Page 21 of Best Laid Plans

‘Thanks, Will. There’s a cage in the far corner, away from the other patients. If you give me a minute, I’ll line it with thick newspaper to keep him warm and dry.’

By the time the python was safely in its cage, it was long past midnight, but to Lucy’s surprise, she didn’t feel tired any more. She tried to tell herself that she’d found working on a completely new species exhilarating, but she knew very well it had everything to do with Will’s presence.

She’d felt relaxed and focused and it had been like stepping back in time to their student days. But good grief, it was such a long time ago, and they couldn’t really go back, could they?

‘Let’s go through to the kitchen,’ she said, once they’d cleaned up.

She snapped the kitchen light on and the room leapt to life. She was rather proud of the renovations she’d made tothis room, painting the walls a soft buttercup and adding hand painted tiles to the splashback over the sink. And she’d spent ages hunting for the right kind of cupboards and shelving in country-style second-hand shops.

‘I’d better let the boys in.’

As soon as Lucy opened the back door, Seamus and Harry bounded inside, greeting her with doggy kisses and fiercely wagging tails, as if she’d been away for six months.

At last the dogs calmed down and she turned to Will. ‘I think you’ve earned a drink.’

‘I believe I have,’ he agreed and he immediately began to remove his jacket and tie.

Lucy drew a sharp breath, already doubting the soundness of this idea. But she couldn’t send Will packing after he’d been so helpful. Surely two old friends could have a drink together?

‘What are you in the mood for?’Oh, cringe. What a question. ‘Alcohol or coffee?’ she added quickly.

She opened the fridge. ‘If you’d like alcohol, I’m afraid there’s only beer or white wine.’

Will chose beer and Lucy poured a glass of wine for herself. She found a wedge of Parmesan cheese and freshly shelled walnuts and set them on a platter with crackers and slices of apple.

‘Come on through to the lounge room,’ she said. It’s pretty shabby though. I started renovating the kitchen and then ran out of enthusiasm.’

Tonight, however, Lucy was surprised. She hadn’t drawn the curtains and the lounge room, now flooded by moonlight, had taken on a strangely ethereal beauty. The shabbiness had all but disappeared, and the garish colours of the cotton throws she’d used to cover the tattered upholstery had taken on a subtle glow.

‘I might leave the lights off,’ she said. ‘This room is definitely improved by moonlight.’

‘Everything’s improved by moonlight.’

She studiously ignored this comment in the same way that she avoided the sofa and flopped into a deep, comfy single chair instead.

CHAPTER NINE

WITH a be-my-guest wave of her hand, Lucy directed Will to the other chair. Then, as the dogs settled on the floor, heads on paws, niggles of disquiet returned to haunt her. It was such a long time since she and Will had been alone like this.

‘Try some Parmesan and apple,’ she said, diving for safety by offering him the plate. ‘Have you tried them together? It’s a nice combination.’

Will obliged and made appropriate, appreciative noises.

Lucy took a sip of wine. In many ways this was one of her favourite fantasies – talking to Will late into the night. But in the fantasies there’d been no awkwardness. They had been as comfortable and relaxed as they were all those years ago, before they’d drifted apart.

Lucy wondered what they would talk about now. Will had hinted that he had specific things he wanted to talk about. Would he raise them now? She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear his thoughts on marriage and babies and being over the hill.

Perhaps he still felt that tonight wasn’t the night to be deep and meaningful. She searched for a safe topic that didn’t include weddings, or honeymoons, or babies.

‘So, have you started hunting for a new job?’ she asked.

‘I haven’t put in any applications yet.’ Will settled more comfortably into his chair, crossed an ankle over a knee. ‘But I’ve found a few positions I might apply for. There’s even one in Armidale, at the university.’

‘In Armidale?’ So close? To cover her surprise, Lucy said, ‘I have trouble picturing you as an academic behind a desk.’

He shrugged. ‘I thought it would make a nice change, after years of hiking over deserts and mountains looking for rocks.’

‘There’s that, I guess.’ She couldn’t resist adding facetiously, ‘I suppose geology is a young man’s job.’

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