Don’t go there now. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.Something her Gran had used to say. She already had a burst pipe. She didn’t need to be worrying about this, too. She’d never been a truly anxious person and could usually tell herself that she’d muddle through somehow—she had so far, hadn’t she?—but sometimes, when enough went wrong, that got harder.
Oh, and the house? Well, yeh. That was pretty bloody spectacular, too. Enveloped by trees, ferns, and assortedgreenery—she could tell that even in the dark, because Zane had the sort of upturned landscape lighting that made the place seem like some sort of Fijian resort. If she’d ever been to a Fijian resort, that is. There’d be birdsong here all day long, and birdsong was her favorite music. You wouldn’t even feel like you were in the city. The place was a double A-frame that had been added on to, she supposed, because besides the two peaked roofs, it seemed to consist of levels on levels. It also had a swimming pool.
Zane opened the front door, and they all trooped in after him. Finlay looked around at the soaring ceilings, the woodwork, and all that lit-up greenery outside, and said, “This is the most flash house I’ve ever been inside of. It’s probably worth millions of dollars.”
Before Skylar could address that, Scarlett said, “That’s rude. You aren’t meant to talk about how much things cost.”
“Why not?” Finlay asked. “It’s obvious it cost heaps more than our house. If it cost less,thatwould be rude for me to say, but I’m saying your house is nice.”
Scarlett sighed. “You’re hopeless.”
“Why don’t you pull the games out of the box, Finlay?” Skylar said before he could retort. “Granddad, will you help them set up a couple of them, please?”
“Sneaky Snacky Squirrel!” George cried.
“That’s a baby game,” Duncan said. “I’m not playing that.”
“Nobody ever wants to play it,” George said sadly. “But it’s still my favorite.”
“I want to play it,” Georgia said. “I’ve only played it at school. D’you want to see my room? We could play it in there. It’s my favorite place ever, because it has pink walls and flowers on the walls, and a tent on the bed.”
“Boys don’t want to play in a room that’s got flowers on the walls,” Duncan said.
“I do,” George said. “I like flowers. Let’s go play in there.”
“I don’t really want to play a game,” Olive said. “I’d rather read my book. I’m just at the good part.”
Since Olive was always “just at the good part,” Skylar wasn’t convinced. She said first, though, “You got your specs, Georgia! I can’t believe I didn’t notice before, but that’s because they look like part of you already. How do they feel?”
“I don’t know exactly how they feel,” she said. “Except that they’re on my nose.”
“All right,” Skylar said, “I’ll ask instead, ‘How are you seeing things?’”
“I’m seeing somanythings,” Georgia said. “Did you know you can see leaves on trees? I thought trees were just kind of blobby-looking, but you can see all the leaves. And you can see the ducks on the water, too.”
“Brilliant,” Skylar said. “You’ll be reading in no time, then.” Which reminded her, so she went back to, “How about playing Clue, Olive? You like that, and it’s like reading a story. A mystery story.” She looked at her granddad. “Help, please.”
“Hmm?” He and Maureen had been talking in the corner.
“Granddad. Games? Help?”
“Right,” he said. “Games. Let’s have you set that up, you kids, and Maureen and I will sit on the couch and supervise. How about a glass of that wine first, Maureen?”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “A small one. It’s so lovely to have you all here. Cozy, I call it.”
Scarlett said, “You do?” But her grandmother ignored her.
Zane was still holding Skylar’s washing basket of food. Now, he led her into a perfectly modern kitchen, set the basket on a white-veined charcoal benchtop with a sort of leathered texture—that was nice—and said, “Reckon the grandparents can break up the fights until I’m back. Open anything. Use anything. I’ll be back in … call it half an hour.” He headed for the doorway, then turned back, and she thought he was going to kiss her again, or say something like,It’s all right.Not thatshe needed him to, of course, because itwasall right. He’d sounded like the plumbing bill wouldn’t be anything too shocking, and she wouldn’t even have to do the washing-up in the bath! And the kids wouldn’t actuallyfight.She hoped.
He didn’t kiss her, though. He said, “Keys?”
“Oh!” She dug them out of her purse and handed them over. “Thank you.”
“I’ll pull the table out before I go so you can lay it,” he said. “It’s got an extension in it.”
Shedidlose some of the tension over the next half-hour. When Finlay and Scarlett started squabbling, she decided to let her granddad handle it and poured herself a glass of wine instead.It’s fine,she told herself.It’s one evening. And you’re seeing how the other half lives. Openness to new experiences fosters creativity and resilience.
It may have worked. But it may just have been the wine.
