‘We’re not waiting for Ilse?’ he asked Liz, who was hovering in front of the open fridge door as though unable to remember why she was there.
‘She’s still with the girls,’ Harry answered instead. ‘She said to start.’
‘Oh.’
Katy set the final plate down. ‘One for you, Bob.’
‘Thank you, Katy.’
‘It’s Bub,’ Nathan said automatically.
‘Sorry?’
‘Just –’ He could feel Bub glaring at him. ‘With your accent it sounds like you’re saying Bob.’
‘I am.’
‘It’s Bub. ’Cause he’s the baby.’
‘Oh.’ Katy’s brow creased. She looked at Bub, who was shovelling food into his thirty-year-old mouth. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘I don’t mind,’ said Bub, with feeling.
‘That’s so embarrassing.’ Katy gave an awkward laugh. ‘I’ve been calling you the wrong name this whole time.’
‘Well, his real name’s Lee,’ Liz said with a sigh. She had finally shut the fridge and sat down. ‘So you’re not the only one.’
Bub gave Katy a smile that made her glance away, then turned to Harry. ‘What did Glenn have to say about meeting tomorrow?’
Harry’s eyes flicked towards Liz. ‘Not now, mate.’
‘I’m only asking.’
Bub had changed his clothes, Nathan realised. He looked down at himself and across at Xander. The red dust from the death site had crept into the creases of their shirts, and the colour suddenly made his skin crawl. He rubbed at another red patch on his jeans. It made his hands feel gritty.
‘I’ll put the washing machine on later,’ Liz said quietly and Nathan realised she was looking at the dust as well.
‘Thanks.’
No-one spoke and for a while the only sound was cutlery against plates. After a few minutes, Xander turned to the backpackers, as Nathan had known he would. The kid lived in a city. He couldn’t cope with quiet like the rest of them.
‘How long have you been out here travelling?’ Xander asked Simon, who also seemed relieved to have the silence broken.
‘Nearly a year.’
‘You’re not heading home for Christmas?’
‘No plans –’ Simon started, as at the same time Katy said: ‘It’s too expensive.’ Their eyes met and something passed between them that Nathan couldn’t read.
‘And Cam hired you?’ Nathan said, and they looked over. ‘Was that pre-arranged, or –?’
‘No. Just lucky.’ Simon swallowed and put his fork down. ‘We were in the pub in town and got talking to him. I’ve worked in a few trades at home so I’ve been helping fix the fences, water bores, whatever.’
Harry’s features moved a hair’s breadth and Nathan wondered how much help the new guy had actually been.
Simon nodded at Katy. ‘And she’s a teacher, so it worked out well with the girls here. Doing their School of the Air lessons with them.’
Katy gave a small smile. She had put down her knife and was picking at her thumbnail.
