Flame Trees

Spending the next couple of days deciding on what to do next, the idea of starting again in the city held absolutely no appeal. I needed out of the city, a fresh start somewhere. Mentioning it to Chris a couple of days later, he nodded in understanding. "Guess that offer from your mum remains, eh?"

"I've been thinking about it. Go up there, start the business I always wanted, and just get on with my life. I know my sister spends more time up there than with my father. She's never really forgiven him for kicking me out when downsizing. Still loves him, but there's a slight strain. Shit, if I leave, I think she might even follow me up there."

"That's quite a change, Mark."

"I know. I'll sleep on it a little more."

"She still blowing up your phone?" Cathy wondered.

I gave her a look. "Yeah, no thanks to you," I retorted, chuckling away, "It's why I stay off social media. But I don't mind you keeping people up to date with what's going on. Certainly received plenty of messages from people, asking if I needed help or just messages of support and sympathy. Nice to know I have friends."

"What about the apartment? There are other matters you need to consider," Chris said, "Financial responsibilities and such."

"Your father mentioned all that on the phone. I know what I'm legally required to do, but the important thing was leaving the marital home immediately. I will limit our contact as soon as possible. Tony did assure me we'd been married long enough that we wouldn't be forced into mediation, so that's something. No doubt I'd be spun bullshit about how it was a one-time mistake, blah fucking blah."

Cathy put her hand on mine. "She's not worth getting angry about, but I guess your mind is a whirlwind, right?"

I chuckled bitterly. "Fuck, there's a part of my brain that wants to forgive her because I still fucking love her. She threw away ten years. I'm walking away too, but she's the one that fucked up." I sighed. "Shame we don't live in a country where I can't just serve papers and be done with it."

I gave everything further thought over the next few days. I had a heart to heart with dad about his divorce from mum, explaining how it all went. They'd separated, mum had moved away, then as soon as they could legally do so, they hired lawyers, figured it all out, and divorced more as friends than anything. My father never had anything negative to say about my mother, and vice versa regarding mum about dad. They'd just lost that spark and the love, and figured just moving on separately would be for the best.

"Honestly, Mark, heading north might not be a bad thing. From what your sister has told me, she wants out of the city too. The past couple of boyfriends..."

"Trouble at home?"

"She's turned up here more than once in tears. Told her more than once I don't like the fellas she's meeting. That just makes her more defiant."

"Sounds like her," I said, chuckling to myself, "Has she mentioned anything?"

"Her work is mostly online, so I'm left thinking she can live wherever she wants. They might want her in the office occasionally, but with the ways things changed after Covid..."

"What about you, Dad?"

"I've got my fiancée here now and a couple of young step-children. I've raised my kids as well as I could. You are your own people now. Kids spread their wings. Plus, I know your mother would love to have you both close by."

I figured talking to my little sister might be best. Her name was Amanda, though she preferred Amy. She was three years younger than I was, currently 22 years old. The brains of the siblings while I was the brawn, I guess you could say. She'd aced high school and had the pick of her universities, though chose the one closest to home. She'd always been a quiet, considerate girl and then young woman. Unlike most sibling relationships I was aware of, we rarely had a problem. I supported her when I could, particularly once I was working, helping her out financially if she needed a little help, and simply offering support and guidance otherwise, particularly when it came to dating young men. As for my sister, once I started working and returned home exhausted after some rather long days, she'd sometimes come in with a drink or a snack for me, or even cook dinner if the parents were out. It was those little things that meant we were always close.

She'd graduated university with honours and had taken time to choose the right career that suited her needs. She rented a small apartment in the inner-west, putting in plenty of hours each day and week, but I knew she was making plenty of money very quickly. We saw each other at least once a week for dinner, and I knew she was hurt about Hayley as they'd been rather good friends. Hayley had never been jealous of the close relationship I had with my younger sibling, something I could at least give her credit for.

Letting her know I was coming around, it was better catching a train than driving and trying to park. Knocking on the door a couple of hours later, she opened it and immediately hugged me. Always amusing as I was just under six foot while she was barely five-three at best. She had brunette hair, cut shot so it stopped at her neck line, light blue eyes, the remnants of freckles on her cheeks, and the sort of face that certainly made plenty of men double take and have thoughts about. She was about a C-cup, the only reason I knew was I did laundry and was simply curious, but her best feature, from a purely objective viewpoint, was her arse and legs. She asked me more than once about her best features, and I was always honest, and it earned one of those warm smiles that suggested she was happy to be complimented, even if it was from her sibling.

Leading me towards her living room, she made me sit down first before she returned from the kitchen within seconds with a beer for me, wine cooler for herself. I'm sure she didn't want to ask but I gave her a brief outline of everything that happened. More than once she called her a bitch, which made me chuckle. My sister was honest to a fault at times.

"So what are you going to do?" she finally asked.

"I might head north to stay with Mum for a little while. Might give me the opportunity to get the business I wanted to start off the ground."

"If you go, I'm coming." That made me stare at her in surprise. "A few reasons, Mark. One, I can live wherever I want as I now work from home full-time. Rarely do they need my presence in the office. Two, this place is a dump. Tried finding other places but there's a reason this place was so cheap. Three, Dad has obviously moved on with his new family. I don't blame him for it, we're now grown up, but I think Mum would certainly appreciate us being closer. I've never blamed her for wanting to leave the city. The only reason I didn't go with her before was because of university."

"You sure, Amy? I think once we leave, the chances of returning are slim."

"You're the only close family I have down here, Mark. You go, I'm going to feel rather lonely," she whispered.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Okay, when can you leave?"

"I need to give a month's notice here, but I can leave and not worry about it otherwise. The place can just stay empty. Most of the furnishings aren't mine so I'll just need to take whatever is."

"All I've got is what is at Chris's place. My boss is aware I'm possibly leaving. He just wants that months' notice."

"Has she tried calling?" I showed her my phone, the hundreds of messages and plenty of missed calls. "Well, she's persistent. Why not just block her number?"

"I'm tempted, but that might go against me. Though I've already looked into reasons for divorce and lack of communication can be a contributing factor. It might be negatively against me, but I'll retort by stating I don't wish to communicate with a cheating spouse."

"We should call Mum."

She was delighted to hear from us, of course. Once I explained what Amy and I were thinking and feeling, she nearly insisted that she had plenty of space for her children, and whenever we were ready to head north, she'd make sure everything was ready or us. I think Amy had made up her mind during the call. To be honest, so had I.

I handed in my notice at work on Monday. My boss was sad to see me go after nearly a decade with the company but understood the reasons why I was leaving the city. When I told him I would probably start my own business, he sat me down over the next couple of weeks to go through everything I'd need to have to get a business off the ground. Thankfully, my ute might have had the name of the business on it, but it was my own, so that wasn't going to be a problem.

As for my sister, she just had to tell her company what was going on, and apparently they were supportive, going so far as to suggest if they needed her at the office in the city, they'd fly her down on the company dollar. But with so much now online, all she needed to ensure was that the internet was good enough.

Chris and Cathy enjoyed my company for that last month. Slowly but surely, I put what happened out of my mind. The number of calls and messages from Hayley diminished with each passing day, eventually passing the phone to Cathy after a week so she could read through them. She had no sympathy for her old friend but did suggest it was my silence that was hurting her the most. "Not only were you here husband, but her best friend, confidant..."

I couldn't help smile. "We could talk about anything and everything. Generally, I'd happily sit there and listen to her, even if it was just a blow by blow of her day. She always gave me half an hour or so after walking in the door to decompress after a long day, an hour if I'd had a shit day. The fact we're not talking would be hurting her."

"Will you let her know you're going?"

I nodded. "She needs to know my situation. I'll meet her on neutral ground, preferably with back up."

Cathy grinned. "Oh, I think we'd want to support our friend."

A week before I planned on leaving, Cathy contacted Hayley on my behalf and let her know we could meet for coffee that afternoon. She naturally leapt at the chance, no doubt hoping this might be an opening into reconciliation. We got to the coffee shop early, buying drinks and sitting down, chatting away about anything except what would be discussed later.

Hayley arrived on time. As soon as she saw me, the lower lip trembled, tears started to form, and she almost started to cry. Cathy stood up, arms folded, escorting her to the counter to buy a drink, returning so Cathy sat next to me, Chris to my other side, Hayley sitting opposite me. I tried to harden my heart again, but seeing her looking so distraught, I didn't fold but it hurt to see her in such a way. I wasn't a sociopath, and despite ripping my heart out, there was that small part of me that still cared.

"How are you, Hayley?" I asked.

"I miss you, Mark," she whispered, "Not sleeping well. I don't like sleeping alone. When are you coming home?"

"I'm not coming home, Hayley. I thought that would have been obvious by now, the near radio silence being the other. That's why I've called you here as I need to let you know the situation. Unfortunately, the divorce rules in this country are stupid, so we have to be separated for twelve months before we can start proceedings." That made her start crying. "Hayley, you cheated on me. I cannot forgive you for that. So I'm leaving the city. I'm heading north. I have a lawyer already, he will take care of everything on my behalf. "

"Can we not try... counselling?"

"No. That won't solve anything. And I won't be brow-beaten into accepting back a cheating spouse."

"Was he the only one?" Cathy asked bluntly. When Hayley didn't immediately reply yes, that was our answer. "How many times?" she added.

"Does it matter?" Hayley asked quietly.

"This will be the only time to clear your conscience with your soon to be ex-husband," Chris retorted, "At least give him the peace of mind he bloody well deserves."

Hayley met our eyes before she sighed. "No, he wasn't the only one." The only thing that stopped me getting up and leaving was a hand on my shoulder from Chris keeping me seated. "After you left school at the end of year 10, by year 12... I... Remember Martin?"

"Yes," I replied through gritted teeth.

"I slept with him a couple of times after school finished while you were still at work."

"Anyone else?" Cathy wondered.

Hayley shrugged. "Couple of one time things at university."

I put my head in my hands. "Jesus Christ, I've been nothing but... what to you?"

"You fucking slut," Cathy shouted, hearing the entire place go silent, "To think I used to think the world of you, but you're nothing but a common whore. This man has worked his arse off to provide for you, I've seen the love he's had for you since you were both 16, yet this is how you repay him?"

"I didn't want to go through life only being with him."

"You could have had at least had the decency to break up with him if you wanted to fucking whore around, Hayley," Cathy growled, "Whore Around Hayley, that's your name from now on." I actually took her hand in mine as she was almost shaking with rage, but I saw her eyes, the shimmer of unshed tears. Her heart broke for me, but it was the anger at seeing her friend just... ruin everything that hurt most.

"I'm so fucking done," I stated, squeezing Cathy's hand, "Cathy, Chris, we're going." She stood up to let me out. Stopping next to Hayley, I just looked down at her. She didn't dare look up and meet my eyes this time. I could have let rip but it would have been pointless. Might have made me feel better, but they would have been empty words in the end. I was leaving, that was all that mattered. I simply walked out of the shop, got into the car with Chris and Cathy, and they drove us back to their place.

Soon as I got home, I called my sister, letting her know I was now one hundred percent committed to leaving. Once she agreed again, I called Mum and let her know we'd be on our way the next Saturday. I drove to collect her on Friday, putting all her belongings into the rear of my vehicle, making sure it was covered before parking it up for the night.

Waking early the next morning, as it was going to be a long drive, I packed the rest of our stuff before Chris and Cathy wished us both goodbye, promises to keep in touch. We'd been friends for years so I knew, while there might be distance, this wasn't the end of our friendship. I made them laugh, making them promise to let me know when they were ready to birth their first child.

Before joining the highway north, we stopped for breakfast at Macca's, then a petrol station to buy some snacks to keep us going, before we joined the Pacific Highway just south of Hornsby, and from there, it was the same road for around six hours. My sister and I chatted away, conversation always easy between the pair of us. She thankfully avoided anything to do with my separation and eventual divorce.

The city of Grafton lies 640 kilometres north of Sydney, 345 kilometres south of Brisbane. Officially named in 1851, it was proclaimed a city by 1885. The city is known and promoted across Australia as the 'Jacaranda City' as most of the streets in Grafton are lined by the gorgeous flowers. When they're in full bloom, there are few more beautiful sights. Upon arriving on the edge of the city after a long drive, stopping only the once for a toilet break, my sister took out her phone, connected it to the Bluetooth, and played the song we always did upon arriving in the city. The chorus is always the one we sing very badly along too.

Kids out driving Saturday afternoon just pass me by

And I'm just savouring familiar sights

We share some history, this town and I

And I can't stop that long forgotten feeling of her

Try to book a room and stay tonight

Number one is to find some friends to say 'you're doing well'

After all this time, you boys look just the same

Number two is the happy hour at one of two hotels

Settle in to play 'do you remember so and so?'

Number three is never say her name

Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver

And there's nothing else could set fire to this town

There's no change, there's no pace

Everything within its place

Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around

Once the song finished, I did mutter under my breath, "Well, some of those lyrics take on a whole new bloody meaning."

Amy took my hand, giving it a squeeze. "You'll be fine, Mark. Once we settle down here with Mum, it'll be better."

Mum had bought the old Australian traditional house on a quarter acre block not far from the centre of town. Pulling into the driveway led to her opening the door and striding towards us, hugging her daughter tightly first before she met my eyes. I managed a crooked smile as I hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mark," she whispered.

I could only sigh. "Well, now I know what it's like to go through a divorce, at least."

"True, but your father and I... well, I think we split on good terms. And I'm happy he's found someone else."

Hearing that from my mother wasn't a surprise. I wasn't surprised that the pair still communicated from time to time. His fiancée knew and understood, even if she might have found it a little weird, but the distance allowed at least some form of friendship to remain, and there was always the two of us kids too.

Mum's name was Cassandra, though she preferred Sandra. She was 46 years old, as she'd started our family while young, not wanting to wait too late to start having children. Once my sister and I were at school, she started on her chosen career. Writing and illustrating children's books. She was semi-successful, making more than enough to buy the house outright, and she was still publishing a new book at least once a year.

She was a mature version of my sister. Her hair was still a dark brunette, though she had long ago admitted to a little colouring to keep away the grey. Blue eyes that my father often said reminded him on the sky. She had dimples whenever she smiled. She kept herself fit and was probably slimmer than my sister. I knew she was single, admitting she kept herself occupied with work and reuniting with plenty of old friends who had remained in the city. Whether she had any male interest, she didn't say and I don't think either of us asked. It was private and we left it at that.

I carried all our stuff into the house as Mum brewed us some coffee. It was obvious she'd readied the house for our arrival as both spare rooms already had beds made, and it was easy to figure out who would be sleeping where. My sister's room had a desk, which made sense, as she might work in there, or might choose to work elsewhere. After I dumped our things, I grabbed a coffee and joined the others out on the back veranda.

"Well, I can already say it's quieter up here," Amy said.

"Takes a little getting used to," Mum replied, "But you'll love it up here. There's everything you need. Yes, we're in a provincial city, but it's not the back of beyond. And rather than drive so far south to Sydney, you can always go just down to Coffs Harbour. North, there's Byron Bay, or treat yourself to a long weekend on the Gold Coast." She paused. "Hmmm, guess you'll want to avoid the school holiday's, at least. But I grew up here. The only reason I left was the fact I made it into university and then met your father. The plan was always to return here eventually. Just took longer than anticipated."

"So you've made a life here, Mum?" I asked.

"Many of my old friends from school remained here so I've spent the past few years re-establishing friendships. I'm not the only divorcee, but I think I'm one of the few that had an amicable parting. Other than that, I focused on my work, look after my garden, and a young man has helped look after my lawn and house."