“Hey Coop.” She reached up for a quick embrace. “You and Eva still banging?” She whispered, and I choked on a cough. Judging by the pinched brows Seb gave us, he’d heard her too - and found the comment as funny as a mismatched bedding set.
“When was this?” I pointed to the television, knowing it would distract her.
“The 2012 premiership,” she gleamed, “Dad and I went to Melbourne to watch it. Was amazing.”
“She knows the commentary word-for-word,” Seb clipped, and Marlee nodded as if that was a compliment.
“Not sure whether to be impressed or concerned,” I said with a laugh and Marls looked mildly offended.
“You’re both just jealous,” she replied. “Now leave me alone, this quarter is getting intense.”
“This quarter? Like you haven’t seen it eight hundred times.” Seb quipped, laughing when she ignored him.
“Work is okay,” I finally said, taking a seat on one of thestools aligning the large bench space. “Just came from there actually. Evy found a discrepancy in one of the ledgers and it’s weird.”
“Ugh, it’s so cute how you call herEvy,” Marlee called over her shoulder, trying and failing to impersonate my voice.
Seb scowled, “I thought you were watching your grand final replay?”
“I’m a woman of many talents - gathering intel for the girls while watching the game is the ultimate act of athleticism.”
Seb looked at me, shaking his head but there was no annoyance there. She could mess up his colour-coded sock drawer and he’d call it a ‘bold design choice’, the man was that obsessed.
“Evs found something?” he prompted and I ran my hand through my hair.
“Yeah. Been over it three times and it’s still off. I know we lose volume to the angel’s share, evaporation, standard stuff, but this is more than that.”
“How much are you missing?”
“That’s the thing. It’s not just a barrel or two running light. It’s like maybe thirty barrels, although I can’t be sure so I’ve had to do some guessing - which your sister is not coping with.”
Seb huffed a laugh. “Us Micallefs don’t cope with fluff. Fact only, thanks.”
“I checked the fill levels, the dates, even read over the logs from before that label. Still can’t bloody see where it all went and it’s driving me mad.”
“When’s the brew from?” he asked, curiously.
“Three years ago.” I tapped my thumb against the bench. “If anyone can work it out, it’s your sister. And she’s invited Xavier in this week to help. Apparently he is the only other person she trusts with a calculator.” I shrugged, full confidence in her process.
“Yeah, Evangeline wants me to hire him full time.” Seb replied.
“You need someone?”
“Yeah, I want someone new and his references are good. Have him coming in for an interview this week.”
“Oh my goodness,” Marlee called, clearly still eavesdropping. “You didn’t tell me that. Can I come on that day, Xavier is the best.”
Seb scowled, just as my phone ringing cut through the air. I glanced at the device before groaning loudly.
“For fuck’s sake,” I mumbled, showing Sebastian the screen before I mustered every ounce of energy I had in me and swiped to answer.
“Hello, darling,” my mum drawled, her voice indicating she’d already had a few Proseccos.
“What’s up?” The anger at their judgement of Ev was still lingering, and while I had exchanged a couple of emails with my father, this was the first time I’d spoken with either of them since.
“We haven’t seen you in a while, just calling to say hello.” My shackles instantly rose. My parents hadn’t cared about me when I was a ten year old kid, let alone a thirty-four year old man. They didn’t just‘say hello’.
“I’m with Seb, can I call you back?” I shot Sebastian a look, and he gave the faintest shake of his head. He knew the game I was playing - keep the tone polite, the answers short, and survive the call. After all, she was my mother.
