Page 94 of Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon
Involuntarily her hand goes to her head. ‘Yes.’ In their entire married life, this is the first time he’s noticed a change in her appearance. Once she cut off a fair bit of hair and he saidnothing. Another time she wore thick black eyeliner just to see what he’d say – nothing. They went out to dinner with friends and she wore a low-cut top, which was not her sort of thing at all. No reaction.
‘It looks great,’ he says.
Suddenly she feels self-conscious and she brushes down the pink jumper.
‘Thanks,’ she says.
Their conversation in the car is perfunctory: he asks after the children, she gives him answers; she does not ask about his work and he doesn’t volunteer any information.
He’s brought her to a little bistro in Gosford she didn’t even know existed.Maybe he brought the blonde here, she thought as they arrived, then tried to unthink it because it was ungenerous.
Yet she’s not going to let the night end without asking him about that woman. If he’s seeing someone, she wants to know. Shehasto know.
So she’s not going to wait, she’s going to ask now while they’re in the lull between ordering their food and those meals arriving.
‘This is a change from the Avoca Beach,’ she says, smoothing her serviette over her legs.
‘Hm?’ He frowns and fiddles with his butter knife.
‘The Avoca Beach. I had dinner there the other night.’
He looks up.
‘And so did you,’ she says.
Watching him closely, she sees no discomfort. He’s always had a fairly open face so she’d notice it if it were there.
‘Oh yeah,’ he says, nodding slowly. ‘I had dinner there with Fi.’
Anna swallows, knowing this is her moment of reckoning and she needs to stay calm.
‘Who’s Fi?’ She tries to keep her voice light – so carefree! She doesn’t care about this Fi! It doesn’t work, because she almost chokes on the second word.
‘Bracey’s wife.’
‘Bracey?’
‘Dan Brace. From school.’
Anna tries to remember this person but can’t.
‘We were in the cricket team together,’ Gary explains. ‘Stayed in touch. Sort of.’
Still nothing. Does he have friends she has completely forgotten about? Or did he not tell her?
‘He died.’ Gary looks down, breathes out, looks back up at her. With meaning. Like this is information she’s meant to know.
‘Oh,’ she says. Stalling for time.
‘So, yeah, Fi’s getting used to being on her own. To being lonely, I guess.’ Another pause. ‘They didn’t have kids. Couldn’t have them. So she’s really alone.’ He shrugs. ‘She just needed a night out. So did I.’
Anna feels bad for making presumptions, but theydidlook cosy together. Which they would if Gary knew Dan that well. Why hasn’t he mentioned them, though? Why hadn’t she met them?
‘We talked about you,’ he continues.
‘Me?’
‘Yes.’ He looks quizzical. ‘Why wouldn’t we? I told her you’d kicked me out.’
