Chapter Eleven
Noah missed a few days’ work during the week, some because of rain, some because of reasons he hadn’t shared with Carrie. But the morning after the movie night with the girls, Carrie showered in her new bathroom that only needed a fresh lick of paint and a mirror cut to fit above the sink, before peeking out of the window to find Noah making an early start.
She dressed quickly because Owen always made an early start too, and when she got downstairs gave Owen the go-ahead to begin construction of the window seat now she was out of the way.
Standing in the partially completed kitchen, she washed cups at the sink but found herself looking up every now and then out the window to where Noah stood, the sun kissing the skin on his neck and making the dust on his arms sparkle. The garden was taking shape and he was busy putting up the pergola. There were posts lined up on the ground and a few days ago she’d seen him repeatedly thrusting a spade into the ground, pushing it down with his foot and scooping out the soil to make holes that Carrie deduced were the foundations for the structure. Now, four poles stood tall in their corners.
It was April already but the sun made it feel hotter than it really was, and when Noah stood up from where he was fitting the last part of the pergola’s base and lifted his T-shirt to wipe his face of sweat, Carrie didn’t miss the toned stomach of a man who didn’t sit down much during the day.
She jumped at a knock on the front door, but at least it meant Noah wouldn’t catch her staring. She turned, walked down the corridor inhaling the waft of paint that told her this house was well on its way, and opened the front door to Rosie.
‘Hey, what brings you here?’
‘Owen forgot his lunch.’ She smiled. ‘I don’t usually make it, he does it himself, but we had leftovers and I didn’t want him to forget them. Which, of course, he did.’
Carrie took a Tupperware container from Rosie’s outstretched hand. ‘I’ll give it to him, or you could do it yourself – he’s only upstairs.’
‘I won’t disturb him. I’m on my way to work and the walk is always nice at this time of year when it’s not too hot.’
‘It’s much more pleasant, I agree. Do you want to come in and see the progress so far?’
‘I’d love to.’
‘The floorboards are all repaired,’ said Carrie in the smaller of the two rooms at the front. ‘This will be a snug, or library if you like, and Owen’s found me a wood burner, which will be installed next week.’
‘That’ll be cosy come the winter months.’
Carrie took her through to the other lounge, where Rosie admired the fireplace that hadn’t needed anything apart from cleaning. She explained the paint colours in here, subtle and neutral beige tones. ‘I add colour with accessories.’
‘Good idea,’ said Rosie. ‘It means you can change your mind as often as you like.’
‘Ha, spoken like a true woman!’ Carrie led Rosie through to the kitchen next.
‘Now I like this.’ Rosie ran a hand across the surface of one of the cupboards. Most still had their plastic coverings on but this one had come off during the fitting. ‘It’s classic and really gives the house a country feel.’ She admired the farmhouse sink and looked up when she spied Noah through the window. ‘And you’ve got to admit,’ she said conspiratorially as she returned his wave, ‘Noah kind of lifts the garden.’
‘He’s not bad, but believe it or not, I don’t stand here leering at the man.’
‘I would if I were you.’ Rosie was still watching him. ‘Bella said she saw the boys training on Sunday and she was speechless when Noah changed his T-shirt. “Rock-hard abs” I think was her exact description of his torso, and a few things I simply can’t repeat in case my unborn baby hears me talking that way.’
Carrie laughed. Already she knew Bella well enough to know Rosie wasn’t exaggerating. ‘How are you feeling anyway?’ she asked after they took a quick look at the laundry with units matching those in the kitchen.
‘Pretty good.’ She smiled.
‘Do you have everything you need?’ Carrie led them back through the kitchen and turned to go upstairs.
‘We’ve already bought everything we need for the hospital dash – white Babygros because we don’t know the sex, a couple of nighties for me, a music tape, some lavender oil. Molly laughed. She says expectant mothers turn up fully equipped and then the baby has other ideas – all birthing plans go out the window and it becomes a case of doing whatever you can to get through it.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ said Carrie as they got to the top of the stairs and found Owen constructing the rectangular box that would become the window seat.
‘What brings you here?’ He came over to give Rosie a quick peck and a hug.
‘I brought you leftover frittata.’
He smiled. ‘I forgot to bring anything.’
With a roll of her eyes Rosie told Carrie, ‘he usually dashes home but this way he’ll be able to work harder for you.’
‘I like the sound of that.’ Carrie grinned. ‘I think she’s the boss of you, Owen.’
‘Yeah,’ he sighed. ‘If the baby turns out to be a girl I think they’ll both be the boss of me.’
When they heard footfall on the stairs they turned to see Noah. ‘I need to borrow Owen,’ he said.
‘Owen’s working hard up here, but I can help with whatever you need.’ Carrie was determined to put their run-in behind them both.
‘I really need Owen,’ he reiterated.
Hands on hips, Carrie wanted to prove yet again that she was no princess. ‘Anything you want him to do, I’m sure I’m perfectly capable of.’
Noah opened his mouth to say something but then clearly changed his mind and cocked his head. ‘Come on then…we’ll see how long you last.’
Carrie didn’t miss the look pass between Rosie and Owen and she wondered what she was in for.
Outside, sunglasses pulled down, she waited for her next instruction. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘I need you to hold the support beam in place while I put a spirit level on top. Then, when we’re sure it’s completely straight, I’ll drill it in on either side. It’ll take a few minutes.’
‘Right, where’s the support beam?’ She looked around the garden, around the dirt and the huge lengths of wood, for whatever he was talking about.
‘You’re standing next to it.’ He checked the sides of the construction and found a spirit level and his drill that he’d moved into position. ‘Ready?’
‘Are you sure your leg and wrist are all better now?’ She asked, but when he shook his head at her she sensed it was time to be quiet.
‘Don’t you worry about me. You ready?’
‘Sure.’ If he was going to laugh at her, she’d show him. How heavy could a piece of wood be anyway? She’d lifted pretty hefty kids in her time, she was no wuss.
She heaved the wood up and felt the tendons in her arms strain but, delighted, she got it standing tall. ‘Now what?’
‘Now we’ll take one end each, lift it to the top, and then you stand and hold it in position for me.’
‘OK, let’s do this.’
With a shake of his head he took the other end. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.
Through gritted teeth and ignoring the audience of Rosie and Owen in the upstairs window, she urged him to carry on and they walked the wood over to the pergola posts.
‘Now lift up,’ he instructed.
She got it to shoulder height, changed her grip and then lifted it up over her head. Ha! Who said girls couldn’t do anything men could do? Of course they could. Sometimes they could do it better!
But her jubilation was short-lived when she realised he needed her to stand in the middle of the piece of wood and take not half of its weight but all of it – and, more than that, she had to hold it for quite a time while he drilled it into position.
‘Now move along,’ said Noah, ‘so you’re in the centre of the wood. Then I’ll let go.’
She moved along but as she felt his grip lessen for her to take the weight, the words gushed out of her mouth before she could stop them. ‘No! God, please! Help me!’
Between them they lowered the wood to the floor.
‘It’s so heavy!’ She couldn’t help it. Admittance of feelings wasn’t exactly what she’d intended to do but the weight of the wood had forced it out of her.
‘Now shall I get Owen?’ He could barely contain his amusement.
‘Fine.’ She turned, looked up to the bathroom window where Rosie and Owen were completely tuned in to the entire show, and waved Owen down.
‘Thanks anyway,’ Noah called after her as she stalked back into the house. She passed Owen and he patted her on the shoulder in commiseration.
‘Bloody men,’ she said to Rosie as she glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better get going too, or Maria will think I’ve forgotten about her. I’m walking to their house today. I need the exercise after my chocolate consumption has gone up tenfold since moving to Magnolia Creek. What? Why are you looking at me like that?’
Rosie shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
Carrie collected her bag. ‘Come on, it’s not nothing, spit it out. We’re Magnolia Girls – we don’t shy away from honesty.’
Rosie picked up her own bag as they left the house. ‘Take it from someone who went out with the wrong guy for a really long time and didn’t want to hurt him until it became inevitable.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Carrie shut the front door behind them and they set off down the hill towards Main Street.
‘Noah. I’m talking about Noah. I’ve seen the way you look at each other, the way you bicker, the way your face lights up when you talk about him even though you’re not saying anything particularly complimentary.’
‘He’s an attractive man,’ Carrie said honestly. ‘I’ll be the first to admit that. But he’s not my type. Lachlan is my type, and we have our ups and downs but doesn’t everyone? I’ll bet you and Owen do.’
‘Of course we do.’ They both waved at Gemma, who was herding children into a line in the school playground when they walked past. ‘But I’d tell him anything and he’d do the same, and unlike when I was with Adam, I’m never daydreaming about what it could be like with someone else.’
‘What, you think I go to bed every night dreaming of Noah?’ Carrie laughed. ‘I think the pregnancy hormones are affecting your judgement.’
By the time they reached the white signs pointing down the path that led from Main Street to the lake, Rosie was full of apologies rather than ribbing Carrie about Noah. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you with what I said about Lachlan and Noah.’
‘You didn’t offend me at all.’
‘Well, I apologise anyway. Part of me was teasing, but the rest of me was poking my nose into something that really isn’t any of my business. Lachlan seems lovely, genuine and kind, and it was wrong of me to make a judgement based on what little I know of either of you.’
‘Quit worrying, we’re friends, and absolutely no offence taken.’ She hugged Rosie because it felt right and when they waved each other on their way and Carrie continued her walk to Maria’s beneath the sunlight of the day, she realised that, yes, Rosie had made a judgement based on very little information but that’s exactly what Carrie had done back when Rosie was with the man who came before Owen. And Carrie had been spot on when it came to both Rosie’s and Owen’s feelings.
What if Rosie was spot on about hers?
*
When Lachlan came into town a few nights later, Carrie booked a table at the pub for dinner. Chris had put them in the farthest corner as requested and, with the darkness outside creating a romantic ambience, the candle in the centre of the table flickered away between them as they talked.
‘This is one of the nicest country pubs I’ve been to,’ Lachlan admitted. ‘And the food’s good.’
‘You seem surprised.’ She smiled.
‘Do you remember the hotel we stayed in when we went to Adelaide one year?’ Lachlan picked up his glass of red wine as they finished their main course. They’d both gone for the red snapper and, served with a basil cream sauce and thick-cut chips, the meal was cooked to perfection.
‘The food was terrible.’ She pulled a face.
‘It was a hotel with a pub beneath and not too dissimilar to this place at first glance.’
Carrie looked around. ‘Actually, you’re right.’
‘When you suggested the local pub for dinner I wanted to drive you back to the city and a fancy restaurant, but I’m glad we’re here.’ His voice lacked its usual confidence and Carrie moved a hand across to his, gripped his fingers. Whatever her uncertainties at the moment, this man had been there for her for a long time and she’d never doubted her relationship before now. Her feelings were all down to her own insecurities and her need to escape the norm, which wasn’t fair on Lachlan. And thinking so much about Noah wasn’t fair either. Besides, a physical attraction was totally different from a full-on relationship. Everyone knew that.
‘I’m glad you like it here,’ she said. ‘Should I order some more wine?’
Her hand was still on his and he squeezed it. ‘I’ve got a bottle in the car. How about we take it back to your place?’
She grinned. ‘I still can’t believe you’ve agreed to stay there.’
‘I almost booked a cottage again but decided to step outside my comfort zone. I bought an airbed and I’ve brought a duvet and pillow so I’m all set. This is probably the closest I’ve been to camping since my days at university when a group of us went to Canberra.’
Carrie smiled. ‘It’s kind of romantic when you think about it.’ She was glad they seemed back on track although she was nervous about having him in her space tonight. ‘Dessert?’ The menus had been discretely slipped in front of them but they hadn’t given them a glance yet.
‘Maybe back at the house,’ Lachlan suggested.
‘I don’t have anything.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘I was thinking of a different sort of dessert.’ He couldn’t pay the bill quickly enough and they laughed their way up the hill, fuelled by wine and the heady promise of sex.
The next morning Carrie woke up feeling quite refreshed. She and Lachlan had pushed their airbeds together but because they were separate, the lack of bouncing created by the other person’s body movements during night had meant a reasonably good night’s sleep.
But now there was a snuffling sound that reminded her of baby Maria, yet more forceful. She opened her eyes and sat up to see Norma in the corner of the room, sniffing Lachlan’s clothes they’d piled on top of an empty cardboard box.
Carrie clutched the sheet against her bare chest. Because if Norma was here, that could only mean one thing…
Footsteps confirmed her suspicions. ‘Carrie…’ Noah stumbled over his words. ‘…jeez, sorry…’ He coaxed Norma towards him but she was wagging her tail, thinking the whole commotion was heaps of fun.
Lachlan stirred and opened his eyes. ‘What’s going on?’ He saw Carrie first, then the dog, then focused on Noah. ‘What the fuck? What are you doing in here? Give us some privacy!’
Noah turned. ‘I’m sorry, didn’t realise anyone was home. Just saw Norma wander up here.’ He began to go downstairs. ‘Come on, Norma.’
Norma ambled past Carrie closer to Lachlan, who was unimpressed at the dog sniffing his clothes, and when the dog followed her master Lachlan swore again before getting out of bed to go to the toilet. Carrie lay back on the airbed and shook her head.
‘Do you want to tell me what that was about?’ Back in the room Lachlan was tugging on his jeans and doing up his belt, inspecting his shirt for stray dog hairs. ‘What makes him think it’s OK to come up here, to your bedroom?’ He put an emphasis on the word bedroom.
‘Judging by his face, Lachlan, he had no idea we would be here. The last I told him and Owen, we’d be in one of the cottages again tonight.’
‘Don’t you think that makes it all the more weird?’
‘In what way?’
‘Well, he thinks you’re not here so he assumes he can come upstairs, like some kind of stalker.’
Carrie laughed. ‘He’s not a stalker.’ She pulled him down onto her own airbed and, not caring that Noah would be outside the house and Owen most likely not far away either, wrapped her legs around his torso. ‘Now, I know you don’t have to leave until much later than this, so be quiet and show me a good time. Just like you did last night.’
And although it took a bit of persuasion, he did as he was told.
While Lachlan showered, Carrie made them both poached eggs on toast. The cooker was installed, she had benchtops along one side of the kitchen as well as a cutlery drawer, and things were really taking shape.
‘Get off, you’re all wet,’ she squealed when Lachlan joined her and snaked his arms around her waist.
‘After the rude awakening this morning, that was the perfect way to start the day.’
She used a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the pan and gently placed two on his plate and two on hers, atop the already buttered toast.
In the absence of any pantry shelves, Lachlan rummaged in the cardboard box on the floor for black pepper. ‘This place will make a perfect holiday rental – you could get a good income from it.’
She chose to ignore his remark by announcing she’d take their breakfasts out to the front of the house, where they could sit side-by-side on the doorstep. Lachlan followed and, with Owen upstairs painting the window seat and Noah out back, it afforded them a little privacy as they ate.
As they tucked into their eggs she successfully avoided any talk of the plans for this place by asking instead about another conference Lachlan was booked to go on. But she couldn’t put off the inevitable forever.
‘That was good.’ She finished eating and wrapped her cardigan around her torso as the autumn breeze kept her cool. ‘I’m not sure I want anyone else in this place apart from me, or us,’ she said.
Lachlan stacked the empty plates on top of one another. ‘That’s understandable, it’ll be amazing when it’s finished. But like I said, you could generate a really healthy income from it and, really, once you’re back in the city, how much time will you have to run away for a few days?’
She didn’t rise to the hint about her returning to work. ‘We could make time. It’d be the perfect escape at a weekend.’
‘Away from the city, eh?’ He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head, reminding her of when they first got together and her mum had joked she could ask him to do anything and he’d melt on the spot and do it for her. But over time she’d realised he had quite the knack for coercing her round to his way of thinking. Since she’d left the city, however, she wasn’t quite so easily persuaded, and she wondered how he’d take it in the long run.
‘Away from the city,’ she repeated.
Between them they took everything inside and Carrie put it all beside the sink. She knew what Lachlan was looking for when he scanned the kitchen. ‘There’s no dishwasher.’
‘When’s it coming?’
‘I’m not having one.’ She smiled at the surprise on his face. ‘There’s not much room and I chose to have a bigger pantry instead.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve turned domesticated out here in the country. Are you going to turn into some kind of Nigella Lawson? Actually, she’s pretty hot.’
Carrie grinned. She opened the back door to let the air circulate and clear the smell of eggs from the atmosphere.
He pulled her to him before she had a chance to start the washing up. ‘When are you coming back to the city?’
‘There’s the job at the hospital remember.’ She hoped her simple answer would buy her time but it didn’t work.
‘I know full well that once the program is running along nicely you won’t need to be there the whole time.’ He grabbed her hand before she had a chance to move away. ‘What happened to the Carrie I first met, the one with fire in her belly, ambition to rival my own?’
She knew this little speech must have been brewing for a while. ‘That Carrie is still here.’
‘Is she?’ He wouldn’t let her pull away this time. ‘Come on, you’re better than this. Maybe I’m not saying it in the right way, but what I mean is you’re a clever, talented paediatrician who had a scare and is burying her head in the sand.’
‘I am not!’ As usual he was taking this a step too far, as though he’d used up all his patience. ‘I needed some time, Lachlan, and you coming over here hassling me isn’t helping one bit.’
‘I wanted to spend time with my girlfriend! I didn’t realise I was hassling you, but I care about you and the career you’ve worked so hard for.’
‘Well what if what’s best for me is staying here in the country, working in a low-stress job, working fewer hours for not as much money but being happier than I ever was in the city?’
He harrumphed. ‘You can’t mean that, surely.’
‘Why not? Why is that so terrible?’ She couldn’t help it. When they fought, she liked to give as good as she got.
‘Because it’s wasting the talent you’ve got!’
‘Stop yelling at me!’ Although her own voice wasn’t exactly quiet. ‘I feel like you’re pressuring me, all the time.’
‘I hardly ever mention it, Carrie.’
‘Sometimes you don’t say anything – it’s just this vibe, this air of disapproval.’
‘Oh, so now I’m supposed to tiptoe around you am I? For fuck’s sake, Carrie.’ He never swore at her, never. ‘Get real. This isn’t you!’ When he raised his voice even more it was as though he were pushing her heels into the floor beneath her and she had no choice but to dig them in further.
‘What if it is me? What would you do if I said I wanted to move out here for good and I wanted you to come with me?’
He tugged a hand through his hair. ‘You’re being ridiculous now. My job is in the city.’
‘I work at a hospital here, you could transfer.’ She knew it made no sense whatsoever. She was goading him, possibly to the point of no return, almost as though subconsciously she just wanted him to go.
‘I’m not transferring, Carrie. What happened to you? All this country air is clouding your judgement.’ His look of disdain made her angry. ‘Maybe we’ll talk when you see sense. I’ve got a job to get back to, a real job that I won’t be quitting any time soon.’
‘Not even for me?’ she challenged, as he started to walk away.
He stopped beside her. ‘Carrie, if I thought for one moment you meant what you were saying, I’d take you seriously, but I don’t think you do mean it. You wouldn’t turn your back on the career you took so long to build and worked so hard for. Serena did me a favour giving you the part-time position at the hospital here, but it’s not a permanent solution to whatever’s going on in your head.’
‘I doubt I’m the first person to take time away from a stressful career.’
‘Probably not, but you’re talking like you’ve been working for thirty years when really you’re just getting started. You’re letting patient outcomes affect you too much. You’re a fledgling in a career that could be a promising one if you let it. But you’ve run away at the first sign of trouble. I figured you’d pick yourself up and get on with things.’
‘You make it sound so simple.’
Exasperated, he said, ‘Carrie, it is simple. You’re the one who’s making it complicated.’
There was a time when he’d understood, he’d been attentive and stood by her. Maybe he was right, maybe she needed to pull herself together. But she hadn’t managed to yet and all the hounding her in the world wasn’t going to make a difference.
‘What I don’t understand, Carrie, is how you seem to be coping at the hospital here, yet you can’t entertain the idea of returning to a job in the city.’
How could she explain that it had little to do with the hospital and more to do with this town, the change of pace, the friendships she was making that were so far removed from her normal life?
‘You’re too involved.’ He pulled his car keys from his pocket. ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe this is where you should stay. Maybe you’re not the girl I thought you were. Maybe you’re too weak for the job.’
Her mouth fell open and tears welled in her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to lay it quite on the line like that. ‘I don’t want it to be the end of my career,’ she said simply.
‘Well you’re going the right way about it.’ His jaw clenched. ‘And I don’t think many men would appreciate their girl practically living with two men, one of whom she used to sleep with, the other who has seen her naked.’
‘You’re being childish now.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes!’
‘You always did attract a man easily, Carrie. You could’ve had your pick at the hospital. Who knows, maybe you have. Maybe I’m just one of many.’
‘I’ve been with you and only you for a long time, Lachlan. Stop being so damn insecure.’
‘Funny, you’ve been with me for a long time, yet whenever I suggest taking the next step and buying a place together, you’re not interested. You wave away the issue much like you do nowadays when I try to ask you about your career. You shut me out, you always do. Yet here you are with your own place, talking about how you don’t want anyone else to live in it. It feels to me like another step farther away from me and our relationship.’
She couldn’t deny it. It hadn’t been the intention, but maybe part of what he was saying was right. Perhaps on paper she and Lachlan were pretty much perfect for each other, yet in real life they were starting to pull in opposite directions.
‘I just want to get my head straight again. A year ago I never would’ve thought I would be in this situation, but here I am. Life threw something at me and I dealt with it the only way I could. Can’t you try to understand that?’ She swiped at a tear that dared to try and escape.
‘I have tried to understand.’ And with that he turned, went upstairs, grabbed his things and muttered a goodbye.
She heard the gravel crunch beneath his tyres as he reversed out of the driveway and left. Leaning against the kitchen sink, her back to the window, goose pimples crept over her arms and she went to shut the back door. But she came face to face with Noah.
‘Everything OK?’ he asked. He had a streak of mud up his cheek and Carrie wanted to reach out and wipe it away.
She ducked her head, not wanting him to see she was upset. He’d have to be very hard of hearing not to have heard the exchange between her and Lachlan. ‘I’m fine. How’s the garden going? Let me grab my sunglasses and I can come and see for myself.’ She turned and trotted upstairs, washed her face and patted it dry with a towel, grabbed some shoes and returned downstairs, where she found Noah outside planting creepers at the base of the pergola.
‘What colour will the flowers be?’ Making conversation would be easier if she chose a favourable subject matter. ‘I can’t remember what you said.’
‘These are the bougainvilleas.’ He kept on with what he was doing, his fingers pushing firmly into the soil. ‘They’ll flower pink like the ones you remember from your holiday.’
‘I fell in love with those flowers.’ She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he was concentrating too hard to make any cutting comments.
‘I’m sure you’ll love these just as much.’
‘How do I look after it?’
He stood up and squinted as he turned towards the sun, beaming down across the roof of the house directly onto the pergola. ‘It will thrive on full sunlight, which is why I wanted the pergola here. It’ll need watering frequently and pruning to remove any obstructive branches or take away dead parts.’ She must’ve looked lost because he said, ‘I’ll write it all down for you. Or, if you don’t intend to be here full time, you could hire a gardener. Once the garden is established it should be reasonably low-maintenance.’
He moved around to the opposite corner of the pergola, taking a small trowel with him, presumably to dig the soil over there. ‘How often do you think you’ll be up here once you finish your jobs here and move back to the city?’
She shrugged, turning to face the sun now and let it warm her skin. Autumn sunshine wasn’t as brutal as it could be in the summer. It was a gentler form of heat and along with the smell of the fresh outdoors it was an instant mood lifter. ‘I’m not sure yet.’ She sat down on the base of the pergola.
‘How much longer will both jobs last?’
‘The position at the hospital will be for a couple more months, I assume, and the nannying is ongoing until a nursery confirms they have a place for Maria.’ She turned to face him. ‘According to the parents, it could happen this week, next month or it may take a year. Childcare is in high demand.’
‘Thinking of it as a full-time career?’ There was no mistaking his grin.
‘No chance.’ She turned back and relished the sun’s rays on her face again. ‘Maria is lovely, don’t get me wrong, but I think she’s enough to convince me that looking after little ones could never be my full-time job. I need the adult company too much.’
‘And how’s it going up at the hospital?
‘Really well. I’ve coordinated a few volunteer groups who have had their training. The first group, the Magnolia Girls, starts tomorrow.’ When he laughed, she added, ‘I guess your amusement means Owen told you.’
‘That you guys are the Magnolia Girls?’ He finished what he was doing for now and walked over to her side of the pergola. ‘Yes, he told me. It’s cool. They’re a nice bunch of girls.’ He sat down beside her, brushing his hands together to rid them of the soil.
She patted the base of the structure. ‘I love this. I gave you free rein with the garden but that was because I had no idea what I wanted. I just wanted it to look nice and to enjoy relaxing in it when it was finished.’
‘So you’re happy with how it’s turning out?’
She smiled. ‘You’ve done a brilliant job.’
They looked over to the flowerbeds – the fresh beds he’d cut with curved edges, the existing flowerbeds that had been cleared of all debris and dead shrubs, ready for the new.
‘When will the grass be ready?’
‘The turf should arrive at the end of next week.’
‘I can’t wait to see it finished.’ Looking around, she asked, ‘Where’s Norma?’
‘Behaving herself in the car, I hope. She’s in the front this time with the window open. She’s too old to climb out of it. I go and check on her every so often, I’ve taken her for a couple of walks and given her plenty of water. She’s well looked after, total princess.’
A look passed between them as Carrie remembered he’d used that term for her too. ‘Can I get you something to drink? You must be parched.’
‘I’d like that, thanks. I’ll just finish planting these climbers.’ He put his hands on his knees about to stand up but Carrie put a hand across his.
‘You can take a break; I’m not that bad a boss.’ Relieved they were being civil to one another and, more than that, they were talking as friends, she nipped into the kitchen and came back with two cans. ‘Lemonade, it’s all I’ve got, is it OK?’
‘More than OK.’
She withheld the cans when he reached out for one. ‘You can have the drink on one condition.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Go and let Norma out the car – I can’t bear the thought of her stuck in there.’
‘Are you sure? She likes to wander, remember. Given half the chance she’d make herself right at home in your place.’
She thought of Norma walking in on her and Lachlan and the shock on her boyfriend’s face almost made her laugh now. ‘I know she does, but it’s only me here – she can wander all she likes.’
‘She might walk dirt into the house.’
‘I’ll live with it.’ Carrie handed him both cans. ‘You wait there, I’ll get her.’
She was back with a very chirpy Norma, her tail wagging in delight, and before long the dog settled at their feet as they opened their drinks and sat on the pergola chatting about life in a country town, this house that had been sold to her after being with one owner for more than fifty years.
‘Do you know what I really like about it?’ Carrie began. ‘I love that it’s up the top of a hill, tucked around the corner, and people probably don’t realise it’s here. Tourists can’t be bothered to scale the hill, especially in the heat of the day, and that’ll suit me just fine.’
‘Antisocial.’
His comment earned him a nudge with her knee against his but the feel of his skin on hers left her wondering whether she should’ve really done it or not. ‘I prefer to think of it as liking my privacy,’ she said. ‘In my apartment it was very different. I kept myself to myself but there was noise all around from the city outside the windows, the comings and goings in the corridor. It was as though you could never really think, at least not clearly. What I also like about this house is that it’s hidden so in many ways feels far away from anything, but I know it’s only a fifteen-minute walk down to Main Street.’
‘I love living where I do too, for much the same reasons.’ When he tipped his chin towards the sky as he took another swig from the can Carrie noticed the tendons at the sides of his neck, his tanned skin that stood up to the Australian sun.
‘This is my first place with a garden.’ She looked all around her. ‘It’s quite something having a space to call your own. I’ve lived in apartments for years. The closest I got to developing any kind of green fingers was looking after a basil plant on my windowsill. It died about two weeks after I got it, but it was about as intimate as I ever got with horticulture.’
‘I think you’ll like having the outside space. I spend a lot of time outside in my own garden.’
‘Do you have many neighbours nearby?’
‘No, Laurel Drive only has my place and three others, all separated by at least fifty metres.’
Carrie fussed Norma when the dog crawled forward on its front legs and put her chin on Carrie’s foot.
‘She’s making sure you don’t neglect her.’
‘She sure is.’ She ran her hand from the top of Norma’s head, along her back, all the way to her tail. ‘Is it true what they say?’
‘And what’s that?’
‘A dog is a man’s best friend?’
‘I can’t speak for all men, but for me it’s true. She’s been in my life for almost fifteen years and it’s hard to imagine it any other way.’ His voice wavered. ‘I think if something good comes into your life you grab it with both hands and treasure it, even in the bad times, but if that something isn’t what you really thought it was, then it might be time to let it go.’
Carrie put her hands in her lap as Norma sprawled out in the sun, her nose twitching when a fly buzzed unwelcomingly around her nostril. ‘You’re not talking about dogs now, are you?’
‘He shouldn’t talk to you like that.’
She knew he would’ve overheard. ‘It was an argument – nothing more, nothing less. All couples argue.’
‘Yeah, they do.’
‘They do.’
‘I know, I’m not saying they don’t.’
‘Then what are you saying?’
Still fussing over Norma, he said, ‘He didn’t sound very supportive. It sounded as though you’re not doing what he wants so he’s throwing his toys out of the pram.’
Carrie finished her drink and stood up, held out her hand for his empty can. ‘I’m the one who walked away from him, not the other way round.’
‘So it appears, but from where I’m standing he doesn’t seem too interested in why you walked away, only that you come back.’ He shrugged and Carrie turned to take the cans inside.
It probably wasn’t the end of the conversation but Carrie was uncomfortable and she didn’t want to talk about or even think about the argument with Lachlan. ‘I’ll let you get on, make the most of the sunshine.’
‘No worries.’ He patted Norma and returned to what he’d been doing before Carrie had persuaded him to take a break.
Inside, Carrie followed up with Owen on the progress indoors as he put the final shelf in the bottom of the pantry. She took out some washing from the machine and carried it upstairs to hang on the airer in the front bedroom, then decided to get out to the shopping centre a short drive away. Retail therapy could fix a lot, she decided, and today she’d choose fabric for the window seat plus cushions to complement the colour.
Back at the house, she braved the garden when she saw Norma lying in the same spot she’d been in earlier. ‘Mind if I take her for a walk?’ she asked before Noah could say anything else. The radio was perched on the edge of the pergola and, as hits from the eighties swarmed into the air, Noah was by the back fence planting a shrub he’d assured her would flower and cover the wood.
‘Be my guest. Her lead is in the glovebox in my truck. You may not need it, she won’t walk all that far, but just in case.’
‘We’ll walk down to town and back.’
‘It may be a bit far, but give it a go.’
Carrie went to the car to retrieve the lead but no sooner had she shut the door than Norma appeared at her side. The tinkling of the chain on the lead must have alerted her to a possible adventure.
‘Come on, you.’ Carrie tapped her leg so Norma obediently followed her. ‘Town’s not too far, is it? And it’s a lovely day.’ Norma waddled next to her, slower than Carrie had thought she’d walk, but she didn’t mind the easy pace as they crunched across the gravel driveway and continued down the hill.
Norma wagged her tail when they walked past the school as she drew plenty of admiring calls from kids behind the fence and on Main Street the dog veered into the pub garden as soon as they crossed the road and lapped water from the large bowl placed there for the purpose. Carrie bought a mint-choc-chip ice-cream from the chocolaterie and after Andrew had come outside and fussed the dog enough, they sauntered along Main Street past the gift shop, looking in the window at a delightful wooden doll’s house Carrie bet Maria would have her eye on in a few years.
‘Noah was right,’ she said to Norma as she popped the remaining tip of the ice-cream cone in her mouth. ‘You don’t like to go far.’ The dog was clearly tiring so Carrie turned and went back the way they’d come, crossing over to go up the hill.
‘Come on, girl, let’s go.’ Carrie started up the hill assuming Norma would follow, but when she turned back to check, Norma had sat down and slowly lowered herself onto her front paws.
‘I’m not going to carry you,’ she laughed. ‘I’m not that fit!’ She fussed Norma for a while, then encouraged the dog, who followed for a few steps. But then she stopped again. ‘What is it, eh? The sun too much? Too long a walk?’
She stroked Norma from head to toe, but after twenty minutes she admitted defeat and called Noah to drive down the hill and get them.
And Carrie didn’t need to be a vet to know this wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all.