Chapter 30

Beth

‘Yia sou,’ my father bellowed from the front door as Gerry, Gran and I made our way towards it. I hadn’t warned Gerry about my family’s penchant for themed events, which tonight appeared to be Greek in nature.

I could feel a familiar sense of embarrassment rising from the pit of my stomach; the same one I had felt when I brought my school friends home. I was usually diligent in providing newcomers with a disclaimer about what they might be exposed to and, as I glanced up at my dad standing in the doorway with his hands outstretched, wearing a white linen shirt and shorts, with a wreath fashioned from olive leaves atop his head, it seemed like an oversight of monumental proportions. Gerry was probably used to formal English dinners, with dress codes and silver cutlery. What would she make of this circus? And, worse, what would Nick think, if he were here?

‘Yia sou,’ Gran replied warmly, kissing my dad on both cheeks.

‘Yia sou, Gerry!’ my dad exclaimed as he reached for her and brought her in for an all-encompassing bear hug – another thing I should have warned her about. But Gerry did not seem phased. In fact, she seemed amused, and she leaned her whole body in to reciprocate. Perhaps Gran had warned her, I thought.

‘It’s so good to have you here, Gerry,’ my dad said with the familiarity that you might expect of someone who was welcoming a long-lost friend back into the fold.

‘Thanks, Thorn. It’s great to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. To be honest I’m dying to know if you live up to the hype.’

Dad smiled broadly. ‘I like her already, Elise.’ He ushered Gran and Gerry inside and then turned to me. ‘Bethie.’ He drew me in for a hug. ‘It’s good to have you back.’

Mum appeared, embraced Gerry warmly, and then held both her hands as she told her she was glad she and Gran had reconnected. Jarrah and Elijah appeared and greeted us with hugs.

I was happy my family didn’t know about Nick and what had happened between us. Being chronic oversharers themselves, they would have wanted to know every single detail. I was pleased the Spanish Inquisition had been directed at and about Gran.

Since leaving London I’d had an irksome twinge in my gut that I struggled to name. Sadness? Disappointment? Regret? Longing?

My phone had chimed with a WhatsApp message from Nick as soon as I switched it from aeroplane mode when we landed.

Hope you had a good flight. Say hi to a quokka for me if you see one.

We had exchanged messages about a range of things ever since, including the weather, how Gerry was enjoying her visit so far and our favourite sexual manoeuvre the other had performed on the last night I was in London.

Our exchange of banter flowed even more freely by text than it had in person. We enjoyed a funny, witty repartee and, in spite of myself, I felt a rush when I heard the chime of my phone to say I’d received a new message. Dopamine and serotonin had a lot to answer for.

But even if Nick was here, I wouldn’t have wanted to bring him here. It would be mortifying to subject him to my family’s antics. On the one hand, there was the risk he would find them ridiculous, which might make him question my character since I was genetically linked to them. But, considerably more concerning was the danger he would be captivated by the Dwyer charm and find me boring and uninteresting by comparison.

‘Right,’ Dad said, once Gerry had been introduced to everyone, and we’d settled into the loungeroom. ‘Who’s for a shot of ouzo?’

‘Opa!’ Gerry replied enthusiastically.

Gran and Gerry sat next to each other on the couch. There was a casual intimacy about how they were sitting that I had observed the whole time I’d seen them together. It was the type of ease you see in couples where an invitation to be in each other’s space is implied. They both had their knees pointed towards each other, and their bodies were as close as possible to one another without actually touching. I had to admit that I had missed Gran in the days since we’d got back. We’d spoken so regularly in the weeks before we left and I’d barely seen or heard from her since we’d landed. But it was so good to see her so happy.

Gerry was indulgently answering my dad’s questions about her time at university in Australia and entertaining his playful attempts to extract incriminating stories about Gran. I felt like, after the revelations about their relationship, any tales about having one drink too many or coming in past curfew would be benign in comparison to a same-sex affair. But she played along anyway.

‘So what else have you got planned while you’re here, Gerry?’ Mum asked.

‘I don’t know what else we’ve got planned,’ Gerry replied, looking to Gran in the way couples do when answering questions about one’s plans is a job for two.

‘Actually,’ Gran said, turning her body further towards Gerry and placing her hand on Gerry’s knee. ‘We do have something planned for Monday. We’ve got to go and check on my little orchid babies.’

During our visit to the Millennium Seed Bank, Gran had told Gerry all about the project to reintroduce the warty swan orchid at the bush reserve next to Woodside Ridge in the hopes it would attract the wasp.

‘Oh, how wonderful,’ Gerry replied. ‘It will be lovely to head out there again after all these years.’

‘I think it’s meant to be a warm one on Monday,’ Dad said.

‘Yes, I saw that,’ Gran said before turning back to Gerry. ‘I hope you haven’t lost your chops for a hot Australian day.’

The conversation over our Greek-themed dinner of slow-cooked lamb and fried cheese was as lively and as animated as ever.

Gerry managed to cut through my family’s competition to occupy centre stage and entertained us with amusing anecdotes and captivating tales of her adventures. Everyone seemed completely taken by her.

‘Gerry seems great,’ Mum said as she washed and I dried the dishes in the kitchen after dinner.

‘I think I even saw Mum giggle,’ she said as though it was as implausible as having seen her cartwheel. ‘I mean, I’ve seen her laugh, of course. But giggle? That’s definitely a new one. I didn’t even know she made that sound.’

‘They definitely get along well,’ I offered.

Mum absentmindedly soaped a plate that was well and truly void of food remnants until I took it from her hand and broke her daydream.

‘You know,’ she said, ‘one of the hardest things about losing one of your parents is worrying how the other one will cope and whether they’ll be lonely.’ Her voice was hushed, as if speaking the thoughts out loud made it more likely the notion would come true. ‘Mum is more than capable of looking after herself, obviously. But when you lose a spouse, you also lose your companion.

‘I’m not sure how it will all work,’ she continued, ‘with Gerry living in London and Mum living here. But I’m glad she’s got someone. And I’m sure they’ll work it out if it’s meant to be.’

She handed me a washed cup.

‘What about you, Bethie?’ she said, her voice bouncing again. ‘What did you get up to? Did you have a good time in London?’

An image of Nick involuntarily flashed in my mind’s eye. I felt my cheeks flush.

‘Beth Dwyer,’ she said mockingly. ‘Are you blushing?’

‘Who’s blushing?’ Jarrah said as she appeared in the doorway, her impeccable timing adding to my mortification.

I diverted my eyes and busied myself putting the stack of dried plates I had created on the bench away in the cupboard.

‘Ohhhh,’ Jarrah exclaimed. ‘Bethie. Did something happen in London that you’d like to share with us?’

‘No,’ I responded curtly. ‘I have no intention of sharing anything with you about what happened in London.’

‘So something did happen, though?’ she narrowed her eyes in contemplation.

I scoffed, aware that the once light blush on my cheeks had transformed into a prickly, angry heat that spread across my chest, neck and face.

‘Is this about Nick?’ Gran asked innocently as she walked into the kitchen carrying empty glasses.

I glared at her.

‘Nick! Who’s Nick?’ Jarrah squealed, clapping her hands like she’d won a prize.

‘Nick is Gerry’s great-nephew,’ I said, my head halfway into the saucepan cupboard, trying to hide my mortification. ‘He was nice enough to hang out with me for a few days.’

‘From what I saw, it was a bit more than that,’ Gerry said, arriving with the salt and pepper shakers from the table. ‘I think he was quite taken with you.’

‘Urgh. Where are you all coming from?’ I moaned, feeling overwhelmed that the attention of everyone in the room was on me.

‘We had a good time together,’ I said, directing my words to Gerry. ‘And I was grateful he was happy to hang out.’

Four pairs of wide eyes stared at me from under raised eyebrows.

‘And that’s all I’m going to say about that.’

‘Oh come on, Bethie,’ Jarrah said with an irritating whine as she stroked my arm patronisingly. ‘Give us something.’

‘Fine, then. I’ll just tell you this one thing,’ I said, leaning in towards her as if preparing to share a juicy tidbit. ‘It’s none of your business,’ I whispered.

‘Argh. You’re no fun,’ she cried. ‘No matter. I’ll get it out of Gran.’

She winked at Gran who replied by making a zipping action across her lips and throwing an imaginary key over her shoulder. As always, Gran had my back. What on earth would I do without her?