She closed her eyes, remembering the state of the lounge room.Harvey had made a cushion fort that afternoon when he was feeling a little better, and then gone back to bed.She glanced at Jasmine who sat motionless at the kitchen table, wide-eyed, as though she could sense the tension too.
‘I forgot to fix the couch,’ Sophie murmured.
‘I’ll do it, Mum,’ Jaz whispered, slipping from the room.
Sophie turned her back to the door and picked up the tongs, listening to Ryan’s footsteps behind her as he entered the kitchen.
‘Hey,’ she said, glancing at him then back to the pan.
He stood behind her and pushed her hair aside, kissing her neck.She felt herself stiffen slightly.Hopefully he hadn’t noticed.She turned to face him and kissed him on the mouth, then pulled back gently.‘How was your day?’
‘Shit.’
She swallowed.‘What happened?’
‘Hammond wants to buy the Grand.’
The Grand was the old pub on Manning Street.Sophie wasn’t sure why it was a bad thing that the Sydney pub baron wanted to add it to his ever-expanding Carrinya property portfolio, but she got the sense she was supposed to know so she didn’t ask.
‘Lachie’ll get all the commission,’ he said.Ah, brotherly rivalry.Lachie managed commercial listings.Ryan shrugged as though he didn’t want to talk about it, then leaned back against the bench.‘What did you do today?’
‘Nothing.’She turned off the burner under the sausages.When she looked back, he was glaring at her, eyebrows raised, asking an unspoken question.‘I mean, nothing interesting,’ she added.
‘You didn’t go anywhere?’
‘Just the library.’
He held her gaze.‘What for?’
‘I took Harvey to get some books.’
It was the answer she’d planned in case Ryan asked.She’d been careful to park outside the library instead of the doctor’s clinic, and she’d left her phone in the glove box.She’d even popped into the library after buckling Harvey into his car seat and grabbed a few picture books from the display shelf by the front desk, just in case.
She turned away, reaching for the frying pan.‘Dinner’s ready.’
Chapter 13
Nel and Cath sat in the car watching dark figures exchange subdued handshakes and polite embraces on the steps of the church under an overcast sky.
‘There’s Lauren,’ Nel said as her sister came around the side path with Steve and the kids trailing behind her, wearing a tight navy suit with heels and a wide-brimmed hat.She looked like she was going to the Melbourne Cup.Nel looked down at her black jumpsuit and ankle boots, wondering if she was under-dressed.
‘We should go in, I suppose,’ Cath said.
Nel gave her a nod, steeling herself, and unclicked her seatbelt.This would all be over soon.
Dust particles danced in shafts of sunlight that beamed through the stained-glass windows overhead as Nel and Cath made their way down the long aisle towards Rob’s coffin.The pews on either side were full.Nel kept her eyes on the carpet.It was the colour of a glass of merlot with the light behind it.A rich dark red.Had it not been changed in the sixteen years since Maddie was buried?She was certain it was the same colour back then.
She slid into the front row beside her mum as the heavy wooden doors were closed with a clunk that echoed through the church, sending a hush over the congregation.Nel reached for the bookletthat sat on the ledge in front of the pew.A ripple of emotion rose up inside her at the sight of her father’s face, his smile wide, the late afternoon light catching his hair giving him a warm glow.
There was a heavy silence as Poppy and the boys placed special gifts on the coffin, one by one.Poppy’s was a photo in a silver frame.In it, she stood behind her grandpa, her arms around his neck, their faces cheek to cheek.She placed it carefully in front of the wildflower arrangement, which had been selected by Lauren.Leo, who loved surfing like Rob, gave him a block of Mrs Palmer’s wax, which he positioned next to the photo.When Nel asked him later why he chose it, he’d said, ‘Because the waves are always good in heaven and you get to surf whenever you want to.’Little Archie had chosen a beloved LegoStar Warsspaceship that Rob had helped him build the Christmas before.
Once they’d given their gifts, the boys squeezed past to sit between Lauren and Steve, but Poppy sat next to Nel and felt for her hand as an organ rang out.The congregation struggled through a hymn Nel didn’t know.
An elderly priest with jowly cheeks addressed the congregation.‘We come together today to celebrate the life of our beloved husband, father, friend and trusted doctor, Robert Foley,’ he said in a deep monotone, ‘to give thanks for the times we shared, and to bless him and commit him to the hands of God.’
Poppy looked at Nel and smiled weakly, then turned her eyes back to the priest.Tears slowly trickled down her flushed cheeks.
Nel looked at the coffin again.It was large—Rob was six foot one—and made of dark glossy mahogany.So different from the small white one that had sat in the same place sixteen years before.That day, the church had also been packed full.Fragments of memories flashed in Nel’s mind.Flannel flowers.‘Amazing Grace’, sorrowful and stirring.Faye’s face contorted in pain, her knees weak.
