Little Beginnings Read online

  “He must be a very important person in your life, considering that you thought of him before Mark,” Jeri said.

  Mia laughed as she looped her arm into her sister’s. “I promise I won’t tell your husband that you thought of Father Mahoney before him.”

  “That’d be much appreciated,” Sophie replied with a snort.

  They made their way to the carpark and an hour later dropped off their luggage at Mia’s place before heading into the city. The women strolled along Southbank and had lunch at a small eatery.

  “It’s been such a long time since I’ve been here, I can’t believe how much Melbourne has changed,” Jeri said.

  “Did you live here?” Mia asked.

  She shook her head. “We spent a few days here to go to the Australian Open and travelled along the coast. We considered moving here, but decided to stay in Queensland because in the end, we weren’t able to make a decision to move away from what we knew so well.”

  Sophie placed her hand onto her sister’s. “Sounds familiar?”

  A smile played on Jeri’s lips as well. She remembered Mia’s hormonal teenage outburst a few years earlier, when a misunderstanding between her boyfriend Josh and her had resulted in her travelling through the USA with Mark’s friend Jared. It’d been the talk between their friends. But as much as everyone blamed Sophie for letting Mia wrap her around her finger like that, in the end Mia’s relationship with Josh became stronger and better…and Mia had moved to Melbourne with him. And had loved it ever since.

  After lunch the three women took the tram and rode to the gallery. They had to swap trams a couple of times, but found it about forty-five minutes later. It was a very clean and elegant area of Melbourne, which was already a plus. Jeri looked over to Sophie and noticed a little relief on her face. Mia had told them while on the tram that she’d asked a few people about the gallery and those who knew the place had spoken in a very positive way about it.

  Jeri heard Sophie taking a deep breath before she said, “Let’s do it.”

  They opened the door and stepped inside. Jeri was instantly captivated. The gallery seemed to specialise in photography. From flowers to wildlife, nature to landscapes, contemporary prints to artistic to modern. She loved it and could have easily imagined Sophie’s photos being part of it.

  A man approached them, with an attractive smile on his face. “Good afternoon, ladies.”

  Jeri experienced a little shiver down her spine as she heard him talking. His voice had a deep timbre and a rhythmic beauty about it that spellbound like music.

  Sophie introduced herself and the man’s face lit up. Gazing from her to Mia, then Jeri before looking at Sophie again, he said, “So glad you were able to come.” He nodded to Mia and then to Jeri. “Welcome ladies. May I assume you’re the moral support?”

  “I’m more the local ‘getting-around’ support.” Mia laughed.

  Jeri held out her hand. “Nice meeting you—”

  “Apologies. I’m Nils Svenson.”

  “Nice meeting you, Nils. I’m Jeri, owner of Jeri’s Gallery in Hobart.”

  He shook Sophie and Mia’s hands before turning back to Jeri. “Of course. You held the exhibition with Sophie’s photos a few weeks back. Would you ladies like to come to the back and I could give you a bit of an overview of what I had in mind.”

  The women looked at Sophie questioningly. When she gave a slight nod, Mia replied, “Let’s do it.”

  Nils’ smile grew. He looked around, held up his hand as if to ask for a moment, and then walked over to the desk. There were a few words and lots of nodding from the other guy before Nils returned and lead them to his office in the back of the gallery.

  “Can I offer you something to drink?”

  They all declined with Sophie explaining that they’d just had lunch.

  Nils started a long monologue about how he’d come to know about the exhibition at Jeri’s Gallery a few weeks earlier through a friend who was travelling in Tasmania.

  “I’ve searched for Sophie on the Internet since and have been able to have a look at a few photos,” he explained as he moved three chairs in front of his desk. “But I have to I was mostly impressed by what Sophie has shown via email.”

  He sat behind the desk, leaning back into his chair, radiating confidence. Jeri could’ve listened to his smooth voice all day and a quick glance at her friends told her they were equally enthralled.

  “I think it’s perfect that you brought along Jeri. I’d love to try something like an exchange of display.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “This is obviously something I’m playing around in my head. Heaven knows what the cost involved would be. Is this something you could consider as well?”

  Jeri looked at Sophie, slightly taken aback by the way the conversation had turned. Sophie’s eyes were still fixed on Nils. Jeri blinked a couple of times before she spoke, quietly, but yet commanding attention. “How about we focus on why we’re here? Your offer to display some of Sophie’s work.”

  He nodded, a smile still on his face, but not reaching his eyes anymore as he looked down at his folded hands. “Well,” he said as he let out a long breath. “My apologies. Of course. You’re right.”

  A shiver ran down Jeri’s spine, but it had nothing to do with his voice anymore. Partly his voice, but his reaction to her reply didn’t go down well with her. He’d apologised, but it didn’t sound sincere to her. His reply was short and sharp. She looked at him closely. Irritation flickered in his eyes when he looked back up again.

  Again, she looked over to Sophie, who returned her gaze and seemed just as puzzled.

  When Nils spoke, Jeri flinched, not knowing why though. “How about,” he said as he looked at Sophie. “How about we have dinner tonight and discuss things over some good food?”

  Her friend looked at Mia. It must’ve been a sisterly moment, something you usually got shown in movies and it seemed unbelievable, but these two seemed to have a conversation without speaking one single word. Jeri was amazed — and a wee bit envious.

  Nil’s gaze was still fixed on Sophie. Still resting his elbows on his knees, he now rubbed his hands nervously. Jeri wasn’t sure how to take his action. Was it provocative or was he simply behaving badly by inviting Sophie on her own?

  When Sophie finally replied, her voice was quiet but clear. “I do appreciate the offer, Nils, but we’ve got previous arrangements which I’m not able or willing to change.” She drew in her lips and paused for a moment. Nils Svenson didn’t react. He didn’t move. Jeri was about to jump up from her chair when Sophie continued. “Also, I appreciate your very kind invitation to come and see you today. It was good to get a first hand impression of your gallery and I’m sure should there be any further conversations about displaying my photos we can do that over the next few weeks.”

  Jeri noticed the skin around his eyes tightening, though his smile never left his lips. She couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in the small office and out of the corner of her eye checked the distance to the door.

  His voice seemed distant when he asked, “Should?”

  Sophie nodded, but remained silent.

  After what seemed an eternity to Jeri, Mia suddenly said, “Oops, my phone. Apologies.” She stood, went out and in less than a minute came back. “Josh is in the neighbourhood and asks whether he can give us a lift.” Adding with a smile, “I have a feeling he doesn’t trust us to find our way with the tram.”

  Sophie’s laugh sounded strained, but Jeri joined her and laughed as well. No reaction from Nils Svenson.

  Letting out a long breath, Sophie stood, held out her hand to Nils. “Thank you again for your time. I suppose I will hear from you soon.”

  Jeri fought hard not to raise her eyebrows and stood as well. “Ditto here. Although, I’m not quite as eager to receive a phone call.”

  Nils raised a brow as he stood.

  “Sophie’s got the better manners. I’m not really that keen on trading exhibits at this stage, b
ut who knows? Depending on your business relations with Sophie, I might change my mind.”

  With a careful nod, he came closer, shook her hand, and said, “I certainly hope so.”

  Jeri wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but she plastered a nice smile on her face and headed towards the door. The sound of Sophie’s shoes told her, her friend was close behind her.

  The three women went through the gallery, out the front door, and walked down the road for a couple of minutes.

  “There’s no Josh, right?” Sophie asked Mia.

  “Nope.”

  “There’ll be no exhibits of yours in this gallery, right?” Jeri asked.

  “Nope.”

  They walked in silence until they went around the next corner towards the tram stop when Mia suddenly started laughing, giggling, not able to stop, and soon they all were laughing so hard, they held onto each other.

  It took them a long while to settle, wipe the tears from their faces before Sophie finally said, “No way is he getting my photos. Anybody else think he was a bit creepy?”

  “A bit?” Mia nearly screamed.

  Another bout of laughter. It was obvious to Jeri that her friends had felt as uncomfortable about Nils Svenson as she had. The laughter was simply the release of the tension they’d all built up inside. It hadn’t been a funny situation at all.

  The tram was visible in the distance and all three of them searched for their tickets. The ride back to Mia’s house was mostly a quiet one, everyone busy with their own thoughts.

  Jeri watched as they rode along Melbourne’s streets. Watched the traffic, the people, and took in all the buildings. Deep inside she didn’t believe that Nils Svenson was a bad soul, but nonetheless in hindsight, she had all these thoughts about what if.

  What if he hadn’t been a clean gallery owner?

  What if they’d been in trouble?

  She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts and swore to stay away from all the criminal series on TV.

  * * *

  Ely had organised two movies to watch with his nephew. Not that he expected Rafe to get even through the first half an hour after their extensive cooking of spaghetti. He’d learnt a lesson in not letting a small child near messy sauces again.

  Rafe’s energy levels were higher than Ely had assumed and it was close to nine o’clock when his eyelids were finally too heavy to stay open. He took his nephew to bed and was about to change TV channels to catch up on the evening news when his phone rang. The caller ID told him it was Jeri. Surprised, but also pleased, he answered the call.

  “Sweetheart.”

  The line was quiet for a moment when Jeri said, “I’m not her.”

  “Who?”

  “Your sweetheart.”

  Ely smirked. “Calling me at this time of the day from the mainland, I consider you to be my sweetheart.”

  The line went dead. Raking his hand through his hair, he cursed her, but at the same time liked her even more. A woman with principles. Or was that a principle?

  The short time he knew her, he’d learnt that she was uptight and agitated. He pinched his nose with his thumb and finger and tried to remember her voice. Tried to figure out whether he was on the right track.

  He thought he was…on the right track and hit re-dial.

  “I’m not your sweetheart,” she said by answering the call.

  “Tell me what’s wrong?”

  He heard her erratic breathing slowing and waited for her to be ready.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” she finally said.

  Not wanting to push her, he chose his words carefully. “Jeri, darling, I don’t know you well, but during moments you’re stressed you can be—”

  “Ely, honey, I’ve had a beautiful dinner with wonderful people, won ten dollars at the casino, and now I’m lying in a comfortable bed ready for snooze land. I am not stressed.”

  He choked back a laugh at the ten-dollar windfall. Slouching on the couch, he tried to figure out where he’d gone wrong. Still sure that something was amiss, he said, “I feel honoured that you thought of me during that state of sheer bliss.”

  “Yeah, not sure how that happened,” she replied nonchalantly.

  He was able to hear the sound of her breathing, fast and shallow. His own breathing, on the other hand, was quiet and steady.

  “We went to this gallery today,” she whispered after a long moment of silence. “I’m probably overreacting, but I felt so uncomfortable.”

  Ely sat up. She had his fullest attention.

  “All I was able to do was check the door out of the corner of my eye.”

  “That’s the gallery you were supposed to check out?”

  Another minute’s silence. He assumed she was nodding.

  “The owner was very nice at the start.” There was a pause. “I can still hear his rich voice.”

  That was nothing he wanted to reply to so he waited.

  “In his office, he put on the charm, told us about his idea about exchanging exhibits and completely ignored Sophie. But the way he ignored her, was…I don’t know, it was creepy. And when I suggested talking about his idea later and focus on his deal with Sophie the temperature in the office dropped by at least twenty degrees.”

  Ely didn’t like this story at all and an ache settled in his stomach.

  “As I said, I’m probably overreacting. We were all laughing like girls gone mad once we had left.”

  “You’re not gonna see him again, are you?” he asked carefully.

  “No way. He’s past.”

  Leaning back into the couch, he let out a sigh of relief. Unlike Jeri, he didn’t think she was overreacting and was quite worried about the idea of the three women in that office. He’d been too worried to ask whether anybody else had been at the gallery, not wanting to give her any worse thoughts about the whole situation.

  “I’m glad he is,” he finally said. And in an attempt to lighten her mood a little, he added, “So what’s up for tomorrow?” After all, he thought, he could get the details when she was back in Hobart—safe and close by.

  He heard her little sigh. Did she want to talk more about the gallery guy?

  “Mia wants us to go up the Eureka Tower and onto that platform that moves out and… It’s really scary. And apparently there’s the noise of fake glass breaking…” She made a noise of exaggerated shivering, and he assumed the sigh had been at the thought of going there.

  “I’ve heard of it. My buddy did it and loved it.”

  “Not for me. I like both my feet on solid ground.”

  He laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. Apparently you’ve got to board a plane to come back.”

  Another long sigh. “Don’t remind me. Anyway. I’d better get my beauty sleep.”

  He was still smiling when he said, “You’d better look after yourself now. Apparently I’m jinxed. We don’t want the airplane to drop from the sky.”

  She laughed. “Goodness gracious me. Don’t put any silly thoughts into my head, Ely.”

  He closed his eyes, focussing completely on her voice and her laugh. He loved hearing her laugh. It must’ve been the first time since he’d known her that she didn’t hold back and was relaxed, was herself. At least what he thought was herself. Her laugh was beautiful, and he wished he’d been right there with her.

  “Sorry sweeth—” he paused.

  “I think I could get used to you calling me that. So c’mon, say it.”

  It took him a moment to understand what she was talking about and with the huskiest voice he was able to muster, he said, “Sweetheart.”

  “I’ve got to go Ely. Thank you so much for listening.”

  “I feel honoured you called me. Take care and make sure that flight—”

  “Don’t you dare say it!” she nearly screamed.

  He laughed. “Make sure the flight’s on time.”

  Another soft laugh, then she hung up.

  Ely stared at the phone for a
long time, as if her image would appear on the screen if he looked at it long enough. He was sure she would’ve had a glass or two of wine, but no way had she been drunk or even merry, which made it even more surprising that she’d called him. But, boy, did he like it. It’d been about the best conversation they’d had since they’d known each other. Although knowing was an overstatement, considering that they’d only met a few times. Yet each time, their chemistry was full on.

  A smile tugged at his lips. Ely, buddy, you could easily fall for her.

  His phone buzzed indicating a message. Good night.

  It was from Jeri.

  Actually, he was half way to falling for her already.

  Chapter 8

  When Jeri opened her gallery on Monday morning, she wasn’t able to stop yawning. The previous day had been nice, but busy. She’d given the Eureka Tower a miss and explored the city and shops instead. And had loved it. Sophie had shown her a few photos, which had convinced her even more that shopping had been the better choice.

  After lunch, they’d made their way to the airport and with all the check-in/check-out, luggage in/luggage out procedure, it’d been close to ten o’clock that night when she finally got home. It’d taken her a good hour and a half to get organised with a little snack, unpacking, and checking mail and emails, and another hour to finally make it to bed. She’d been tempted to call Ely again, but resisted the temptation. She’d been cursing herself all day for calling him on Saturday and flirting with him.

  But she wasn’t able to get him out of her head. She found he kept coming back invading her thoughts.

  Olivia arrived about half an hour later. “Busy?” she asked.

  “Not this time of the day. I sometimes wonder why I open so early, but—” She shrugged, not knowing an answer to the but either.

  “Time for a cuppa to tell me about Mia? Got a photo?”

  Jeri stared at her like her niece had grown two extra ears.

  “The ring,” Olivia said with an exasperated tone in her voice.

  “You know?”

  “Duh. I’m her best friend. Of course I know.”