Page 82 of The Side Road
‘No reason.’
After they ended the call, Mia stayed seated and listened to the wind. How did one woman get to be this lucky? She gave Snood a scratch under the chin. There were many beautiful males in her life.
With winter’s approach,the monthly Sit & Knit evenings grew in popularity. Attendance had never been higher. Enthusiastic chatter intertwined with cheese platters, overfilled glasses of red wine and the rhythmic click of knitting needles. Mia did her best to steer the communal conversations toward books, movies, and dogs. Josh never missed a meeting.
A month after their first lesson, the Men’s Shed crew were making just about everything Mia could imagine. Themed socks were especially popular, and the designs included beloved football motifs in team colours and Star Wars emblems. There was talk of a knitting camp before the cold weather ended.
In late June, Holly resigned from her Mill Family Olive Estate job and came to work at Hook & Knot. While she understood the basics of knitting – needle sizes and yarn types – she was still a beginner working in a store with a legendary status. Hook & Knot catered to some of the most accomplished knitters in the country. Mia thought Oliver knew more about tension than Holly. He was a master sampler maker.
Holly put her marketing degree to good use handling online orders, shipping, and social media. She also managed the staff roster and made herself available Monday, Wednesday,and Friday mornings to accommodate Oliver and Mia’s dating routine, which also included a breakfast rendezvous.
Saige and Holly formed an unlikely friendship. When Saige asked if she could work a Saturday shift, Holly initially refused.
‘But the family have this big lunch planned,’ Saige pleaded. ‘I will literally die if I have to go.’
Holly pulled out her phone. With a single click on the roster, she had literally saved Saige’s life.
Later that same afternoon, while dressing Fiona, the shop’s display sheep that stood in the front window, Saige asked, ‘Do you think I might be autistic?’
‘I’m not a professional,’ Holly replied. ‘But no, I don’t think you’re autistic. Pass me that fluffy scarf.’
‘Then, what’s wrong with me?’ Saige held up two woollen scarves. ‘The pink or the blue?’
‘The blue,’ Holly said. ‘Nothing is wrong with you.’ She wrapped the scarf around Fiona’s neck. ‘You’re smart, but you hide it. You should study something.’
Saige looked at Holly like she had just told her to spend two years alone at the bottom of a Highland cliff.
‘Go to university,’ Holly continued. ‘Or not. Do a trade. Study online. But you can’t stay here. You have to make a life for yourself, which means decisions – lots of decisions. Every day. It’s tough, but don’t just let life happen.’ Holly stood up and critiqued Fiona’s outfit. She adjusted the scarf, but it wasn’t quite right.
‘No one goes to university anymore,’ Saige said. She handed Holly a pink hat, and Holly slipped it over the sheep’s head. Better. Fiona needed a hat.
‘That’s not true,’ Holly replied.
‘You don’t need a degree to sell wool.’
‘Mia studied textiles. She has a craft business. Go learnsomething.’
Later, when Mia and Holly were together in the tearoom, Holly said, ‘I’m starting to care about your junior shop assistant.’
‘You’ll change your mind when she calls in sick because it’s her birthday for the third time this year,’ Mia told her. ‘But you could consider a career as a guidance counsellor.’
‘Unlikely.’ Flicking through a glossy tourist brochure, Holly pointed to an advertisement for a local retreat. ‘What do you think about a week away in a wellness retreat?’
‘The one in Capertee is world-class. You deserve it.’
26
MEDIEVAL
By mid-July,Mia and Oliver had established their sex in the hallway rendezvous routine. Although they often had sex in the bedroom or the living room, and once got as far as the back courtyard. Their Monday adventures on the BMW and the Tiger Cub continued. Oliver also dropped by several mornings a week after Tash left for school. Holly, aware of their routine, made sure she vacated the house well in advance.
Their secret encounters felt like a conspiracy. Covert sex was thrilling. It was decadent and heedless, and the privacy of their affair connected them. Their secluded world of Mia’s bedroom became a sanctuary of happiness that conveyed their acceptance of one another.
Naked in bed with Oliver, Mia lay on him, draping herself over his body – her breast to his. Her chin to his neck. Her bones against his. She drank in the smell of his hair. The feel of his skin. Outside, the winter weather beat against her windows, but inside her bedroom, they pulled the rugs and blankets around themselves.
As a child, Mia had thought that happiness was something bubbling and loud, like smiles and laughter or birthday cakes and party games. Hide and seek with her brothers. Now, happiness was this quiet time lying in bed with Oliver. Happiness was being held. It was his soft breath as he stroked her skin. It was the peaceful feeling after sex that inspired contentment.
She discovered he liked seeing her half-dressed or almost naked. Socks would do. Or an oversized shirt and nothing else. When she only wore a scarf and gloves to keep her hands warm, he couldn’t get enough of her. She always climaxed first, and he loved to watch. Visibly affected, it sent him somewhere else. He asked her questions about what it felt like when he was inside her. She answered, it felt euphoric. Was she happy? Blissfully. Did she prefer it this way or on her side? On her side. Did she want him to do that again? No one was standing in his way.
