Call Waiting

by Dianne Blacklock

  Ally sighed. “What else?”

  “I’ll have to take a look around.”

  She led him into the kitchen. It was a haphazard collection of old cabinets and makeshift units her grandfather had put together to approximate a fitted kitchen.

  “Just look at these benchtops, they’re dreadful,” said Ally.

  “I don’t know,” Matt shrugged. “That’s a solid piece of hardwood. He must have cut right through the middle of a tree trunk.”

  “Pity he couldn’t cut straight,” Ally sniggered. “You can’t leave a plate or a cup near the edge, it just slides off.”

  Matt laughed, bending down to the height of one of the benches and closing an eye. “Mm, I see what you mean.”

  “And there’s all these holes in the walls everywhere.”

  He nodded. “You can’t avoid that with sawn-log construction. They used to fill in the gaps with mud, but it must have worn away a long time ago.”

  “Is there anything you can do about it?”

  “I’ll give it a go.” He scratched his head, ruffling his hair. “Depends on how particular you are.”

  Ally sighed. “I’m not particular at all. I just want to make it legal … I mean compliant. But for as little cost as possible, in as short a time as possible.”

  She didn’t have a lot of money to play with. She had just under three thousand dollars left after her grandfather’s affairs had been settled. Lillian, and then Richard, had been generous with her wages, and because she’d had free room and board, she had not had to spend much money over the past few months. However, Ally realized she was going to need something to live on once she finished up at the guesthouse and until the property was sold. And then a large chunk of the proceeds from the sale would be sunk straight into the restaurant. She had hardly slept last night, realizing the tenuousness of her situation. But at the same time she was on an incredible high.

  Matt eyed her. “What’s the big hurry all of a sudden?”

  “The whole schedule is really tight. I only have a few weeks left at Birchgrove, and of course Nic and Rob want to open as soon as it’s feasibly possible.”

  Matt nodded. “Does this mean you’re staying?”

  Ally paused, looking at him. “I guess it does. For the meantime, anyway.” She hadn’t really stopped to think about that in the last twenty-four hours. She was going to have to apply for more leave from St Ambrose. Ally hoped that wouldn’t stretch the relationship too far.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what I can do,” Matt said, folding his arms in front of him and leaning back against the bench. “I’ll reuse whatever I can, but the biggest expense will be the materials. You’ll need to cover that, but I’ll put it on my account, so you’ll have some time before you have to cough up.”

  “Alright, Matt. But I have to pay you too, I’m not asking for any favors.” She paused, frowning. “I mean, I guess I am, but within reason.”

  “You can pay me when the place is sold.”

  “I can’t let you do that.”

  “Why not?”

  Ally was feeling the familiar discomfort that always surfaced when someone wanted to do something for her. “It’s too much, that’s all. This is your livelihood, you can’t go without payment for that long.”

  “Ally, I already have jobs lined up for months, I’m going to have to fit this in when I can,” he explained. “I have a good cash flow, it’s not a problem. You’ll pay me when you can.”

  He straightened up, picking up his measuring tape and a notebook he’d left on the table. “I’d better take some measurements now, so I can start ordering.”

  Ally looked at him. “Matt, I don’t know…”

  “Stop worrying,” he dismissed. “What else are you going to do?”

  She watched him as he pulled out the tape and drew it out along the front of the cabinets. Then he jotted down some numbers on the notebook, replacing the pencil behind his ear.

  “What’s in it for you?” Ally said abruptly.

  He swung around to look at her. “What?”

  “Why are you doing this? You don’t need the work, and you’re not going to get paid for a while.”

  He shook his head, but he was grinning. “Such a suspicious mind. Maybe,” he said, crossing to the door, “I’m just a nice guy.”

  That afternoon

  “Meg, I only have another three weeks here. If you don’t come now, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to put you up after this. I don’t know where I’ll be staying. And I really want you to see Birchgrove, and the restaurant.”

  There was silence down the phone line.

  “Meg?” Ally repeated.

  Meg sighed. She would love to get away, alone, but Ally was probably hoping to see Harrison.

  “It might be a bit difficult for us all to come down. What if it was just me?”

  “Great! We’ll have a girls’ night.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  Ally sensed a certain relief in Meg’s voice.

  “Of course not. I haven’t seen you in ages, I’m dying for a good yarn. It’ll be a laugh.”

  “If you’re sure then. When is the best time for you?”

  * * *

  “So, it’s the last opportunity Ally has to show me the guesthouse,” Meg was telling Chris that evening. “There’s not really the space for us all to stay, unless we actually take our own room, but I assume it’s probably booked out for the weekend, and I was thinking of staying on till Monday…” She took a breath.

  “That’s fine, Meg,” Chris reassured her. “You go along, have a break. You’ve seemed tired lately, it’ll do you good.”

  Meg wasn’t tired. She was weary of facing the sameness every day. Of waiting for Jamie to call. It had been almost a month with no word from him. Just like last time. She was a fool, a sad, middle-aged fool.

  A change of scenery would do her good, even if it was only for a weekend. Ally had sounded so excited about her plans. Meg just had to make sure she didn’t come across as bitter.

  Sunday

  Ally felt a slight lump in her throat when she first caught sight of Meg stepping off the train onto the platform. Maybe she was not as alone in the world as she had imagined. Meg was the closest thing she had to family now, she mustn’t let them drift away from each other.

  “Now, I want to take you to the restaurant first,” Ally told her as they walked to the car. “Then we can settle in for the night at Birchgrove.”

  When they pulled up in front of the house, Ally watched Meg’s face for a reaction.

  “Look, I know it’s a little rundown, but it’s got so much potential, don’t you think?” Ally said, as they got out and walked toward the front portico. Meg was still looking a little dumbfounded.

  “Well, say something!”

  “I think it’s wonderful.”

  Ally hugged her. “Do you? Do you really? I really wanted you to like it.”

  “Why does it matter what I think?”

  “Because your opinion is important to me. And I know I have a tendency to take the next thing that comes along—you know, art college, teaching—”

  “Bryce,” Meg added.

  “Exactly,” Ally grinned. “I didn’t know what I was going to do next, and this just sort of landed in my lap. I need a reality check that it’s a good decision.”

  Meg smiled. “Come on then, show me inside.”

  Ally took her on a tour through the various rooms, bubbling over with all of her ideas.

  “We pulled a little of the carpet up over here in the corner,” she explained, standing in one of the front rooms. “The floorboards look like they may be alright. We don’t want to pull it all up now, because the carpet will protect the boards while we’re painting.”

  She prattled on, dragging Meg through every room in the place. In the last week she had scoured the local hardware for every color chart they had in stock. Then she had started collecting sample pots. Nic was worried she was wasting her money but Ally insisted. She
needed to try out the colors in situ, see them at different times of the day and night. Now the various walls looked like giant artist’s palettes, dabbed with splotches of paint, blended, streaked, sponged. Ally was having the time of her life.

  “I always said you should go into business doing this,” Meg remarked.

  “I’m not going into business.”

  “Well, what else would you call it? You’re investing your own money and renovating an entire restaurant.”

  “I’m not doing the whole thing, Meg. Only the pretty stuff.”

  “But you’re so clever, Ally. You will have a business by the time this is all finished, when people see what you’ve done.”

  “I doubt it. Besides, I don’t want to start up a business down here. I’m not staying.”

  “Oh, you’re not still saying that, are you?” Meg frowned. “God, you came for a few weeks in January and now it’s nearly May. It can’t be all that bad.”

  “It’s not, but that doesn’t mean I want to settle here.”

  Meg considered her for a moment. “What are you doing about your job?”

  “I can extend my leave, unpaid of course, till next year.”

  “So, you’re still hedging your bets. Not quite ready to cut the apron strings?”

  Ally shrugged. “Just keeping my options open. That’s the attraction of doing this, it doesn’t commit me indefinitely. But it does give me the chance to do something I love.”

  “Rob, are you there?” It was Matt’s voice, coming from the front door.

  “No, it’s me, Ally,” she called back. “Come on in.”

  “Oh, hi there,” Matt said, walking into the room. “Rob’s supposed to meet me here. I thought he might have borrowed your car when I saw it out the front.”

  “No, I’m just showing off the place. This is my friend, down from Sydney, Meg Lynch. Meg, this is Matt Serrano.”

  “Hi, Matt,” Meg said, with a little too much emphasis.

  “How are you?” Matt said, offering his hand. “Ally’s told me a lot about you.”

  “Oh, she’s told me a lot about you, too.”

  Ally sighed inwardly. She glanced at Matt, who was trying unsuccessfully to suppress a grin.

  “So, what are you and Rob up to?” Ally asked, changing the subject.

  “We’re meeting with the kitchen contractor.”

  “Matt’s supervising the renovation,” Ally explained to Meg.

  “So you’ll be around a fair bit then?” Meg remarked.

  “Here and there.”

  “Wait till you see what Ally does with the place. She’s a genius.”

  “Meg!”

  “It’s true!”

  “I’d believe it,” Matt smiled. “I’ve seen her work.”

  “Well, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “Okay, okay. Enough.” Ally frowned. “We have to get going.”

  “Oh, do we? Already?” Meg countered.

  “Yes,” Ally said firmly. “I’ll see you later, Matt.”

  “Sure. Nice to meet you, Meg.”

  “Bye, Matt, it was nice meeting you, too. Maybe we’ll see you down at the guesthouse? I’m here for a couple of days.” Meg’s voice trailed off as Ally led her forcibly out of the room.

  As they stepped out of the front door, Meg grabbed Ally’s arm.

  “That’s the Matt?”

  “Stop it!” Ally whispered. He can still hear us.”

  As soon as they closed the doors of the car, Meg turned to Ally. “I thought you said he looked like your grandfather?”

  “No,” Ally corrected her, as she started the engine and drove off. “He reminds me of my grandfather.”

  “So has anything happened?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it hasn’t.”

  “What, he never asked you out again?”

  Ally sighed. “Oh, once or twice.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing,” she shrugged.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean nothing.”

  “Nothing happened?”

  “No, I didn’t go.”

  “You’re a fool.”

  “I am not!”

  “Well then, what is wrong with you?” Meg persisted, pretending to fan herself. “Ally, he is a seriously good-looking man!”

  “So? Looks aren’t everything you know,” Ally said testily. “You can be so shallow sometimes, Meg.”

  They drove along for a while, not saying anything. Eventually Meg cleared her throat.

  “He seems like a really nice guy as well,” she said in a small voice. Ally smiled, glancing across at Meg. They started to laugh.

  “He is,” Ally said resignedly. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.”

  “I don’t understand you, Ally.”

  “You and me both,” she admitted. “I don’t know what it is. He is a nice guy, but I’m not sure. I don’t really know him.”

  “You think too much. Just do it.”

  Ally shrugged. “And then what?”

  “What do you mean?” Meg frowned. “You have a bit of fun together, enjoy each other’s company, get some sex.” She winked.

  Ally rolled her eyes. “Meg, I just don’t think I’m up to a relationship at the moment.”

  Meg sighed. “Who said anything about a relationship? I’m just talking about having some fun. A relationship is the quickest way to ruin the fun. I tell you what, Ally, if I was in your shoes…” She drifted off into a daydream, with Jamie in the lead role.

  Ally glanced at her, frowning. “Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise?”

  Meg folded her arms in front of her. “There can’t be any trouble in paradise,” she said grimly, “because paradise is too bloody perfect.”

  Ally looked at Meg, but she was staring at the road ahead. There was definitely something going on with her, but Ally decided to leave it until later, when they could talk properly.

  “So tell me about Harrison, every word he can say, every cute thing he’s done since I saw him. And I hope you’ve brought photos.”

  * * *

  Ally offered Meg a room to herself, with the place empty, but she opted to share with Ally.

  “We’ll be sitting up half the night anyway, won’t we?” said Meg. “Anyway how come there are no guests staying?”

  “Sunday night is usually the quietest anyway, and even Monday and Tuesday, except during holiday periods. We had a full house right over Easter. But now with the new owners due, I’m just caretaking.”

  “When do they actually take over?”

  “In about a fortnight, but now they’ve asked if I’ll stay for another couple of weeks after that, to help them with the changeover.”

  Ally led Meg through to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

  “Not really, but I think I’m ready for a drink.”

  “Sure, I’ll open a bottle of wine.”

  “So,” Meg said, taking a seat at the kitchen bench. “You’ll be here for another month then?”

  Ally nodded, twisting the corkscrew into the bottle. “At first I told them I couldn’t do it.”

  “Why not?”

  “I really have to get started on the restaurant. But they were great, they said they only needed me in the mornings, for check-ins, that kind of thing. They’ve run a restaurant before, but never the accommodation side.”

  She pulled out the cork and poured them both a glass.

  “So it’s worked out really well actually, because I haven’t found anywhere to stay yet. Not that I’ve been looking, I’ve been too busy.”

  Meg held her glass up to Ally. “To new challenges.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Ally looked at Meg. “So what’s going on with you?”

  Meg shrugged.

  “You’ve been … kind of short every time I’ve spoken to you.”

  “Well that hasn’t been often enough to make a judgment,” Meg returned dryly.

  “Is that
what it is? You’re cross with me?”

  Meg sighed, putting her glass down. “No, envious, not cross.”

  “Envious of me?” Ally stared at her. “Why?”

  “Look at your life at the moment. You’ve had one new thing after another. And now this restaurant, it’s just so exciting.”

  Ally hadn’t really looked at the past few months that way. It was still colored by the loss of Lillian. And of her grandfather. It was only gradually sinking in what a loss that was. She hadn’t let herself dwell on the “what might have been” scenario. But it was there in the background, and sometimes it hurt.

  “My life could only get more exciting after living in Blandsville for five years,” Ally reminded her.

  “Yeah, well just don’t move to Perfectland, whatever you do,” Meg smirked, draining her glass.

  “That’s the second time you’ve used the word perfect as though it was some kind of a disease.”

  “Mm, I hadn’t thought of that. A disease,” she pondered. “Yes, the disease of the middle class.”

  “What are you on about, Meg?”

  “I’m just tired, and fed up. Tired and fed up, and bored. I’m bored to the back teeth.”

  “What with, your job?”

  “You name it. My job, my house, my husband, my life. Even my hairstyle is boring.”

  “I think it suits you.”

  Meg grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass. “Of course it suits me. It’s perfect.”

  Ally narrowed her eyes, watching her almost skol the whole glass. She hadn’t missed that Meg had thrown “husband” in with her list of gripes.

  “I don’t understand. I thought your life was exactly the way you wanted it. You’ve always been so disciplined, setting goals, making lists. Everything you’ve ever planned has worked out.”

  “Mm. Well, you know what they say, Al, don’t wish too hard…”

  Ally realized she was avoiding the issue. “Okay, Meg. What exactly is the problem? Has something happened between you and Chris?”

  Meg wondered if she should tell her about Jamie. But then she realized there was nothing to tell. She looked squarely at Ally. “No, nothing. Nothing at all.”

  She frowned.

  “Don’t you see? That’s the whole problem, there’s nothing wrong, but it’s not exciting anymore.”