It was my turn to nod. Bridget was big on signs, so this was no surprise.
“Here’s the thing, love,” she said. I braced myself. I had no idea what was going on but the vibe was weird. “She’s the spitting image of Em.”
I COULDN’T STOP STARING at her. The air seemed to swirl up from the floor and engulf me, sucking the breath from my lungs.
Emily.
She looked so much like her. The same height, the same slight frame, the same big eyes, almost too large for her face. Her hair was different, though – brown, not blonde, and longer than Em’s, sitting just below her shoulders.
“Are you sure?” I breathed.
“I’m sure.”
“I mean, are you really sure?”
Because she had to be sure. I needed to know. If there was any chance this was Emily, I needed to know.
“I’m sure, love.” Bridget’s calm words cut right through the confusion, but still I couldn’t take my eyes off the girl. “The resemblance is uncanny though, isn’t it?”
My brain dipped and soared. I felt seasick. Uncanny? Uncanny was not the word. Cruel, disturbing, unfair – those were words, and all of them applied here. This girl, this… woman. What the hell was the universe playing at? Was this some kind of twisted joke? The day before her birthday.
We stood at the end of the counter, watching her in the kitchen, checking off inventory, completely oblivious to the chaos she was causing out here.
Bridget steered me away from the counter and around to the other side, out of sight.
“I reacted the same way you did, when she came in here this morning. She probably thought I was crazy. I couldn’t stop staring.”
“It’s... she’s… “ I couldn’t even make a full sentence, never mind sense of any kind. I cleared my throat. “Jesus.”
“I know. Believe me, I know,” Bridget said calmly. “But once you talk to her, get to know her a little bit, it’s obvious that it’s just a physical thing, that’s all. She’s lovely, but she seems… I don’t know. Lost, somehow.”
That actually made sense. Bridget had always had a thing for waifs and strays. I used to joke that she had an invisible neon sign above her head, attracting anyone within a one hundred kilometre radius. It didn’t seem so strange that this girl, who looked so much like Em, should find her way to Bridget, today of all days. Coincidences didn’t exist in Bridget’s world. I’d known her long enough to see a lot of weird things happen around her. Strange twists of fate seemed to follow her, and she didn’t seem to mind. She was an old soul. She was comfortable with it, she accepted it. I think that’s why I was so surprised that Em hadn’t been found yet. If anyone was to attract that kind of luck, that kind of peace, it was Bridget.
I tried to focus, to work through the details. “What did you say her name was?”
“Maia. I was trying to hump in the party supplies for tomorrow night from out the back, and she just… appeared. We got talking, and she has kitchen experience. I need someone, she needs a job. It just all kinda fell together.” She gave a small laugh. “I know. You probably think I’m mad, but you know how things can be.”
Yes, I knew.
“She seems trustworthy,” she said. “She’s not sure how long she’ll be here, but she’s willing to stick around as long as I need her, until I can find someone permanent, anyway. She’s working her way around the country, having a bit of an adventure before she heads off overseas.”
Jealousy reared up and stabbed me in the gut. Em and I had planned something very similar, but after she disappeared, the wanderlust had shrivelled up. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to be here, just in case. I could never leave, not now. My heart was here, my life. I didn’t think there would be anything I would ever see out there in the world that I could care that much about. The only thing I really wanted to see was Emily, safe and well and home again.
“She told me she wouldn’t mind learning to surf.”
I knew what she was suggesting, even before she said it. No way in hell. I wasn’t doing that – not with her. I couldn’t. The similarities were too much, my brain couldn’t handle it. It’d be like some kind of slow torture.
“Maybe you could teach her? It must be lonely for her, not knowing anyone here. You guys are about the same age.” She paused, raising an eyebrow at me. “Don’t give me that look, love.”
“What look?” I sputtered.
“She’s a nice girl, and she doesn’t know anyone here. I’m sure she could use a friend – that’s all I meant, honestly.”
That big heart of hers had gotten me into trouble before, but this was beyond compare. Didn’t she realise what she was asking me to do? I was going to be lucky to even string two words together in front of this girl.
“Just think about it, okay?”
That was generous, making me think I had a choice. At least my manhood was intact. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”