Sony EBook Downloads: Free ebook sample of "THE BIG WHITE GUM TREE." by rufuskirk

THE BIG WHITE GUM TREE


by

Rufus Kirk

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Chris Gainsford on Smashwords

The big white gum tree

Copyright © 2009 by Chris Gainsford

                                                Chapter One.



It gets dark quickly in Whyalla, no twilight at all, Dom thought as he shambled slowly home.

He stopped abruptly at the corner and looked dejectedly at the big white gum tree, remembering that this was the very place he'd first met Lydia. This was where they'd shared their first word and their first hesitant smile. How had he felt at that moment? Had he known even then that they were destined to be together, or was that only time and memory playing tricks on him?

His smile was bitter- sweet as he remembered the beautiful apparition stepping boldly from the shadows and into the pale glow cast by the feeble street light. How could someone so apparently average seem so perfect? She wasn't tall or short, skinny or fat, and even her long, dark hair, was ordinary. It was, perhaps, her breathtaking eyes, sea green with tiny golden flecks that danced with mischief or maybe her smile and the way it seemed to make her entire face light up. The lump in Dom's throat matched the knot in his stomach as he lingered in the past. In his minds eye he saw a pair of fifteen-year-olds and felt anew the unbreakable bond forged on that fateful night, so long ago

.

 
Leaving his room Dom went into the lounge and opened the front door. Only then did his mother look up from her favourite show, "Division Four," and ask sharply, "where are you going?

 His dad peered over the top of his glasses and said nothing at all.

 "Just round to Alen's place mum, I have finished my homework," Dom lied, "and its Friday night, I always go on Friday's unless he comes here."

 "Well make sure your home by eleven" his mother said.

 

Dom shut the front door and skipped lightly down the porch steps. His senses were immediately assailed by the almost overpowering scents of spring. Honeysuckle, Frangipani and roses. He looked up and drew his breath in sharply. WOW! Look at that sky! Black velvet spangled with polished gems, it was totally awesome and combining with the heady scents created a sense of euphoria.

 
*****
 

 He stopped at the front gate and stood there on the footpath. Normally he would have turned right and followed his usual route to Alan's place; Tonight though, he was strangely compelled to turn left and walk toward Phyllis St. He stood still, hesitating for a moment, then turning left he mentally shrugged, why not, it will only mean walking round the block, and it's such a spectacular night. As he walked, the dim street light next to that big old gum tree seemed to beckon him.

 At the end of Edgar Street he turned right and had barely taken half a dozen paces when he heard a low whistle.... Not a wolf whistle exactly but a soft note whistle not unlike it. Stopping he looked around but could see nothing so after a few seconds he began to moving and at once it came again. Squinting, he peered into the dark and again saw nothing! Then a feminine giggle! Dom's young heart skipped a beat and his pulse quickened

 
"I am gonna count to three an' if you don't come out, I'm gonna walk away!" he called dramatically.

 
One...Two.... Three!

 
Nothing but silence.

 
Disappointed and hoping this unseen girl would not call his bluff he began walking. Then it came, a call behind him.

 
"Vait!"

 
He turned, and there, standing in the low glow of the tired street light was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Can she really be talking to me? Dom wondered. Her hair was long and dark, falling almost to her waist and a fringe cut it that sexy "bangs" style of the 60's framed a beautiful face and perfectly plucked eye brows ached above sea green eyes that danced with mischief . She asked for the time, but in an accent so strong and unfamiliar she had to repeat her question several times before he understood! Shyness compounded by the language barrier made their first conversation hesitant and difficult! Dom learned that her name was Lydia and that she came from Finland. She was 14...

 "Fourteen?" Dom replied with superior smile, " I am 15"
"I lied I'm 15!" She retorted casually.
Dom was charmed by the candid way she casually corrected her age when she learnt he was 15! He was going to learn in the years ahead that lying was her speciality. An art form she would perfect early in her life, and practice without remorse for a long time. A very long time.

 They went for a walk and with some difficulty chatted for more than two hours! Lydia suggested they go into the back lanes so they could search out fruit trees to raid in the backyards. They gorged themselves on peaches and apricots, the juices running down their chins.
"Forbidden fruits all vays taste sveeter" Lydia chortled, her eyes dancing with excitement.

 Dom could not sleep that night; he tossed and turned, filled with a strange excitement. She was different from every girl he had ever met in his short life and he wanted her! Already his heart was hers. And it would remain hers for the rest of his life.

 
She was bewitchingly enticingly different! He craved to see her again! The big white gum tree was on the verge outside the fence line of Lydia's home and by unspoken agreement they met there again the following night.... And the next...and the next....

 
One night Lydia's brother's friend left his car parked out front, forgetfully leaving the keys in the ignition. Dom spotted them and said to Lydia, in an attempt to impress,

 "Get in, lets go for a ride!"

 With a sharp intake of breath and a widening of her big green eyes she retorted "you voudn't dare"!

 Then to Don's dismay she opened the door and got in. Sliding over to the driver's seat she wound down the window and said, "are you chickens?"

 Tight lipped, Dom opened the door and a laughing Lydia slid back into the passenger seat. I hope I can work out how to drive this thing Dom muttered to himself as he started the V8 Ford. It growled into life, as loud as the hounds of hell in his ears and he was sure it would bring her family running down the driveway like a bunch of storm troopers!

 He waited for an eternity but nobody came.

 "Vote are you vating for?" hissed Lydia excitedly, "yust go slow until ve are round the corner!"

 He actually remembered to release the hand brake, it's automatic, thank God he thought clicking the Tbar into drive and gingerly touching the accelerator causing the car to jerk forward and Lydia to squeal in delight. As they rounded the corner Dom frantically wound the steering wheel back, trying to straighten the car but he was too slow and with a violent bump the Ford mounted curb. Taking his foot of the accelerator he frantically swung the wheel back the other way, and narrowly missing a letterbox the car bumped over the curb back onto the road where it stalled. Dom was embarrassed and angry all at once.

 
Lydia was laughing hysterically at him. You voud make the getaway driver she howled! Hahahaha! Annoyed, Dom started the car and gunned the motor and off they lunged wildly careering on and off the road with Lydia shrieking in part fright and part delight! Dom learned to let the wheel spin back by itself and so he managed to drive in an almost passable manner.

 
Whyalla being a small country town, the streets were quiet and fifteen minutes later they pulled off Broadbent terrace and crawled slowlyy along the foreshore. It was badly lit with the light poles a good hundred feet or more apart. The sound of gently lapping wavelets, the low lighting and the fresh sea air along with the excitement of their crazy actions combined to create an atmosphere that was intensely erotic.

 
Several cars were parked but not close together. Lydia talked him into parking at a secluded part of the beach well away from the other cars. Dom sat with his hands on the wheel, his throat dry and his heart pounding. Lydia lay back her seat as far as it would go. Dom shifted nervously in his seat, well squirmed actually. She turned her head to face him and smiling wickedly breathed "do you vaant me Dom?"

**************************************

Chapter 2

“Want you? What do you mean Lydia?" Dom rasped in a voice full of boyish sexual tension.

Lydia looked at him quizzically, “you have never touched me Dom, you’re a virgin aren't you”? Dom squirmed; surely she could see his burning cheeks even in the darkness!

"Um...I think we better go Lydia, maybe we can put the car back before it is missed."

Taking his hand she held it to her firm, warm breast and Dom felt a tingle in his nether regions. "Tonight" said Lydia, "you made me your partner in crime, and tonight I vill make you a man."

Dom was pleased with himself as he drove along McBride Terrace, that long meandering street on the edge of town, a quiet back road home. I am not a virgin any more! I'm a man he told himself. He grinned at Lydia and she leaned over to kiss him. Although happy Dom was beginning to worry, they had been gone hours and the car must be missed by now, reported stolen probably. On top of that Lydia's parents must wonder where she is. He hoped they did not connect her to the missing car. The possible consequences of their escapade were beginning to hit home.

In the distance, heading toward them was a solitary headlight and Dom slowed the car to a more sedate speed. "Vhy are you slowing down?" asked Lydia, alarm in her voice she cranined forward searching for the danger,

"That might be a cop" Dom answered tensely. The headlight came closer and closer then a shocked gasp of alarm from Lydia as the big police bike passed them, the officer straight and tall in his dark uniform and gleaming white helmet. The excitable woman -child was gone, replaced by a frightened juvenile on the brink of tears. “How did you know!"

"I didn't " replied Dom "but better safe than sorry hey" he smiled in an attempt to reassure, despite being scared himself. "Don't worry Lydia, I won't let anyone hurt you ever!" He was rewarded with a quivering smile. She surprised him then, sinking her nails painfully into his arm "Ve vill be friends forever vont vee Dom? - Vont vee? True friends never say goodbye."

"Friends forever Lydia." Dom answered with a warm smile. Turning down George Avenue, and swinging left into Edgar street the car crept cautiously toward Phyllis street, all the while the pair scanned furtively for some crafty police trap. Dom stopped the car within five feet of its original position. Very quietly they got out of the car and softly shut the doors, click...click. Lydia said she would sneak round the back of the dark house to her brother's room and get him to let her in, after a lingering passionate kiss, she slipped away. As she tip toed down the gravel drive Dom could clearly hear the sound of the gravel loudly announcing her progress in the still of the night. Crunch.... Crunch.... Crunch. It seemed to maliciously proclaim her presence .Dom winced and after a lingering gaze full of want and with pounding heart walked home his soft soled shoes silent on the street.
*****
 
His mind was racing, after all it was 1:15am, he should have been home hours ago. What would he say if someone were waiting up for him? But he approached he could see the house was in darkness, a stroke of luck, He would climb in through his bedroom window, always left unlocked for just such an emergency. He would be safe, at least until the morning. Trying to slide the window open he found it stubbornly resistant, somebody had locked it! At once he thought of his younger sister but no, if he tapped on her window she would run screaming to her parents, in fact, he thought, it might well have been her that locked it! There was an old broken down Morris Oxford in the back yard, he would just have to brave the spiders and sleep in that.

 
Dom woke slowly and for an instant thought he had been dreaming. His aching body, the musty smell of the disused car and the garden view through its dirty windows told him otherwise. Squinting at his watch through bleary eyes he saw it was 5:40. Better to face his dad now, he decided rather than after he came home from work, pointless to make him stew all day, now would be better. He knocked on the back door timidly and after a moment it was opened by his father, already dressed for work. Reg Gains looked at his son through tired and saddened hazel eyes set deep in his craggy, careworn face. “Dom! Where have you been?” he asked softly, Dom was thrown off balance, this was hardly the reception he had expected.

“Um…sleeping in the Morris dad, I didn’t want to wake anyone when I got home - it was late he added apologetically.” Dom held his breath, watching his father closely. A change now, subtle but dangerous.

“So why were you late Dom and who were you with,” I know you weren’t at Alan’s he added so where? More sharp now.

“Um, well you know Lydia; I kinda bumped into her and we, er, well…. Went for a walk, and I dunno dad, just lost track of time!”Dom winced mentally, it sounded so lame! Perhaps the truth would have been better! “Well dad Lydia and I stole a car, went for a wild joy ride and ended up having sex down at the beach!” Yeah right! Dom grinned as he imagined his father’s reaction; he could see his jaw dropping and his eyes popping!

“What’s so funny!” Reg snapped

“Nothing dad, nothing!”

“Listen boy, I am going now and when I get home, you better have your story straight and that stupid smirk wiped off your face!”

 
Dom was eating a bowl of Cornflakes when Sarah, his young sister walked in, took one look and called out excitedly “MUM” then screwing her face up as only little girls can “your in Soooo much in trouble Dom” the unwitting prophetess pronounced.

“MUM” Dom's home and he’s eating the cornflakes, it’s not fair”! Susan Gains bustled into the kitchen, pulling her bright floral dressing gown tight around her. “Dom! Where….”

“MUM, MUM”, called Sarah, there’s a police car in the drive! There coming mum, there are coming in here!”

“Oh what have you done Dom?” cried Susan in anguish.

“ I borrowed a car mum but I put it back where I got it from, so don’t worry” he added sheepishly. His mum was crying when Dom was taken away in the police car, he sat in the back staring out with unseeing eyes. They rode in silence, the two stony faced cops exchanged not a word, nor spoke to him. As Dom was taken into an interview room he caught sight of a teary eyed Lydia being taken somewhere by a woman cop. Dom had never felt sicker in his short life. How did the cops find out? What has Lydia be been saying?

***************************************

Chapter 3

The detective reminded Don of Charles Bronson only meaner He stood on the opposite side of the interview table, hands spread wide as he leaned forward glowering threateningly. Did Dom like being dirty with girls? Did he know he may be charged with carnal knowledge? Did he understand he was going to reformatory? Lydia’s father confronted her as soon as she had come home. Arron accused her of running of with Dom and under pressure she admitted that she had gone with Dom in the stolen car. She claimed that it was it was all Dom’s idea, she was unable to talk him out of it and just went along because they are friends.And now charges would be pressed. Too bad for Dom.

 

Did Dom wish to dispute any of this? “No.” Dom explained that he just wanted to impress Lydia, and when he saw the keys in the ignition of Dave’s car he acted on impulse. The car was returned without a scratch (pure luck!) and other than using half a tank of petrol (and the packet of potato chips Lydia had found in the glove box and eaten) no real harm was done. Dom was locked in a holding cell pending the dreaded arrival of his father. In the mean time a teary eyed Lydia was chauffeured home in a police cruiser.

 
Ages seem to pass and them the other detective came. The nice one, a bit like Humphrey Bogart to look at Dom thought. Dom had a habit of comparing ordinary people to actors.

 
“What will happen to us now, officer? Lydia and me?

 
The detective gave Dom an almost sympathetic smile, he didn’t think this was a bad kid, you learn to read them after years on the force.

“You’ll be released into the custody of your parents later today, and in a few days the

pair of you will have to go before the juvenile court, then its up to the Magistrate.”

 
“But Lydia is innocent! I made her come, I am the one you want, let her go!”Dom declared boldly, he wouldn’t let anything happen to Lydia, ever!

 
“Very noble son but that’s not the way the law sees it! The court will decide. Listen kid, you are young, have no prior record and returned the vehicle with no damage. Make no mistake, this is a serious matter but all things considered, you will probably get a good behavior bond. It’s up to the