Interruptions

Chapter Seventeen

The man who ran the hire place was nice to Hack and Sam, and soon they were equipped with a car and were ready to go. He gave them a map and explained the easiest way to get to where they were staying. Sam chose to drive, seeing as she'd had some previous experience with driving on the left hand side of the road. It still felt weird though. Jack elected to navigate.

"Okay, this is Lockyer Avenue." He announced when they emerged onto a street lined with shops. "Go right and head towards town centre."

Sam noticed a house in amongst all the industrial shops. It was next to a pet shop, and seemed very out place. She kept driving. They came to another roundabout.

"Roundabouts are popular here." Jack said. "And there are no traffic lights. This is the top of York Street." He continued. "Main street of town."

They drove down York Street. Shops lined either side of the street. Restaurants were dispersed between. The town hall was about halfway down, and a bit further was another church, St John's Anglican Church, and the town's War Memorial. At the bottom of York Street was the harbour, and a foreshore development seemed to be underway.

"Turn left." Jack said. "Onto Stirling Terrace."

Sam did. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"We're exploring." Jack replied. He looked out the window. More restaurants. One caught his eyes. "Dylans, we should go there at some point."

"Yeah." Sam replied. "Keep directing."

So Jack did.

Eventually they arrived at their hotel.

"Well, looks nice." Jack said as he got out of the car.

"Yeah, it does." Sam replied.

They checked in and dumped their luggage in their room. There was one bed. Sam sat on it. "Comfy." She said.

Jack sat next to her. "Yeah. That's good. I like comfy beds."

Sam smiled at him. "So what now?"

Jack shrugged, stood up, and retrieved the map he'd received. He laid it on the bed.

"Okay, we're here." He pointed to their hotel, close to the centre of town. "Pick somewhere you wanna go."

Sam stared at the map, then looked at Jack. "Let's go for a drive." She pointed at the map. "We can park somewhere and walk up the main street of town."

Jack nodded. "Sound's good."

So they hopped in the car and drove. Emu Point was a small beach, with a U-shaped jetty situated just off shore. Children of all ages were running along it and jumping from it into the water. There was also a grassy area and a playground. It seemed to be a popular place. Next they drove to the other end of the city to Middleton Beach. This beach was longer, and you could walk all the way from Emu Point to Middleton Beach. Sam continued to drive up, and around Mt Adelaide to the Princess Royal Harbour. Finally they reached the bottom end of the main street, York Street. Sam parked in an empty bay, and she and Jack began to walk up the street. Sam noticed that the shops were small, and there were many different kinds. As they were walking, Sam felt Jack slip his hand into hers, slipping his fingers between hers. She smiled to herself. It had been a while since she'd walked around in public, hand in hand, with anyone.

Once they reached the top of York Street, they turned, crossed the road, and walked back down. There was a service station, proclaiming unleaded petrol to be 127.5 cents per litre. They passed a park next to the town library; they passed the town hall, and the Anglican Church. There also more shops. When they hopped back into the car, Sam grinned.

"I like it here. It's nice, it's small, it's…"

"Australian?" Jack filled in.

Sam turned her smile to Jack. "Yes."

"Glad you like it. I like it too." Jack smiled back at her. "How about we find somewhere to have dinner, then call it a night. Tomorrow we can explore more."

Sam nodded. "I like that idea."