E for England (26 page)

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.