Page 123 of The Side Road
‘Jack, why don’t you come inside?’ Oliver opened the door. Jack stepped into the kitchen.
After fetching a glass of water, Oliver handed it to Jack. The boy appreciated the gesture and finished the drink.
‘We were about to make?—’
‘Could we have a minute?’ Jack said. ‘Alone.’
It took Oliver a few seconds before he realised Jack was talking to him. ‘Ah, of course, I’ll be in the garage if you need me. Right outside. In the garage.’
In the garage, Oliver ran a soft rag over the Black Shadow. There was no doubt in his mind that Jack was kissing Tash in Elsie’s kitchen. Or maybe Tash was kissing Jack. Things were moving fast. He straddled the Black Shadow and kicked it over. The engine rumbled.
‘It doesn’t sound like other bikes,’ he said. ‘It has a gait and a rhythm, like a heartbeat.’
38
BIG LOVE
Mia pickedup her phone and scrolled through her social media. Jamie had posted an image of himself at the beach with palm trees in the background. Standing at the edge of the water, he wore linen shorts and a tropical open-necked shirt. Jamie never wore linen or bright colours.
Still, it was a particularly good photo. He looked happy. Mia zoomed in. Jamie had her blue eyes – or she had his – and sandy-coloured hair.
She swiped. There was a picture of her brother drinking a tropical cocktail by a pool. Another showed him in silhouette on a beach at sunset with a woman. They were holding hands. He was on holiday with awoman.
Mia paused. Who was she? Had they just met? Or were they on vacation together? She checked her emails, in case she had missed a correspondence – her broken arm had been a terrible distraction – but there was nothing from Jamie. Mia closed the social media post. Promptly, she called him.
Jamie answered immediately. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘Yes. I broke my arm, but I’m fine. Although it still hurts. Especially at night.’
‘Do you need money?’
‘No. Do you?’ Mia replied.
He laughed. ‘Why are you calling me? I spoke to youlast month.’
‘I saw your social media. Wondered where you were.’
‘Oh, I’m in Bali. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong. I was just calling because…’
‘Mia, we text each other on our birthdays. Otherwise, it’s an email, unless, of course, we’re chatting about childhood trauma. What’s wrong?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m feeling a bit reflective. I’m thirty-six.’
‘And I’m forty-two. Did you break up with someone?’
‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘How did you know?’
‘Wild guess. Hang on a minute.’ In a muffled voice, he told someone he wouldn’t be long. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes. I think I might be scared of…of the big love. I saw what it did to Mum and Dad.’
Jamie sighed. ‘Mia, what they did, how they lived, the big love thing – if you want to call it that – it’s just an excuse for neglect. Something they hide behind. They don’t love each other any more than other couples. It’s bullshit. A selfish excuse because they opted out of parenting. Big love is the best kind of love. It doesn’t mean you lose yourself and can’t function in the real world.’
‘Okay, thank you.’ She sniffed and wiped her nose. ‘Did you bid on the Tom Roberts? I forgot to ask?’
‘I did, but it was passed in– they wanted a million. There must be a massive hole in the roof.’
