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Miranda smiled at Gina as she settled herself into the chair, and handed her an invitation to the New Year’s Eve ball.
‘Oh yes, Miranda,’ Liz said. ‘Thank you for the invitations that Cara passed around on your behalf last month. My husband and I have already booked in. We’re looking forward to it!’
‘Great! It should be a wonderful night.’ Miranda smiled.
‘How are things going for you, Miranda?’ asked Liz.
‘Good.’ She nodded. ‘As you all probably heard, I had alittletumble down the stairs, and broke my ribs. But I’m almost one hundred percent again, and the time off work actually helped me get some perspective on my life, so overall, the accident was a good thing.’
‘Oh, I didn’t know. Sorry, Miranda.’ Gina leaned forward.
Miranda waved her hand. ‘That’s okay, I’m alright now. Shame about my dress though!’ Miranda filled them in on her experience at hospital, including how she saw a man die. ‘And then I realised ... I’m scared of losing someone special in my life again, like I lost my dad. That’s why my relationships never get too serious. Somehow, I sabotage things in order to protect myself, or the guy never seems to measure up to my high standards. It’s like ... I keep looking for my dad in every man I meet.’
‘That’s understandable, Miranda, and very insightful of you,’ said Liz. ‘How do you think this realisation will affect your relationships now?’
‘I don’t think I’ll be as scared toopen up to someone special, and let them be part of my life. Now that I know why things keep going wrong, I can try my best to stop it from continuing. Even though losing someone is awful, not having had them in your life to begin with is even worse.’
‘How very true,’ Liz agreed. ‘And what’s next for you?’
‘After the big Three-O hits on the third of December, I’m off to Byron Bay to spend time at a health retreat. It’s a gift from my mum.’
‘Can I come?’ asked Cara, followed by a few others.
Miranda laughed. ‘We could all go and have a Life Makeover Retreat! Seriously though, I think it will be good for me. I’m going to learn more about healthy living, and really look after myself. For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel in such a rush anymore.’ She leaned back, the high back of the chair a comforting support, and clasped her hands together. ‘If there’s a man out there for me, when the time is right, he’ll appear. I’m not going to try controlling the situation anymore. I know what I want, and Iamgetting out there, but for now, I’m happy to let nature take its course. If it turns out I can’t have children, then at least there are other options, like egg donors, surrogacy, or adoption. I know it’s not exactly the same as having my own biological child, but it would still allow me to be a mother and give a great life to a child who needs it. I’ve realised, that’s all that really matters.’ A smile grew on Miranda’s face, and gratitude enveloped her heart as the women clapped for her newfound peace and acceptance.
‘Good on you, Miranda,’ said Cara. ‘I think we all have to find peace with where we’re at if things are to improve. I’ve learned that the more irritated and frustrated I am, the more irritated and frustrated I get!’
‘How’s the art going, Cara?’ asked Liz.
‘Do you want the good news or the bad news first?’
‘You choose.’
‘Okay, good news is, my painting sold at Queen of Arts, and Alice bought another four pieces last week!’ She pumped her fist in front of her. ‘They were a set of four decorative paintings, and she wants me to make more of the same.’
‘Fantastic!’
‘Bad news is, Alice commissioned me to draw a portrait for a friend of hers who wanted it the next day for someone’s birthday, and they were willing to pay top dollar for such short notice.’
‘How is that bad news?’ Rebecca piped up without waiting for Cara to continue.
‘Well, I thought I’d work on it after the kids had gone to bed, so I did, but the drawing was taking forever, as the subject was ... how can I say it? Ratherwrinkled. I kept imagining the poor old woman getting this portrait and freaking out at all the lines on her face, so I kept erasing them and trying to make her look ‘less old’ while still retaining her natural appearance. Anyway, I’d had about a gazillion coffees to keep me awake and by midnight I was busting to go the bathroom, but when I got back to the table Jacob was there, drinking a cup of water.’ Cara drew in a quick breath. ‘Not only had he spilt a few drops on the drawing, smudging the poor woman’s eyeballs, he’d taken the liberty of drawing a very ornate moustache and beard on her face.’ She shook her head and sighed.
‘Oh no!’ Miranda exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand, and someone in the room – probably Rebecca – snorted.
‘Oh yes, and boy was I angry. ‘Jacob Collins you must not, I repeat, you must NOT touch Mummy’s drawings, ever!’Iscolded him. I scooped him up, returned him to bed, then surveyed the damage he’d done.’
‘Did you manage to fix the drawing?’ asked Rebecca.
‘I tried. I rubbed out the moustache and beard, but he’d drawn so firmly that she was left with a permanent five o’clock shadow. And the water mark on the eyeball couldn’t be erased, so I started the drawing all over again. From scratch.’
‘Oh, Cara.’ Liz brought her hand to her mouth. ‘You must have been exhausted.’
‘I drank another coffee and resumed drawing, staying up till about two-thirty, but my pencil would no longer cooperate. Pete came in and ordered me to go to bed, but I refused, and snapped at him to leave me alone. At this stage I’d only completed half her face and still had the detail of the hair to do, but I just couldn’t work any longer.’
‘You did well to get that far, I have trouble staying up past eleven these days,’ Wendy commented. ‘Just getting old, I guess.’
‘You’d think I’d be used to it by now, the sleepless nights. But no. The tiredness just gets worse!’ Cara added. ‘So I set my alarm for six, although why I have no idea because the kids always wake up around then, give or take an hour. But with Pete having to do a morning shift, I had the kids to deal with, and I only managed to finish the woman’s ear before it was time to do the morning drop-off. Alice wanted me to drop the picture off around nine, as her friend would be picking it up on the way to the airport, so I had to call and tell her it wasn’t yet complete.’
