Page 112 of Kiwi Sin

Friday night, we’d have dinner. Friday was soon enough, even though it didn’t feel nearly soon enough.

On Thursday, my phone rang at school.

I was eating lunch with Priya and Aisha at the time, about to go wash my hands and start on my knitting as they talked about clothes. Aisha was showing Priya something on her phone, Priya was showing Aisha a photo of a necklace, and I was answering my phone.

It was Laila.

“Hi,” she said. “Lunchtime, at school? Or d’you want to call me back from home tonight?”

“No,” I said. “Now’s good. D’you need babysitting?I wanted to make Gabriel something good for tomorrow night, though,I thought.And have him take me for a drive afterward and stop somewhere. Somewhere dark and quiet.

Well, I wouldn’t be able to, that’s all. We both wanted to wait for marriage, at least the top halves of our brains did. The dark parts, though, deep inside? They wanted to be in the ute again, with the windows steamed up and his hands under my clothes.

And my hands underhisclothes.

If we wanted to wait, we shouldn’t be in the ute at night.

“No,” Laila said. “Well, yes, probably, but that’s not why I’m ringing up. D’you know anybody from Mount Zion who might want to interview with me? A woman, though I shouldn’t say that, but still—you’d only know a woman, surely. For this circumstance.”

“For what?” I was confused.

“To be my assistant. You know babies so well, and obviously, there are heaps of babies at Mount Zion. A mum, maybe, who’s come out of there and needs a paycheck. It’s better than cleaning, though it doesn’t pay better, I realize.”

“I thought your assistant was coming back on the fifteenth. Isn’t she there, then?” My breath was coming short, and I wanted to hush the chattering, echoing room full of girls so I could hear. So I could concentrate.

Oh.“Hang on.” I walked out of the room, leaving my things behind. When I was standing in the passage, I said, “OK. I can hear now. Didn’t she come back?”

“She did,” Laila said, “but she’s decided she wants to stay home longer with her baby, which is her right, of course, but … I haven’t had much luck finding somebody else. You said other women had left. Surely there must be somebody.”

Radiance,I thought, with her gentle voice and gentle hands. If she wasn’t going back to Mount Zion. I said, “This is a regular job? Not a temporary one?”

“Yes,” Laila said. “Regular as can be.”

“Can I, uh …” I tried to think. “Can I ring you back tonight?”

“Of course,” Laila said. “Any leads you can offer, truly. I’d appreciate it.”

“Tonight,” I said. And rang off.

48

WILLING TO WORK FOR IT

Gabriel

Oriana texted me on Thursday afternoon,Can you come over tonight? I’ll make dinner. 6?Not an invitation I was ever going to refuse, and if I thought more about what we’d doafterdinner while I was driving over there, well … Sunday felt like a long time ago.

When I drove up, she was standing on the porch waiting for me. Looking nervous, I thought. I kissed her hello, and then I kissed her again, lifting her up this time, because I loved doing it.

By the time I set her down, I didn’t want dinner. She said, “I didn’t make anything flash. A venison and Guinness pie, that’s all. And I want to explain this before I say everything, but … but maybe it’s better if I just tell you when I tell everybody, so you can see what you think.”

It didn’t make much sense to me, but I said, “OK. Are you all right, though?”

She laughed, but it sounded breathless. “Yes. I think so.”

“Good,” I said. “Because I have something to tell you, too. You, and Gray, and Daisy. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but tonight works.”

“All right, then,” she said. “Come inside.”