Yesterday`s flower by Michelle Tarynne (uplifting book club books .txt) 📕

‘Perfect,’ Max murmured. ‘I’ve been shielding my eyes the whole afternoon, when you could’ve been standing right there.’
Erika smiled. ‘My fingers are sore. I don’t think I can draw anymore today.

‘Does that mean I’m going to have to move?’ Max asked. ‘Because I’m not sure my body can stand it.’?
‘I’ll help you up,’ Erika said. ‘It’s the least I can do.’

♥

Despite their proximity, Max hadn’t touched Erika the entire afternoon. She wasn’t really sure if she liked this fact or not. Perhaps more than anything, she was a racted to his reserve. He was charming and gentlemanly, like Albert. But unlike Albert, he seemed aware of the space that she took up in the world, giving her a li le more than she might have liked. Max deferred to her, but when she seemed uncertain, he made decisions. Like the fact that they should have seafood for dinner, and that he knew just the place, if she was interested.

Of course she was interested. She loved prawns and calamari. Erika had rarely had the opportunity to eat fresh oysters, and here they were in front of them, piled up in a silver bowl with Tabasco and lemon. The seafood came to the table sizzling in mini cast-iron frying pans. And the salad, piled high with feta and Kalamata olives, sat between them, the dressing slick and garlicy.

They drank white wine, Max seemingly untainted by the excesses of the night before, though Erika prepared herself with a bo le of sparkling water.
‘You’re not surely going to mix those?’ Max asked, his expression a dead giveaway.
Erika hesitated, bo le mid-air, then poured the water into a fresh glass.
‘Because that would be a travesty, wouldn’t it,’ Erika said impishly.

And Max laughed out loud. ‘Years of training, I’m afraid. My parents gave us wine at the table as far back as I can remember.’
‘And why spoil a good thing?’
‘Exactly.’

But apart from that small slip of nonchalance, Max seemed so completely easy-going that Erika was beginning to wonder if anything stressed him out. And she was more than pleasantly surprised when he suggested that they share a dessert. She could hardly imagine Albert eating off someone else’s plate.
‘You choose,’ Max said. ‘I don’t mind, really.’

They ate the lemon meringue pie slowly between sips of aromatic filter coffee, their pace evenly matched. Erika had enjoyed a good day, she realised.
‘Are you happy?’ Max asked her.

‘You know what?’ Erika said, smiling at this surprising realisation. ‘I actually am.’

Yet as dinner drew to a close, Erika began to feel a li le nervous. Rubbing her arm distractedly, she realised that finding a place to stay had completely slipped her mind.

Max looked across at her, his eyebrows raised questioningly. ‘Everything okay?’ he asked, making a signing motion for the bill.
‘Of course.’

‘I kept the room,’ Max said. ‘In case you decided to come back.’ ‘That was nice,’ Erika said.
He reached out, slipping his fingers between hers.

‘Relax, Erika,’ he said. ‘I’m not a predator. They’re just beds, and we don’t even have to push them together.’
Erika blushed crimson. ‘You make me sound like a vestal virgin.’

Max grinned. ‘I haven’t enjoyed myself so much for ages. Let’s not complicate things.’ Following Max’s car, her headlights scanning the quiet streets, Erika’s heart thumped.

Despite Ashton’s advice, Erika hadn’t even kissed a man since Albert, never mind slept with one. Though she’d have to take that step eventually … She just didn’t have the confidence right now to take the lead.

Over-analysis paralysis, Ashton would have told her, don’t think so much, Hellie, it just doesn’t help.

There was an open parking space next to Max’s Land Cruiser. Erika reversed in, switching off the lights as her heart pounded.

‘Let me get your case for you,’ Max said, walking round to the boot. ‘Do you want any of this other stuff?’

‘I think I’ll survive with just the suitcase,’ Erika managed. Max slammed the boot shut, waiting for the click of the lock. ‘Think you’re up to a nightcap?’
Erika nodded. Right at this moment, she would welcome just about any delay.

They sat in the lounge of the B&B. The air had chilled enough for a small fire in the hearth, and Erika breathed in the pungent aromas of burning pine. Max angled a new branch into the fireplace, and it popped and splu ered.

‘Winters in Franschhoek can get quite cold and damp,’ Max commented, ‘but, the summers ... The heat is something else. Nothing you’d ever get in England. All you want to do is stretch out on a cold tiled floor and pant.’
‘Like a dog?’ Erika smiled at the picture.
‘Exactly like a dog.’
‘Does it work?’

‘At forty-five degrees, anything is be er than nothing. I’ve installed air-con in my study though. Jared was horrified – as if I was admi ing some sort of defeat. You know, lowering the tone of the National Heritage buildings.’
‘Is it beautiful there?’

‘Every time I go away, I come back with new eyes. It’s spectacular. We’re hemmed in on all sides by the most magnificent mountains. But they never look the same. The seasons change. The plants. The skies ...’

‘I love the skies here,’ Erika said. ‘They don’t seem to end.’ ‘Come on,’ Max said suddenly, ‘I’ll take you on a guided tour.’

♥

Erika gripped her jumper to her but Max, who was wearing short sleeves, seemed immune. Leaning in, he put his arm around her, drawing her against his chest. He’d grabbed two towels from their bedroom, and was carrying these over his other arm.

They found a sandy patch on the edge of the lagoon, and Max laid the towels out next to each other.
‘Comfy?’ he asked as she lay down next to him, her heart still pounding.
‘Yes.’

When Max pulled her a li le closer, it was more protective than suggestive. Erika tried to relax.

‘So probably the most famous constellation of our skies is the Southern Cross,’ Max said. ‘You’ve heard of it?’
‘Of course.’

‘Ironically enough, the Southern Cross is one of the smallest of eighty-eight constellations, yet it includes some of the brightest stars in the heavens. Have a look up there. Which one do you think it is?’

Erika studied the night sky. There wasn’t a single cloud marring its magnificence. But everywhere she could see, stars formed giant crosses.
‘I don’t know,’ she said a li le helplessly, ‘maybe that one?’

‘Perhaps the name is a li le misleading. I often think it looks more like a kite than a cross. See over there, those bright stars trailing behind that formation? Those are the pointers, alpha Centauri and beta Centauri. They’re really the key to knowing you’ve focused on the right spot.’ Max moved his hands, tracing the lines of the cross. ‘So, can you see it?’
‘I can now,’ Erika said.

‘Of the two pointers, the one furthest away – that one, see? – that’s the alpha Centauri. It’s the third brightest star in the night sky and it’s earth’s nearest known neighbour beyond our solar system. The alpha Centauri isn’t actually just one star. It’s made up of three stars travelling together. The two brightest ones take eighty years to orbit around each other, can you believe?’
‘Wow.’

‘Of those two stars, the one alpha Centauri A is almost our sun’s twin ... Anyway, so that’s a li le about the pointers. Would you like to see the Jewel Box or the Coal Sack next ...?’

Max took Erika on a journey across the skies, from Uranus to Jupiter to Mercury. He pointed out how Erika could learn to find south, his fingers directing her as he extended the long axis of the Cross right across the stars.

‘Now draw another line, see, halfway between the pointers and ninety degrees to the line joining them. Where the two lines cross is more or less the south celestial pole ...’

And Erika, who’d felt that she would never be able to find her way again, was overcome with a strange sense of peace, finally knowing which direction was which. She looked across at Max, who smiled back at her.
‘Feeling chilly?’ he asked.

Erika nodded.

‘Let’s go inside, then. We’ve done enough sky travelling for one night.’ Her stomach wrenched as Max unlocked the door, le ing her inside.
He sat down on the edge of his bed. ‘Don’t be nervous, Erika,’ Max said.
‘Is it that obvious?’
Max laughed softly. ‘Maybe not. Maybe I’m just highly intuitive.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Erika said.
‘I’ve had a lovely evening.’
‘Maybe another ...’

Max went over to her, pu ing his arm around her shoulders. ‘I know how important trust is, Erika. And first you need to trust yourself.’

Max kissed her cheek with a tenderness she hadn’t experienced from Albert in the three years of trying for their baby.
‘Good night, sweet Erika,’ Max said.

♥

When Erika awoke, Max wasn’t there.

Her heart flu ered. Had he left without saying goodbye? She looked towards where his suitcase had lain open the night before, but it was gone. Erika stood up quickly, finding some clothes to slip on, so she could check for his car. Fear. Relief. Sadness. Anxiety. Slipping on some sandals, Erika opened the room door, wondering if it would lock automatically. It didn’t ma er. She could ask the lady from the B&B to open it again if it did.

Rushing through the reception area, she poked her head around the corner of the breakfast room.
‘Are you looking for your young man?’ the owner asked.
Erika nodded, mute.

‘He said to start breakfast without him. He’ll be back at nine. I think he went to a meeting.’
Erika smiled in relief.

‘Well, if the omele es are still on offer …’ she said, pulling up a chair in the sunlight, ‘I would love to give one a try.’

An hour later Erika was sipping coffee, a sketchpad in front of her. A face had begun to appear in the scribblings, and she realised with a sense of gloom that it was Albert’s. For goodness sake, what was she doing? She tore the page out, ripping it into li le pieces.
‘Not good?’ Max asked her, watching her frantic movements.
Erika laughed self-consciously. ‘You’re back.’

‘I am. Did Mary give you my message? I thought you might be worried that I’d disappeared.’
‘Men do that, sometimes,’ Erika said cynically.
‘Not this one.’
‘Good news,’ she said a bit snippily.

Max shrugged, le ing her off lightly. ‘I’m not really a morning person either. What are you planning to do today?’ he asked.

The truth was she hadn’t planned anything. Erika was trapped in some sort of lethargy and even though she knew she was going to have to find a new path, she wasn’t

really sure where it was quite yet.
‘I hadn’t really thought about it.’

Max pulled up a chair next to her. ‘Well, I’ve been thinking. And I think I may have an idea.’

Erika noticed how his hazel eyes twinkled. And despite herself, she found herself smiling. ‘What are you up to, Max?’

‘Come back to Franschhoek with me. It’s beautiful. Quiet. And I need help with the illustrations on the book I am writing.’
‘You’re writing a book?’ Erika said, buying time.

‘I’ve been tracing my family’s roots from the first Huguenots. And actually, there are more than a few skeletons in the De Villiers closet.’
Erika’s eyebrows raised quizzically.

‘I spoke to