Page 49 of The Side Road
‘There’s a reason they’re called monkey wrenches,’ Kristen agreed.
‘Do you mean grease monkey?’ Josh asked.
‘Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. What was Oliver thinking, taking that poor girl to the outback with him? It’s no life for a child.’
‘First, you complain because he left her behind,’ Blanche said. ‘Then you complain because he takes her with him. People raise children in the outback.’
Mia looked at the floor; her heart was racing. Their opinions, like a quick-unpick, sliced through Oliver’s reputation.
Kristen paused her knitting and looked around the group. ‘I’m only saying what everyone else is thinking.’
‘I’m not thinking it,’ Josh said.
‘Me either,’ Mia agreed. She finished the last stitch on her jumper. Holding it up, she showed Josh the luxurious mohair garment.
‘Gorgeous,’ Josh confirmed. ‘Do you have somewhere special to wear it?’
Mia shook her head.
‘Has anyone seen that movie about the Labrador that found its way home toAlaska?’ Abbey asked.
‘The dog was a husky, not a Labrador,’ Kristen said.
‘It was a bulldog, a Himalayan cat, and a golden retriever,’ Josh said.
‘I think that’s a different movie,’ Mia whispered.
Josh handed her his knitting, and she checked his stitches. The ribbing around the neck was progressing. She gave him a nod of approval.
After the Sit& Knit group had packed up their needles, wool, and unwanted opinions and returned to their own houses, Mia helped Blanche clean the kitchen and tidy the living room. She stacked the dishwasher while Leo collected the glasses and rearranged the furniture.
Gossip was unconfirmed discrimination that said more about the gossipers than it did about the person they were talking about. Mia knew this, yet their comments about Oliver had unsettled her, and uncertainty clouded viewpoints.
When Leo returned to the kitchen, Mia asked, ‘Do we…do we like Oliver?’ After placing the last glass in the dishwasher, she switched it on.
‘Good lord, no.’ Blanche handed her a towel so she could dry her hands.
Mia understood. The man had a reputation, and what that meant wasn’t entirely clear, but his past was questionable. An unreliable, absent parent, he had shouldered Elsie with the burden of raising his child. Mechanics, rather thanbreathing life into broken machines, were sub-humans. A little pain escaped from her chest, and a sadness heavier than the rain filled her blue eyes.
‘We love him,’ Leo said.
Mia looked up. ‘But you just said?—’
‘We don’t just like him, we love him,’ Blanche agreed.
Folding the towel, Mia turned her back on them. ‘What exactly do you love about him?’
‘He’s been so good to Elsie – the man has the patience of a saint – he bought her a house, for god’s sake. He’s a wonderful father.’
‘And a terrific dancer,’ Leo said.
‘He dances?’
‘Swing dancing. His grandmother was an American.’
‘Really? A dancing mechanic, who would have thought?’
‘Cheer up,’ Leo said. ‘We won’t get much for you if you look like that.’
