Chapter Nine
After the run-in with Noah yesterday Carrie kept her distance from him, and, it seemed, he was thinking the same way. The fencer came and quoted but there was no knock on the door to discuss anything, and Noah and Norma had packed up and gone on their way before Carrie even returned from the supermarket. She’d heated up a rice dish in the microwave, tried to read her book upstairs on the airbed but when the words on the page morphed into one, she shut it and had an exceptionally early night.
Maria was in fine form the next morning. ‘Teething’, her mum had described it as, but with the rain lashing at the windows and without the promise of escape into the fresh air today, Carrie was tearing her hair out by lunchtime and so she bundled Maria up and drove into Magnolia Creek, where she started with a visit to the café and a coffee to keep her sane. Bella fussed over Maria, and all the cuddles made the baby so much calmer by the time they left. With the rain cover over the pram and a waterproof for Carrie, next stop was the gift shop, where Maria watched a mobile moving above their heads. Mal gave her some leftover bubble wrap to play with while they were browsing, although Carrie wouldn’t let her have it when she wasn’t watching in case Maria thought it a good idea to shove it in her mouth. After the gift shop came the chocolaterie and a quick hello to Gemma, and they ended their outing with a dash over to the florist’s so they didn’t get soaked as Carrie picked up a bunch of orange gerberas for Bella to say thank you for saving her sanity that morning.
‘Maria was a challenge today, so thank you.’ Carrie handed Bella the flowers when they reached the café.
‘You didn’t have to do this.’ Bella was touched and immediately took the blooms out back to put in a vase and returned to put the display next to the till.
‘I did, because I was going crazy earlier.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ Bella smiled. She leaned in and let Maria grab hold of her hand, fascinated by her watch.
Carrie and Maria had a good afternoon after that and although the both of them got wet on the transfers from pram to car and car to house, it had been worth it.
After Maria it was busy, busy, busy, and on to the hospital. Today Carrie was collating information on volunteers. Serena was impressed she’d already coerced friends to take part, although Carrie had claimed no such thing, and there were fifteen women and one man who had signed up to be baby cuddlers in all. It was a lot of admin entering all their information, arranging for checks, sorting people into groups so they could come into the hospital for training, but by the time Carrie left that evening the rain had stopped and shooting up from behind the roofs of the stores on Main Street was a rainbow of indigo, red, yellow and blue strips, all the different colours in the sun that you didn’t usually see.
At the house, she parked next to Owen’s motorbike and went inside to see what the progress was.
‘I’ve nailed down the loose floorboards in here,’ he said from his position on the floor in the second lounge room, ‘I’ve knocked in any protruding nails and I’ve had to take up a few of the floorboards that weren’t salvageable.’
‘Thanks again for changing your schedule,’ she told him, referring to the change of plan for when he’d tear out the bathroom suite. ‘It’s just easier for me to go and stay with Lachlan at the weekend.’
‘No worries at all.’ He pulled up one more floorboard, which was rotten at the end and had another hole in the middle, and leaned it against another board beside the wall. ‘I’ll replace the missing boards and fill any small holes, then we can get on to sanding. This room hasn’t taken much work at all, but the architrave is rotten.’ He took her over to the window. ‘The window is fine, but see here?’ He crouched down and she did the same as he pointed beneath the architrave where half the wood was missing. ‘It’s not expensive, just another thing to do before we’re ready to finish the floors and start painting.’
Standing up, she looked around. ‘This is a nice room. Smaller than the other but cosy.’ A sudden thought entered her mind. ‘I can see this room as a snug, perhaps with a wood burner.’
‘That’s what I call vision. You must get that from your mum.’
Carrie smiled. ‘That’s about the extent of it though. I’ll have to get her out here to sort furnishings and colour schemes.’
He picked up a bottle of water from next to the pile of boards and took a swig. ‘You sound as though you’ll be making this homely enough.’
‘You know, I never thought I would.’
‘You’ve always liked things just so,’ he said, ‘so why has it surprised you so much that you want to do the same here?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t mean wanting the place to look good. I mean doing it all so far away from the city. I always thought I’d buy my first place in inner Melbourne – Toorak, Albert Park, or somewhere like that. I never thought I’d come this far out.’
‘It’s something else, isn’t it? You always said it was beautiful when you came up to visit me.’
‘But that’s not the same. I was visiting briefly each time – totally different from immersing yourself in a place like this, getting to know people.’
‘People seem to like you.’ He started wrenching off the architrave at fault, using sufficient force but gentle enough not to damage anything else around the window. ‘And Rosie can’t wait to do this baby-cuddling thing.’ He grinned, and without turning away from the architrave said, ‘I hear you’re all calling yourselves the Magnolia Girls.’
‘Hey, don’t mock.’
‘I’m not!’ He put the offending piece of wood next to all the others. ‘I think it’s a great thing. You know me and the community – I like to be involved, and it’s great to see you doing it too. Not just because it’s a good thing to do for others but because I think it’s good for you as well.’ He was clearly about to ask more but she changed the subject.
‘What happens here then?’ She nodded to the bare parts of the floor that now had nothing stopping the outside from coming in. The house wasn’t built on a concrete slab but on stumps and as Carrie stood next to where one of the floorboards had been ripped out, she could see the ground half a metre below.
Owen came and stood next to her. ‘I told you, I’ll get some replacement boards, tomorrow most probably.’
She looked up at him as though her query should be obvious. ‘No, I mean what can it be covered with in the meantime? I don’t want anything crawling inside and taking me by surprise.’
‘Ah yes, the balled-up paper upstairs should’ve told me that.’
‘Seriously though,’ she said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable leaving it like that.’
Owen scratched his head in thought and then went into the other lounge and returned with his tools. Screwdriver in hand, he began unscrewing the hinges of the door to the room. ‘This has to come off anyway, to be sanded and then painted, so may as well take it off now.’ When the door was off he manoeuvred it until it was near the gap in the floor and then laid it down flat.
‘Perfect,’ Carrie grinned.
Owen went to the kitchen and removed that door too, bringing it into the room and doing the same on the other side of the floor, and with the addition of a flattened old cardboard box, they’d covered all the area they needed to.
Noah chose that moment to knock at the front door with the fencing quotes. ‘Just wanted to check you’re OK to go ahead with this one.’ He handed her a piece of paper with figures written on it and she gave it straight back to him.
‘Whatever,’ she told Noah. ‘You’ve got the budget so whatever fits in is fine by me.’
He rolled his eyes much like she’d rolled hers at Maria that morning when she threw half a muffin on the floor for the third time. ‘I meant the style of the fence. If you turn it over there’s a sketch of how it’ll go around the property.’
She took the paper back but it made no sense to her. ‘You’ll have to show me.’ Turning the paper around at different angles she said, ‘I don’t even know which is the start of the garden and which is the end.’ She walked through to the kitchen and waited for him to follow. Impatiently, she stood, hands on hips, looking out the window and over the back garden, which was becoming one sodden mess with the rain that had drenched Magnolia Creek today. With more due tomorrow, and the day after that, she wondered what sort of a quagmire she’d be left with by the end of the week.
Noah stood next to her and she tried to ignore the warmth coming from his skin, the accidental brush of his arm against hers as he leaned over to point to the far corner and explain how that was where the fence would be a slightly different shape because of the land boundaries.
‘The land isn’t completely rectangular,’ he said, unaware of how he made her feel. ‘So the fence over there will be cut off at the corner. I’ll put in a shed and a lilly pilly on either side of it, which should grow well, and you’ll forget all about the peculiar shape.’
Carrie nodded, but really she wasn’t thinking about the garden or lilly-whatever-they-were-calleds. Instead she was wondering whether Noah was thinking about the photograph he’d found, or her reaction and refusal to tell him who the little boy was. For some reason she found herself hoping that he was, but when he announced he’d give the fencer the go-ahead and turned to leave, she realised he probably hadn’t given it much more thought and just assumed she was a rude princess who liked things her own way.
*
Come Friday afternoon, following a busy week with Maria, the rain that had made everyone miserable and some busy afternoons at the hospital, Carrie was glad to escape the renovations and head away from Magnolia Creek, back to the city.
It felt weird letting herself into Lachlan’s apartment. She’d done it plenty of times before, but she’d quickly got used to an entirely different routine.
With Lachlan not due home for another couple of hours, when they’d head out to a restaurant, she made the most of the luxury. She ran a heavenly bubble bath and soaked for as long as she could before the water turned lukewarm. She made herself a fruit salad – Lachlan was surprisingly domesticated and healthy, keeping his fridge stocked with fresh ingredients at all times, which had always surprised her. Most doctors she knew ate on the run so often they mostly had convenience on tap, but here was her boyfriend with a plentiful supply of grapes, berries of multiple kinds, and even Greek yogurt to go with it.
After she’d had a snack, Carrie unpacked her outfit for that evening. Lachlan had always approved of her dress sense. With high heels and tailored dresses, she always felt empowered, sexy and like the Carrie she’d always strived to be. A lot of her smarter clothes were in storage but she’d kept a few smarter outfits for times like these.
She pulled on the designer inky-blue and purple dress. With its high waist and overlapping V neckline, it was flattering and comfortable. It seemed like forever since she’d worn heels and she grinned as she slipped her feet into the nude patent pair. There wasn’t much call for them in Magnolia Creek and she realised how out of place she’d appear if she walked down Main Street looking like this, or attempted to walk up the hill to her house.
Checking her watch, she sighed. Lachlan was late as usual and she was unsurprised when her phone pinged as though it could tell what she was thinking. He’d been held up at the hospital but their friends Stella and Marco, Flora and Dean were at an Italian restaurant in Southgate not far from the apartment and he asked her to meet them there and he’d get there when he could.
‘Great.’ She looked down at her heels. Her feet were already feeling a little uncomfortable. Once upon a time she’d strolled so serenely from her apartment to the hubbub of Melbourne’s city dressed for occasions such as these, but now she realised her feet had quickly got used to being at home in more appropriate shoes.
She giggled at the thought of slinging on her jeans and multicoloured checked shirt with a pair of Skechers, knowing it wasn’t going to be the kind of restaurant that would look favourably on such a dressed-down look. She was back in the city now, back to the life she’d once been a big part of, so it was time to shake off the doubts. She compromised. She’d wear her Skechers to walk from the apartment all the way past the casino and towards Southbank and then discretely visit the Ladies bathroom in the Crown Casino complex, where she’d change into her heels for the remainder of the walk to the restaurant.
Nobody would be any the wiser.
Her plan went without a hitch and as soon as she arrived at the Italian restaurant, Flora was first up out of her seat to greet her. ‘Great to see you!’ She air kissed Carrie once on either side of her face. A paediatrician in the hospital where Carrie had once worked, Flora was one of those women who seemed to keep a lot bottled up inside and emotions were kept in check.
Stella kissed Carrie on both cheeks. ‘The men are waiting at the bar,’ she said. ‘They wanted to give us ladies a chance to catch up. So come on, Carrie, I can’t wait to hear all about this little house of yours.’
Carrie described how it looked now, what it would become after all the hard work was finished. ‘Magnolia Creek is a beautiful town.’
Stella voiced her approval. ‘It does sound quaint. But it’s so far away.’
‘Not really. It takes less than a couple of hours and it’s so beautiful up there. Apparently it’s stunning in the spring so I can’t wait to see it then.’
Stella and Flora agreed it sounded lovely, but these two women were the least likely people Carrie could ever imagine living in a mess, sleeping on an airbed as men worked around them. Carrie had been like that not so long ago, but she was gradually changing and already she felt one step removed from the gathering tonight.
‘Is Clare coming along this evening?’ Carrie asked. Clare was single, gorgeous and the most relaxed of the crowd – or at least she had been until she’d lost her job when her position was phased out following a restructure at the end of last year.
Flora shook her head, crossed one tanned leg over the other and adjusted her black dress that revealed a bit too much with the movement. ‘We asked, but…’ She shrugged as though even that had been too much effort.
Carrie changed the subject and told them all about her garden and the pergola she planned to have installed.
‘You’ll be fighting us off,’ claimed Flora, ‘because that does sound good. A long evening relaxing beneath a pergola with a glass of wine sounds perfect.’
‘She’s right,’ said Stella. ‘My new role is full on, so a glass of wine sitting in a quiet house in the country sounds the business.’
‘How’s the new job going?’ Carrie asked.
She sighed. ‘Tonight is the first evening I’ve been able to relax for a while.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Flora sighed, not daring to miss out on the conversation.
And, just like that, it was on to hospital talk.
Carrie did her best to chat with the other women about life at the hospital but when they asked her about the baby-cuddling program – they weren’t interested in the nannying job – she almost didn’t want to tell them anything. But that would be churlish, so she explained about how it would be run and coordinated, the recruitment of volunteers and the red tape that had to be tackled. She didn’t mention that most of the red tape had already been overcome – because for now she wanted them to talk to her as though nothing had changed, as though she hadn’t taken a huge step back in her career.
‘I think it’s a wonderful thing,’ said Stella. ‘As you know, we run a similar program at the hospital, but we’ve had to close the waitlist because it’s so long already. Have you got many volunteers?’
‘The number is slowly building. I got a small group together from Magnolia Creek, and as soon as I wrote a media release that appeared in the local newspaper, word spread.’
Stella touched a hand to her husband Marco’s knee as the men rejoined them but the focus was still on Carrie. ‘Well I’m impressed. I thought it would take far longer to get through the bureaucracy.’
Carrie said hello to Marco and to Flora’s partner, Dean. ‘The plans have been under way for quite some time,’ she was forced to admit.
‘Forgive me,’ Flora began, reaching out for her wine, ‘but I thought that was your new job – to set up the program in the first place.’ Her shiny red talons splayed around the glass.
‘I’m happy to jump in where I have. It’s crazy busy already, and with my other job and renovating the house, it’s more than enough to manage.’ She wished Lachlan would show up for a distraction or that they’d simply change the subject, but luckily for Carrie, Marco came to the rescue.
‘You sound like you’re juggling a lot.’ Marco smiled across at her. He’d always been her favourite of the bunch. He aimed high in his career, but he was much easier to talk to than the rest of them. ‘Is it full on, looking after the baby?’
Thank goodness he’d saved her from the discomfort of having to admit it was no managerial role she’d taken at the country hospital but more that of a lackey. Not that she minded, but these women might. She moved away from the subject and chatted about Maria, pondering how a ten-month-old could keep a grown woman on her toes. ‘She really is the boss of me.’
Marco turned to Stella. ‘Someday we’ll have to get ourselves a little boss baby.’
‘One day.’ Stella touched the side of his face affectionately before excusing herself to go to the Ladies.
‘Is everything OK with you guys?’ Carrie hadn’t missed the underlying tension.
‘Kind of.’ He lowered his voice. The others were now embroiled in conversation about an upcoming conference. ‘I want to start trying; she wants to be in her new role for at least a couple of years first. We’re not fighting, but we also don’t have time on our side. I’m forty-one this year, Stella will be thirty-eight. I’m worried that if we leave it too long, it won’t happen.’
Carrie patted his hand as she saw Lachlan finally heading their way. ‘I really hope it all works out for you.’
Lachlan only had eyes for Carrie when he arrived. He complimented her dress, her hair, and whispered in her ear to tell her how good she looked tonight, making her feel special and happy to be here. When they were all seated he continued in fine form. He was attentive to her but part of the overall conversation and Carrie found herself relaxing into it, with the help of a few glasses of wine. She talked to Dean about the bathroom renovations as he and Flora were redoing their own, she talked more about the baby-cuddling program when Lachlan insisted on boasting about his girlfriend who could achieve anything she put her mind to, and she told the group more about Magnolia Creek, a place none of them had ever been.
‘You should definitely visit,’ she said to Stella when dessert arrived. Hers was chocolate mousse, the lightest option but she didn’t think she could even manage that. The food here was delicious but three courses was too much. ‘There are cottages by the lake, there’s a wonderful pub that serves yummy food, and there’s a café, a gift shop.’ She blushed, realising she was blabbering on like an information guide touting for tourists.
Stella smiled at her. ‘Even paediatricians take holidays now and again, so I’m sure we’ll visit. It sounds like quite the place.’ The way Stella looked at Marco told Carrie there was a lot more to this pair than she’d realised before. There was a deeper level, a current that ran beneath the talk of fast cars and expensive holidays.
Flora and Dean on the other hand were different, or at least Flora was. Dean was down to earth, if a little old-fashioned, and when they’d talked about renovating he wanted to know what Carrie had chosen for the bathroom, whether chrome fittings were all the rage, whether a roll-top bath would be impossible to clean around the base, if Victorian taps were a total no-no nowadays. But Flora was preoccupied. She’d been interested in talk of skiing in Vail, been the instigator of a discussion about test driving a new car, the make and model of which Carrie had let go completely over her head because she was so disinterested, but when it came to the normalities of everyday life Flora withdrew as though all it did was remind her that they were all regular people and life didn’t always operate at full speed.
Carrie made the group laugh with her tale of stuffing newspaper in holes at the house to stop spiders coming in, and Owen covering gaps in the floor downstairs when she worried about the same. And when there was a lull in conversation Flora asked, ‘When are you coming back?’
‘To the city?’ Carrie put down her fork, defeated by the second half of the chocolate mousse.
‘To the city, and to be a paediatrician. I mean, come on, organising the baby cuddling and looking after someone else’s kid is admirable, but it’s not what you want for the rest of your life, is it?’ Her eyes danced as though putting someone else in an uncomfortable position was a joy. But looking at the others, expecting them to hold the same opinion as Flora, Carrie noticed they all looked a bit embarrassed for the woman even though they knew Carrie well enough to know she’d stick up for herself. After all, Carrie hadn’t completely lost her identity.
‘Life is full on right now with two jobs and a renovation,’ Carrie explained diplomatically, ‘but one day, yes, I’ll be back to paediatrics.’ The firmness in her voice was enough to put a stop to the line of questioning and Dean steered the conversation onto safer ground by discussing paint colours and the merits of wooden floors as opposed to tiles.
Over coffees at the end of the meal, talk turned to their friend Clare, who Carrie wished was here tonight, being almost an ally in her absence from the medical profession.
‘It’s terrible,’ Stella began. ‘She hasn’t worked in four months. All that training – it’s such a waste, and she doesn’t seem to be able to find another position.’
‘Has she applied for much?’ Flora wanted to know.
‘Would she consider looking outside of the city?’ Dean was curious.
Lachlan frowned. ‘She lives in the Eastern suburbs, doesn’t she?’ When Marco confirmed it he said, ‘They’re screaming out for doctors like her at two, even three, facilities that I know of.’
‘Maybe she’s taking a break,’ Carrie put in. She may as well have said Clare had torn up her medical degree and put one finger up to her career judging by the looks she was getting now. ‘She’s only been out a few months, give her a chance.’
‘She needs to get back in the game,’ Flora insisted as though Carrie’s point was ridiculous. ‘If she’s out too long, nobody will want her. And I saw her a couple of weeks ago.’ She looked at Stella as though what she was about to tell them was the worst thing in the world. ‘She was wearing baggy tracksuit pants, an old T-shirt and trainers – nothing like the Clare we used to see around the place. She’s really let herself go.’
Carrie almost fell about laughing, because she’d done pretty much the same. These women had no idea how liberating it had been. Don’t knock it till you try it, she wanted to yell, but instead gulped the rest of her wine so she wouldn’t say anything more.
At the end of the meal, when coffees had been drunk and the bill delivered to the table, Flora turned to Carrie. ‘We all feel like we need a break sometimes, but she’s not doing anything.’
‘How do you know?’ Carrie kept her voice level because Flora was winding her up this evening. As she suspected, Flora didn’t have an answer. ‘What did she say when you called her about tonight?’
‘I emailed her.’ Flora took her napkin from her lap and bunched it up before setting it on the table. ‘I’m not chasing her. If she doesn’t want to come to these things, I’m not going to be the bitch that hounds her until she does.’
‘Maybe money is tight – have you thought of that?’ Carrie began. ‘Or maybe she’s stressed.’
‘Carrie…’ Lachlan’s look told her she was going too far.
‘I’m sorry,’ Carrie continued, ‘but you’re her friends. Why not call her and ask her if she’s OK? Pick up the phone and actually have a conversation.’ She held up a hand before Flora could respond. ‘And don’t tell me you’re too busy. She was your friend long before I ever knew her – you guys go way back. She deserves more than us sitting around a table claiming self-righteousness.’
‘Carrie, stop.’ Lachlan’s voice held steady.
Flora stood up. ‘I’ll be outside, Dean. I’m not going to sit here while I’m attacked for voicing my opinion.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Carrie to everyone else around the table. They’d never had such an outburst within the group and it seemed nobody knew how to handle it.
They settled the bill between them and Dean went outside to join Flora. When the other men filed out of the restaurant in front of Carrie and Stella, Carrie said, ‘I shouldn’t have laid into her.’
‘Between you and me,’ Stella confided, ‘she deserved it.’ She winked. ‘Flora speaks before she thinks; she has no filter. I don’t know why she gets so high and mighty all the time – maybe she feels like she has to compete. Sometimes I feel like I should be doing the same, but I have enough of that in my career. I’m getting too old to be thinking about doing it anywhere else.’
Carrie appreciated the frank conversation. It was the most open Stella had ever been, but by the time they all went their separate ways she knew she owed Lachlan an apology too. He hated confrontation at social occasions and this was supposed to be a nice weekend, some quality time together. Truth be told, she’d wanted to stay in tonight, have a takeaway and cosy up on the sofa watching a movie, but she’d gone along with dinner plans after he told her everyone wanted to see her.
‘It’s a beautiful night.’ Lachlan draped his suit jacket across her shoulders and they walked along Southbank.
Carrie looked across the river to Flinders Street Station and its dome that shone at night. She loved this city, from the tinging of a tram’s bell to the whooshing sounds the trams made as they whisked people from street to street. She loved the way the city stayed alive even in the dark hours, the gentle tinkling of cutlery from restaurants and the murmurs of laughter from crowds that didn’t seem to ever want to go to sleep. She’d not had much time to appreciate it up until now, forever in a work frenzy, rarely stepping back.
‘I’m sorry about what happened at the restaurant.’ The breeze lifted her hair as they walked on, the night sky lit up by the flames coming from tall columns outside the Crown Casino complex. ‘I shouldn’t have had a go at Flora.’
He put an arm across her shoulders. ‘I think she often feels threatened when she’s out with everyone else.’
‘In what way?’
‘You know she went for the Head of Paediatrics position too?’
She turned and looked up at him. ‘I didn’t know that. And Stella got the job.’
He nodded. ‘Flora and Stella went to medical school together and according to Marco they’ve been close friends ever since, but there’s always been competitiveness between them. They both claim it fired them up at university but I think that’s more from Stella than it is from Flora. Flora has always been one step behind.’
‘But she’s got a brilliant job, earns a good salary, Dean is gorgeous and loves her to bits, he’s an anaesthetist and top of his game. She couldn’t want for much else.’
‘Don’t get me wrong, I know Flora and Dean have a good relationship – but she was never going to go for anyone outside of the medical profession unless they were in law or banking.’ Lachlan offered more insight from before Carrie had come on the scene: he’d known these people quite a bit longer. ‘Stella once set her up on a blind date with a carpenter.’
‘Oh no, was it terrible?’ They turned the corner away from the crowds and headed towards the apartment. Carrie’s feet already hurt and she couldn’t wait to take off her shoes.
‘No, it wasn’t terrible. She was smitten. It all seemed to be going fantastically well – we even gossiped in the staff lounge that an engagement could be imminent – but then Stella and Marco got together.’
Carrie stopped, if only to rest her feet. ‘Why would that affect Flora’s relationship?’
‘Marco was new to the hospital and, let’s face it, he’s not bad to look at.’
‘Did Flora like Marco?’ She didn’t need to add that, yes, the man was incredibly good looking.
‘No, nothing like that. But it was what Marco represented. He was a doctor, drove a flashy car, earned great money, and I really believe it became another level of competition. Things eventually fizzled out with the carpenter and, shortly afterwards, Flora found Dean.’
Carrie stopped outside the apartment building and stood on the first step so she was level with Lachlan. ‘You seem to know a lot about this.’
‘Believe me, I don’t make a habit of being so in touch with the inner workings of the female mind, but Stella confided in me recently.’
‘Oh?’
‘Marco’s pressuring her to start a family and she wants to focus on her career a while longer. But it’s more than that…for a while she’s been worried about Flora, and this was why I stopped you laying into her tonight. Stella’s concerned that if she tries to start a family, Flora will do the same. Both of them had always been adamant they didn’t want kids, but Stella says that in the last few years her feelings have changed.’ He looked at Carrie and she wondered if he was thinking it may happen to them, too, one day.
‘I don’t understand why it’s a problem if they both have babies. It might bring them closer together.’
Lachlan shook his head. ‘Stella knows Dean doesn’t want children so she’s worried Flora will trap him and it’ll kill their relationship.’
Carrie shook her head as they made their way through the foyer and into the lift. Inside the apartment she kicked off her heels and lay down on the sofa. ‘I enjoyed Stella’s company tonight,’ she said as Lachlan sat down and lifted her feet onto his lap to massage them.
‘Don’t you usually?’
‘I do, but sometimes I find I’m a bit out of the conversation. I certainly am with Flora.’
‘Like I said, she has issues.’
Carrie was amazed Stella had changed her mind about babies in her future. In their previous conversations between all three of them, it had been the one thing they’d all had in common. But, it seemed, you never really knew people deep down unless you pulled apart the layers and took a closer look.
Lachlan ran a hand up her leg, past her knee and on further. ‘Come on, let’s go to bed. You look hot tonight and all I kept thinking about was what I could do to you when we got home.’
Carrie pulled him closer as he moved above her, but she was distracted. ‘I hated the way Flora talked about Clare tonight.’
‘That was uncalled for.’ He kissed the skin below her ear lobe and she shuddered with pleasure.
‘I sometimes wonder if you all talk about me in that way.’
He pulled back. ‘What?’
‘Do you all gossip about me, the reasons I left, talk about how I’m throwing it all away?’
He stopped what he was doing and climbed off. The moment was over. ‘Now you’re being ridiculous.’ He got up and went to the kitchen area to get a drink of water.
Carrie sat up. ‘What if I never went back to paediatrics?’ When his glass paused mid-air she said, ‘That’s not my intention, but what if I left and only did nannying, or became a carpenter like Flora’s boyfriend who she walked away from because he wasn’t good enough?’
‘You’re being ridiculous, Carrie.’
‘Am I? I wouldn’t fit in though – you can see that, can’t you?’ She wondered if Noah saw her in the same way she was beginning to see Lachlan and their friends, as people out of reach, with jobs and lives they deemed superior. She hoped not. She hoped he could tell she was a good person.
But why did she even care?
‘Just stop, Carrie,’ Lachlan growled. ‘You’re making this into an argument between us. Jesus, this is supposed to be a nice weekend together. God knows we don’t get much time, with you buggering off to the middle of nowhere so you can play house with beefy men in shorts and clumpy boots.’
She stood up, furious at his remark, but soon realised she had a small blister on her toe from the shoes she was no longer used to. She winced. ‘I’m not playing house. What a ridiculous thing to say. I’m working two jobs and organising a renovation.’
‘I’m going to bed.’ He slammed the glass down. ‘I can’t talk to you when you’re in this mood.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’ she yelled after him, but he’d already shut the bedroom door.
Carrie left her makeup on and took off her dress. She covered herself with a blanket on the sofa and shut her eyes, tried to make it all go away. If she hadn’t had so much to drink she’d drive up to Magnolia Creek right now, to her airbed and the smell of freshly dug soil outside, the smell of wood from the wrenched-off floorboards, the sounds of the birds in the morning instead of the city coming alive at some ridiculous hour. She wouldn’t even care that Owen had ripped out the bath, toilet and sink so she had no basic facilities.
Soon enough, Lachlan came out and kneeled by the sofa. ‘Carrie, come to bed. This is silly.’
She sat up. ‘Is it? I think you’re on Flora’s side.’ She shouldn’t push it much more or he’d walk away, go to sleep, go out on shift tomorrow and then where would it leave them?
‘I’m not, but Flora kind of had a point. There are jobs around so I’m surprised Clare hasn’t secured one yet. And, yes, I do agree that she doesn’t want to stay out of the game too long or her skills will get rusty and it’ll be even harder for her.’
‘Is that why you set me up with the job with Serena?’
‘She needed someone.’ He didn’t flinch until her stare forced him into submission. ‘OK, fair enough, I pulled some strings. She could’ve easily recruited some help from within, but she took you on as a favour to me. You should be flattered. Serena isn’t stupid – if she thought you weren’t right, she’d have told me no. Her balls are as strong as her eyebrows.’
Giggling, she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Well, thank you for doing it.’ The thank you was genuine but as he took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom, she knew she was more thankful that she’d formed a group of friends in Magnolia Creek than anything else, that she’d seen a different side to life for the first time. And although she didn’t have a solid plan about anything, she felt as though slowly she was getting on the right track.