AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh—there he is. Mr. Kingston, Amelia is here to see you.”
I turned around. He wore a three-piece charcoal suit with a white shirt underneath and a scarlet tie like a gash of blood at his throat. His expression was terse, his forehead veins pronounced. He swallowed, taking me in.
Why do I always feel naked in front of him?
“Good afternoon,” I said.
He said nothing in return, just tilted his head back in a sharp, angled gesture that instructed me to come with him.
I followed him down the corridor. In Christine’s office, her desk sat empty. A woman I didn’t recognise occupied the other desk at the opposite end of the room. She had long, mousy hair and a thin, mousy face to match. She gave me a meek smile of acknowledgement as I passed.
Neil took me through to his office and closed the door behind us. He gestured to a couch and waited for me to take a seat before he claimed the opposite couch. He sat pin-straight, hands at his sides, and didn’t speak. I wondered if he took pleasure in my discomfort. It was unbearable. I had to say something, anything, to break the silence. “James told me that Christine had her baby.”
Neil nodded. “Her name’s Rosie. I have a photo, if you’re interested.”
“Oh? Yes, please.”
He slid his phone from his jacket pocket, brought up the photo, then passed it across to me. The picture showed Christine, teary-eyed, with her newborn baby cradled in her arms. Rosie’s face was pink and chubby. She had a button nose and rosebud lips and one faint tuft of black hair on her head.
“Adorable,” I said.
“Yes.” He had a soft fondness in his voice that caught me off guard.
Once I had recovered from my shock, I passed his phone back to him. Our hands touched, and I felt a current pass between us. Not static this time—something else. But it was gone as soon as we broke away.
“Is Christine doing well?” I asked.
“About as well as one can expect. She’s supposed to be resting, but she’s not the type to sit still for long. Her sister is here from Singapore to help out. Her husband’s off work as well. A nanny looks after Rosie at night so Christine can sleep.”
“Wow. It sounds like she’s in good hands.”
“Yes. It’s important she gets the support she needs so she can make a full recovery.”
“Absolutely.”
At least we have something we can agree on.
I gestured to the door. “Is that woman out there Christine’s replacement while she’s on maternity leave?”
“No. She’s from the admin department, providing temporary cover.”
“I see.”
“And Christine’s not on maternity leave. She has left the role permanently.”
“Oh. Is she going to go back to Singapore or stay in New Zealand?”
“Her husband’s got a job as a maths teacher here, so they’re staying.”
“It’s a nice country to raise a child.”
“Yes, that’s a big reason they moved here.”
“Makes sense.”
I twiddled my fingers in my lap, feeling the crushing weight of silence as it descended again.
Okay. Enough chitchat.
