LOVE & POPPIES - PART 1 OF 4
He loved the way she looked at him. Her big eyes stared intensely into his. Not a bad intensely; he knew she communicated a lot with her eyes. They were glassy and frozen over with the formation of tears. Peter held her tight to let her know that everything would be okay. His news had upset her more than he was prepared for. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon as they sat on the verandah of their home in Torquay and spoke softly of their woes. This wasn’t the first battle that Belle and Peter had faced.
Belle had worked in the same environmental law agency for almost eight years now. She loved what she did, but she was tired of it. Working with an all-male team was challenging for her, as she had to manage far more than the work. Not only were the men speaking over the top of one another but they also took things too far when one colleague made a personal attack at Belle; that she was not capable of running big legal cases. She explained to Peter that night that she wanted to get out of the business. She had stuck with it long enough because she cared too much about the environment and fighting the good advocate’s fight − as she often reminded herself. But she was at a point in her life where she needed to be away from the drama and politics that drove big business. She knew she could work on her own and run a business. She just needed her decision to be backed by Peter.
Peter was always sensible, yet assertive enough that people knew he couldn’t be walked over. That was something important to him because growing up, Peter was never enough of this or enough of that to his Dad. His Mum, on the other hand, adored Peter and always praised him for being so considerate of his family and their needs. He grew up in a small house with three sisters that always seemed to be closer to each other than with him. It didn’t bother Peter too much because he was always working out ways that he could keep the family strong and together. He held that pressure on his shoulders as his Mum was sick and not getting better. It was a role he had given himself. Of course his Dad didn’t expect it, but that didn’t matter. Peter wanted to show him that he could take charge of things.
Peter loved the ocean. He visited every day so he could swim. He was so connected to the endless horizon. It was a place where anything seemed possible he thought – if you could look as far as you can see, then your own thoughts and ideas seem endless. It was the perfect analogy for his relationship with Belle, which was not without its flaws. Belle also loved the beach so she didn’t mind when Peter suggested that they buy their first house only one block back from the coastline. They thought of it as their holiday house, but it was in fact their only house. It was one of the games they liked playing with each other. Belle thought life was always too serious, so she set to role playing characters and lifestyles she wished they had. The games extended to their love life where Peter was always in charge. Belle knew he could be soft and gentle though, and she would support him when he seemed emotional or vulnerable. And that time was now. He had just told her that he wasn’t coping with his mother’s illness and that he was seeing a counsellor about it. Belle felt selfish for feeling so upset about it. She felt like she had failed him because he couldn’t turn to her about it. But Peter needed her to be strong and to help him through this. Belle knew that and so she composed her emotions and said he was the strongest man she knew, and that he always worked out ways to land back on his feet.
Despite the fact that Peter was going through some emotional difficulty, he was able to help Belle in the next step of her career. Belle decided that she wanted to take the case she was working on and represent her client as a sole-trading lawyer. She had just taken on a new case in which a poppy farm had come under scrutiny for its environmental impact, and the lack of planning around the property given its recent expansion. There had also been several investigations around its uses and the distribution of pharmaceutical opiates. Belle was enjoying reading the background to the case, because it had so many facets to it. Belle hatched a plan so she could represent her client without being tied to her law firm and she knew once they accepted that she could leave the law firm. She gave some thought to going over it with her friend Jack, a well-known barrister. She had known him since her undergraduate days of law. They studied together and worked in the same big city, though Jack had focused on commercial law, which had set him up nicely in life. Jack had become good friends with Peter since he and Belle met four years ago. That gave Belle more reason to contact Jack about the case, as she realised that she could ask Jack to reach out to Peter, too.
That week Belle met Jack at one of her favourite cafes and they discussed the case, which she was now familiar with. Jack had just returned from an extended international holiday and was looking for a change of scenery. Jack was curious about the case but knew there was risk involved. He believed in Belle’s ability and legal knowledge that she could do this but he worried that the workload would take a toll on her while she tried to support Peter. And just as Belle was starting to have her doubts about venturing into the legal world as a solo female lawyer, Jack suggested they work on the case together. They spent the next few hours discussing the case, and after four more coffees, they agreed that the two of them would start up their own law firm - BJ Law.
Amanda Lilleyman spends most of her time working on birds and is currently writing her PhD thesis. She decided she wasn't writing enough so she started doing creative writing. Or maybe thats just called procrastiwriting..?
Illustration by D'Arcy Ellis
