by Huston, Judy
“That was some ride,” she whispered.
“Hey, you should see me when I really get started.” He kissed her ear and rocked her gently, murmuring more inanities until he judged their respective blood pressures had returned to something like normal. Then he released one arm, activated his mobile and punched a number.
“Who are you calling?” Dimity watched him curiously.
“Taxi.” He made the call, saying they would wait on the road at the intersection.
“Can you make it to the corner?” He grinned at her. “Or should I sling you over my shoulder like a caveman?”
“Mmm.” She appeared to consider the idea with interest before rejecting it. “We could have walked across the reserve to my place. It’s not far from here as the crow flies.”
“I think we’re entitled to indulge. Besides, I’ll need a taxi from your place. Come on, we’ll lock the car up and leave it here. Tomorrow I’ll get it towed to the garage that looks after the hotel’s cars.”
He kept his arm supportively around her while they walked to the corner under the shelter of the umbrella Dimity had thrown in the car when leaving home.
“I think Leigh might be right,” she said. “I should get those brakes checked.”
“Whatever gave you that idea? Apart from the fact my foot was almost through the floorboards–” His arm tightened as she stumbled.
The taxi arrived within minutes. In the back seat he wrapped his arms around her again, his cheek against her head during the short ride.
“I still want to talk to you about a couple of things,” he said softly when they were almost there.
“Why not come in? I’ll make you that coffee.” Her voice was muffled against his chest.
“You’ve had enough excitement for one night.” He grinned in response to her barely audible chuckle. “I’ll call you in the morning to make sure you’re okay.”
When the taxi stopped he asked the driver to wait, and walked to the door with her. There were lights on in the house and he could hear Shane and Leigh squabbling. For once, he was glad to know they were there.
“I’d forgotten I’ll be running my workshop at the community centre tomorrow,” Dimity said suddenly. “What if I call you during the day?”
“How will you get there with your car out of action?”
She grimaced.
“Hadn’t thought of that. I’ll throw myself on Leigh’s mercy.”
“There’ll be nothing to catch you. What time do you want to leave? I’ll take you.”
She tried to protest but he overrode her. She didn’t really have much time to object because as soon as they arranged a time, he cut off any more talk with a long kiss from which they both surfaced breathless.
“Hurry up before I change my mind and stay,” he told her huskily. She closed the front door with a lingering look that would have had him sending the taxi away without him if he hadn’t known the others were there.
He was relieved in the morning to see she had apparently suffered no ill effects from the night’s misadventures. She had several large boxes of painting supplies ready for the workshop as well as her two watercolours from the living room, which she planned to use to illustrate a lesson on technique.
“I called the garage,” Josh said, loading the boxes into the back of the car while Dimity slid the paintings under the passenger seat. “They said they’d get your car around this time. I was going to drop the key in later, but if someone’s there when we go past we can give it to them now.”
“Good thinking.”
Josh headed back to the spot where the car had come to such an ignominious standstill the previous night. They arrived at the same time as a tow truck, driven by a pleasant-looking young man in blue overalls.
“I’m Dave,” he said, when they introduced themselves. “You spoke to me earlier,” he added to Josh. “Looks like you had a lucky escape.”
“Tell me about it.” Josh grimaced, remembering the wild plunge. “It seemed to be the brakes, but you’ll check it all over, won’t you?”
“Sure will.” Dave accepted the key and wrote down Dimity’s mobile number. “I’ll get in touch as soon as we know what the trouble is,” he said. “But that probably won’t be until Tuesday.”
They left him attaching a tow chain to the car and drove to the community centre. It was only a few streets from Dimity’s home, a sprawling brick building in a spacious yard landscaped with native trees and shrubs. A brushwood fence surrounded the complex.
Other tutors were already setting up for weekend workshops. Josh helped Dimity lug the supplies to the room allocated to her, a sunny area with windows looking onto the yard. Several noisy children in the eight to ten years range had already taken possession of the large work tables, while their parents waited to hand over lunch boxes and meet the teacher before escaping.
“I’ve heard the hardest part of rearing children is knowing when to let them go, but they don’t seem to have a problem.” Amused, Josh watched the rapid departure of the adults then eyed the children, who impressed him as ominously hyperactive. “Can you handle this lot?”
“Absolutely. We’ll have a ball.”
Dimity was looking at various art works on the wall.
“I won’t bother bringing my paintings in after all. These will do.”
“It’s a pity not to let them see your work,” protested Josh.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, with the quick smile that never failed to set his blood pounding.
After watching her settle the children and start them working on a painting task until the latecomers arrived, he could see her confidence was well-justified.
“Want to join in?” she asked with a wicked grin, noticing he had stationed himself at a safe distance while the fledgling artists daubed their paper with all the colours of the rainbow.
“No way. They’d laugh at me. As an artist I make a good marketing director.” He looked around the room, where more children were arriving. “How on earth are you going to keep them occupied for two days?”
“Easy.” Eyes sparkling in anticipation, Dimity rattled off the programme of activities.
“So well organised.” He shook his head admiringly.
“I know.” She chuckled. “As a secretary I make a good teacher.”
Their eyes met in an intimate smile, then she gave an annoyed exclamation.
“Shane made some muffins for the kids for their morning tea. I forgot to bring them.”
“I’ll go and get them,” offered Josh.
“That would be great. Thanks. I’ll get the class started.”
Josh had driven only a short distance when he spotted Shane walking along the footpath carrying a small carton. The limp that he had hardly noticed in the home was more discernible now.
He drew level, stopped and pressed the button to lower the passenger window. Recognising him, Shane came over to the car.
“Muffins?” queried Josh, nodding at the box.
“Yep. Didn’t want them to go to waste. If you’re going back, I’ll put them in the car for you.”
“Thanks. Back seat should be fine.”
Shane loaded the muffins in and shut the door. Josh leaned across and opened the passenger door.
“Why not come for a ride while I drop them off, then I’ll bring you back.”
After a brief hesitation, Shane nodded and got in. Josh waited for a break in the traffic, then did a U-turn.
“You did a great job with the catering last night, by the way,” he said.
“No problem.”
“The CEO was impressed. He wants you to get in touch with him if you’re ever looking for a job in Canada. I gave Dim his card for you.”
“Thanks.” Shane looked surprised but pleased.
“Guess you’ll be glad to get back behind the wheel yourself,” Josh commented as they approached the community centre, noticing Shane surreptitiously flexing his foot. “How long to go?”
He wondered belatedly if he was s
upposed to know about the licence. But Shane was more interested in watching some small boys playing cricket in the yard around the brick building.
“A few weeks.”
“Accident, wasn’t it?” Josh’s question came less from curiosity than from an interest in keeping the conversation going. This was the longest one-on-one he’d ever had with Shane.
“Mm.” Shane was still absorbed in the game. “She went right through someone’s front fence.”
“She?” Josh wondered if they were talking about the same incident.
Shane’s head snapped around. Their eyes met.
From many interviews with staff and prospective employees, Josh had become adept at recognising when somebody was deciding whether to lie to him or not. Shane was clearly thinking along those lines. Finally, however, he shrugged.
“Well, it doesn’t make any difference now. I’d had a few drinks so Leigh was driving, but she already had a couple of speeding convictions. My record was clean, so when the accident happened we swapped places before the people came out of the house.”
“You took the blame for her?”
Shane nodded.
“I thought I’d get off with a fine, but when they breath-tested me I turned out to be high range. The magistrate wasn’t sympathetic.”
“Lucky he didn’t send you to gaol.” Josh shook his head as he pictured Dimity trekking out to wherever the nearest prison was to visit Shane each week.
A loud appeal for a catch went up from the cricket game. Shane glanced over at the group, then back at Josh. “Look, don’t tell Dim, will you?”
“Why don’t you want her to know?” Josh parried.
“She doesn’t like Leigh anyway. This wouldn’t help.”
Josh was silent. They both watched the game.
“That little fellow wouldn’t be bad if he knew how to hold his bat,” Shane said.
“It’s something I haven’t managed to learn much about since coming to Australia.” Josh watched the youngsters with the same puzzled frown that creased his brow whenever he came across a game of cricket. “Have you played?”
“Cricket in summer, baseball in winter until I lost my foot.” Shane’s mouth twisted wryly as he opened his door. “I’ll go and give that kid a few tips while I’m here. Thanks for the lift. Don’t worry about waiting for me. I can get myself home.”
“I’m not in a rush.” Josh got out too. “Maybe you can clear up a couple of the mysteries of the game for me. If nothing else, it’ll give the kids a laugh.”
They strolled towards the children.
“If you don’t mind a suggestion,” Josh went on, “why not tell Dim? It won’t change her opinion of Leigh one way or another, and she’s eating her heart out over you. If she knows you’re not inclined to drink and drive it’d be one less thing for her to fret about when you’re back behind the wheel.”
He grinned to lighten his words.
“And she can tell her neighbours their fences are safe when you’re driving.”
“She knows that anyway,” Shane declared. “I can control a car. I did a stunt driving course last year.”
Josh smiled at the youthful bravado while wondering if there was any course Shane hadn’t done.
“Well, that aside, it’s best to get these things out in the open. It’s just a matter of waiting for the right time, then telling her.”
“Mightn’t be a bad idea. I’ll give it some thought,” Shane said, more equably than Josh had hoped.
****
Looking out the window, Dimity was surprised to see Josh and Shane apparently bonding over a game of cricket with some boys who had already become bored during a class in another room. She watched for a couple of minutes, enjoying the unusual sight of their camaraderie, then tapped on the glass until Josh looked her way.
She held up an empty plate, pointing at it inquiringly. Josh’s mouth opened in a wordless exclamation before he said something to Shane, dropped the cricket bat he had been wielding inexpertly and sprinted towards his car.
“Sorry,” he said, appearing in the doorway a couple of minutes later with the box of muffins. “Got distracted.”
Dimity gave him a quizzical look as she led the way to a corner of the room set up as a kitchen.
“After what you said about him the other night, I’m surprised to see the two of you looking so friendly.”
She began unpacking the muffins and arranging them on plates that she then put on a small table. Josh took the box out of her way.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t like him. I didn’t say anything worse than I’d say to my kid brother if I thought he needed pulling into line.”
The children were still at their work tables, absorbed in splashing their canvases with colours and shapes that, to Josh, looked distinctly bizarre. He reached past Dimity to filch a muffin, then leaned against the wall, sampling it and watching her.
“I’ll make a wild guess and say you’re in your element,” he remarked. “Have you thought of looking for more work like this? Even though it would be a major loss to the secretarial industry, of course.”
Turning on the tap, Dimity flicked a few drops of water at him.
“If those children weren’t here– ” she said threateningly.
“If only.” Josh gave her a mock-threatening look as he finished his muffin. “But seriously,” he added, brushing a few crumbs from his hands, “isn’t this more the type of thing you’d like to do?”
Dimity opened the fridge, got out a large jug of fruit juice and began filling glasses that she had put on the table. Josh accepted one from her.
“That’s part of my gallery idea,” she said lightly. “The plan was to give workshops and hold exhibitions by local artists, as well as keep on with my own painting.”
“You said ‘was’. You haven’t given up the idea, have you?” Josh took a sip to stop himself saying more. He didn’t want to spoil the mood between them.
“We’ll see. I’ve had to dig into my savings more than I– ” She broke off.
“I know you’ve had a lot on your plate so far this year.” Feeling his way carefully, Josh decided to risk it. “But now Shane has the hotel job, won’t you have more chance to do something for yourself?”
He was skating on thin ice and knew it, but surely there was now enough trust established between them for him to pursue the subject without alienating her.
To his relief she made an almost visible effort to speak objectively.
“Shane’s had quite a few jobs. Just because he has another one doesn’t mean he’ll keep it.”
“But that could go on for ever! How long are you going to wait around in the wings with your own life on hold?” His eyes suddenly locked onto hers. “If you want something that feels right for you, I reckon it’s a signal that it’s yours and you should go after it.”
One of the children spilt paint over the table and burst into tears. Dimity hurried to help, leaving Josh kicking himself for lousing things up again. He was relieved when, on her return, she touched his arm lightly before picking up the jug to rinse it.
“I know you think I’m babying him,” she said. “But when my father was dying he asked me particularly to look after Shane.” She turned and met his eyes. “So I have to be there for him as long as he needs me. Imagine if your father had asked you to do the same thing for your brother.”
Josh wanted to say he couldn’t imagine his father doing any such thing. At the most he might ask his children collectively to look out for each other, but there was no way he would single any one of them out for such a burden of responsibility.
She wouldn’t want to hear that, though. Not right now.
Probably not ever.
That almost imperceptible quiver of her lower lip broke his heart. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her it didn’t matter, that nothing mattered except holding each other here and now.
But they were in a room full of kids who had spotted the refreshments and were getting restless.
“You’ve been a mother and a father to him, and you’ve done a brilliant job,” he said. “I’ve never had to do anything like that, and I don’t know how I’d have managed if I had.”
She turned her hand over and clasped her fingers around his, returning the pressure.
“As I said before, it’s not a totally tragic tale.” Her eyes twinkled at him suddenly. “We’ve had a lot of fun together along the way.”
“I can imagine.” Josh squeezed her hand before releasing it. Glancing through the window he saw the cricket game had broken up. Shane was walking towards the exit.
“I’m going to give Shane a lift home,” he said. “Then I’ll go into the office for a while. What time do you finish here? And don’t argue,” he commanded with mock authority.
“Well, thanks. Four o’clock.” Dimity signalled to the children to break for morning tea.
“I hope you’re still sane by then,” said Josh, flinching as the young artists charged towards the drinks and muffins. “I’m taking you out for dinner tonight, by the way. Again, no arguments.”
But she must have seen the question in his eyes.
“You’ve talked me into it,” she said softly.
****
A few hours later, dipping her fork into a plateful of excellent pasta at the local Italian restaurant, Dimity wondered what had happened to change Josh’s mood since the morning. He seemed tense and inattentive.
She made small talk, commented on the quality of the food and related anecdotes about the behaviour of the children, all to no avail. Josh nodded and smiled but seemed a million miles away.
“What did you do after you left this morning?” she asked after a longish silence.
“Sorry?” He looked at her vaguely. “Oh, I went to the office for a while, then walked out to the lighthouse. I had a few things to think about.” He toyed with his food, then looked at her. “I need to talk to you.”
“Go right ahead,” she encouraged.
“Not here. Somewhere quieter.”
Dimity looked around the restaurant. They had arrived early and there were only a couple of other people there.
