Page 6 of Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon
Oh yes, that’s right, blame Trudy. As if the woman doesn’t have enough going on, what with being a widow and that bloody Jane taking off and setting up the new salon. The cheek of her! Evie never really got on with Jane but she’d been there for so long Evie had thought she must have had Jane all wrong.
As it turned out, she did not: Jane was a snake in the grass who slithered away with a good portion of Trudy’s clients. It’s not fair. Trudy may smoke too much and wallow in misery a little bit, but she’s the kindest lady in the world.
While Evie couldn’t manage without some of the school mums, who let Billy hang out at their homes on the afternoonsshe can’t get away in time to pick him up, she also couldn’t manage without Trudy. If Billy is off school sick he sometimes has to come to the salon if it’s really too busy for her to stay home with him, and he’s often there in the holidays, and Trudy never minds.
Sure, he’s a quiet kid, always reading a book or playing with his yo-yo, so he doesn’t cause any fuss. But Evie doesn’t like to take advantage of Trudy’s understanding, so she makes arrangements for him after school when she can. It can be exhausting, though, ensuring he has somewhere to be. She wishes, often, that she had a sister or mother nearby who could help her, but her mum died when Billy was a baby – he’s seven now – and she doesn’t have a sister. Two brothers, and they’re not on the Central Coast.
‘Hello, sweetheart!’ It’s Mrs Champion. She lives a few doors up from the school and sees all the parents and kids coming and going. At first Evie thought she was a bit nosy but now Evie thinks of her as a one-woman Neighbourhood Watch.
‘I’m late, Mrs C!’ Evie calls, more out of breath than she wants to be. She keeps promising herself she’ll start doing aerobics because putt-putt golf – her preferred form of recreation – isn’t really a fitness activity, but she hasn’t managed it yet. The leg warmers are stopping her. She’ll look stumpy in them, she’s sure. Not like Jane Fonda at all.
‘Are you off to the school?’ Mrs Champion calls back.
Evie thinks it’s a funny question. Where else would she be going?
‘Yep!’ She flashes a smile and keeps walking.
‘But your lad’s gone.’
Evie stops, her heart in her throat, then turns around to face Mrs Champion.
‘What?’
‘With his dad.’ Mrs Champion smiles kindly. ‘Isn’t it his day?’
Evie scans her memory. She and Stevo have an arrangement for Billy. Four days out of five it’s her picking him up – unless he’s going home with a friend – and on Wednesdays it’s Stevo. And today is …
Wednesday.
Her shoulders sag. No wonder Trudy didn’t say anything. She probably thinks Evie’s odd for rushing out the way she did, hardly saying goodbye. It’s a strange day when your boss knows your school pick-up schedule better than you do. Not to mention the one-woman Neighbourhood Watch.
‘I’m an idiot,’ she groans.
‘No, sweetheart,’ Mrs Champion says, leaning on her gate, secateurs in hand. She’s always cutting something, or acting as if she is. ‘You’re a busy mum. Don’t be too hard on yourself.’
Evie smiles gratefully. ‘Could you just forget you ever saw me?’
‘Now, why would I want to do that? I’m always happy to see you.’
Evie sighs. ‘Thanks, Mrs C.’
Mrs Champion peers at her. ‘He’s a nice man, that Steven.’
‘Stevo.’
‘Not Steven?’
‘Not since he was Billy’s age.’ Evie waves a hand. ‘He prefers Stevo.’
Mrs Champion nods slowly, as if she’s considering something, but she doesn’t say anything.
‘We’re not together,’ Evie adds, although she doesn’t owe Mrs Champion the explanation.
Again, Mrs Champion nods. ‘Oh well. Just because you make good parents doesn’t mean you’re meant to be together, eh?’
‘No. Anyway, now that I’ve got some time I’d best get home and start dinner. Bye!’
She doesn’t really have to rush off since she’s no longer late for Billy, but nor does she want to engage in a conversation about Stevo. Although Mrs Champion probably knows their business anyway, because Steve works at the fish shop at the Skillion where all the locals go, right where the boats come in – his father opened it and now Stevo runs it. The hours are long but when Billy started school Stevo was adamant he wanted to pick him up on Wednesdays, and he closes early in order to do it.
