Page 7 of Trusting His Heart
Truth and consequences
“I checked you out, online, you are a real piece of work.” Bec returned to her seat, defiant and composed.
“What did you find?” Geoffrey never searched for his own name. He lived his life – he didn’t need to read about it.
“Hundreds of photos of the great, Professor Geoffrey Swains attending galleries and theatre openings. Do you know what I found most interesting?”
He shrugged. “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, write about those doing.” He never felt the need to see what the online world thought of him. Peer reviews were brutal enough and the only ones which mattered.
“In every photo there seemed to be a different girl, young enough to be your daughter, on your arm. Do you have any daughters, Professor Swains? Or are these girls the way you try and stay young?”
“Touché, Ms Garran. Touché. I assume you are ready to play truth and consequences. Shall we start on the subject of relationships, or somewhere smaller – like where we grew up and what we do for a living.”
“There’s nothing to tell. Small family, my parents are still happily married and travelling the world. I’m a consultant.”
“Is that all you are going to tell me?”
“You are the smart one, tell me what I am missing.”
Geoffrey took a sip of water, and guessed she only shared the happy truths.
“You want a marriage like your parents. Anything else would be settling for second best. They are best friends as well as your parents. If you had brothers or sisters, you would have said. Therefore, I’m guessing once they got their perfect daughter, they didn’t need a big family to make them complete.”
“Professor, I’m impressed,” her first wry smile, “I was the child they were expected to have, and as soon as I left home, they were happy to continue their lives together. Your turn.”
“I grew up in England, moved to Australia to study and am now a Professor in economics.”
“That’s it - all you are going to tell me?” Now the blue eyes were sparkling. He nodded.
“If your parents were monied, you would have studied in England and worked for one of the blue-chip companies there. Without money, you would have always been a product of the class system. Moving to Australia made you different and people noticed you because of your accent,” Bec continued as he gave her a slight nod.
“You either moved at the end of high school or for university. Study came easy, being noticed even easier and so you stayed at university where you will always be the esteemed Professor and not some poor smart kid from the block.”
Geoffrey sat back in his seat, shell shocked. None of those points were in any authorized or unauthorized bio. As far as his colleagues and the academic press were concerned, he grew up in England and was a product of Australian education system.
“I have to hand it to you, Ms Garran. Either your researching skills are better than my students and colleagues, or you are an excellent judge of human character. I came to Australia for my final years of high school. My parents sacrificed to send me to a boarding school so I started university with the right pedigree. I never intended to become an academic, but my job has given me the opportunity to work around the world.”
For the next couple of hours, they talked as old friends. About changing work practices, about the differences between different English speaking cultures. Bec cleverly sidestepped any questions about her career and why she was travelling to Australia. Geoffrey avoided any possible conversations about the women in the photos.
The cabin started to darken as passengers turned off their lights for sleep.
“Well, Professor, I think we successfully concluded round one of our game. If you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep before we continue our conversation.”
“Bec,” he tucked the travel blanket around her. “We don’t need to continue the conversation if you don’t want to.”
“Professor, you can’t get away from me so easily!” She finally gave him the throaty laugh he had worked for. “I have a feeling your truth has been waiting a long time to come out. I look forward to hearing all about it after some sleep.”
Sleep eluded Geoffrey. Even lying in an airport bed reminded him of trying to rest in a hospital room.
This time, instead of Rachel, he watched Bec. As she turned in the chair, several curls escaped from their tie and drifted across her face. He resisted the urge to push them aside - a move reserved for lovers and they were not even friends.
She was right, his truth had been hidden for years.
He suggested the truth and consequences game as an interesting way to amuse them during an uncomfortable and long plane trip together. Most people easily talked for hours about themselves, he’d tune out and accept her story without having to give up any of his own.
Bec surprised him by not letting him off the hook without sharing. And the more he shared, the less he wanted to exit the plane and never see her again.
She stirred and stretched in her sleep, the blanket dislodging and falling from her shoulders as she rolled away from him.