The Wildwood Sisters (21 page)

Tia always refused to go anywhere in reverse with her, it being a long-standing joke between the two of them that Renee was only a good driver when going forward. Tia often got her kicks trying to get Renee to walk backwards after a few drinks, Renee just as clumsy on her feet in that situation as she was driving a car sober. On a few occasions she and Tia had found themselves upended, the pair of them in utter hysterics as they'd tried to get back on their feet, or high heels for that matter—a feat in itself after a few drinks. The recollection made her giggle as she switched the car off and tugged the keys from the ignition, making another mental note to ring her friend tonight, not having had the chance last night after her eventful day out on the station. She missed her best mate, and had so much to tell her. If only they could catch up in person.

Mick sat in the back seat of Nan's going-to-town car, his broken leg resting up on the centre console, the cast covered in squiggles and signatures thanks to his good mates who popped in for a cold bevvy of an afternoon—an act that was helping him keep half sane with being confined to the house. Grabbing her handbag from where it had slipped down the side of the passenger seat when she had barely avoided hitting a frill-necked lizard on the way over, Renee jumped out and tried to help Mick from the back seat. But he refused to let her help him.

She respected his need to be self-sufficient and stood back, even though she had to bite her tongue as she watched him grapple with his crutches. It was painful to observe as he edged and slid himself in all types of crazy angles out of the car, looking and sounding as though he was re-birthing himself, it taking five
long
minutes of grunting and groaning before she was finally able to push the central locking button on the key.

Free of the confines of the car and basically upright, Mick tried to catch his breath as he shoved his crutches under his arms. ‘I wish I was never stupid enough to become a smoker. Doesn't take much for me to lose me breath these days.' He gave her a lopsided grin. ‘I reckon me and you should have some lunch at the pub today before we head back home, make the trek into town worth it. What do you reckon Reni?' If his eyebrows went any higher, they were going to disappear over the back of his bald head.

Renee gave him the thumbs up. ‘Sounds like a plan—count me in.'

Mick's face lit up like a beacon as they headed in the direction of the front sliding doors. ‘Great stuff. I'm hanging out for a cold one, or three, and a generous helping of Lorraine's famous reef and beef with her creamy garlic butter sauce.'

‘Reef and beef smothered in garlic sauce… Oh my God, yum!' Renee's mouth watered with the thought of it. ‘I normally wouldn't have a big lunch, but you've twisted my arm, methinks.'

‘I promise you won't regret it. I get it every time I go into the joint, I can't resist.'

Stepping into the air-conditioned admissions area, Mick motioned towards a hallway that seemed to stretch on into the never-never. ‘I got to head on down there for me appointment, and God knows how long I'll be waiting before I get to see the bloody doc. Hows about I just meet you up in your nan's room once I'm done, okay?'

Assessing how far Mick had to walk, and knowing how clumsy he could be at the best of times, Renee ummed and ahhed as she pointed towards the hallway. ‘You sure you don't want me to—'

Mick cut her off. ‘Positive. Quite capable of taking care of meself.'

‘Okey-dokey then, that's sorted. Meet you up in Nan's room once you're done.'

Pressing the call button Renee waited for the lift as she watched Mick manoeuvre his way down the hallway, the determined bugger almost hitting the deck when his left crutch got stuck under a thankfully unoccupied gurney. With the gurney dragged halfway across the hall, a few swear words thrown in for good measure, and the crutch successfully retrieved from the floor after several attempts to bend over and grab it, Mick turned and gave her a feeble wave with a childish smile plastered across his face, letting her know he was okay. She shook her head, laughing along with him, just as the lift dinged its arrival.

Stepping in, she made sure to stick to elevator etiquette by staring at anything other than the few people that had stepped in beside her, the corny elevator music making her wonder why in the hell someone in the hierarchy didn't make an executive decision to ban all clichéd elevator music around the world. It did nothing to alleviate the uncomfortableness. If anything, it added to it. With everyone having selected their floors to get off on, and hers the top one, Renee closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall, her mind starting to wander off on a weird tangent as she thought about all the times she'd had to sit and listen to similar mind-numbing music while waiting on hold on the phone. A tap on her shoulder brought her back to the present.

‘Renee Wildwood. Holy snapping duckshit, is that you?'

The woman's voice was familiar, the slightly nasally tone unmistakable, and the use of colourful language in such an inappropriate place, well, it all added up to only one possible person. Spinning around, Renee was met with the distinctive toothy ear-to-ear grin of her childhood best mate, the face surrounding it a little older than she remembered, but recognisable all the same. ‘Oh my God, Hayley Gregory? Of all people to run into in a lift! Hi!'

‘Yup, that's me.' She swished her shiny black bob around her face, playfully pouting. ‘A little older, I must say, but still just as classy,' she squealed, winking.

The two women threw their arms around one another, jiggling on the spot as Renee counted her blessings for not getting the same cold welcome home from Hayley as she had from Dylan. This was most definitely on the other end of the ‘welcome-home' Richter scale. Joy filled her. It was nice to feel treasured by someone who'd played a major part in her life growing up. She pulled back, aware all eyes were on them in the lift, but she was so excited she didn't care. ‘It's so great to see you, Hails!' She motioned up and down her friend's tall, yet perfectly curvaceous, figure. ‘And I must say, you're still looking as good as ever.'

‘Why thankya, matey.' Hayley cheerily slapped her on the arm. ‘You're looking pretty sassy too, Reni. Loving the long black hair…noice.'

‘Yep, long gone is the frizzy, bleached blonde hair,' Renee said, grinning.

‘Good choice.' Hayley crossed her arms, her smile fading as her perfectly shaped eyebrows met in the middle. ‘So tell me, where in the bloody hell have you been hiding all these years? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? And why haven't you told me you were back?' Her eyebrows went in the opposite direction as she waited for Renee's reply.

And there it was, the interrogation
. The lift seemed to shrink around Renee and she suddenly cared that the four other people left in there were watching them like hawks. Small towns were renowned for gossip spreading like wildfire, and she really didn't want to be the hot topic of conversation. It felt as though everyone was holding his or her breath for her answer. ‘Oh, ah, umm.' With a ding the elevator announced its arrival to the top floor, saving her from having to explain everything in a darn lift as people bustled to get out.

Hayley strode out with her and placed her hand on her shoulder, the pair of them moving aside to let people past, Hayley thankfully waiting until they had a bit of privacy to begin talking again. ‘I'm so sorry, Reni. Too many questions all at once, and not in the most private of places, but as you well know, I'm not backwards in coming forward.' She graced her with a caring smile. ‘How about you save it until you come over to my pad for a cuppa?'

Renee smiled. ‘I'd love that, Hails. When are you free for me to call over?'

‘Coolio, we can do catch up later this arvy, after I do my wifey duties?' She held out the unmistakable McDonald's paper bag. ‘I have to get this to the hubby before he chews his own arm off. He reckons this hospital food is going to make him fade away to a shadow.' Hayley rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘No chance of that given his abs are well hidden under his love handles.'

Renee giggled, shaking her head. ‘You still got the gift of the gab, Hails. What's he in for?'

Hayley leant in close to Renee's ear. ‘A vasectomy.'

Renee's hands instinctively went to her crotch, a pained expression on her face. ‘Ooh, ouch!'

Hayley nodded. ‘Aha, apparently it feels as though his balls are about to explode, they're so swollen. Poor bloke. I offered to get my tubes tied but he told me that I had endured the pain of childbirth, twice, and now it was his turn to cop some of the pain.' Hayley smirked. ‘I think he's kinda regretting his decision a bit now, but give him a few weeks and he'll be back to normal. Bless the bugger for doing it, he's always trying to do things to take the pressure off me. That's why I love him so much.'

‘Wow, it sounds like you two are a match made in heaven. Who is the lucky bloke? Do I know him from school or anything?'

‘Oh, nah, he moved here from the big smoke a few years after you'd left. His name's Greg. He grew up in Sydney but he's a countryman at heart. You'll have to meet him. I reckon you two will get on like a house on fire.' Hayley glanced at her watch. ‘I hate to love you and leave you, but I gotta get a shift on, I have an appointment at the beautician's for a jay jay wax in an hour and then I've got a bit to do before I grab the anklebiters from day care.'

‘A jay jay wax?'

‘Yeah, you know, a Brazilian.' She dropped her voice as she pointed to her nether region. ‘It's getting a bit like an Amazon jungle down there.'

Renee chuckled. ‘Oh, now I'm with you. I just haven't heard it called a jay jay before.'

Hayley laughed, shaking her head. ‘You gotta get with the times, girlfriend. So how's that cuppa sound for you this arvy? You can come and meet my rug rats.'

Hayley's lack of airs and graces made Renee giggle. Her childhood mate had never been one to stop and think about what came out of her mouth—and she clearly hadn't changed a bit. She'd got them both in trouble a number of times at school for chronic foot in mouth.

She was about to agree when an image of the messy state of the homestead flooded Renee's mind, and she sighed. ‘I'd love to, Hails, but I have heaps to do before Nan comes back home on Sunday.'

‘Oh yeah, Dad told me your nan was in hospital—a heart attack right? Old Shirley down at the post office reckons she's going to be okay though?'

‘Sure was a heart attack, a pretty damn big one too. But she's on the mend, thankfully. The doc reckons she'll be right after a bit of bed rest.'

‘Good luck keeping your nan in bed for any length of time. She's always been a feisty bugger.'

Renee rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, tell me about it, I'm going to have my work cut out for me, I'm guessing.'

‘So when are we going to catch up then, if you can't come this arvo? I've got pretty full days tomorrow and Friday.' Hayley sucked in a breath, and then clapped her hands, not waiting for Renee's reply. ‘I know, have you heard about the Studs and Fuds ball this weekend?'

‘Yeah, Mick told me about it yesterday. Sounds fun. You going?'

‘Bloody oath, I wouldn't be caught at home that night for quids! If last year's ball is anything to go by, it's going to be an absolute scream. I've already got the babysitter organised. Greg can't come this year because his knackers will be too sore. And guess who the band is going to be?'

Renee's eyes widened. ‘Who?'

‘The Overflow.'

‘Oh my God, really? I love them!' If Renee's eyes got any wider her eyeballs were going to roll clean out of their sockets. She was finding it hard to believe a band as big as The Overflow would be coming to play up here in Far North Queensland.

Hayley grinned as she jiggled on the spot. ‘I know, aren't they the best! And I love their song “I Want You”. I'll be requesting it all bloody night.'

‘Me too, I know every single word of it!' Renee's belly bubbled with anticipation, Hayley's excitement contagious. It was a relief to know she had a girlfriend to hang out with at the ball, and with Hayley, a good time was guaranteed. She'd been a bit worried she'd find herself feeling like a Nigel-no-friends while standing in some dark corner, but now she knew she'd be right. ‘Excellent, we'll catch up there then—for something a little stronger than a coffee. Is Louise going along too? It'll be good to say hi to her.'

Hayley's older sister, Louise, was the polar opposite of Hayley—a little sheepish and very conservative. Being almost eight years older, Renee hadn't had a lot to do with Louise, other than the occasional times Louise had babysat them as kids, although she remembered her as a very kind and thoughtful soul.

Hayley shook her head. ‘No, she left town about two years ago, after she split up with her husband. It was all very messy.'

‘Oh shit, really? That sucks. Who was she married to?'

‘She ended up with her high school sweetheart, Craig Campbell. You know, the town copper.'

‘Oh that's right, I remember now. She was dating him before I left. He tried so hard to find out what had happened to Scarlet, bless him, but he was fairly new to the job at the time and didn't have much pull with the city detectives. He seemed like a really nice bloke.'

‘Yeah, he is. Even so, Louise left him for another man, one she met on a holiday in Brisbane. I feel like the piggy in the middle at the moment because I'm good friends with Craig and of course I love my sister and want to support her too. They're still going through court for property settlement and to decide who's going to get full-time care of their son, Tom.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that, Hails. It must be hard for you.'

‘Yeah, it is, but such is life.' Hayley clapped her hands together. ‘But enough of the sad stuff, let's focus on the fun stuff. It's going to be great to hang out again, it'll be just like the good old days.' Throwing her arms out, Hayley gave Renee a quick squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. ‘Must run, see you Saturday night.' She pointed at Renee as she scuttled away. ‘And no piking it. Make sure you come, or I'll come over to your place and drag you there myself.'