‘Are you coming to the fundraiser tomorrow night?’ Angel asked, dragging the quilt back down and looking at Oliver.
‘Time for sleep, missy,’ Hayley interrupted.
‘I’m not sure,’ Oliver answered.
‘The room is going to look amazing. Mum’s coordinated all the colours perfectly, the menu is going to rock and there’s even a jazz band coming.Andthey’re using the logo I drew.’
‘You designed a logo?’ Oliver looked impressed.
‘It’s a—’ Angel began.
‘Shh, it’s supposed to be a surprise for tomorrow. You haven’t been telling everyone, have you?’ Hayley asked.
‘Only Uncle Dean… and my dad and maybe Vernon.’ Angel grinned. ‘And Randy but he doesn’t really count.’
‘Angel!’ Hayley exclaimed.
Oliver looked to Hayley then. ‘Can you give us a second?’
‘You’re kidding, right?’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘I leave you in here a second longer, she’s going to make you read that book again.’
‘I’ll take my chances.’
‘Why don’t you go and open some fizzy wine and some low-cholesterol snacks?’ Angel suggested.
‘What are you plotting?’ Hayley asked.
‘I just want to ask Angel something about Rabbit Nation. You’d be bored in a millisecond.’
‘You’re not wrong.’ She took a step towards the door. ‘Five minutes then I’m coming back in.’
Oliver waited for the door to close behind Hayley before he sat back down on Angel’s bed, a serious expression on his face.
‘This isn’t about Rabbit Nation, is it?’ Angel said, worry etched on her brow.
‘No, Angel, this is much more serious than that.’ He let out a sigh. ‘So… you know my brother, Ben…’ he began.
‘Your mum told us he was brilliant at just about everything.’
‘Yeah,’ Oliver replied. ‘He was.’
‘And you miss him.’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘And you won’t speak at the fundraiser because you’re afraid you might cry,’ Angel said bluntly.
Her words almost stole the breath from him. Children had no filter. They were truth tellers. He nodded his head. ‘Something like that.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But, after these last few days of spending time with your mom and our visit to the ice cream store my stomach is still bursting from, I’ve decided that I dowantto speak.’ He sighed. ‘I owe it to a lot of people to talk about how a sudden death has affected the life of my family and the people around me and how we can try to live with it.’
He knew Hayley hadn’t told Angel about the heart condition. Looking at her now, so cute in her cat pyjamas, her hair tied in bunches, he couldn’t imagine wanting her to know anything that might break her heart.
Angel put her hand over his. ‘Yes, you do. And I can help you.’
He smiled. ‘I was hoping you were going to say that.’
‘But I have a condition,’ Angel said, tilting her head so her pigtails fell to one side.
‘How did I not guess that?’
