‘I, erm… I’d love to, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to teach you much before you go back to Aus.’ I was surprised he hadn’t returned already. The school term locally was starting on Monday or Tuesday.
‘We’re not going back yet. Mum wants to help with Grandad so I’m doing a term at school here.’
‘Oh! I didn’t realise.’ So he was around until Easter? Which meant we potentially had several months together.
‘So can you teach me?’
‘Of course!’ My shoulders sank as I realised it wasn’t my decision to make. I hated doing it but I was going to have to put a caveat on it. ‘But only if your mother says it’s okay.’ I could hear the regret in my tone and hoped Aaron picked up on it too, realising how much I wanted to do this but what a difficult position I was in.
He pouted and I had a flashback to him as a young child when he didn’t want to get out of the pool for bedtime.
‘Do I have to ask her?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘And what if she says no?’
‘Then I can’t teach you, no matter how much I’d love to. I’m sorry. I hope you?—’
‘Jed?’ Anastasia called up the stairs. ‘You’re needed down here.’
‘Bethere in a minute.’
I turned back to Aaron but he’d already picked up Wally the wombat and was heading towards the door.
‘Don’t go!’ I said. ‘We can talk more.’
He shrugged and ran down the stairs.
‘See you soon?’ I called after him, desperately hoping I would.
When Lucy returned from her lunch, Anastasia went out for hers but it was busy for the next twenty minutes. As soon as the gallery emptied, I told Lucy about Aaron’s visit and his revelation that he was staying in Whitsborough Bay for the forthcoming school term.
Lucy shook her head. ‘Seriously? So Mum didn’t think her own daughters might like to know she’s sticking around? What’s wrong with her? When we saw her on Boxing Day, Erin asked when she was flying back and she avoided the question. I asked too and she said she hadn’t confirmed the exact date but at no point did she say the date would be months away. Why does she never tell us anything?’
Tears welled in Lucy’s eyes and I drew her into a hug. I hated the way Ingrid repeatedly pushed the girls out like this. It made no sense not to have told them she was here for several months. She surely couldn’t have intended to keep it a secret. Whitsborough Bay wasn’t big enough for them not to cross paths and Lucy and Erin were in regular contact with their grandparents so they’d have found out sooner rather than later. I’d never understand how Ingrid’s mind worked. I didn’t care how it impacted on me anymore but I did care how it affected our daughters and she should too.
12
JED
For the rest of the afternoon I felt on edge. I tried my best to mask it but Lucy kept shooting me concerned looks and Anastasia asked if everything was all right on several occasions.
We were fifteen minutes from closing time and there were three customers in the gallery when the reason behind my unease burst through the door.
‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Ingrid hurled Wally the wombat at me and quick reflexes meant I caught him before he sent a display of ceramics crashing to the floor.
No way was I willing to engage with her in front of our daughter, Anastasia and my customers. I passed Wally to Lucy, marched towards the door and steered Ingrid outside and down the cobbles.
‘Get off me!’ she cried, snatching her arm away.
‘My hands are in my pockets!’
She glanced down. ‘It felt like you were touching me.’
‘I wasn’t and I don’t appreciate the accusation. And while we’re talking about things I don’t appreciate, I’ll add throwingthings in my gallery, shouting at me in front of our daughter and customers and letting our girls think you’re only here for the Christmas holidays.’
She stopped walking and squared up to me. ‘How long I stay is none of your business.’
