Rose's Vintage (30 page)

Rose's mind worked overtime. They were clearly Astrid's parents, but what on earth were they doing here? Astrid, she was certain, was not expecting them.

Rose hastily rinsed out a teapot and sliced up some leftover lemon tart from the party. Digging in the back of a cupboard, she located some pretty floral china cups and saucers. She guessed that Astrid's parents, her mother in particular, were the type who would appreciate them. As she came back out of the house carrying a tray laden with tea things, she saw the couple looking bemusedly around them, clearly unimpressed by the party detritus.

‘I'm Rose, by the way. I work here with Astrid,' she said as she settled the tray on a nearby table.

‘Ah, I see,' said the woman as she reached to pour the teapot, lifting the lid to inspect it. ‘I am Helga and this is Hans.' She pointed at her companion. ‘We are the parents of Astrid.'

‘I guessed you probably were. Astrid will be so thrilled to see you,' Rose said brightly. She was getting better at this lying thing.

She hurried back to the barn to retrieve her phone and warn Astrid of the new arrivals.

Astrid wasn't answering, so Rose sent her a quick text asking her to call urgently. Rather than sit around biting her nails, she went out again to start clearing up the remains of the party. Helga and Hans, it seemed, had finished their tea, and she could see them walking down the tree-lined drive, Hans hobbling along next to his wife, who was pointing at the vines and then throwing her arms up in the air. Rose could see her mouth opening and closing, but the breeze was blowing in the wrong direction for her to hear what she was saying. They appeared to be having an argument.

‘Halloo, we're back! Anyone home?' Astrid called out as she huffed up to the back verandah with Luisa balanced on one hip. The house was silent. She carried the little girl through to the kitchen and set her in her highchair.

‘Now, Miss Lulu, what is it to be? Cheese? Avocado? A sandwich?'

‘Soup, please!' demanded the little girl.

‘Okay, then, I think there's some in here,' she said, opening the fridge and peering inside.

Rose had heard the car pull up, and jogged over from where she was still clearing up outside the cellar door. ‘Hey, Astrid,' she puffed, out of breath. ‘You'll never guess who's here.'

‘I know. Thommo told me that Isabella is back. Oh God, that's all we need. That woman, she is batshit crazy. You'll see what I mean now for sure. '

‘No,' said Rose. ‘It's not Isabella.'

‘Who then? Ryan Gosling?' Astrid giggled. ‘He has decided to come to the Shingle Valley? Spill your beans, Rose. He's left Eva Mendes and decided to move to Australia. He heard you were here.'

‘Umm, I'm surprised you didn't bump into them on our way up the drive actually,' said Rose.

‘What, Ryan really is here? Tell me, yes? Come on, who is it really?' she asked, blowing on the bowl of soup she'd heated up for Luisa.

‘We–ell,' said Rose. ‘You might want to brace yourself for this.'

At that moment there was a knock on the door. ‘Hallooo. Anybody there?'

The voice was muffled, but Astrid went white as a sheet and nearly dropped the bowl of soup she was holding. ‘Oh,
mein Gott
. You are kidding me, yes?'

‘No kidding around here, kiddo. The parentals have come to visit,' said Rose.

‘
Christus!
Oooh, sorry Luisa,' she said, covering the little girl's ears. Astrid's hands then went reflexively to her stomach, smoothing the bump. ‘Oh, holy cows. This is the last thing I need. Can you pretend I'm not here?'

‘I think it's a bit late for that.'

Astrid made a face and went to open the front door.

‘Astrid,
liebling
.' Her mother inclined her cheek for a kiss. ‘Where have you been? We have been waiting for you a long time.'

‘
Mutti
, what a lovely surprise,' said Astrid, dutifully pecking her on both cheeks. ‘If you had told me you were coming, of course I would have been here. I had no idea you were even thinking of travelling. It's such a long way to come. What are you doing here anyway?'

‘You are our daughter, Astrid, in case you'd forgotten, and you have been away from home for a long time now. In any case, our old friends the Kaufmanns – you remember them? Well, they came to lunch a few weeks ago and were so enthusiastic about their visit to Australia, so we thought, well, why should we not come and surprise you, didn't we, Hans?'

‘Hallo,
Prinzessin
,' Hans boomed as he held out his arms to her. ‘How are you? It's so good to see you,
Liebling
. Let's have a look at you.'

‘Astrid! What? Look at you. You have let yourself go? Tell me this is just fattening Australian food,' demanded Helga.

Astrid's loose top could fool most people, even her father, but not her gimlet-eyed mother.

‘No,
Mutti
, it isn't.' She took a deep breath. ‘This will be your first grandchild.'

‘What on earth?' said Hans. ‘But you're far too young to have a baby. Why, you're still just a girl yourself. What have you been up to?'

‘Come on, father, do I have to explain that?'

Hans looked momentarily embarrassed. ‘Who is responsible, hmm? I will have a few words to say to him. We didn't know you even had a boyfriend, did we, Helga?'

‘Please don't be upset. It's all going to be fine. He's a good man, and he's going to take care of us,' Astrid replied, a determined set to her jaw. She didn't elaborate any further.

‘Well, you will be coming back home, of course,' said her mother. ‘Immediately. You're far too young and far too far away to cope with this on your own, whether the father is around or not. You're not even twenty yet! I don't suppose he plans to marry you, eh?'

‘Young people today,' said Hans, blowing out his cheeks with exasperation. ‘Perhaps I should have brought my shotgun with me?'

‘Father!' exclaimed Astrid, horrified.

‘You think I make a joke? I do not joke about this.'

Astrid clutched her stomach. For a moment, Rose, who had been watching from the shadows of the kitchen door, in case things got really out of hand and Astrid needed her, wondered if she was ill. But then she heard her exclaim, ‘Oh! I can feel kicking!'

Rose couldn't help herself and she rushed forward to hug her friend. ‘Oh, Astrid, really? Where? Show me! Can I feel it?'

The harsh expression on Astrid's mother's face didn't falter, but Astrid turned to face her bravely, her hand protectively on the curve of her belly. Rose stood by, her arm still around her friend's shoulders. ‘
Mutti
, I do appreciate you coming all this way to see me, but you can't take over my life. I'm happy here, really I am, and it's all going to be just fine. You'll see. Now, why don't you come in and we can get a room ready for you. You can take a shower and then come and have some lunch? I know Mark won't mind you staying for a few days.'

‘Did I hear my name?' said Mark, who was just at that moment walking across the drive.

‘So, you're the man responsible, I take it?' Hans Grosskopf glared frostily at him.

‘I have no idea what you're talking about. And who, might I ask, are you?' replied Mark, looking both annoyed and perplexed.

‘Hans Grosskopf. Astrid's father.'

‘Oh, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hans. Astrid has been a wonderful addition to the team at Kalkari. I hope we've looked after her like a daughter.' Mark extended his hand.

Astrid's father ignored it, pointedly. ‘A daughter? Is that how you see it?' Red veins stood out on his face.

Mark looked puzzled and ran his unshaken hand through his hair. ‘Um, yes. Is that a problem?'

Hans looked ready to knock him to the ground.

‘Oh, you're being ridiculous Papa,' said Astrid, exasperation in her voice. ‘Of course it's not Mark who is the father.'

‘Father?' echoed Mark. ‘Whose father? Astrid, I thought this man was your father? Can someone tell me what's going on?'

‘Oh
Christus
! I am sorry about this, Mark. I'd been waiting for the right time to tell you, but it seems Papa has let the dog out of the bag. I'm afraid I'm going to have a baby.'

‘Bloody hell, really?' Mark looked astonished. ‘I had no idea, Astrid. That'll teach me to open my eyes a bit more,' he said as he glanced more carefully at her midriff. You'd have to look hard to see signs of a bump under Astrid's smocked shirt. ‘Are you okay? Is everything okay? Am I the only one who didn't know?'

‘So he's not the one responsible? I seem to have the stick at the wrong end. Excuse me, I am tired and we have been travelling for so long,' said Hans.

Mark surveyed them both, speechless for a moment, then, seeing the funny side, began to laugh. ‘Well, let's start again, shall we? Good to meet you, Hans, and …?'

‘This is my wife, Helga,' said Hans.

‘What a nice surprise for Astrid that you've come to visit,' said Mark. ‘Are you here for long? You're welcome to stay, of course. I insist. I'm sure the girls can sort out a spare room for you both.'

‘Well, we can't be away for too long. You know how it is,' said Helga, ‘But that is a very kind offer.'

‘Why don't I show you to your room?' suggested Rose, hoisting Luisa into her arms and ushering them into the hallway.

Rose came down the stairs, having shown Astrid's parents to their room. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and paused, eavesdropping.

‘So, Astrid. What's this all about, hey? Is there anything I can help with? Can you tell me who
is
the father?' she heard Mark ask.

‘Oh, Mark, you must believe me, I did not plan this. I've been so scared, and I definitely wasn't expecting my father and mother to turn up on the doorstep. I'm going to keep the baby though. And Thommo's been great, really. I'd like to stay working here as long as I can, if you're okay with that.'

‘Thommo Drummond, hey? Well, he's a steadier bet than Charlie, so you could have done worse, but things aren't going to be easy, no doubt about that.'

Astrid looked mournful. ‘Oh, it's such a mess. Father is going to kill him, I know. I am still a little girl to him. And my mother is insisting I return to Austria.'

‘Steady on now, it'll all work out, you'll see,' he reassured her. ‘And in any case, I want you to stick around as long as you can, even afterwards if you can manage it. Unless you think you'd be better off going back home? The kids would want you to stay, I'm sure. They both adore you, Astrid. And they will love having a little baby around.'

‘Oh Mark, that means so much to me.' Astrid gulped down rising tears. ‘I don't want to go anywhere else, and I would hate to leave you all. But what about Isabella? Will you still need me to look after Leo and Luisa if she is back? Will you need Rose?'

‘I have no idea how long Isabella plans to stay for, but I'm not holding my breath. The kids need some stability in their life, and they've had more of that in the past few months from you and Rose than Isabella's ever been able to give them,' he said firmly.