Read Online The Reef by Di Morrissey - Free Book Online

had met Blair but refused to acknowledge him if his name came up or if Jennifer mentioned they’d been somewhere together. She appeared to operate on the principle that if she ignored his existence he would disappear. Jennifer and Blair sometimes met Vi for lunch in town or in a suburb known for some speciality restaurant. Jennifer had the excuse that her mother was working so was unable to join them.
    After Christina and Blair’s initial meeting at a Sunday lunch at Vi and Don’s, where Christina virtually ignored Blair, Jennifer and Vi decided things would run more smoothly if they kept Christina out of the loop. Privately Vi thought it best so, in case Jennifer and Blair’s relationship floundered,Christina wouldn’t be able to say to Jennifer, I told you so, men can’t be trusted . . . and so forth. Though from what Vi had observed, she thought Jennifer and Blair were quite serious about each other, and she told Don.
    â€˜Jeez, I hope not, luv. He’s a nice enough young fella, but Jen needs to get out in the world a bit. You know, live a little.’
    â€˜I wish she could afford to go overseas when she graduates,’ sighed Vi. ‘The trouble is, Tina would want to go too.’
    â€˜Ain’t that the truth,’ agreed Don. ‘I’d offer to throw a bit in the kitty if Jen did want a trip. But not if her mum tags along. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to get time off work,’ he added.
    â€˜Don, Tina would simply chuck in the job if it meant travelling with Jenny.’
    â€˜You’re right, luv . . . Do you want to come and see my two new peach faces?’
    Jennifer was the happiest she could remember. Her relationship with Blair had steadied and grown. They spent most weekends together in a comfortable domestic routine. She was glad her mother was no longer lonely and seemed stimulated by her job, even if the stimulus came from being critical of housing prices, agents’ tactics and the rest of the staff. Jennifer made frequent flying visits to see Christina at Vi and Don’s. To assuage her guilt at meeting Vi (sometimes Don came along too) and Blair for their epicureanlunches, she’d treat her mother to a lunch or a dinner.
    Christina spent most of the meal tut-tutting over the prices. ‘You shouldn’t spend this money on me. My goodness, how can they charge these prices for that amount of food?’
    But what was especially fulfilling to Jennifer was her own work. She loved her courses and was taking an extra course in ecology. Her part-time job with the National Parks had escalated. Her connection from her after-school job had proved useful, and now she was spending time in the field with several of the rangers. She travelled to areas fringing Sydney’s north and south and was captivated by the inland waterways, wetlands and bushland. Standing on the headland at West Head, Jennifer thought she’d never seen such a magnificent location in all her life. She gazed across at the Palm Beach peninsula with its blunted tip of Barrenjoey Headland; Lion Island faced the swell of the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of Pittwater and Broken Bay; and she had the sweep of Ku-ring-gai National Park behind her. Here there were animals, plants and Aboriginal rock carvings that had existed centuries before Captain Cook ventured past this coastline.
    Jennifer took deep breaths to steady herself. She had a sudden desire to fall forward, over the headland, and, as if in slow motion, fly. She could feel exactly the sensation of swooping, gliding, drifting on currents of air, soaring from a great height to skim across the surface of the water.There would be a feeling of being supported in the air as if underwater. She smiled to herself. How joyful she felt when she was surrounded by the beauty of nature. From the silvery grey lichen on the log beside her, the smudges of colour on the smooth and pitted surface of the rock on which she stood, the old gums and