Winter Wonderland Wishes. Abigail Gordon
made it easier to concentrate.
‘How did you know I was here?’ she asked, trying to mask how sad she felt for them both. And how equally drawn she was to the father and son.
‘Well, you didn’t answer your phone, so on the off-chance that my sister had convinced you to visit I called her and she said you were swimming with Oscar. Unfortunately I’ll have to cut that short and ask you to head back to the surgery with me.’
‘Like this?’ She looked down at her swimsuit covered by a sarong. She had chosen not to wear her bikini that day, and had slipped the one-piece swimsuit under her sarong before she’d left her house. ‘But if the air-conditioning isn’t running maybe this is the right thing to be wearing.’ She tried to be lighthearted. Friendly. At ease. Everything she wasn’t feeling.
Heath had tried not to look at her body, but he couldn’t help but notice how stunning she looked. He definitely didn’t want to be alone with her at the practice in the outfit she was barely wearing.
‘Perhaps not,’ he replied, trying to avert his eyes from her petite curves. ‘I can drop you home to change, if you’d like.’
A little while later, after a quick stop at her house for a change of clothes, they sat reading through the patient notes in the cool surgery. The newly repaired and efficiently running air-conditioner was working perfectly, but Phoebe had the distinct feeling that this activity wasn’t really essential. They were straightforward records that could easily have been read through prior to her meeting with each patient.
She wondered if it wasn’t so much her being at the practice that was important but perhaps more her not being at Tilly’s house with Oscar. She wasn’t sure why but she said nothing, and continued to concentrate for the next two hours on the records that Heath was explaining in great detail.
Occasionally she would glance at the man across from her. His chiselled jaw, with a light covering of stubble, was tense. There was no half-smile. She realised there was no chance of a full smile and she knew why. Despite her resolve to keep it professional, still she felt her heart pick up speed a little when their eyes met by accident. And at that time, they both paused for only a moment in silence. She didn’t know how he was feeling or what he was thinking but there was something Heath was keeping to himself.
And she suspected it was his heart.
Finally she left to go home. It was a short walk, and she wanted the time to clear her head. She now knew that Heath was still suffering from the loss of his wife and although she also knew that Oscar had been little when his mother had died she wasn’t sure exactly how long ago it had happened. Three years? Four years? Even five?
But there was one other thing she knew. Heath must have loved his wife very much, and if it had been half as much as he clearly loved Oscar then, although her life had been cut short, his wife had been a very lucky woman to have known that deep a love and commitment. It was something that Phoebe knew she had never experienced. And probably never would.
‘Why don’t you guys move here permanently?’ Tilly asked, sitting down and pouring herself a cold soft drink after dropping Oscar back at her father’s later that day. Paul had arrived at her home to mind the twins for a little while. ‘I adore Oscar, and I’d love Mels and Jazzy to grow up with their big cousin to keep the boys at bay. I think it makes complete sense.’
‘My thoughts exactly,’ Ken agreed, while admiring the stunning violet and red hues of the setting sun. The lighting provided a canvas for the silhouettes of the towering gum trees that surrounded his home and the scent of eucalyptus floated in the night air.
But Heath didn’t notice anything. He could still remember the scent of Phoebe, sitting so close to him at work, could see her beautiful face, and nothing he did was successful at pushing those images from his mind. He could vaguely hear the mutterings of his father and his sister, but none of it registered. His mind was consumed by thoughts of Phoebe and he felt uneasy. Her sweetness. Her sincerity. She had stumbled into his world and into his arms quite literally, and for some inexplicable reason he couldn’t shake her from his thoughts. But he wouldn’t break another rule. He had to ignore this fleeting infatuation.
Heath came back to the conversation to see two sets of eyes on him, seeking answers. He didn’t like the fact that a family inquisition was developing on the back porch because there was another one going on in his mind and one was more than enough to endure. Two would certainly send him crazy.
‘The air-con is now working and that’s all that matters. Let’s leave it at that. Phoebe is a surgeon, in town to meet the terms of her employment contract. And, by the way, Tilly, she can’t be your babysitter.’
‘My babysitter? That’s a little unfair. She knows no one, and she was alone in her house, and I thought she’d enjoy a swim and a chat. And, FYI, Oscar totally commandeered her for the better part of two hours and that was not my plan—it was his.’
‘Well, I’m here only until Dad’s knee mends. End of story. So I hope Oscar doesn’t get comfortable with the current arrangements. It’s all only temporary.’
With that Heath stood up and went inside to find his son. Reading him a story was always a highlight of his day, but that night it would also serve as his avenue of respite from the barrage of questions about Phoebe.
And for a short while it might also silence those inside his head.
‘I like Phoebe,’ Oscar told his father as he went to turn out the light. ‘She’s neat.’
‘As in tidy?’
‘Daddy, you’re being silly. Not tidy. She’s fun—and she makes you happy too.’
Heath was taken aback by his son’s words. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Well, I saw you smile. You don’t smile very much. I always thought you were sad, but now that Phoebe comes over you’re happy more. That makes me happy too. It’s almost like we’re a family—like Aunty Tilly and Uncle Paul.’
Phoebe called London after she’d eaten her takeaway dinner. She wanted to chat with Susy and hoped with the time difference that while it was evening in Adelaide she would catch her young barrister friend before she left in the morning for court in London.
‘Phoebs, how are you?’
‘I’m great—how are you, Susy? And how’s work? Anything interesting that you can talk about?’
‘I’ll put you on loud speaker—trying to finish my make-up before I rush out the door.’
‘If it’s not a good time I’ll try another day,’ Phoebe said as she rested back into the three soft white pillows on her bed.
The ceiling fan was moving the air above her and Phoebe had opened a window on the approaching darkness. She knew she would be in air-conditioning all of the next day and she wanted to sleep with fresh air, even if it was a little warm.
‘No, I’m good to talk. Nothing to report. There was a guilty verdict in the grand theft case, which I was thrilled about, and today I’m selecting the jury for a new IT case. Possession of data with intent to commit a serious offence. Same old, same old.’ Susy laughed. ‘I do love my job. We’ve been securing a high percentage of convictions lately, so it makes it all worthwhile. Unfortunately there’s never a shortage of bad guys needing to be put away. But let’s forget about me—how are you on your adventure Down Under?’
‘It’s hot—melting hot, to be accurate.’
‘Well, I don’t feel even a teeny bit sorry for you, if that’s what you’re hoping for. I spent last night in my Wellingtons, overcoat and scarf, shovelling snow off my car in case I need it in an emergency. I’ll take the Underground into London again today. So, my sister from another mother, stop complaining—’cos while you’re over there, getting a suntan, I’m warding off frostbite!’
Both women laughed.
Then Susy’s voice became momentarily