A Home Like Ours

by Fiona Lowe

  ‘Mrs Demetriou, I understand you have an unfair dismissal complaint. If you release yourself, we can discuss your concerns in private.’

  Helen saw the WIN News van drive in followed by a ute. ‘No, thank you. I want this conversation to be on the public record.’

  The mayor’s amplified sigh rumbled in the warm air. ‘Until I speak with the staff in Human Resources, I can’t comment on your employment issues. But I can assure you and everyone here that your eviction was far from spurious. It was made out of safety concerns. The moment our engineer, Ryan Tippett, advised the wiring could start a house fire, we acted.’

  ‘After you made it worth his while to tell you the wiring was faulty,’ Helen called back.

  Rayson stood taller, puffing out his chest. ‘I understand you harbour ill feelings about the termination of your employment, but that does not give you the right to make slanderous and utterly incorrect statements.’

  Incensed, Helen held up the clipboard. ‘They’re not incorrect statements. Ryan Tippett’s signature is on this demolition notice to raze the entire block.’

  The crowd called for an explanation.

  Geoff Rayson pleaded for calm. ‘I can assure you, Ryan Tippett’s signature is on a notice to relocate the house to the historical society. Mrs Hooper can confirm that.’

  ‘I haven’t seen the paperwork,’ Tara said. ‘But Mr Tippett and I discussed the move and agreed it would take place next Thursday. Not today.’

  A murmur shot around the crowd. Helen was relieved to see Jade was still filming out of sight of the constable.

  ‘Constable Fiora, can you please come and receive the evidence,’ she called.

  ‘This isn’t a court, Mrs Demetriou.’ But Fiora took the clipboard from her and walked it to the mayor and Vivian.

  Geoff Rayson slid on his glasses and riffled through the papers, his brows pulled down in confusion. ‘This doesn’t make a lot of sense.’

  Vivian, who’d been peering over his shoulder, said, ‘It’s an outrage! Council will investigate immediately. I give you my word we will get to the bottom of this.’

  ‘That’s more like it,’ Bob said softly.

  ‘Save our orchard!’ Judith yelled.

  But Helen’s sense of uncertainty ratcheted up a few notches. ‘Something’s off. Clearly Rayson’s flustered so why didn’t Vivian go in for the kill and nail him? Instead, she’s just suggested exactly what she told me he’d say if I accused him.’

  The mayor glared at Vivian and raised the megaphone. ‘The deputy mayor is jumping the gun. Everyone needs to take a deep breath. The only thing that’s going on here is an unfortunate mix-up. This is the old paperwork I cancelled when the decision was made to move the cottage to the historical society. But we’ve had a lucky save, so let’s give Mrs Demetriou a round of applause for being out early and asking the right questions.’

  Helen stared at Bob. ‘He can’t be serious?’

  ‘He’s got that duffer persona down pat.’

  ‘Clever bastard.’

  The television crew were filming and a journalist stood next to the excavator talking to Daryl and a younger man. A man who was the spitting image of what Helen imagined Daryl had looked like thirty years earlier.

  ‘The mayor might want to explain how he overruled a demolition order without bringing it to council?’ Vivian said to the crowd.

  ‘With a demolition order already in place and without any extra cost to the shire, I didn’t need to bring it to council.’ Rayson spoke through gritted teeth. ‘The only people benefitting from this decision are the citizens of Boolanga.’

  ‘Do you believe him?’ Vivian asked the crowd.

  The excavator’s engine roared into life and everyone jumped.

  Constable Fiora spoke into his radio as he strode to the excavator. While the constable talked to the driver, Lachlan led the crowd down to surround the machine.

  ‘Surely, they won’t demolish it now?’ Helen asked Bob.

  ‘I think they’re just pissed off at all the hoopla. This is their way of telling us they’ve got a new key.’

  The excavator fell silent and the crowd cheered. Denny North joined the young constable, insisting Daryl and his son climb down from the cab.

  Helen cupped her hands around her mouth. ‘Mr Mayor, explain how the order you’re holding instructs Moore Demolitions to raze the garden.’

  ‘You’ve made your point, Mrs Demetriou,’ the mayor said tetchily. ‘There’s no need to add to the chaos by wilfully misleading people. Yes, a mistake was made and we’ll definitely investigate how this order was inadvertently sent to the company—’

  ‘There’s no mistake. That paperwork’s all in order.’

  The crowd chatter ceased. People craned to see who’d spoken, and the TV news cameraman swung his camera away from the mayor, focusing it on Daryl and his son.

  Helen squeezed Bob’s hand. ‘There is a God. Geoff Rayson’s going down in front of a television camera.’

  ‘And who are you?’ the mayor demanded.

  ‘Jayden Moore from Moore Demolitions. That paperwork was hand-delivered to me last night.’ He suddenly glanced around as if he’d lost something.

  Helen rose as far as the chains allowed, trying to increase her view. ‘Have Dangerfield, Rehn or DeLuca arrived?’ she asked Bob.

  ‘It was her.’ Jayden pointed to Vivian, who was no longer standing in front of the crowd but was opening her car door. ‘She delivered it along with a cash deposit.’

  The camera crew ran towards the car. So did the police. But Lachlan and Judith were closer.

  As the Mazda roared into life and reversed, trying to manoeuvre around Tara’s four-wheel-drive, Judith grabbed the back door handle—but had to let go when the car lurched forward. Lachie leaped in front of it, pressing his hands on the bonnet.

  ‘Stay back,’ Denny North yelled.

  The car reversed again, pulling hard to the left, but it was blocked in by two other vehicles. It pulled forward and Lachlan jumped. Vivian tried to accelerate around him, the wheels spinning on gravel. The rear of the car fishtailed, then the sickening sound of crunching metal broke over the crowd when the Mazda slammed into the police divisional van.

  A roar went up.

  Denny North wrenched open the driver’s door. ‘Out you get, Councillor Leppart.’

  Helen sat down hard, her brain scrambling to make sense of Jayden Moore’s accusation. Of Vivian’s attempted flight. It was Vivian who had bribed Ryan Tippett—not the mayor. Vivian who’d engaged the Moores and paid them a cash deposit, meaning she had access to a pot of money. Fury exploded in Helen like eucalypts on fire.

  ‘You used the tiny houses project to hide a deal with Andrew Tucker!’

  Vivian whirled around, eyes blazing. ‘And it was the perfect plan until you stopped playing by the rules and went off-script on social media with your little friend.’ She jabbed a finger towards Jade. ‘Anyone else would have given up after they’d lost their job and their house. The two of you should have left town a week ago, but you’re both too stupid to recognise the signs.’

  ‘You set up the drive-by?!’ Jade moved towards Vivian, but Lachlan caught her by the arm. ‘You bitch! You traumatised my son!’

  ‘Councillor Leppart, I need to warn you that anything you say can and will be used in evidence against you,’ Denny North said.

  As Vivian was walked to the police car, Helen called after her, ‘Your blind spot was underestimating a young single mother and an older homeless woman. We don’t shy away from battles. We live them every day.’

  CHAPTER

  43

  ‘Oh my God!’ Jade ran up the cottage steps, her face flushed. ‘How come we never suspected her?’

  Helen was thinking the same thing. ‘She used something I was passionate about to keep everyone’s eyes away from her true intentions. God, she even said once that Geoff Rayson was using the “look over there” ruse when she was the one using it. I just hope it’s enough to take down A
ndrew Tucker as well as the councillors.’

  ‘It means Corey wasn’t involved,’ Jade said quietly, almost reflectively.

  ‘Can you take Milo?’ Lachlan said, passing the toddler to Jade. ‘I need to get to work.’

  ‘Can you go to my place and get my boltcutters first?’ Bob asked.

  Lachlan checked his watch and looked expectantly at Jade.

  ‘I don’t drive, remember,’ she said.

  He sighed. ‘Back in ten.’

  ‘We’d better add driving lessons to your getting-ready-for-uni list,’ Helen said to her. ‘Bob can teach you. He’s got the patience of a saint.’

  ‘I’m not even sure I’m going to uni.’ Jade’s gaze was on Lachlan’s retreating figure. ‘I better check Aima understands the garden’s safe.’

  Sergeant North was instructing the Moores and Geoff Rayson to come down to the station. ‘And, Helen, when you and Bob have released yourselves, you need to come too. Bring Jade. Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you returned the excavator’s keys to the Moores. Wouldn’t want to have to charge you with theft.’

  Bob’s shudder melded with Helen’s as they pictured the keys under the house.

  ‘Do you reckon they’d wait until Thursday when the house is jacked up and moved?’ he asked Denny North.

  ‘It’s today or you’re charged.’

  ‘It’s a shame Lachlan isn’t still trying to impress Jade,’ Helen said. ‘We could have asked him to do it.’ A sudden wave of exhaustion settled over her. ‘Thank goodness for Daryl’s son being a straight-up-and-down bloke or we’d still be suspecting the mayor. And doesn’t Jayden look like his father. I reckon Daryl must have turned heads in his day.’

  ‘Like I turn yours?’ Bob said.

  She laughed. ‘You’re never going to give up, are you?’

  ‘Nope. Especially not now when I’m chained to you and you can’t walk away.’

  Instead of ignoring the simmer of delight bubbling through her, she embraced it. ‘What if I told you that being chained to you isn’t as bad as I thought it might be?’

  His face fell into serious lines. ‘I don’t want you to be chained to me, Helen. Or me to you for that matter. It implies one or both of us is being held against our will.’

  She fingered one of the thick and heavy silver links, thinking how they’d worked together in the garden, at park food, and more recently in their information-gathering campaign to expose corruption in the shire. How their friendship had grown to be something she held dear. How she trusted and valued him in a way she hadn’t trusted anyone in years.

  ‘I think this chain is really more of a connecting bond,’ she said.

  ‘I like the sound of that.’ His thumb caressed her hand. ‘Will you come to dinner with me at the Grainery tonight?’

  ‘That’s a bit fancy, isn’t it?’

  ‘Not for a special occasion.’

  ‘What’s the special occasion?’

  ‘Our first of what I hope will be many dates.’

  A skitter of trepidation fizzed inside her. ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

  ‘Why not? You just said we have a bond.’

  ‘We do. As friends.’ She twisted her fingers. ‘Bob, I haven’t been on a date in over twenty years. I haven’t had sex in almost as long.’

  ‘Are you saying it’s not so much the date you’re worried about, but having sex?’

  Relief filled her at his understanding. ‘Yes!’

  ‘Well, that’s a good sign.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘It means you’ve been thinking about sex. And I’m hoping that means you’ve been thinking about it with me.’

  ‘I’m not going to answer that on the grounds it might incriminate me.’

  He laughed then and leaned in and kissed her. His lips were gentle and warm against hers, his morning stubble lightly grazing her skin. It was as natural as breathing to raise her hand and slide it along his cheek. Then she was opening her mouth under his and welcoming the kiss. Gifting him one in return.

  Someone cleared their throat behind them. When they ignored it, Lachlan said, ‘Are you two sure you want me to cut the locks?’

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Jade said. ‘You realise we can’t ever unsee that!’

  Helen laughed, high on the rush of the kiss and the fact she’d done it without second-guessing herself. Hell, she hadn’t thought full stop.

  ‘Get used to it, Jade,’ Bob said, winking at Helen. ‘It’s going to be happening a lot.’

  Helen’s laugh drifted into the office from the kitchen and Jade sighed. She wanted to be happy for Helen and Bob, she really did. But since their full-on kiss on the cottage’s veranda, she didn’t recognise either of them. And that wasn’t limited to seeing Helen walking out the door on Bob’s arm last night wearing a little black dress and a strand of pearls instead of a flannel shirt and work boots. This morning Helen had giggled. Helen never giggled—she was far too pragmatic and sensible. But worse than the giggling was the unwanted thought it might mean Helen and Bob had done more than just kiss.

  Jade didn’t know what unsettled her more—the idea of them having sex or the fact it might change everything. She knew she couldn’t stay living at Bob’s forever, but she’d assumed that when she left, Helen would leave with her. The worry of not knowing gnawed at her, taking the gloss off the two amazing things that had happened to her since the protest.

  A journalist from The Age had contacted her after reading her Medium contributions and interviewed her as part of a bigger article about community gardens for the weekend supplement.

  Even better than that, Constable Fiora had told her they’d found Corey in outback western Queensland shooting feral pigs. ‘The station manager’s confirmed his arrival there was four days after your birthday. We’re confident Keegan McDonald and Corey Noonan had nothing to do with the drive-by.’

  Jade had thought of all the texts she’d sent Corey and all the unanswered calls. Thought about her father who’d done exactly the same thing to her for most of her life.

  ‘Did he mention why he didn’t bother to tell me he’d gone north?’

  The constable had grimaced. ‘Sorry, Jade. According to the manager, Noonan and the cook have got a bit of a thing going on.’

  A rush of emotion hit her and she hadn’t known if she was laughing or crying. ‘Don’t be sorry. Let’s hope he stays there.’

  Now, she returned her attention to the computer, toggling between the TAFE website and La Trobe University’s. Floristry was simple, but the number of courses available in the humanities section of the university was overwhelming. It was hard enough trying to imagine studying, let alone picturing herself in a job.

  ‘Knock knock. Can I come in?’

  Lachlan stood at the door holding a road rules booklet. She hadn’t seen him since the protest, but according to Helen he’d popped in when Jade and Bob were in Shepparton with the careers counsellor. He’d stayed for a cup of tea and played with Milo.

  ‘Sure.’ She spun the office chair to face the couch where he sat rubbing his palms up and down his chinos.

  ‘How are things?’ they said in unison, then both laughed nervously.

  ‘It’s nice to see Uncle Bob and Helen so happy,’ he said.

  ‘It’s weird. They keep laughing and finding reasons to touch each other.’

  ‘You mean like we used to?’

  She squirmed. ‘I didn’t think old people got the hots for each other. Clearly I got that wrong.’

  He laughed. ‘I was thinking maybe we could cramp their style and get them to mind Milo while we go for a walk before dinner.’

  ‘I thought we agreed I was too hard to date.’

  ‘We didn’t agree. You told me.’

  ‘You didn’t disagree.’

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bouncing. ‘It was more like I took it on advisement. But now I’ve thought about it, I disagree.’

  ‘Even though Corey might turn up one day out of the blue and want to see Mil
o?’

  ‘I’ll be honest—I’m not thrilled by the thought. But that’s more to do with me not wanting you and Milo to be hurt. I just want you to be happy.’

  No one had ever wanted that for her before. She checked his face carefully, looking for signs that belied his words. All she read was sincerity and care.

  Panic scuttled unease all over her. ‘I don’t know how to be in a normal relationship.’

  ‘Is there such a thing?’

  ‘You know there is. You grew up in a family where people loved each other and wanted the best for each other.’

  ‘I see how much you love Milo and how you want the best for him. Isn’t that a start?’

  She thought about the last eighteen months waiting around for Corey to show up, waiting for money. Just waiting. After the weeks of uncertainty, everything was now surprisingly clear.

  ‘I can’t just be a girlfriend. I want to go to uni. I want a decent job like teaching or being a librarian. Something that gives me and Milo the security I’ve never had.’

  ‘That sounds like an excellent plan.’ He stretched his hands out towards her. ‘Any chance you can extend those plans to include me too?’

  ‘I’ll be studying and there’s Milo. You won’t have all my attention all of the time.’

  ‘I don’t want that. I’ll be working and performing and there’s Milo. You’ll have to share me too.’

  Her heart sped up. ‘You really want to try?’

  ‘I really want to try.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. See how awesome you really are. Jade, you’re clever and funny, you’re a great mum and you make me laugh. Relationships aren’t just about being together, they’re about helping each other grow. I want to grow with you.’

  The idea of a healthy interdependent relationship shone as bright as a Christmas bauble, tempting her to take hold of it. But her new need to be independent cautioned her.

  ‘Can we go slowly?’

  ‘If that’s what you need, then that’s what we’ll do.’

  She laughed. ‘Don’t panic, I’m not talking about sex. I’m saying I don’t think we should move in together straight away. Let’s learn how to date first.’