Page 113 of Just Watch Me
“I like cats too,” Duncan said. “Even though I’d like to have a dog better. And I’d like to read in the cupboard sometimes. So I think I’d like to be at their house.”
Finlay said, “So only Scarlett and I are mature enough toeven care whether we’re in our own house or not? And with our own parents?”
“But Granddad’s always here when we’re here,” George said. “So that’s the same.”
“Yes,” Scarlett said. “You’reallhere. Don’t you see that that’s the problem?”
Her words hung there, and everybody at the table seemed to be holding their breath. Except the grandparents, because as usual, they were sitting at the end of the table and saying nothing. Like two people who wanted to distance themselves.
Zane looked at Skylar. She looked back at him and said, “Tackle this separately, or together?”
“I think together,” he said. “And then separately, as often as we need to.”
“Fine,” she said. “Want me to start?”
“How I wish you would,” he said, and she smiled.
“See?” Scarlett said. “We’re all upset, and you guys are talking to each other instead of to us! We’re yourkids!”
“Yes,” Skylar said. “You are. And this is a pretty common problem when single parents start dating for the first time. At least the first time their kids know about, because normally, parents manage to be a little sneakier about it at first. They don’t introduce a new partner to their kids until they’re sure it’s serious, because it’s confusing to feel like … like somebody’s almost in your whanau now, when they weren’t before. Your dad and I can’t be sneaky, though, because as you’ve noticed, my Granddad is here with your Nan, so that’s brought our whanau closer to yours.”
“Too right,” Granddad said.
“Geoffrey and I’ve been talking about getting our own place, in fact,” Nan said. “A little flat nearby.”
“Our own secret cupboard, eh,” Geoffrey said. “Our bolthole.”
“Wait,” Skylar said. “What?” Zane could only agree withher. What the hell? And why would they bring this up now? Didn’t they have enough complication here?
Because they want their time alone together,he was forced to answer,just like you do.
“But youcan’tlive someplace else,” Scarlett said. “Who’s going to look after us when Dad’s not here? I could be in charge, I guess, but I don’t know how to cook, and how would I do my after-school activities?”
“You couldn’t be in charge,” Duncan said. “Georgia and I would run away from home.”
“We’d still be here when your dad was gone, of course,” Nan said. “Just as Geoffrey’s still helping Skylar with the school pickups and so forth. But we’d like some space and privacy of our own.”
“I can’t believe it,” Scarlett said. “Doesn’t anybody care at all about our, like, security? This is just the worst.”
“No, it’s not,” Finlay said. “Nobody died. If your Nan or your dad died, that would be the worst.”
Another girl would have burst into tears. Scarlett, though, turned a furious face on Finlay. “Do you think I don’t know that?”
“Yes,” Finlay said, “because you said it would be the worst, and it isn’t. Obviously.”
“I cannot,” Scarlett said. “I absolutely cannot.”
Skylar said, “I have a suggestion.”
“Good,” Zane said. “Because I don’t have a clue.”
“We both need to go to the supermarket,” she said. “How about doing that together right now, just the two of us, so we can discuss this? We hear everybody’s concerns,” she told the little group. “We want to address them, but we need to work out how. If you give Zane your shopping list,” she told Nan, “he’ll buy what you need for that family tea tonight. We’ll have a little conference once we’re back.”
“But—” Scarlett began.
“And you and Finlay,” Zane said, “can do the washing-up. Since you’re both mature and capable. You showed that during the earthquake, and I know you can show it again. This is a change, not a crisis, and our whanau’s been through changes before and come out the other side. You’ve still got me, and I’ve still got you. The rest is just listening and logistics.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Give me that list, Nan, and don’t forget the eggs. Skylar says we ate all of them.”
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