Ember Flowers (31 page)

Between them
the breakfast went into the dustbin without the small girl knowing.
Jo sat with a cleaned plate in front of her. Jean was getting wise
to her parenting tricks.

Annabelle
became visible around the kitchen door, the little blonde girl had
spent much of the morning suspiciously in her room. It had been
painted with the girl’s favourite colours and filled with toys, and
a certain furry friend. She tugged on a black lead, tied with a red
ribbon. She looked up at her mother with an exasperated huff and
big blue eyes.

“C’mon?..C’mon
doggie?”

With a patter
of clawed paws the birthday gift became visible, standing on the
glazed terracotta tiles. Joanne smiled, her heart melting at the
sight of the retriever puppy’s floppy ears. A black nose stood out
amongst the pale fur, a wagging tail slapped against Annabelle’s
skirted leg.

Joanne smiled
at Jean, giving her a raised brow. How she had managed to hide the
dog from discovery she couldn’t be sure. Her long legs bent at the
knee as she knelt on the floor, her daughter brought the dog over,
handing her the leash. It snuffled over Joanne’s bare knees.

“He’s yours
Mummy. I picked him, but he’s yours. Hope you like him, he’s really
friendly.”

Joanne reached
out, wrapping one arm around her daughter’s small shoulders. She
pressed a kiss against her cheek. “Oh honey I love him, he’s so
cute. Thank you.” A fingertip on the girl’s nose and another kiss.
She smiled as the dog yipped excitedly. Jean watched the scene with
a look of contentment. Joanne was still a poker-faced enforcer of
the law, but there had been more and more moments like this. Her
partner walked taller, smiled frequently. Love like this sustained
the soul.

Jo smiled at
her from the floor, a brilliant flash of white teeth. “Thanks babe,
I don’t know how you kept this a secret?”

The brunette
smiled at the little blonde girl, they shared a conspirational
grin.

“I had a
helper.”

Annabelle ran
to the older woman, hugging her leg as her hair was ruffled by
olive fingertips. “Jean, can I get some milk for the puppy?” Little
blue eyes looked up at her expectantly.

“Sure sweetie,
just be careful OK?”

“OK.” Annabelle
was already reaching into the fridge, then looking for a suitable
dish in the cupboard. Joanne picked up the friendly little animal
in her arms. She walked over to Jean. The older woman slid her arms
around her waist, the little dog pressed a wet nose into his
owner’s neck, overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

Grey eyes
looked at her affectionately. “Thank you. He’s a sweetheart.”

Jean pressed a
soft kiss on her lover’s lips. “Annabelle picked him out. I think
she made a good choice. I hope he can keep up with you in the
mornings..” She reached out to tweak the little dog’s paw. It
barked in a soft little wuffle.

The policewoman
smiled. “I think his legs need to be longer first..”

***

Scott looked
over at his dearest friend as they pulled into the car park of the
retirement village. Jean’s father would be waiting for the ride in
his Sunday best, he always dressed up for Joanne. The policewoman
turned thirty today, having never been happier.

Jean unclipped
her seat belt, a broad grin under her sunglasses as they climbed
out of the sparkling utility. A new car purchased after the old one
was destroyed. Jean had been saddened at the old ute’s farewell,
Joanne not so much.

Wearing her
casual pair of cargos and a more presentable fitted shirt the duo
walked down the leafy pathway on their way to picking up the
dashing René. Indeed, he had been somewhat smitten with Joanne the
first time they met, taking her hand and kissing it with his
weathered lips. Ever the Don Juan he made himself out to be. Brown
lashes fluttering, doe eyed and wide as he flattered her. Her lover
had responded with a slight blush and a good natured smile.

It prompted his
daughter to tease him whenever she got the chance. Insisting that
Joanne was taken. Of course, René had also relished the opportunity
to dote on Annabelle, treating her as the grandchild he’d never
had. The little girl seeming to take after her mother in both looks
and personality.

Scott smirked,
his lips curling through his downy blonde beard. “Jo cooking up a
storm huh?” The tall blonde had invited them over for dinner on
numerous occasions. Firstly at their rented house, and now at the
newly completed home, standing on the same hill where the old one
perished. It was somewhat of a house warming.

Jean grinned,
brushing her fingertips over a fern frond as they walked along.
“Yes, expect it to be the most elaborate lunch you’ve ever seen.
She and her mother have been cooking since this morning.” It had
taken a long time, and more than a few awkward family gatherings,
but the two of them had found common ground. Pamela realised that
Jean was right for her daughter, and that Joanne had made a good
choice, as unconventional as it seemed.

He touched his
hand to her elbow as they walked along, halting her a moment. He
lifted his sunglasses to look at her eyes. “Jean, you’re glowing,
what’s going on?” The sight made him happy, she hadn’t stopped
smiling all day. He had a suspicion there was more to it than their
recent happiness in moving into the new house.

Her brow raised
above the rim of her sunglasses as she took them off. She released
a held breath, still grinning, effervescent. “Can you keep a secret
Scottie?”

He shook his
head, amused. “No.”

She rolled her
eyes. “Can you keep a secret until later this afternoon?”

The man
chuckled softly. “I’ll find a way.”

Jean reached
into her thigh pocket, pulling out a small black box. She twiddled
it between her fingers.

Scott grinned
in surprise. “Is that what I think it is?”

The brunette
popped open the box, revealing a delicate engagement ring,
sparkling white gold with a single large diamond in its centre.

Scott clasped
her hand looking at the jewel. “You’re gonna make her so happy
Jean.”

“I hope so. I
hope so.”

They continued
on, René’s unit in sight at the end of the lane. They walked along
the large slate coloured pave. “So when are you popping the
question?”

“Tonight, when
the stars come out, and it’s just us.”

***

It was a
pleasant sight. The little golden dog bounding around on the grass
after the kids, Joanne the hostess in her summer dress, their
friends and family around the table outside. Jean watched from the
porch doorway, having been sent inside to find something. They were
still unpacking.

René sipped his
wine, telling Pamela and Kerry about the good times of his youth.
Amid the noise Joanne cast her a fond look, making a beckoning
motion with her hand. Jean smiled, having just remembered what she
went inside for, the view had distracted her.

She stood by
the kitchen cupboard, pulling a bottle opener out from the drawer.
Taps of sandalled feet as a child ran in from the porch outside.
Annabelle stood beside her, her cheeks flushed pink from running
around. Jean looked down at her as the girl wrapped her arms around
her hips.

Jean returned
the hug, squeezing the girl around the shoulders with one arm.

“Jean, can we
have ice cream?”

The brunette
chuckled softly, walking to the freezer. It was a special occasion,
Joanne wouldn’t mind. She pulled open the door, gathering up the
cold treats and passing them to the little blonde.

Annabelle took
the popsicles and turned on her heel. “Thanks Mum!” She called over
her shoulder. The patter of her sandalled footsteps over the path
outside.

Jean stood
perfectly still, smiling to herself.

***

Jo smiled
wryly, shaking her head at the amount of cleaning she’d have to do
to make the lawn look like less of a shambles, the table littered
with empty glasses and plates. Their new yard had just had the
finishing touches watered in. Fruit trees and roses already
blossoming.

Their home took
the best from the old with a few new additions, a larger kitchen
for Joanne, a bigger bedroom for Annabelle. Other rooms added for
storage and guests. McKenzie grazed outside with two new friends,
one a good natured pony named by the girl.

She gathered
the plates together, stacking them in neat piles. Her lover
wandered over to her, a broad smile on her face, slipping her arms
around Jo’s waist. Their guests had left not long ago.

“Don’t think
you’re getting out of this Jean Patterson, I’ll wash and you can
dry..”

Jean merely
shook her head. “In a minute, there’s something I need to show you
first.” Jo looked down at the little golden puppy that seemed to
follow her like a shadow. There was a lot of cleaning to do.

“It won’t take
long?” The brunette was being very coy and mysterious.

The tall blonde
was led around the back of the house, a rolling green dale greeted
by uninterrupted dusk over the trees. The first pin pricks of
starlight over the setting sun and darkening sky. A deep mirror of
reds, sinking into an ether of royal blue.

They stood
together at the crest of the hill. Joanne smiled, bright eyes
looking up at the ribbons of colour. “You’re right..that is
beautiful.”

Jean slid her
hand down the policewoman’s long arm, twining their fingers, moving
to stand in front of her. “I wouldn’t know, been looking at you the
whole time.”

Jo tilted her
head, dipping her eyes as she responded softly with a broad smile.
“Such a flatterer Jean.”

She watched her
older lover drop to one knee. “Jean?..” Her eyes widening.

The gardener
hoped that their life together for the last couple of years had
compensated for the turmoil of their courtship. Jo was looking down
at her with breathless anticipation.

“You needed a
ring to go with that necklace..” Her hand pulling the box from her
pocket. “Jean..are are..you proposing to me?”

The gardener
snickered, frowning. “I will darling, if you let me? I had this
whole speech thing planned you know?”

“Oh.” The
blonde was blushing crimson, her free hand rising to cover her
lips.

Jean was
smiling at her from the grass, Jo’s grey eyes tracked her as she
opened the box. She rose to her feet, the blonde’s eyes met hers,
she held Joanne’s hand lovingly.

“I can’t
imagine being without you Jo. We’ve made a home together, a life.
And I know that this is the second time around for both of us, but
I want it to be the last. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t share, no
place I wouldn’t follow. I want to spend my life loving you.”

Jo looked down
at the dark eyes full of sincerity. She reached out, brushing her
older companion’s cheek with her fingertips. Before she’d met Jean
she was a shell of herself, since then, she’d felt more loved, more
herself than ever before. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,
with anyone else. The two of them were an unusual pair, but in the
end, made something truly wonderful.

“Yes.” After
all the hurdles, the answer came easily.

“Yes?”

They kissed. A
soft touch, full of promise. Jean smiled at her gently, taking the
ring, snapping the box closed.
A good fit.

Jo looked down
at the stone on her hand, glimmering in the light.

Jean beamed
happily, brushing a tear from her long lashes. “Jo, there’s
something else..”

The blonde was
wiping glassy eyes herself. Looking a little shocked. She still
looked down at her hand, she asked softly. “What? What else?”

Jean wrapped an
arm around her fiancée’s waist as they stood there on the gentle
rise. “With your permission..I’d like to adopt Annabelle.”

Jo gasped
softly, covering her mouth in surprise.

The brunette
continued. “I’m raising her with you, her father hasn’t been in the
picture..”

The policewoman
nodded. She had reacted with little empathy as the verdict was
read, squeezing her older lover’s hand. Too much had happened. The
precinct had rung up every charge they could fathom. Owen couldn’t
snake his way out from the evidence used against him. It was a
relief when Jean had held her close, a safe haven in her arms. It
was finally over, and the brunette bore her no ill will for her
ex-husband’s actions.

“I think of you
both as my family Joanne, and..I wanted to make it official.”

Joanne smiled a
flash of white teeth, she still felt like she was floating. “I’d
like that. If I’m going to be your..wife.” She rolled the word
around in her head. It didn’t seem so strange after all.

Jean smiled,
musing. “She called me Mum before you know? It felt like the most
natural thing in the world.”