“Mummy, can I please have my curly potato now?”
Juniper, startled, looked at Billy, then back at William. “Oh, sorry!” Putting Billy down, she took the drinks and the stick of curly potato from him. “I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”
“No worries.”
She put the drinks in her bag and handed the potato stick to Billy. “Let me just call the others and find out where they are.” She kept the call brief and her grip tight on Billy’s hand. “They’ve found a spot under a tree, on the grass behind the pizza truck.” She started walking, pushing through the crowd again, clearly expecting him to follow her. As it was exactly what he wanted to do, and he happily complied.
They’d taken about four steps when Billy piped up. “Mummy, I can’t see. Can William carry me?”
Before Juniper could reply, William said, “Sure. Just don’t stab me with that stick.” He lifted the little boy in his arms, feeling a spurtof surprise when Juniper took his hand in hers, pulling him through the crowd. It was slightly ridiculous, how good it felt to be walking along with her, holding hands. But it was short-lived, with Billy squirming to get down as soon as they made it to the grass and Juniper dropping William’s hand, leaving him with a pang of regret.
“I got a curly potato!”
William was really starting to enjoy Billy’s habit of announcing everything that happened to him.
“Wow, good one!” Mikayla grinned at him before transferring her smile to William. “William! You made it! Pull up some grass. This is Leah.” She gestured to a petite brunette sitting next to her, who stood up to shake his hand, keeping her eyes downcast. “She’s new in town, so we’ve gotta look after her. Here, try these.” He’d barely sat down when Mikayla was shoving a full plate of food in his hands.
“Ah, thanks. What is it?”
“A bit of Polish, a bit of Lebanese, a bit of Thai. Rafe, the man needs a beer.”
“Gotcha.” Rafe reached behind him and grabbed a bottle from the icebox.
“Thanks.”
William enjoyed lunch; the food was amazing and the company was better. Billy sat next to him, regaling him with all sorts of stories about his friends at playgroup, his favorite books, and his toys. Although he’d never had much experience with kids, he quite liked the idea of them and planned to have a few himself, one day. He had the strangest feeling, though, as he sat there listening to Billy’s chatter. He, William, had helped him into the world. He’d cut the cord minutes after he’d been born. He felt a littleoverwhelmed, all of a sudden, a rush of something unfamiliar flooding him; A sense of connection so completely unexpected that it left him speechless. He gave himself a shake, forcing his mind to concentrate on what Billy was saying.
Then he was distracted by Juniper. “Honestly, you two, you’re like an old married couple.”
Mikayla snorted derisively.
“Well, you are!” Juniper insisted.
“I thought you were a couple,” William admitted, immensely amused at Mikayla’s exaggerated eye roll.
“People really have to stop saying that.” Mikayla pushed at Rafe’s shoulder, grinning at him as he shoved back.
They had a very comfortable, familiar dynamic, probably more affectionate than romantic, William thought. “How do you know each other?” He asked curiously.
“Ah, now there’s a story. You tell him. You always tell it better.” Mikayla lay back on the grass, hands behind her head.
With a smile, Rafe began, “I was seven years old and new in town. As scrawny as a rake and short, can you believe it?” It was hard to believe, since he was a towering figure now at over six foot three.
“It’s true. I was taller.” Mikayla interjected. “But that didn’t last long.”
Rafe poked her in the ribs, grinning at her as she squirmed. “Anyway, I’d just started at Blessed Inlet Primary School and was having a rough time of it. I lived with my Abuela, my grandmother, and she didn’t speak much English, so neither did I, at home. My skills were a bit rusty and there were some kids whodidn’t like it. Towards the end of my first week, I was miserable and angry and seriously ready to fight. I picked a fight with Andy Jenkins, the biggest and meanest of all the kids in the second grade. He knocked me down, I got up and swung a punch, missed, he knocked me down again. All the kids gathered around to watch me get beaten to a pulp, but Anne of Green Gables over here was having none of it.” He looked at Mikayla, his eyes dancing. “I’ll never forget it. I was on the ground, but I could see her storming across the playground. She yells, hey,gilipollas.Right pronunciation and everything.”
“I’d been practicing,” Mikayla interpolated with a grin.
“Andy turns around, confused and she just gut punches him. He falls like a ton of bricks, and she steps over him, leans down and grabs my shirt, pulling me to my feet.” He fisted his hand in his shirt front to demonstrate. “Then she says, ‘any of you arseholes touch my friend, you answer to me. Got it?’ They all nod and she pulls me away, off to the nurse.”
Juniper sighed. “I never get sick of hearing that story. You were a tough cookie back in the day, Sinclair.”
“She sure was,” Rafe said affectionately.
“And don’t you forget it,gilipollas.” They all laughed as Mikayla got to her feet, bending to pick up their rubbish. “Let’s go, hey. The band will be starting soon.”
They made quick work of the cleanup and were just about to move off when Mikayla said, “Shut the f?—”
