Party of Three. Joan Kilby
his hand and couldn’t help but blush. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. Just give me a minute to finish this.” With speed and dexterity he shaped the remaining loaves and placed them on flat pans to proof. Moving to the sink, Ben washed his hands with soap and hot water and dried them on the towel tucked into the waistband of his apron. “Let’s go into the dining room.”
Ally followed him out to the bar and hoisted herself onto a stool.
“Brandy?” Ben asked innocently.
Ally shuddered. “No, thanks—” she began, then noticed his grin. Her lips tightened in disapproval and she drew herself upright. “I have a place for you and Danny to live. It’s a house, not a cottage, but there’s no fixed-term lease.”
“When can we move in?” Ben picked up a swizzle stick from a glass container and twirled it between his fingers.
“Right away, but there’s a catch,” she added. “You’d have to share. You see, it’s my house. I live there, too.”
“I don’t know…”
“There are three bedrooms,” she added hurriedly. “We don’t have to share in that sense.”
The swizzle stick snapped between his fingers.
Shut up, Ally. Shutupshutupshutup—
“This is the first time Danny’s lived with me since my divorce five years ago,” Ben explained. “I was planning on it being just me and him.”
“I understand.” She’d scared him off with her crazy talk about sharing. Gathering up her purse she prepared to leave. “I’ll see what else I can find for you.”
“On the other hand.” Ben flashed her an easy grin, “I’m flexible.”
Ally gave him a strained smile. “Have a look and then decide. I can take you there now.”
“Great. I’ll just let Gord know I’m going.” Ben slid off the stool and headed for the kitchen, untying his apron as he went.
Ally picked up the broken pieces of the swizzle stick and found a rubbish bin on the other side of the bar to dispose of them. Behind the counter little metal containers of green olives, cocktail onions and maraschino cherries were neatly lined up in the drink mixing area. The olives were just a touch out of alignment so she nudged the container into place.
Hearing footsteps behind her she turned. Ben was back with Danny in tow. The boy regarded her warily. She guessed she couldn’t blame him. “Hi, Danny.”
Danny said nothing until Ben nudged him. “Hi.”
She wanted to tell him she wasn’t really a dipsomaniac but felt it beneath her dignity to explain herself to a twelve-year-old. Besides, if they moved in with her the boy would soon see how upright and responsible she was.
Ben followed her in his battered blue utility truck and parked behind her in the driveway. He got out and turned slowly, taking in the view of the town and the distant hills. “This is fantastic.”
Ally was used to it but she knew what he meant. His prediction about the clouds burning off had come true. The rain had washed the air clean and every leaf and blade of grass was etched against the brilliant blue. The air was fragrant with jasmine growing over the back fence.
She hurried him inside before the wind changed and he got a whiff of the farm on the other side of the hill. She didn’t mind the smell of cows and horses but Ben was from Melbourne and if she’d learned anything from renting out cottages, it was that most city people could only handle the country in small, sanitized doses.
“Nice house,” Ben said, gazing around at the saffron walls with the triptych of moody clouds-at-sunset photos, the overstuffed maroon sofa covered in pink and persimmon silk cushions and the orange tulips in a glass vase on the walnut coffee table. Ally especially loved this room at the end of the day when it glowed with the sinking sun.
“The bedrooms are this way,” she said, leading them down the hall. Every room had a different theme color, tied together by glossy white trim. Ben’s room, painted a warm cobalt-blue, contained a double bed and not much else besides a chest of drawers and a chair. Ally threw the curtains back on the north-facing window and the room was flooded with natural light.
“I like this,” Ben said, nodding.
“Danny can sleep in here,” she said, leading them across the hall to the study. It was the most utilitarian room in the house because she’d shared it with George. She was annoyed to see that although her ex was gone his things weren’t. “There’s a single bed under all those binders and the rest of this will go,” she said waving at the filing cabinets and bookshelves. “Well, the computer is mine but I can put it in my room.”
“I don’t mind if you leave it here,” Danny piped up.
“Why would you want it?” Ben said. “You’ve got one.”
“I can network the two and play games against myself.” Danny’s bright blue eyes glazed over at the thought. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“We’re not talking chess, are we?” Ben asked.
“Search and Destroy,” Danny said enthusiastically. “Command and Conquer. Gory and Gorier.”
“I’ll move the computer into my room,” Ally said, settling the matter. “Excuse me a moment. I need to make a phone call.”
While Ben and Danny moved on to the bathroom Ally called George’s mobile and got his message bank. “I’m renting the spare bedrooms so you need to move your things out,” she said. “Today.”
She snapped the phone shut with a smile. That felt good. Draconian but good. Exhilarating, even.
When she got back to the others she found Ben inspecting the plastic trays in which she stored her bits and pieces, each neatly labeled; first aid, hair accessories, makeup, etceteras.
“Very organized,” Ben observed.
“I have more of these trays,” Ally told him. “You and Danny can have your own.”
Ben exchanged a glance with his son then smiled at Ally. “That won’t be necessary.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” she assured him.
“Can we see the backyard?” Ben asked.
She’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask that but she headed down the hall to the kitchen and the sliding doors that led onto the back deck. “Right this way.”
Put mildly, the yard was a shambles. Oh, it was big enough, huge, in fact. There was a large grassy area, some shade trees, an old veggie garden she’d never gotten around to cultivating and a tumbled-down shed. The lawn hadn’t been mowed in weeks—okay, months. The weeds were waist-high and just thinking about what might be lurking in the heap of rusted metal and wood scraps tossed in one of the back corners made her shudder.
Ben was entranced. He didn’t even seem to mind the barnyard odors now wafting their way. He strode over every inch of turf making excited noises. Ally followed, treading heavily to frighten away snakes.
“You could grow anything in this soil—herbs, veggies, anything.” He dug into the dirt and watched it sift through his long fingers like gold dust. Shaking off the remaining particles he strode over to the derelict shed. Ally had stored gardening tools there until she’d encountered a redback spider. After that she’d erected a new prefab shed.
Ben seemed to think the old shed was still good for something. “With a little work we could convert this to a chicken coop.”
“Chickens?” Ally said dubiously.
“Fresh free-range eggs,” Ben said, already in chef nirvana. “What do you think, Danny? Shall we live here?”
Danny shrugged. “It beats the apartment.”