Page 34 of The Good Sister

‘Hi there,’ he says.

Rose looks at me. She looks so baffled I almost laugh.

‘Rose, this is Wally,’ I say instead. ‘Wally, this is my sister, Rose.’

Wally extends his hand. ‘Good to meet you,’ he says. ‘Though I must point out that my name is in fact Rocco.’ He shoots a reprimanding smile at me.

Rose continues to stare at him. It’s strange. Normally Rose is so poised, so polite. She always has the perfect response to everything. Today, she seems like the sister who doesn’t know how to behave.

‘Pleased to meet you too, Rocco,’ she says finally, taking his outstretched hand. She holds it for longer than appropriate (maximum of three seconds, she’d always told me) and stares at him in a manner I would have considered rude. ‘You look familiar. Have we met before?’

Wally picks up his shoes from beside the door where he’d lined them up neatly the night before. ‘Not that I recall, but you never know. This world is a small place. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to catch up. Fern, I’ll talk to you later?’

It is a statement, but he poses it like a question, rising in intonation at the end. In light of this, I decide to go out on a limb and answer it as one. ‘Sure. Talk to you later.’

Wally gives me a little salute and lets himself out with his shoes still in his hand. It’s so peculiar I find I can’t stop smiling.

I look back at Rose, who is gaping at me.

‘Heslepthere? Fern! You can’t just invite a strange man into your home!’

‘He’s notthatstrange.’ I wonder if she is referring to the salute.

‘He’s a stranger, Fern. We don’t know him. Is he the one who drove you home the other night after bowling?’

I nod. ‘In his van.’

‘That’s another thing,’ Rose says. ‘I saw Mrs Hazelbury on the way in and she’s not happy about that caravan outside.’

‘It’s not a caravan,’ I say. ‘It’s a kombi van–’

But Rose isn’t listening. ‘What did you say his name was again? Rocco?’

‘Yes. But I call him Wally.’

‘What’s his last name?’

‘Ryan.’

‘Rocco Ryan.’ Rose frowns frustratedly off into the distance, contemplating that.

‘You still didn’t tell me why you came back from your holiday early! Is everything all right with Owen?’

A tiny smile comes to her lips. ‘Everything is perfect with Owen. We’re back together!’

Rose is beaming. I get the feeling that I should be excited. But I’m confused.

‘Back together? But . . . did you break up?’

‘Well . . . no.’ Rose’s smile fades. ‘It’s complicated. Suffice to say, I have been worried about the state of our relationship these last few months. But not anymore.’ Her smile returns. ‘Now, I’m more confident about it than ever.’

I smile, still not totally understanding.

‘So, where is Owen?’ I ask. ‘Back at your place?’

She shakes her head. ‘He’s got to finish the project he’s working on. But he’ll be back as soon as he can. In the meantime, we need some serious sister time. Just you and me, and these donuts. What do you say?’

She dives into the box and pulls out a chocolate-iced donut for me. She has one too, after checking her blood sugar on her glucometer. When we are done, I shower and get ready, and then Rose drives me to the library. It’s not until much later that day that I realise that Rose never actually explained why she was home early.