Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Dan was surprised to see the library so busy.
People of all ages browsed the books, chatted to others, and read to children.
A couple of dogs waited outside, one barking intermittently at a cat perched on the fence separating the bowling green from the library and tennis courts.
The library doors were wide open and the decking outside was dotted with colourful beanbags already occupied by teenagers reading under the brightly coloured awning.
He remembered how, when he was a kid, his mother had had to drag him to the library and it had always seemed empty, quiet, and incredibly boring.
He’d always escaped as soon as he could to run down to the beach or into the bush, getting into trouble, collecting grazes, bruises, and insects in equal measure, and generally having a wonderful time.
But that wonderful time had rarely included reading in the library.
What a difference a few years made. Now he wanted nothing more than to stay and soak up the peaceful atmosphere and the sight of Augi listening to a local writer talk about his latest work in progress.
Kate just waved to Augi, telling her she’d catch up with her later, but Dan had stayed, much to his mother’s surprise. She tried to beckon him to come with her, but he shooed her away with what he hoped was a discreet wave of the hand and pretended to browse the non-fiction section.
He did this happily for five minutes without turning a page before he sensed someone walk up behind him. Before he could turn, he felt a whack on his back.
‘Hey there, Dan,’ said Lucy as she plopped down onto the sunny window seat. ‘Fancy seeing you here!’ She raised her eyebrows and shot him a knowing grin.
He pulled a face, knowing he’d been busted, and held the cookery book close to him, determined to hide the cover. He didn’t need to give his sister any more reason to tease him. He glanced at Augi who was still listening to the writer before facing Lucy. ‘Don’t start.’
Lucy tilted her head, clearly enjoying his discomfort. ‘Here to expand your literary horizons? Or just hoping someone will talk to you in a soothing Greek accent?’
He hoped his skin wasn’t as red as it felt. ‘What do you want, Lucy?’
‘Oliver. Information about,’ she added. She glanced at Augi who’d briefly met her glance before turning back to the library patron who was in full flow. ‘Come outside.’
Dan followed her outside to a bench beside the tennis courts where several people were playing tennis. After checking he had a clear view of Augi, he took a seat, leant back, and prepared himself for the latest update about Bastard Oliver and his hotel plans.
None of what Lucy went on to tell him was as he’d imagined.
It seemed Bastard Oliver was turning into Complicated Oliver.
Dan was able to help Lucy unravel what was going on behind the scenes with a quick phone call to one of his mates at the Wellington mayor’s office.
But it took information from another quarter to shed light on what was really happening with Oliver.
As soon as she was free, Augi joined them, and stood with her hands loosely clasped, as composed as always, as she described a side to Oliver which Dan wouldn’t have guessed at. But it made sense. Especially to Lucy whose expression softened with each word Augi uttered.
Augi’s gaze held Lucy’s. ‘I think you got to him, Lucy. You, Kate and everyone. I think you all showed Oliver something he’d never been shown before. Or never been receptive to before.’
Lucy cocked her head in query. It seemed she needed it spelt out.
‘You showed him himself. You held a mirror up to him, and he didn’t like what he saw.’
Dan had sensed that Augi was perceptive, but not this perceptive.
Augi took a breath, as if she wasn’t used to talking so much.
‘In my language,’ she said, ‘we have many words for love. But agápē means the kind of love that looks outwards, to others. It’s the kind of love that changes people.
Not the easy kind, but the transformative kind. The kind that ruins your plans.’
Dan couldn’t take his eyes off Augi. Her whole face had softened, as if throwing off the shackles of defence, and for the first time he thought he could see right to the heart of her.
He liked what he saw. And he couldn’t help but wonder about who she’d loved and how she’d loved, and what had happened to bring that shutter down over her heart.
‘It disrupted his plans,’ Augi continued. Her eyes flicked away for a second. When she looked back, there was something oddly gentle in her expression. ‘He’s had a change of heart.’
Lucy gasped and Dan dragged his eyes off Augi and turned to look at his sister. He was surprised at how shocked Lucy looked. It was clear that she accepted Augi’s explanation, as if what Augi had said made sense to Lucy, even while surprising her.
‘It’s his birthday tomorrow,’ added Augi.
Lucy blinked. ‘His birthday?’
‘I found it in my research and I can’t help wondering how he’ll be celebrating. After everything that’s happened.’
Lucy jumped up. ‘Thanks,’ she said.
Dan frowned, wondering what on earth Lucy was about to do. She looked ready for action. But what kind, he didn’t have a clue. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Off to make sure Oliver has a birthday he won’t forget.’
Dan shook his head in disbelief as he watched Lucy stalk off, down the concrete path, through the squeaky gate, and half-run towards the main street.
‘I don’t believe it,’ he said, turning to Augi. ‘That man is obviously a menace. Sad childhood or not, I don’t want him anywhere near my sister.’
Augi placed a hand on his arm, and Dan froze, all his senses focused on her touch. ‘Daniel, you can’t stop her. She’s a grown woman with a grown heart, which she appears to have lost to this man, who I think may also be lost.’
Instinctively Dan placed his hand over hers, with no thought of who was lost or not. He could only see the rich warmth in Augi’s eyes which wiped everything else from his brain.
She blinked and glanced down at his hand, and when she looked up into his eyes again he saw a change, a sadness there.
If he didn’t act now, he’d regret it.
‘Augi, I really like you.’
She swallowed during the silence as he gathered his thoughts. ‘And I like you,’ she eventually admitted, but the light tone she used suggested a different degree of like than he meant.
‘Enough to agree to meet me for dinner? Just you and me,’ he added for clarity. He didn’t want any ambiguity now. He thought this might be his last chance. ‘So we can get to know each other better.’
He felt as if he were being examined from the inside out. He wouldn’t have minded, but the results of this examination weren’t what he’d hoped for. She pursed her lips briefly in an expression which betrayed regret.
‘I’m afraid not.’
He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to one side. ‘You don’t like me that much, then,’ he said.
‘It doesn’t matter how much I like you. That’s irrelevant.’
‘Now you really have me confused. Is there something — or someone — stopping you?’
‘Only me, and my good sense.’
‘And why would your good sense not allow you to have dinner with me?’
Silence followed his question. Her face was still. Only her eyes betrayed her, as they searched his face, as if she’d find an answer there.
‘I’m an OK person, you know.’ He forced a smile. ‘My Mum will vouch for me.’
Her face relaxed into a brief smile. ‘I know you are a good man, Daniel. I don’t doubt that. But please accept my decision.’
‘Of course,’ he said hurriedly, suddenly concerned that Augi thought he was harassing her.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just that…’ He turned away and shook his head.
How could he say that he couldn’t believe he’d invented this connection he felt between them?
That the feelings were all on his side. But his previous experience had shaken his faith in his own instincts. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
He looked down. He realised he was still holding the book. She touched his hand. He looked up into a gently smiling face, as she took the book from him. ‘I’m guessing you don’t want to borrow that?’
He glanced down at it. Keto. He looked up. ‘You guessed right.’
His spirits plummeted. So this was it. There was nothing left for him here, with her, and he couldn’t quite believe it. He forced a quick smile and then twisted away, looking up at the house which sat on the hill opposite the library, the windows glinting in the light.
‘I’ve always liked that house,’ he said. ‘When I was a kid, I thought I’d own it one day.’
‘It’s my favourite house,’ said Augi. ‘But I never imagine I’ll own it.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m a realist.’
He grunted a laugh. ‘And I’m not?’
‘No,’ she said her smile dropping again. ‘I believe you’re an idealist.’
His smile faded too. ‘An idealist? Someone with no notion of the reality of the world around him?’
She nodded.
‘Maybe once,’ he said.
‘Still, I think.’
A vision of how he saw Augi — a staunch, upright defender of moral good — filled his mind. Maybe he was right. Maybe he still was that idealist. ‘Is that something to hold against me?’
‘No. It’s something to cherish. Because once lost, it’s hard, if not impossible, to recover.’
He wanted to know why, when everything else about her was saying the opposite, that she refused to have dinner with him.
But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to come across as a stalker, someone who couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, so instead he smiled and nodded, opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t think of anything so held up a hand in a sign of farewell and stepped away.
He didn’t get very far before she spoke and he stopped in his tracks.
‘Daniel,’ said Augi quietly.
He turned to her. ‘Yes?’
‘You said once that you hate secretive people.’
He nodded, remembering the conversation.
‘I’m a secretive person. By necessity. I don’t know exactly what Kate told you but it can’t be everything.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because she doesn’t know everything. She doesn’t know what I was reduced to, what I did, and what, even worse, I failed to do. She doesn’t know, and you’ll never know.’ She shrugged lightly. ‘You see. A woman of secrets. And not the woman for you.’
He was too shocked to remonstrate, and so walked away.
Augi returned inside the library, now empty of adults.
She breathed in the smell of polish, books and coffee once more, willing it to quiet her spirit. She hadn’t intended to tell Dan the truth, but she couldn’t let him go without knowing that his instincts were true. It was hers that weren’t.