‘But what about the tree?’ Lo’s voice floated back, high-pitched through her sobs. ‘We’re supposed to plant the tree.’
Without a word, Liz picked up the discarded trowel and dropped to her knees. She dug, hard and fast, stabbing the blade into the loose soil as the dust flew up and clung to the dark fabric of her dress. Her grief was the raw and messy kind, and Nathan could see people glancing away, uncomfortable. The act of memorial had taken a voyeuristic turn and eventually he couldn’t stand it any longer. He stepped forward, picked up the other trowel and dug with her. As soon as the hole was big enough, Liz grabbed the sapling and shoved it in, covering it loosely with the grainy earth. It wouldn’t survive, Nathan thought – it wasn’t deep enough – but at least it was done. He stood up and helped Liz towards the house, ignoring the gawping eyes of his neighbours as they watched him leave.
Chapter 29
An hour later, Liz had been tucked up in her darkened bedroom with a mild sedative supplied by Steve, and Nathan found himself standing alone by the lounge room door. The room was fuller than he had ever seen it and despite the heat, some of the crowd had spilled into the hall and out onto the verandah. They left a self-conscious clearing around Cameron’s painting though, Nathan noticed.
‘At least no-one’s touching it.’ Nathan heard the voice by his side. Ilse was looking past him at the picture.
‘I thought we should take it down.’
She frowned. ‘No, not at his funeral. People would ask about it. It’s Cam’s legacy. He would’ve wanted it there for everyone to see.’ There was a faint note in her tone he couldn’t quite make out over the noise.
‘That’s what Bub said too.’
‘Did he?’
‘Pretty much. And Mum.’
‘They’re right.’
They probably were, Nathan thought now. The guests may have been keeping a respectful distance but they all threw snatched glances towards the painting. Curious but reluctant to appear ghoulish. He saw Katy squeeze through the doorway and into the crowd, holding a tray of sandwiches. Instead of passing them around, she dumped the tray on a table and walked straight back out.
Ilse watched her with narrowed eyes. ‘God, they’re useless. Both of them.’ A pause. ‘I could sack them,’ she added suddenly, realisation dawning in her voice.
‘You might not have to. I think they’re planning to leave.’
‘Still. I could. If I wanted to.’
‘Yeah. I suppose so.’
A woman with shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair caught Ilse’s eye across the room and raised her hand in a small wave.
‘Who’s that?’ Nathan said.
‘I don’t know. I thought she was waving at you.’
‘I don’t think so.’
The woman waved again, a little hesitant now, and Ilse sighed. ‘I’d better go and speak to a few people anyway. I’ll talk to you later.’
Nathan sipped his beer and watched her make her way over to the woman in the corner. Ilse offered her hand and they exchanged a few words, their heads tilted close to hear each other over the chatter. Then Ilse turned and pointed to Nathan. She said something else, and the woman thanked her and threaded her way through the crowd towards him.
‘Nathan. Hello. It was actually you I was waving at,’ the woman said, once she was in front of him. She gave an embarrassed smile. ‘You don’t remember me. That’s okay. It’s Melanie. Birch? From Atherton.’
‘Melanie.’ He was struggling.
‘From Atherton? Or I was, anyway, for a few years. And now, I’m back.’ She gave a self-conscious laugh. ‘Don’t worry, I was a couple of years behind you so I don’t think you even noticed me then. But I was friends with Jacqui when you two were dating.’
‘Oh. Right. I don’t –’ He was still struggling, but at least she was still smiling. ‘Jacqui and I have been divorced a while, so –’
‘Oh. Me too.’ She shrugged. ‘City bloke. Didn’t work out, surprise surprise, so after that I went travelling for a while. Was out west for a couple of years, and now I’ve ended up here again. Still working with the horses.’
‘Right.’ Nathan could now just about picture the girl he sometimes saw around at the gymkhanas, part of Jacqui’s loose circle. A strawberry-blonde ponytail and freckles in the summer. There weren’t loads of young people around, but they came and went with surprising frequency, to schools and jobs and other places. He wasn’t sure he’d ever known her name was Melanie, having only really had eyes for Jacqui. Melanie was pretty, though. Both then and now.
‘I’m sorry to hear about you and Jacqui. That’s a shame, I thought you’d work out. You were so good together.’ She hesitated, as if deciding how much to say, then gave him a small sideways smile. ‘We were all horribly jealous of her because there were so many arseholes and never any good guys and she grabbed you so quickly. She was always telling us how much fun you two were having and how you made her laugh.’
‘Really?’ Didn’t sound like Jacqui. Not at the end, anyway. Although – the memories were buried pretty deep – perhaps at the start. At the start, Nathan might have said the same about her. He looked at Melanie, properly this time. ‘So, how do you like being back?’
