Augi turned around to see Sofia smiling at her.
‘I mean,’ Sofia continued, ‘after all that you went through. It’s good to see that you’re happy.’
Augi opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn’t deny it, because Dan did make her happy. Instead she nodded and did what she’d avoided doing for so long. She reached out her hand and took Sofia’s hand in her own and squeezed it. ‘I’ve been as happy as I could be. But you coming here now?’ She shook her head. ‘That’s filled a place in my heart which has been empty for far too long.’
They got up and hugged each other. ‘Now,’ said Augi, ‘I want to know everything.’
Sofia laughed, relief evident in her face. ‘That, Eleni, will take quite a lot of time.’
‘I’ve spent ten years running from my past, I’ll take the next twenty getting to know it again.’
And as Augi sat back and listened to Sofia describe her family and her life in Melbourne, she slowly felt the tightness she’d held inside for so long begin to unravel, as she re-connected with her past.
Much later, after she’d returned home and darkness had fallen, she texted Dan with a brief request. It took him five minutes to turn up at her door.
‘Augustini,’ he said as she opened it. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Daniel,’ she replied stepping aside so he could come inside. ‘I’ve never been so sure of anything in all my life. I’m so grateful to you.’
‘Gratitude?’ He frowned. ‘Is that what this is about?’
She laughed, shaking her head. ‘Of course not. I’ve been holding back from you and your family for so long that it’s become second nature.’ Her smile fell. ‘But I don’t want to any longer.’
‘And that means?’ he asked softly.
It was her who made the move, lifting her hand to his cheek and pressing it lightly against the face that had become so dear to her.
‘It means I want to kiss you.’
He pressed his smiling lips to hers, and kicked the door closed behind them. Eventually the kiss ended and she found herself enclosed in his arms as he touched his forehead against hers.
‘Anything else it means?’
‘Oh yes,’ she said, taking him by the hand and leading him into the bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-One
A few weeks later, Dan drove by on his way to Augi’s house and automatically glanced across at the library. It was past five, and the library should have been closed. Except the double doors were still wide open. Augi working late… as usual.
He smiled to himself as he swung into a side road. What did they say if you loved your work? You’d never work another day in your life? Well, that was Augi. She loved her community, and books, and it didn’t seem to matter whether she was being paid or not. Her life was all one piece. And that included her love life, of which he was a part. Life was good. Especially with the news which he was coming to tell her.
He’d been assigned a big consultancy job with a government agency, advising on policy transparency. A bit of a departure from the work he’d initially focused on but the company he worked for was adamant that he was the best one for the job, and that this shift in focus would be of more direct benefit to the public than anything which had gone before. It was a big step, and proof that the company believed in him.
He had other news for her, too. He’d sold his Washington apartment. Augi hadn’t known he’d put it up for sale. He wanted to surprise her. Not about the sale, but about what it had enabled him to do. He just wasn’t sure how she would take this last piece of news. He glanced at the house on the hill opposite the library and smiled.
He parked beside the tennis courts where a couple of kids were tapping a ball from one to the other, while a coach watched them, calling out advice. Dan greeted her as he walked past, and entered the old-fashioned gate which swung open with its usual creak. He could see Augi through the open doors, her head bowed over the computer. Whatever she was working on was certainly absorbing her.
He stepped into the library and was surprised to see nothing had been packed away yet. The wooden mobile units were still displaying books, and the units fixed to the walls were still wide open, yet to be folded in on themselves and locked away. Even more surprising, Augi hadn’t looked up yet.
The last of the afternoon sun threw long bands of gold across the wooden floor. Dust motes hung suspended in the air, glowing briefly as they drifted through the light. The place was quiet now — no children, no murmured conversations, no chairs scraping back — only the low hum of the computer and the distant sound of the sea beyond the hill.
Augi sat at the desk, one hand pressed against her lips, her other curled tightly around the mouse. Her eyes scanned the screen again, slower this time, as if reading it carefully enough might somehow change what it said.
He walked over to her. ‘Hey, gorgeous,’ he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
‘Daniel!’ she said, with eyes still far away.
‘You look… occupied.’
