Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Kingscliff
When Reeda opened the front door and saw her friend Jennifer standing there, she almost wept.
She embraced Jennifer and then kissed her two kids on the cheek as she ushered them into the house with all of their luggage.
Little Mabel was two years old. Reeda hadn’t seen her in months, and she’d grown so much in that time.
Sam was four years old and looked sweet and guileless with his blond hair and big brown eyes, but Reeda knew he could be mischievous if he chose to be.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “I’ve got tea and cake in the kitchen. Come with me, and I’ll show you to your room.”
She helped them carry their bags into the second guest room.
Then she returned to the kitchen to finish making a jug of fresh-squeezed lemonade for the children and a pot of tea for the adults.
She was excited to have Jennifer come to stay.
They’d organised this trip prior to the foster children’s arrival, and now that they were here, Reeda was nervous about how it’d go.
She hadn’t seen Jen in so long. She’d been looking forward to spending time together, but how would the kids take having guests in the house?
Ever since the incident in the pool almost a week ago, there’d been a kind of détente between her and the children.
They’d found a rhythm for their daily life, and today was their second day of school in the new school year. So far, it seemed to be going well.
When Jennifer returned to the kitchen, Reeda set the kids up with colouring books and plates of snacks at the table while she and Jen went outside to sit on the patio with a glass of wine and some cake.
“This is much better than tea. Cheers.” Jen tapped her glass against Reeda’s.
Reeda took a sip. “I thought you might need it after transporting two small children on a plane.”
“You’re so right.” Jen shook her head. “And how are things going for you? Are any of the kids here?”
“They’re at school. They started yesterday. I drove them there and back yesterday, made sure they had everything they needed, and got them settled in. But they’re catching the bus home today for the first time. So, fingers crossed it all works out.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
“They’ve caught busses before—they assured me of that. And the school provides teachers to guide the kids to the right bus. I used to catch the bus when I was a kid, but I’ve never been the parent before. And I didn’t realise how stressful the whole thing is for parents.” She said.
“Parenting can cause a lot of anxiety, if you let it. But you’re dealing with a whole different set of issues as well, which I’m sure makes it tricky for you.”
“It’s challenging, but hopefully things will even out over time. They’ve been pretty easy the past few days. They’re really sweet kids. The youngest, Carly, is only six, and she’s the cutest little thing. It breaks my heart to think what they’ve been through to get to this point.”
“Do you know much about their past?”
“They’ve been in their mother’s custody until recently. But she’s a drug addict and was sent to prison. I’m not sure what happened to their father, he abandoned them years ago.”
“That’s awful. Such a tumultuous upbringing would be hard on a kid. Not knowing who to rely on, or where you’re going to stay from one day to the next—I can’t imagine how that must feel.”
“Their parents are originally from Burma. They came here as refugees in the 1980s before they had the children. So, they don’t really have any extended family here.”
“Wow. Well, you’re doing a good thing. You and Duncan opening your home to these children will hopefully give them at least a little bit of love and stability in a really difficult situation.”
“We have no idea how long we’ll have them, but I’m hopeful it will be for a while.”
Reeda glanced through the glass sliding doors at Jen’s two children. They were both adorable, with their wispy blond hair and brown eyes, bent over their colouring books as they ate and chattered away together. So well-behaved, so content in their play.
“Your kids are growing up so fast. They’re gorgeous.”
Jen nodded. “They can be. They’re on their best behaviour since we’re travelling, and they were so excited to get on the plane and come to the Gold Coast to see their Aunty Reeda.”
“One of the things I miss most about Sydney is seeing you and your family whenever I liked.”
“Well, it’s a pretty short flight, so you’re welcome anytime. And I’ll try to come see you as often as I can. It gets harder and harder as the kids grow up, though.”
“Have you heard anything about my business? How is it going?”
“You can’t help yourself, huh?” Jen teased.
“You know I can’t. I built that thing from the ground up. It was my first baby.”
“Karen seems to be doing really well. I see her every now and then. She was at a movie night recently with the old crowd. And from what I hear, she’s managing the place to the standard you trained her. You should be proud.”
Reeda was proud, but she also missed the bustle of doing business in the city.
Her interior design work in Kingscliff and on the Gold Coast wasn’t nearly as impressive as what she’d managed to achieve in the Sydney market.
She’d loved dressing up each day, meeting with high-level clients, and doing challenging work.
But it was a trade-off—she enjoyed the lifestyle where she lived now.
Plus, she was much closer to her sisters, an integral part of the family business at the Waratah Inn, and her relationship with Duncan was better than ever before. She had a lot to be grateful for.
Reeda looked at her watch. School would’ve finished by now.
“When will they get home?” Jen asked.
“Sometime in the next hour or so.”
“I’m sure they’re fine, Reeda. Don’t worry. They’ve been to school before.”
“Not this school.”
“They’ll be okay. Hey, do you remember that time we had the water balloon fight on our first day of year six?”
“How could I forget? You used a balloon filled with flour on Steven Norton right after I’d slapped him with a water balloon. He was covered from head to toe in flour all day long.” Reeda chuckled.
Jen shook her head. “Poor Steve. I wish I knew where he was so I could apologise.”
“We really had no sympathy back then.”
“We got as good as we gave,” Jen replied. “I was soaked.”
“That’s true. We had a lot of fun, though.” Reeda’s lips pulled up at one corner. “Those were the good old days. Back before everything changed.”
Jen’s smile faded. “Yeah, before the…”
“Accident,” Reeda finished for her.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bum you out.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it these days.”
“It’s good you’ve worked through all of that pain. I know how much it troubled you for a long time. I’m proud of the work you’ve done.” Jen gave her a hug. Reeda was so grateful for a friendship that had lasted so long. She didn’t have to put into words how she felt. Jen simply knew.
While they waited for the kids to get home from school, she took Jen and her family for a swim in the pool.
They had a great time. Sam wore floaties on his little arms, and Mabel wore a vest. Mabel stayed close to Jen, spending most of the time attached to her mother or jumping off the edge of the pool for Jen to catch her.
But Sam was more adventurous, bombing into the pool and kicking his way back to the side on his own.
They didn’t last long, as they grew cold and tired quickly.
So, Jen took them to the bathroom to shower and change while Reeda put together a platter of cheese, biscuits and olives for the kids when they got home from school.
She looked at her watch every five minutes or so, the nerves in her belly building with each passing minute.
Where were they?
Just then, the front door swung open, and she saw Carly in her new blue-chequered dress toss her schoolbag to the floor and kick off her joggers.
She ran into the kitchen and stopped short.
Reeda thought it looked like she was happy to see her, but she quickly pushed the excited look from her face and returned to her usual expression of apathy.
“Hi,” Reeda said. “Did you have a nice day?”
Carly nodded.
Marc sauntered into the kitchen behind her in his grey buttoned shirt and grey shorts. “I’m starving.”
“Good afternoon, Marc. I hope you had a nice time at school.” Reeda offered them both as wide and warm a smile as she could muster. “Where’s your sister?”
Carly looked at Marc, who shrugged. “Can I get something to eat?”
“Wash your hands. I’ve got a platter I’ll put out on the patio for you. And we use manners in this house, which means saying please.”
“Please,” Marc replied with an eye roll.
Reeda set everything up on the glass table on the patio for the two children, then sat down with them. “Carly, Marc, where is Simone?”
Marc ignored her. Carly chewed on a piece of biscuit with cheese. “She’s at school.”
“Why didn’t she get on the bus with the two of you?”
Marc sniffed. “She helped Carly onto the bus. Don’t worry about it.”
“I am worried about it. I have to know where she is. She’s my responsibility.”
“No idea,” Marc replied. “She said she’d be home later.”
“Does she do this a lot?” Reeda asked.
“All the time,” Carly said. “She likes her freedom. That’s what Mrs Casper used to say.”
“Yeah,” Marc agreed.
Jen returned from the bathroom with two freshly washed children in their PJs.
Both had wet hair slicked neatly back by a comb.
Reeda introduced them all and helped the two small children sit up for their snack with Carly and Marc.
Carly looked sleepy, her little eyes blinking open and shut, as she ate.
Reeda wanted to sit with her and ask about the school, the teacher, and whether she’d made any friends, but she couldn’t do that right now. She had to find Simone.
Reeda took Jen aside. “Listen, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I’ve got to go looking for Simone. She didn’t come home from school, and I have no idea where she might be.”