Annie unlocked the apartment door at ten to eight. The casserole she’d put in the oven with instructions to Hugh to check the fluid levels filled the air with a mouth-watering smell. She dumped her things on a chair and had a quick peek in the oven. All good. She put the heat under the vegetables for steaming.
Hugh’s voice murmured from the kids’ room. Story time. He enjoyed it as much as they did. Whatever his fears regarding the responsibility of childminding, he was a very good carer. She’d had no qualms about leaving her pair with him this evening, and they were excited about having him.
She leaned on the doorframe and watched, unseen. Floss’s eyes were drooping and Mattie was trying very hard to stay awake. Hugh paused. He glanced at his audience and closed the book. He stood up and carefully covered Floss and then Mattie.
‘Goodnight,’ he said softly.
‘G’night, Hugh,’ Mattie murmured. He rolled over and burrowed into the doona. Hugh turned out the light.
He turned and saw Annie. The weak light from the hallway exaggerated the hollows and planes of his face, making him darkly mysterious and even more attractive. How was she constantly caught unawares like that, seeing him as if for the first time, bowled over by how sexy he was? Her eyes caught his and held for a moment. He smiled. Annie’s breath shuddered in her lungs. Why couldn’t he love her? Why couldn’t he forget she was a mother and a friend and see her as an irresistibly desirable woman, the one he wanted to kiss, the one he couldn’t live without, children or not; throw caution to the winds? If he declared undying devotion she’d reconsider her position on men and rethink the move. She’d do almost anything.
‘Fast asleep.’ He put the book down, broke the spell.
‘Well done. Hungry? I’m starved.’ Down to earth with a thud.
‘Dinner smells fantastic. What is it?’
Annie headed for the kitchen. ‘Burgundy beef with steamed spuds, carrots and broccoli.’
‘Great! I’ll miss your cooking when you move.’ And that was it in a nutshell.
‘You can still come to visit.’
‘It won’t be the same though, will it?’
Annie took out cutlery and glasses. ‘Here. Set the table, please.’ It wouldn’t be the same but that’s how life was. Not a fantasy. You did what was best for you in the cold reality of the present.
‘What’s the house like?’
‘Pretty good. Great backyard. They’ll be able to have a dog.’ Two bathrooms, four bedrooms plus a tiny study and a big living area and dining room. They could get away from each other when necessary.
‘So it’s a done deal?’
Annie nodded. ‘We signed the lease. I enrolled at uni for next semester today. I want to finish my MBA,’ she added to answer his questioning look.
‘Right.’ His tone made her teeth clench.
‘You don’t have to approve, Hugh. I don’t care. This is how it is.’ She whipped the saucepan lid off and poked at a potato with a fork. Not done.
‘Annie, I…’
She replaced the lid and turned. ‘You?’
Her expression must have resembled a gargoyle because he said, ‘I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s your life and it’s none of my business.’ He continued placing the knives and forks with precise care, face averted. ‘When are you moving?’
‘The house is empty so we can go in any time. Kevin has a month left on his flat. I’ll move as soon as I can pack up this place. I have things in storage, too. It’s going to be hectic but I want to be settled before uni starts in July.’
Hugh finished arranging the table setting. Annie was so determined, forging ahead with her life, making these tough decisions and sticking to them. By contrast he was a miserable coward. Afraid to say he loved her, afraid to commit to her because of the children, afraid of every bloody thing. What would she want with him? Her whole demeanour told him she wasn’t prepared to discuss this anymore. Her mind was made up and that was that.
‘I can give you a hand moving if you like.’ Weak as dishwater.
Amor vincit omnia. Love conquers everything, according to Chaucer. Why that phrase popped into his head from a long gone high school English class he had no idea. He dimly remembered scoffing at the time, a cynical sixteen year old more interested in the facts and reliability of science, and that response held true now. What if he strode across, flung his arms around her and kissed her? Would that solve any problems, make everything miraculously right? Hardly.
‘Thanks, I think I’ll need it.’ Annie took plates from the cupboard. ‘There’s red wine if you’d like a glass with dinner.’
‘Thanks. You?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘I’ve decided to buy a car,’ he said.
‘New?’
‘Yes. I can afford something small.’
‘That’s all you need in the city. A hatchback.’
Chitchat, chitchat. Friendly, relaxed, comfortable and bloody frustrating. Was she regretting her decision at all? She appeared not to be, serving up the steaming casserole, spooning vegetables onto his plate with a joke about eating broccoli, sitting opposite at the table and clinking her glass against his.
‘Here’s to the future,’ she said. ‘Which is looking a darn sight brighter than it was yesterday.’
‘The future.’
He mashed steamed potato into the gravy and ate. ‘This is delicious. Perfect for a night like this.’
‘Yes, it’s foul out there. The wind’s horrible.’
Annie’s immediate and pressing problem was solved; his, he surmised was just beginning. He should have spoken up earlier, should have insisted they share a house, brushed her objections aside, ignored his own stupid fears and told her he’d help with the kids. Been there for her.
Too late. Wasn’t it? He loved her. He should tell her. Amor vincit omnia. That bloody phrase! Was Chaucer right?
Hugh finished eating and rolled the wine around in his glass, ruby red, full-bodied and flavoursome. The words pounded in his head, trembled on his tongue. I think I love you.
‘Would you like seconds?’
‘Yes, thanks.’ He pushed the chair back abruptly and the legs screeched painfully on the tiled floor. ‘I’ll get it.’
Much safer to stay friends.
‘I don’t want to do that again in a hurry.’ Annie sagged into the couch, their old dark blue one, rescued from storage and now residing in the new house, complete with big blue squashy cushions. Not as trendy as Leonie’s but twice as comfortable and achingly familiar.
‘You won’t have to.’ Kevin handed her a cup of tea.
Unpacking the kitchen equipment was a priority, she’d learned. Being able to make cups of tea and sandwiches for sustenance was crucial while trudging in and out with loads of things from the jam-packed car. Kevin had lugged boxes and stacked crockery, removed empty boxes and filled the recycling bin with the crumpled wrapping paper. He’d also handled the kids, directed the removalists where to place the big items of furniture and allowed her time to finish packing away food.
‘Thanks. It’s a bloody nightmare.’ Last time she’d done it alone. Then, she’d sold off a fair bit of Kevin’s stuff, or what he’d regarded as his, like the swivel chair and desk, the second TV and the framed sci-fi posters. She wasn’t paying for storing his junk. If he didn’t want to take it with him, tough. Fuelled by desperation and hate, she’d piled up his belongings, including the few clothes he’d left behind, considered a bonfire but sold the lot for a total of $587 which paid the final electricity bill.
He’d asked but didn’t dare object when the movers unloaded everything from the storage shed and his precious items were missing. She’d kept the dining setting, the lounge suite, the bookcases complete with books, fridge, washing machine and the beds. And a ton of other stuff she didn’t want to sort through but had packed up and left in storage.
‘We should have a garage sale,’ she said.
‘Do you want to sell off more of my things?’
‘Have you missed anything in particular?’ The miserable bastard. He left them when he left her. He didn’t need any of it for a year, why now?
‘Let’s not argue, Annie.’ He stood staring down at her for a moment, all gingery haired and square, like a sandstone block.
‘I’m not arguing, I’m asking.’
He shook his head but wisely declined to comment. Instead he turned away and sat down.
‘We need to get rid of the bunk beds,’ she said. ‘And there’s a heap of stuff we don’t need any more. That little bike of Floss’s, for example, and baby toys. I don’t even want to look in those boxes but there’s no point hanging onto any of it. They managed without for months.’
He looked at his watch. ‘Okay. We can do it in a few weeks.’ He drained his tea and stood up. ‘I’ll go now.’
‘Thanks for helping.’ She meant it. Hugh couldn’t help, as it turned out. Too busy at the hospital with a run of winter flu cases, some new, severe variety which, according to the news, had hit nursing homes hard. ‘When will you move in?’
‘Next weekend probably. It won’t take long. I don’t have much.’ She let that slide despite the pointed emphasis on that last sentence.
When he’d gone Annie wandered about the house, stepping around the boxes yet to be unpacked, wondering when or if it would feel like home. Mattie and Floss loved it already. Told to stay outside out of the way, they were racing about the backyard exploring the garden with its two trees and the creeper trailing over the side fence, the overgrown veggie patch and the remnants of a cubbyhouse someone had built long ago.
The house was bigger than they’d had before, with lovely high ceilings and fancy moulded plasterwork, dark wood doorframes and polished floors. Recently painted too, and the kitchen newly renovated. The only drawback was the fairly busy road they faced. And there was no spectacular view. No view at all.
The only drawback? What about the farce of a family they’d become? When she and Kevin, with a toddler and a baby on the way, had moved from the share house to the one he’d left them in, it had been exciting. Annie had looked forward to having a whole house to themselves and for a few years it was good. But a lovely house doesn’t guarantee a happy family.
Would it be good now?
Would she ever see Hugh again? Hugh, popping into her head all day. Hard to shift, impossible to forget. Was his no-show a genuine excuse or his way of slipping out of their lives?
She stood in the doorway to her bedroom and sighed. Even though she’d off-loaded much of her junk in the previous upheaval there was still plenty to stow in the wardrobe and drawers. Two large suitcases of clothes and a couple of boxes of sundry items. Bare mattress, empty shelves.
The back door crashed open. ‘Mummy, where’s my football?’
‘Have a look in the box in your room. Carefully!’
She followed him to the room he’d chosen. Fortunately that decision had been easy. Floss had wanted the smaller one at the rear of the house with the pink flowering bush outside the window.
Mattie pulled out the box of Lego and his cricket bat and dropped them on the floor.
‘Put things in the cupboard, please.’
‘I don’t have time.’
Annie removed a couple of jigsaws and put them away on a top shelf. Mattie dived on his football and shot out of the room. The back door crashed and banged. She finished emptying the box and took it out onto the covered back verandah where Kevin had stacked the other empty packing boxes. The kids were running about in the long grass after the ball, laughing and shouting. Rain had fallen last night. Wet shoes and damp trouser bottoms.
‘Leave your shoes on the verandah when you come in,’ she called.
She went inside to unpack Mattie’s clothes, find the box with bed linen and make his bed. Then she’d move on to Floss’s room and unpack her things and make her bed. They’d feel at home here with no trouble at all. Why shouldn’t they? Mummy and Daddy were together again in their eyes, the family was once more a unit, they had a room each with plenty of space for their own things, a big back garden to play in and the promise of a dog.
Kevin had what he wanted. The security of a family, or rather, the appearance of a family and the freedom to live his life as he chose.
Annie had the same. Didn’t she? If so, why did it feel as though she’d tied a noose around her neck and put on a straitjacket? Why did her insides feel hollowed out like one of those terracotta warriors? A shell of a person.
But that was tiredness talking. This house was lovely, close enough to school and work, and the kitchen was great. The front garden had roses and azaleas in neat plots along the fence, a small strip of grass and a beautiful tree. She had no cause for complaint.
‘Shut up and get on with it, Annie,’ she murmured.
‘Leonie’s due back tomorrow.’
‘Already?’ Hugh raised his face from the newspaper. The last week had been so hectic at the hospital the world had moved on without him.
‘She’s finishing up in Sydney. The movers are coming on Thursday.’
‘Doesn’t time fly?’ He resumed reading about the ongoing Middle East crisis. Not much had changed. They were still fighting each other while he was fighting the latest influenza virus.
‘Sure does. I said she could stay here for her last night after her stuff has gone. She was planning on going to a hotel.’
Hugh nodded. ‘Fine with me.’ He poured more coffee then held the pot over James’ half full cup.
‘No thanks. I’ve missed her.’
James sounded quite forlorn. Hugh looked more closely. Come to think of it, he’d been home most evenings since she’d left. Actually turned down invitations. Hugh had heard him apologising for yet another non-attendance and thought he must be getting the flu.
‘You hardly know her.’
‘I think I’ve fallen in love with her.’
‘With Leonie?’ Good Lord! Hard to suppress the surprised laugh but his face must have given away his thoughts.
‘Why is that so surprising?’ Bristling now. ‘She’s stunningly beautiful and smart and amazing.’
‘I agree she’s all those things. She’s also very tough, quite selfish and ambitious. She’s unlikely to take your feelings or anyone else’s into consideration when making decisions for herself.’
‘You don’t know that! You don’t know her.’
‘I know her better than you do.’
‘No, you don’t. She’s not as hard-nosed as you think. I think she’s had a rotten life and it’s an act — self-preservation.’
Hugh shrugged. ‘Maybe she has and it is, but be careful.’
‘I am.’ James laughed. ‘I’m not such an innocent myself, you know.’
That was true. He’d broken a few hearts in his career, starting at high school with poor Cindy McPhail, whose numerous miserable phone calls the family had fielded when James had moved on to woo Lucy someone. Hugh folded the paper carefully and pushed it aside. Amor vincit omnia. Did it in James’ case? ‘What would you be prepared to do? Would you follow her to Japan? Quit your job?’
‘Maybe, if I had to, but I was thinking I could persuade her to stay here.’
‘Unlikely, I would have thought. She was excited about Tokyo. It’s a promotion and she’s very career oriented. What if she won’t budge?’
‘I don’t know. We’d work something out. I wouldn’t mind travelling.’
‘Does she feel the same way about you?’ We? After how many days? James, James, James. Disaster in the offing. This had to be stopped, or at least brakes should be applied with considerable force.
‘I think I have her puzzled and intrigued, which is a good thing with Leonie. She’s into no strings sex and I wouldn’t play.’
Hugh gave a shout of astonished laughter. ‘Really? That must have nearly killed you.’
James nodded. ‘It wasn’t easy. She’s one hot lady. But I held out and I’m going to continue that way.’
‘For how long? What if she moves on to someone less hard to get? She might already have done, she’s not shy.’
James didn’t falter, although that would surely be the ultimate test of his devotion. Leonie made no bones about her liking for sex. Would one man be enough to satisfy her? ‘I know what she’s like but as I said, she’s intrigued and she likes me. I’m probably the first guy who’s turned her down. Apart from you,’ he added with a sly grin.
Hugh groaned. ‘She told you that?’
‘Yep. But that’s okay. I’d be furious with you if you hadn’t.’
‘Why me? Why not her?’
‘Because you would have been taking advantage of her.’
The logic completely escaped Hugh but love wasn’t known for promoting rational thinking. He said, ‘I like her but I don’t find her attractive.’
‘Good. I find that hard to believe, but good.’ James grinned. ‘She likes you too and we both know you prefer Annie.’
‘Annie?’ Hugh’s heart rate did a rapid sprint then subsided to an erratic hobble. Blindsided. Where had that come from?
‘Of course, Annie. What are you doing about that, by the way?’
He swallowed, tried to gain thinking time. An image of Annie smiling filled his head. Beautiful, like sunshine. Was he so obvious in his desire for her? Had she noticed? She’d resisted his kisses. ‘About what?’
‘Annie.’
‘What am I supposed to be doing?’
‘Asking her out, for starters. She has a ready-made sitter now.’
‘But she’s a friend. If I ask her out she’ll think it’s a date and that there’s more.’
James pounced. ‘What’s wrong with that? There is more, isn’t there?’
‘If it was just Annie on her own I wouldn’t hesitate, but there are the kids. It’s too complicated.’
He clutched his coffee mug in both hands, took a sip. He really didn’t want to talk about it. His world had clouded over. She’d moved the previous weekend and left a gaping dark hole. Not that he would have had time to visit. Everyone had been on extra shifts to cope with the mini flu epidemic which had swept through the nursing home sector, resulting in an influx of very ill elderly patients.
James sighed. ‘I get that, but what’s wrong with friends going out together?’
Hugh gritted his teeth. He didn’t want a conversation about Annie. Annie had moved on. Leonie was doing the same. He said, ‘You’re not going to have much time to convince Leonie, to win her over. Only Monday till Friday.’
James took his cue to give Annie as a topic a rest. ‘We’ll see. I’ve been continuing my campaign by email. Just enough contact to keep her interested.’
‘Good luck.’
James stretched his arms overhead, pushed up with interlocked fingers. ‘She’s such a sexy lady. When she walked in that night to say goodbye to you — wow!’ He released the stretch in a whoosh of air. ‘I can’t believe we never met before. All that wasted time and she was just upstairs.’ He shook his head at the weird wonder of it.
‘I guess the timing has to be right.’
‘Yep. It’s meant to be. Leonie and I are meant to be.’ James leapt to his feet and took his cup and plate to the dishwasher. ‘What are you doing today?’
‘After the week I’ve had I’m going to lie around, do some laundry, read and maybe go for a walk.’
‘It’s raining again.’
‘Scrap the walk.’
‘I’m going to hear some friends of Leonie’s play in a pub in Annandale this afternoon. She said they were really good. Want to come?’
‘Jazz? Sure.’ That was one thing he genuinely enjoyed about Leonie — good taste in music and friends.
‘We can take your new car for a spin.’
‘Okay.’
‘How is it?’
‘Great. Really nippy in traffic and easy to park.’
‘Don’t know why you went for the four door, the convertible sports version was so cool.’
‘It was but there was no room in the back seat. Plus it was six thousand bucks more.’
‘I thought doctors went for Porsches and Mercs.’
‘You know me better than that, James. I go for quality, practicality and above all, a reasonable price.’
‘A careful man. You can be too careful you know, Hugh. Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and jump in feet first.’
‘Is that what you’re doing with Leonie?’
‘Damn right! I don’t want to lose her. If she turns me down so be it, but I’m not going to turn myself down on her behalf. I have to give it my best shot.’
James sauntered off to his room whistling tunelessly. Hugh considered his words. Should he jump in feet first and ask Annie out? Maybe they should invite her over to have dinner when Leonie was here. He checked his watch. Nine fifteen. Too early to phone on a Sunday morning.
By God he missed her! He hadn’t even had a minute to call and see how she was settling in. Not at a decent hour anyway. He’d ring later, sound her out. He could tell by her tone if she was amenable to an outing. Would she want to come to the Annandale gig? She liked jazz. They could all go. Take the kids if the husband wasn’t there yet.
Hugh phoned at eleven. When Annie answered his heart gave such a thump of pleasure at the sound of her voice his voice stopped working for a moment while he regrouped.
‘Hi. It’s Hugh. How are you?’
‘Fine. How are you?’ Pleased, he could tell by the lift in her voice. Good sign.
‘Tired. Sorry I haven’t been in touch, we’ve been flat out at the hospital with this flu epidemic.’
‘I heard about it on the news. Pretty bad for the oldies.’
‘Yes, they often get pneumonia as well and that’s about it for them. Babies are susceptible, too.’
‘That’s terrible.’
‘Yes. How’s the house?’
Her voice brightened again. ‘Good. Really good. I’ve just unpacked the last boxes this morning. Kevin moved in yesterday so between us we’ve got it all sorted. It’s lovely to have plenty of room again.’
‘Sorry I piked on you last week.’
‘No problem. Kevin helped.’
‘So…it’s working out okay?’ Kevin, the man she’d detested.
‘So far so good. The kids are deliriously happy, of course. They loved unpacking all their things we’d had to put in storage and they’d forgotten about.’
‘I bet.’ But what about you, Annie? Are you happy? She sounded happy. Lighter and brighter than he’d ever heard her.
‘In a few weeks we’re taking them to get a dog from the RSPCA shelter.’
‘Good.’
‘Guess who’ll be looking after it, of course.’ She didn’t sound annoyed, she sounded cheerily resigned. ‘I’m so glad I’ve got this settled; I have to start my university lectures in a few weeks.’
‘Oh right. Looking forward to it?’
‘It’ll be hard work, but at least I won’t be worried about the kids or money or any of those things now. It’s such a relief!’
Hugh closed his eyes as a groundswell of despair rose up from deep inside. What could he possibly offer her? He’d had his chance and blown it. Perhaps James was right. Leap in and take a chance. He’d clung to the safety rail. But this involved more than just himself and Annie, even if she did by some remote chance return his feelings.
‘Leonie is coming back tomorrow. James thinks he’s in love with her.’
‘I thought he was smitten. Not sure about her. But she’s a real softie at heart, underneath the tough shell, so he might stand a chance.’ She sounded as doubtful as he was.
‘He thinks the same thing. I’m not so sure. I don’t want her to hurt him. My aunty Mary used to say that, except her comment was usually aimed at James in relation to a girl he’d grown tired of — “I don’t want you to hurt her.”’ He mimicked her stern tone.
Annie laughed. ‘He’s a grown man, he’ll cope.’
Hugh smiled at the wry note in her voice. ‘I suppose I still think of him as my little cousin.’
‘And you want to protect him,’ she said softly. ‘Leonie can be very gentle and she genuinely likes James. She won’t deliberately set out to hurt him, but if she doesn’t love him back there’s not much anyone can do. She’ll only be here a few days. How’s he going to cope when she leaves for good? You can’t protect him from that.’
‘I don’t know. He’s hoping he can persuade her to stay.’
‘He might.’
That surprised him. ‘Do you think so?’
‘I think Leonie really only wants to be loved, even though she’d deny it, and if James can prove he does then who knows?’
‘“Amor vincit omnia”,’ said Hugh.
‘Canterbury Tales.’
‘It’s one of two things I remember from high school English.’
‘The Nun’s Tale?’
‘Close. No, the Prioress’s.’
‘Do you think that’s true?’
Hugh laughed. ‘When I was sixteen I thought it was sentimental rubbish.’
‘And now?’
‘I haven’t given it much thought.’ Liar. ‘Do you?’
‘I suppose if it’s strong enough I guess maybe it is true. For some people. They’d both have to feel the same way,’ she added.
She sounded extremely doubtful about the possibility of a reciprocated love that strong. Was he hoping she’d agree wholeheartedly that it was true? She wouldn’t, not after her experience with love.
‘Yes, otherwise it’s doomed to fail.’
A tiny snorting laugh sounded in his ear. ‘Then there’s that other phrase — do you know that song Love Hurts? I heard it on the radio and now it’s stuck in my head. I’m more inclined to believe that.’
Were they still talking about James and Leonie?
He laughed, albeit a trifle forced. ‘I suppose you’re the wrong person to ask about true love at the moment.’
‘I sure am.’
‘Listen, the other reason I rang… James and I are going to a pub in Annandale this afternoon to listen to a band. Want to come? They’re friends of Leonie’s.’
‘Oh, I’d love to but I don’t think I can, thanks for asking though.’ The response tripped lightly off her tongue. She didn’t say why and he couldn’t ask.
‘Okay, another time then.’ Just friends.
He was about to say goodbye when she said, ‘What’s the other thing you remember from English class? You said you remember two.’
He smiled. ‘“Call me Ishmael.”’
‘Moby Dick.’
‘Right. Did you read Tequila Mockingbird?’
She laughed. ‘Of course. It’s a classic, along with I, Clavdivs.’
‘Clavdivs?’
‘That’s what it looked like on our copies. I, Claudius.’
‘Haven’t read that. See you later.’ He hung up, laughing.
Annie answered the phone at work with a brusque, ‘Hello.’
‘Hi, I’m home. Just for a few days to finish up.’
Leonie. ‘Oh, hi! How are you?’
‘Fine. How are you and the kids? Everything working out?’
‘All good so far.’ She lowered her voice. ‘He’s on his best behaviour.’
‘Is Big Ears eavesdropping?’ She meant Julia.
‘Yes.’
‘Can’t mind her own business, that woman. The name is an omen. No Julias can keep their mouths shut.’
Annie snorted with laughter. ‘I’d better go. I’ll call you tonight. Glad you’re back. We missed you. The kids want you to come over and see their new bedrooms. Talk to you later.’
‘Okay.’
That evening Annie continued the conversation.
‘Can you come over for dinner tomorrow?’
‘Love to. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed Mattie and Floss.’
‘They miss you too.’ True. Floss had lined up her Barbie dolls ready for Leonie to inspect and play with. They’d been packed away for the last few months, along with their vast array of smart clothing and accessories.
‘Even with their Dad around?’ Leonie was pleased, Annie knew from the tone. But then, who could help but love her pair?
‘Yes, of course. Floss wants to show you her dolls and he’s not much good with Barbie. I’m wondering should I invite Hugh and James as well. Make a dinner party of it. It’s a pity you’re not here over the weekend; we could have done a barbecue. The backyard is great and we have a verandah that’s perfect for eating on.’
‘I’m pleased it’s working for you, Annie. I’m glad I was wrong.’
Whether that was the truth or not didn’t matter, she’d said it, it sounded convincing and with any luck she’d stick to that line when she came to dinner.
‘Thanks. It’s early days yet. We’re both being ultra polite. That’ll wear off.’
‘Have you seen much of Hugh?’ Leonie sounded suspiciously casual.
Annie licked her lips. ‘He phoned yesterday. He’s been really busy with a flu epidemic.’
‘I think you should invite him, if he can make it. It’d be nice to all be together. Will Kevin be there?’ Another very polite, restrained question. Japanese manners had rubbed off on her very quickly. Most unusual. What had happened to her in Tokyo?
‘Maybe. I’m not sure what he’s doing. We have been eating together, though. It’s easiest. I can hardly ask him to go out or stay in his room.’
‘Don’t see why not. It’s a share house not a marriage, remember. Anyway he may not want to talk to us.’ A cackle came from the other end of the line. Much more like the old Leonie.
Annie grinned. ‘You can tell him about your chart.’
‘I filled in D for Denmark. Blue.’
That made her sit up straight. ‘Really?’ She shouldn’t be shocked, this was Leonie. But she was. ‘What about James?’ she blurted.
‘What about him?’
‘I thought you and he…’
‘What?’
‘You seemed very interested in each other when we had takeaway that night.’
‘Annie, you know me.’
‘Yes, I do. As long as you know what you’re doing. James could be a keeper.’
‘He’ll have to prove that.’
‘He won’t have much time if you’re leaving on Friday.’ My heavens, Leonie was a tough cookie. Poor, innocent James. He had no idea.
There was a pause. Leonie said in a much more subdued voice, ‘Just between you and me I may not go after all. Would you be furious with me if I stayed?’
That was unexpected. ‘Why? Why would I be angry with you? What’s happened with the job? I thought it was all set. Have they stuffed you around or something?’ Hard to imagine with Leonie’s sharp wits, but things happen in corporate land. Positions come and go with the economic climate.
‘There are a few things in the contract I don’t like, and it’s not really a promotion the way they said in Japan, more a sideways step. The pay is almost the same, which I don’t like. I’d want heaps more for such an upheaval but they won’t budge. I like living in Sydney. I have friends here. You and the kids, for example.’
‘We’d love it if you stayed.’ And was James part of this reversal?
‘So you don’t mind I threw you out of my apartment for no reason?’ The relief flooded through the phone. ‘I was so worried about it. If I’m still here you could’ve stayed and not had to move in with Kevin at all.’
‘But it’s fine. Don’t worry. We knew your place was temporary and it really isn’t geared for kids. I was worried we’d outstayed our welcome ages ago.’
‘Whew! I’m so, so relieved.’
‘Anyway, what you decide to do is your decision; you shouldn’t tailor it around what I might think, much as I appreciate the thought. Does James have anything to do with this change of heart?’
‘Come on Annie, you know me.’ She chuckled.
Annie smiled. ‘Just be nice to him. Give him a chance to get to know the Leonie the kids and I know.’
‘I don’t really do nice with men. They don’t generally do nice with me.’
‘I think both Clelland men are different to the average guy.’
‘Hugh certainly is, but he’s after you not me, unfortunately.’ And with that neat twist the conversation veered onto a new course. ‘Are you giving him a chance, Annie?’
‘Apart from the fact I’m not up for a relationship at the moment, plenty of chances but he hasn’t taken a single one. If he announced he couldn’t live without me I’d seriously reconsider, but he’s not interested beyond being friends.’
‘Why on earth not? What’s wrong with him?’
‘He doesn’t want the responsibility of children. He said that right up-front, which is why we got on so well so quickly. No pressure, no expectations.’
‘Crap! It’s obvious he likes those kids.’
‘It’s true, and it’s more than not wanting to make a commitment. There was a family tragedy when he was young and he feels responsible for it. Someone died. His little half-brother.’
‘Oh my God, that’s terrible. But surely he’s over it by now. He’s a doctor, he should be able to sort his head out. Or get someone else to.’
‘He said he can’t help feeling he’s not capable of looking after children of his own. It terrifies him, I think, even though he’s so good with them and they love him.’
That stumped Leonie completely. ‘Gosh, and here I was thinking he was another commitment-phobic guy. Poor Hugh. He’d be such a great dad.’
‘I know. Leonie, don’t say anything to him will you? That I told you?’
‘Of course I won’t. James wants children, he told me.’
Annie laughed. ‘Ironic isn’t it? We both want the wrong cousin. Hugh would be perfect for you and James would be perfect for me.’
‘And so do they want the wrong one of us. Men! We were both better off before we met any Clellands. What time should I come over tomorrow? I’ll cadge a ride with one or both of them, whoever’s going.’
‘About seven.’
‘Lovely. Thanks, Annie. By the way, please don’t say anything about my move to James or Hugh. As far as James is concerned I’m leaving on Friday. But I’m definitely not going, I’ve just made up my mind.’
‘Okay.’
Leonie was right. Annie was certainly better off before she met Hugh, resigned to her single motherhood, viewing men with an eye soured by Kevin and his abrupt departure. Falling in love was chaotic at the best of times, falling in love in her situation was a disaster, falling in love in her situation with a man who just wanted to be friends was way too catastrophic for a girl to bear.
The front door crashed open and multiple pairs of feet tromped inside. The family was home. Annie pulled herself up from the couch cushions and went to greet them.
Later, clearing the table and tidying the kitchen after dinner, she said to Kevin, ‘I’ve invited Leonie around for dinner tomorrow. She’s back for a few days.’
‘Okay.’
‘She suggested I invite our friends Hugh and James as well. I’ll call them later.’ She scraped plates and stacked them in the dishwasher. She didn’t need to ask his permission, had to stop herself asking was it okay with him. It was awkward, this situation. With Leonie it had been easy because they never had anyone around for a meal, apart from James and Hugh with the Chinese takeaway. From memory, the other housemates were either invited if the friends were mutual, or went out to give the guests space. How did she and Kevin fit into that scenario? Housemates, Leonie said.
‘What do I do?’ He sounded like an aggrieved little kid.
She shrugged and turned to face him. ‘Whatever you like.’
‘What about Mattie and Floss?’
‘I’ll feed them first, but they know everyone so they’ll want to say hello before they go to bed.’ And she’d bet Hugh would be roped into story time.
‘You’ve got this all organised, haven’t you?’
Annie held her breath for a moment then exhaled slowly. ‘We agreed we’d live separate lives, Kevin, that was the deal. I’m inviting my friends over for dinner. I’ve given you plenty of warning. You can do the same any time you like.’
‘Okay, I’ll invite Edward tomorrow as well.’
‘He doesn’t know anyone. I don’t know him.’ The bastard! ‘This is a farewell to Leonie.’
‘He’s very good with people. He’ll fit right in.’
Worth a fight? Annie studied the face staring back at her with a tiny smirk twisting the thin lips. She’d never noticed how thin those lips were until now. Petty man.
‘All right. Tell him seven.’
‘Fine. By the way Edward’s a vegetarian.’
‘Fine.’ She’d boil him some carrots. Or better still… ‘You can take care of his dinner. He’s your friend.’
‘No need to be nasty.’
‘I’m not but I planned moussaka and salad and I’m not going to cook a special meal for the friend you’ve invited, on top of cooking separately for the kids.’ She added her sweetest smile to demonstrate how reasonable her suggestion was.
He scowled and slammed the odds and ends drawer shut. ‘I haven’t invited him yet.’
‘That’s up to you.’ And whether he was prepared to cook. Just what was his relationship with the mysterious, gregarious, vegetarian Edward? Secretly, Annie was pleased. She was itching to get a look at the man who’d stolen her husband’s heart.
He did invite Edward, and both James and Hugh accepted the invitation. It promised to be an interesting, if not entertaining evening.