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‘I think it is a very cool name and you, young lady, should not always say what you think.’
She immediately bowed her head. ‘Sorry, Duke. I do like it, it’s just unusual, that’s all.’
‘Want to see my new room?’ he asked her, now not worried what she thought of his name.
Ava nodded in that direction. ‘I finished it. Want to take a look?’
Noah agreed.
‘You don’t mess around, do you?’ he joked as he entered and inspected the paintwork and ran his hands down the wall. ‘This is fantastic. You’ve done a very professional job.’
This time her smile was shy, the corner of her lips barely curling, and she didn’t reply. But he wasn’t joking, it was a top job, he was impressed.
‘My room is pink because it’s my favourite colour,’ Emily announced. The coffee burned his throat a little. Emily’s room at his house wasn’t pink.
‘I could paint this any colour I wanted, Mumma said, but she really didn’t want me to choose blue. So, I chose silver, see, just like the colour of the moon.’
Emily gushed over it and the model aeroplane they’d affixed to the ceiling.
‘Duke, you could have had blue, but not because you think you had to choose it because you’re a boy. That’s all I meant.’ Ava explained.
Ava must have caught his frown. ‘I don’t want him growing up living a stereo-type. You know, he must like blue, never wear pink, be good with his hands, be the man of the house, be the one in charge…’
Noah’s frown deepened. He was smart enough to understand this wasn’t about the colour blue, but what was it about?
But Ava kept going. ‘You would never tell Emily, would you, Noah, that her only job in life was to grow up and get married and have babies, would you?’
‘Eww,’ both kids exclaimed.
‘Um, no, not at all.’
‘Well, it’s the same issue. It’s about teaching them that men and women are equal and we can grow and aspire to be whatever we want without gender labels.’
O-k-a-y. ‘You’re the perfect role model for that Ava, with your job as an archaeologist.’
Her look was sharp. ‘What, because it’s a man’s job?’
‘Um, well, I thought, well … it’s an unusual job. That’s all. Not that it’s a man’s job….’ Geez, he was really ballsing this up.
‘What’s an archaeologist?’ piped up Emily.
‘She digs up old stuff,’ Duke informed her dryly.
‘Cool!’
Ava laughed and the tension was broken.
Inspection over, the kids rushed from the room talking of puppies.
Noah held up the coffee. ‘Peace offering?’
‘No sorry, it’s all good. I get carried away sometimes. Want to see the puppies?’
The puppies were super-cute but he was already running late after his mammoth trip to Brisbane and back that morning.
‘Did you collect Emily from her mother’s this morning?’ Could she read his mind?
‘Yes, an early start.’
