Dan followed Kate’s voice into the Drawing Room. He opened the door to see she was at his father’s desk. Until recently, Jen had taken it over as her writing desk, but now she’d moved into Sam’s house it looked like Kate had taken it over.
‘You don’t usually come in here,’ said Lucy who had followed him inside. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Can’t I come into a room in my own house — although, of course, I use that term loosely — without being interrogated?’
‘You see, Lucy?’ said Dan, feeling vindicated. ‘Being a member of the family does not give you the right to know everything about family members’ business.’
‘What’s the matter, Daniel?’ asked Kate.
He sighed. ‘Don’t you start.’
Lucy stood, hands on hips. ‘I found him sitting outside in the car with his head in his hands.’
‘No!’ Kate came over and put her arm around him. ‘Daniel. Did something happen this afternoon?’
‘Yes,’ he said, moving toward the door, determined to grab a beer from the kitchen and go outside into the deck. He hoped they’d get the hint and not follow him out. ‘I got a job.’
‘You got a job!’ Lucy and Kate said in unison.
‘Yes,’ he said, halfway out the door. ‘I got a job.’
He strode out into the hallway, aware he was being followed, but a beer was his only focus now. He yanked the fridge door open, fumbled around and grabbed a bottle. By the time he’d twisted the cap off, he’d lost his escape route. The kitchen bench blocked him on one side and the two women in front of him, confusion and concern vying for ascendancy on their faces, cut him off on the other. He shook his head and took a swig of his beer.
‘Tell us about this job, and why it’s upset you.’ said Kate.
‘Excuse me,’ he said, pointing to the space between them. Lucy stood her ground, but Kate moved to one side. He went and yanked open the door to the verandah and took a deep breath.
‘Daniel,’ said Kate softly. He looked around to find Lucy had disappeared; no doubt Kate had made her leave. He heard the front door bang loudly. She was clearly frustrated to have been given her marching orders. ‘Won’t you tell me what’s troubling you?’
He could resist many things, but not his mother, who always placed her children’s concerns above her own. He perched on the back of a chair, while his mother stood in the doorway, framed by the light. He glanced out at the sand dunes and took a steadying breath before looking back at her.
‘It’s not the job, Mum. That’s great. It’s actually going to be really great.’
‘Tell me about it.’ She leaned against the door jamb, as if unwilling to break the moment by making herself comfortable.
‘It’s doing what I’ve been doing before. Using the same skills, but I won’t be selling my soul to do it. I’ll actually be making a difference.’
Her face lightened. ‘That sounds wonderful. And it means you’ll be staying. Doubly wonderful.’
He smiled. If all else failed in his world, he knew he could rely on his family. Even if they could be super annoying.
‘So…’ she said, her voice back to gentle again. ‘What else happened to dampen your mood?’
He shrugged and looked back out into the darkness, away from his mother who could extract any information from anyone.
‘Is it Augi?’
He continued to look out to sea, allowing her name to linger in the air between them.
‘Have you fallen out with her?’
He huffed a laugh. It seemed such a juvenile description of what had happened. As if they were school children who’d had a silly tiff.
‘She’s from a different world, Daniel. She’s had different experiences which, whatever they were, were painful. It complicates things.’
He closed his eyes against the darkness. ‘You’re right there.’
He heard her come and sit down in her usual chair, the creak of the cane. He opened his eyes to find her sitting in front of him, plucking the shawl off the back of a chair and wrapping it around her shoulders.
