‘I suppose. Either way, my dog’s still dead.’
‘I know.’ She stretched out and touched his boot gently with her toes. ‘But that’ll still be the case whether you forgive your brother or not.’
‘Yeah. Maybe.’
‘Definitely, I think, Nathan. Unfortunately,’ she said, and he felt himself smile.
Ilse settled a little on the step and the wood creaked. ‘How much longer are you here for?’
‘Until the day after tomorrow. Xander’s getting the plane on the twenty-seventh.’
‘Before you go home, we’ll have to talk over what to do about this place. With Bub, of course.’
‘Of course.’
She leaned back, her eyes half-closed. ‘Not now, though.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘We don’t have to do it now.’
‘Now, I’m going to sit here and listen to the music.’
‘Sounds good.’
The light flicked off in the backpackers’ caravan and they both looked over. It was pitch black out there now. Above, Nathan could make out the evening stars.
‘So they’re thinking about leaving?’ Ilse said.
‘Yeah. Well, Katy anyway. But, listen –’ He hesitated. He didn’t really want to have this conversation. Not now. ‘I was talking to her –’
‘I think she’s pregnant,’ Ilse said suddenly. ‘She seems it.’
Nathan stared at her, then nodded.
A long silence as Ilse stared out into the night. ‘Is it someone’s other than Simon’s?’
‘Apparently so.’
‘Ah.’ The word was like an exhalation and Ilse’s face twisted. She might have suspected, but Nathan could tell she hadn’t known for sure.
‘I don’t think she’s planning to keep it,’ he said. ‘If that makes a difference. But that’s why Cam made those calls to St Helens.’
‘That’s what it was about?’
‘I think so.’
Ilse stared at the darkened caravan for a long time. ‘I’m pretty sure she’s not even the first,’ she said eventually.
‘Really?’
‘I don’t mean the pregnancy, although –’ She shook her head. ‘What do I know? But do you remember Magda?’
Nathan did, actually. A gentle Polish girl with a soft accent who had been there one Christmas a few years ago. Not long after, he heard she’d gone, two months before her contract was up.
‘And there was a girl over here from Perth. I think her, maybe. For a while. Maybe others.’
‘Cam was –’ Nathan struggled to put it into words. ‘Not good enough. In a lot of ways.’
Ilse had a look on her face he couldn’t quite read. She twisted the beer bottle in her hands, her fingertips leaving streaks in the condensation.
