Page 3 of A Simple Mistake
“I don’t say no to that, but right now the kids need to waltz, so waltz it is.Are you in?”
Pauline laughed.“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.Want me to pick up Carol on the way over?”
“If you could.I need to shift furniture and sort out the music.”
“Get the boys to help.”
“Don’t be silly.Daniel needs an hour to dress for Jess and Nico needs an hour to give him grief over it.No way am I getting in the middle of that.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll bring the girls and ice cream.And I’ll make sure Carol’s mum knows what’s going on.”
Jack thanked the universe for competent allies.“Sounds good to me.”
Dinner hour was long past, and even the sunset had dimmed to a memory beyond the western horizon, yet light and laughter spilled from every downstairs window.Gareth locked his car to strains of Strauss’sBlue Danubeand checked his phone for messages.He mentally reviewed the day’s schedule, wondering where he’d dropped the ball.
Nothing came to mind.The right-hand side of his diary, where he noted commitments outside of his job as Head of Security at Nancarrow Mining, had been blank.It usually was on Fridays, which for him tended to be split between a finance review in the morning and a board meeting in the afternoon.It guaranteed a weekend free from distractions, though it could make for a long Friday—as it had today.
Another burst of laughter drifted from the house, bright in the growing darkness.
Unsure of his reception, Gareth ignored the front door in favour of the path leading around the side of the house to the garden.The French doors stood open, and three couples twirled and wobbled through a dining room devoid of table and chairs amid bellowed instructions and waves of giggles.
Gareth’s gaze found Jack, who twirled Jessica’s mother around the room, his posture perfect.Near the French doors, Daniel’s attempt to spin Jess had turned into an undignified wobble.And opposite him, Nico and a willowy girl as tall as he was stepped and spun a little more gracefully.
“Hi, Gareth.”Nico spotted him first.He stopped his attempts at ballroom dancing and grinned.“Can you waltz?”
“Of course he can waltz.”Jack smiled a greeting.“He was an officer.”
“Officers need to dance?”
The dismay in Nico’s voice reminded Gareth of a conversation he’d had with Jack about Nico’s potential career choices.It seemed Jack had been right.
He set his briefcase beside the door and surveyed the proceedings.“What are you all doing?I thought you had dance lessons at school.”
“We thought so, too.”Pauline came over and held out a hand in greeting.She was flushed and grinning from ear to ear.“It didn’t work out, so Jack suggested that he’d teach the kids here.And if you really can waltz, then maybe you could take charge of Jess and give Daniel’s bruised toes a rest.”
“Mum!You’re awful.”
Pauline shrugged, not looking at her daughter.“Daniel is too nice to call you out, so I’m doing it for him.”
“Guys, I’m done.One more and then we’ll call it a night.”Jack pressed buttons on the sound system.The music changed from Viennese to English waltz and the four teenagers twirled more neatly around the room.
Unable to spot any sign of Jess stepping on Daniel’s toes, Gareth held his peace.He noted Jack’s smile and Pauline’s downright evil grin and waited to find out what had prompted dance lessons in their dining room.
“How about sage green for the downstairs bathroom?”Nico asked an hour later, when they’d restored the dining room and had settled in the kitchen with pizza, salad, and garlic bread on the table between them.It was rather late for dinner, but the boys didn’t have school the next day, and Gareth was determined to sleep in.Not that Jack would join him.His keen interest at Nico’s questions made that plain.
“Sage green?”
“Or bamboo wallpaper and grey tiles?”
Jack tipped his head, contemplating the idea.“Bamboo wallpaper?Like panelling?”
“No.More like a hi-res photo of a bamboo forest.”Nico held out his tablet for Jack to take.“It’s printed on a roll, and you put it up like wallpaper.”
Gareth sipped his wine and let the week slide off his shoulders.He wanted to ask about the impromptu dance lesson, find out what had caused the tension in Daniel’s shoulders and the false cheer in Nico’s voice, but he knew better.They’d never pushed the boys to share when they weren’t ready, and he wouldn’t start now.
Jack didn’t either.He scrutinised the images on Nico’s tablet, then tilted the screen for Gareth to see.“I like the idea of greenery,” he said.“It’s peaceful, and the bathroom’s too small for real plants.”
“You’re not thinking of putting it on all the walls, are you?”
