Chapter Ten
Abbey
I was far from certain whether I expected Nick Northby to rock up at my house for Pirates of the Caribbean night, but I spent the entire grocery trip running through ways to break the news to my child, in case he did.
Ella and I were close and in a way that had nothing to do with Peter.
Pete managed to be a good dad, despite often being a massive prick to me.
But Ella just preferred her mum at times.
When she woke up in the middle of the night, she would come to my side of the bed.
If she was worried about something, she would confide in me.
I knew about all of the important stuff.
Friend dramas, boyfriends, broken hearts, teacher drama and period dramas (as in feminine reproductive, not the travesty of Matthew getting killed off in Downton Abbey).
Nothing was off limits, but we had simply never discussed me inviting men she did not know to our house.
After getting back with the groceries, I cleaned the house with anxious thoroughness.
When Ella came through the door, I noted that, for the first time – and as requested – Peter dropped her off and did not come in, which was a relief.
I hated making small talk with him. I mean, what was I supposed to say?
Hey, thanks so much for being a massive, lying cheat and forcing me to recognise that I’m not sure I ever loved you.
Also, this wasn’t his house any longer and after the dress night, I finally realised he was crossing a boundary, coming in as he had.
It felt surprisingly good to have got it off my chest and to have him respect the new rules. My rules.
I timed the Nick talk for when Ella and I were preparing vegetables for the tacos.
I popped down the knife on the wooden benchtop and stared at the white-and-green checked tiles on the wall, running what I would say through in my head and trying to get the amount of casual right.
I picked up the knife again and started chopping.
‘Ella, the reason I couldn’t get you from school yesterday was that my boss, Oliver, got hit by a cyclist. It knocked him over and he hit his head and broke his leg. He’s in Aunt Kate’s hospital. It was very serious.’
‘Is he okay? What bone in his leg was it? Is he awake?’ Ella’s love of Grey’s Anatomy meant that (currently) her dream career was to be a doctor.
‘Umm, he will be okay. He’s in an induced coma at the moment. He had a bleed on his brain and they are monitoring him. They may need to remove a section of his skull to—’
‘To relieve pressure, Mum.’
‘Yeah.’ I looked at her, impressed that Meredith Grey was providing such an excellent pre-med-ucation for my child.
‘His brother, Nick, is my friend. Obviously, he’s extremely worried and stressed about Oliver.
They’re from England, so they have no other family here.
I told Nick that if he needed some company, he could come here and watch the movie with us and sleep on the couch.
I hope that’s okay with you? I don’t know for certain if he will come. ’
Ella looked up from grating cheese. ‘He shouldn’t be alone, Mum. I would be worried sick if something happened to you or Aunty Kate.’
‘I agree.’
Ella was getting to that great age where you had moments of thinking your kid might just turn into someone you’d like to know.
‘Is Nick your boyfriend, Mum? You can just tell me if you have a boyfriend. I’d tell you if I had one.’
‘Umm, he’s not my boyfriend, Ella. We’re just, umm, uh, you know, friends.’
Ella insisted on a circular platter of pre-made tacos, laid out exactly as she’d seen on a TikTok video.
When I finished it, the likeness to the video both surprised me and left me chuffed.
I gave myself a pat on the back for being a fucking cool mum and ran out to show her, but her interest had wavered, and she gave me a polite nod.
We popped on the movie, and I quickly drank my nerves in the form of a glass of red with each taco I consumed.
The knock on the door made me jump and slop a little red wine onto my fingers, which I indelicately licked off.
Despite me preparing Ella for just this eventuality, I was weirdly freaked out.
Ella ignored the door, already engrossed in the first Pirates movie.
I hopped up and walked down the hall, nervous energy flitting around my stomach.
The hallway blocked off the lounge room, and I shook my shoulders.
Be cool, Abbey. When I swung open the door and saw him, my coolness completely escaped me.
Nick looked pale and haggard, new lines of worry were etched into the side of his eyes and his stubble was bordering on holiday stubble.
His eyes were big, sad Nick eyes, which made my stomach do a weird curl and the need to take care of him overwhelmed me for a second.
He had on a backpack and a grocery bag sat beside his foot.
I reached for him, pressing him into me. He wrapped his large arm around me and pressed back. I think he smelled my hair.
‘How is he doing?’ I whispered, kissing his cheek.
‘They say he’s getting better, but it’s hard to see.
’ Nick pulled back a little and his hand flew to his forehead, tears filling his eyes.
‘He looked the same amount of unconscious to me.’ He pressed his lips into my cheek and then nuzzled his nose into me.
‘Jesus, you smell good,’ he said, inhaling.
‘Like tacos? Come in. I’ll get you a plate. You need to eat.’
He nodded and walked close behind me. In the lounge room, Ella paused the movie as we came in and bounced off the couch.
‘Ella, this is Nick.’ I was trying hard not to be the most awkward person in the room, introducing my lover to my daughter. It wasn’t the least bit surprising that I was not pulling it off. My cheeks were crimson, and I was sweating. I pulled my jumper away from my neck.
‘Hey, Nick. I’m sorry to hear your brother is in hospital. My Aunt Kate is a legend, though, and so are her colleagues,’ Ella said, in a strangely mature way.
I looked at her, marvelling again at how grown-up she seemed lately.
‘Thanks, Ella. It’s nice to meet you. I appreciate you guys letting me hang out tonight.’ Nick looked in his bag. ‘I bought popcorn and chocolate for your movie night. Oh, and I bought your mum some rum.’
‘Rum?’ I said, puzzled.
‘Pirate themed? It’s Caribbean spiced rum.’
‘Yum, well thank you. Now, there is a plate on the coffee table for you. Help yourself to the taco platter. Ella and I have already eaten our fill, so don’t be shy. Beer or wine or, er, rum?’
‘Beer, please.’
Ella restarted the movie while I grabbed Nick a drink. I held the beer up to my forehead for a second in the dark kitchen, collecting myself, before heading back.
He had sat down on the lounge. I put his beer on the table next to him and then sat beside him. Ella was sprawled on our three-seater, so we were on the smaller sofa. I popped a cushion over my lap and let my leg touch his. I was having a hard time concentrating on Captain Jack Sparrow.
‘Nick,’ Ella said, ‘did you know my mum had the hots for Johnny Depp in the nineties?’
I nodded a confirmation of this while taking a sip of my wine.
Nick snorted his amusement. ‘I did not know that, Ella. She told me she had a thing for heroes.’
‘Mum says she has a thing for tall, dark, handsome men.’
Nick laughed at that and then raised his eyebrows at me, mouthing, Is that right?
I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. I was insanely pleased the colour was back in his cheeks and that he was smiling. If we could ease his mind for a few hours, that was a good thing.
Nick wolfed down the remaining tacos and then asked for Ella’s help to make popcorn, the two of them chatting away in the kitchen while I tidied up dinner, stacking the dishwasher.
Ella peppered Nick with questions. She was extraordinary, significantly more forthright than me.
‘How old are you, Nick?’
‘Forty-one.’
‘Ooh, my mum is forty-two. Where do you live?’
‘In the city at the moment, but in London I live in Hampstead near an enormous park, called a heath.’
‘Do you have kids?’
‘I have a ten-year-old daughter. Her name is Summer.’
My hands stilled in the sink at this new information. Why on earth would he have not told me that? I refused to look at him, but I could feel his eyes on me.
‘Where is Summer’s mum?’
‘Ella …’ I interrupted my daughter’s interrogation, deeming this line of questioning way too personal, though I was desperate to hear the answer.
‘It’s okay.’ He paused. ‘She died. She had been sick for a long time.’
My heart cried for him. Jesus Christ. How much had he been through in his life? At the same time, I’m not sure that excused him for not telling me about his daughter.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Ella said quietly.
‘Summer was staying with my sister while I was away, but she’s coming out to Australia now. I hope you guys will have dinner with us one night?’ Nick asked quietly.
‘That sounds so nice. Can we go somewhere we have to dress up? Mum always looks so beautiful when she dresses up, Nick, and she got this beautiful dress the other day.’
‘Let’s finish this movie, Ella,’ I said, being non-committal about the family date, after only just finding out there was a family. I was a little annoyed. Nick seemed hell-bent on feeding me his life in dribs and drabs, when I had been honest from the start. It was bloody infuriating.
We sat back down with the popcorn and other snacks; I kept my leg to myself. My phone buzzed the minute Ella became engrossed in the film again.
You’re annoyed with me.
I looked across at him and his eyes slid towards me, raising his eyebrows, a knowing smile on his handsome, smug face. He was insanely pleased with having read me.
I’m not annoyed. I’m delighted you came.
He shook his head and fired back another text.
Liar. You are annoyed. Ella is a sweetheart, Abbey. You’re an amazing mum.
Okay. You are a little annoying.