Dan followed her outside to a bench beside the tennis courts where several people were playing tennis. After checking he had a clear view of Augi, he took a seat, leant back, and prepared himself for the latest update about Bastard Oliver and his hotel plans.
None of what Lucy went on to tell him was as he’d imagined. It seemed Bastard Oliver was turning into Complicated Oliver. Dan was able to help Lucy unravel what was going on behind the scenes with a quick phone call to one of his mates at the Wellington mayor’s office. But it took information from another quarter to shed light on what was really happening with Oliver.
As soon as she was free, Augi joined them, and stood with her hands loosely clasped, as composed as always, as she described a side to Oliver which Dan wouldn’t have guessed at. But it made sense. Especially to Lucy whose expression softened with each word Augi uttered.
Augi’s gaze held Lucy’s. ‘I think you got to him, Lucy. You, Kate and everyone. I think you all showed Oliver something he’d never been shown before. Or never been receptive to before.’
Lucy cocked her head in query. It seemed she needed it spelt out.
‘You showed him himself. You held a mirror up to him, and he didn’t like what he saw.’
Dan had sensed that Augi was perceptive, but not this perceptive.
Augi took a breath, as if she wasn’t used to talking so much. ‘In my language,’ she said, ‘we have many words for love. But agápe means the kind of love that looks outwards, to others. It’s the kind of love that changes people. Not the easy kind, but the transformative kind. The kind that ruins your plans.’
Dan couldn’t take his eyes off Augi. Her whole face had softened, as if throwing off the shackles of defence, and for the first time he thought he could see right to the heart of her. He liked what he saw. And he couldn’t help but wonder about who she’d loved and how she’d loved, and what had happened to bring that shutter down over her heart.
‘It disrupted his plans,’ Augi continued. Her eyes flicked away for a second. When she looked back, there was something oddly gentle in her expression. ‘He’s had a change of heart.’
Lucy gasped and Dan dragged his eyes off Augi and turned to look at his sister. He was surprised at how shocked Lucy looked. It was clear that she accepted Augi’s explanation, as if what Augi had said made sense to Lucy, even while surprising her.
‘It’s his birthday tomorrow,’ added Augi.
Lucy blinked. ‘His birthday?’
‘I found it in my research and I can’t help wondering how he’ll be celebrating. After everything that’s happened.’
Lucy jumped up. ‘Thanks,’ she said.
Dan frowned, wondering what on earth Lucy was about to do. She looked ready for action. But what kind, he didn’t have a clue. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Off to make sure Oliver has a birthday he won’t forget.’
Dan shook his head in disbelief as he watched Lucy stalk off, down the concrete path, through the squeaky gate, and half-run towards the main street.
‘I don’t believe it,’ he said, turning to Augi. ‘That man is obviously a menace. Sad childhood or not, I don’t want him anywhere near my sister.’
Augi placed a hand on his arm, and Dan froze, all his senses focused on her touch. ‘Daniel, you can’t stop her. She’s a grown woman with a grown heart, which she appears to have lost to this man, who I think may also be lost.’
Instinctively Dan placed his hand over hers, with no thought of who was lost or not. He could only see the rich warmth in Augi’s eyes which wiped everything else from his brain.
She blinked and glanced down at his hand, and when she looked up into his eyes again he saw a change, a sadness there.
If he didn’t act now, he’d regret it.
‘Augi, I really like you.’
She swallowed during the silence as he gathered his thoughts. ‘And I like you,’ she eventually admitted, but the light tone she used suggested a different degree of like than he meant.
‘Enough to agree to meet me for dinner? Just you and me,’ he added for clarity. He didn’t want any ambiguity now. He thought this might be his last chance. ‘So we can get to know each other better.’
He felt as if he were being examined from the inside out. He wouldn’t have minded, but the results of this examination weren’t what he’d hoped for. She pursed her lips briefly in an expression which betrayed regret.
‘I’m afraid not.’
He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to one side. ‘You don’t like me that much, then,’ he said.
‘It doesn’t matter how much I like you. That’s irrelevant.’
