A New Beginning

by Samantha Hicks

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Mum, can I go wait in the car?”

  Amy gazed at her son. Aaron was stood back from them looking at the ground, clearly uncomfortable being here, just like he always was. “Why?” she asked kindly.

  He looked at her, a frown marring his usually happy features. “I don’t like it when you get upset.”

  She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, dislodging some of the tears. As usual she couldn’t stop from crying every time she came here. She realised bringing Aaron here all the time was unfair to him. He deserved to have a happy childhood and watching his mother cry wasn’t conducive to that. After a few moments she said, “Okay, buddy.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the car keys. “Here’s the keys. Make sure you go straight to the car.”

  “I will,” he said as he snatched the keys from her hands and took off running.

  “I mean it,” she called after him.

  #

  “There you go, Nan,” Laura said as she pulled off her gardening gloves. “Some nice new plants to help brighten your view. Not bad if I do say so myself.”

  “Hey.”

  “Aaron?” She spun around at the sound of his voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “It’s my Mama’s birthday so Mum and my Gran are here to see her.”

  Laura looked at his sad face remembering the last time she had met him here. She hated to see him so gloomy, it didn’t match his usually bubbly self. “Was your mum crying again?”

  “Yeah. She tries not to, but she always does.”

  She felt bad for him. It was clear that Aaron didn’t like coming here, surely Amy knew that. You only had to look at his furrowed brow and pouty frown to realise he hated it. “Does she know you’ve wandered off again?”

  He looked at the grass, his cheeks glowing pink. “I’m supposed to be waiting in the car.”

  “Aaron,” she admonished. Laura had no doubt if Amy saw him with her she would probably pitch a fit, after all, she did say she didn’t want Aaron getting clingy toward her.

  “I was going back that way, but I saw you.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve finished visiting my nan so how about I wait with you?”

  “Cool.”

  He took her hand as they walked back to the carpark, the unfamiliar feel of his hand not as uncomfortable as she thought it would be. She liked Aaron. He was a sweet kid and for some reason he liked her. I just wish your mother did too.

  They reached Amy’s car, and after dumping her backpack with her gardening stuff onto the ground, she lifted him onto the bonnet. She leaned back against the side as they waited for Amy to return.

  “When do you think you will be over again?” he asked, breaking her thoughts of Amy.

  “I’m not sure that I will.”

  “I got a new game for my X-Box. Lego Batman. I want to play it with you.”

  “We’ll see. It’s up to your mum.” A familiar figure caught her attention as she recognised Amy walking next to an older lady Laura didn’t know. “Ah, here she comes.” Laura couldn’t pull her eyes away from her as she approached. She looked amazing in tight black jeans and a loose cotton shirt. Knee-high boots finished of the casual but sexy look. Laura ran her hand over her mouth to make sure she wasn’t drooling.

  Amy looked up from the ground as she reached her car, catching Laura’s gaze. “Laura?”

  “Hey.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I come every week to see my nan.”

  “Oh.”

  The older woman who stood next to Amy, arm linked through hers, cleared her throat loudly, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had sprung up around them.

  “Sorry,” Amy said, glancing at the woman. “Laura, this is Diana Barton, Julia’s mother. Diana, this is Laura.”

  “Ah, so you’re the one who Aaron won’t stop talking about,” Diana said, smiling when Laura’s eyes went wide, heat flaming her face and neck. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” She shook her outstretched hand. “I’m, ah, sorry for your loss.”

  Diana smiled, and Laura thought her beautiful. No wonder Amy fell for her daughter if she looked anything like you.

  “Thank you. And me to you too.”

  “Thanks.”

  “We need to get going,” Amy said, her words coming out in a rush.

  “Okay. See you later.” Laura picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Clearly Amy was not happy to see her here.

  “Mum, can Laura come by and play with me sometime?”

  Amy glared at Laura. “Did you put him up to that?”

  “Of course not!” Jesus, she wasn’t a total asshole. She would never use Aaron like that. How could Amy think she would? This was more proof Amy wasn’t interested.

  “Please, Mum? I want to show her Lego Batman.”

  “I’ll think about it. Don’t sulk. Laura is very busy.”

  “Okay.” He jumped down from the car and got into the backseat, slamming the door behind him.

  For a seven-year-old kid he could certainly have an attitude at times. Laura shook her head and smiled, liking Aaron even more. “Well, I need to get going myself.” She turned around and took two steps before Amy’s voice stopped her.

  “Thank you for the flowers, by the way.”

  Glancing over her shoulder she noted Amy’s blush, the tiny hint of interest she had seen before back in her eyes. So many mixed signals. This is killing me! “No problem, congratulations again.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Right, I’m off.” She hefted her bag higher on her shoulder and tried not to sprint back to her car located on the opposite side of the gravel carpark. She was sure Amy liked her. There were times she would catch glimpses of attraction in her eyes, but other times Amy felt hostile toward her. Women. Laura had never been very good at reading women, which was probably why she was still single. But maybe Amy was softening up to the idea of going out with Laura? She’d stick to her plan. Court her, like Jim suggested.

  #

  “She sent you flowers?” Diana asked, and Amy felt her cheeks heat at the implied romantic gesture.

  “Yes, as a well done on getting the job.” She pulled out of the cemetery, willing herself not to glance into the rearview mirror at hopes of seeing Laura behind her. As she had approached her car and saw Laura standing next to Aaron it had been a shock, a pleasant shock, but still a shock nonetheless. She hadn’t expected to see her, and she knew she had come off as brusque. Laura hadn’t been far from her thoughts all morning. Even as she stood at Julia’s grave she couldn’t shake her from her mind. As Diana had talked about Julia Amy had tried to listen but her mind kept wandering back to Laura. She felt guilty, standing at her wife’s grave and daydreaming of another woman.

  “That was sweet of her.”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s very pretty.”

  Her blush deepened. “She’s okay, I guess.”

  “I can see why Martha tried to set you up.”

  Amy gripped the wheel tighter. It seemed to Amy that everyone was falling for Laura. She isn’t that great. Who was she kidding? Laura was kind, charming, and not hard to look at. Everyone else said it was okay to move on so maybe she should. Instead she said, “Please don’t.”

  “It was just an observation,” Diana said as she patted Amy’s thigh. She turned in her seat to look at Aaron who was still sulking in the back seat. “So, Aaron, what do you want for lunch?”

  “Can we have a McDonalds?”

  “Sure,” Diana agreed. “We can pick something up and then head for the beach. It’s a lovely day out. That okay Amy?”

  “Sounds great. I just hope I don’t get sand in my food.” She concentrated on driving and pushed thoughts of Laura from her mind as much as she could. With any luck she wouldn’t see her again. She knew that was a false hope. For some reason Laura kept showing up in her life and she doubted it would change any tim
e soon. It would seem the heavens, and my family, are transpiring against me.

  Chapter Eight

  Three evenings later Laura found herself stood in front of Amy’s front door, palms sweating. She held a blue folder in her hands with generic reports on budgets and the like inside. She shook her head. This was a stupid idea. Her plan to see Amy by using an excuse of documents for Jim to look at wasn’t a very good one. If he wanted to discuss the files she brought he would see straight through her. Nothing in the folder pertained to the brief they were working on. Well, she was here now. If anyone suspected anything she would pretend she accidently picked up the wrong folder as she left the office. Without giving it another thought, she knocked.

  “Laura? What a nice surprise,” Martha said after she opened the door.

  “Hi, Martha.” She lifted the folder up. “I, uh, just wanted to update Jim on the brief.”

  Martha laughed. “Nice try. Amy isn’t here.”

  Laura feigned confusion. “Amy? I didn’t come here to see Amy.”

  “Really?”

  She let her arm drop. Blowing out a breath she asked, “Am I that obvious?”

  “Unfortunately, yes you are.” Martha stepped back from the entryway and motioned Laura in. “She and Jim have taken Aaron to the cinema to see that new superhero film. I forget which one, there are so many.”

  “Oh right. Well, I guess I better go.”

  Martha surprised her by asking, “Would you like a tea or a coffee?”

  It was probably a bad idea to stay but Laura found herself agreeing without hesitation. It would be great to get to know Amy’s mother better. Laura always felt welcome here and it was nice to be surrounded by a happy family. “Tea would be nice.”

  “Follow me into the kitchen.” Laura did as requested. “Have a seat. So how are things going with the house?” Martha asked as she filled the tea kettle with water from the tap.

  “So far nothing unexpected has popped up. The land you’ve chosen already has planning permission for a two-story, five-bedroom house.” She watched as Martha’s eyes went wide.

  “We certainly don’t want anything that big.”

  “Yeah, Jim mentioned your aversion to house work.” Laura smiled to take the sting out of her words.

  “It’s not an aversion,” she said as she grabbed two tea cups from a cupboard and placed them onto saucers. “But after five years of cleaning up after Aaron and Jim, I need something smaller.”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem with the planning committee, considering you want smaller.”

  Martha set a cup of tea in front of Laura then took her own seat at the breakfast bar opposite her. “I think three bedrooms would be enough. A room for us, one for Aaron, and one as a guest room.”

  “Do you think Amy will be okay in this house by herself?” Laura scanned her eyes around the kitchen, knowing just how big the house was. “It’s awfully large for the two of them.”

  “She’ll be fine. She already has plans for how she’ll redecorate. And you never know, one day she might have more kids.” A sly grin crossed her face.

  “Yeah, that’ll be nice.” She sounded wistful even to her own ears.

  “Is that something you want? Children?”

  “I never really thought of it before.” She took a sip of her tea to buy her some time to think of an answer. “I’ve always been focused on my career, but I’ll be forty soon and I’d love to have a family of my own.”

  “Why is it every time I come home, you’re here?” Amy’s voice coming from the entrance to the kitchen startled them both.

  “I thought you were at the movies?” Martha asked.

  “We were, but tickets were sold out.”

  Amy walked fully into the room and sat down next to her mother, opposite Laura. Laura looked everywhere but at Amy. Her plan may have just backfired. She didn’t seem pleased to see her at all, in fact, she looked downright pissed off.

  “Dad dropped me off and has taken Aaron crabbing instead.” She looked back at Laura and Laura squirmed under her penetrating stare. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

  “I, uh...” she stammered as she fiddled with her tea cup.

  Thankfully Martha came to her rescue. “Laura came by to tell me about the planning permission for the new house.”

  “Uh, yeah, that’s right,” Laura said, nodding in earnest. She had never been a very good liar and she was sure Amy could see straight through her.

  “And you couldn’t do that by phone?” Amy asked, her suspicion palpable.

  Think of something you idiot! “Um, I was out this way already so thought it easier to just drop by.”

  “Did you have anything to do with this?” Amy asked Martha.

  “Of course not, honey. You were supposed to be out remember? I can’t match make if you’re not here.”

  “Well I’m here now.”

  “Goody.”

  “No, you old busybody, that’s not what I meant.”

  “You’re too easy to wind up, dear.” Martha stood from her chair. “I’m just going to freshen up before I start dinner. Laura, would you like to stay for dinner? I’m cooking lasagna.”

  “Thank you, Martha but I need to head home.” If I stay any longer Amy will probably kill me. “I have some work I need to get finished if I’m to start on some designs for you. Now I know how many bedrooms you want I can do some rough sketches for you to look at.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you again.”

  “Thank you for the tea.”

  “Anytime, dear,” she said patting Laura on the arm as she passed on her way out of the kitchen.

  “So,” Amy said. “We’re you really just in the neighborhood?”

  There was no point in lying anymore, Amy would see through that. “No, I wasn’t. I wanted to see you.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you really need to ask?”

  “I guess not.”

  Amy looked away then smiled shyly at her, her eyes softening. Laura could see the spark of interest in her again, so she pushed further. “I’d apologise if I didn’t think you were pleased to see me too. Which you are, aren’t you?” She was pushing too much too soon but she couldn’t stop herself. Amy didn’t answer for a few seconds and Laura’s pulse spiked at the possibility she had read her wrong

  “Yes,” Amy finally answered.

  “That’s good then.”

  Amy ran her hand through her hair looking up to the ceiling. “I’m not so sure.”

  “Look, Amy.” Time to be straight with her. “I know you’re scared and don’t want to have these feelings, but you do have them.” She leaned closer over the breakfast bar making sure Amy could see her eyes. “Don’t you think we should at least see if there is something there?”

  “I don’t know how.”

  “We can keep it simple. Start with having coffee with me sometime.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Yeah, there’s nothing simpler than coffee. Just two friends catching up.” She shrugged, hoping Amy would agree with her logic.

  “And if I decide after I don’t want to pursue anything with you?”

  “I’ll leave you alone.”

  After what felt like a year of Amy not saying anything, Laura let out a whoosh of air as Amy said, “Okay. A coffee date.” She pointed at Laura in warning. “But you can’t tell Aaron. He already thinks the sun shines out of your ass.”

  Laura felt her lips twitch trying to smirk. “Are you saying it doesn’t?”

  “I’m afraid to find out.”

  “Don’t be. Slow and simple. Just coffee.”

  “Just coffee,” Amy repeated.

  Laura stood, deciding now would be the time to leave. She had scored a win, she didn’t want to blow it now by saying anything to scare her off. “You have my number?”

  Amy nodded. “I’ll text you.”

  “Okay. I’m going to go before you change your mind.” She picked up her folder and took her empty cup to the sink.

 
“Don’t worry, it’s too late for that.”

  As Laura turned back around from the sink she caught the heat in Amy’s eyes before it was quickly extinguished. She’s trying to hide from this. Which was okay with Laura. Amy had a lot to process. She had spent so much time mourning Julia that it was no doubt hard to suddenly find yourself attracted to someone else. She would keep her promise, slow and simple. Amy deserved that. She said her goodbyes and escaped out the front door, a smile firmly in place over the fact she had finally won Amy over and they would be going on a coffee date. Laura hadn’t been this giddy over a woman since her teenage years. She was very much looking forward to receiving a text from Amy.

  Chapter Nine

  Laura rushed through the doorway of Fletchers Cafe. She was meeting Amy for their coffee date but had arrived fifteen minutes late due to losing a client file in her office. She scanned her gaze around the quaint cafe trying to search out Amy, praying she hadn’t left. She spotted her sitting near the back reading the menu.

  “Hi,” she said as she slid into the chair opposite her. Amy looked up, a smile of welcome lighting up her face.

  “Hi,” Amy said as she slid the menu back into the wooden stand sitting on the table.

  “Sorry I’m a little late. My assistant filed something wrong and I couldn’t find it.”

  “No problem. I didn’t know you had an assistant.”

  “He’s a student so only does a few hours a week for me, but it works out well for us both. He helps keep the office from getting cluttered and I help him if he needs any advice on his studies.”

  “Architecture?”

  “Yeah.” She grinned. “I tried to talk him out of it, but he won’t be swayed.” Amy laughed, and Laura’s pulse jumped a few beats at the delicious sound. She had a great laugh and Laura wanted to hear it again. They locked eyes for a moment and heat shot through Laura. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, her voice thick with tension.

  “Thank you.” Amy looked at the big boards behind the counter then said, “Um, just a latte, please.” Laura stood to get them their drinks, but Amy’s voice stopped her. “Ooh, and a chocolate muffin if they have any.”