'Oooh, what have you been up to, my little champion?' Rosie asked, reaching down to squeeze her boy.
'Heather and I have made muffins, come and look,' he said excitedly, grabbing Rosie's hand and towing her towards the kitchen bench.
'Clever man,' Rosie gushed, looking at the bumpy brown lumps in their cute coloured patty cases. 'You know who we might give one of these to?'
'Who, Mummy?'
'Your friend Elroy. We're going to visit him tonight for dinner!'
Rosie watched her beautiful boy's face light up.
'Mummy,' Leon continued, suddenly appearing timid. 'Can I ask Heather if she wants one too? She helped me a lot because I can't measure properly yet.'
Rosie looked over at Heather and saw her genuine affection for Leon. And vice versa. She felt her heart puncture, draining her of all joy.
My boy has a second mother now. And he loves her too!
'Yes, baby, Heather can have a muffin if she likes,' Rosie answered, swallowing down tears.
Leon beamed a huge smile and ran full steam, muffin in hand, to the other woman and burrowed himself into her legs. Heather looked across at Rosie and the women exchanged an uncomfortable glance. The tension of the moment was only exacerbated by the familiar bellow of Jeff's voice.
'Are those muffins ready yet? I'm starving,' he roared, slamming the kitchen screen door behind him carelessly. 'Rosie! What are you doing here?'
'She's come to pick up Leon,' Heather said, nervously grabbing his arm with both hands, as if to say, 'Stay back, I have this under control.'
'Look, Daddy, they're muffins,' Leon chimed, pointing proudly up at the bench where his culinary triumphs sat.
Jeff grabbed one of the still warm treats and shoved it into his mouth, letting the crumbs fall on the shiny chequered lino below.
Rosie saw her little boy's eyes well and cursed Jeff's innate lack of consideration yet again.
'Jeff, I think Leon had those muffins allocated,' she said, trying to control her tone.
'What are you talking about?' he barked back, kneeling down and scooping Leon up. 'Daddy's allowed to have a muffin too, isn't he?'
'Yes, Daddy,' the boy answered, still clearly upset but not wanting to hurt his father's feelings. 'But I'm going to see my friend Elroy and he'll want a muffin too.'
'Well, there's plenty left for Elroy, so enough with the sooks, huh? Now, go and get your things together. I want to have a quick chat with Mummy.'
Jeff flashed a look at Heather, who took it to mean 'evacuate the room'. She grabbed Leon's hand and walked with him down the hall, leaving them alone.
'Look, Jeff, I'm in a hurry. I have to be at a dinner in half an hour – a date, actually – so whatever it is you want to say might have to wait,' Rosie said, noticing her boy's paintings pinned to the fridge door with the cutest frangipani-shaped magnets and cursing herself for not getting around to doing the same.
'Well, Rose, when is a good time to talk to you these days? Should I make an appointment with your PA to talk about our child?'
'I don't think it's come to that,' Rosie replied, not sure whether what she was saying was actually the truth. 'But you've got five minutes now. What's up?'
'As you know, Heather and I are getting married.'
'Yes, you've told me that.'
'Well, we both want Leon to meet Heather's family as soon as possible.'
'Oh really? And where are they?'
'Perth.'
'Perth! That's so far away! How long do you plan to be there?'
'We're looking at two to three weeks.'
Rosie felt sick. She couldn't bear the thought of being away from her boy for three days, let alone three weeks.
'Look, I'm sorry about this, Jeff, but I can't say yes to that period of time. It will be too unsettling.'
'For you or for him?'
'Well, both actually. I'm not going to apologise for wanting to be with my son.'
'This is a new attitude. From what I hear, lately you've hardly been home to see him at all.'
Bastard!
'Oh, Jeff, you're all ears, aren't you? And who would be telling you this crap then?'
'Your mother and your son, for a start. Leon says you're always cranky these days and that he misses you. Your mother's on the phone to me every second day telling me she thinks you're cracking up, worried sick that Leon isn't getting enough attention.'
'Huh!' Rosie spat. 'This is from someone who drops his sick son off to go surfing!' Rosie was yelling at a hysterical pitch but couldn't stop herself. 'You're a fine one to be telling me how to look after Leon!'
Jeff leaned forward and grabbed Rosie by the shoulders, shaking her violently. In a hushed rage, he continued: 'Look, you've been a fucking nightmare ever since you took that job. I don't recognise you any more and neither does anyone who knows you. You've been an unreasonable bitch and it's time it stopped. Not only am I planning to take Leon away with me, when we get back I'm going to see a lawyer about full-time custody. You can't look after a child when you're working sixteen-hour days. I mean look at you, you can't even take care of yourself. You look like shit. You look like you're surviving on an hour's sleep a night. Get a grip, Rosie. Tell me you like what you see because I can tell you no one else does.'
Rosie could feel a tidal wave of anger, bitterness, frustration and terror well within her. As it crested, her hand took its force, rising upwards and then slamming down in a massive loud slap across Jeff's cheek.
'FUCK YOU!' she screamed. 'IF YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE MY BOY AWAY FROM ME YOU HAVE A HELL OF A BATTLE ON YOUR HANDS.'
Jeff struggled to pin down Rosie's arms and she shoved him back into the kitchen bench, sending paraphernalia flying. A plate crashed, and both combatants turned to check the damage. There, on the floor, were the shattered remnants of Leon's muffins. In the doorway was the trembling boy himself, clutching on to Heather for dear life.
CHAPTER 18
'I don't want to go! Let me stay here!'
Leon was screaming so loudly Rosie could see Jeff's neighbours peering through their curtains to check where the ruckus was coming from. As she attempted to get him into the car, the boy protested with everything he had in him, his fists flailing and legs kicking.
'Noooooo,' he screamed again, so intensely that Rosie almost gave in, but couldn't. It would be just what Jeff needed to nail a custody claim. 'Sweetheart, I am so sorry, please just get in the car for Mummy. Aunty Lou is waiting to see you and Elroy! You like Elroy, don't you?'
'I don't like you!' Leon wailed, wrestling against her with all his might. He kicked again, his foot hitting Rosie straight in the eye. She reeled back, dropping her bag, its contents spilling in all directions around her.
Dizzy and disoriented, she made her way to the footpath and sat on the kerb to get herself together. Through the swirl around her, she could make out an angry roar: it was Heather, screaming at Jeff that he was a bully and should know better. Somewhere else nearby, Leon was still howling and, if she wasn't mistaken, her phone was cranking out that twisted carousel tune . . .
'Hey, Rose, are you okay?'
It was Heather's voice, softer now and closer than before. Rosie realised she was parked beside her on the footpath.
'Yeah, I'm fine, just a little winded,' she replied unsteadily.
'I'm sorry about Jeff,' Heather said. 'I guess I don't need to tell you he can be a bully at times.'
'No, you don't. Is Leon okay?'
'Yeah, he's a little frightened he hurt you, though.'
'He didn't mean to . . . it's not his fault.'
'I know. Can you get up? Here, lean on me.'
For the second time that day, the woman who, only hours earlier, was the focus of Rosie's bitterness and envy, was treating her with unwarranted decency.
'Everyone is fine here,' Heather informed her nosy neighbours tersely. 'Let's give the lady some privacy, please? Jeff, you can do something useful and get some ice. And don't say another word or I swear . . . !'
Rosie was impressed by the toughness in Heather's voice. Jeff had indeed met his match in his fiancée. Unlike Rosie, who had acquiesced to her husband's every whim, he now had a woman who knew how to put her foot down. Rosie cursed her lack of assertiveness; yet another reason why her marriage had failed.
'Leon, come over here,' Heather said, motioning to the terrified boy. 'Your mum is fine. Don't be frightened.'
Rosie looked up to see her boy approaching nervously and cast him the best smile she could muster. His terror gave way to elation and he bounded towards her.
'Mumma, I'm sorry,' he said, nestling his face into Rosie's neck as she picked him up.
'I'm sorry too, champ. Boy, that cuddle is making me feel better though.'
Soon, Rosie felt strong enough to drive and looked around to gather up her belongings. Heather and Leon managed to retrieve the scattered contents of her bag except for her favourite lipstick, which was now half submerged in a stormwater drain.
'Heather, I can't thank you enough and I'm so sorry things got so ugly this afternoon,' Rosie said timidly. 'I can't believe I slapped Jeff. I'm so ashamed.'
'Rose, I'm sorry too. I want you to know I'm not behind the custody thing, as much as I love your boy. I can't tell you how many times I've told Jeff that Leon belongs with his mother, but he has a big issue with your job. And I've got to be honest, I don't think your mother is helping your case.'
Bloody Vera. She just can't stop meddling.
'Look, I know and, yes, my job is a nightmare, but I'm really trying. I love that boy more than life itself, Heather. If I lost him, I don't know what I'd do. But Jeff is right, I haven't been myself since I got this job – I guess I wanted to prove something.'
'And have you?'
'Yeah, I've proved I don't like TV, I don't like PR and I'm now even starting to question whether I like men in general. But I have a contract to see out, a horrible mortgage and a boss in hospital, so at the moment I'm trapped.'
'I feel for you, Rose, honestly I do. If there's anything I can do to help . . . I love Leon, he's an incredible kid, smart, warm and generous. He's a credit to you.'
'Thanks, Heather,' Rosie replied, realising she meant every word.
This time Leon got in the car without any fuss, put his seatbelt on all by himself and sat upright, on his best behaviour. About ten minutes into the drive he couldn't hold back any longer and asked the question he was bursting to: 'Mummy, are we really going to see Elroy?'
Rosie was asking herself the same thing, her eye throbbing as it began to brew a deep yellow bruise. She was so rattled by the scene at Jeff's that she felt fragile and hardly in a state to flirt. Still, she had mentioned the two names that Leon loved to hear – Lou and Elroy – and dared not disappoint her boy any more than she already had. Disappointing people seemed to have become a habit of hers lately.
Hell! My phones!
'Honey, will you get Mummy's phones out of her bag, please?' Rosie asked, attempting to make it sound like a fun task. Reluctantly, Leon picked up the bag and began rifling around inside. After several minutes of his fumbling, Rosie started to panic. 'What's up? Where are Mummy's phones? Please tell me they're in there. Do I have to turn around and go back to Daddy's? Please say I don't . . .'
Leon looked at his mother blankly, then sighed. Pulling the bag to his eye level, he fished in yet again and pulled out one of her two phones.
'Here it is, Mummy. Want to see?' Leon asked, handing it to his mother.
Rosie looked over her shoulder to check there were no cops around, grabbed the mobile and pressed the call register button. There were three missed calls, two from her mother and one from Lou.
Phew. No work dramas. On this line, anyway . . .
Still smarting over Jeff's revelation that her own mother had been venting her highly critical opinions of her daughter's mothering skills, she decided that returning Vera's call could wait. Her mother could stew in silence for a few days yet. That, or risk a personality reading from Rosie that would be far from positive.
'And the other phone?' Rosie asked, praying the emergency line hadn't rung.
'Why do you have two phones now, Mummy?' Leon asked.
'In case one is busy and Mummy's boss is trying to get through.'
'But you don't like to talk to your boss. He makes you say naughty words.'
Rosie smiled to herself even though she knew she shouldn't. Leon was right, she was always swearing at her phone when Keith was on the other end, often with Leon making funny faces in front of her in an attempt to make her giggle and lose her cranky face.
Leon took his time digging around in her handbag looking for her second phone.
'What's up, honey, is it not in there?' Rosie asked, starting to panic once more.
'No, it's here, Mummy,' he replied sadly.
'Can I have it then?'
'I guess so.'
'What's up, Leon? Why don't you want me to have the phone?'
'Because your boss will stop us from going to see Lou and Elroy.'
Rosie felt that familiar curdle of guilt in her stomach and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Turning to her boy, she took both his hands in hers and made him a promise that would be almost impossible to keep: 'From now on, my beautiful boy, you come first, okay? I promise you Mummy will try not to work so hard, so she's not grumpy all the time like she has been. I know you've been missing having me around and I'm going to do my best to change that. For a start, let's have a party for your birthday next week. It can be anywhere you want, okay, my precious little man?'
'Yes, Mummy,' Leon replied wearily. Rosie realised he wasn't buying her story either.
'Shall we go to Salty Sam's? We can have a pirate party and you can invite your friends.'
Leon beamed. The bribe seemed to work.
'Can I invite Daddy and Heather?' the boy asked.
'Of course you can!' Rosie said, stifling what she really wanted to say. 'So, can I have that phone now?'
Leon lifted his bottom and pulled the phone out from under himself.
Holy hell, the kid had hidden it! How sad is that?
She was about to toss it aside without even checking it, but changed her mind and glanced quickly at the screen. One message received. Damn!
Rosie rang 121 and listened: 'Rosie, it's Elaine Norman, Keith's wife, here. Keith is feeling a little better and wants to see you. He has just learnt that a meeting took place this morning and will not rest until he knows what's going on. He wants you to know that you're the only one he can trust. Could you call me the minute you get this message? Thanks.'
Eeek!
Rosie looked at Leon sitting up straight and excited beside her and remembered her promise. She would reply to Elaine's message, but when she had a chance. For once, Leon was coming first.
CHAPTER 19
'What happened to you? You look like hell!'
The Boys' Club Page 15