TWENTY SIX
Luke
I assume Mia will want to go back to her place when we get to Rosella Bay, but she surprises me by asking if she can stay at mine. “Too many memories at my place.”
I pull her against me where I’m leaning back against my truck and kiss her slowly. “Some good ones, surely?”
She laughs against my lips and I just want to sink into more kisses, but we should get going.
“Yeah. Definitely some good ones, but at your place we can make all new memories. All good ones.”
Despite the fact we have to drive separate cars, I’m grinning when I get into the truck. I think I’ve always dreamed about making memories with Mia at the ramshackle old four-beddie I bought on a whim years ago. I’ve spent far too many hours imagining her sitting in the yard with her easel or curling up with me by the fire in winter. Tucking our kids into bed—whoa, I probably need to slow down before I get carried away. Besides, the place needs work. I hope she doesn’t think too badly of me when she sees it. Somehow, though, I’m sure she won’t.
Mia’s plan is to go straight to the address she found in her father’s file and see if she can speak with Margaret, then head past Bambara Street to collect anything else she needs before joining me at mine.
I drive into town, heading for the Inlet Views. I’ve got some time to kill and I want to check on Mum and Dad since they’ll be back from Sydney today, too. I don’t even make it out of the car, though, before I know the news is going to be bad. When I stop the engine and fish my phone out of my pocket to text Mia and make sure she made it safe, there’s a message from Mum.
Mum: give me a call when you get this. We have the results of your dad’s test back.
A hundred furry little legs crawl across my skin as I read it. If it was good news, she would have just written it in the text.
Striding from the truck, I’m through the front door and halfway up the stairs before the buzzer at reception finishes ringing.
“It’s Luke,” I call out as I open the door to the part of the building that makes up their home. The back part of the main building and the first floor above reception are all part of the residence. The kitchen, which faces north, is full of bright winter sunshine that feels at odds with the creeping sense of dread in my guts.
Mum is sitting at the big pine table in the middle of the open plan living room with a cup of tea. Dad’s standing at the sink, but he turns when I come in.
“Lukey.” Mum goes to get up, but I hurry over to give her a kiss.
“What is it? Don’t make me wait. Let’s just get it over with.”
Dad sighs and walks over to lay his hand on my shoulder. “Sit down, Lukey. You want a cup of tea?”
I sit, though it’s the last thing I want to do. “It’s bad isn’t it?”
Dad sits opposite me and I watch his face as he folds his hands in front of him on the table. He’s not making eye contact, so I know it’s bad.
“It’s cancer.”
“We don’t know that!” I glance around at Mum who’s sitting beside me. Her face is drawn and her hands are clenched tightly around her tea.
“Joanne, there’s no point beating around the bush.” He turns back to me. “The colonoscopy turned up some polyps and when they removed them for biopsy, it seems like there are malignant cells. The long and the short of it is, I have to go back to Sydney in two weeks for another procedure. This time it’ll be a surgery to remove part of my bowel and after that the doctor might want me to have chemotherapy as well.”
I suck in a breath through my teeth. This is exactly what I was dreading.
“It’s not the end of the world. The prognosis is still good.” Dad’s voice is so calm. How the hell does he have so much control?
“Fuck!”
“Luke!”
“Sorry, Mum, but surely cancer gives me a free pass to say fuck.”
She frowns at me, but Dad chuckles. “Pretty sure a few fucks never hurt anyone.”
Mum scowls at him. “Rob!”
I ran my hands through my hair. “What about the cost? Will your health insurance cover it?”
The smile drops from Dad’s face and Mum covers her mouth with her hand.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
And now this lawsuit is hanging over their heads and they don’t even know it.
“We’ll be OK, Lukey,” Mum says eventually. “The gap is a bit bigger than we expected, but the bank already said we can redraw on the mortgage, and business has been picking up.”
That’s not what Jack says, but I don’t argue. I just bite down my worry and try to give them a reassuring smile. More than ever, I hope Mia has been able to work some magic on Margaret and at least that disaster can be averted.
I stick around for a while and manage to choke down some tea. Eventually, I say goodbye and head home.
I’m worried. I can’t pretend I’m not.
When I get home, Mia spots it straightaway.
“This is cute.” She peeps around me as I open the door to let her into my place. Then stops when she catches what must be the look on my face. “Oh, Luke, what happened?”
I brush a speck of something from my eye as I struggle to keep my voice steady. “Dad’s got cancer.”
She instantly drops the bag she’s holding and slips her arms around my waist. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
It takes me a long moment to get my shit together, and more to feel like letting her go. Mia stays right where she is until I’m finally able to draw a long breath. “He’s going to be OK.”
I nod. “He just needs treatment, but the cost...”
She pulls me through into the living room where I sink down onto the sofa. Her hand remains firmly clasped in mine. When I tell her about my parents” money worries and the surgery her face falls.
“I couldn’t get Margaret to talk to me.”
I try not to let my disappointment show. It’s not her fault. She’s done everything she could.
Through the long night, I toss and turn, unable to sleep, wishing there was something more I could do.
I’ve always been a fixer. I fix my neighbours’ problems, I fix arguments in my family, I fix things that aren’t working. But this is a problem I can’t fix and that drives me crazy.