February Or Forever (24 page)

Kai laughed. ‘You called me man.'

‘That's because you're being very helpful and acting like one.' She leant forward and kissed him on the forehead.

‘I'll carry them upstairs, Mum.' He took the boxes from her — almost the size of his body — and heaved them over to the stairs.

‘Oh, Kai? A friend of mine will be arriving soon to help with the painting. His name is Drew.'

‘Oh,' he said. ‘Then there'll be two men in the house.' He smiled and turned to walk up the stairs.

Chrissie chuckled and walked to the back door that opened onto the verandah facing the ocean. She was used to the sound of the waves again now and had become immune to the salty smell, but not once had she set foot within metres of the water's edge.
One thing at a time,
she reminded herself.

She ducked inside to fill a jug of water then returned to the verandah, pouring the water into a couple of potted plants near the doorway. The wind chimes she'd hung from the beam on the verandah roof clinked and twanged as a breeze floated over, and a nice feeling rose within knowing who would be walking towards her any minute now.

She placed the jug back in the kitchen and through the window saw Drew walking around the rocky hill, sunglasses covering his eyes and golden skin glowing in the sun.

She sucked in an anticipatory breath and pressed her lips together in a smile as she walked outside.

‘Well, here they are.' He held up his hands. ‘Where do you want them?'

Chrissie turned to check Kai was out of sight and whispered, ‘Right here.' She placed them on the sides of her waist, then lifted his sunglasses onto his forehead.

Drew smiled and leaned forward, giving her a brief but tender kiss on the lips.

Chrissie tugged on his hand and led him inside. ‘Welcome to the beach house.'

‘What a nice place. I already feel at home.'

‘It does have that effect. I think it's all the knick-knacks. And maybe the toys and clutter I have lying around!'

‘It's nice. I love being in people's homes. Hotels get so clinical after a while.'

‘Can I get you anything to drink?'

‘Nope, I'm good, thanks.' He glanced around. ‘Where is the young man of the house?'

‘Upstairs.' She gestured to the staircase. ‘Shall we?'

Drew walked in front of her and she watched the way his calf muscles bulged with each step. She may have looked a little further north too.

They reached the top of the stairs and the large open area that served as a multipurpose room. Bookcases framed the walls, a desk sat under the front window, armchairs in the corner, and an old radio sat on a side table. It had become an extra playroom for Kai, and he often set up his train tracks along the worn-out carpeted floor. This time, he was placing items in the boxes as she'd instructed. He looked up with curious eyes at Drew.

‘Oh. You're the painting friend.'

‘I sure am. I'm Drew. And you must be Kai, the man of the house?'

Kai grinned. ‘Yep.' Although he was obviously impressed at being called a man twice in one day, his eyes still held a touch of caution at this stranger in the house.

‘Looks like you're doing a good job there, mate.'

‘I am.' He picked up a couple of old magazines and placed them in a box.

Drew glanced at Chrissie and smiled.

‘Well, over here is one of the spare bedrooms.' She walked Drew to the room, the sparse furniture already covered with protective sheets. ‘I thought we'd start in here. It's already had a base coat, so we'll be putting the top coat on now.'

Drew checked the tins of paint on the floor. ‘Golden Dawn,' he said. ‘I wonder who has the job of coming up with names for paint colours?'

‘And I wonder what job title they'd have…Paint Colour Namer? Name Designer?' Chrissie mused.

‘Or, Executive Creator of Paint Colour Names,' Drew suggested.

‘That sounds more distinguished, we'll go with that one.' She handed him a paint tray and roller. ‘How about you start at that corner, I'll start over here, and we'll meet in the middle?'

Drew frowned. ‘I thought you said nobody puts Drew in a corner.'

Chrissie gave him a light whack with her paint roller.

‘If that had paint on it, you'd be in big trouble, Burns.' He smiled.

‘Then we'll both have to behave ourselves and make sure the paint goes where it's meant to go.'

‘I'll do my best.'

When they were halfway through the painting of the room, the sound of something falling or colliding broke their rhythm. It was followed by Kai saying, ‘It's not fair!'

Chrissie exchanged curious glances with Drew then got off the stepladder. ‘Wonderful. I'll go see what that's about.'

Kai stood in the open area with arms crossed and his trademark cranky face that outdid Drew's version as a child.

‘What's wrong, Kai?'

‘My stupid yo-yo doesn't work properly.'

Chrissie glanced at the plastic round shape on the floor, string spilling out of it. She picked it up. ‘Well that's no reason to throw it.'

‘It made me so angry. Why can't it just work, why?'

Chrissie glanced around, noticing the items she'd laid out were no longer in piles on the floor. ‘You finished putting things away in the boxes?'

‘Yes. That's why I started playing with my yo-yo, but the string's all tangled and I still can't do the tricks that Dad taught me. They're too hard.'

‘Okay, well first of all, good work with the boxes. Secondly, if you're angry about something I want you to come and tell me, not throw things, okay?'

His cranky face remained.

‘Okay?'

‘Okaaay.' He sighed.

‘Now, why don't you go play with something else for a while so Drew and I can get this painting done? I can help you with the yo-yo later.' Though she didn't know if she could. She'd have to Google yo-yo tricks to get some tips.

‘But I really want to play with it now.'

‘Yo-yo, huh? I used to have one of those when I was a kid.' Drew appeared behind them. ‘Here, let me take a look.'

Chrissie handed the toy to Drew and he studied it and pulled all of the string out. ‘Just a few knots. I'll try to get rid of them.' He fiddled with the clumps, pulled and threaded and untangled them one at a time, then rolled the string back around the yo-yo. ‘There, all fixed.' He smiled. Kai's face softened a little but he didn't take the yo-yo from Drew's outstretched hand. ‘You want me to show you a couple of tricks?'

‘Yes, but not hard ones.'

‘Okay, give me a minute.' Drew hooked the string over his finger and flicked his wrist, rolling the yo-yo down and back up again. ‘Ah, I haven't done that in years. Brings back memories.'

‘I don't recall ever mastering the yo-yo,' Chrissie said.

‘Let's see if I can still do this.' He rolled the yo-yo then grabbed the string with his other hand, then again with the other hand, forming a triangle. The yo-yo rocked back and forth between the shape. ‘Ooh yeah, I've still got it. This one's called Rock the Baby.'

A smile flashed onto Kai's face, and in response, onto Chrissie's. Kai stepped closer to Drew, who let go of the string and snapped the yo-yo back to his hand.

‘Did you see that, Mum?' Kai asked. ‘It was like magic.'

Drew beamed. ‘Just takes patience and practise, that's all. Here, let me do something else.' He spun the yo-yo and did a fancy circular throwing thing. ‘You know,' he said when he finished the trick, ‘that one was one of the first tricks I learned, apart from Walking the Dog. If you like I could teach it to you.'

‘Can he, Mum, can he?' Kai looked up at Chrissie as he tugged on her hand, and Drew mouthed, ‘If that's okay?'

‘He sure can. I'll get back to the painting while you boys — oh I mean,
men
— play with the yo-yo.'

Kai grinned. ‘Yes!'

Chrissie went back to the bedroom and picked up her paint roller, smiling to herself as she listened to Drew teaching Kai the trick. Something fluttered inside, a cosy sensation that threatened to bring a tear to her eye. She loved being able to teach her son new things, but sometimes it was nice to have someone else take over. Victor had tried teaching him some yo-yo tricks, but he wasn't the most patient person. He said Kai just ended up frustrated so he took him to the oval to play soccer. Drew's voice as he spoke to Kai was so calm and gentle, so caring and encouraging, that she wanted to lock the doors and never let him leave. If only she could have someone like him in her life all the time.

A while later, when Chrissie had made a start on the next room, Kai called out, ‘Mum! Come and look.'

She put down her paint roller and went into the other room.

Kai stood next to Drew, the yo-yo in his hand. ‘Watch this!'

He spun the yo-yo and swung it like Drew had done earlier, then he let it spin down to the floor where it rolled smoothly along the carpet as he walked forward. He then flung it back up, and although he missed catching it, he tried again and managed to get the string rolled back into the yo-yo. The sense of achievement in his smile and rosy cheeks warmed her heart. Such a simple thing, yet something so important for Kai's self-confidence.

Chrissie clapped. ‘That was brilliant, Kai! Well done. I have no idea how you did that, but it was impressive.'

‘I know,' he replied, not one for modesty. ‘But I can't tell you how I did it, it's mine and Drew's secret.' He looked at Drew and gave him an exaggerated wink, and Drew returned it with one of his own.

‘Put one here, buddy.' Drew held up his hand for a high-five, and Kai hit it with a victorious slap.

‘Can I give you a high-five too?' Chrissie held up her palm in front of Kai.

‘Okay then.' Kai slapped it, then Chrissie held it up for Drew too. He high-fived her then gripped her fingers for a brief moment.

‘Thank you,' she whispered to Drew, as Kai wandered off to practise.

‘It was my pleasure. I had fun.'

‘Really, it means a lot,' she said. ‘I'm glad you're here.' She held his gaze and knew that whatever was going on between them, Drew was feeling it too. They'd have to say goodbye eventually, but neither of them wanted to admit that yet.

‘I'm glad to be here. And Kai's a great kid. Smart. I can tell there's so much going on in that mind of his, he thinks carefully about everything.'

‘He does. Sometimes too carefully!'

‘It'll serve him well in life, I think.'

‘Thanks.' She smiled.

‘Well, I better help you with the rest of the painting.' He placed his hand on the small of her back and walked with her to the room.

Half an hour later a knock sounded at the door. Drew turned his head to face Chrissie, his eyebrows raised.

She shrugged. ‘I'm not expecting anyone.' She got off the ladder and walked out of the room and over to the window. The verandah roof hid her visitor, until they moved out from underneath and over to a plant, leaning forward to smell its flowers. Her brown wavy hair tumbled over her shoulders. Melinda!

She turned around to Drew who had come out of the room. ‘My friend from Sydney is here! I had no idea she was coming, she didn't say anything.'

‘It's okay, I'll head back to Serendipity.'

‘But she might see you. You still want to keep your presence a secret, right?'

‘Well, yes, I would like to.' He scratched his head.

‘Melinda is trustworthy, but I don't want to cause any problems for you.'

‘I'm sure it'd be fine if we crossed paths. Unless she happens to be a journalist!' He chuckled.

‘Actually…'

Drew's eyes widened. ‘She
is
a journalist?'

Chrissie nodded. ‘But she wouldn't say anything, I'm sure.' Chrissie hovered at the edge of the stairs. ‘Oh, I know what to do. Stay here, I'll be back in a minute.'

She left Drew there with his palms turned up as if to say ‘what's the plan?' and scurried down to the door.

‘Mel! What are you doing here?' She hugged her friend, keeping her on the doorstep.

‘I'm child-free for the afternoon and evening and thought I'd go for a nice, long Saturday drive and surprise you! I've obviously succeeded.' She flashed a smile. ‘I'm here to give a helping hand in any way I can. Though I'd have to leave by about eight tonight. And who knows, maybe I can manage a glass or two of wine a little later?' She nudged her in the ribs, then glanced inside. ‘Hi there, Kai!' Kai waved then returned to his yo-yo practise.

‘That's lovely of you! It's so good to see you!' Chrissie slapped her forehead. ‘But, oh damn it, I'm all out of milk, and I know you love your coffee.'

‘Well then, I'll go pick some up,' Melinda replied, her thumb pointed behind her shoulder.

Exactly what Chrissie hoped she'd say.

‘Oh, could you? That would be great. It's just I'm halfway through painting a wall and I don't want it to dry before I've blended it all together and reached the corner.'

‘No worries at all. I'll go do it now and then we can have a coffee and a chat before getting stuck into more painting or whatever you need help with.'

‘Thanks hun, you're the best.' She gave her a hug and told her where the nearest store was.

When her car had driven out of the driveway Chrissie dashed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She grabbed the carton of milk and took it to the sink, then poured it down the drain.

‘Mum, what are you doing?' Kai asked, as she turned on the tap to help the milk disappear.

‘Oh, um, just…the milk was a bit old and yucky so I had to get rid of it.'

‘But I just drank from that.' He pointed to the now empty milk carton. ‘Does that mean I'm going to get sick? Oh no!' He brought his hands to his face in typical worrywart fashion.