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“Welcome welcome! Come on in, buckle up, go on now.” Vandham opened the rear door of his ute so that the two ladies could climb in. Young lasses, maybe in their twenties. Tourists from the look of them, but then tourists were most of his clientele.
“Thank you sir,” said the longed haired one. A brunette with hair to her lower back, she wore a crisp clean white button up and long trousers. From her accent she was American it seemed.
The long haired one nudged her companion, whose reddish-brown hair was cut much shorter. Her t-shirt and jeans seemed a little rumpled. In an English accent she said, “Oh yes, thank you. We’ve been looking forward to this tour all week!”
Vandham gave them a big grin and closed the door, then went over to his own side and got in. Damned thing barely had enough headroom for him. He leaned around to look in at his passengers. “Say, you ladies look a lot alike. You sisters?”
They exchanged amused looks and shook their heads nearly in unison. “No, but we get that all the time,” said the English one. “We’re all buckled up.”
“Alright then! Let’s head out. Keep your eyes to the side because you’ll never see as beautiful a stretch as the Great Ocean Road! Best that Oz has to offer if you ask me!” He let out a deep belly laugh and started up the engine. The girls smiled politely at him. Ah, so they were the quiet types.
Vandham pulled the ute out and drove them out onto the road, maintaining a steady pace, not too fast, but not too slow. Got to give them time to appreciate. And sure enough soon they were eyeing the passing scenery with awe. He surely did love to see those faces. Lotsa folks talked shit about his home, but once they got to see it they understood.
The long haired one leaned across her friend to point out the window at one of the beaches they were passing. “Oh look Lora! Those stone outcroppings almost look like wind blades! They’re lovely!”
A little later on he heard the English lady proclaim loudly, “Haze, Haze, I think that’s the London Arch!”
Vandham glanced into his rear view mirror to see their expressions. Yep, those were what he liked to see. “Not quite yet. London Arch is further down the way, but keep an eye out for it.”
The two ladies seemed so in awe at the scenery that Vandham couldn’t help but smile with them. Nearly brought a tear to his eye every time he saw that sorta face. “So, you ladies here on vacation.”
“Honeymoon actually,” said the English lass.
“Yes, we’d been looking forward to this trip for a long time. We thought if we were going to see the world, this would be a good place to start.” Vandham noticed at last in his rear view mirror that the two were holding hands. It was nice to see young folks happy.
“Haha! I love hearing that. Oz is a great honeymoon spot, glad ya picked it!” Filled his heart with warmth, seeing young folks in love, even if it was with each other and not his home. Still, maybe they’d come out of the trip more in love with each other, but with a little bit left over for the place he called home.
As they traveled he couldn’t help noticing how frequently their gazes were drawn away from the beauty of the road and toward each other. Well, couldn’t fault them for that. Whether it was the country you loved or the person you loved, it was hard to take your eyes off of. That was for sure.
He had never gotten the opportunity to share this route with his boy, but moments like these helped ease that ache a little. Every passenger could be a little like family as they shared in the beauty of the Great Ocean Road.
Still, didn’t mean he couldn’t take the opportunity to tease them. “So, you’ve gotten hitched. When’s kids?”
The flush on their cheeks made him laugh near to the point of tearing up.
Moments like this made it all worth it.