The Doctors Wife
Work had been hectic this last 3 weeks. Dave drives trucks Interstate in Australia and has just finished 3 weeks away from his home base. Melbourne to Perth twice and Perth to Cairns to finish it off before he had a month off.
He works very long hours and reckons he deserves a holiday. He booked a fishing charter out of Cairns for 7 days and 2 weeks in a resort at Cairns with an old school mate and his wife
The plane landed in Cairns on a beautiful February day, 34 Degrees and very humid. A mini bus picked the 3 of them up at the airport and took them to the dock where they boarded the Mother ship, the Cappuccino Capers. This was an impressive boat, 40 Meters long with 4, 6 meter launches stacked on the back.
This boat was palatial to say the least. It had a crew of 8 and catered for 8 guests with 4 guest rooms. One guest pulled out at the last minute leaving 7. The trip out to the reef was going to take almost 4 hours, this time was taken up with Happy hour that lasts from when the safety induction finished until they moored in a lagoon next to the reef.
They got to know each other and had a good time as they steamed to the outer lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef.
The next day they were assigned to the smaller boats. Normally 2 per boat but theirs had 3 due to the smaller numbers. There was plenty of room so it wasn't a problem. On their boat there was Dave, his mate Peter and his wife Liz. Peter was very quiet and seemed to have his mind elsewhere. His wife Liz, about 35, had a very outgoing personality and was in great shape. Obviously she worked out. She wore a pair of short, high cut shorts with Bikini bottoms underneath that came into view often. On top, she wore the bikini top with a large singlet with huge arm holes. She was class, not too over the top, just classy. Dave overheard three other guests comment on her attire and felt lucky to be where he was.
Dave and Peter went through primary school and high school together and were inseparable. Peter was the school poindexter and was bullied severely. Dave got him out of a lot of problems with the school bullies. They lost contact after year 12, Peter went to uni and studied Medicine while Dave went trucking. It wasn't till about three months ago they met again at a school reunion and they hit it off again like they hadn't been away.
Peter suggested the fishing charter as they did a lot of fishing as kids.
They fished all morning and had lunch between hook-ups and fished until 6.00 pm. They all caught a wide variety of species and generally had a great day. This was the first time Dave had met Liz and thought Peter had done well for himself. Liz and Dave traded gentle banter all day while Peter hardly said a word.
After Dinner they sat and drank quietly into the night, all except for Peter, he sat and read a book while Liz partied with the rest of them. Dave talked to him for a while and brought him into the conversation. He got on well with Peter so much so Liz commented on how talkative he was. She even told Dave later she hadn't seen him mix with people like that for years. He was a very reserved person. Dave saw how Peter interacted with Liz and couldn't help thinking Liz was trapped in a relationship that was going nowhere.
The next day was a copy of the first, they all caught plenty of fish and had some big hook ups.
Just after Dinner, the Skipper called Peter to the bridge for a sat phone call. He returned about five minutes later and spoke to Liz very seriously and went to their room. The Skipper wouldn't say what was going on. Peter came out of their room with his bags packed and sat in the bridge with the skipper for about 20 minutes. He then came down to where we were and with Liz explained what was happening.
"A Tsunami has hit Japan and marched inland devouring large tracts of land and killing thousands and injuring many thousand more."
It turns out Peter is a Professor at one of the big Hospitals in Melbourne specialising in Emergency trauma. As he was packing his gear he said to Dave, "Look after Liz please Dave."
Dave said, "No worries Peter, I'll keep an eye out for her."
As Dave was walking off Peter grabbed his arm and said very seriously, "no, I want you to look after her."
Dave, not knowing what that was all about assured him that he would.
An Army chopper with skid floats arrived and took Peter to Cairns.
Liz was looking at a bit of a loss after Peter left. Dave sat and talked with her until they all went to bed.
Day 3 was just like Day 1 and 2, except Peter was missing. Liz and Dave got on well having plenty of laughs. At dinner, they sat together and talked between themselves
Day 4, again was a different day. Liz caught a big marlin and fought it for almost 2 hours before it was landed, tagged and released. She was so excited with the catch she turned to Dave and gave him a big kiss on the lips. She was exhausted after the fight and sat for a little while to regain her strength. The fish went off the bite for a while so Dave went and sat next to her and talked about the Marlin. She was still excited about the fish and thanked him for his help and assistance and gave him another kiss, this time on the cheek. And put her hand on his leg for a good 2 minutes. The first kiss, he put down to excitement, the second and the hand placement was something different.
Back at the mother ship, they shared Dinner and a few drinks. Liz sat with Dave as they talked well into the night. From time to time he felt her hand on his leg giving it a gentle rub. They'd had been talking for so long they were the only guests in the lounge area, everyone else had gone to bed. It was 1.30 when they finally decided to call it a night. When they got to her room she stood against the wall and thanked him for a great day and evening and gave him a kiss goodnight.
The week rolled on and before they knew it, it was over. They caught their share of fish and had a great time. As the Mother ship slowly steamed back to Cairns Liz said to Dave,
" I've been with you for a week and know nothing about you."
"It a boring story, I'm a truck driver."
Her eyes lit up, "I've always wanted to go in a truck, where do you go to?"
" I'm based in Melbourne and do mainly the east coast to Cairns."
Her eyes lit up again, "You do interstate?"
He nodded and told her it's not as glamorous as people think, long hours, terrible conditions.
"Where in Melbourne do you Live?
He thought about how he was going to explain it." I don't have a house, flat or unit, I live in my truck."
" She looked at him funny and said, "you live in your truck?"