“Well, I’m watching Wanda’s kids for her while she runs some errands.” She looked at Mia, who had plopped onto her bottom and was pushing sand into a pile.

  “That’s good of you.”

  She shrugged. “I love the kids. They’re a lot of fun. Although I would like to spend time with my sister too. I know she finds it difficult to get things done, since she’s on her own.”

  Aaron climbed over the low pole fencing and joined her in the sand. He crouched down in front of Mia and helped scoop sand. She grinned at him and asked him a hundred questions, which he answered patiently. Emily watched with interest.

  Soon Mason came careening over to them begging for help on the swing. Aaron immediately volunteered to push, and the two of them headed off. Emily helped Mia with her sandcastle while watching out of the corner of her eye as Aaron pushed Mason higher and higher, much to his delight.

  Before long, both kids were chasing Aaron around the playground, squealing. He feigned tripping over and landed in the sand with a grunt. Both kids piled on top of him, laughing and pummelling him at the same time. He was a natural with them. And they liked him immediately. This was a side of him that Emily had never seen before. He usually seemed so serious, and in high school had been downright brooding. But this lighthearted, fun side of him was appealing. He’d be a good dad one day. A quality she found extremely attractive.

  When he finally rose to his feet, his wetsuit was covered with sand. As Emily strapped the kids into their pram and handed them a drink and a snack, he brushed himself off.

  “Thanks for helping with the kids. They had a ball,” Emily said.

  He smiled. “I love kids. They make everything fun.”

  She laughed. “I don’t think my sister would agree with you on the word choice, but I know what you mean.”

  “It’s difficult doing it on your own, I’m sure.”

  “She’s struggling,” Emily admitted. “But I help her out as much as I can.”

  “You’re a good sister.” He stared at her with intensity in his gaze, a slight smile on his face. She felt her heart rate accelerate.

  “I try.”

  “Have you heard from Tristan lately?” he asked.

  Aaron and her brother had been best friends in high school. “Yes, he’s doing well down in Melbourne. He’s married now. Did you know that?”

  “I heard,” he replied. “I couldn’t make it to the wedding. I was overseas.”

  “I remember you being away,” she said.

  “Tristan and I had a bit of a falling out,” he said. “We haven’t spoken in years.”

  She didn’t want to pry. “Oh, I thought something must’ve happened. You two used to be inseparable.”

  “Yeah, it was silly, really. But then again, I suppose most fights are.”

  “What was it? If you don’t mind me asking… You don’t have to say.”

  He looked down at his hands. “He was supposed to sign up with me. He backed out at the last minute and left me to join on my own. I was angry.” He shrugged. “I’m over it.”

  “I didn’t realise that,” Emily replied. “He never told me he was going to join the military.”

  “It was our plan, both of us. We were going to do it together. I couldn’t believe he backed out and didn’t tell me until I’d already joined. I was angry with him for a long time.”

  “I can understand that, I guess.” It wasn’t out of character for Tristan. He was always changing his mind and flaking out on things.

  “It’s all in the past. I was thinking of giving him a call.” He looked up at her, his eyes searching her face for answers.

  “I think he’d like that,” she said. “It was a long time ago, and I’m sure you’ve both put it behind you. You were so close—there has to be a way to reconcile.”

  He smiled. “You’re always the optimist.”

  “You should give him a call.”

  “Thanks. I will,” he said. He picked up his surfboard and settled it beneath his arm. “I’ll see you later, back at the house.”

  She nodded and watched him jog away. Then she pushed the kids back home, unable to get the picture of him looking into her eyes with that earnest gaze out of her mind.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Two weeks later, Gwen was packing a picnic basket for a family trip to the beach. She made egg salad and ham and cheese sandwiches, packed dill pickles and potato salad, and also included a tossed salad, a kale salad with bacon bits, and a pasta salad. Then she added a banana cake with cream cheese frosting, an apple and rhubarb pie fresh from the oven, and a packet of ice creams, which she packed around with cold bricks to keep cool.

  “Ready to go?” Duncan asked, poking his head through the doorway between the garage and kitchen.

  She nodded. “The esky is packed, and this picnic basket too.”

  “I’ll grab those.” He picked up the esky and carried it to the garage. Then he returned for the basket.

  Gwen quickly wiped down the bench, grabbed her purse and hurried after him.

  It was a beautiful, warm day. The sun was already high in the sky, although it was only ten am. The children arrived soon after she’d covered two picnic tables with tablecloths and laid out the chips, dip, cheese, crackers and olives on platters. She also set up a bucket of ice with drinks cooling in it—iced tea, homemade lemonade using fruit from the lemon tree in her garden, and sodas.

  “Can I have a Passito, Nanna?” one of the kids asked.

  “Yeah, me too!”

  There was a chorus of requests then, and she handed them out one at a time, giving hugs and kisses as she went. Ten grandchildren. It was a lot. She was grateful for every single one of them. She smiled as they trotted away to play on the playground. Their parents stood around the playground, chatting and drinking. Gwen would join them in a minute. She wanted to get the food organised first.

  “You’re sugaring them up?” Beth asked. Beth was her youngest and not married yet. “Glad I’m not taking them home.”

  “I’m their grandmother. I like to spoil them,” Gwen said as she turned her attention back to prepping the table of food.

  “This looks great, Mum.” Beth reached for a piece of potato salad with her fingertips, and Gwen smacked her hand away.

  “Use a fork!”

  Beth grinned. “Sorry. I’m starving. I forgot to eat breakfast.”

  “How can you forget?”

  “I was working.”

  “On a Saturday?”

  “I work all kinds of hours, Mum. It’s the modern age. We might work on Saturday and take off Monday. We’re wacky like that.”

  “What are you working on?” Gwen asked as she poured herself a cup of sparkling water.

  “I’m designing a whole new brand for a manufacturing company from New Zealand. It’s pretty fun, actually. They’ve told us to use our imagination—they’re open to anything.”

  “That sounds nice,” Gwen said. “You’re kind of amazing, kid. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “You. All the time.” Beth laughed. “But thanks, Mum.”

  “How’s everything else going in your life?”

  Beth shrugged, picked up a chip and munched on it. “Fine, I guess. I was dating a guy, and he said he wanted to open our relationship up to other options. I told him the only option now available to him was to walk away. And he’d better do it fast because Tigger is trained to attack.”

  Gwen gasped. “Good for you. I can’t believe he said that. What is this world coming to?”

  “I don’t know, Mum. I do not know. But whatever it is, it’s spreading.”

  “How is Tigger? Has he recovered from the surgery?”

  “It wasn’t surgery, Mum. He was simply relieved of his ability to procreate. And he’s a cat. He’s fine.”

  “Good to hear.” Gwen cleared her throat. She watched the children playing in the distance as she swallowed a gulp of water. “They’re all growing up so fast.”

  “Hmmm…”

  “Do you think about having kids?”

  Beth laughed. “Mum, no. I’m still a kid myself.”

  “You’re twenty-six years old, darling. You’re not a kid.”

  “I feel like a kid.” She nibbled another chip.

  “Everyone feels like a kid at your age. You just dive in.”

  “Well, I haven’t found the right person to dive in with. Did you not hear the story about the open relationship?”

  Gwen shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever finds the right person…”

  Beth frowned. “What do you mean? Are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself today.”

  Gwen forced a smile onto her face. In the distance, Duncan pushed one of the kids on a swing and laughed out loud at something they said. She felt anger rise up in her gut. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

  “That was creepy,” Beth said with a shudder. “For a moment, you looked like one of those Stepford Wives.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “Just for a second. Are you sure you’re okay? You can tell me anything, you know. We girls have to stick together in this family. We’re completely outnumbered.”

  Where was Eva? She was only two years old. She’d been playing in the sand, building a moat with some mud she’d found beside the sandpit. Gwen had been considering getting some wipes for her face. But now she couldn’t see her.

  “Yes, we are outnumbered,” she said absently.

  “Is it Dad? Is he causing trouble?”

  “No, he’s fine.” She lied because she couldn’t tell her daughter the truth. Beth loved Duncan. She didn’t need to know that he might be having an affair. And besides, Gwen wasn’t sure that was even true. No need to start the family rumour mill going. “Where’s Eva?”

  “Huh?”

  Her gaze roved over the grassy area, through the dunes and down towards the ocean. The beach was mostly empty. It was a windy day, and no one wanted to brave the massive waves besides the few surfers who sat on their boards out beyond the break.

  “She was right there…” Gwen’s heart fell into her gut. There was a little blonde head bobbing across the sand towards the surging waves. “Oh, no! Is that her?” She pointed.

  Beth tented a hand over her eyes and squinted. “I think it is.” She took off running in the direction of the pathway that led to the beach. Gwen was right behind her.

  As she ran, Gwen kept her eyes firmly on the tiny head in the distance. The girl was so close to the waves, and she wasn’t slowing down. Why hadn’t anyone noticed her slip away? They were busy talking, no doubt. It was so easy to be distracted in a large group. And there were so many little kids in their family that one could disappear without much trouble.

  “Eva!” she shouted. “Eva! Stop!”

  But her voice was whipped away by the wind. Behind her, she heard the commotion of her adult children and their spouses realising what had happened. Hilton, her second child and Eva’s dad, thundered past her in a sprint. But she didn’t stop running. She couldn’t move quickly, and it frustrated her. Her feet dug into the sand with each step, slowing her pace.

  There was a hole in the sand, and she didn’t see it until the last moment. Then as her foot landed in the sand, she felt her ankle twist, and she fell to the ground with a thud. The pain in her ankle was intense. She lay on her side, groaning as she reached for her foot with both hands. Something wasn’t right.

  “Mum!” Brandon was at her side. “Are you okay?”

  “Eva,” she whimpered.

  “Eva’s okay. Hilton grabbed her. He’s carrying her back up the beach now. What happened?”

  “I twisted my ankle,” she said with a sob. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d cried. But the pain was so bad. Already she could feel the ankle swelling.

  Brandon yelled for Duncan, and he called for an ambulance. Gwen spent the next four hours at the hospital getting X-rays and having her foot and ankle bound up and placed in a boot. She was told she’d have to wear it for at least six weeks. Finally, they sent her home, doped up on painkillers. Duncan met her in the waiting room. He hadn’t stayed with her, since he wanted to be with the kids for their picnic.

  “You understand,” he’d said as he pressed a kiss to his fingertips and from there to her forehead.

  She didn’t understand at all. If he’d broken his ankle, she’d have stayed with him all day to make sure he had something to eat, to drink. To ensure he was well taken care of. She wouldn’t have left his side. Instead, she’d spent the day alone with doctors and nurses, and hours of staring at blinking television screens with shows playing on them she couldn’t quite hear.

  He rolled her wheelchair out through the hospital and into the parking deck, then helped her into the car. She was quiet. She sat in the passenger seat staring out the window as he drove them home. He seemed cheerful. His face had a pinkish hue from too much sun.

  “Did you have a nice day?” she asked.

  He smiled. “It was lovely. The weather was perfect. The kids had a great time. We had a water fight, ate lunch, then all took a swim.”

  “That’s nice,” she replied, fuming beneath the surface. “Did you pack up all the food and bring it home?”

  “Hmmm? Oh, yeah. I think someone did that. It’s in the boot.”

  “You left it in the boot? In this heat?”

  “I’m sure it’s fine, Gwenny. You weren’t there to take care of things, so what did you think would happen?”

  When they got home, Duncan helped her inside, then carried all of the beach things from the car to the kitchen and set the bags and esky on the floor. Then he disappeared into his office. Gwen stood in her new boot, leaning against the counter, staring at the full bags. They were packed haphazardly, with everything twisted, bunched and thrown into them. The food was packed in containers, but the salads were too warm to keep. She’d have to throw them out.

  Slowly, while limping about on her boot, she got to work unpacking everything and putting it away or throwing it in the bin. It took her an hour to get it all done. By then, she was starving, thirsty, had an enormous headache and couldn’t wait to get off her foot.

  She quickly ate a sandwich, drank a cup of water and headed to bed. Her throat ached with unshed tears as her thoughts whirled. She’d broken her ankle, and her husband and children hadn’t thought to bring her things home and unpack them for her. They hadn’t stayed at the hospital with her to make sure she was okay. They’d had a fun day together, as planned. And she was glad they’d had fun, but they hadn’t considered her for a single moment.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Joanna hung up the phone, her face grim.

  “What is it?” Emily asked as she wiped down the benchtop after their lunch things were cleaned up.

  “It’s Gwen. She had a fall yesterday and broke her ankle.”

  “Oh, no!” Emily’s eyes widened. “That must’ve hurt.”

  “I think so. She’s wearing a boot and finds it hard to get around. I agreed to go with Debbie to visit her.”

  “That will be nice,” Emily said carefully.

  Joanna could see what Emily was thinking. It was written all over her face. She was worried about how Joanna would go, leaving the house. She hadn’t been out of their yard in weeks. But Joanna was ready to try. She wouldn’t ever get well if she didn’t step outside her comfort zone. And besides, Gwen needed her. She wasn’t about to abandon her friend in a time of need.

  “I’m going to make a casserole while I wait for Debbie to get here. She’s going to drive,” Joanna said.

  “I’ll help you,” Emily said. “It’s the least I can do. Poor Gwen. How horrible for her.”

  “Let’s make a lamb and potato casserole. It’ll be the perfect comfort food for her and Duncan.”

  “It would go great with cornbread,” Emily said. “Don’t you think?”

  “Yes, it would,” Joanna agreed. “Let’s bake some. In fact, I’d love some cornbread. Let’s make two casseroles and two loaves and keep one of each for ourselves for dinner tonight. I think Aaron would enjoy that.”

  “Great idea.”

  They sliced up lamb into thick chunks, along with onion, garlic and potatoes. Before long, the lamb was roasting, and the delicious scent had filled the house. While Emily worked on the vegetables and gravy, Joanna set about mixing up the loaves of cornbread.

  She slipped the pans into the oven, then excused herself to freshen up in the bedroom. She changed out of her casual clothes into a pair of slacks with a silk blouse. Then she curled her hair and applied a little makeup. When she was done, she could hear Debbie’s voice in the kitchen, so she hurried out to greet her.

  Joanna kissed Debbie’s cheek. “You made good time.”

  “The traffic wasn’t so bad. Are you ready to go?”

  “Let me put this casserole and cornbread into a carry bag, and we can leave.”

  She was in such a rush that she barely noticed the walk to the car. Debbie chattered on about her day as they walked and helped Joanna put the food into the back seat on the floor. Then Joanna climbed into the car and fastened her seat belt. Her thoughts were absorbed with what Debbie was saying as well as concern over Gwen’s predicament.

  “Did Gwen tell you anything other than that she fell?” Joanna asked suddenly, interrupting Debbie’s train of thought about a client who was giving her trouble.

  Debbie frowned. “Something about little Eva running for the water and Gwen chasing her. I think she tripped in a hole in the sand.”

  “Ouch,” Joanna replied. “That can happen so easily.”

  “She’s a little down in the dumps,” Debbie said. “Apparently Duncan and the others in her family didn’t help her put away the leftovers or clean up after the picnic, even though she was at the hospital all alone.”

  Joanna’s eyes widened. “They didn’t stay with her?”

  “Nope.” Debbie shook her head. “I don’t understand her kids. She’s given her entire life to raise them, has sacrificed so much for them, but they don’t seem to appreciate her at all.”

  “It happens,” Joanna said. “They have their own lives, and they don’t tend to think of Mum as a person. Although most grow out of it at some stage. Hers seem to have stuck with their teenaged worldview. She should snap them out of it.”

 

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