Lloyd Hinkley was just as Leilah remembered, small, austere but with a twinkle in his eye. She hadn’t recalled him by name but on sight; she knew the round spectacles and tufts of brown hair which stuck out at right angles from his head. One of Hector’s drinking buddies, he held out a wrinkled hand to her. “Ah, lovely to meet up with Hector’s girl again.” His hooded eyes smiled genuine pleasure and Leilah relaxed. “It hasn’t seemed the same at the pub on a Friday night without him.”
Leilah winced. Hector’s Friday nights were her opportunity to roam free. She’d conceived Seline on a Friday night. She bit her lip and kept her mouth closed and her face suitably demure. Lloyd indicated a seat on the other side of his huge desk. “Derek’s couriered everything through,” he said, sifting through the paperwork in front of him. “What would you like to deal with first? Aloadae or Hector’s place?”
“Aloadae.” Leilah’s answer sounded clear and firm. “Let me get rid of the old before I bring in the new.”
“Very good, very good,” Lloyd said, his arthritic hand pushing papers aside. For the next half an hour he explained things to her which Leilah would never remember. She wrote her name countless times and followed the old man into another room where a computer sat on a younger man’s desk. They spoke for a moment, Lloyd made a call and the young man punched letters and numbers into the keyboard. When he swivelled the screen around for Leilah to view, she gasped at the amount sitting in her current account, not comprehending what it was at first glance. Lloyd looked to her for confirmation and rang off when Leilah gave a shaky nod.
Lloyd dealt with the conveyancing of the house next, speaking to a colleague in Southland. He produced signed documents from the bottom of the pile of papers and tapped a line marked with a pen-drawn cross. “Sign there,” he said, dropping a pen onto the line. Leilah added her full name, Deleilah Jane Hanover, resenting the last name and determined to erase it forever after this final signature. The Hanover moniker seemed to sully her new start and a sickening chill crawled up her spine in foreboding.
She used the computer to transfer funds out of her account and into that of the Southland lawyer’s and the legal assistant logged her out of the bank portal. Lloyd held out his hand to her and smiled. “Congratulations, Deleilah,” he said. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you. I’m glad you’re back.”
Leilah shook his hand and glanced at the assistant with an anxious look on her face. Lloyd cocked his head. “We’re a legal firm, Deleilah. Nobody will hear anything from us.” He slipped his spectacles down his nose and leaned towards her, his tone confidential. “Hector Dereham was one of my dearest friends. You come back here if you need help with anything.”
Leilah nodded and left before his sincerity released the bout of weeping which lurked beneath the surface. She clattered out onto the pavement feeling oddly numb and walked towards the centre of town without purpose.
Mari’s cafe buzzed with the lunchtime rush which seemed to begin at ten thirty and finish around three o’clock. Derek was right; lunchtime was a huge block in the centre of the day and Leilah smirked at his inability to pinpoint it. She’d aimed for twelve to arrive at Hinkley’s and still felt late. Her smart grey suit and high-heeled shoes singled her out amidst the locals and a hush fell over the room as she entered. Leilah ignored the bystanders and gawkers and headed straight through to the kitchen. Mari sang to herself over a stack of sandwiches as she buttered bread and added fillings.
“I’m sorry,” Leilah began, chewing her lip in the doorway as she observed the old woman. “I’ve made a mess of things and I don’t want to stay dirty at you.”
Mari’s face crumpled and a tear rolled down her hollow cheek. “I screwed up,” she sniffed. “T’is none of my business.” She raised her head and her rheumy eyes looked swollen and red. “I didn’t sleep last night worrying about ya. I never knew they locked you up, girl. It’s hurt my poor heart.”
Leilah took a step back, wanting to make this complicated relationship right but dreading the pain it could wreak in her life. Mari raised a hand in placation, sensing Leilah’s fear. “Don’t go, girl. Just give a silly old woman a hug and let her go back to lovin’ ya like she wants to.”
Relieved, Leilah pitched forward and embraced the slender frame, getting butter and grated cheese on her expensive jacket. Ted poked his head through the door and burbled something unintelligible and Mari swore at him.
“Mari!” Leilah let her go in shock. “I didn’t think you’d know words like that!”
Mari snorted. “Well, ‘im owns this place but makes me run it. Then ‘im sits in there all day and bosses me around. Old fool.”
“I figured you’d be married by now,” Leilah joked, leaning back against the sink. “He’s fancied you as long as I can remember.”
“Na.” Mari shook her head and her face drooped with sadness. “Only one man for me and it’s in the past.”
Leilah frowned. She almost asked but stopped herself, figuring much could have happened in the last twenty years. “Do you know any builders?” she asked, inspecting her nails and noticing chips in the polish.
“Claus,” Mari replied, her tone definite. “Vaughan having work done?”
Leilah studied the old woman, revelation on the tip of her tongue and Mari stopped her bread cutting and looked at her. Leilah swallowed. “Seeing as you’ve kept my other secret for so long, there’s something else I’d like to tell you. But it’s also a secret and Tane will hear it from me.”
Mari laid the knife on the table and waited, her face hovering between pleasure and dread. Leilah fixed a blank expression on her face but she needn’t have worried. “I bought Hector’s old place today,” she said, keeping her voice level.
Mari clapped both hands over her eyes and dipped forward, the front of her knitted hat brushing the sticky top of an open mayonnaise jar. “I’m so glad,” she hissed, moving her hands from her eyes to her mouth to keep the emotion inside. “Oh, I hoped and prayed and it’s come true.” She straightened herself as much as she ever could and tears rolled down her cheeks; tears of happiness. “Your pa will be celebrating in heaven right now!” she declared and Leilah smiled, hoping it was true.