each other up front about who they really are. I'm not going to hide anything from you. What you see is what you get. No surprises, no ghosts in my closet.”
He smiled and rolled onto his side, taking my hand in his. “Eva, the only thing that taking your time does is to let time slip away. Time passes by while you’re thinking, rationalizing, and deciding. If you doubt whether we should be together and you let time go by, it means that there's less time to be in a meaningful, committed relationship. I'm just not interested in losing time that way. I'd rather spend it loving you."
I turned toward him and smiled. “I love the way you think, but my rational mind still interferes with just letting go and trusting.”
He ran his hand down my arm. “I don’t blame you. You’re right – we haven’t known each other that long. There are good reasons to be careful and not open yourself up to being so vulnerable.”
“Like what?” Given how readily he’d been willing to enter into a serious relationship with me, I was curious to know when he felt that being cautious was important.
Lying on his back, again, he closed his eyes and smiled . “Believe me, if I had used more of my rational mind when I met Melanie, I might not have married her. But I trusted that she was who she said she was. I knew we were different but thought that I could fill in the gaps. On the other hand, I can't second-guess whether I was right to marry Melanie. Because if I hadn't married her, my life would've been different, and I might’ve never met you.”
"So, you don't doubt us at all?" I asked.
H e looked back up at the sky, shook his head, and simply said, “No.”
*****
Martin dozed off for a while. I was warm in the sun so I stripped off down to my swimsuit and walked into the water until I was up to my neck. It felt good, and I treaded water before turning over and floating on my back for a while. When I swam around toward the edge of the cove, I felt a stronger current there so I moved back in a little closer to shore. After half an hour, I was ready to come out of the water and lay in the sun.
Martin was watching me . “You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you.” I smiled and lay down on the blanket beside him. He slowly ran his hands along my inner thigh, kissing me until it seemed wise to stop. This was a public cove after all.
I lay in the sun until my swimsuit was dry before turning over. When I was nearly dry on both sides, I dressed, and we left the cove to explore more of the park. By evening, we were getting hungry and decided to go home for dinner. I made a salad, Martin made some stir-fry, and we sat in the living room and ate.
“W hat do you want to see tomorrow?" he asked.
“I don't know. Where do you think we should go?"
"If you like the outdoors, which you seem to, I could take you to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It's a beautiful spot right on Sydney Harbour. There's a café there where we could have lunch, and," he smiled, "if we stay there long enough, we can watch the bats fly around the park in the evening."
I sat up. "I love bats!"
“Really?” he laughed.
“Yes,” I said excitedly.
“Hmm . I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know many people who love bats.” He seemed amused.
"What kind are they?"
"Flying foxes.”
“ My favorite.”
He looked at me quizzically . “Are you kidding?”
“I’m serious!” I laughed. “Those are really cool bats.”
"Then, I guess we’re going to the Royal Botanic Gardens tomorrow,” he chuckled.
“Yes!” I gave him a high five, and Martin just laughed.
Chapter 14
JANUARY 22
It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, and Martin made a point of showing me around Sydney. We went to Circular Quay, which is in Sydney Cove between The Rocks and Bennelong Point. It comprises walkways, parks, restaurants, and pedestrian malls.
From there, we caught the Manly Ferry where we could see Sydney’s gorgeous Opera
He smiled and rolled onto his side, taking my hand in his. “Eva, the only thing that taking your time does is to let time slip away. Time passes by while you’re thinking, rationalizing, and deciding. If you doubt whether we should be together and you let time go by, it means that there's less time to be in a meaningful, committed relationship. I'm just not interested in losing time that way. I'd rather spend it loving you."
I turned toward him and smiled. “I love the way you think, but my rational mind still interferes with just letting go and trusting.”
He ran his hand down my arm. “I don’t blame you. You’re right – we haven’t known each other that long. There are good reasons to be careful and not open yourself up to being so vulnerable.”
“Like what?” Given how readily he’d been willing to enter into a serious relationship with me, I was curious to know when he felt that being cautious was important.
Lying on his back, again, he closed his eyes and smiled . “Believe me, if I had used more of my rational mind when I met Melanie, I might not have married her. But I trusted that she was who she said she was. I knew we were different but thought that I could fill in the gaps. On the other hand, I can't second-guess whether I was right to marry Melanie. Because if I hadn't married her, my life would've been different, and I might’ve never met you.”
"So, you don't doubt us at all?" I asked.
H e looked back up at the sky, shook his head, and simply said, “No.”
*****
Martin dozed off for a while. I was warm in the sun so I stripped off down to my swimsuit and walked into the water until I was up to my neck. It felt good, and I treaded water before turning over and floating on my back for a while. When I swam around toward the edge of the cove, I felt a stronger current there so I moved back in a little closer to shore. After half an hour, I was ready to come out of the water and lay in the sun.
Martin was watching me . “You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you.” I smiled and lay down on the blanket beside him. He slowly ran his hands along my inner thigh, kissing me until it seemed wise to stop. This was a public cove after all.
I lay in the sun until my swimsuit was dry before turning over. When I was nearly dry on both sides, I dressed, and we left the cove to explore more of the park. By evening, we were getting hungry and decided to go home for dinner. I made a salad, Martin made some stir-fry, and we sat in the living room and ate.
“W hat do you want to see tomorrow?" he asked.
“I don't know. Where do you think we should go?"
"If you like the outdoors, which you seem to, I could take you to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It's a beautiful spot right on Sydney Harbour. There's a café there where we could have lunch, and," he smiled, "if we stay there long enough, we can watch the bats fly around the park in the evening."
I sat up. "I love bats!"
“Really?” he laughed.
“Yes,” I said excitedly.
“Hmm . I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know many people who love bats.” He seemed amused.
"What kind are they?"
"Flying foxes.”
“ My favorite.”
He looked at me quizzically . “Are you kidding?”
“I’m serious!” I laughed. “Those are really cool bats.”
"Then, I guess we’re going to the Royal Botanic Gardens tomorrow,” he chuckled.
“Yes!” I gave him a high five, and Martin just laughed.
Chapter 14
JANUARY 22
It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, and Martin made a point of showing me around Sydney. We went to Circular Quay, which is in Sydney Cove between The Rocks and Bennelong Point. It comprises walkways, parks, restaurants, and pedestrian malls.
From there, we caught the Manly Ferry where we could see Sydney’s gorgeous Opera
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