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unattached male had rather obviously been invited for her benefit, a
gesture which she appreciated but could have done without. It had
shocked her that not only some of these unattached men but the
husbands of some of her friends had the idea she would be grateful
for a chance to indulge in some casual sex. After fending off some
crude passes, she ceased attending parties, even when she did get a
rare invitation, and of course in time the invitations dried up.
The town was a country centre, with a large dairy factory serving the
farms of the district, several small industries, and a long main street
lined with modest shops to sustain its population of less than two
thousand. The shopping area had been built on flat land near the river
that in the previous century had been used as a supply route, and some
of the houses on their neat quarter-acre sections had been built on the
surrounding rolling hills. It was an hour's drive from the city of
Hamilton, where Logan preferred to live, and less than twenty
minutes away from the firm's headquarters, where the planes were
assembled and tested.
Perry and Raina had decided to live in Te Ahu because it was so close
to his work, and it seemed a good place to bring up a family. There
were three smallish primary schools and a large college with a good
academic tradition behind it in the town, and all the conveniences of a
fair-sized shopping centre, while the countryside was never more
than a few minutes away, for as soon as one left the outskirts, the hills
expanded into farmland liberally sprinkled with cattle, sheep and
horses, neatly divided with post and wire fences and the occasional
dark green hedge or row of trees. Here and there a fold in the hills
held a pocket of lace-branched ponga ferns, white-blossoming
manuka and tall prickly-leaved totara, reminders of the native forests
which the pioneers had burned off or cut down to carve out the now
tamed and prosperous farmland.
Te Ahu was quiet and clean, friendly and perhaps a little dull. Raina
had not noticed the dullness when Perry was alive, she had needed no
other stimulation than his vivid, exhilarating personality.
She had thought of moving into Hamilton Logan had offered to find
her a place but had decided that Perry's death was enough of a
bewildering loss for Danny, without the added strain of losing the
home he had always known. She felt he needed as much stability as
she could provide, so although the house and the town were full of
poignant reminders, she had refused Logan's offer and stayed where
she was.
Mrs Crimmins was giving Danny a snack in the kitchen, when Raina
returned from her shopping expedition. The little boy looked
bright-eyed and had lost the flush of fever which had worried Raina
over the past few days. He had also completely recovered his
appetite, she noticed, watching him tuck into biscuits and fruit.
'He'll be right now,' Mrs Crimmins assured her comfortably. She had
never had children of her own, but she loved them and had fostered a
succession of little ones in her younger days. Raina was inclined to
listen to her advice when she was moved to give it.
'Have a cup of tea with me, Mrs Crimmins,' she suggested, and the
older woman accepted immediately. Raina put on the electric jug and
took out cups, pushing aside the two large brown bags of groceries to
be put away later.
Over their cups, informally sitting at the kitchen table, they chatted
for a while about price rises and the weather, until Danny finished his
milk and trotted off to his bedroom to play with his plastic trains
which were the passion of the moment. Raina poured herself a second
cup of tea, and said, 'Mrs Crimmins, do you think I'm too
over-protective with Danny?'
Mrs Crimmins put down her cup, smoothed her fullblown, motherly
bosom with one hand to brush away biscuit crumbs, and fixed kind
but shrewd brown eyes on Raina's face. 'It would be very easy to be
that way,' she said.
'But am I?' Raina persisted.
'Maybe. Who suggested that you were?'
'Logan.'
'Ah! I saw he was here, last night. Sorry, dear, I'm not being a nosy
neighbour, but I couldn't help noticing his car when I took out the
milk bottles.'
'No, of course not,' said Raina. 'You agree with him, don't you?'
'Not exactly. I think you worry too much about Danny, that's for sure.
Maybe you can hide that from him. But it won't do you any good.
You're a good mother, Raina, but you're trying to be two parents, not
one. It isn't good for you, and eventually it's going to affect Danny, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]