February Or Forever (19 page)

‘Get older and need home care and Meals on Wheels,' Susan added.

‘Home care maybe, but Meals on Wheels? No chance in hell,' he said defiantly. ‘I'll be cooking till the day I die. No processed garbage for me.'

Susan glanced at Chrissie. ‘Basically we want to downsize, and it'll be good to be in walking distance to everything. Not just for convenience but for my arthritis, and Geoff's — '

‘High blood pressure.' He patted his heart. ‘You'd think I'd get exercise around this place, but apparently not enough.'

‘Well you can walk to the shops every day for your fresh ingredients,' Susan said.

‘So have you found somewhere else yet?'

‘No, not yet. We won't be selling till the end of this year, so we'll start looking in a few months time. Still got to sort out years of household belongings, including those belonging to someone in particular.' She must have kicked Drew under the table because he flinched a little and said, ‘Mum!'

Drew took a sip from his glass. ‘I'll try to do as much as I can tomorrow. Surely it couldn't take more than a day?'

‘It could,' his mother replied. ‘But I know you, you'll keep going without stopping until you've reached your goal. He always goes after what he wants, this one.' Susan said.

Chrissie gulped, even though she'd already swallowed a morsel of food. ‘I'll be doing the same thing tomorrow. Sorting through boxes. Things that belonged to my aunt.'

‘Oh yes, I'm sorry to hear about that.'

How much has Drew told his parents about me?

‘Thank you.'

‘And will you stay in the house or sell?'

‘Sell. It's too big for just myself and Kai.'

‘Oh, I see. Maybe we'll both be selling up at the same time,' Susan mused.

‘I hope the town has some good real estate agents,' Chrissie said. Not only to sell Felicia's beach house, but to help her find the right property for the future. God, she'd love to be able to buy Honeydew House, but even with the sale from the house it'd no doubt go for a
lot
more. And so much for saying she wanted a smaller place. That might have been a little lie. She just wanted somewhere not so close to the ocean.

‘We know of a couple of good agents. William, at Matson and Moore, he's the son of friends of ours. I know we can trust him. There's also Colin from Craythornes, been selling houses since he was in nappies, just about.'

‘Oh good, I'll have to remember those names.' She made a mental note, then the sign of Honeydew House popped in her mind and she dreamed of walking up to it and getting out her own key to the place.
Stop dreaming Chrissie!
‘So, ah, how did Honeydew House get its name? Are there…melons growing here?' She hoped that wasn't a stupid question. Did honeydew melons even grow in this part of Australia? She had no idea.

‘No melons here, unfortunately. The previous owners christened it — honey was their business, and maybe they added the ‘dew' bit to make it sound nice, or to represent the morning dew that appears here on frosty mornings. They used to be beekeepers. We could have taken the job on when we bought the place, but alas, I'm allergic to bee stings.' She shrugged. ‘I was so glad when they cleared it all out. And anyway, not my thing. At that stage I was running my own interior design business. Ran it out of there.' Susan pointed to a separate building, a granny flat, that stood on the far side of the property, hidden partly from view by tall trees.

‘Your talent shows. Your house is beautifully decorated,' Chrissie said.

‘Well, thank you. Geoff and I are both retired now, but I loved my job. If you need any help getting your place ready for sale, I'd be happy to help.'

‘Really? That's so nice of you.'

‘Sure, just drop in and let me know when you're ready.'

Wow, Drew William's mother was giving her an invitation to just ‘drop in' anytime? Chrissie hated people dropping in unannounced at her place; she'd much prefer advance warning, ideally twenty-four hours. Or a week. Though she'd probably make an exception for Drew.

‘Wow, so Sarah's husband might be helping me build a garage and extend the deck, Sarah said she'll come househunting with me, and now you're offering to help me decorate. You're a very generous family!'

‘And maybe I can serve free food at the open house and Drew could be the guest of honour to attract a few potential buyers, hey son?' Geoff winked.

Drew laughed. ‘Well, maybe I can arrange a special visit to Australia for the occasion,' he joked.
Joked.
Every now and again a reminder of the transient nature of Drew's presence would hit home. Just when she was starting to get used to having him around.

After a dessert of pavlova and fruit, and a game of Trivial Pursuit in which Drew showed his competitive side but lost to Chrissie thanks to one of those science questions about the human body, Chrissie helped the family clear the table.

‘C'mon, Chrissie, I'll take you on a tour of the property,' Susan said, hooking her hand under Chrissie's elbow.

‘Need a tour guide commentator?' asked Geoff. ‘Everything here has some sort of history or significance I'd be happy to tell you about.'

‘Go easy on the history lesson, Dad. I'm sure Chrissie would just prefer a casual stroll around,' said Drew.

‘I'd be honoured to learn more about the place,' Chrissie replied.

They all walked back outside and over to the granny flat where Susan had based her design business, but was now used as guest accommodation. It had three bedrooms!
Oh, something like this would be perfect for my yoga retreats.
She may not be able to buy this place, but there was no harm in dreaming and getting ideas for the future. They walked around the mature gardens near the guest accommodation, where rosellas fluttered around the red fuzz of a bottlebrush tree. Geoff gave her a botany and horticulture lesson, while Drew seemed off with the fairies as he dawdled behind. Chrissie tested out a hammock hanging between a couple of trees, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness as she shaded her eyes from the sun peeking through the leaves and branches above.

‘And here is Drew's hand and foot.' Geoff stopped in front of a paved entertainment area where imprints of childlike hands and feet were ingrained into the concrete. ‘Age four, he was.'

Drew sidled up next to his imprint and took off his shoe, placing his bare foot next to the younger version. ‘I can barely remember being that small,' he said.

‘I can. Couldn't keep you still!' Susan said. ‘It's amazing we got you to stand here long enough for the imprint.'

‘I'm learning all about keeping still in our yoga sessions, aren't I, Chrissie?'

‘Yes, you certainly are.' She smiled.

‘And is he a good student? Does he behave himself?' Susan asked, nudging her son in the ribs.

Chrissie eyed Drew and turned the corners of her lips downward. ‘Well, sometimes.'

‘Hey!' He playfully kicked her leg.

‘Okay, he's actually a very good student, and does what he's told. Most of the time.'

‘Good to hear. And he tells me that Serendipity might be having open classes. I might just come along one day.'

‘I hope to see you there.' Chrissie smiled.

They walked around to the other side of the house, and Chrissie's heart doubled over itself when they approached the swimming pool.

‘Oh, should have told you to bring your swimming costume in case you wanted a swim,' Susan said.

‘Oh, no that's okay.' Chrissie scratched her head and turned away, pretending to admire some hanging plants on the nearby gazebo.

‘Let's show Chrissie the chook pen,' Drew said, gesturing up ahead, away from the water.

‘Oh, I wouldn't want her to get her lovely clothes messy. It's just an old wooden structure with a bunch of noisy chooks laying eggs.'

‘I don't mind, I'd love to have chooks and a daily supply of fresh eggs.' She walked alongside Drew who led her to the pen. He lightly touched her arm as if to ask if she was okay, and she returned his gesture with a brief smile.

His effort to reduce her discomfort was admirable, though she knew she couldn't go on living with this phobia forever. But for now at least, it was nice to have someone around who understood and knew about her reluctance to get up close and personal with the liquid of life.

Susan gathered up a bundle of eggs for Chrissie to take home, and as they wandered around to the front of the house, Drew and his father strolled slowly behind, deep in discussion about something.

Susan and Chrissie stopped by a birdbath. ‘So I hear your son is friends with my grandson?'

‘Yes, I'm so glad he's made a good friend. It's been hard for him, moving to a new town and school only a year after starting kindergarten.'

‘Poor pet. I'm sure he'll settle in well here after a while. Before you know it he'll be all grown up and you'll wonder what happened.' She glanced back at Drew.

‘Yes, I'm sure. Part of me wants him to, and another part wants him to stay little for a bit longer.'

‘Oh I remember that feeling all too well. Enjoy this precious time now. It goes so fast.' Susan placed a hand over her heart.

‘Tell me about it. I still have Kai's baby picture in my purse and haven't updated it to a more recent photo.'

‘Oh, can I have a look? I love babies.'

‘Sure.' She followed Susan inside and retrieved her purse from a table in the living room.

‘Oh, what a cutie! Even in this, I can see he shares your chin.'

‘My chin?'

‘Yes, see, the angle of it.' She traced around Kai's photo. ‘Drew didn't look like me at all when he was a baby. I'd even wondered if we took home the wrong baby by mistake! Here, let me show you.' Susan led her to the hallway where a collection of family photos graced the wall.

Drew Williams' baby photos?
He was still outside and had no idea his mother was about to do the very thing every child dreads.

‘That's him?' Chrissie asked, pointing to a photo of a chubby baby with a cranky-looking face.

‘It sure is!' Susan laughed. ‘He was so cuddly, and don't worry, he wasn't that cranky all the time. I think I took that just before he was due to be fed. You know how men get when they need food.'

‘Yes, I do.' She grinned.

‘And look at these ones.' She plucked an album from a drawer. ‘This is on his first birthday, isn't his outfit just adorable?'

Chrissie grinned at the sailor outfit Drew wore, his finger pointing at his number one-shaped birthday cake. There were also photos of him as a toddler with his baby sister, and one on his first day of school. He'd thinned out a lot by then, his lanky legs almost skeletal-looking below his grey school shorts.

‘Hey, what's going on here? Secret women's business?' Drew walked in with Geoff.

Susan tucked the album back in the drawer. ‘Oh nothing.'

‘You weren't showing old photos were you, Mum?'

‘Me?' She flashed an innocent expression.

‘Oh you didn't.' He shook his head. ‘I'll just die of embarrassment right here shall I?' He gestured to the floor.

Chrissie curled her lips into a cheeky smile. ‘Now c'mon, Drew. No need to put on such a cranky face.'

A burst of laughter escaped Susan's mouth at Chrissie's comment, and Drew's lips twisted to the side. ‘One of these days I'm going to take that terrible photo down and dispose of it!'

‘Oh you wouldn't, darling. It's so adorable.' Susan pinched Drew's cheeks and he closed his eyes in apparent resignation. ‘Okay, okay. Enough of the motherly stuff.' She patted him on the back. ‘Let's go have some coffee out in the garden.' Susan scurried off to prepare the cups and saucers, while Drew hung behind in the hallway with Chrissie.

‘I should have known this would happen,' he said, a rosy glow shining on his cheeks.

‘That's parents for you. I'm already keeping a file of future embarrassing photos for Kai. It's just payback for the pain of childbirth.'

‘I guess that's fair.' He held up his hands in defeat. Then he pinched Chrissie's cheek. ‘I bet you don't have any cranky baby photos.'

‘I can't remember. But who says only babies can pull those faces off?' She scrunched up her face and pouted and did her best version of Kai's ‘I don't want to go to school and you're a mean mother' face.

Drew burst out laughing. ‘That is sooo attractive. Such a good look, Burns.'

‘Bet you can't do one better.'

‘Bet I can.' He squinted and scrunched up his face too, and Chrissie slapped her thigh with laughter.

‘Nice one, Williams.'

He grinned and placed his hand on the small of her back. ‘C'mon, time for a hot cuppa, cranky pants.'

When they'd farewelled Susan and Geoff and thanked them for their hospitality, Drew and Chrissie got in the car and she drove off.

‘I had a great time, thank you,' she said, stealing a quick glance in Drew's direction.

‘So did I. Thanks for coming,' he replied. ‘So, back to household duties for you when you get home?' He checked his watch, even though the time was displayed on the dashboard. It was just after 5 p.m.

‘I guess so. Although I'm not really in the mood. Maybe I should have the night off.'

‘Funny, I was thinking the same thing.'

‘You were thinking I should have the night off? How thoughtful of you,' she mocked.

‘I was thinking you should have the night off. With me.'

‘You've got the whole month off, Williams.' When he didn't reply right away, she glanced at him. His face was serious. Serious, and seriously delicious.

‘Fancy dinner on the beach tonight? I'll even bring a jacket this time.' He smiled.

Chrissie's heart rate rose, and she had the urge to wind down the window even though the air con was on. In two weeks Drew would be gone from her life yet here she was spending all this time with him. Surely it was a bad idea and would only lead to disappointment? Although right now, it seemed like the best idea ever, and one should live in the moment, shouldn't one?