Roberta could sing. It was no secret in her family. Busking and pub gigs with a couple of schoolmates back in the day had driven her natural talent and given her confidence. What she’d performed at the teahouse was nothing new, except everything about it was. It was the first time she used her vocal skills to vent, directing every single word to only one person.
Was she the jealous type? Heck yeah! Was Nate in bed with her only that morning? Hell yeah. So, who the bloody hell was the super attractive woman who’d fawned all over him? Tall and beautiful with fairytale coiffured honey-blonde hair falling in faultless waves halfway down her back. And boy, did she have a knack for clicking those long fingers with perfectly manicured nails.
Roberta glimpsed her nails as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. They weren’t chipped or anything, but they were uneven and work worn. It’d been a few months since she’d been bothered to colour them.
She switched her attention back to the road. Her stomach had roiled during her entire work shift, with nausea a genuine threat. It was still suffering as queasiness continued to churn. How she didn’t trip and spill the soya chai tea, with the dribble of local honey, all over the woman’s gorgeous pantsuit was a testament to how loyal she was becoming to Tash and her team. The lovely beige chai would have gone well on her white pants after aiming to spill it over her lilac blouse first.
She’d seen Nate leave first but missed where the woman had gone. It was none of her business, and she couldn’t get out fast enough either. Only after the promise of one more song, an old favourite of Delta Goodrem’s—‘Born To Try’—was she able to finish her shift and get the hell away from the stifling and conflicting thoughts strangling her.
She forced her foot off the accelerator when her speed verged on the ridiculous. That was all she needed, an accident in her frame of mind. But why was she all bothered? Didn’t this work perfectly with her plans? She’d found the rock—now leave!
She blinked, moisture clouding her vision. Roberta didn’t cry over men. She hadn’t even been teary when things ended with Antonio. So, why all the girly emotions now?
With her bottom lip gridlocked between her teeth, she steadied her speed which crept up again. She was only minutes away from Sally’s home, and she hoped like crazy Sally would be back from work. Otherwise, she’d have to go back to the cottage, and she wasn’t ready for that.
Blinking rapidly, she drove around the last corner of the quaint street in Malanda, where its width might have fit another sixteen houses if it were in Melbourne. Sally lived in an older street where the block sizes were enormous and the houses, mostly from the late eighties, came with well-established yards.
Roberta jammed on the brakes when she overshot Sally’s driveway, nearly ramming into another car parked on the street.
Her heart hammered uncontrollably as she turned off the ignition. Then she made a point of engaging the handbrake so the car didn’t roll down the slight decline and sat back to give herself a minute. Come on, girl, get a grip! This wasn’t end of the earth stuff, so why all the drama?
Large shrubs bordered the council footpath hiding her view of the front of Sally’s house, but she spotted Sally’s car parked in the driveway. Relief washed over her, and she opened her door to allow a cooling breeze to wash over her heated skin. Parked under the shade of an unusually tall golden penda, she gulped, swallowing a backlog of emotion dying to get out. Okay, I’ve got this. She just needed another minute.
Roberta was knocking on the open door and walking through before she registered people talking and that Sally had visitors. Once past the short hallway, it led to the large lounge room filled with a couple of comfy couches, walls dotted with framed family photos, a bookshelf stuffed to the rafters, a couple of healthy, vibrant pot plants, and a welcoming vibe which Roberta always envied. She gasped when she saw who the visitors were.
Sally jumped up off the couch. “Roberta? What are you doing here?” A frown dug into her brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Surprise!” the visitors announced.
“Liz! Connor!” Roberta promptly burst into tears.
Sally was all over her in an instant, too. “Roberta, what the heck. What’s going on?”
Nothing she said could explain why she was showcasing her rare crying skills. If anything, her tears intensified, and this only served to bring Liz into the fray as they demonstrated what a group hug could look like, if that was the intended purpose.
She took the tissues Connor held out for her, relishing the idea of crying some more because it was making her feel so much better. But, she decided, if she was crying over a man, it was time to bloody well stop.
“How come I didn’t know about you two being here?” she blubbered, trying to stem the flow of tears streaming down her cheeks.
“If the Roberta is crying actual tears, then I think we made it just in time.” Connor offered her the box of tissues this time, a jovial glint showing on his face.
“Shh, stop it, Connor,” Liz admonished him, eyeing Roberta with concern.
“This was the surprise I mentioned I might have for you,” Sally said. “We didn’t expect you to turn up here this afternoon. The plan was to surprise you at the teahouse tomorrow for lunch.” Sally squeezed her shoulder, pressing her closer.
“Roberta doesn’t just arrive. She barges in,” Connor added, enjoying himself.
“You still haven’t forgiven me, have you?” Roberta shot back, Connor’s words going a long way to stopping this shitshow they’d never seen from her before.
“Connor, please.” Liz was starting to sound impatient, which was not how this couple worked.
Connor’s hands shot up in defence. “All I’m saying is that for Roberta to be so upset, it must be over a man she actually cares about.”
Both Liz and Sally groaned in unison. Connor was spot-on and Roberta broke out into blubbery, sad laughter. Both women looked at her in alarm.
“See, I told you.”
Before Roberta had a moment to assess all their reactions, Connor was before her, his arms outstretched. Well, one real, the other prosthetic. “Here, let me give you a hug, Roberta. Trust me, you were forgiven a long time ago.”
He put his arms around her, drawing her into his warmth and security. “Without your interfering ways, I would have never found my way back to Liz. So, thank you if I haven’t already said so because I owe you everything.” He pulled back from the hug and gave her a piercing stare. “Now, who’s upsetting you?”
She loved this man for many reasons. He made Liz so happy.
So much had changed between them, considering where they had come from. It began with distrust and dislike from the first time they met him in that tiny Italian village. She thought he’d wronged Liz and fled the scene. It eventually became guilt on her part when she learnt how wrong she’d been about Connor and made it her priority to ensure Connor and Liz came together again.
Since those days after Connor and Liz reconciled, whenever she was in his company, they riled each other perfectly. Laughing and bantering good-heartedly. There wasn’t a mean bone in Connor, and Roberta considered him one of her best friends.
“If you tell us your news, we’ll tell you ours,” Connor continued with a cheeky grin.
Roberta wasn’t completely brainwashed from the morning not to pick up on Connor’s hint. She turned to Liz with her mouth open wide. “You’re not, are you?”
“I am,” Liz replied with a shy smile, her hand resting gently on her flat stomach.
“You are?”
Liz nodded
“Oh my God, such good news. Congrats to you.” Roberta wrapped Liz up in a bear hug, inviting Sally to join them too. Remembering Connor, she turned his way, extending an arm. “You too, since this is all your doing.”
She jiggled up and down, her heart swelling with love for these people. Such a rare find in a world so big, it was hard to believe how fate put her in Liz’s path a couple of years earlier. Now, here they were, talking about babies. She pulled back a fraction, unable to stop the tears from starting up again. “You guys are going to be the best parents, and I’m going to be the greatest godmother.”
They all burst out laughing. Roberta was putting her hand up first for the job, whether it was official or not, which only brought on more tears.
“Okay, enough of this. Where’s the real Roberta?” Connor took a step back and eyed her suspiciously.
Roberta slouched as the group hug disassembled. She looked at Sally, crushing her lips between her teeth, deciding how best to start this. She had to spill. There was too much building up inside, and she needed to share it with someone. Those someones were staring her in the face, and she loved them all for many reasons. Withholding information wasn’t her way. She was blab-mouth Roberta, never holding back on anything. More likely to tell them way too much. She took a deep breath before releasing it and letting it spill. “I haven’t told you everything, Sal.”
“What do you mean?” A frown continued to mar Sally’s pretty and usually carefree brow.
“Uh oh, I knew something was off,” Connor added, taking Liz in his arm and kissing the top of her head.
“Shh, Connor, let her talk.” Liz directed a frown Connor’s way before planting a light kiss on his cheek.
Ugh! This pair. Nothing but the perfect love story. She despaired of ever finding what they had. Here she was in the perfect mess, with every single man in sight taken, it seemed.
“Can we sit, and I’ll tell you my real reason for being in Malanda?”
“I think this requires alcohol.” Connor extricated himself from Liz and made for the kitchen. “I’ll put the kettle on, too, and find another box of tissues and something strong to add to your coffee.”
Roberta managed a lopsided, teary smile as she settled onto the couch and hugged a cushion to her lap.
“Are you okay, though?” Liz slid her arm around her once more.
Roberta’s smile slipped as her eyes filled with moisture again. “I’m not sure. Hear me out, and then you can tell me.”