Antarctic Affair (12 page)

Don scratched his head, “Mm… you may have a point
there.”

“Nevertheless, you are a complete sucker for a
pretty face,” pointed out Taj, shaking his head.

Don shrugged, “I admit it. It’s a weakness.”

What Taj didn’t admit to his friend was how his
initial impression of George had been turned completely on its head. He knew
he’d over reacted when he’d first met her and he put it down to being stressed
about his deadline, but now he found his respect for her tenacity and courage
was growing. He was suddenly curious about her and he found he was looking
forward to talking to her again.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Georgina arrived on the upper deck and was amazed to
see the entire bow had been decked out with makeshift wooden tables, plates and
cutlery. Two wide barbeques were burning away merrily casting a rosy glow on
the cheeks of the people milling about and going a long way to warm up the
frigid air. She immediately spotted Taj and Don leaning against the railing,
laughing together. They had such an easy-going friendship. She admired that. As
she drew near her heart began to beat faster. She could still feel his hands
massaging her on the kayak, easing away her tension. Then there was the way
he’d helped warm her hands and tie her life jacket. Random acts of kindness, or
was it something more?

He waved as she approached and she sighed in relief.
She felt strongly that something had shifted since yesterday’s drama on the ice
pack, or perhaps even before. It was as if she’d somehow managed to pass some
kind of test and finally won his approval. He didn’t run away when she came
near anymore and thankfully didn’t look at her in his previous disapproving
manner. Whatever the reason, she was immensely relieved. At least now she
didn’t have to be so pushy. It wasn’t natural and didn’t bring out the best in
her, she was well aware of that fact. It just happened to be the way she
reacted when she got nervous. And up until now, Taj Andrews made her very
nervous.

“How is the article coming on?” asked Don as she
joined them.

She noticed Taj turn and look out to sea, as if he
found the familiar sight of the humpback whales alongside the ship suddenly fascinating.
Definitely publicity shy, she thought to herself. Cute.

“Fine,” she said pleasantly, unwilling to talk about
it since it made Taj so uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted to do was to
ostracise him all over again.

“Are you going for the ‘rebel photographer’ or the
‘man behind the lens’ angle?” asked Don with a wicked grin.

“Shut-up,” murmured Taj pummelling his friend on the
shoulder, which only served to turn Don’s grin into a chuckle.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Georgina replied, watching
them with amusement. “I need to get to know the subject a bit better before I can
decide which angle I’m taking.”

Taj swung his head around to stare at her. “I’m sure
that can be arranged,” he said softly. Her gaze met his briefly, but then she
looked away, flustered by her own boldness.

“You should have been at the dive yesterday
afternoon,” said Amy, joining them.

“I would have loved to,” said Georgina, “but I really
had to do some work on this story. We’ve only got four more days out here.”

“Don’t remind me,” Amy groaned. “But you missed out
on a good giggle. Claude and Taj were bundled up like spacemen.”

“Those suits are what keep us alive down there,”
said Taj, seriously. “The water is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s minus one
degree centigrade to you,” he added for Georgina’s benefit. “If the suit tore
and icy water came rushing in, we’d die of shock within minutes.”

“Rather you than me,” said Amy, shaking her head in
wonder.

“Ditto,” said Don.

“Did Claude find what he was looking for?” asked
Georgina. Amy nodded. “And then some. I heard he kept you very busy down
there,” she said to Taj.

“I’ve seen enough amphipods to last me a lifetime,”
drawled Taj. “There is only so many ways of photographing the little critters.”

Amy laughed. “At least we got some good samples to
study in the lab,” she said. “Claude is very excited.”

“Each to their own,” mumbled Don, meeting Georgina’s
eye.

“You’re a good one to talk,” piped up Taj suddenly.
“I couldn’t drag you away from that watering hole in Kenya for love or money
last year.”

Don shuddered. “Don’t bring up Kenya, buddy, I’m
still upset about those wildebeest.”

“What happened?” asked Georgina.

“The crocs got them,” explained Taj and at her look
of horror, “It’s a common phenomenon. The buck try to cross the Zambezi River
and the crocs attack them. Most of them make it, but a few of the weaker ones,
they get caught.”

“A croc nearly got you too if I remember correctly,”
said Don cheekily.

Taj gave him a sour look. “You had to bring that up,
didn’t you? And it was a hippo, Mr Zoologist, not a crocodile. I would have
thought you knew the difference.”

“All I saw was the massive jaw, about to take a snap
out of your…”

“That’s enough,” interrupted Taj quickly.

At Georgina’s incredulous look he said, “I’ve got
some great pictures if you want to see them.”

“I think I’ll pass, thanks,” she said uncertainly.

“I take it you got away intact?” asked Amy.

“Barely,” said Don grinning, “and no pun intended!”

Taj groaned and rolled his eyes.

“You guys do get around, don’t you,” Georgina remarked
impressed. “Africa last year, Antarctica this year.”

“I was in Russia during the summer too,” added Taj.

“Oh yes, jumping out of helicopters, I remember,”
finished Georgina, looking at him with amazement. “Where do you find the
energy?”

“Same place as you do when you have a deadline to
meet,” said Taj regarding her steadily.

She stared back at him and thought irrationally that
his eyes were the same colour as the mirror-calm sea behind him.

“Passion is a great motivator,” he said softly and
Georgina turned away, flustered by the suggestive tone in his voice.

“I was in Panama last month,” said Don to no one in
particular.

There was a loud hiss as one of the chefs slapped an
enormous steak onto the grill. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” shouted Don
and moved over to take a closer look. Claude joined his wife and they were soon
deep in conversation about the prime specimen’s he’d collected the previous
day.

“So how are you enjoying the trip so far?” asked Taj
grabbing two beers out of the ice box. He opened one and handed it to her.

“Thanks. I can honestly say it’s been a lot more
exciting than I thought it would be,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t believe
I’ve climbed up an active volcano and kayaked amongst ice bergs and whales.
It’s definitely going to be a story to tell the kids one day.”

Taj regarded her thoughtfully. “It doesn’t have to
be the only story you have to tell though.”

Georgina looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing’s stopping you from going on your own
adventures every now and then. You should get away more.”

She stared at him. “Now you sound like my mother. I
told you, I’m not an outdoorsy person.”

“You’re healthy, you’re coordinated and you can
think on your feet, I’d say you make a great candidate for the outdoors.”

“Thanks, but believe me, I’m much happier just
writing about other peoples adventures.”

“Are you? It sounds like a poor second to me,” he
said.

When she didn’t reply he asked, “What does your
mother do anyway?”

“She’s a travel writer,” she said softly, avoiding
his eyes.

Taj nodded slowly and stared at her as if he was
trying to figure her out. “I take it she travels a lot,” he hedged.

Georgina nodded. “She was very seldom home. I barely
remember her.”

“When last did you see her?” he asked. Georgina
groaned silently. How on earth had they gotten on to this topic?

“Fifteen years ago,” she sighed. “Like I said, I
barely remember her.”

“You must have been very young when she left.”
Georgina cast her eyes out to sea, staring at the pristine white icebergs in
the distance. “Yes, I was twelve. My father couldn’t put up with her inability
to stay in one place anymore, and so one day they had a row, she left and didn’t
come back.”

“And you’ve never forgiven her,” finished Taj.

Georgina flared up, “No, I haven’t and I never will.
She left a twelve-year-old daughter to be brought up by a workaholic father.
What kind of women does that?”

“Have you ever asked her why she did it?” he
enquired idly.

The delicious aroma of char-grilled steak wafted
over them. “I never needed to, my father told me. He said the lure of a new
place, an unexplored destination was too strong. He called her a gypsy. In fact
I think she did actually have some Romany blood from her Polish ancestors. She
was always that way. The first few years of my life were spent in a camper van
driving around Europe.”

“So you weren’t strictly telling the truth before,
you have travelled - probably more than most. You just don’t remember it.”

“If I don’t remember, it doesn’t count,” she said
stubbornly.

“Maybe you have more of your mother in you than you
think?” he suggested.

“You’re wrong,” said Georgina firmly. “I’m nothing
like my mother. She’s wayward, unreliable and lives a bohemian lifestyle. Do
you know where she is at the moment? She’s ‘finding herself’ in an Indian
ashram.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I’m organised, career orientated and I crave
stability.” She spread her arms, “Chalk and cheese.”

“It’s not hard to see why you crave stability,” Taj
told her softly. “But that’s something you have to find inside yourself, it’s
not something anyone can provide for you.”

She narrowed her eyes, “What are you, a shrink now?”
She knew that was uncalled for, but she really did not want to talk about her
mother anymore and she detested being compared to the woman.

Taj shrugged. “Sorry, just trying to help.”

“I don’t need help,” she said curtly.

“No, your life is just perfect,” he mumbled. “Let’s
eat, I’m starved.”

Taj moved off to grab a plate but Georgina found
she’d lost her appetite. She sighed. Thinking about her mother always depressed
her. She knew that was where she’d got her writing ability, she supposed she
should be thankful for that, but she could do without the wanderlust. She
grabbed the railing and looked down at the water rushing by. The icy mist
caressed her skin and made her feel alive and invigorated. She thought of the
things she’d done, things she never in a million years would have thought she
could do and her heart rate suddenly accelerated. Was this what her mother felt
every time she visited a new place? The thought sobered her. What if Taj was
right? What if she was more like her mother than she realised. What then?

“You’d better dig in, it’s going fast,” said Don
handing her a plate. She smiled her thanks and went to find a seat at the table
where Max Copeland the documentary maker was sitting. She saw Taj glance at her
but she ignored him. She didn’t feel like talking to him right now. “Mind if I join
you?” she smiled at Max.

“Sweetie, you could do just about anything and I
wouldn’t mind,” he said loudly. She grinned. “I just want to eat.”

He gave a deep belly laugh that made his whole body
shake. “You just go right ahead, little lady.”

The steak was good and Don had piled her plate high
with salad and corn on the cob. Before long she was stuffed.

She put down her knife and fork to find Max staring
at her. “Do I have food on my face or something?” she asked self-consciously.

He laughed again, “Not that I noticed,” he said.
“Tell me, have you ever considered a career in television?”

Georgina frowned. “No, why?”

“You would be perfect for it. I’ll bet you take one
hell of a picture.”

“Actually I’m a terrible photographer. If you want a
cameraman you should talk to Taj over there. He’s the talented one in that
department.”

Max’s guffaw was so loud people from the other
tables turned to stare. “I’m not talking about taking photographs, honey, I
meant being on camera.”

Georgina nearly fell off her chair. “You can’t be
serious,” she squawked.

He reached out and tilted her chin upwards in order
to get a better look. “Man, would I like to try you out one day. With that
English accent you’d be irresistible. You could talk about potato farming in
Uzbekistan and people would listen.”

Georgina turned her head away and he let go of her
chin. “Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. It’s my job to notice these things.”

She gave him a small smile, “No offence taken. I was
just surprised, that’s all. I’ve never had anyone tell me that before.”