Wife for Hire

by Dianne Blacklock

  Sam heard the phone ring again. She groaned.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Hal said. ‘You can check your calls later.’ He shifted off her, lying at her side. ‘Tell me what’s on your mind.’

  ‘I’m fine, Hal.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ he said gently, touching her forehead. ‘You’ve got that little crinkle again. You’re not okay with this yet, are you?’

  Sam turned onto her side, facing him. ‘I don’t know,’ she said quietly.

  ‘What is it?’

  She thought about it. ‘It still feels a little unreal.’

  ‘Feels pretty real to me,’ he said, nuzzling into her neck. Then he drew back to look at her again. ‘Tell me what you mean.’

  ‘Well,’ Sam thought about the best way to explain herself, ‘you know Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts?’

  He frowned at her. ‘Are you heading somewhere particular with this?’

  ‘Trust me,’ said Sam. ‘Did you know Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts were married once?’

  ‘Vaguely.’

  ‘Mm, well, that’s because it only lasted about five minutes,’ said Sam. ‘Everyone knew it would never work, because they weren’t in the same league. Like you and me. Get it?’

  Hal looked confused. ‘So, you’re saying I’m like Lyle Lovett?’

  ‘No, I’m like Lyle Lovett.’

  ‘Then I’m like Julia Roberts?’ he frowned.

  ‘Work with me here, Hal.’ She sighed. ‘The thing is, you could get anyone –’

  ‘Sam! Cut it out.’

  ‘It’s okay, Hal –’

  ‘No it’s not, I’m not going to listen to you talk like that. You’re a beautiful woman –’

  ‘Well, of course you’re going to say that.’

  ‘That’s right! Of course I’m going to say that.’

  ‘Hal, I’m lying naked beside you, it would be impolite to say otherwise.’

  ‘No, it would be untrue to say otherwise.’

  She was about to go on when Hal put a finger to her lips. ‘Sam, this is one of those times you really should stop talking.’ She just looked at him as he stroked her cheek. ‘I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You really have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?’

  There was nothing she could say to that.

  ‘Who comes up with these ideas, Sam?’ He leaned forward and kissed her softly. ‘And what league are you in if you’re someone who’s easy to talk to, laugh with . . .’

  ‘Who has three kids?’ Sam murmured against his lips.

  Hal smiled. ‘They earn you bonus points.’ He pulled her close, kissing her persuasively until her mobile phone started to ring again.

  ‘Bugger,’ she breathed. ‘That’s the third time,’ she said, sitting up.

  ‘Leave it,’ he urged.

  ‘I can’t, remember the three kids?’

  She tried to gather her sarong around her, but Hal was lying across half of it. ‘Can you move, please?’

  ‘I’d rather watch you run off naked.’

  ‘You and the rest of Palm Beach,’ she said. ‘The curtains are all open out there.’ He shifted off the sarong and Sam grabbed it, wrapping it around herself as she hurried out of the room.

  The phone had stopped by the time she got to it, but the number appearing on the screen was Jeff’s mobile, so she returned the call.

  ‘Oh, hi Sam,’ he said when he answered it. ‘I’ve been trying to contact you for the last hour or so.’ He sounded serious.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Um, look, everyone’s okay, really. It’s not that bad.’

  Her stomach turned to lead. The words were supposed to reassure her but they had the opposite effect. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘There’s been a bit of an accident –’

  ‘What? Who?’

  ‘Just calm down and let me explain –’

  ‘Don’t tell me to calm down, Jeff!’

  She heard him sigh. ‘It’s Josh. His arm. We don’t know for sure yet, he hasn’t been to X-ray –’

  ‘Oh God! Where are you?’

  ‘Casualty.’

  ‘Which fucking hospital?’ she cried.

  ‘Prince of Wales.’

  She hung up the phone and stood there trembling. She didn’t even know what had happened, but she couldn’t listen to Jeff’s patronising voice another second. She had to get to her son.

  Hal appeared in the doorway, half dressed. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Josh is in the hospital,’ she said briskly, striding past him.

  ‘Christ, what happened?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ She opened the wardrobe door and yanked a dress off its hanger. ‘It’s his arm, apparently. They’re waiting for X-rays.’

  ‘What did he do to it?’

  Sam grabbed underwear from a drawer in the dresser. ‘I don’t know, okay? Stop hassling me!’

  ‘I didn’t mean to hassle you, Sam.’

  ‘Look, I didn’t ask any questions, I just want to get to the hospital, okay?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Hal. ‘I’ll drive you.’

  ‘I can drive myself,’ she snapped.

  ‘Sam,’ he said firmly, taking her by the shoulders, ‘you’re upset, you shouldn’t be driving a car in the state you’re in.’

  ‘Don’t patronise me!’ She was almost shouting.

  Hal looked squarely at her. ‘I’m not patronising you, Sam. But just think about it for a second. Do you want another accident in the family today?’

  Her face crumpled as a sob escaped from her throat. Hal went to pull her closer to him, but she backed away. ‘We have to hurry,’ she said, wiping her eyes.

  She dressed quickly. Hal pulled on a T-shirt and went around the house closing the windows and locking them. Sam didn’t know what to bring with her. She wouldn’t be back tonight, she didn’t know when she’d be back. It was too hard to think about it, so in the end she just grabbed her handbag and her phone.

  They didn’t speak as they headed out of Palm Beach. They were sure to hit peak-hour traffic when they got closer to the city, but for now the roads were relatively quiet. Sam wished she was already there, at the hospital, so she could see for herself that Josh was alright. But they were more than an hour away and there was nothing she could do about it. She could call Jeff for more information, but she was so close to the edge she knew she’d just freak out again. Hal pulled up at traffic lights and reached across to squeeze her hand. She didn’t look at him, didn’t respond in any way. She couldn’t deal with him now. When the lights turned green, he released her hand and drove on. Sam stared vacantly out the window. She tried to focus on the steady beat of the car tyres as they crossed the seams in the concrete road. Anything to stop the thoughts tormenting her mind. She was having sex while her son was having an accident. She’d ignored her phone ringing. She always answered the phone when the kids weren’t with her. She was angry with Hal for telling her to leave it, she was angry with Jeff for placing her son in danger. But more than anything, Sam was angry with herself.

  When they arrived at the emergency entrance to the hospital, Sam barked at Hal to let her out. He pulled over immediately.

  ‘I’ll find you inside as soon as I’ve parked the car,’ he said as she jumped out.

  Sam hurried breathlessly through the doors and directly over to the reception desk.

  ‘My son is here somewhere,’ she blurted. ‘How can I find him?’

  ‘Name please,’ said the woman automatically.

  ‘Samantha Holmes. Um, his name is Josh. Joshua Holmes.’ Sam spelt out their surname.

  The woman keyed it into her computer and squinted at the screen. ‘Okay, he was sent up to X-ray, let me just check if he’s back,’ she said, picking up the telephone.

  Sam clutched her arms around her anxiously and turned to face the waiting room. She heard a squeal, ‘Mummy!’ and then Ellie appeared from between the rows of seats, running towards her. Sam stooped to give her a hug. ‘Hello darling, are y
ou alright?’

  ‘Yes, but Joshy braked his arm!’ she exclaimed.

  God, Sam still didn’t know anything. Which arm? How badly was it broken? Jessica was coming over now. Where the fuck was Jeff? She supposed he was with Josh, but had he just left the girls out here on their own? Then Sam noticed somebody shadowing Jess, walking behind her. She froze. It had to be Jodi. Why did she have to deal with everything at once?

  ‘Hi Mum,’ said Jess.

  ‘Do you know where your father is?’ Sam said impatiently, ignoring the woman standing behind her.

  ‘He’s with Josh.’

  ‘Excuse me, Mrs Holmes?’ said the woman at the desk. Sam turned around. ‘Your son is back from X-ray. I’ll take you through to him if you like.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Sam didn’t know what to do with the girls. She couldn’t even look at Jodi, much less engage her in conversation.

  ‘Hal!’ Ellie cried, running across to him as he appeared through the doors. He lifted her into his arms and carried her over to where they were all standing.

  ‘I have to go to Josh,’ Sam told him. She wasn’t going to bother with introductions or any other pleasantries. They could sort themselves out. ‘Can you stay with the girls?’

  Hal nodded. ‘Sure, go on.’

  Sam followed the woman through swing doors into the large, open ward. She spotted Josh at the far end. Jeff was sitting in a chair beside his bed.

  ‘I can see them,’ Sam said to the woman. ‘Thank you.’

  Jeff stood when he caught sight of her. ‘Sam, I was just about to come out to see if you’d made it yet.’

  She ignored him and walked to the other side of the bed. ‘How are you, honey?’ she said gently, stroking Josh’s hair. His arm was loosely bandaged and strapped to a back slab. She leaned down to kiss his forehead.

  ‘Mum,’ he whined, pulling a face.

  ‘He’s a bit groggy,’ Jeff explained. ‘They had to give him something for the pain.’

  Sam looked up at him then, for the first time. ‘What did the X-rays show?’

  Jeff swallowed. ‘His wrist is fractured and he has another break further up, near his elbow. It’s displaced, they’re going to have to do an open reduction.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘They have to use pins and a plate to set the bone. It has to be done in theatre under a general anaesthetic.’

  ‘Shit,’ Sam breathed. She paused, looking at him grimly. ‘What happened?’

  Jeff looked guilty, as well he should. ‘He fell off a bike.’

  ‘A bike?’ Sam frowned. She had assumed this had happened skating. Josh hadn’t ridden his bike in ages. And he’d never taken it to his father’s place. ‘What bike?’

  ‘It was a trail bike. There’s a place just outside Sydney –’

  ‘Do you mean a motorbike?’ Sam raised her voice just slightly, conscious of her surroundings.

  Jeff nodded. His face had turned white.

  ‘Wasso cool, Mum,’ Josh slurred, his eyes barely open.

  ‘You took a fifteen-year-old boy motorbike riding?’ Sam exclaimed in a shrill whisper. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’

  ‘It’s perfectly safe –’

  ‘Obviously it isn’t!’

  That stopped him in his tracks, momentarily. ‘Look, we can’t talk about this now, here.’

  ‘Fine!’ Sam glared at him. She turned to Josh. ‘Honey, we’re just going out to check on the girls. Are you alright?’ she said gently.

  ‘Mm,’ he grunted. His eyes were closed now.

  Sam marched out of the ward and through to the waiting room, Jeff trailing behind her. She spotted Hal on a bench against the far wall, with Ellie on his lap. Jessica was next to him and beside her, Jodi, Sam presumed. She still had not really looked at the woman. From this distance she took in that she was wearing a dark top and she had long, mousy-coloured hair. Hal got to his feet as they approached.

  ‘How’s Josh?’ he asked, concerned.

  ‘His arm’s smashed to pieces by the sounds of it,’ said Sam. ‘He’s going to need surgery and a metal plate and God knows what else.’ Everyone was standing in a circle, looking awkward. She was going to have to say something. ‘This is Hal Buchanan, a friend of mine. Hal, this is Jeff.’

  The two men shook hands. ‘How’re you doing,’ said Hal.

  Jeff cleared his throat. ‘This is Jodi,’ he said, looking at Hal.

  ‘We’ve introduced ourselves,’ Hal explained.

  Jeff glanced at Sam. ‘Sam, Jodi.’

  This was excruciating. Sam barely looked at her, she just nodded in her direction. ‘Jeff, what were you doing taking Josh motorbike riding?’

  ‘I went too, Mummy!’ Ellie chirped.

  Sam glared incredulously at Jeff.

  ‘The girls were only on minibikes,’ he explained.

  ‘I can’t believe this,’ Sam said, clenching her teeth.

  ‘Look, it’s a big family amusement park. They provide safety gear, they take all the appropriate measures, it’s not dangerous –’

  ‘So help me Jeff, if you say one more word about it being not fucking dangerous, I’ll slap you!’ Sam blurted.

  Hal and Jodi moved discreetly away, ushering the girls over to the other side of the waiting room.

  ‘Your son has been injured, for crying out loud!’ Sam continued. ‘When are you going to get it through your thick skull that it was dangerous? And stupid. And reckless!’

  ‘He could have done it skating –’

  ‘But he didn’t, did he!’ she cried, raising her arms. People were starting to look, but Sam was oblivious to them. ‘I can’t trust you with the kids if you’re going to do things like this!’

  ‘What are you saying, Sam?’ Jeff said grimly.

  ‘Clearly I’ve been way too lenient. I’m going to have to rethink the whole access arrangement.’

  Jeff clenched his jaw. ‘I don’t think you get to decide things like that.’

  ‘Alright,’ she sneered, ‘we’ll take it to court and let a magistrate decide then.’

  ‘Sam,’ he sighed, ‘I realise you’re upset –’

  ‘Don’t fucking patronise me, Jeff!’ she said, raising her voice. People were definitely looking now.

  ‘But you’re being ridiculous,’ he said firmly. ‘You think you can stop me from seeing my children just because one of them had an accident while he was with me?’

  ‘You let a fifteen year old ride a motorbike, Jeff!’ she cried. ‘It wasn’t an innocent, unavoidable accident. It was dangerous and foolish. And you didn’t get my permission.’

  ‘I don’t need your permission to take my son to a registered fun park,’ he sniped. ‘Go right ahead, Sam, take it to court, see how far you get.’

  She folded her arms defiantly. ‘You think this is the only thing I have against you?’

  ‘Sam, stop this.’

  ‘What about the time Josh ran off from your place?’

  He stared at her. ‘I can’t believe you’re bringing that up now.’

  ‘I’ll bring up whatever I like, Jeff. You’re not going to get your own way this time. You created this whole mess, you can live with the fallout.’ Sam stood glaring at him defiantly. ‘You can go now. There’s no need for you to be here any longer. I’ll stay with Josh.’

  ‘Then I’ll take the girls.’

  ‘No way, you’re not having the girls.’

  ‘Well, what are you going to do with them? Whatever’s going on in your head, Sam, I’ve got rights, and if you want to make this difficult, then I will too. I don’t even know your boyfriend. I don’t want the girls going home with him.’

  ‘But it’s alright for them to stay with you and your girlfriend? I never got a say in that!’ she shrilled. ‘And anyway, he’s not my boyfriend.’

  ‘I don’t care. They’re not going with him,’ Jeff said, resolved.

  Sam was furious. ‘Right. You stay with Josh. Sleep in a chair all night, I don’t give a fuck. What time are they taking
him to theatre in the morning?’

  ‘They haven’t said yet.’

  ‘Fine, I’ll be here first thing. I’ll get Max to stay with the girls.’

  Jeff sighed heavily. ‘It doesn’t have to be like this, Sam,’ he said, his tone softening.

  She just looked at him. ‘Apparently it does.’

  Sam sat in the car, trembling with rage. She had gone back into the ward to say goodbye to Josh, but he was completely knocked out by the painkillers. She left without another word to Jeff, standing impatiently aside while the girls said goodbye. She watched Jodi out of the corner of her eye. She was almost the biggest surprise today. She was nothing like Sam had expected. She was a lot older, for one thing – she couldn’t have been much younger than Sam. And she was, to put it bluntly, pretty ordinary. You could pass her in the street without taking a second glance. Sam had always imagined that Jeff had left her for someone young and stunning. She didn’t know if it bothered her more or less that Jodi was neither of those things.

  Hal drove them home to Marrickville. They had travelled down from Palm Beach in his car and Sam was not sure what she was going to do about getting her own car back, at least for the next couple of days. She’d have to work it out later. The tension was palpable all the way home. The girls said nothing, obviously subdued by their mother’s outburst. She hoped they hadn’t heard most of it. She’d never wanted her children to have to witness that kind of thing. But she couldn’t protect them forever, that fact was becoming patently clear to her after today’s events.

  Hal pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said curtly. ‘Come on, girls, out you get.’

  ‘What are you going to do about a car?’ Hal asked as she opened the door. ‘Do you want me to pick up some things for you? You won’t have any milk, or bread –’

  ‘I’ll be fine, I’ll sort something out,’ she dismissed, getting out of the car. Jessica helped Ellie out of the back seat and Sam closed the door. She handed Jess her keys. ‘Go on inside.’

  ‘Sam,’ Hal called from inside the car. She bent over to look at him. ‘You’re sure you don’t want me to hang around?’

  ‘I need to get the girls settled and call Max,’ she said briskly. ‘Thanks for the lift home.’