her cup and gathers up her little backpack, sliding it over her shoulder.

"I need to shoot. Septuagenarians wait for no woman," she announces to the table, "Nice to meet you all."

She waves, but before she gets up, Marley's attention comes back to Aidan.

"I guess you're looking for work?" she asks, "If you're going to be in Sydney for a bit."

"I guess, I hadn't really thought that far yet."

"Booming industry," she continues, "If you're interested, I can set you up with a few hours."

Aidan hesitates. Next to him, Kat laughs.

"You're like a cat, aren't you?" she says, "You land on your feet."

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

"I'll send you his phone number," Kat tells Marley, "So you can ping him with the details."

"Good," the older woman replies, rising from the table.

She waves to everyone again and then turns back to Kat, who was grinning.

"Thanks for booking me, it's been a pleasure," she says.

"Thanks for taking us, and coming to coffee," Kat replies.

Aidan watches a look pass between the two of them, and then the older woman departs. Aidan finishes his coffee too. When he looks up, he can see that the table is breaking up: Kelsey has other places to be.

"Well, it was lovely to meet you, Aidan," Carla smiles, as she stands.

The women at the far end of the table don't acknowledge him, deep in animated conversations of their own. Neither does Kelsey. In a few moments, Aidan finds himself alone with Kat at the abandoned table.

"I'll walk you up," he says, "I'm going that way."

"Sure, thanks."

They fall into step, tagging along behind the rest of the girls.

"So, you moving on from here, do you think?" she asks, "Or staying for a while?"

"You seem to have arranged me a job."

"You think that was me?"

"You're sending her my details."

Kat grins. "Just trying to help," she replies, "If you're thinking of sticking around."

She brushes his arm and their hands meet. He finds his fingers curling through hers. It's all done in a few seconds, surprising him. What surprises him more was that he didn't pull away: her hand feels soft and warm. Aidan clears his throat.

"Thanks for last night," he murmurs.

"My pleasure," Kat replies, giving his hand a little squeeze, "Literally."

They meander along behind the rest of the group, falling into silence. Aidan sees the hotel coming up.

"Look," Kat says, "I don't... uh... shit."

"What?"

Kat gives him a sidelong glance. "Fucked that up," she murmurs. "I'm so out of practice."

"It's fine."

"And now I'm the one who has to do the talking."

They come to a halt in front of the hotel doors. Over her shoulder, Aidan can see her friends disappearing inside, leaving them alone.

"Look, I really liked last night, but I'm not sixteen," Kat begins, "It's not long walks on the beach anymore. I get it."

He can see she's hesitating, working out what to say. Aidan can't tell if it's good news or bad.

"You don't have to explain," Aidan interjects, "I get it too. At the very least, I hope you got something you wanted."

Kat's nose wrinkles. "That's just it, I did. Look, I know I'm not doing this well, but it's not because I don't like you. I'm not ashamed."

"But it's a one-night-stand."

Kat looks genuinely surprised. "Shit, uh, I wasn't going to say that."

"Ah, sorry. Guess I'm not much good either."

"I was going to say that I like you. If you were sticking around."

She squeezes his hand again, picking the words carefully.

"I mean, I'm up from Melbourne for work quite often. Just casually."

Aidan is conscious of her hand in his. He opens his mouth but before he can say anything, Kat's speaking again.

"I'm not offering anything. But I guess I'm not cutting you off either."

Aidan gives her a smile. "I can work with that," he tells her.

Kat's expression changes, a little glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Can you?" she says, "Maybe pencil me in for a personal session when I'm up next? Put me through my paces, relieve some of my executive stress?"

"Yeah, sure. I think I can make time."

"Good man."

She leans in and kisses him quickly. "See you around, maybe," she says and turns towards the entrance.

He stands there, watching her. At the doors, she gives him a little, understated wave, like it's all no big deal, and then she's gone.

Aidan doesn't move off, not yet. He wants to stay in the moment a little longer, to get his bearings. It has been a whirlwind, he concedes to himself. He turns and heads back to the hostel, to see if the boys have stirred by now. But Kat's offer lingers, like the memory of her lips just now, or the feeling of the warmth of her hand in his.

It was stupid, he chastises himself: a chance encounter and a single night. But then, it had been the same with Rosa. Drinks, a kiss, and then headlong into five years, not stopping to wonder or analyse. He had just jumped straight in without looking and it had been absolutely glorious, right up until the very end. He raises his head and begins to pick up his pace again, jogging along the promenade. He goes faster, propelled by a wild surge from deep inside, until he is flying over the concrete, going flat out until his lungs are bursting and he can't keep up the punishing pace.

Aidan drops to a jog and then stops, stretching out his legs against a tall pine tree. Kat was an open question, a point in the future to look forward to. He realises that he hasn't had such a thing in a very long time.

On the spur of the moment, he extracts his phone from his pocket and brings up the picture he took from the ferry journey, of the sun setting behind the harbour bridge. It takes two taps and it's posted, shared on his feeds. It's the first entry in a month. He slides his phone back into his pocket and turns down a side street to his accommodation. Surely the boys are up by now.

He discovers Hardy sitting on the hostel steps in the morning sun, fiddling with his phone. There is a coffee on the step next to him. As Aidan approaches, he looks up.

"Fuck, Aido, you are a fucking machine," he says.

"Morning," Aidan replies and flops down on the step next to him.

"You go all night, you go all day. You must have batteries up your arse."

"How you feeling? Where's Flint?"

"Upstairs, still unconscious," Hardy mutters, "Wanna go up and check for a pulse?"

He takes a swig of coffee and grimaces. "Nah, second thoughts, fuck that," he says, "Wanna go surfing?"

---

They are out the back, bobbing up and down gently in the swell.

"We're reckoning on going north this arvo, up the coast," Hardy says, "What's your plan?"

Aidan shakes his head, sending droplets of saltwater cascading. "No idea."

"Really? Nothing with the chick from last night?"

"She's going back to Melbourne, flying this afternoon."

"You're getting abandoned by everyone."

Aidan frowns. "Used to it."

Hardy gives a short, sharp laugh and exclaims, "Oh, fuck, bitter?"

"Fuck off," Aidan replies, but he doesn't mean it, finding himself pulled into Hardy's banter.

"You gonna maybe follow the chick down to Melbourne? She's decent."

"You mean, like a stalker?"

Hardy laughs again. "Yeah, get a seat next to her on the plane. Talk about what you're gonna call your babies."

Instantly, Hardy's mouth slams shut. "Oh fuck, man. Sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

Aidan shrugs it off. "No worries. It is what it is."

"Yeah, I guess," Hardy replies, "Such is life."

"Uh, what?"

"Never heard that? Last words of Ned Kelly. Know him?"

"Nah."

"Like Billy the Kid but smarter, and Australian."

"How?"

"Went into the shootout with full plate armour. Bush ingenuity."

"And his last words were that? Such is life?"

"Right before they fucking hanged him."

The lapse into silence, waiting patiently for the next set to come in.

"Can you keep a secret?" Hardy asks after a while.

"Sure."

"I mean, a big one. Though, I guess we're going different directions now anyway."

"Yeah, what?"

Hardy's working up to something, but Aidan doesn't know what. All he can do is wait and let Hardy come out with it.

"The lotto win, the thing that's funding us around the country, it's all bullshit. Flint doesn't know. I took out a fuck load of credit cards and I'm just running down the balances."

It takes Aidan a few moments to respond. "Why?"

"I'm terminal, Aido."

The cocky smile has gone, the bluster, and now all Aidan can do is stare at him, unable to say anything.

"Fuck, man," Hardy says, "Don't sit there like a stunned fish."

"Uh. Wow. I'm so sorry," Aidan mumbles, "Uh, how long?"

It's a stupid question to ask, but his brain isn't working properly. Hardy looks absurdly healthy, sitting on his board in the sun, splashing in the water, tanned and lean. It's inconceivable.

"Reckon three to six months."

"What about treatments? I mean, they can do all kinds of crazy stuff now."

Hardy shrugs. "Nah, not this. Not for me," he replies.

"Fuck, man, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, Aido, you and me both."

"So, the money, the trip, what you gonna do?"

Hardy doesn't answer immediately. He turns his face to the sun and closes his eyes, staying like that for a minute, soaking it up.

"Everything," Hardy confesses, finally. "I'm gonna get into deep shit, make trouble, have a wild fucking time because you know what?"