Page 44 of Just Say (Hell) No
“My driving force? I guess… showing the world, or at least some tiny part of it, what I see and how I see it. Sharing my colors. It’s not a practical ambition. Hence the restaurant.”
He was silent a minute, then said, “Not practical doesn’t mean not possible. That’s why it’s called a driving force and not an ambling-along-aimlessly force.”
“Crawling force. Creeping force.”
He laughed. “Maybe the strength of the force is up to you. What time did you leave for work this morning? You were gone when I got up, and it was early.”
“Five-thirty. I went to work, I painted my bedroom orange, and that was my day. Not much driving force involved, sad to say. What didyoudo?”
“Oh, you know. The usual. Lifted heavy things. Bashed my body against a scrum machine. Performed impressive feats of footwork.”
“I see what you did there,” she said. “Very nice. I notice you bought this cat of yours a present, too. Anenormouspresent. I’m not going to tease you about that. Much.”
The doorbell chimed, and Marko said, “You go get the pizza, and I’ll turn these steaks over. Get Ella and Kors as well, will you? Reckon we’re eating on the floor again.”
Dinnerwason the floor. But then, Marko had exactly two chairs. Tom had said something about heading home, and Marko had said, “Nah. Cooked you a steak already, mate. Better eat it.” Which showed either that his bark was worse than his bite, or that he hadn’t been jealous after all, just momentarily affronted by an uninvited guest. Nyree was going to have to figure that one out. Later.
For now, she ate pizza, listened to Ella explaining about sponge painting to Marko, and thought about the space she was in. The dining room was different from the rest of the house. Closed off by French doors from the kitchen, and fully open to the deck, if one wanted, via retractable multi-fold glass doors that would allow indoor/outdoor living in the summer. It needed a table, of course. Pity the one it would get would be chrome and glass.
A silence fell, and she remembered her manners and roused herself enough to ask what she should have from the start. “Where’s your whanau, Tom?”
“The Far North,” he said. “Near Kerikeri. I’m Ngatiwai. And you?”
“Whangarei,” she said, and smiled. “Ngatiwai as well. Small world, eh.”
“What does that mean?” Ella asked.
“Same iwi,” Tom said. “Same tribe. Ngatiwai. Different hapu—subtribe—or we’d probably know each other. Not cousins, or we’d know that as well.”
“I know what iwi is,” Ella said. “But not too much more. Not so many Maori where I am. Tekapo, same as Marko. On the mainland.”
“Going to school in Auckland, though, eh,” Tom said. “For sport, or what?”
Nyree wanted to jump in, but she held herself back. Opposite her, Marko looked exactly as ready to leap into battle to defend his cousin. He might not be Maori, but some things weren’t so different.
“I’m only here for five months or so,” Ella said. Her color was rising again, but she heaved in a breath and said, “Because I’m pregnant. I’ve come up here to have it, and have it adopted after.”
“Oh,” Tom said. “Cool.”
Ella laughed, but it sounded more like a release of nerves than anything else. “Not so sure about that. I start school tomorrow, though, P.E. and all. As soon as they see my belly, they’ll know. Or if not, they’ll know soon enough. I reckon it’s better to tell them first. I’m practicing.”
“Too right,” Tom said. “If you say it first, it’s not a secret. It’s just another thing about you. Maybe more interesting, that’s all.”
He smiled at Ella, and it was so sweet, it may have taken Nyree’s breath away. Had she stumbled upon the last remaining habitat of Hard Men With Hearts of Gold? Just in case she hadn’t, she said, “Maybe don’t share that with the rest of the team, Tom. Unless Ella says it’s OK.”
Tom looked confused. “Why would I do that?”
“Yeh, well,” Nyree said, “talk in the sheds.”
“Not about—” Tom said, and stopped.
“Somebody’s sister,” Nyree guessed. “Somebody’s cousin. Never mind. I get it.”
“You can tell them,” Ella said. “In the sheds or anywhere else. So I had sex and got pregnant. It’s not 1960. I’m not ashamed. How does anybody think babies happen?”
Marko hadn’t said anything. Time to change the subject, so Nyree said, “Speaking of embarrassing things that aren’t secret, Marko, I saw a couple carrier bags beside your Cat Gym. If you tell me you bought that cat a pink princess bed, Iwilllaugh.”
“The best part about that giant leopard thing,” Ella said, “is that I don’t feel guilty anymore about costing him money. Geez, Marko.”
