Earthquake Baby

She was thinner than he remembered. Her blue eyes still troubled. He wished he’d known her when they had sparkled with life and fun. Before the terrible events of Newvalley. Before they had mirrored the part of her spirit that had died in the tragic building collapse.

Laura was saved further scrutiny by Marie who came to the rescue, diverting his attention with a question. She gulped air into suffocating lungs. His shrewd gaze weighing her up had felt as restrictive as bricks against her chest. No doubt he had been analysing her every word, every gesture.

Five minutes later a beeper rang out, interrupting the conversation. Jack pulled it off his belt, checking the message.

‘I’m sorry, folks, I have to take this call.’

‘Use the phone in my office,’ Marie offered. ‘Across the hall.’

Seeing her chance to escape, Laura stood, ignoring the speculative looks from her colleagues. Her shift finished in fifteen minutes but she was sure no one would begrudge her knocking off now. Just a quick word to the afternoon staff about Mr Reid and she was out of here. Too much had happened today—confronting a ghost from her past was beyond her.

Laura grabbed her bag from her locker. She just wanted to get away from the hospital. St Jude’s had been her sanctuary for the last eight years. Suddenly it didn’t feel safe here either. Jack Riley’s presence caused too many complications.

She pushed the lift button. It arrived promptly and she got in.

‘Hold the lift, please,’ a voice commanded, followed closely by a big hand preventing the doors’ closure.

‘Laura.’ His brown eyes smiled gently.

‘Hello, Jack.’ Her earlier testiness dissolved as the years melted away.

He took her hand and squeezed it. They stood quite close in the small lift, looking at their joined hands. Her slim, pale one in stark contrast to his, large and tanned. There was so much to say. Where to begin?

‘It’s nice to see you again.’ His voice was husky. ‘Can we go somewhere and talk?’

‘I’m really tired.’ She needed time to think.

He lifted her chin. Yes, she looked done in. He yearned to embrace her. ‘Please.’

‘OK.’ She sighed. ‘But not the canteen.’

He raised an eyebrow.

‘Gossip.’

He raised the other eyebrow.

‘Oh, come on, Jack. You know what a hospital’s like! The grapevine will already be working overtime with what happened in the staffroom.’

‘Let them talk.’ He shrugged.

‘No. Attention is one thing I don’t need,’ she said, and marched out of the doors as they opened onto the foyer.

Laura steamed ahead, leading Jack to the deserted area around the staff pool. It was a cool, peaceful haven set in the beautifully landscaped grounds of St Jude’s. She sat down at one of the shady, poolside tables, removed her sunglasses and watched him sit down opposite her.

It was a strange moment. Despite brimming with questions, neither seemed to know how or where to start. For now, Laura was content to just be near him as decade-old memories were rekindled. The good as well as the bad.

‘Laura…how…how have you been?’ He reached for her hand and she allowed him to take it.

‘OK.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’ She laughed. ‘Really.’

‘Any nightmares? Flashbacks?’

‘The first two years were rough but…I’ve been good since.’

‘That’s great.’

‘I’m over it, Jack. It’s behind me. I’ve got on with my life.’

‘Yes, but it doesn’t ever really go away. Does it?’

‘Sure it does.’

‘You must let me in on your coping strategies.’

Laura looked at the doubt etched on his face. He could think what he liked. She was over it. She was.

‘So, what have you been up to?’ asked Jack.

‘Nothing much. Working…living…’

‘Is that it?’

No, she wanted to say. I’ve had your baby and raised him for the past nine years. My life has been very full. She wanted to thank him for such a precious gift. But she was silent. She couldn’t just dump something like this in his lap.

She needed to know if his attitude towards having children had changed. She needed to know him better before deciding whether or not to break the news.

Ten years ago her decision to keep their son a secret from him had been clear-cut. It hadn’t been easy, and the importance of her decision had weighed heavily on her. But she’d done the right thing. She had been sure of that. Still, his reappearance in her life clouded the issue again. Had it been the right decision?

‘Pretty much,’ she answered. ‘How about you? I thought you were off to Adelaide to become a hotshot surgeon. When did you become a shrink?’

He was silent as he searched for the right words. ‘After Newvalley, I found it difficult to get back into everyday life—you know what I mean?’

Laura nodded. She knew exactly what he meant.

‘I did go to Adelaide and I even stuck it out for a year, but, well…my heart wasn’t really in it. Surgery had been my passion and then suddenly it seemed so insignificant. Being involved in that rescue effort where so many people died…’

They were both silent for a few moments, reflecting on the lives that had been lost when the earthquake had hit and the parts they had played in the dreadful tragedy. It had been a major catastrophe for Australia, making news headlines for weeks.

‘It was totally life-changing. It made me reassess my whole direction,’ said Jack.

Laura nodded again. She understood. Her life now seemed to be separated into two different parts. Before the earthquake and after the earthquake. She was not the same girl as she had been in those years and moments before the earth had shaken and the building had tumbled down around her.

He closed his eyes. ‘I thought I was losing it for a while. I couldn’t sleep and when I did I’d have nightmares. I felt on edge and irritable. I couldn’t concentrate properly on my work and that’s scary when you’re wielding a scalpel! And I wasn’t the one who’d been trapped… I don’t know how you’ve stayed sane all these years, Laura.’