AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was the arrival the following day of yet another friendly mum, with yet another frozen casserole, that had finally galvanised Polly. Afterwards, she couldn’t even remember the woman’s name. All she remembered was her opening comment.
‘Oh, my goodness, your baby looks so much like Seth, doesn’t she?’
‘But Seth’s not her father,’ Polly had protested, bluntly, and perhaps a little too emphatically.
‘Oh?’ The woman had looked thoroughly caught out and confused by this news.
‘Is that what everyone thinks?’ Polly asked her. ‘The women in your mothers’ group? Do they all think Seth is Summer’s father?’
The woman gave a helpless shrug. ‘I—I’m not sure. Maybe.’ And then she looked at Polly expectantly, as if she was waiting for an explanation. But Polly wasn’t prepared to tell a complete stranger that her daughter’s father had been no more than a donation in an IVF test tube. Heaven knew how that news might be received.
So the visit had ended rather abruptly after that, with the woman backing off as fast as she could. It was as she hurried away, that Polly realised she also needed to make a move.
She didn’t want to become the cause of further complications for Seth. Her presence here in Wirralong and in his home was already stirring far too much gossip.
Seth needed his house and his life back. And Polly needed to get on with the life she had planned.
As soon as she’d decided this, she rang Seth, before she weakened. ‘I’m sorry to bother you at work, Seth, but I’ve realised I need to get back to Melbourne. I was hoping we could talk.’
‘Is it urgent?’ he asked.
Yes. This matter felt vitally urgent to Polly, but she knew she’d find it hard to present her line of thinking concisely and quickly. She certainly didn’t want to come across as ungrateful.
‘It’s just that I’m in the middle of a big job,’ Seth said next. ‘We’d better leave it till this evening. We can talk about it then, okay?’
Oh, crap. Seth hung up, before Polly could answer, but now she was worried she might lose her nerve if she waited until he arrived home this evening, all smiling and gorgeous.
She needed to be strong. It was time to stop exploiting their friendship. Time to stop pretending that this dream life was her new normal.
And she needed to act now.
Which meant she had no choice but to write a note for Seth—quite a long note by Polly’s standards. She left it on the kitchen’s island bench, pinned down by a pepper pot.
*
Once she wasin Wirralong, Polly stowed her luggage at the bus terminal and then parked the Hyundai around the corner from Seth’s garage. She’d made a sling out of the muslin wrap and she could carry Summer in this quite comfortably.
Chances were, the big job Seth was involved with would be keeping him busy in the workshop, so she took the car keys to LeeAnne, who was behind the counter in the service station’s store.
LeeAnne was all smiles and wanted to peek into the sling and make a fuss of Summer, but her expression changed as soon as Polly handed over the car keys. ‘But won’t you still need the Hyundai?’ she asked. ‘You’ll be here for another week or so, won’t you?’
‘Actually, no,’ said Polly. ‘I’m afraid I need to get back to Melbourne today.’
‘To Melbourne?’ LeeAnne managed to look both surprised and worried. She glanced through the store’s big glass windows to the massive shed that housed Seth’s workshop. ‘I guess Seth knows?’
‘I—ah—I phoned him and tried to explain, but he seems to be tied up.’
‘Yes, he’s extra busy today. He’s replacing an entire engine in one of Heck Jansen’s farm trucks. It’s a massive job. Will probably take him the whole day.’
‘Yes, he told me he was busy, so I’ve left him a note explaining everything and then I’ll ring him this evening.’
LeeAnne was still frowning, but customers were lining up to pay for their fuel. ‘Well… I suppose that’s all right,’ she said, but she didn’t sound happy.
‘And thanks again for that lovely salmon dish, LeeAnne,’ Polly added. She’d already thanked LeeAnne over the phone, but now she needed to make amends for her rushed departure. ‘It was very thoughtful of you to send that meal and it was so delicious. But I really must get going now.’
The woman still looked doubtful, but she nodded. ‘All the best then. And you enjoy your sweet little bub, won’t you?’
‘I certainly will.’ With a quick wave, Polly turned and left. Carrying Summer in the sling, nestled against her, she hurried down the footpath that took her past the wide open door of Seth’s workshop.
