I lay awake with him until his breathing fell into a steady rhythm, then I softly padded to my room.
If his wife had died and he had lost his parents young, it was clear that grief had made him build this tight construct around his heart. It would take time to bring it down. Time, I knew I was willing to give to him.
***
He left earlyish. A call had come through from Oliver’s doctor, confirming they were going to attempt to wake him up that morning.
Nick had had a moment of crisis when he realised he needed to be at the airport at exactly the same time to pick up his sister and daughter. But that was easily solved. I lived around the corner and had a child who adored trips to the airport.
Ella, as expected, did not need convincing, so we packed off Nick to the hospital and then jumped in the car. She had always been obsessed with planes, ever since she was little, as the proximity of our house to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport meant the flight path was directly above us most of the time.
I took care with my makeup and casual clothes. I wanted to make a good impression on Nick’s sister and little girl. It seemed important getting to meet them, despite not knowing that either one of them existed three days ago. Nick had sent me photos of them, and I studied them again as I waited at the arrivals gate. I shouldn’t have worried because even in the busy international terminal they were instantly recognisable.
Evelyn was the female equivalent of Oliver. Beautiful olive skin, intelligent blue eyes and light-brown hair with caramel highlights. She was around my height and build, but slightly finer. She had a gorgeous warm smile and waved at me as she guided her suitcase and her niece out through customs.
Summer was also a little beauty. She was all Nick; she looked just like him. Her wavy dark hair was shiny and fell into soft curls, and her eyes were a greener version of his. She seemed to be a quiet, solemn little thing who did not smile easily. She was wheeling a matching suitcase in miniature to her aunt’s and was dressed in a comfy-looking velour tracksuit in a willow green that matched her beautiful eyes. She was carrying a copy ofThe Secret Gardenand I knew we would be friends based on her excellent taste.
‘Abbey,’ Evelyn called out as if we’d known each other for twenty years and were meeting after a long absence. Her voice was earthy and low, but her rounded vowels and crisp accent matched her brothers’.
When they both made it around the railed-off area, she beamed at me and threw her arms around me.
‘Oh, my goodness, of course you are Abbey. You look exactly like Nicky described and, of course, that beautiful picture of you both from the holiday. God, I don’t even know how to thank you. But thank you so much for looking after my brothers.’
I was astonished that Nick was Nicky and that he had sent her a picture of the two of us on holiday. I didn’t have any pictures of us together, but I remembered him snapping a couple of selfies over the two weeks.
‘Oh, Evelyn, it’s so nice to meet you, too. I must admit to completely adoring your brothers. I’m so sorry for the circumstances, though.’
‘There is no way on earth Ollie goes out like this.’ She sniffed. ‘I have faith that he will be back being an absolute pain in our arse soon.’
I pulled away from her, giving her a sympathetic smile before turning to Nick’s little girl.
‘I’m Abbey. You must be Summer. Your dad has told me all about you. This is my daughter, Ella. Ella, this is Evelyn, Nick’s sister, and Summer, his little girl.’
‘Hello,’ Summer said shyly, earning my instant endearment.
I bent down a little. ‘Did you know you are carrying one of our favourite books, Summer? Maybe while you’re here you can come over with your dad and we can have a movie night and watch the film.’
‘That would be nice. Thank you, Abbey.’ She turned to her aunt. ‘Aunty Ev, can we see Daddy now?’
‘Sweetheart, he’s at the hospital with Uncle Ollie. You and Jacinta will go home and Daddy will be there after he and I check in on Uncle Ollie. Okay, baby? Uncle Ollie is poorly.’ Evelyn pointed behind them. ‘Abbey, this is Jacinta. Summer’s nanny.’
‘Oh, hi!’ I said politely to the leggy nineteen-year-old that was Jacinta. She had long dark hair and gorgeous curves, hips and boobs.Jesus.She looked like Salma Hayek.The nanny is a babe.
Before we dropped off Ella at her friend Bella’s house to ‘hang out’, she and Summer became best friends in the fifteen-minute drive, exchanging numbers and making arrangements for catchups, much to my amusement. I then drove Summer and Jacinta to Nick’s apartment with the luggage. Nick had left me a set of keys that morning. Then, finally, Evelyn and I headed to St Vincent’s.
She chatted effortlessly, a welcome relief in comparison to the other Northbys of my acquaintance. Though Ollie was chatty, he never gave me important information, such as Nick having a daughter and being a widower. I learned more from Evelyn in the short drive to the hospital than I had from Nick or Oliver in a month.
Evelyn was thirty-five, divorced, and had a dog called Liam, who was named after her childhood idol, Liam Neeson. She worked in investment banking and had a slew of hobbies: she painted with oils, made pottery, baked, cooked and, occasionally, wrote poetry.
‘There is no way on earth Ollie goes out like this,’ she repeated.
‘You guys are twins?’
‘Yep! It’s odd. I always felt certain that if something ever happened to him, I would know straight away. We’ve always been so close, you know? Except during the dreadful foster years.’
‘What happened to your mum and dad? The boys have never said.’
‘They were on a trip to France for a weekend and had a car accident. It took them both instantly. Our world fell apart. Ollie and I were nine, Nick was fourteen. We didn’t have any other relatives left alive. Mum was Australian, but an only child. Both of her parents were dead, and we’d lost my dad’s mum, our gran, about six months before that.
