‘I hate math.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘But I do.’
I paused from wiping the bar. ‘Come on, Oscar, you know this stuff. We covered it last week. Read me the question again.’
He sighed. ‘Luke went to Captain’s Scoops to buy some ice cream. He ordered two scoops of chocolate, one scoop of vanilla, and three scoops of strawberry. How many scoops did he get in total? And if a scoop costs $1, how much money did Luke spend?’
‘OK, so it’s basic addition. Think about it. Read the question again if you have to. Slowly.’
I watched his little face frown as he stared at the page in front of him. His mouth moved as he silently worked it out. Fiona, was waiting tables so I’d offered to watch him at a table close to the bar. His grandmother babysat him as often as she could, but sometimes, like tonight, she couldn’t, and Fiona was left with no other option than to bring him to work.
‘Six scoops?’
‘Right.’ I beamed at him. ‘You got it. Now, how much did he spend?’
He read the problem again. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Don’t be afraid to have a guess, Oscar. You won’t be in any trouble if you’re wrong. It’s how we all learn.’
He sighed. Stared at the page for a while. ‘Six dollars?’
‘Exactly. I told you math is easy when you focus on the problem.’
‘No, you said math is fun. And you’re wrong about that.’
I laughed. ‘You’ll get the hang of it. And if you don’t end up liking math, that’s OK. But you need to know this stuff.’
He rolled his eyes at me. ‘Why? That’s what phones are for.’
‘You can’t always rely on technology. What if you were in the middle of the bush somewhere, and you had no phone.’
‘Why would I need to do math in the middle of the bush?’
He had me there. ‘I don’t know, but just trust me. You need to know this stuff. The basics, at the very least.’
‘Fine. Whatever.’ He brightened. ‘Can I have an ice cream now?’
I checked my watch. ‘Yeah, go on then. Tell Kevin I said it was OK.’
‘Thanks, Jack.’ He hopped down from his seat and closed his school exercise book. ‘And maybe I could play on the iPad for a little while?’ he asked hopefully. ‘Please?’
I flicked a tea towel towards him. ‘How could I resist that face. If it’s OK with your mother, it’s OK with me. It’s out in the office. But only for half an hour, OK? Any more than that and your brain will rot.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘That’s not true.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
‘You’re good with him,’ Hannah remarked from her perch at the bar after he wandered away.
‘He’s a great kid.’
Things had shifted between us since the other night. A small shift, almost imperceptible and yet it may as well have been as wide as a chasm. The easygoing familiarity between us had formalized. When we spoke to each other now it was calculated, carefully thought out, checked for possible triggers and flashpoints, any unintended innuendo that could potentially be taken the wrong way. It made me sad, and I was glad that Alex wasn’t around to see it.
I hated that he was dead. But if he hadn’t died I would never have moved to Pine Harbor, and I would never have met Taylor. How could the worst event in my life bring me to the best thing that had ever happened to me? Because that’s how I felt about her. She was everything I’d never known that I wanted in a woman. For so long, I’d felt like the third wheel in Hannah and Alex’s marriage. I wanted what they had. It was only natural, because what they’d had was pretty special. I couldn’t blame Hannah for struggling without him.
‘Are you guys all set for the festival tomorrow?’ Hannah asked, watching me check the clean glasses out of the dishwasher for water marks and polishing them. ‘Is there anything you need me to do?’
