Equal Winner
1999 Water Rats Fan fiction awards
'Most Outstanding short story'
By Jaye Reid.
Written: 24.10.1999 (2 am – 5 am would you believe….)
Disclaimer: Theirs, not mine, got it!
Author’s notes: Suz. wants ‘happy’ Frank fics????
Suz??? Frank???? I’m not converting you am I?
Ha ha he he !
Okay, I started to write this before I read Suz’s challenge clearly. It’s
late, so I will have to try and write a correct challenge one later. But this one
was up and running so I just had to finish it.
This is my seventh fic, and I only posted my first less than a week ago!
Hey groovy chicks lurking Under the Bridge (did you scare the troll away?) is this a
record or what?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had only been a week, but Frank was true to his word.
The first postcard arrived.
The picture was Brisbane by night. Or at least the little description in the bottom
corner on the back said so.
It read:
“Rachel, God you don’t know what you are missing. Water,
sun, lazy days and Me! Told you I wouldn’t forget to send this. Must
go. Places to see, women to chase. Ha!
X Frank.”
She smiled. Yes she did know what she was missing. Bloody hell,
where was he when she needed him.
Jack Christey! How the hell was she supposed to get any work done with him!
Arrogant bastard. She didn’t think it possible for anyone to be worst than
Frank, but now….
She took the postcard and pinned it to her office wall above her desk.
The second postcard came about a fortnight later.
Looking at the picture, she wondered what the hell he was doing? It was the same
picture of Brisbane.
She laughed. She’d told him he wouldn’t get further than Brissie!
This one read:
“Hell it is hotter up here than in Brisbane. Means that the girls
wear less! Did you know that Rachel? Trying to picture you in some of the
stuff they wear! It’s amazing what you think of when you’re all alone out
here. Gives you plenty of time to think about life. I know this will sound
bloody stupid but, having a great time, wish you were here.
X Frank.”
She read it twice. Hotter up where?
The card says Brisbane, then she looked at the postmark.
Townsville?
Oh, so he has got further than Brisbane? Either that or he has conned someone
heading north to post it for him. She wouldn’t put it past him! Cheeky
bastard!
She pinned this one up underneath the previous one. A matching pair she laughed to herself.
Another week, another postcard.
She had learnt by now, to ignore the picture on the front. It was Brisbane by night
again! Cunning mongrel, he must have grabbed a handful of them when he landed in
Brisbane.
She looked at the postmark before the message. But it was smudged.
She couldn’t read it clearly. Cairns perhaps? She decided that she might
get herself a map of the whole South Pacific region. Follow him on his
journey….
Hmm following him.
She ignored the feelings that this thought triggered, and read his message:
“Hey Rachel. How is life? Having a hard time managing without me? Don’t know why I ask. Not as if you are going to be able to answer! Me? Well heading out of Cairns tomorrow.”
She grinned, she was right.
“So far I have kept her afloat. Fancy that! Still missing
you and still wishing you were here. You’d love this! Being out
here. Haven’t picked up any hitchhikers, yet!!
X Frank.”
She pinned the third card on the wall. This was getting to be a big joke
in the office.
Her postcards from Frank from Brisbane!
Even Jack had been a smart arse and commented.
She didn’t care.
At least the thought was there.
Even if they all did say Brisbane.
Humm Jack. When would he stop being so… so, damn annoying?
Every day when Rachel sat at her desk, she looked up at the cards on her
wall. Now joined by the map she had found. She had marked the path he had
taken from Sydney to Brisbane to Townsville to Cairns with a thick red marker pen.
But a month had gone by and she still only had three cards on her wall.
She was getting worried.
She should have known better.
After a couple of days off, she came back to find another postcard in her
pigeon hole. She was grinning before she even looked at it.
Brisbane again?
Yep!
“Rachel. Taken a detour to the Islands. God this is
heaven. Why aren’t you here to enjoy this with me? Hey yeah, I know.
I struck some shitty weather the other day. But afterwards, and the sunset from
out here! Wish I had picked up some hitch-hikers. Island women are better than
Brissie girls. One thing I don’t miss about the water in Sydney Harbour.
There aren’t too many bodies floating around out here. Bloody sharks would get
them anyway!
Might be a little while before the next one, Rachel, don’t exactly know which way
is Venezuela anymore. Have to get my bearings. And check out the scenery here
too!
XX Frank.”
She looked at the postmark, hoping it was legible.
These Brisbane postcards were starting to be a pain. It was making it increasingly
difficult to figure out where the hell he was! Typical Frank she thought. God
forbid anyone pin him down ever.
The stamp was Fijian. The Postmark looked like VAN?
Rachel looked on her map. Vanua Levu? That was Fiji. She took another
look at the postmark. Well that looked pretty close.
She grabbed her marker pen and drew a line from Cairns to Fiji. God, that had been a
trek. Probably Island hopping knowing Frank. No wonder she hadn’t heard
from him for awhile.
Rachel stood and looked at the map.
Jack walked in and watched her for a few seconds before shaking his head and walking back
out again.
She didn’t acknowledge his presence.
When would he just crawl back into his hole and leave her alone?
She focused on the map. Where would he go from there? There were a lot of
little Islands around there. She imagined that he would take his time.
She laughed.
She could imagine him sailing around the islands. Pretending to be a new
Explorer. Conquering the world. Well the women. The Adventurer sailing
into uncharted waters.
Hmm, uncharted waters. Don’t go there she told herself.
Can't happen now.
Won’t happen now.
Get over it woman!
Weeks past. Then a month, two.
She had given up looking in her pigeon hole for the cards. He did say it would be
awhile.
But she had leave coming up.
She thought maybe, just maybe, she could hop on a plane and catch up with him. It
would be good to see him again. And she did need a holiday. But the way
things were going, her leave would probably be over before she heard from him again.
Well, almost.
Her last day at work before leave.
She was disappointed that she hadn’t heard from him sooner. She hadn’t
planned anything for her holidays, but by the time she would be able to get word to him
that she was coming… her leave would be over.
She caught a flash of a different colour on the postcard as she took it from
her pigeon hole. She laughed out loud. Thank God, he must have finally run out
of Brisbane postcards and had to buy another one!
She looked at the message. It simply read:
“Hello Rachel.
XX Frank”
She gave a puzzled frown. God after months that was all he had to
say? No 'having fun in the sun'? No wise cracks about the women he had
met? She looked for the postmark.
There wasn’t one…..
She hesitantly turned the card over.
It was Sydney Harbour.
“What the…..?” she said out loud.
A smile lit up her face.
Instinctively she spun around.
He was grinning at her.
“Miss me?” he smiled.
The End.