Page 32 of Anxious Hearts

As soon as they stepped off the bus, Kelly took up the fight. ‘All right, so your mum doesn’t want you to do Drama in Year 12. She’s being irrational, but let’s figure out a way to get her over the line.’

Finn slipped as naturally into the conversation as if it had never been interrupted. ‘I don’t know if I can, Kel. She keeps going on about stability and security and how acting can be a hobby but will never make me any money.’

‘I get all that. But would she really prefer you were in some soul-crushing finance job?’

‘As long as it’s a steady pay cheque.’

Kelly sighed. Finn’s mum was a difficult character. Kelly had been tempted to simply write her off as a selfish and over-protective mother who wasn’t willing to hand control of her son’s life over to her son. But after what happened with Finn’s dad, she could hardly blame her.

Still, Kelly had to stand up for Finn. She knew he couldn’t do it on his own, so it was up to her. ‘I’ll talk to your mum tonight,’ she said.

Finn glanced at her as they walked side by side down the leafy suburban street, the trees in full spring green and the warm air soft on their skin. ‘You really think that’s a good idea?’

Kelly knew what he was getting at. Not only was Finn’s mum overly protective when it came to his school and career choices, she was also irrationally vigilant against the influence of teenage girls – and one teenage girl in particular.

She’d never really warmed to Kelly, despite the amount of time Finn spent with her.

Or perhaps because of it. At first, Kelly had been confused, then hurt.

But as she grew older and had started to become a young woman herself, she could see that Finn’s mum felt threatened by her – afraid that she would be replaced, forgotten, discarded by the most important man in her life. Again.

‘I’ll be nice,’ Kelly said.

‘First time for everything,’ Finn muttered.

Kelly punched him in the stomach.

***

‘Oh, you’re here,’ Finn’s mum, Deanna, said when she came into the lounge room and saw Kelly and Finn on the couch.

Kelly ignored her tone and smiled warmly. ‘Hello, Mrs Walsh. How was your shift?’

‘Like all Saturday shifts, Kelly. Long and painful.’

Kelly maintained her smile but felt it hurting her cheeks.

‘Can Kelly stay for dinner?’ Finn asked.

Now it was Deanna’s cheeks that looked like they were causing her pain. ‘Of course,’ she said through a smile of gritted teeth. She inclined her head towards the kitchen. ‘A word, Finley.’

Finn shot a sidelong glance at Kelly but dutifully followed his mother out of the room.

When she was sure they weren’t going to unexpectedly reappear, Kelly tiptoed to the open door that led to the hallway. The kitchen was at the other end of the hall and Kelly strained to hear their voices.

‘Have you two been here alone all afternoon?’ Deanna said.

‘We were watching a movie.’

‘You know how I feel about you being alone in the house with a girl.’

‘Mum, it’s Kelly.’

‘I don’t care who it is, Finley. I won’t have you ruining your life because teenage hormones get the better of you.’

Kelly could almost feel the heat of Finn’s embarrassment from all the way down the hall. Her own cheeks blushed at what Deanna thought they would be getting up to alone in the house. Then her emotions shifted and she clenched her fists. What an insult. To her and Finn.

‘And don’t invite her to dinner without checking with me first. I’m exhausted after my shift and I was hoping the two of us would have a nice, quiet night together.’

‘Sorry, Mum.’

Kelly dug her nails into her palms. She thought about going home to relieve the pressure on Finn but that was exactly what she shouldn’t do. She had to help him, fight for him, stand up for him.

He walked down the hallway and Kelly skipped to the couch, vaulted over the back and crash-landed on the soft cushions.

‘Everything okay?’ she said when Finn appeared. Her heart rate was up and her cheeks were flushed.

Finn raised his eyebrows. ‘As if you weren’t listening.’

***

The ate in relative silence, politely passing food and using their finest table manners.

Kelly was trying to judge the best time to bring up his mum’s request that Finn quit Drama, but the lack of conversation prevented any natural segues.

She had no choice but to dive in headfirst, at the risk of breaking her neck.

She took a sip of water. ‘Finn tells me you’ve asked him to drop Drama in Year 12, Mrs Walsh,’ she said.

Deanna visibly stiffened. ‘That’s right. It’s time for Finley to think about his future.’

Kelly’s pulse raced. She felt a bead of sweat run down her back. ‘You don’t think there’s a future in acting for him? He’s very good.’

Deanna put her knife and fork down. ‘I’m well aware of Finley’s talent, Kelly. But I’m also well aware of the number of talented actors who live hand to mouth and can barely scrape two cents together. That’s not the life I want for Finley.’

Finn was sitting next to Kelly, his mother opposite them. Kelly didn’t dare look at him but could see from the corner of her eye that he was following the conversation like an anxious spectator at a tennis match.

She pressed on. ‘Do you not think he should follow his passion? Maybe take a chance?’

Deanna focused her wilting glare on Kelly. Dabbed her lips with a napkin. ‘No, Kelly, I do not think my son should take a chance with his life. Chances end in disaster. Stability is what Finley needs.’

‘Have you asked Finley what he wants?’

Deanna slammed her napkin down on the table so that the plates and cutlery bounced and clanged, cutting through the facade of politeness.

‘Life isn’t about what you want , Kelly,’ she said with unbridled anger.

‘You think that because you’re young and foolish and you’ve never had to hurt so bad that it tears your spirit in two. ’

Kelly leaned back as though she had opened the door to a blazing furnace.

‘I will not let my boy make stupid decisions that put his life at risk—’ Deanna’s voice rose in volume and intensity, ‘—because of a whimsical fancy and this incessant obsession you young people have with following your dreams. Dreams don’t pay the bills or put food on the table.

Dreams end in nothing but disaster, and the sooner you learn that, the better. ’

Finn spoke up. ‘She’s just trying to help, Mum.’

Deanna looked directly at her son. ‘Well, we don’t need her help, Finley.

I know what’s best for you and I’m the one who has looked after you since your father gave up on us.

I will decide what’s best for you. Not her and not anybody else.

’ Deanna pushed her chair back and stood up.

She looked at Kelly. ‘I think it’s best that you leave. ’

Kelly turned to Finn, tears welling in her eyes, and he gave her a small nod. His eyes were full of sadness and defeat.

He walked Kelly to the front door. ‘Sorry,’ he whispered.

Kelly could see Finn’s mother at the end of the hallway, watching them. Her tirade had both exhausted and energised Kelly, her own emotions colliding within her heart like violent chemical explosions.

A tear ran down her cheek as she looked up at Finn. ‘It’s your life, Finn. You do what’s right for you, not her.’

He nodded once and closed the door.

Kelly stood on the front step as the hallway light turned off. She wiped the tear from her cheek. ‘I’ll get you out of there, Finley,’ she whispered to the door. ‘You just hold on.’