Salvage by Jason Nahrung

Helena said as the veil fell. 
    ‘Thank you for being so kind to my wife,’ Paul said. ‘I hope she’ll be better in time for dinner tonight.’
    ‘I hope so, too.’
    They stepped outside and made their farewells to Richard, then walked down to the compact four-wheel-drive that had been parked outside their cabin the night before. It had a rental company sticker on the rear window.
    ‘Nice couple,’ Richard said as they drove off. ‘A little strange, but nice.’
    ‘Yes,’ Melanie said.
    ‘Helena seems quite taken with you.’
    ‘Hey?’
    ‘She seems to like you.’
    ‘Like Paul said, she’s lonely here. I guess another woman…’
    He hugged her. ‘Slight change of plan. We’re having dinner at the pub.’
    ‘I thought they were coming here.’
    ‘It’ll save us the bother of playing host. You don’t mind, do you?’
    ‘I guess not. You’ll want me to drive back, I take it?’
    ‘Sure, if you want to. I wouldn’t mind a few drinks. But I don’t think we need to worry about the boys in blue out here, eh.’
    ‘That’s not the point.’
    ‘Well, let’s not fret about it right now.’ Richard put his arm around her shoulder as he stared towards the beach. ‘So how was your sunbake?’
    She followed his gaze, remembering that first glimpse of Helena, naked in the sunset, and stepped out of his embrace. ‘It was fine. Did you finish your project yet?’
    ‘I kind of got sidetracked when Paul and Helena arrived. He wanted to thank us for saving her from the storm.’ He shook his head, as though confused by such a gesture. ‘But I should be done in time for dinner. We can celebrate, hey? Us and…’ His brow wrinkled. ‘Do you know their last name?’
    ‘No, I never thought to ask.’
    He nodded. ‘We’ll find out tonight.’
    ‘I guess. I’m going to have something to eat. You hungry?’
    ‘Famished.’ He reached for her but she sidestepped and headed for the kitchen. 
    ‘I’ll get you something. You go finish your project. We wouldn’t want to be late for dinner.’
     ‘Geez, Mel, I was just being friendly. I thought you liked the girl.’
    ‘And so do you, apparently. Ham all right?’
    ‘Fine, whatever. I think I’ll have another beer.’
    Melanie ate a sandwich and washed it down with wine, then put the laundry on. She stumbled across the bag that Helena had brought and wondered what to do with the clothes. She certainly didn’t want to wear them. Finally, she unpacked them into the bottom drawer by the bed, then dug between the folds and re-checked the bag.
    ‘What is it?’ Richard asked from behind his computer, his voice edged with concern, or maybe slight irritation.
    ‘Nothing,’ she said. So Helena hadn’t returned her knickers—it was no big deal. Probably too embarrassed. She imagined the woman picking them up with tongs and dropping them in the bin. She imagined the pale blue cotton stretched tight across her mound and Helena biting her through them. She quickly folded the bag and thrust it into the drawer as well before retreating to the deck with a new novel.
    Richard worked at the dining table. A couple of times he rang the office and once she heard him crawling to someone she assumed was the Mackenzie boss.
    She clung to the creeping shadow on the deck as the sun sank lower. There was nowhere to go and little to do once the washing was pegged out other than read and listen to her iPod until dinner. She would’ve loved to have gone in to the bed and taken a nap, but something about the way Helena had referred to it unnerved her. And she didn’t want Richard watching her as she slept. She didn’t want to be that vulnerable, not right now. Images of her and Helena stroking each other through cornflower-coloured knickers haunted her. She was still trying to think of a viable excuse for cancelling dinner when Richard knocked on the glass door to announce it was time to go.

Nine
    The Ocean View Hotel crouched at the edge of the village as though