Chapter 6: Sydney

Friday Week 2 Continued

Dave organized a late breakfast and then while they were having a cup of tea after they had finished eating, he told them that he'd like to stay in Sydney for a couple of days, so he could see his son and daughter-in-law, possibly see a show if he could get tickets and do a harbour cruise.

He said "you are welcome to stay here as my guests if you'd like and I'm happy to shout you so you can come along with me to the show and the cruise. Then I'm going to continue driving slowly up north along the coast, stopping frequently. You can come with me for a while if you like. Don't worry about the money; I can afford it, as long as you help out with cooking, cleaning, etc. We might even share a bit of driving if we ever get to drive for more than an hour or two at a time. You do drive, don't you Peter?"

Jill turned to Peter excitedly and said "We can stay with Dave can't we Peter? I'd love to see Sydney harbour and the thought of being able to sleep in this double bed while we can instead of pitching the tent and blowing up the mattress, really appeals." But then she turned to Dave and asked "do you really mean it Dave? It just sounds too good to be true. We could put something towards the petrol at least or buy some food. You shouldn't have to support us. Anyway, I feel after this morning you have done so much for me. I'd do anything to repay you."

Dave instantly had some dirty thoughts about what she could do to him, but naturally he didn't make these public. He just assured them both that he would be very happy to have them along and not to worry about the money. "I'll tell you about it one day" Dave said "just not yet."

Peter didn't say much other than express his gratitude, confirm he could drive and say he would love to try out a couple of Sydney beaches while they were here, possibly while Dave and Jill went for a harbour cruise if it was OK, as he wasn't very keen on doing that. He'd much rather surf.

So while Jill cleared away and washed up, Dave showed Peter how to get the 4WD off the trailer. He would use that to get around for the next couple of days. He contacted his son, who invited him to come for dinner that night, then booked two tickets for a day harbour cruise the next morning and three tickets for a musical on the evening after the harbour cruise.

He told Peter that he could drop Jill and him off at the wharf then have the car to go to the beaches for the day, as long as he was back by 3pm to collect them both, so they could come back to the RV and get ready to go out. They'd then drive back into the city for an early dinner then onto the show. Peter couldn't believe how generous Dave was to them both and vowed to himself not to do anything that might upset him, especially after the way he had saved his girl that morning.

Mean time, for the rest of today, Dave thought they should do their washing including the bed linen, clean the RV, remake the beds and do a bit of shopping. "You two kids can stay here tonight, fix yourselves some dinner and watch TV or a DVD or do whatever you like, I'll drive over to my son's place which is about half an hour from here. I should be back around 11pm" Dave said to give them a little personal space.

After getting all the washing done, Jill and Peter hung it on the line. They then all set off in the 4WD for the local shopping centre. Dave had made sure that Jill was alright after her ordeal that morning, but she assured him, that thanks to him she was fine. She wasn't hurt and apart from an uninvited and unwelcome grope they hadn't really done anything to her.

"But" Dave said "I'll have to get you a new bikini. We didn't go back to collect your old one. Is there anything else that either of you need." They both assured him they were fine, but Dave insisted on the new bikini "as long as I get to pick it" he added with a laugh.

Off they went to the shopping centre. Bikini first, food second Dave said as we don't want the food spoiling if Jill takes too long finding a new bikini. They saw a shop that looked as if it might sell what Jill needed. Next door Peter spied a news agency and said he was going to browse the magazines if no one minded; especially the surfing ones Dave thought. So while Peter got his fix of latest surfing news, Dave took Jill into the shop and looked for suitable swimmers.

"See anything you like?" enquired Jill.

"These look good" Dave said jokingly holding up a bikini so micro it would be lucky to cover her nipples and pubes.

"I may as well save you money and swim in the nude" Jill replied getting into the right spirit, "but perhaps this or this might be more appropriate" she said holding up two brief but sensible bikinis. "Do you want me to try them on?" Dave nodded and off she went to the change room.

Jill indicated he should follow her and wait outside the change room. "I'm not parading across the shop in these, so you can stay just outside the change room door so you can tell me if you like either of them" she said.

In a few moments the door opened and Jill showed him the first one, then closed the door and put the other one on. "Well, what do you think? Which do you prefer or don't you like either of them?" she asked, modelling the second bikini.

Dave thought that the first one had looked good, but he liked the one she was wearing now even better; a brief white number with strapless bra and briefs high cut on the sides. It showed up her glorious tan to perfection and covered what needed to be covered, while displaying plenty of skin to arouse any full blooded male, Dave thought.

"Yes, definitely that one, if you are happy with it. After all, you are the one who has to wear it. Is it comfortable?" Dave asked.

Jill was very happy with it and said so. She went and changed back into her T-shirt and shorts and came back out carrying the selected bikini which she passed to Dave while she put the unwanted one back on the rack.

Dave noticed he had only seen Jill wearing two different T-shirts, so told her he thought she should have a new one to go with the bikini. Although Jill put up token resistance, she clearly was very happy to let him get her a new top that she could wear as a short dress, so they went over and looked at the shop's range. Dave found one that he thought looked nice and would complement the white bikini. Jill went to try it on, with Dave following so she could show it to him as she had the bikinis.

Jill opened the door of the change room just wearing the T-shirt and it looked fabulous. She would be able to wear it as a mini dress or as a T-shirt. Dave gave her the thumbs up telling her how good it looked. So she got changed again and handed the new T-shirt to Dave. Once he had paid for the purchases, they went and found Peter.

"Let's have a bite to eat before we do anything else" Dave said, so they went to the food hall to make their selections. Dave chose a steamed red chicken curry from the Thai stall, Peter had Kentucky Fried, while Jill chose a gourmet salad. After Dave had paid for it all and got them all soft drinks, they sat at one of the tables to eat their lunch. Jill excitedly showed Peter her new gear, which he roundly approved of even though he was just looking at them in their packaging. Dave had had the pleasure of seeing them modelled – a much better option, he thought.

Dave suddenly remembered that he needed a new bicycle pump, having badly bent his on that guy's head. Still it was worth the cost, he thought and that guy I'm sure will think twice about molesting young girls. So he checked where the bike shop was and asked the other two to wait for him telling them he wouldn't be long, then he dashed off and bought the new pump.

Now it was time for grocery shopping. He asked Peter to get a trolley and they set off down the first aisle of the supermarket. Dave realised that he had better do a bigger shop than he had done previously as he now had three mouths to feed for a while and didn't want to have to shop every day or two. Luckily he had a big fridge and plenty of room in his pantry.

As they went around the supermarket, he asked them both their preferences for breakfast cereals, vegetables, meats, etc. Fortunately, they both said they were happy to eat anything; they were not fussy eaters, which pleased Dave and made his menu planning easier. In any event, he planned to encourage Jill to do most of the cooking. It would be like having his wife along, but unfortunately she would be sleeping with someone else, he laughed to himself.

Up and down every aisle they went, with Jill entering into the shopping spirit. Personally Dave found grocery shopping a bit boring, but could see that Jill was having a lot of fun, probably not been able to afford some of the luxuries that they were selecting. Peter didn't look too bored, but probably felt the same as Dave about shopping. Still, the trolley was full by the time they had finished.

"Have you selected something to cook for Peter tonight?" Dave asked Jill.

"I'm a bit scared cooking in your RV when you're not there" Jill responded.

"Why don't we get some takeaway?" Peter asked Jill. "There's a Chinese takeaway I noticed just around the corner from the caravan park, so we could walk around there and get some."

Jill agreed that that would be a good idea and Dave decided it would be better to let them do their own thing. That way, they wouldn't feel they were totally sponging off him, though he really didn't mind.

When they got back to the RV, Jill helped Dave put the food away, so she would know where everything went. Peter went and got their washing in. Jill asked if anything needed ironing, but Dave assured her that he didn't plan on wearing clothes that needed ironing while he was on his holiday.

As they sat down and had a cup of coffee that Jill had brewed, Dave opened up and told them of his wife's death and his holiday plans, showing the route he was planning. He mentioned his two kids, telling them where his daughter was now and when he'd last seen her. He talked of his retirement, the work he used to do, selling the family home, buying a unit and the RV and how he was able to live off his superannuation.

When he finished he felt better, as if telling them about it made some of the grey clouds disappear. It wasn't going to bring his Chloe back, but he felt better about going on and trying to enjoy the rest of his life.

Dave knew Chloe would want that. She had certainly told him to, once she knew of her imminent death, badgering him and making him promise that he would get on with his life once she was gone. She had even used some of the lines from their favourite movie, Love Actually, telling him how he should try and get together with Claudia Schiffer or perhaps Elle McPherson seeing Elle came from Australia. Now he seemed to accept what she had been telling him and he was grateful to the young couple for waking him up.

Opening up like that with the two youngsters also seemed beneficial to Jill. She was so absorbed in Dave's story that she seemed to forget about the ordeal she had gone through that morning. She decided that Peter and she should make things easier for Dave to get over his loss, by helping out and cheering him up. Also, that way hopefully he would want them to stay with him for as long as possible, because this was luxury compared with what they would have. In fact, compared with anything she had ever had in her whole life, she realised.

Dave spent a very pleasant evening with Paul and his wife, Jenny. They were pleased to see the effervescent mood he was in and they encouraged him to enjoy his great adventure.

It was, however, a happy and sad night as they reminisced about some of the things that they had done as a family. Jenny had known Chloe for a number of years, because she had been going with Paul the whole time they were at university. Now they both had good jobs in Sydney and were very happy, the more so because they saw that their father/father-in-law was getting on with his life and seemed content.

When he got back to the RV, Peter and Jill seemed fast asleep in their bed, so he quietly let himself in and climbed into his own bed. He found himself quickly falling asleep, the excitement of the day, especially the encounter this morning, had worn him out.