“You’re right,” Skylar said. “I know the love doesn’t actually live there. But it feels like it, doesn’t it? If you close your eyes and think of a time when you loved somebody very much, when they were holding you and you felt warm and safe and cared for, don’t you feel that feeling in your body? Don’t you feel it in your chest?”
“I guess,” Duncan said doubtfully.
“Families are messy,” Skylar said. “And blending families, which is what we’re doing, a bit—that’s messier. That doesn’t make it bad. Mess is only bad when you shove it under the bed, or when the dirty dishes take over your kitchen so you can’t cook and your benchtops are full of crumbs and spilt food.That’sbad.”
“You’d get bugs then,” Finlay said.
“Exactly,” Skylar said. “You’d have all sorts of problems. It could even make you ill. But if you deal with the mess when it happens, you can get it sorted. You can wash those dirtydishes and clean off your benchtops. You can take the rubbish out and put it in the bin. And we’ll do exactly the same thing. Every time a problem comes up, every time somebody feels unhappy, we’ll stop and clean up the mess. We’ll wash off whatever we have to, and we’ll chuck the rubbish in the bin. There’s always going to be rubbish and mess. That’s life, and you can’t run away from it. You talk it over, you deal with it, and then you love each other anyway. Even though it’s not perfect. Even though it’s messy. You love each other anyway. And that’s what we’re all going to do.”
He kissed her. How could he help it?
“OK, I guess,” Finlay said, “except that Snowball’s going to start pooing in our shoes again if we keep leaving him alone.That’swhat’s going to be a mess. I hope you’ve got a plan for that, too, because cat poo is gross.”
43
SHOCKING IN RED
“I missed you yesterday,” Jess said on Tuesday at lunch. “Wherewereyou?”
“Oh.” Skylar pulled her leftover lamb stew from the microwave and lifted the lid. It smelled delicious. Even better than last night, when she’d dished it out of the slow cooker. Which had been three hours before Zane had come over and …
Focus.“I was, uh, busy.” She tried to make it airy. “Errand to run.”
Jess was squinting at her in the same way Scarlett had done on Sunday morning. Was shethattransparent?
Probably.
“You never leave school during the lunch break,” Jess said. “Doctor’s appointment? That’s the only thing I can think of.”
“In thirty minutes? Of course not. I’m doing that after school today. Gynecologist, actually.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but it slipped out. She had to talk tosomebodyabout all this, though, and Granddad certainly didn’t want to hear. “Which is better, d’you think: an IUD or the implant?” She said it softly; no need to advertise this.
Jess said, “Oh, my. Somebody’sbeen gettingbusy.About time, too. Come on. Tell. So it happened again? When? After his match, obviously. Good again, good enough, or not so good? Pity you’ve both got all those kids. Must be a bit hard to get together.”
“Excuse me,” Skylar said, “best method? Implant or IUD?” she added, when Jess looked blank.
“Oh. I thought you were asking me for position advice. Sex-act advice. How I wish I knew more than I do. Where are the men who actually do all that, other than in books?”
Skylar didnotsay, “Living in Zane’s house.” She said, “I’m thinking the implant. Simpler, and no painful insertion or weird strings. Apparently a man can feel the strings. That doesn’t sound comfortable.”
“Well, depending how big he is,” Jess said. “Nobody ever toldmehe could feel the strings when I had an IUD.” She looked at Skylar expectantly. Skylar took another bite of stew. Therewerelimits.
“OK,” Jess said, “if you won’t tell. Though Icouldbe thinking that means he has a micropenis.” Another expectant look.
“In which case,” Skylar said, “he wouldn’t be able to feel the strings. Excuse me? Opinion on method?”
Jess sighed. “You’re no fun. But I use the implant now myself, because you don’t have to think about it. Dry spell, wet spell, doesn’t matter. No pills to remember, no messy jelly, and it’s dead effective. It can also make your period mostly go away, and you can’t put a price on that. Though you still have to use a condom, which is a pity.”
“You do? I thought the implant was extremely effective.”
“Pardon? STIs?”
“Oh. Well, yeh.”
“You’re not telling me that you’re planning on doing it without one! Skylar. He’s asportsman.”
“Does that make him a liar? A cheat?” She tried to say it objectively. It didn’t come out that way.
“Probably,” Jess said. “If we’re being honest. Wherewereyou yesterday, then? Don’t tell me Zane came to take you out to lunch. Hard to see how you’d manage in that half hour. Also, he’ll be training. Pity.”
