Life Out of The fast Lane

"YES!!" he punched the air with his fist as he read the letter over again. Rushing down the hall, he stopped at the study door and leaned against the jamb. Tori was busy at her desk, working on her latest creation. He flicked the light on an off to get her attention.

Looking up at the flickering light, and then turning in her chair, her heart skipped a beat when she saw the radiant smile on Tom’s face. Pushing himself away from the doorframe, he moved quickly towards her and held out the letter for her to read.

"You got it!" she squealed in delight, jumping up to wrap her arms round his neck and kiss those wonderful lips.

Tom "Bomber" Young, former champion footy player, former senior police constable, had been accepted as a member of the Coff’s harbour ambulance service after passing his paramedic course with flying colours.

"Yes, baby. Now we can start a new life up country. Away from the big city so I know you’ll be safe."

"Aw, sweetheart. You know I’m as safe as anyone else is living in a big city, but my heart is only safe when it’s near you…so when do we move?"

"Well, they want me to start after Crimbo, but they have a small apartment we can use until we find something more permanent, and it’s empty already, so all we need do is pack up what we want to take with, and get going."

Tori stood up and walked through their apartment. It was rented ready furnished, so they wouldn’t need to take too much time packing. They didn’t have too many personal possessions to take, so just a few boxes would do the trick. After assuring him that she would be fine on her own in their new home for a couple of days, Tom said he would rent a van to get them up there, then drive it back to the city and pick up their car.

Three days later, Tori found herself alone in Coffs, determined to look around and get acquainted with the town and not wait for Tom to return.

Sitting in the shade of the giant fig trees, she was enjoying a latte when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning to a smiling face she thought she would never see again, she almost knocked over her drink in her rush to stand and give the newcomer a hug.

"CERI!! What in the world are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Ceri replied as she turned to pull over a spare chair.

Tori frowned and touched Ceri’s hand. "Could you look at me when you speak please, Ceri?"

"Why, what’s the problem, hon?"

Sitting back down and waiting while Ceri ordered a latte for herself, Tori took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke to the friend she hadn’t seen since school back in the UK."

"I’m deaf, Ceri."

Ceri nearly dropped her coffee in surprise at this revelation. "How…when…oh, Tori, I’m so sorry."

Tori smiled as she held Ceri’s hand. "Don’t be sorry. Life goes on. After the family move down here to Oz, I enrolled in Uni and took a course in art and graphic design. There was an outbreak of meningitis on the campus. I was one of the lucky ones. It left me totally deaf in my left ear and with 99% loss in the right. I learnt to sign and lip read, and thankfully it seems that people can still understand me when I talk."

Ceri leaned over to hug her friend, marvelling at how calm she was about her situation. "So, what are you doing in Coffs?"

"Oh, my fiancé and I have just moved up here. He’s a paramedic and has just been offered a job as an ambo here."

Ceri looked around, trying to see her friend’s fiancé. "Where is he, Tori? I’d love to meet him."

"Right now he should be on his way back from Sydney. We rented a van to get our stuff up here and he took it back yesterday so that he could pick up our car. Do you live here in town?"

"No, I live in a new community about 30 minutes drive inland. It’s called The Glen. The land was left to three distant cousins and me by an uncle we never knew we had. Seems he did well all his life and bought a vast tract of land. He died alone, having never married, and for some glorious reason, he left the land to me, Bridgid, M and Marie. Oh, Tori, you have to see it sometime."

"How about now? I’m just wasting time until Tom comes back."

"Great, stay here while I go get the car. You’re going to love it. Bron is living there as well so we can have a grand reunion when your man gets home."

Ceri smiled all the way back to The Glen as Tori hadn’t stopped chatting for the entire journey, even though she knew Ceri couldn’t take her eyes off the road long enough to look at her in reply.

They pulled up outside Ceri’s and Tori opened the door and slowly got out, leaning on the roof as she surveyed her friend’s new home. "Oh, Ceri…it’s so…Australian! I love it. Quick, show me around before I burst with curiosity."

Tori went round the front of the car and grabbed Ceri’s hand in her eagerness to see inside her friend’s property. She wasn’t disappointed. Outside was Australiana, but inside was state of the art luxury. Ceri saw the question forming on Tori’s lips.

"My partner, Max, wanted me to have the best."

"Well, he’s done you proud. It looks like he’s chosen all native Aussie gear, so good on him. Is he around?"

"Afraid not. He’s over at the garage arranging for some work on the car. Knowing him, he’ll be chatting with Colin, he’s the owner, for hours yet, and we have to think about getting you back before too long."

Tori looked at her watch and nodded. She’d been there for longer than she realised, and wanted to make certain she was back before Tom got home. Ceri drove her back to the apartment in town and kissed her, promising to call in again in a few days to meet Tom.

The evening sun shone through the kitchen window as Tori put the finishing touches to the dinner she’d prepared in readiness for Tom’s return. She stopped what she was doing as she felt his presence. Turning from the stove, she saw him standing in the middle of the kitchen, bathed by the warm red glow of the setting sun. Dropping his bag to the floor, he held out his arms as she rushed towards him.

"Oh Tom, I’ve missed you so much."

Holding her at arms length so that she could see him, he smiled. He didn’t need words to let her know how he felt about her. She could see it in his eyes. They were the windows to his soul. She reached up to touch the scars around his right eye and kissed him.

"What have you been up to while I’ve been gone, Luv?" he asked.

"You won’t believe this. I was having a coffee at a nice café down the road and someone tapped my shoulder. It was my friend Ceri from the UK. Would you believe she’s living just about 30 minutes drive away from here?"

"Small world. Did you have a good time?"

"I sure did. She drove me out to see her home. It’s in a lovely quiet place called The Glen. Tom, I think I’d like to live there too."

Tom smiled as he kissed her again. "If it makes you happy, Luv, you’d better take me to look the place over," he replied.