Take a Chance

"Believe it or not, I still loved you. Not the way we once did...but I did. I'm sorry. I could say that I was doing it for you, but that would be a lie. I wanted to be with you on those nights, so sue me for having sex with my husband.

"You may not believe me, but even now, I love you and would be willing to give us another go if you agreed, just like I know that Robert would love to have his late wife back. Robert and I would probably survive if you told him about the sex, but I hope you won't."

"No need to worry, I won't. Not for me, nor you, nor him. And trust me, I'd really like to hurt him, but I won't say anything because this is the happiest that I've seen Sara and Kelly in years. This is about them, not us. Understand?"

"I do. Thank you."

He said, "For the last several months, I've just been trying to bring as much joy into their lives as possible. Maybe it hasn't been fair to the two of you that they've spent so much time with me, but I've not taken that for granted."

"We know you haven't. A little extra alone time for me and Robert has been good. Since they are going to college here, we'll see plenty of them, and we have the upcoming trip."

"I know they are looking forward to it. I'm glad you are getting the opportunity, also."

"Thanks, Jerry. You aren't perfect, but you were a good husband and an even better father. I hope you find someone that can make you happy."

"I appreciate that, Linda." He had been so bitter for so long he struggled to return a satisfactory compliment, "I hope Robert and you can be happy. Sara loves you. She wants to love you, so remember that."

"Thank you for saying that. I guess I'll go now. Take care of yourself, Sweetie."

It irritated him to hear her call him that, but he managed to remain emotionless. He was trying to be nice for the girls.

"You too, Linda."

* * * * *

The girls had a good trip to England. They facetimed with him several times. They did all the usual stops in London. He wondered "why England?" but didn't bother to ask. The girls had a great time and told him all about it when they got back.

A couple of weeks after their return from England, it was time to go to Australia.

Even with two weeks, you cannot expect to see everything in Australia, which is almost as big as the continental United States. Since it was summer in the northern hemisphere, it was winter in Australia. They packed accordingly. They started in Sydney and did the usual touristy things including doing a harbor tour by boat and going to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, using the handicap lift for Kelly, since it would have been impossible for her to climb to the top of the bridge. She enjoyed the view, anyway.

Jerry took the girls shopping for dresses to wear to a performance at the Sydney Opera House. There were plenty of museums and other attractions, including a picnic in the Botanical Gardens. They spent two nights at a resort in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney. The crisp cool air was quite the contrast compared to what they had experienced recently in Austin. The resort had kangaroos onsite, and the girls were able to hold a baby kangaroo and a koala.

After Sydney, they spent two nights up north in Cairns so they could see the Great Barrier Reef and enjoy the beach, which was still comfortably warm.

Jerry had arranged a glass-bottom boat to view the reef. None of them had SCUBA experience and didn't really feel like they could learn and enjoy at the same time in a single day. Jerry could afford the SCUBA expense, but it was eye-watering.

The girls wore their swimsuits and coverups, which included Kelly wearing some patterned, diaphanous coverup pants to hide her left leg. When the boat owners broke out the snorkeling gear, she looked mortified. She would need to remove her coverup, which would expose her scars.

"Mr. A, I...I can't. My leg."

He had spoken to Sara about this and knew it was coming. If she refused to budge, they would enjoy the boat. No big deal, but he would try.

"Kelly, including the three of us, there are only six people on this boat; three of whom you'll never see again. It will be okay. I promise."

"It's hideous. I don't even like looking at it."

"The fish won't care."

She smiled at that.

Sara and Jerry watched her struggle with what to do. She said, "The two of you can go without me."

Leaving an attractive eighteen-year-old Kelly on a boat with three strange men wasn't going to happen.

Sara said, "Nope. While we are here in Australia, we are the three musketeers. It's all for one and one for all. So either you come, or I'll start applying the suntan lotion."

Once again, she was looking between Jerry and Sara; her eyes pleading with them to not go.

He continued, "Besides, this may be your one-and-only chance to see the Great Barrier Reef up close. How many people do you know that will be able to say that?"

They could see her defenses weakening.

She let out a long breath and whispered, "Okay."

They had a great time. They would come out of the water just long enough to reapply the sunscreen to their backs. Most of the time they merrily floated or kicked around to view the incredible reef. A few times they free-dived deeper, holding their breaths as long as they could before resurfacing. As expected, the reef was a kaleidoscope of colors and life and breathtakingly gorgeous.

At the end of the day, Kelly hugged everyone on the boat. She was so happy that she had decided to go for it.

The next day at their beachfront hotel was a similar scene. On the beach, they set up their chairs under the long row of tall palm trees. A waiter was nearby taking drink and food orders. It was an exclusive resort, so it wasn't very crowded. Kelly was happily laying out in her bikini top but didn't want to take off her coverup pants.

After a lot of back-and-forth, Kelly said, "It's repulsive. Nobody wants to see this leg. I can scare small children away with this leg, and some adults, too."

Sara replied, "Sis, it's just like yesterday. You'll never see any of these people again. Why would you care what they may think?"

Jerry replied, "Kelly, did you know that I love this leg of yours. It is one of the most beautiful legs on the beach today. Why? Because it is attached to you. One of these days you are going to meet a man that is going to love this leg even more than I do. If you give him a chance, he's going to love it and treasure it because it belongs to you. So you don't need to hide it. There are enough challenges in life, don't place even more restrictions on yourself because of your injury."

"It's embarrassing. I don't even like rubbing lotion on it."

"Then let me. I'd be happy to apply lotion onto such a lovely leg."

Once again, she looked back and forth between Sara, who was just grinning, and Jerry, who was looking at her as if he was her dad.

She rolled her eyes, "I cannot believe I'm going to do this. Fine."

Nervously, Kelly removed her coverup and Jerry sat on the edge of her chair, expectantly.

"What are you doing, Mr. A?"

"I told you I would rub lotion on your leg for you."

"Oh. Uh, it's okay. I've got it. I've come this far. I think I can do that."

He held out his hand for Sara to hand him the lotion. She gave it to him, and as he began to apply it, Kelly said, "Mr. A, I can..."

He shushed her. It wasn't a pretty sight. Scars crisscrossed her leg like a patchwork of spiderwebs from her knee to her toes. Her calf muscles and those on the front of her leg were misshaped, and her foot and toes looked crooked. She was lucky she could wear regular shoes at all. She could only wear heels for a couple of hours before the pain was unbearable, but she would wear them if the occasion called for them, defiantly.

Jerry said, "As I told you, this leg is loved. You are loved. The people that matter think you are beautiful. Why are you so worried about what anyone else thinks?"

She had heard some version of that several times over the years. It didn't mean much coming from her dad or her grandparents. Coming from Mr. A? Well, that was different. It was food for thought.

She wondered, "If he and Sara were good with it, why did it matter what anyone else thought?"

She said, "Thank you, Mr. A. Thank you for loving me the way you do."

"The pleasure has always been mine. Thank you for being so good for Sara when her parents weren't really providing her a loving example."

She smiled back, "She's my sister. What else was I gonna do? Besides, she couldn't tie her shoes without me."

"Hey! I heard that."

They all broke into laughter at that.

It was wonderful to watch her worries and concerns fall away on the beach. They could tell that she enjoyed herself that day. They hoped she would leave those worries there.

Not wanting to take her cane into the water, Jerry picked her up and carried her. She kissed his cheek many, many times the rest of the day.

After Cairns, they flew to Melbourne for the rest of their trip. Much more shopping and eating ensued. Since entering Australia, he had been letting them drink a little since the drinking age was eighteen. Jerry even took them to a club one night. Sara would only dance when Kelly was out there with her, so usually just one song with a lot of support from Sara or the guy she danced with. It was actually painful for Kelly, but she was glad she did it. For dinner one evening, he took them to Eureka 89, the highest restaurant in the southern hemisphere. The views were tremendous.

It had been a great two weeks, but it was time to return home. The girls needed to begin preparing for their first year of college. None of them were looking forward to the long flight, but Jerry had cashed in every frequent flier point he had to upgrade the three of them to first class. As they entered the Melbourne airport to fly home, the girls could see Jerry taking a look around.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Dad?" Sara asked.

"I need to tell you two about what happened the last time I played on the piano in the Singapore airport."

* * * * *

Chapter 4

Annie was still trying to wipe the wine from her chin and the table. She couldn't believe what Beverly had shown her. It was one thing to carry around inside of her the tiny spark that had made such a difference in her life, but it was quite another for it to be plastered across a dozen Melbourne billboards. It said -

American airport pianist,

Previously lost in Sydney,

Seeks amazing Aussie redhead vocalist for long term act.

Must be able to sing Christmas Carols and have desire to see a white Christmas.

Auditions at Melbourne Tullamarine airport.

G(J)

"Annie? Are you okay?"

Trying to recover and not let on that the message was meant for her, she said "Sorry. Sorry." Then she started laughing. "Since I'm a redhead, it hit a little close to home. I can just imagine the number of 'rangas' that are throwing themselves at this guy. Though why I don't know. Being from America, he's probably loud, boorish, narcissistic, blissfully ignorant, and weighs well over 20 stones." She needed to throw them off the scent.

Willa, yet another friend, said, "I thought you didn't like the term 'ranga.' Anyway. I doubt he's the way you described. On the radio, some of the ladies have already said he's a keeper. If he just wanted any redhead to steal away from here, or even an attractive one, he'd be long gone by now. Whoever he is, this guy's waiting for someone. Ha. Maybe it's you, Annie. You aren't having a secret affair with an American, are you? When's the last time you've used that voice of yours?"

"Riiight. You know me. The only people from overseas that I've spent much time with are in Vietnam or New Zealand. Besides, he'd never want this fat arse. Sorry, girls."

"There have been plenty of blokes admiring your fat arse tonight, and those jeans do nothing to hide it either. So, you may not be the one he's looking for, but he's not going to turn you away because of your appearance."

Annie rolled her eyes and asked, "How long has he been here? Does he just play all day at the airport?"

Nat replied, "Those billboards have been up for two weeks. They say he plays every day from 6:00 pm until midnight. The airport must be in on it somehow because there wasn't a piano there before he arrived, and it plays by itself when he isn't there. I'm sure they are happy for the entertainment."

That conversation happened at about 8:00 pm. An hour later, Annie was making her excuses to leave.

"Where you going, girl? Sneaking off to the airport?" joked Beverly.

"You caught me. I want to get there before he's gone." The girls all laughed, then Annie continued, "Mike is going to be out late with his mates, so I'm spending the night at my mum's. I don't want to get to her place too late."

Annie placed a few bills onto the table and said goodbye to her friends.

It took all of her self-control not to run out of the restaurant. She hailed a taxi and instructed the driver to take her to the airport.

She was incredibly nervous. She knew that she needed to go to her mum's and think about what she should do. So many things were up in the air at the moment -- her marriage, her job, and now Jerry.

She allowed herself to whisper, "Jerry." It was the first time she had actually uttered the word since she left Singapore. She had thought it many times. She had carried the boost he had given her for the past year. It and her hard work in Vietnam were what had really propelled her forward.

"This is crazy," she thought. Several times she almost told the taxi driver to turn around, but she didn't.

When she reached the airport, instead of being dropped at the main entrance, she entered through a door a little further away. As soon as she stepped inside her breath caught because she could hear the piano over the regular airport noises, even from that distance.

Slowly, she worked her way towards the sound of the music, Christmas carols, of course, even if it was a few weeks early.

She could see Jerry at the piano playing. She thought to herself, "Every day for two weeks, hours each day. He's been waiting for me to show." Annie was touched to her very being over a man searching and waiting so patiently for her.

He and the piano were facing the main entrance. She could see his tablet on top, auto turning the pages for him as he played. Every few seconds he would look up at the doors and through the large glass windows, scanning...for her.

It nearly brought tears to her eyes.

She knew it was going to be complicated. She was still married and had a new job offer. Was he still married? What about his job that had him traveling so much? Yet, here he was...for her.

She was a different woman than the one he met in Singapore. She felt better about herself, more confident in her own worth and capabilities. Most of that was because her career had started to take off, and a lot of that was due to a tiny spark that kept her going shortly after her return.

Given the radio bruhaha over the billboards, she wondered if anyone was still watching him. A couple of little girls were singing Jingle Bells with him. He was actually smiling, a happy smile, and singing. Maybe he had changed some, too.

He had the girls cackling after singing Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. She suspected that must be a particularly American song, because she had never heard it before, but the girls seemed to love it. Their parents shepherded them towards ticketing, and he resumed his playing.

After thinking a few more seconds she had made her decision and approached him from behind.

As he began playing White Christmas, she stepped next to him and began to sing. Like in Singapore, he was surprised but only missed one or two notes while he continued playing. She could see the grin spread across his face as he looked down at the keys. It took all her control to keep from tearing up.

A small crowd gathered to watch before shuffling onto their destination. A few whispered and wondered if Annie was the one that he was looking for. They left unsure because the two performers never spoke. They just performed together, as if they had been together for years.

Jerry was waiting, patiently. Not knowing Annie's situation, he would let her make the first move, well second, or was it the third by now? He desperately wanted to jump up from the bench, scoop her up into his arms, and carry her away with him, but he knew that he couldn't.

They performed for nearly thirty minutes before she touched his shoulder and whispered, "Meet me here at noon tomorrow."

He tightly nodded a brief affirmation, and she was gone.

He had been hoping for the last two weeks that she would appear. He would have stuck around two more weeks before calling off his pursuit. He wanted to follow after her or at least call out to her, but he continued his playing.

Had anyone been paying attention, they would have noticed that his playing was more 'alive' than before she showed up. The few that were still watching were wowed when he poured his heart into David Hicken's version of Carol of the Bells...or at least the best he could do on that very technical piece. He had been practicing it a lot...hoping. He was feeling good, and it showed.

At midnight, just like the past two weeks, he slowly rose from the bench, closed the cover, and returned to his hotel room at the airport...as nervous and hopeful as was Annie.

* * * * *

Annie didn't go home that night. She texted Mike, "I'm staying with Mum tonight. Don't get too rowdy."

Honestly, she no longer cared. She didn't want to see him hurt, but she had made her decision. Whether or not anything came of her and Jerry, she was leaving Mike. Worst case scenario, she was moving to Sydney. Best case? Who knows?

She and her mum stayed up well past midnight talking. It was the best talk they'd had in a long time. Her mum had noticed her self-confidence growing and was so pleased to see that.

She, too, nearly spit out her drink when Annie told her that she was the woman the billboard-pianist had been seeking. Annie told her everything.

Mum asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"You must have some idea. Maybe he could give you children."

She laughed, "Mum, is that all you think about?"

They both chuckled, but that thought had crossed Annie's mind many times in the last few hours.

She had a fitful sleep, anxiously anticipating the coming meeting.

* * * * *

The next morning, she hurried home to get ready. Mike wasn't there. She wasn't sure what to wear. She wasn't going to a hotel room, so she wasn't dressing sexy. She scoffed, "as if I could appear sexy." Then she thought, "but he might think I am."

Nevertheless, she knew that she was still married, temporarily, and she dressed like she did the previous night for her girlfriends. If Mike, or anyone else, saw her, she would say she was going into the office, which everyone would believe.

Once at the airport, she quickly spotted him leaning against a column reading on his phone. He looked up at her and smiled and asked, "lunch?"

She nodded and they caught a taxi together. She raised an eyebrow when he gave the driver the destination he desired.

Not a word was spoken between them until they were away from the airport, when she said, "I cannot believe that you came for me."

"I've thought about you so often since Singapore. I didn't allow myself to think anything was possible until recently. If you are here, now, then I'm guessing that either your marriage isn't great, or you are about to shoo me away."

"I'll be getting a divorce soon. If things were better, either I wouldn't have come, or I would have sent a friend to deliver a message that I wasn't coming. So, what now?"