Page 41 of Night and Day
“He’s... shown you the movie thing?” Sue asked. “We know little about it to be honest. Isaiah tends to keep these things under his hat. He’s always been creative though. In primary school, he wrote the most imaginative stories.”
“I think it’s so inspiring!” Mia took a deep breath, her hand landing on her chest. “I love filmmaking and used to work at a production company where we used Izzy as an editor. He’s brilliant.”
Sue rearranged her shocked mouth into a smile. “Great that you have that in common. I’ve never really understood his... film passions. I wish I did.” She shook her head in regret, her eyes glistening.
Over her shoulder, Mia caught Izzy’s gaze. He stood in the doorway, holding a glass of white wine and a beer, frozen like a statue, wearing the oddest expression on his face. Mia flashed him a smile, and he resumed motion, carrying the wineglass to her.
“Your mum was just asking about how we met, and I gave her the short version,” Mia told him, peering at him over the rim of the wine glass. Goodness it smelled nice, a concoction of citrus and flowers.
“What’s the long version?” Sue asked, and John perked up next to her. “I’m sorry for being nosy.”
They looked at each other with such warmth and knowing that Mia’s chest ached. Despite being fairly clueless about their son’s passions, they seemed to care so much and worry inordinately about doing or saying the wrong thing, far more than she remembered her own parents ever worrying. They simply told her what they thought, patted her on the back, and moved on. Not that she’d given them any reason to worry. She’d followed her life plan like she’d been programmed, from a degree to a steady career path, her drive only matched by that of her boyfriend’s.
Goodness, she thought with alarm. This was the longest she’d ever gone without speaking to Mikko. In Finland, they’d practically lived together. They’d spoken almost daily until she’d stepped on that plane – the first thing she’d ever done that veered from the pre-programmed success path.
“Did she tell you about the robbery?” Izzy explained what Mia had experienced within her first hours in New Zealand. “I should have met her at the airport, obviously, but she insisted she wanted to make her own way to Hamilton.”
“Yes! I knew he was busy with work and I really wanted to have a look around by myself. But then he ended up picking me up anyway,” Mia finished, grateful for Izzy’s quick thinking. Why hadn’t they considered that part of the story? A boyfriend would have picked her up, obviously.
Sue cast a reproaching look at her son. “You should have insisted a bit harder, eh? Now, look what happened! She lost everything. What a nightmare! Such a horrible start to your visit.”
“It hasn’t been that bad.” Mia took a sip of wine, her head spinning from trying to keep the tale from unravelling. “Izzy has looked after me really well. Yesterday, he took me shopping for clothes.”
Mac appeared at Izzy’s side, slapping him on the back. “Shopping! Way to go, Izzy! Where did you go?”
“Chartwell mall,” Izzy said, shifting in discomfort.
They all turned to stare at him in awe.
“Chartwell mall?” Sue repeated, her hand tapping at her chest like she was fanning herself. “How was it?”
“Didn’t you go last weekend?” her husband asked.
“No, I mean, how was the... experience?”
“Fine.” Izzy snuck Mia a dark look. “I don’t really enjoy shopping. I told you I usually order online.”
“No shit!” Mac laughed. “Last time Izzy went to the mall they still accepted cheques.”
Izzy grunted, taking a long swig from his beer. He wiped the froth off his beard, clearly uncomfortable. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”
“He also took me to... Countdown, was it? I needed to get some toiletries and things like that,” Mia added, trying to be helpful. Judging by Izzy’s posture, she was only making it worse.
Feeling awful for him, she slipped her arm around his waist and nuzzled her head against his mile-wide chest. “Honestly, he’s been the perfect host. I don’t like shopping either. I’d much rather order online... But sometimes you don’t have time to wait for a delivery. Like when you get robbed.”
She felt Izzy relax against her. He shifted his drink to his other hand and threw his arm around her. The firm squeeze of his hand flushed her with heat, and she fought to keep her breathing steady.
Shasa joined them, holding Lilla’s hand. “Hi guys! Lilla would like to say hello.”
They turned to face the little girl in a unicorn dress, multi-coloured hair clips holding her dark curls. She stared at Izzy, her eyes wide. Izzy crouched down to her eye level, offering her a wide smile. “Hello, Lilla. I really like your dress. I love unicorns.”
“I love unicorns!” Lilla exclaimed, forgetting to hold her mother’s hand. She pointed at the one on her dress. “This one has a rainbow horn.”
“I can see that,” Izzy mused. “It matches your rainbow hair clip.” He pointed at the one dangling from a curl framing her face.
“Do you need a hair clip?” She asked, eyeing his beard.
Mia lowered down to join the conversation. “I reckon he does! He let his facial hair grow too long and it could do with some styling. Do you have a spare clip we could use?”
