Page 61 of Just Watch Me
“You don’t know where my room is, though,” she said.
“Oh,” he said. “OK. Then I’ll follow you instead. Andthenget into my togs. Except Mum says we need to change clothes in the toilet so we don’t see each other’s naughty bits.”
“Oh, my God,” Scarlett said.
Granddad said brightly, “Brilliant. Maureen and I will havea wee break and take in the City Gallery. That’s modern art. I can never tell what it’s meant to be, but she’s dead keen, and she says she’ll educate me.”
“Make you less of a Philistine,” Maureen said. So shecouldtease. “Never mind. Your granddad’s been teaching us woodworking. The kids and I have all made birdhouses, if you’ll believe it.”
“We have three birdhouses at our house, too,” Finlay said. “He already taught us. No birds have ever come to live in them, though.”
“Maybe they don’t seem cozy enough,” Georgia said. “We could make a sign that says, ‘Nice Home for Birds.’”
“And ‘No Cats Allowed,’” George said. “That would be a good sign.”
Finlay said, “Except that birds can’t read. Or cats.”
“Oh,” Georgia said.
“Oh, well,” George said. “We could still make your birdhouse very cozy, Georgia. We could take fluff out of a pillow, maybe, so the birds could build a nest. Then they’d all want to come.”
“No taking fluff out of pillows, please,” Skylar said. “We can look for some moss for the birds when we take a walk in the bush. Twigs, too, and plant down, if we find any. We’ll put all of it in a mesh bag, hang it outside, and see if the birds are interested.”
“Mum knows all the things about animals,” George said. “And she has the funnest ideas for things to do. She won’t have to think of so many things here, though, because we can go swimming and play games and do so many things, and she says we can go all sorts of places, even the expensive ones, because we don’t have to pay!”
“Why don’t you have to pay?” Scarlett asked.“Wehave to pay.”
“Because your dad’s paying,” Finlay said, with absolutelyno tact. “He paid for our car, too, even though Mum can’t drive it very well yet, and he’s paying for us to go to all the museums and things.”
Scarlett’s eyes were narrowing. “Why?”
“Because he likes Mum, I think,” Finlay said. “I told you, I saw them kissing. And Mum doesn’t have enough money to come here unless he pays for it. She doesn’t have any extra money atall.”A revelation Skylar could definitely have done without.
“You did not see them kissing,” Scarlett said. “I’ve never seen Dad kissing anyone, and I live with him. He doesn’t bring girls on our holidays, either.”
“Well, he did this time,” Finlay said. “Why would I lie about it? It’s not like I wanted to see my mum kissing somebody either!”
“Well, here we all are at last,” Granddad said, rubbing his hands together and appearing completely oblivious, “cozy as anything. We’ll be back in time for tea, Skylar. House is full of groceries, so no worries, because I took the car this morning and stocked up for you. I thought you might like to do spaghetti, or maybe venison stir-fry. Something simple like that, as it’s your first day. You can take your choice, as I nearly bought out the store. Got ice cream, too. You won’t even have to make pudding.”
So, yes. Dinner for nine. A brilliant start. But still. She was in a new city, and she was going to enjoy herself, no matter what anybody else thought about it. And so what if Zane was paying for it? She’d done everything right for nearly twelve years, and what had her exemplary life got her? An Educator of the Year finalist spot, that was what. With that and six dollars, she could buy a flat white. Maybe. Oh, and it had also got her three kids with opinions.
Well, she had opinions, too. She had opinions, and desires, and probably even dreams, somewhere down there. Just now,she desired to swim in a glowing blue pool in the dark. In the rain and the wind, too, because she wanted excitement, and she wasn’t going to find that with all those kids traipsing after her, as Jess had so helpfully pointed out. And if Scarlett wanted to make a federal case of any of that, she might just find herself on washing-up duty. If Skylar was going to be the only adult here, she was going to be the adult in charge.
Look out, world.
23
ONE GORGEOUS MERMAID
Zane climbed out of the Uber into the rain, much too late on Saturday night, and didn’t wince. If he was sore, it was nothing a bit of pool time and a massage wouldn’t fix.
Why had he headed straight over here, instead of doing the reasonable thing and getting a night of sleep in the team hotel first? Because this way, he’d be able to wake up with the whanau in the morning. And, of course, Skylar’s whanau as well. It wasn’t because he needed them. It was because they neededhim.
One car in the driveway, though, and it wasn’t the one Nan had hired. It was the people-mover he’d hired for Skylar. What the hell?
He was already frowning when he entered the quiet house. A few lamps left on, the hum of refrigerator and heat pump, the patter of rain on a metal roof. Everybody was in bed. Well, of course they were. He headed to the kitchen for a cup of tea, and …
The lights in the pool were on, the water moving in ripples. A shape appeared. A woman, swimming a bit lazily. Ashe watched, she dove under the water and glided along down there, her hair streaming out behind her. Pale body, pale hair. She gave a sudden flurry of dolphin kicks, then, and her upper body broke the surface.
