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‘Anyway,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve married in haste and repented at leisure once. I don’t plan to do so again.’
Reluctantly, Zara nodded. But Alice knew her mother would still want the last word.
‘You’re not a teenager now, so I can only assume that you know what’s best.’ Zara slipped her lipstick and compact into her handbag and gave her reflection a quick final inspection. ‘But I can’t help feeling you’ve been lucky enough to find the right man this time.’ Her eyes met Alice’s and their expression softened. ‘Now you just have to find the courage to trust him.’
The meeting with Liam’s sister-in-law, Julia, was a much easier process. They got to know each other over Sunday lunch at Liam’s apartment, while he, with his nephew Jack’s help, grilled tasty reef fish fillets on the balcony barbecue.
Julia was as warm and friendly as her appearance suggested and Alice was delighted to discover that she liked the other woman just as much as she’d hoped to.Julia was an American, who had come to Australia as an exchange student, had stayed on when she married Liam’s brother and had lived Down Under for almost twenty years.
She made Alice feel ever so welcome and she kept the conversation light, focusing mostly on her excitement about moving to Cairns with its warmer climate, which apparently suited her, and about her new house, which Liam was having altered to accommodate her wheelchair.
‘And Liam’s told me your wonderful news,’ she added, her eyes sparkling. ‘I’m tickled pink at the thought of becoming an aunt.’
‘And I reckon it’s pretty cool that I’m going to have a cousin at last,’ chimed in Jack as he walked past, en route to the balcony with an icy beer for his uncle. ‘Just make sure it’s a boy,’ he added with a cheeky grin.
‘I hope you don’t mind that Jack knows,’ said Julia. ‘Liam had an uncle-nephew chat with him – man-to-man,’ she explained with a quick wink. ‘He thought it was best to be upfront with him.
‘That’s fine,’ said Alice, but she was a little taken aback. She hadn’t given much thought to her baby’s extended family. One little pregnancy, she realised, was like a stone dropping into a pond; the ripples spread far and wide, touching many lives. It was a sobering thought.
‘You must come to lunch with me as soon as I’m settled in there,’ Julia insisted when Alice was leaving. ‘Come mid-weekwhen Liam’s at work and Jack’s at school and we can indulge in some in-depth girl talk.’
There was a telling light in her autumn-brown eyes as she said this and Alice was almost certain Julia wanted to talk about Liam, so on several counts the invitation was irresistible. And three weeks later, bringing a potted Cooktown orchid as a housewarming gift, Alice arrived at Julia’s lovely, new, low-set home.
They ate a Thai-style calamari salad in a pretty dining room that opened out into a lush tropical garden.
‘You’re a wonderful cook,’ Alice said, enjoying the light and crispy seafood immensely.
Julia laughed. ‘I’m quite spoiled really. I have a housekeeper to take care of the boring chores, so I have time to experiment with cooking. It’s almost an indulgence. Cooking and gardening are my great loves. I’m going to have so much fun in this garden.’ She cast an admiring glance at the lilac petalled, purple throated orchid Alice had given her.
But then the brightness in Julia’s smile faded and was replaced by a more serious, yet gentle expression. ‘You do know what I want to talk to you about, don’t you, Alice?’
Suddenly nervous, Alice began to spread butter on a bread roll. ‘I presume it involves Liam?’
Julia nodded, then she gave a little laugh and shook her head. ‘Actually, I don’t quite know where to begin.’
‘I know next to nothing about Liam’s life before I met him,’ Alice admitted. ‘I’ve sensed that there are things that he doesn’t find easy to talk about.’
‘You’re absolutely right.’ Julia smoothed her napkin on her lap. ‘It involves why I’m in a wheelchair and...’ She broke off and looked out into the garden.
‘And why Liam doesn’t drive?’ Alice suggested, almost dreading Julia’s answer.
‘Yes,’ Julia said. ‘Poor Liam. In the long run I think he’s suffered more than any of us.’
‘How can you say that, after what’s happened to you?’
‘I believe it’s true.’
A suffocating heaviness settled over Alice, like a fog closing in. She’d been about to bite into the roll but now she set it back on the side plate. ‘So am I right in guessing there was a car accident?’
Julia nodded. ‘It happened on the way to Liam and Peter’s twenty-first birthday. Did you know they were twins?’
‘No.’ Oh, Lord, no. His birthday. How awful. Alice thought of the night she met Liam in the Hippo Bar. She’d sensed then that there was something dark behind his urge to celebrate. But his brother! A twin. Twins were always so incredibly close. Soul mates.
‘How terrible for Liam,’ she whispered. ‘For all of you. Was – was Peter your – Jack’s father?’
‘Yes. We were married very young. Pete and Liam were identical twins, so they looked very alike, but my Pete was more of a comedian. He was so much fun.’ Her eyes sparkled momentarily with happy memories. ‘Peter Conway literally swept me off my feet. I was just nineteen.’
Alice could imagine it – the beautiful, warm, vibrant girl and a laughing, fun-loving Liam look-alike. They would have been a stunning couple.
