by Lyn Denison
“Of course. If she wants to,” Kat added.
Shael gave a short laugh. “Oh, it’s fine with Megghan,” she said a little bitterly. “So. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Yes. And Shael. Thanks.”
“Kat, don’t—” Shael sighed again. “Okay. Goodbye then.”
Kat raced out to a local furniture shop and bought a new bed ensemble with the stipulation that it be delivered the next day. She also bought a stand to replace the wooden packing case that held her television and by the time she had it all set up next day Kat felt that, even with the part-demolition of the veranda, the place was beginning to feel like home. And more importantly, it was a place where she could share her time with Meggie.
Kat finished up early and had a shower. She pulled on her best jeans and a light green fitted T-shirt with three-quarter sleeves.
As she brushed her hair she paused, looked at her reflection in the bathroom’s old mirror. Her eyes were bright and her skin looked healthy. She looked aglow, Kat reflected wryly. And she felt far more alive than she had in such a long time.
Her relationship with Shael had been rocky for years, even before a well-meaning friend had told Kat that Shael had been seen with someone else. When Kat confronted her, Shael had admitted to what she told Kat was a one-night stand. Deep down Kat knew it had been more than that, but Shael swore it was over, that she was sorry and that it would never happen again. Kat suspected it had, although she had no proof.
Back then she’d decided to end it with Shael, but there had always been Meggie. She hadn’t been prepared to hurt Meggie. So she’d stayed.
Nearly two years ago, Kat found out later, Shael had met Tori at the hospital where Shael was an ophthalmologist. Tori, a nursing sister, was on the right side of thirty and strikingly attractive in what Kat thought was a cold, untouchable sort of way.
Six months ago Shael had sent Meggie to her grandmother’s for the night, then sat down with Kat and informed her their relationship was over. Kat hadn’t been surprised, although she’d been devastated by the matter-of-fact, almost clinical way Shael had told her.
Shael decided the breakup would be easier if she remained in the house. Tori would move in and Kat would move out. Shael acknowledged the house was partially Kat’s, and she would receive her portion of the proceeds when the house was eventually sold. When Kat asked when this was likely to be, Shael suggested in a couple of years, when Megghan was to attend high school.
And what, Kat had asked derisively, was she to do in the meantime? Live in the street, perhaps? Shael had angrily reminded Kat she had inherited her old girlfriend’s house.
Kat had moved out a week later, and it had been a week of alternating arguments and heavy silences. Kat’s heart ached, not only for herself, but for Meggie, who didn’t take the breakup well. Why did it have to be this way, Meggie had asked, sobbing on Kat’s shoulder, when she loved them both?
The trauma of it all had sent Kat spiraling down into a depression. Yet now, after such a short time here in this house, something positive had happened. She had found a new and positive outlook on life. The physical work was making her fitter and the fact that she was quite capable of doing the work bolstered her self-esteem. She was feeling far more like the old Kat, and that pleased her the most.
And it was all due to Jess Andrews. Kat frowned. No, Jess may have been a sort of catalyst, but Kat knew she would have felt the way she did even if she hadn’t met Jess. She gave her reflection a mocking smile. Jess was just a bonus.
It was a nice change to meet someone like Jess, always pleasant, with her wonderful smile, and it certainly didn’t hurt that she was especially pleasing to look at. Kat laughed out loud at herself. Could she be turning into a dirty old woman leering after a pretty young thing.
Maybe Em had been right. She needed to get out, indulge in some meaningless sex, no strings attached. Yeah right! That hadn’t even been an option when she was young and foolish. She’d never gone looking for that scene. And a little voice inside her wondered if she ever had the chance. Her six-year affair with Ruth had begun when Kat was barely eighteen. And after Ruth left her for another bright young thing, she’d fallen in love with Shael a year later. She’d never been simply single for very long.
She shoved that disquieting thought out of her mind. In all honesty, living with Shael these past years she might as well have been single. Their lovemaking had been sporadic at best. Shael had a demanding and stressful job and more often than not she was too tired for more than an occasional kiss.
Yes, now that Kat was definitely single she should sow the wild oats she’d never had the chance to sow. Wild oats? Meaningless sex? No strings attached? Kat gave a skeptical laugh. She wasn’t at all sure she would be able to pull that off even if she wanted to. She doubted she could voice the intention, let alone carry out the deeds.
She shook her head ruefully, knowing she hadn’t exactly made such a brilliant start. Here she was all a-quiver over a straight woman.
Another bad choice? There was that same annoying little voice inside her again. Kat expelled an irritated breath. Would she recognize a good choice if it came up and bit her? She pushed all thoughts about choices out of her mind. At the moment, with Jess due to arrive, Kat didn’t care to think about choices, good or bad. She simply wanted to relax and enjoy Jess’s company. What harm could there be in that?
She gave her hair another vigorous brushing, only to drop her brush when she started at the knock on the front door. She quickly retrieved her brush and set it on the vanity basin. Taking a steadying breath she hurried to the door. She swung it open and couldn’t prevent her smile from fading just a little. “Oh. Lucas. Hello.” Her eyes moved past him, looking for Jess.
Lucas gave a rueful smile. “One and the same.”
Kat stepped back, inviting him in.
“Jess had to collect the kids and take Caleb to the dentist because he fell over and chipped a tooth. I’m a bigger wuss than the kids are at the dentist so I’ve been dispatched with the contracts. Sorry.”
Kat recovered herself. “Oh. No. That’s all right. Come into the kitchen. We can use the bench as a desk.”
Lucas went through the contract and payment schedules with her, and they signed the tagged places Jess had marked.
Kat opened her chequebook. “And I guess you want a deposit.”
Lucas grinned. “That would be much appreciated. Jess tells me you inherited this place,” Lucas said as Kat wrote out the cheque.
Kat murmured a reply as she gave her chequebook her full attention. “That’s right. From a friend.”
“I knew Ruth Dunleavy,” Lucas said and Kat looked up in surprise. “She was one of my tutors at University.”
“She was? What year was that?”
They established that Lucas was a year behind Kat.
“We might have passed in the hallways,” Lucas laughed.
“Yes. What were you studying?”
Lucas gave a crooked smile. “I have a business degree.”
Kat raised her eyebrows.
“Didn’t care for it though. I’ve always liked working with timber so I became a relatively mature-age apprentice carpenter to Mark’s dad.” He raised his hands and let them fall. “And I’ve never looked back.”
“I guess your business degree must come in handy with the company,” Kat said.
“Jess has a business degree as well, and she’s really into that stuff. Fortunately. Mark and I usually leave all that to her. She’s a whiz at it and on top of that, she has the organizational skills of a sergeant-major. That’s very imperative with me and Mark because we can both be a bit lax in that department. But I can assure you,” he added quickly, “we’re both master tradesmen.”
Kat smiled. “I know you are. Jess showed me photos of your work. Very impressive.”
“We strive for perfection,” he said, and Kat sensed he was completely serious. “And personally,” he continued, “I can’t wait to get started on this
beauty.” He put his hands on his hips and looked around.
Kat asked him about the sections that had priority that she was responsible for, and they walked through the house looking at what she’d done so far.
“I’ll send over our sparky to stop off the electrical points and lights out here on the veranda in case it rains. Don’t want the water blowing in and getting into the electrics.”
Kat thanked him. “I was going to check the yellow pages for an electrician.”
“Leave it to us.” He took out a notebook and made a note of it.
He indicated the notebook. “Jess makes us keep a record of everything so we don’t double up and so we don’t make promises we don’t keep.” He laughed. “She’s a tiger about that.” He walked over and looked at the one remaining weather board in the section.
“I had to leave that one,” Kat said ruefully. “The nails are stubborn and by the time I got to it my arms felt like rubber. I started to swear at it then decided to leave it till I was fresher.”
“Okay if I have a go at it?” Lucas asked.
“Be my guest.” Kat laughed. “I am so over that particular board.”
Lucas looked around for Kat’s discarded tools, and in no time the board was off and stacked on the pile.
Kat thanked him.
“No trouble. You’ve done really well with it, especially doing it on your own.” He raised an enquiring eyebrow. “No boyfriend to give you a hand?”
Kat felt a pique of irritation. Why did men always think a woman needed a man to do everything? Even if Lucas did get that board off, Kat was confident she’d have managed the next day. She sighed inwardly and acknowledged she should just accept the help in the manner it was given.
“No. No boyfriend, partner or husband,” she said as casually as she could. “I’m on my own now.”
“Now? Well, that’s the guy’s loss.”
Kat had to laugh then. “Oh, yes. I’m sure every guy wants me to work him into the ground demolishing part of a house.”
Lucas laughed too. “I take your point. How long have you been on your own?”
“Officially, six months. Should have been longer.” Kat wondered at Lucas’s interest. She still thought he was gay. If that was so, what interest did he have in Kat’s lovelife? Maybe she should put the ball in his court, so to speak. “Are you married?” she heard herself ask him.
“Me? No.”
“Haven’t met Ms. Right?”
“Guess not.” Lucas grimaced, and his eyes met Kat’s for long moments. An expression Kat couldn’t fathom flickered there before Lucas turned to replace Kat’s tools where he’d found them. He glanced at his wristwatch. “Well, I’d better get the contracts back to the office.”
Kat walked to the door with him.
“Jess will be in touch as soon as the plans come through.”
Kat watched him stride down to his car, and she wondered what that conversation had been all about—especially the unspoken one.
After Lucas left Kat drove over to Shael’s house, the house that used to be her house as well, to find Meggie sitting on the front steps waiting for her. As Kat pulled to a stop in the driveway Meggie leaned inside the open door and grabbed her backpack. She called something over her shoulder and raced down the steps, heading for Kat as fast as she could.
“Hi, Kitty Kat!” She gave a little skip. “I’ve been ready for ages.”
Shael came to the door as Meggie scrambled into the passenger seat of Kat’s car and reached across to give Kat a fierce hug. They waited as Shael approached. Kat wound down her window and greeted the other woman warily.
“I’ll phone you when I get back from Sydney on Monday evening,” Shael said, and Kat felt a moment of regret that they had come to this cold formality. “Megghan has my mobile number in her phone if you need to contact me.”
“Okay.” Kat shifted the drive into reverse.
“Kat.”
Kat paused and looked at Shael.
“Oh, nothing. Thanks.” She stepped back. “Have a good time, Megghan. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
“Yep. ’Bye, Mum.” Megghan waved, and Kat reversed out onto the road.
They spent the evening watching back-to-back episodes of Stargate SG1 and Kat fell asleep with a smile on her face, knowing she had a whole long weekend to spend with her daughter.
“Kat, come and look. They’re playing cricket in the park across the road.”
Kat joined Megghan out on the partially demolished veranda. She took the opportunity to brush the young girl’s dark hair back from her face. Megghan leaned into Kat and Kat enveloped her in a hug. She was so happy to have some time with the ten-year-old she had to fight back tears.
“They play sports in the park every weekend,” Kat told Megghan as they stood in the front doorway watching what they could see of the cricket game through the trees.
“Can we go over there and watch?” Meggie asked as she craned to see a batsman hit a six. “And did I tell you at school I’m on the girls’ under-twelve cricket team?”
“No, you didn’t tell me. Congratulations. I’ll have to come and watch you play.”
“That would be awesome. So can we go over and watch?” Meggie persisted.
“Sure. There’s always a couple of games being played at one time, and there’s a seating stand over on the other side of the park. I think they play the women’s matches over there so we can walk over and watch them.”
“Great. Let’s get changed. What will we wear?” Meggie skipped inside and looked through her clothes. “I think I’ll wear the new white shorts Mum bought me and this blue shirt you bought me. What do you think, Kat?”
“Perfect. And I’m opting for my denim shorts and this lemon T-shirt.” Kat held up the shirt. “Now for a quick shower. Want to go first?”
Half an hour later they followed the path across the small park in front of the larger area that contained a number of ovals. To the left was a team of white-clad youths while to the right young girls had taken to the field.
They made their way to the seating section, and Kat scanned the stand for two empty seats.
“Kat! Over here!”
Kat turned at the sound of the welcoming voice to see Jess walking towards her, and she smiled and waved, experiencing that now familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach—a heady mixture of pleasure, excitement and arousal. She was just thankful that Jess was unaware of the reaction she always seemed to evoke in Kat.
“You like cricket?” Jess asked. “Or in this case, junior women’s cricket.”
“I’ve seen a bit on Fox Sport, but it’s a highly ignored women’s sport, isn’t it? Who would watch women’s cricket when they can watch men play?” she added dryly.
“Exactly. Sexism personified.” Jess grimaced. “All that aside, we have a pretty good comp going. Our team’s second at the moment. And this is our junior team batting. We’re playing the Waratahs.” She grimaced again. “Not too hopeful of getting a win this week, though, as we’re down three members of the team, one with a broken arm and two sisters who are away on holidays.”
“That’s bad luck,” Kat began.
“I can play,” said a bright voice beside Kat.
“Oh.” Kat put her hand on Meggie’s shoulder. “Jess, meet Megghan Smith, the daughter of a friend. She’s staying with me for the weekend.”
“Hi! Megghan. Nice to meet you.” Jess smiled and Meggie smiled back.
“You can call me Meggie for short.”
Kat knew she should correct Meggie but she hadn’t the heart. Much to Shael’s disgust Kat had always shortened Megghan’s name, while Shael always used Meggie’s full name.
“Well, thank you. And I’m Jess, short for Jessica. So I take it you’ve played cricket before, Meggie?” Jess asked.
“Sure.” Meggie shrugged. “I play at school. I’m a medium-fast bowler, and I bat at number four on our team.”
“Amazing. Tell me you’re under twelve,” Jess said excitedly.
“I’m ten.”
“I have a daughter who’s ten. That’s her batting now.” Jess looked at Kat. “Will you give your permission for Meggie to play?”
“Well, it would be okay if it was up to me but I’m not her mother.”
“Can you reach her mother?”
“I can phone her.” Meggie fumbled in her backpack and brought out a bright pink mobile phone. “Mum got it for me for emergencies,” she added when Kat raised her eyebrows. “Mum said I could ring her anytime so I’ll ring her now.” Meggie began to scroll down to Shael’s number.
“I think perhaps I should speak to her,” Jess began and Kat nodded reluctantly.
Shael answered right away and Meggie excitedly explained the situation before passing the phone to Jess.
Kat could only stand by and listen as Jess spoke easily to Shael. In no time at all she had signed Meggie’s consent form in lieu of Shael and they had another form for Shael to sign later.
“This is so awesome,” Meggie said as they sat in the stands after the game, waiting until Jess had organized rides home for a few of the girls. “And I really like Miranda. Do you know she said my score really helped the team win the game.” Meggie proudly ran her hand over the team T-shirt Jess had found for her. “And Jess said I could keep the shirt and play on the team when I’m here.”
“That’s nice of her,” Kat said, watching Jess in action as team coach.
“I could play every weekend if I like. And Jess said I could because they’re always short of players,” Meggie said. “I’d really like to.”
Kat looked back at the child. “Well, that’s up to your mother.”
“But you could come over and get me, couldn’t you?” she appealed.
“Let’s wait until we can discuss it with your mother.”
“I guess. But Kat, it would mean I’d get to see you more often.” Meggie slipped her arm through Kat’s and leaned against her. “That would be so cool, wouldn’t it?”