Page 108 of Kiwi Gold
“She was talented, then,” I said, and something in him relaxed.
“Have you heard anything else?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “Nothing. But I wasn’t expecting to. You?”
He shook his head, then hesitated.
I said, “What? The sabotage, or Laila?”
“Nothing,” he said. “You gave me your word.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I did.”
When I found Laila, she was sitting on the floor in another big room with bunk beds on one end and an intricately patterned carpet on the floor, glowing with rich color but a little threadbare. It looked antique, and possibly rare. There’d been more of them in other rooms I’d passed, used in that Arab way of seeming totally unconcerned about their value, because they’d been made to walk on. Baskets of toys were aligned neatly on shelves in here, much like in Laila’s studio, an enormous dollhouse stood in one corner, a plush rocking horse that looked as gently worn as the carpet took pride of place in the other, and a huge rolling box of bricks stood under the tall windows. Laila had all three girls around her, and was putting a dress on some kind of fashion doll while Yasmin said, “She needs sparkly shoes,” and picked up a plastic box separated into compartments.
Organized doll accessories. That was Laila all over.
The woman in question looked up sharply at my entrance, but her face relaxed when she saw it was me. “How’re they going out there?” she asked, getting an evening gown of sparkling gold onto the doll, whose messy long hair and cleavage made her look like a wanton woman next to Laila. “How much t-r-o-u-b-l-e?” she added.
“Not too bad,” I said, because describing the nuances of the past half hour was beyond me. “But you’ve found the best spot.”
She smiled. “Well, I thought so.” Looking cool again, in the same kind of wide-legged trousers she wore to work, and a buttoned shirt whose sleeves ended below the elbow. Conservative, I guessed, for her father’s house.
“Was this your bedroom?” I asked. “As a kid?”
“Yes,” she said. “I loved it. The toys were put away, but my dad saved them, it turned out. Sweet, eh.”
“And then it was our room,” Amira said, “when we lived with Grandad, and we got to play with all Mummy’s toys. My doll is going to wear a bikini.”
“She can’t wear a bikini,” Yasmin said. “They’re going to a fashion show!”
“She can too,” Amira said. “She likes to be comfortable, and it’s hot.” Yasmin sighed in exasperation, and I smiled and felt heaps better.
Claire said, “I want to make the boy doll go to the fashion show. He will wear shorts.”
I said, “I think they’re putting the food out, so your reprieve may not last much longer. The rule seems to be, no ‘Grandad,’ and no aunties and uncles. Just … friends,” I finished lamely, because whatdidyou call this? “For now.”
* * *
Laila
Lunch was a bit … odd. My dad had put two tables together out on the shaded patio, and instead of just the four of us that had been my entire family, there were now fourteen. The girls had clamored for seats next to Baba, and he’d obliged.
It would take some getting used to for them, I told myself. We’d talk about it more tonight. Meanwhile, Lark was looking like she wanted to take over the chairmanship of this meeting, because whoever was in charge was doing a rubbish job; Lexi was looking around like a particularly inquisitive and colorful bird, and making intermittent comments that seemed to me mainly aimed at stirring the pot; her sister Larissa was being snippily polite back to her; Larissa’s husband, Frank, looked like he wanted to be anywhere else; and Lark’s husband, Ewan, was focused on his plate. Liana, the shortest and slightest of the sisters, just looked shut down and possibly miserable. I muttered to Lachlan, at one point, “Do I consider this a success if we avoid bloodshed?” and he grinned and said, “Probably.”
That was all, and it wasn’t too bad. Until the doorbell rang.
47
AT THE OK CORRAL
Lachlan
For some reason, when the doorbell rang, Liana was the one who jumped up. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her say three words today, but she said three now. They were, “I’ll get it.” Drake looked surprised at that, as who wouldn’t be, but he hesitated a moment, then let her go. As if he were thinking,Those aren’t the rules I was raised with, but who knows, at this point.I knew how he felt.
I needed to talk to Liana. I needed to talk to Mum. And most of all, I needed to talk to Laila.
I forgot that, though, because Liana was coming out again, and she had somebody with her.
