Page 27 of Winter at Wishington Bay
He had such a brilliant straight face that I literally had no idea if he was now telling the truth or not.
‘Right… well. Anyway. This is going to have to do when it comes to uniforms and just because I speak a little differently from you—’
‘A lot differently from me.’
‘Whatever. I’m still good at my job.’
‘That was never in dispute. I’m just curious as to how you ended up in Wishington Bay, waiting tables and cleaning grumpy blokes’ houses.’
‘You’re saying I don’t seem the type?’ It wasn’t the first time I’d been questioned in a similar vein.
‘Something like that, maybe.’
‘Never judge a book by its cover and all that.’
‘I’m not judging. I’m curious. Two very different things.’
‘What did you do to that dog?’ I asked, stepping over Bryan’s basket as Nate dragged it into a pool of sunlight, while the dog remained unmoving inside it, upside down, feet in the air, snoring softly. ‘Are you putting rum in his dog treats or something?’
Nate grinned. ‘Nope. Just having fun. It’s a long time since I’ve had a dog to play with.’
‘I don’t suppose your lifestyle really allows for one.’
‘Not really, no. But probably more so than Gabe’s did at the time he got Bry and he still made it work. And my wife was at home most of the time so it wouldn’t have been out of the question.’
‘Sometimes we mean to do things and never get round to them.’
‘Serena wasn’t keen.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yes. And you told me off for changing the subject earlier, now you’re doing the same.’
I stood up from loading the dishwasher and left the soup machine soaking with some hot soapy water inside to deal with later.
‘There’s not a lot to tell really. Marriage. Divorce. Time to start again.’
‘And you what? Got in the car, pointed it in a direction and kept going until it was running on fumes?’
I was surprised that he’d remembered my explanation of how I got here. ‘Pretty much,’ I said, pulling a face.
‘And you stayed?’
My smile was soft as I looked out of the window up the bay. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
When he replied, his voice was just as soft. ‘If only it were that easy.’
I turned back and gave him a smile, understanding that sometimes things were a lot more complicated, even when we didn’t want them to be.
‘I should get on with my work, otherwise I’m still going to be here at dinnertime.’
Nate handed me the tea he’d made. ‘I don’t think Bryan would complain about having some different company. I’m pretty sure I’ve exhausted everything we have in common.’
‘But he is a great listener.’
‘He is that.’
We both looked towards the dog. Still snoring.
