Instant Family (16 page)

"Cricket starts next Saturday, Alex," Seb interrupted. "You said
you'd come and watch."

"Where are you playing?"

"The primary school ovals at nine."

"I might come. Can't promise."

"Cool." Seb grinned happily.

"Are you going, Julian?"

"No. Orchestra starts again on Saturday morning."

"Really?" What a talented and energetic bunch they were.

"Julian's a very good player." Simone smiled proudly. "Isn't he,
Chloe? He must have gotten that from your mum's side of the family. My lot can't sing a note in tune"

"He's doing well." At last the glimmer of a smile reached the surface as Chloe glanced at Julian.

"I want Steffie to learn an instrument. What would you suggest,
Chloe?"

"The recorder," she said bluntly. "She's too young for anything
else except the violin." Still she wouldn't meet his eye.

"I thought perhaps the piano."

"Waste of time until they're old enough to concentrate for more
than five minutes. Plus their fingers are too small. Wait till she's about
seven or even eight."

"Unless she's the new Mozart," Julian put in.

"I don't think I have another Mozart." Alex laughed.

"No point forcing her if she shows no interest. The best thing you
can do is sing and dance and encourage her to join in. Fill your house
with music, so it's a natural part of her life. Some people expect music teachers to teach their kids to appreciate music but never listen to
anything at home." Chloe's face had become increasingly animated
as she expounded on a subject so obviously important to her. "Music
is a life thing."

Seb groaned. "Stop her, someone"

"No, it's interesting," said Alex. "Do you perform much?"

"I do occasional gigs with a band when they need a sub. Not as
much as I'd like."

"Chloe plays beautifully and sings very well too," said Simone.
"She plays jazz and classical guitar"

"Will you play for me?" Alex leaned forward to emphasize the
earnestness of his request. Did she register the me? More important,
would that affect her decision?

"Now?" Chloe stared at him, brow wrinkled, a half smile hovering. Pleased? Hazel eyes met his, locked in for a moment, assessing.
Yes, tempted.

"Why not?" He didn't set her free, kept her captive with his gaze,
but Simone broke the spell.

"Go on. I haven't heard you play for ages."

Chloe shook her head, but Julian was already on his feet. "I'll get
your guitar."

"I'll call Steffie to come and listen." Alex grinned at Seb, who raised
his eyes skyward. He pushed his chair back and scooped up the bag
with his clothes as he went. Might as well change.

"They're in Katy's room." Simone followed him into the house.

Chloe met Seb's glum gaze. "I didn't offer. He asked"

"You didn't have to agree."

"What's your problem?"

"You always take over. Why can't we do anything without your
being the center of attention?"

"Me?" It emerged as an outraged squeak.

Seb folded his arms. "Alex came around to let his daughter practice swimming, but you wrecked that."

"You heard her. She didn't want to! I tried to entertain her."

"Yeah." His lip curled. "Alex is my friend. You don't have to like
him."

Chloe shook her head. She gave up. If they wanted to hang out together, so be it. They both knew how she felt and ignored her. "You
can have him, Seb, complete with his daughter. You'll have to fight
her for him, though."

"That's your opinion. You obviously upset her."

"You obviously haven't had anything to do with her"

The sliding door rasped. Julian carried Chloe's guitar case. Alex
and Stephanie followed, he clothed in shorts and T-shirt, she with a
sulky scowl. Katy and Simone brought up the rear, both smiling.

"Play the one I like," said Katy, skipping a couple of steps.

Chloe sent her a special smile. Julian handed her the guitar, which
she rested on her knee, using the case as a footrest.

Alex resumed his seat. Steffie climbed onto his knee. He put
his arms around her, cuddled. She wriggled. "I don't want to listen, Daddy, I want to play with Katy."

"Shh, hon. Chloe's going to play for us."

"I don't care. I don't want to listen."

Little brat. Chloe strummed a chord, adjusted the tuning carefully,
strummed another. Put the image of strong brown arms and bare chest
out of her head.

"Daaaddeeee."

"I want to dance," said Katy. "Chloe's playing my favorite tune,
Stephanie. We'll play after."

To Alex's surprise, Katy stepped across to the little patch of grass
and struck a balletlike pose. Steffie stopped squirming in his lap and
stared. Chloe sent a smile across to Katy so full of love, his heart
contracted with a sharp pang of envy for the rapport between them,
instantly dismissed as unfair but with a lingering bruise all the same.
Would Chloe ever smile that way at him? How could he earn her
love? He wasn't doing well so far. And Steffie sure wasn't helping.

Chloe bent her head over the guitar and began.

A shimmery melody poured from her fingers, at once sad and
beautiful. Simple. Exquisite. Spanish without a doubt. He had no idea
what it was, but it touched that place already tender in his soul, his already yearning heart. He wanted it to go on forever. He wanted to sit
spellbound with his daughter on his knee, watching Chloe consumed
by the music, her brow creased gently in concentration, her slender
fingers plucking expertly at the strings. The guitar came alive in her
hands. He'd never personally known anyone so proficient on an instrument, never seen anyone perform so professionally and yet so casually.

Katy began moving, waving her arms softly, graceful as a butterfly as she improvised her dance, stepping and bowing, floating with
the music. Quite lovely. The mesmerizing performance drew to a gentle close, the last notes soaring up and away on the warm evening air. Katy fluttered to a halt.

Alex and Simone clapped loudly. "Brava," he cried, forcing his
stupefied, lovelorn mind into a semblance of coherency. "What a
lovely piece. What is it?"

Chloe smiled. "`Recuerdos de la Alhambra."'

Simone blew Katy a kiss. "You were wonderful, my darling."

"Thanks, Gran. Play rock 'n' roll, Chloe. Come and dance, Steffie."
Katy held out her hands.

Chloe launched into a funky blues riff.

Alex pushed Steffie off his lap. "Go on, hon."

"Don't want to."

Katy capered about the lawn. Simone leaped to her feet and
joined her, laughing and springing like a child, clapping her hands
over her head. Steffie stared, goggle-eyed. The boys writhed in their
chairs from laughter. "Go, Gran!" called Julian.

"Come on, Steffie." Alex stood and grasped her hand, but she resisted, pulling back so he had no choice but to sit again. She clambered onto his knee and gripped his neck with both hands.

"I want to go home," she said loudly.

"When this tune is finished." Alex lowered his voice, frowned,
and glanced at Chloe. "We have to say thank you first."

"Then can we go?" Steffie grabbed his face between her palms
and held him captive, staring into his eyes. Such a sweet face. He
dropped a kiss on her cheek and smiled.

"Yes."

"Good."

Chloe, bent over her guitar, gave no indication she'd heard the exchange, but she must have, sitting, as she was, so close. Steffie slid
off his lap and stalked across to their bag. She zipped the top closed
and dragged it over the verandah to his chair, bumping Chloe's guitar case on the way. Chloe's foot slipped, the guitar lurched, and the
music stopped abruptly.

"Can we go now, Daddy?" Steffie leaned on his knee, gazing into
his face.

"You bumped Chloe's case," Alex said. "I'm sorry, Chloe. It didn't
damage anything, did it?"

"No." Her blank face gave no indication what she thought.

Time to go.

Steffie grabbed the strap of the bag. "Come on, Daddy. You promised."

Alex grimaced at Chloe. "Sorry. I'd better take her home. Thank
you for the swim and the music. You play wonderfully well. Thank
you." He tried to tell her with his eyes and his expression how sorry
he was to interrupt her playing, how impressed he'd been, how amazing her little family was. Each of them a tribute to her integrity and
values.

"Thanks." Chloe bent and opened the case, slipped the guitar
inside, and clipped it shut. She stood up. "Good-bye." She'd withdrawn. No longer the laughing, happy woman from the barbecue
yesterday, she was now the stiffly proper one. The one he'd thought
was frightened of him but, at this moment, suspected in some way
he'd disappointed.

Simone and Katy, giggling and puffing, joined them on the verandah. "Bye-bye, Stephanie," said Katy.

"Bye-bye, Katy" Alex nudged her. "What do you say, hon?"

She glanced up at him, then at the ground. "Thank you for playing
with me, Katy."

"And Chloe, for inviting us over," he prompted.

"No." She kicked at the ground with one foot.

"Don't bother, Alex." Chloe's eyes met his briefly before flicking
to his daughter. "Good-bye, Stephanie."

Better quit right now. Alex stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you,
Simone. Bye, Katy. See you later, boys." He grabbed Steffie with
one hand and their bag with the other. His towel had jammed in the
zipper, but it could stay there until he reached his car. He had to get
his daughter away before she embarrassed and humiliated him even
more. What on earth had got into her? The gate clanged shut behind
them.

Alex unlocked the car and tossed the bag onto the backseat.
Steffie climbed in and clicked her seat belt, cooperative and smiling
now. He slammed the driver's door and started the engine, glancing
in the rearview mirror at her face. She was looking out the window,
a little smile on her lips.

"That was very rude of you, Stephanie. I'm disappointed."

Silence. He glanced in the mirror again. She'd closed her eyes.
"Steffie?" Silence. "Why were you so rude to Chloe?"

"I hate her." She began kicking her feet up and down against the
back of his seat.

"That's no excuse. You mustn't be rude to people." He clamped
his mouth shut. Hadn't he been guilty of exactly the same behavior
when he first met Chloe? "Stop kicking the seat, please."

"Can I have pizza for dinner?"

"We're not having dinner together. Mummy wanted you home
early so you could get ready for school."

"Are we going there now?"

"Yes"

"Daddy, I don't want to go home. I want to stay with you." The
face in the mirror stared back at him earnestly.

All his frustrated anger and disappointment melted away. She really was a sweet child, but he couldn't provide the care she needed,
and he hadn't had a clue how to deal with her behavior this afternoon.
She was far better off with her mother and baby brother in a stable
home environment. "I'd love to have you stay, hon, but we can't"

"Why not?"

"Mummy loves you too, and she wants you with her and Derek
and Mark."

"I still want to live with you."

"We'll see." But it wouldn't happen. Lucy would never agree, despite her ravings that he shirked his responsibility. He just couldn't
see himself as a full-time father.

"I want to live with you and Mummy"

And that definitely was never going to happen.

Alex remembered Seb's cricket match midmorning on Saturday.
He pulled off the yellow rubber gloves he'd donned to scrub the
shower and looked at his watch. Ten forty-five. He could cycle to the
oval and continue to the shops. After that he should do some work.

Ten minutes later he wheeled down the street. Not so hot today.
Clouds were piling up on the southwesterly horizon under the influence of a stiffish breeze. Storms had been forecast, but everyone had
given up on rain ever arriving as promised. He should cycle more
often. He always enjoyed it when he did, despite Aranda's being full
of hills.

Saturday-morning traffic was sparse, allowing him to spin straight
through the yield sign and turn right. Minutes later the ovals were in
sight. Two games were in progress on opposite sides of the playing
fields. He squinted at the nearest players. Too young for Seb.

A ragged line of spectators lounged on the boundary of the far
game. Alex scanned the white-clad boys sitting waiting to bat, wheeling his bike across the grass. No Seb. Perhaps he was batting. Couldn't
really tell from this distance, with all players wearing white trousers,
shirts, and broad-brimmed sun hats. Nor could he recognize any of
the fielding team.

"Hi, guys," he said. "Is Sebastian Gardiner on your team?"

A couple of faces glanced up at him. "Nah."

"Ask the scorers." One boy pointed to a man and a woman sitting
on folding chairs several meters away. Both had clipboards in their
laps. Both wore straw sun hats. Both stared intently at the game. The
woman was Chloe.