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Back The Lie Save as PDF
Chapters (69)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. Acknowledgements
  66. Reading Group Questions
  67. Read More
  68. I
  69. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

The following morning, Romy woke up disappointed with herself. But the past few years had been so confusing, she wasn’t sure she could trust her instincts any more. It happened on Thursday, 13 June 2002 …

As she lay there, uncomfortably catapulted back into the past, her phone rang. It was barely seven and she knew it would be Rex – it was the best time to talk from Australia.

‘Hey, Mum. How’s it going over there?’

He sounded upbeat, as always. Her laidback son – now twenty-seven – seldom showed signs of stress, unlike his elder brother, Leo. Rex had deliberately chosen a lifestyle for himself that didn’t include it: a barista job in a trendy coffee shop in Sydney, blue skies and a nicely waxed surfboard, the stunning beach a stone’s throw away.

She listened for a while to Rex’s account of a spectacular wave the previous weekend, and caught up with news of her brother, Blake – who had emigrated with his family to Sydney twenty years ago – before her son stopped mid-flow, his tone suddenly serious: ‘Tell me how you are, Mum.’

‘Well, I’m OK, actually. Better than I’ve been for a while.’ She went on to tell him about Maureen and the conservation group, Keith in the deli and his wife, Cathy. She didn’t mention Finch, although she wasn’t sure why not.

‘Go for it,’ Rex said, when she stopped talking. ‘Love it that you’re into Thermos tea again. Remember those sausage and fruitcake picnics in Scotland? And that day Dad swam in his Y-fronts across the freezing loch?’ She heard Rex chuckle. ‘I wished I’d been brave enough to go with him.’

Rex and Leo had rarely spoken of Michael since their parents had split up. Romy didn’t know how to articulate what had happened between them to her sons, and they clearly didn’t know how to ask.

But she couldn’t help laughing as she remembered the Scottish holiday. Those had been the best times. ‘Your father never does anything by halves.’

Her son was silent for a moment. Then: ‘It’s good you’re sounding happier, Mum. You’ve got to go for things in life, you know.’

She lay back against the pillows after they’d said goodbye. That last phrase ran through her mind, like a banner fluttering behind a plane. Go for it, she thought. And before she’d had a chance to change her mind, she texted Finch.

I’ll cook you supper one night, if you like. R

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3

Later that day she was in the kitchen, flicking through some paint charts on her iPad, when Michael rang. ‘Hello?’ Romy knew she sounded unintentionally wary. Until recently – when her growing optimism about life had opened up a welcome space between them – she’d still felt so tightly bound to Michael, even though they no longer lived together. And meeting Finch felt like another small degree of space.