When I drove into my street, I could already see Zoe’s car sitting in the driveway. It was a hot mid summer day and I’d hoped that she hadn’t been waiting for long. I could’ve killed my brother’s fiancée when she guilt tripped me into offering Zoe somewhere to stay. I had the room, so logically it made sense, but I had a feeling that my life was about to get messy and I liked to keep it simple.
“Ahhhh Dad,” my pre-teen daughter, Mariah, said from the passenger seat. “Why is Zoe sitting on our front deck with two suit cases?”
“You know Zoe?”
“Yeah, we might’ve only lived here for a few months, but Zoe works for Zia Bella.”
I pulled into the driveway, looked up and there she sat, legs crossed, those leopard print shorts she was wearing in the salon riding up to show her thick, luscious thighs and I had to avert my eyes. The woman was stunning, and I had enough trouble trying to ignore the effect she had on me in the brief interactions we’dhad since I met her at a thirtieth birthday party a few months ago. I had no room in my life for romance and even a fling would be out of the question with someone who was so interconnected with my family.
“Dad, why is she here? Is she your girlfriend?” Mariah asked with hope in her voice.
“What? No!” This was why I was reluctant for Zoe to stay here, but Bella was insistent that the room she and my mum had decorated for visitors would be the ideal, out of the way place for Zoe to stay while her apartment was fixed. The only reason I agreed was because it had its own entry on the ground floor and that she could come and go as she pleased.
“Zoe’s apartment above Steele Cut flooded and she needed somewhere to stay,” I said tentatively. “She’ll only be here a few days while Brock and I fix the issues.”
Mariah nodded absentmindedly.
“It would be OK if she was though Dad,” my daughter told me, displaying maturity beyond her years. “Mum has been married to Sara for years, and Nonna is always trying to get you to date.”
I attempted to again deny any interest I had in relationships but she was too focused on Zoe and as soon as I put on the brake, she was out the door and up the stairs.
“Zoe!” My daughter, who was usually too cool to give her dad a hug now that she was preparing to start year six, had jumped into a hug with Zoe.
I nodded at Zoe in greeting, took both of her suitcases and asked her to follow me through the side gate and into the backyard. My house was an older clad home that would’ve originally been elevated on stilts but one of the previous owners had enclosed it to create a granny flat.
“You have your own entrance just over here.” I unlocked the door and showed her the small dwelling. Mum and Bella had insisted that I not just let this space be a storage area andreadied it in case we had relatives wanting somewhere to stay. I rolled in the suitcases, parking them next to the lounge and showed Zoe the bedroom, bathroom and explained that the laundry would be shared.
Zoe stood in the middle of the open plan kitchen, dining and living area looking a little lost.
“I’m sorry, it’s nothing fancy—”
“Are you kidding me?” Zoe interrupted me. “Have you seen where I’ve been living? I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m sorry you’ve had to upend your life like this,” I replied. “If you need to, feel free to come up to the main house, I’m sure I have some leftover pasta. Mariah and I will be going to the Royal for dinner.”
“That’s OK, I grabbed some groceries on my way over.”
I nodded and turned to leave her to settle in, “Oh and feel free to use the pool anytime you like.” Then I had to mentally block myself from any thoughts about watching Zoe swim in my pool.
***
Mariah and I quickly showered and got back in the car and headed to the Royal. I felt guilty that after my daughter had already spent a full week in the school holidays program, at the local community centre, that I wasn’t spending quality time at home with her, but at least I was doing something that was moderately family friendly.
Every second Friday night, the Hartwood Bay Single Dads Club met at the local pub. I had no idea how long the club had been around, I just knew that the founder was a guy named Brad who’s thirty-something son was also a member. According to Ryan, who I’d met through Noah, Brad Fielder had decided when his ex left him and their kids, that there had to be more men like him trying and failing at being both mum and dad. Itstarted with two dads, coming to the pub and sharing a meal in the beer garden while their kids played.
Fast forward a few decades and he was a local legend and Brad’s son, Dustin, was here with his kids. Still Brad consistently turned up each fortnight, like he was the proud patriarch of the hodge podge bunch of blokes. I was lucky that my parents had always helped with Mariah, but not all the dads were as lucky.
“I heard about the chaos that happened at your sister-in-law's salon,” Dustin said between bites of his chicken parmigiana.
“Yeah, the pipe burst upstairs, they more or less had to close up for the day,” I replied.
“And now Zoe is staying at our place,” said Mariah, dipping her wedge in sour cream.
“Zoe,” Brad tipped his head to the side. “She’s the pretty blonde filling in for Paige Andrews?”
I nodded, the elder of the Fielder men could also add town gossip to his list of accomplishments. Tipping my head in the direction of my daughter, I hoped that I’d communicated that I didn’t want to talk about how attractive my new house guest was in front of my daughter. Especially with the man who was determined that each member of the single dad’s club ended up not single, despite him being single himself.
The table fell silent for a few minutes as we all appreciated our pub grub.
