‘Why, then?’ I’m relieved, but still I persist.
‘Things weren’t right. They were never right,’ he adds.
‘So why did you start trying for a family?’
‘It’s a good question.’ He smiles wryly. ‘I wanted it to be right. I wanted to forge—’ He cuts himself short mid-sentence. ‘I was homesick, too.’
‘You didn’t like England?’
‘I liked it, but I was homesick.’
That, I can understand. ‘Did you have many friends?’ I ask, remembering how that saved me once I started school.
‘Of course, but they were mostly Charlotte’s friends. I met a couple of decent guys through work, but one of them moved out to the country and the other had a family so he wasn’t much up for socialising.’
‘Where did you live? You worked at London Zoo, right?’
‘London Zoo, yep, and we lived in North London in a suburb called Crouch End,’ he replies. ‘Do you know it?’
‘I’ve heard of it, but have never been there. I was more of an East London girl.’
‘You’ve never thought about going back to the UK?’ he asks.
‘No.’ I don’t add, ‘Because you ruined it for me.’
‘So your sisters and your dad are over here at the moment?’
‘And Lorraine.’
‘Of course.’ He smiles knowingly. ‘What did she have in the end?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Girl or boy?’
‘Oh! A girl. Isabel,’ I tell him, smiling. ‘She’s a character. They all are.’
‘Do you go back to England often to visit them?’
‘No. Dad tries to bring the family over here every couple of years. It’s good. It means I don’t miss seeing my sisters grow up. Although saying that, Kay is frightening me!’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She’s fifteen now. Like a little adult. It’s a bit scary.’
He nods. ‘And what about your mum? What’s she up to these days?’
‘She’s okay. She lives in Bondi, works as a restaurant manager. Where do you live?’
‘Cremorne, in North Sydney.’
‘I know it.’ In fact, it’s notthatfar from Manly . . .
‘Where do you live now?’ he asks. I tell him. ‘Nice,’ he comments.
‘I like it.’ I pick at my ravioli.
‘Not hungry?’ he asks.
