Lauren narrowed her eyes.‘WillJackbe there?’
‘No,’ Poppy said.‘He’s playing at a festival in Victoria.’
Lauren sighed.‘All right, if you’re feeling okay tomorrow.But you need a nice early night tonight.’
Poppy’s face broke into a wide smile.She kissed Lauren’s cheek.‘Thanks, Mum, you’re the best!’she said then disappeared back inside.
Lauren sipped her champagne, trying hard, Nel suspected, not to look excessively pleased by the uncharacteristic display of affection.
‘What if it’s really an orgy?’Nel murmured.
Lauren burst out laughing, almost spitting out her champagne.
‘Nellie!’Cath exclaimed as Lauren wiped her chin with a serviette.
Steve carried over a platter piled with steaks and sausages and placed it on the table.‘I hope you’re hungry.’
‘Boys!Dinner’s ready!’Lauren called over the railing to the boys below.‘Poppy!’
As Jimmy sat down next to Nel, his arm brushed lightly against hers, sending a tingle up her spine.She expected him to move his arm away, but he didn’t.
Once everyone was seated, Steve dinged his glass with his knife and cleared his throat.Nel tried to focus on him rather than the warmth of Jimmy’s skin on hers.
‘Ah … I have some news.’He spoke hesitantly, uncomfortable in the spotlight.‘While some of you have been busy this week with arrests and hospital visits, Cath and I have been busy negotiating with the new owners of the clinic.’
‘What?’Nel glanced from Steve to Cath and back again.
‘You’re kidding!’Lauren looked at Steve with admiration.
‘We exchanged contracts on Wednesday morning,’ Cath said.‘We settle in just over three weeks.’
Nel’s heart raced.Three weeks!She’d thought it would be a relief once they had a buyer, but now that they did, she wasn’t sure what she felt.
‘Congratulations!’she said, but there was a false note in her voice.‘Who are the new owners?’
‘They’re a lovely lesbian couple from Melbourne,’ Cath said.‘Both doctors.They have two little girls.They remind me of you two actually.’She gestured to Nel and Lauren.‘The kids I mean, not the lesbians.’
‘Yeah, we get it, Mum,’ Lauren said.
Nel stifled a fit of the giggles.What was wrong with her?The champagne had gone to her head.
‘I’d like to make a toast to Nel,’ Cath said, holding up her glass.‘Thank you for staying, darling.I don’t know what we would have done without you here to keep the clinic running.’
‘To Nel!’
They clinked their glasses.
‘And now you’re free to get home to your real life in Sydney!’Cath said.
Nel nodded.Home to Sydney.She pictured her dingy flat.It didn’t feel like a home.She glanced at Jimmy, who looked back at her, his dark eyes shining.
Chapter 62
As they stood on the road saying their goodbyes, Jimmy looked up at the clear sky, pierced with a thousand bright stars.
‘Nice night for a walk on the beach,’ he murmured, ‘don’t you think?’
There was a flutter in Nel’s stomach.‘Um, yeah … that would be lovely.’Her voice sounded strange, stilted, the words too formal.She avoided looking at Lauren, who was listening intently.
