Page 33 of Kiwi Sin

“What?” he said, all but bouncing on his toes. “Sorry, but I really do have to—”

I said, “I should come with you. I’ve met the kids before, actually, and they may remember me a bit. The little girl was still in nappies then. I can make lunch, and even dinner, if the parents will be in hospital. Her husband went with her to have the baby? Not her mum?”

“No,” Gabriel said. “Outside, the dad stays in the room and all when the baby’s coming.”

That was so strange, I couldn’t even process it, so I didn’t try. “Then I’ll come with you,” I said. I was never sure of anything, but I was sure of this. “It could be overnight, and she—Hannah—will be so worried about them. I can help.”

“OK,” he said, looking harassed and unsure. “But we need to go right now.”

I opened the door to the ute and climbed up. “Then let’s go.”

“You’ll need to—” He wasn’t getting in.

“No,” I said. “It’ll be an argument. An explanation. I’ll text Daisy. She’ll understand. Let’s go.”

* * *

Gabriel

The look of relief on Jack’s face when he opened the door to us—I can’t even describe that. I remembered how his dad had put his arm around him, that first day, and tried that. A quick pat on the shoulder, a quiet word, I reckoned.

“You did well, ringing me,” I told him as Oriana went further into the house with the girls, saying something about lunch. “That was keeping your head, mate.”

“I was scared, though,” Jack said. “I didn’t feel like I was keeping my head.”

“That’s why it’s called ‘keeping it,’” I said, closing the door behind me. “Because half of you wants toloseyour head, but you’re holding it on instead.” I grinned, did another of those cuddle/pats, and he grinned back, finally. “Let me text your dad that we’ve got here,” I said, “and that you’re all in one piece, and then we’ll have lunch and play some basketball.”

Jack said, “Uh …”

I looked up. “What?”

“I didn’t exactly tell him before,” Jack said, “About Mrs. Chambers not coming.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want him to be worried,” Jack said. “Madeleine was born really fast in a car, and my dad had to help. He was worried that this baby would get born in the car, too, and that’s why he made Mum leave before Mrs. Chambers got here. He might be cross that I didn’t tell him, though. Especially because the ambulance came, next door.”

I could well imagine. “So you rang me.”

“Yes. At first I thought I could do it by myself, because I showed you about cooking and laundry and learnt that I did know how to do heaps of things, but Madeleine was crying, and I got worried that I wouldn’t be able to.”

“You did the right thing,” I said. “But I’m still going to text your dad and let him know Oriana and I are here instead.”

“But what if he …” Jack said.

“Reckon he’ll think you were resourceful,” I said. “Resourceful’s good. Means you can think of what to do on your own when there’s a problem, and that’s what you did. So—quick text, then lunch, and you and me doing the washing-up,thenbasketball.”

“OK,” he said. “It’s going to rain, but Dad says a little rain never stops a sportsman.”

“Too right,” I said, somehow forgetting that I had exactly zero items of clothing in this house now. I only realized it when Jack and I came into the house again after our game, soaked to the skin. Oriana looked up from the puzzle she was doing with the girls and said, “Better go get in the shower, Jack, and get warmed up and changed. Cocoa all round afterward, I’d say, and … mm, maybe baking some cookies? What do we think about that idea?” as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Then, of course, she looked at me and laughed.

I grinned back at her and said, “Yeh. Drew’s about the same size as me, but I’m not good with going into his bedroom and looking out clothes. Feels like a step too far. Drip-dry, you reckon?”

“No,” she said. “Go use the guest bath. Get your own shower, but drop your clothes outside the door first and I’ll put them in the dryer. You can wrap up in a blanket until they’re dry.”

Grace said, “This is a baby puzzle. I want to do a hard puzzle.”