* * * *
Ellie could only manage a grunt, but it implied her state was due to the fact of being chained to the washing machine on his behalf for half the night. Taking the mug he offered she swigged half its contents before she realized it had an odd taste. ‘This taste’s a bit funny. The milk’s not off is it?’
‘I shouldn’t think so.’ Patrick grinned as she took another tentative sip, his eyes intent on her.
Her reviving taste buds selected the flavor of peppermint.
Peppermint?
‘You Dingo! … You’ve spiked it.’
‘That’s odd?’ Patrick’s hand closed around the cup before she could throw it at him. ‘The potion seems to have had the opposite effect on you. You’re
still
a grouch.’ Setting the other mug on the bedside table he headed for the door. ‘Try that one and let’s call it quits. You’re bewitching enough without the spells.’
The second cup was pure unadulterated pleasure and her disposition improved in leaps and bounds as the caffeine made inroads into her bloodstream. Bewitching, Patrick had said. Leaping from the bed she slid into a pair of black velvet pants, topping them with a white lacy blouse and a matching black velvet waistcoat. She brushed her hair until the sparks flew and secured it to the nape of her neck with a velvet ribbon. Adding a touch of cologne to her pulses and headed into the kitchen.
‘Sit.’ Patrick placed a plate of bacon, eggs and tomatoes on the table. ‘That’s Ellie’s,’ he said as Todd moved his chair closer to her. ‘She doesn’t need your help.’
‘Can I have some bacon as well, Patch?’
‘You had corn-flakes. There isn’t any bacon left.’
Made the recipient of a hopeful smile, she exchanged an amused glance with Patrick. ‘He can have some of this.’ She cut a piece of toast in half and made Todd a sandwich.
‘If you need any personal shopping give me a list after breakfast,’ Patrick said. ‘But not too long ... and nothing bulky.’
‘You’re going into town?’
‘Of course not.’ Gazing bleakly at the rain Patrick muttered. ‘The creek’s still impassable and likely to remain so. The forecast is for rain and more rain. I’m going to call a friend of mine. He’ll deliver what we need.’
‘How? The land-line is out of action. I left my cell phone in Melbourne and yours is under water in your truck.’
‘By helicopter.’ Patrick turned and grinned at her. ‘How did you think? He hasn’t got the power to zap it over here in a shower of stardust. However, if you’d like to have a go …?’
Ellie met his sarcasm with a frosty look. ‘I
meant.
How are you going to get in touch with him? The telephone’s still out of action.’
‘I’ll use the CB.’
She stared at him blankly.
‘The citizen band radio in Vera’s den.’
‘I didn’t know she had one.’
‘She’s had it for the past six months.’ He hesitated, and then said. ‘It used to be mine. I had no room in the van for it so I gave it to her. It enables her to contact those who need her services and can’t afford to pay.’
‘You mean she consults over the radio?’ Ellie couldn’t imagine her aunt doing that. ‘It wouldn’t be very private with everyone listening in.’
‘They use call signs.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Don’t be too long with your list. I want to start preparing the house for painting.’
* * * *
Patrick’s attitude towards her seemed to have softened, and Ellie saw no reason why she shouldn’t meet him half way.
‘Can I help?’ Ellie demolished the last of her breakfast before Todd did.’
‘If you don’t mind washing walls, sure.’ His eyes swept critically over her outfit. ‘You seem to be dressed more for a decorative effect than for work. Do you have
anything
old?’
His inference that she was a useless, vain woman annoyed her. ‘One of my Paris originals will do. I think I have a pair of sequined overalls somewhere.’
Her sarcasm brought a frown to his face. He said nothing more, but his lips tightened ominously before he strode from the room.
Ellie experienced a certain amount of embarrassment when she slid her list next to Patrick’s elbow. It was one thing writing out a list, but to have her more intimate needs broadcast by a man to a stranger was intimidating.
A trickle of relief ran through her when she heard he was communicating with a woman. The woman’s voice was accompanied by static as she reeled off the various items he wanted. Ellie blushed slightly as she slid her list next to his.
‘Did you want to talk to Ace again?’ the woman asked.
‘No need.’ Patrick picked up her list, glanced at it, then up at her. A faint grin hovered around his mouth. ‘Morgana is here now, Bluebird. I’ll give her a crash course, then she can tell you what she needs herself.’
‘
Morgana!
’ She gave him a dirty look as she slid into the chair he relinquished.
He ignored it. ‘Press that when you want to talk. When you’ve finished, say Morgana over and out. Got it?’
‘Yes.’ She placed a hand on his arm. ‘What’s your call sign?’
‘Merlin.’
‘That figures!’ She rolled her eyes in disbelief.
Patrick stayed long enough to see she was doing it right, then headed for the room. Pressed against her knee Todd watched every move, then scrambled on to her lap and grinned in expectation. ‘Can I talk to bluebird please, Ellie.’
She ruffled the dark thatch of his hair. ‘I’ll ask her.’
After repeating her list back the woman asked. ‘Did I hear my Godson in the background? Put him on for a couple of minutes.’
‘Hello, Auntie Bluebird,’ Todd shouted. ‘Guess what? The truck got stuck in the creek ... and my bike’s gone ... and guess what? Ellie crashed her car, then she fell in the mud and said lots of rude words ... then Patch kissed her, and–’
‘My, you do have an exciting time,’ Bluebird cut in smoothly. ‘Put Morgana back on now chicken. I want to speak to her.’
‘She’s not Morgana, she’s Ellie.’
Ellie wondered what sort of jail sentence she’d get for plucking out a child’s tongue. ‘Could you add a large bag of gob-stoppers to the list,’ she said darkly, faintly relieved that Patrick hadn’t been listening.
‘Will do. I’m sorry about that.’ Bluebird sounded faintly amused. ‘The gob-stoppers are on me. If there anything else?’
‘No, that’s about all thank you, Bluebird.’ Ellie could feel her face burning with embarrassment. ‘Morgana, over and out.’
Her glance fell on Todd. Pleased with himself, his face was glowing with excitement. The little wretch had no idea what he’d done, but Ellie couldn’t be annoyed with him when he said.
* * * *
‘That was fun, Ellie.’
‘Yes.’ She grabbed him up and gave him a hug. ‘We’ll have a game of hide and seek after I’ve changed. Then I’m going to help your dad wash the walls.’
‘And me,’ Todd promptly said. ‘Patch said I’m good at washing walls.’
‘Why don’t you call your father, dad, Todd?’
Todd thought for a moment, and then gave a passable imitation of Patrick’s shrug. His face had a closed look to it and his voice dropped to a whisper. ‘I had a mean dad once, so I call my real dad Patch.’
‘I see.’ Ellie didn’t see at all, but she knew she’d been party to the child’s confidence and wasn’t going to press the point. Todd’s words and his manner of telling her suggested some sort of trauma in his past. She wasn’t about to remind him of it.
Giving him a cuddle she lowered him to the floor. ‘I’ll race you to the kitchen. ‘Ready - steady - go.’ Todd was off and running before she could finish. Charging after his giggling form she caught up with him when he reached the kitchen door and they barged through it together.
‘Ellie and I are going to have a game of hide and seek,’ Todd shouted breathlessly at his father. ‘Wanna play?’
Patrick was doubled over the table, his shoulders heaving with laughter. ‘I’d love to play but I’ve got to ... got to ... start work.’
Ellie knew exactly what he was laughing at when his eyes met hers.
‘Couldn’t you murder the little pest,’ he choked out. ‘The radio picked up the whole thing.’
‘You mean in was broadcast over the airwaves?’ Horror came into her eyes.
‘No,’ he reassured her. ‘Just this one.’
‘What are you laughing at?’ Todd climbed on Patrick’s lap and peered up into his face. ‘I talked to Auntie Bluebird and she’d going to send me some gob-stoppers.’
Patrick’s eyes were streaming with laughter when they met hers. ‘Gob-stoppers,’ he whispered.
It was too much for Ellie. Laughter bubbled through her like champagne. Her stomach ached with it. Knowing she’d be unable to stop if she stayed with Patrick and Todd in the kitchen she raced through to the laundry, and leaning against the sink she waited for it to subside.
Directly in her line of vision, a piece of dried paper from Patrick’s pocket lay on the bench. The faded letterhead seemed vaguely familiar, and her fingers automatically reached out for it.
It was from the auditor of her father’s company. Suddenly sober, she scanned the printed words.
Patrick had been ruined by the collapse of
her father’s
company! It had been
her father’s
buildings he’d been contracted to paint. Those buildings had been sold at a fraction of their worth to pay her father’s debts.
No wonder Patrick was bitter towards her. Up until now she hadn’t given it much thought. Now the reason for his attitude was obvious. Patrick had lost everything he owned because of her father, and so had Todd. Crumpling the letter into a ball she stuffed it in her pocket. Pride was all he had left, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
Forcing a smile to her lips she took a steadying breath and headed towards the sound of their laughter. Her smile softened. He
did
have something more than pride, something very precious. He and Todd shared the special kind of love she’d experienced with her own father.
Suddenly Ellie felt very much alone, and very lonely.
Ellie’s muscles were beginning to ache. Straightening up, she scowled at the wall she was in the middle of washing. Was it her imagination, or had it doubled in size since she’d started?
Patrick gazed down at her from his perch on a ladder. He’d nearly finished the top half of his third wall. Compared to her half a bottom, he’d set a cracking pace. ‘Tired, already?’
‘I inherited the skirting board with all the dust,’ she protested, glancing at the bucket of filthy water.
‘You should have dusted if off before you started.’ Giving the wall a final swipe with his sponge he slid down the ladder and joined her. ‘If you’d done it properly in the first place you wouldn’t have to keep changing the water.’
‘
Now
you tell me.’
‘I would have thought it was common sense.’ Patrick threw a yellow duster at her, picked up her bucket and headed for the door. ‘I’ll get some clean water whilst you’re doing that. If I can finish this room today, we can sleep in it when your bedroom and the sitting room are being painted.’ He stopped and turned, grinning as he noticed her raised eyebrow. ‘Respectively, of course. The bed’s a bit on the small side for three.’
Ellie’s glance fell on Todd. His interest in washing walls had evaporated marginally faster than hers had. She’d unearthed some crayons and paper. Now he was sprawled in the middle of her aunt’s bed, his tongue actively imitating the lines of the crayon, and absorbed in his drawing.
‘That’s a nice house, Todd.’ Taking his age into account she ignored the crooked walls and concentrated on the subject matter. There was a red car parked in the drive, a man and a child coming up the path, and a woman with yellow hair looking out of the window. A river ran past the house. Clearly visible in the water was the head of a person swimming.
‘Who’s that swimming?’
‘He’s drowning.’ Picking up a blue crayon Todd slashed thick strokes over the swimmer, then pointed at the house. ‘That’s the house Patch and me are going to build. That’s your car, and that’s you.’ He picked up the yellow and added a spider web of a sun in the corner. There was a wary vulnerability in the eyes turned her way. ‘You can have it if you want.’
‘Thank you, Todd.’ Ellie experienced a strong urge to take Todd in her arms and protect him from harm as she gazed at the picture. The drowning man made her feel uneasy. Was it some trauma he’d experienced in the past. A lump rose in her throat and her voice choked with tears. ‘It’s the best present I’ve ever been given. Can you write your name on it?’
‘I don’t know how to write my name.’
‘I’ll show you, then you can practice it underneath.’ Taking up a crayon she wrote his name on a piece of paper, sounding out the letters as she did so. Tongue protruding in concentration Todd followed suit. It didn’t take him long to get the concept of it and he was spelling out the letters across the bottom of the drawing when Patrick returned.
* * * *
‘Look, Patch. I can write my name. Ellie showed me.’
Patrick placed the bucket on the floor. ‘So she did.’ He sounded genuinely amazed as he turned to her. ‘How did you get him to do that in such a short time? I’ve been trying to teach him for ages. Well done, Todd.’
‘I expect you made the same mistake as most adults do. Small letters with a pencil?’ At Patrick’s nod she smiled. ‘That sort of coordination doesn’t come without practice. Thick crayons and large letters are controlled more easily to start with.’ Picking up the drawing she experienced pride at Todd’s successful effort. ‘Doesn’t he go to pre-school?’
‘I never thought about it to be quite honest.’
‘You should. Todd’s bright.’ Ellie glanced at the drawing and resolved to buy a frame for it. ‘He would learn a lot and it would teach him to socialize with other children before he starts school.’ She picked up the duster and took a half-hearted swipe at the skirting board. ‘Besides ... isn’t it a little risky to take a child to work with you?’
‘It would be if I did.’ Patrick’s voice had turned chilly. ‘As it happens, his grandmother looks after him when I’m working. At the moment she’s not well.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I’ll pass on your felicitations to her.’