Sonia, regaining her composure, reached over and took her son’s hand. Giving him a long, searching look, she seemed to come to a decision. ‘Finn, your dad loves you. That’s why he’s upset. You can understand that can’t you?’
‘Yeah, I can, but he must be able to understand that I need to do this. I need to try to do something worthwhile with my life. I’ve never once been challenged — nothing I’ve ever done has felt real. This feels real.’
‘I’m glad you feel like you’re doing something important. Your dad and I just want you to have a long and beautiful life. I don’t agree with what you’re doing, but I respect your decision.’
‘You do?’ asked Finn, relieved to hear her say it.
‘Yes. You’re your own man, Finn, and if this is something you need to do, then do it. Just don’t go getting killed or hurt. I want my son back alive and well.’ Tears welling up in her eyes, she squeezed Finn’s hand.
‘Thanks, Mum, I really appreciate it,’ Finn said softly, leaning in to give her a hug. For the first time, Finn actually felt scared. All the people who had tried to convince him not to go had bolstered his confidence and made him focus on creating more reasons to do it. Now that his mother was condoning it and supporting him, it suddenly felt more real.
Oh God, what have I done? he thought, hugging his mum.
Sunday morning in Bondi, and the sun streamed through the windows of Finn’s lounge. Getting out of bed, he pulled on his board shorts and a shirt. Wandering down to the café barefoot he felt totally free, savouring the feeling, knowing that in a week’s time he’d be starting a whole new chapter in his life.
Walking in he immediately spotted Sophie, the English girl, behind the counter. ‘Hey, Sophie,’ he greeted her with a broad grin, ‘How are you? Been surfing lately?’
‘Hey Finn. No, I’ve been focussing on my yoga. Loving it actually.’
‘Ah, yoga, huh? Nice one.’ He nodded, hands in his pockets.
‘So, what can I get you?’
‘Err, regular flat white, egg roll…’ Finn paused and then decided to go for it. ‘And your number?’ he finished, emboldened by the fact that he had just a week to make this happen, if it was ever going to happen.
Sophie looked squarely at Finn without hesitating. ‘Coming right up,’ she said, turning with a smile.
Two minutes later, she handed Finn his coffee and roll. Written on the bag in black texta was her MiLA number. That’s what I’m talking about, Finn thought to himself. ‘Thanks, talk soon’ he said. And with that Finn strolled out trying to look as casual and cool as possible, feeling a million dollars.
Later that afternoon, Finn sent Sophie an Instantext (IT). ‘Hey, Sophie, it’s Finn,’ he said into MiLA, ‘was wondering if you’d like to go out for a drink sometime?’ He watched as the screen registered his words, converted them to text, and sent the message to Sophie.
Sophie’s response was right on time — not too quick, not too slow — suggesting they meet at 8 pm the next day.
‘Game on baby, game on,’ he said to himself. Now that his time in Sydney was on the clock, he had a sense of urgency about him.
The following evening they met at Lewis’s, on Curlewis Street, a cool old wine bar that spilled out onto the pavement. She looked incredible — long dark hair, tanned skin, and a beautifully yoga-toned body. She knew how to dress too, pulling off the bohemian chic look perfectly, totally natural but elegant at the same time. The confident smile she gave Finn when she greeted him showed him she was fully aware of how good she looked.
‘So, how long have you been over here for then?’ asked Finn once they’d settled down with their wine.
‘Oh, about two years now,’ she responded.
‘No going back?’
‘To England? No way, I can’t stand being back there. My parents keep trying to convince me to come back home, given what’s going on here, but I just love it here.’
‘Wow, don’t blame you. I lived in London a few years ago after finishing uni. I mean I had an amazing time, but it was never a place I could live.’
‘So you’re a Sydney boy then. Would you ever live somewhere else?’ she asked.
‘Well, I don’t know where I’ll end up. I’ve actually just joined the army,’ Finn said, staring right into Sophie’s eyes to see what sort of reaction he got.
‘Are you serious? You’re going to fight the Chinese?’ she said, huge brown eyes holding his gaze but clearly astounded.
‘Well, after training, depending on how I go, I’ll be posted for combat, or I’ll be assigned to some other duty.’
‘That’s amazing, Finn. Although I think you’re mad,’ she laughed, white teeth contrasting against her tanned skin. ‘I think it’s great that you’re actually prepared to go and fight,’ she said, serious now.
‘Yeah, well, it’s something I really believe in.’
‘So did you just suddenly decide to do this? I thought you were a suit!’
‘It was pretty sudden. Well, I was in the army reserve when I was a kid, so I kinda know what the training’s all about.’
‘Still, you’re really going out there to fight for your country. I respect that.’
Feeling a little embarrassed by the attention, Finn tried to play it down. ‘Well chances are I’ll get posted to the mailroom or something lame like that. Anyone who has come from finance is probably earmarked for office duties, and I’m definitely not skilled enough for something cool like the Militech,’ he said in a self-deprecating tone. The Special Military Technology division of the army, known as ‘Militech’, had been getting a lot of publicity lately, with their aggressive recruiting campaign to get all of the best hackers in the country on their staff. It seemed like it was working, as the buzz was they were getting close to being able to work out Chinese coding.
Smiling, Sophie straightened and looked directly into his eyes, ‘I think you’ll be able to get to exactly where you want to go. I think you’ll be awesome.’
‘Anyway, so what else has been going on in the life of Sophie?’ Finn asked, wanting to put the conversation back on her.
The rest of the night went by quickly as they chatted and laughed. Finn couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to ask her out for a drink. They even laughed about it. By the end of the night they were both mildly drunk. Finn walked her home, which was an apartment she shared on Roscoe Street with two girlfriends from the UK. At the door, she started to rummage through her bag to find MiLA. ‘Oh my God, I can never find MiLA,’ she said. ‘Half the time I have to throw pebbles at the window to get my flatmates to let me in.’ She finally dug it out, raising it with a smile of triumph. She turned and passed MiLA over the door sensor, unlocking it. She held the door slightly open and turned back to Finn.
‘Hey, I really enjoyed tonight,’ said Finn.
‘Me too. So are you around this week, before you go to training?’
‘Yeah, I am, but I got a load of things to sort out with the flat and everything. I’ll give you a call later though. Yeah?’
‘Yeah, that would be cool,’ she said.
Finn moved closer to her. He had been on enough first dates to know when to go in for a kiss. As Finn stepped in, so did Sophie and they came together and gently kissed. Parting, Finn walked away with a wave and a goodnight.
Sophie occupied his thoughts for the short walk back to his apartment.
Two days later he sent her an IT to see what she was up to on Thursday night, and if she fancied dinner. To his disappointment she was out already with some friends, but they arranged to meet on Friday. He would have to reschedule Chris, but he would understand… he would totally understand.
They had arranged to meet at Ravesi’s in Bondi at 8 pm to start the night and see where it went from there. Finn arrived early and grabbed a seat at the bar. Ordering a beer, he pulled a small white pill from his pocket. Throwing it in his mouth, he washed it down with the beer. It was a Harmony pill, completely legal and commonly used as an anti-depressant to calm the mind and create a sense of bliss. Mixed with alcohol, though, the Harmony created a far more exciting effect on the user.