Just One Night?

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘Such as?’ Alessi asked as they headed towards the elephants and he took Niko out of the stroller and put him onto his shoulders.

  ‘Such as being a midwife. My parents thought I should study medicine, like my sister. It caused a lot of rows. Even when I got the position of head midwife my father suggested I’d be better off heading to medical school. Finally, though, he seems to get that it’s not a hobby.’

  ‘Don’t you get on with them?’

  ‘Oh, I do,’ Isla said. ‘We’ve had our differences. My midwifery for one, and that they were pretty absent when we were growing up. I get on much better with them now that I’m an adult. I can understand better why, now—their charity work is really important.’

  ‘Family is more so.’

  ‘I agree,’ Isla said. ‘I guess it’s all about balance. My parents didn’t have that, it was all or nothing for them.’

  They stopped at the elephants. A calf had recently been born and there was quite a crowd gathered. ‘Imagine delivering that,’ Isla grinned.

  ‘You love your job, don’t you?’ Alessi said, feeling more than a touch guilty at his assumption that her father had paved her way—clearly she’d had to fight to get where she was.

  ‘I do.’

  ‘Did you always want to be a midwife?’

  ‘Not always,’ Isla said, but didn’t elaborate. She just watched as the little calf peeked out from between his mother’s legs.

  ‘I love the elephants,’ Alessi said into the silence. ‘I like the way they always remember.’

  ‘I hate the way they always remember,’ Isla said.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because some things are best forgotten.’

  ‘Such as?’ Alessi asked.

  She turned and gave a weak smile but shook her head. She simply didn’t know how to tell him or how to answer his questions about when she had decided to be a midwife. At what point did you hand over your heart, your past? At what point did you reveal others’ secrets?

  Isla didn’t know.

  ‘He’s getting tired,’ Alessi said as he lowered Niko from his shoulders. ‘We’ll take him to see his favourite thing and then get him home.’

  ‘What is Niko’s favourite thing?’ Isla asked, glad for the change in subject.

  It was the meerkats!

  Niko hung over the edge of the barrier, shrieking with laughter every time they stood up and froze, calling out to ‘‘Lessi’ to watch.

  ‘Look at that one,’ Alessi said to Niko. ‘He’s on lookout while the others dig for food.’

  Niko didn’t care if he was on lookout; he just laughed and laughed till in the end so, too, were Isla and Alessi.

  It was fun.

  Just a fun day out and Isla hadn’t had too many of those. She finally felt as if she was being herself, only it was a new self, someone she had never been—someone who was honest and open, except for the lies she had promised to keep.

  At six, Alessi strapped an already fast asleep Niko into his car seat. ‘Hopefully he will stay that way till tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I’ll get him home and then we can go and get some dinner.’

  ‘Won’t it look odd if I’m with you?’ Isla asked.

  ‘Odd?’ Alessi checked.

  ‘For Allegra, seeing me out with you …’

  ‘I’m not going to hide you around the corner and pretend that I’ve spent the day with Niko alone. Anyway, he’s three, he’s going to tell her that you were there.’

  ‘I guess.’ There was a flutter in her stomach as they pulled up at Allegra’s house, but thankfully Alessi didn’t put her through the torture of coming up to the door when Isla said that she’d prefer to wait for him in the car.

  ‘I’ll just carry him up the stairs and put him into bed,’ Alessi said. ‘I won’t be long.’

  Famous last words.

  ‘Is that Isla in the car?’ Allegra asked as she let him in.

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Alessi …’ Allegra started, but didn’t elaborate until Niko was tucked up in bed and the bedroom door was closed behind him.

  ‘What?’ Alessi said. He’d heard the note of reprimand in his sister’s voice when she’d seen who was in the car. ‘It’s no big deal.’

  ‘Well, it is to me,’ Allegra said. ‘Can you try and not break up with this one before I have the baby. I don’t want any bad feelings …’

  ‘There won’t be any bad feelings,’ Alessi said. ‘Isla would never involve you like that …’ Then he halted, because he’d lied. It was starting to feel like a big deal. ‘Anyway, I have no intention of breaking things up.’

  Allegra gave a slightly disbelieving snort. ‘The baby’s still four weeks off, Alessi.’

  ‘I know.’

  Allegra paused at the bottom of the stairs and turned and looked at her brother, who she loved very much. ‘Four weeks would be an all-time record,’ Allegra said. ‘Well, not an all-time …’ Her voice trailed off. She didn’t think the mention of Talia’s name would be particularly welcome here. ‘I like Isla.’

  ‘I do, too.’ Alessi admitted. ‘Yes, perhaps it would be more sensible to wait till the baby is born but …’ He gave a small shrug. ‘I’d already waited for nearly a year.’

  He had.

  Alessi said goodbye to his sister and then headed back to the car. A part of him wanted to turn and retract what he’d said to his sister—push the genie back in the bottle—yet he did really like Isla.

  He more than liked her, in fact.

  It was a rather new feeling to have.

  ‘Right.’ Alessi climbed into the driver’s seat. ‘Do you want to go for dinner?’

  ‘I do.’ Isla smiled. ‘I’m actually starving.’

  ‘Name where you want to go, then,’ Alessi said. ‘I picked the zoo so it’s your turn to choose.’

  Isla thought for a moment. ‘We could go to Geo’s. I hear they’ve got a new menu.’

  ‘Geo’s?’ Alessi frowned but then screwed up his nose. ‘Maybe we could try somewhere else …’

  ‘Why?’ Isla pushed. ‘You’re Greek and I love Greek food and they do the best in Melbourne.’

  ‘We’ll never get a booking this time on a Sunday night.’

  ‘I will,’ Isla said.

  ‘They have a dress code,’ Alessi pointed out.

  ‘Not for me …’ She halted then. Geo’s was one of the best Greek restaurants in Melbourne and it was booked out ages in advance, just not for the likes of Isla. She could feel the tension in the car and guessed it was thanks to her latest arrogant remark. God, she’d suggested a seriously expensive restaurant in the same way she’d asked for champagne the first night they’d met.

  ‘Don’t make me feel pretentious, Alessi.’

  ‘I’m not.’

  ‘Actually, you are.’

  He could have driven off, Alessi realised, simply left it at that. Instead, he left the engine idling and told her the truth. ‘Geo’s is actually my parents’ restaurant, Isla.’ He watched as her eyes widened in surprise and then he surprised himself and let out the handbrake. ‘Let’s go there.’

  ‘Alessi.’ Isla let out a nervous laugh. ‘I honestly didn’t know. I don’t want to make things awkward for you.’

  ‘Why would be it awkward?’ he said, while determined not to make it so.

  The restaurant was packed and heads turned as Alessi led her through. Isla was acutely aware that she was wearing shorts and runners, especially when a woman, who had to be his mother, came over and gave her son a kiss.

  ‘This is Isla,’ Alessi introduced them. ‘She’s a friend from work and we have just taken Niko to the zoo. Isla, this is my mother, Yolanda.’

  ‘Come upstairs,’ Yolanda said. ‘Introduce Isla …’

  ‘We’re going to eat downstairs,’ Alessi said firmly, and guided Isla to a table near the back. And as they took a seat he explained. ‘If I take you upstairs then I’d have to marry you,’ he teased.

  ‘Downstairs it is, then.’

  The food was a
mazing—even if Yolanda did tend to hover. Isla could hear laughter from upstairs. It was clear that Alessi had a huge extended family and a couple of them stopped by, greeting Isla warmly.

  ‘Your family are close,’ Isla said.

  ‘Very,’ Alessi agreed, and then told her a little about how the restaurant had started. ‘We started getting more and more orders for catering. People would bring in their own dishes and ask my mother to make her moussaka in them so that they could pass them off as their own. Once we had finished school my parents were ready to take the gamble so the café was closed and Geo’s opened. Upstairs is all for family. Downstairs is the main restaurant.’

  ‘Do you come here a lot?’

  ‘I try to drop in once a week,’ Alessi said, ‘maybe once a fortnight if things are busy at work.’

  ‘And have you ever taken anyone upstairs?’ Isla smiled, more than a little nosy where Alessi was concerned.

  ‘One person.’

  The smile was wiped from her face as she heard the serious note in his voice. ‘You remember Talia from school?’

  Isla nodded.

  ‘We started going out when she first went to med school.’

  ‘How long were you going out for?’ Isla asked, and his response caught her by surprise.

  ‘Two years.’

  ‘Oh.’ She’d always thought Alessi kept his relationships short-term. ‘That’s a long time.’

  ‘Especially by Greek standards,’ Alessi said, and took a breath. He never went into the past with women but he was starting to hope for more of a future with Isla, and for Alessi that meant being honest. ‘We were about to get engaged. Neither my parents nor hers have ever forgiven me for calling it off.’

  ‘You were young.’ Isla tried to keep things light. ‘Surely that’s better if you weren’t sure you were ready.’

  ‘I was ready,’ Alessi said, and watched as Isla’s glass paused just a little before she placed it on the table. He was close to sharing, closer than he had ever been. He liked her take on things, he actually respected her directness and the slight detachment that came from Isla. She offered a rare perspective and he wanted more of that now. ‘Apart from the reunion, do you keep in touch with Talia?’ Alessi asked.

  ‘A bit,’ she said. ‘Just social networks and things … Why?’ She smiled. ‘Do you still have a thing for her?’

  ‘God, no,’ Alessi said. It was the truth.

  He looked at Isla—the fact that she and Talia were loosely in touch was enough of a reason not to tell her the truth about that time.

  Or an excuse not to.

  Isla would never break a confidence, he knew that.

  Alessi knew then how serious he was about Isla because in more than a decade he had never once come close to telling another woman the truth behind that time.

  But not here.

  Not yet.

  ‘How serious did you and Rupert get?’ Alessi asked. ‘Did you ever speak of marriage?’

  ‘No.’ Isla let out a short laugh. ‘Rupert and I …’

  Alessi watched as she suddenly took great interest in the dessert menu, which two minutes ago Isla had declined, and he was suddenly glad he hadn’t revealed all.

  Yes, he knew her a bit better but despite her apparent ease, Isla still revealed very little. ‘Shall we go?’ Alessi suggested, and Isla nodded.

  ‘It seems strange not to have to wait for the bill.’

  ‘We still have to account for our time.’ Alessi smiled and rolled his eyes as his mother made her way over, insisting that they come upstairs for coffee, but Alessi declined.

  ‘I have work at seven,’ he said, determined not to let his family push things, while determined not to hide. ‘So does Isla.’

  He drove her back to her apartment and they chatted along the way. ‘Do you miss Isabel?’ Alessi asked.

  ‘I do,’ Isla said, ‘though it sounds as if she’s having an amazing time in Cambridge …’

  ‘How come she went?’ Alessi asked. ‘It was quite sudden.’

  ‘It just came up,’ Isla said, and gave him the same answer that she had to Sean. ‘Who wouldn’t kill for twelve months’ secondment in England?’

  ‘It had nothing to do with Sean?’

  ‘Sean?’

  ‘I just picked up on something.’ Alessi glanced over. ‘When he first started, I was down on MMU and Isabel was blushing and avoiding him as much as you would have avoided me tomorrow had I not dragged you out today …’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  She did, Alessi was sure, but her trust was worth his patience and so he kissed her instead.

  His kiss was more intimate than last night, Isla thought. It tasted not so much of passion but of promise and possibility. His mouth was more familiar and yet more intriguing because it pushed her further along a path she had never been on with a man.

  Here they could end their amazing weekend.

  Right now she could climb out of the car and go up to her apartment. Both of them could gather their thoughts, ready to resume normal service on Monday.

  It was Isla who pulled back. ‘I don’t want anyone at work to know …’

  ‘Of course,’ Alessi said, and then guessed the reason they were still in his car, rather than her asking him up. ‘Oh, yes, you share with Darcie.’ He hesitated, wondering if asking her back to his for a second night was too much, too soon, yet it was Isla’s boldness that took him by delighted surprise.

  ‘She’s on call tonight.’

  It was new, it was delicious, it was a weekend that didn’t have to end just yet as Isla invited him just a little bit further into her life.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  FOR A WOMAN who had never dated, Isla got a crash course and the next two weeks were blissful. Even the hard parts, like attending Archie’s funeral in the hospital chapel, were made better for being together.

  ‘Thanks for everything you did, Isla,’ Donna said as they said their farewells after the service. ‘Especially with Jessica.’

  ‘How is she doing?’ Isla asked.

  ‘She’s upset, of course, but she really does know that none of this was her fault. She’s so glad that they had that lovely evening together and that last day.’ Donna turned to Alessi. ‘Thank …’ she attempted, then broke down, and Alessi gave her a cuddle.

  ‘He was such a beautiful boy,’ he said. ‘I am so sorry that there wasn’t more that could be done. You made the right choice, Donna. He got a whole day of being loved and cuddled by his mum and dad and big sister.’

  Isla, who never cried, could feel tears at the backs of her eyes as Donna wept and nodded and then pulled away. ‘I need to get back up to the unit for Elijah.’

  ‘Go,’ Alessi said. ‘I will see you up there soon.’

  He walked up towards Maternity with Isla. He’d felt her standing rigid beside him during the service and had noted that not a tear had been shed by her.

  ‘Awful, wasn’t it?’ Alessi said.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Does nothing move you to tears, Isla?’

  She halted and turned to face him. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘I’m just commenting …’

  ‘What, because I don’t break down and cry I’m not upset?’

  ‘I never said that,’ Alessi answered calmly. ‘I was just asking if anything moves you to tears. Babies’ funerals are very difficult.’

  ‘I agree.’

  ‘Why do you hold back?’

  ‘What, because I don’t cry …’

  ‘You hold back in everything, Isla,’ he said.

  It wasn’t a row, more an observation, and one Isla pondered as she set up that night for TMTB.

  She was pleased to see that Ruby was back.

  ‘Are we getting pizza tonight?’ Ruby asked, and Isla nodded.

  ‘We are. I’ve already ordered it so it should be here soon. How are you doing, Ruby?’

  ‘I’ve got my scan tomorrow afternoon.’

  ‘Is anyone coming with
you?’ Isla asked, and Ruby shook her head. ‘Would you like me to come with you?’

  ‘No, thanks.’

  ‘Well, if you change your mind just ask them to page me.’

  As everyone gathered there was one noticeable absence and Isla was delighted to tell the group the happy news. ‘Alison had a little girl on Monday,’ Isla said. ‘The birth went really well and the baby is beautiful. I’ve got a photo on my phone that Alison asked me to show you.’

  Her phone was passed around and Isla loved watching the smile on each of the young women’s faces. It was always a nice time but it was also a little confronting for some of the group as they realised that some day soon it would be their baby being spoken about in the group. Clearly it was too much for Ruby because she quickly passed on the phone.

  Isla was worried for the young girl and though Ruby hung around afterwards to take the last of the pizza, still she didn’t want to speak with Isla and made her excuses and dashed off.

  She needed someone she gelled with, Isla thought. Isla took no offence that that person might not be herself and the next day, when Ruby didn’t page Isla to come for the ultrasound, Isla was actually trying to think who might be the best fit for Ruby when her pager went off.

  ‘Isla, it’s Darcie. I was wondering if you could come down to the antenatal clinic. I’ve got a patient, Ruby, and—’

  ‘I know Ruby.’ Isla smiled. ‘Did she change her mind?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘I offered to come with her for her ultrasound but she said no.’

  ‘Well, she’s asked for you now. Isla, there’s an anomaly on the ultrasound. The baby has spina bifida. The poor kid has had the most terrible afternoon. Loads of tests and specialists. Heinz was speaking with her and she’s got terribly upset …’

  Isla groaned. As brilliant as Heinz, a paediatric neurologist, was, his people skills weren’t the best. ‘He broached termination and Ruby is beside herself.’

  ‘I’ll be there now. Who’s the midwife?’ Isla asked, wondering why she hadn’t been told about this long ago. She knew Ruby’s ultrasound had been scheduled for two.

  ‘Lucas,’ Darcie said, and then hesitated. ‘I didn’t call him in till just before that.’

  ‘I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you,’ Isla said swiftly, ‘but sort it out. I don’t care if you don’t get on, I don’t care if you’re my flatmate. I care about my patients.’