‘What on earth is going on?’
‘It started out as a bit of fun when I discovered someone had stolen Elvis. I had no idea it would go this far. I mean, who the hell would steal it? Although I bet Bob Baxter is getting a bit antsy with all this sudden attention.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That it was probably him who stole Elvis.’
‘Don’t go saying that out loud, for God’s sake. He’ll sue you.’
‘Well, it’s something he’d do.’
‘Maybe whoever took it will put it back now that there’s all this attention?’
‘Maybe. Who knows,’ Bel said. ‘Well, I better go and get these kids into bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’
Bel had been determined to master the whole biscuit thing once and for all, and finally had a win with a jam drop recipe she’d found online. The kids decided that Dean should try some and begged her to invite him over.
The night before, he’d called once the kids were in bed and they’d talked till late, but they hadn’t seen each other since he’d left yesterday morning. Bel was annoyed to realise she felt like a nervous schoolgirl at the thought of seeing him. ‘I think he might be a bit busy,’ she hedged, feeling awkward.
‘I’ll call him,’ Ayla said. ‘Mummy lets me call Nanna on the phone all the time.’
‘She does not. She said you have to ask first,’ Ivy pointed out.
‘Can I call Dean?’ Ben asked.
‘No. I’m the oldest,’ Ayla protested.
‘You’re not the boss,’ Ivy argued.
‘I like blueberries,’ Lucy chimed in without lifting her eyes from the drawing she was quietly doing at the end of the kitchen bench.
Bel gave a small sigh before picking up her phone and raising her voice. ‘I’llcall him,’ she said firmly.It’s like working in a freaking three-ring circus.The phone rang but switched to a brief instruction to leave a message after the tone. ‘He didn’t answer, guys. He’s probably busy. We can invite him over another time.’
‘We can take some over and leave them at his front door? That’s what Mummy does sometimes,’ Ivy suggested helpfully.
‘She does?’ Bel asked.
‘Yeah. Sometimes she cooks him dinner and drops it over there because you know what single men are like,’ Ayla said, rolling her eyes. ‘That’s what Mummy always says to Daddy.’
Bel chuckled. ‘Well, I suppose we could drop some over.’ It was the least she could do, really.
After packaging up a number of biscuits into a container, they all bundled into the car and headed off.
Dean’s driveway was less impressive than Emma and Craig’s, just a rough dirt track and a few weeds. The house was white timber and could do with a new coat of paint but it had a rustic charm, with its bullnosed verandah wrapping around the square building. There were three enormous sheds across a wide clearing from the house, but nothing more than a few shade-giving trees scattered around the yard for a garden.
‘Can I take the biscuits, Aunty Bel?’ Ben asked.
‘Can I?’ Ivy piped up, followed by the usual protest from the others in the back seat.
‘Do we have to do this every single time, guys?’ she asked wearily. While she was still trying to play referee, a tap at her window made her jump.
‘Hi,’ Dean said when she opened the door.
‘Hi,’ she echoed. A flutter of butterflies invaded her stomach as she latched onto the smile that spread across his face, before remembering she had a car full of arguing children.
‘We bought you bickies. Aunty Bel made them,’ Ivy informed him.
‘Oh, yeah?’
