My Brother's Keeper

Chapter 5



WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012

We were nearly at the airport when Robbie slapped the steering wheel. ‘Oh, shit. Sorry. I forgot to tell you. Sean rang.’

‘When?’ I asked. Which wasn’t actually the question I was thinking.

‘When you were in the shower,’ he said. ‘This morning.’

‘You answered my phone?’ I could hear the accusatory tone. I’m sure Robbie did, too, but he just casually threw that grin at me.

‘No. I left it for the voicemail to kick in.’ He pulled the police car into a temporary park outside the terminal. People stared, probably assuming I had been picked up for an offence. The murderous look on my face didn’t help. If being really pissed off was an offence — fine. Hang me.

‘When Sean didn’t get a pick-up from you, he phoned me.’ Robbie studied my face. ‘On my mobile,’ he added, going for the information overkill. ‘He said to remind you that a friend of yours — Abi?’ He waited for confirmation but I just kept staring out the window, controlling my sudden urge to hit him. ‘Sean said she used to be a real-estate agent and he thought you might want to contact her and see if she could recommend someone to sell your place.’

I nodded and then busied myself organising carry-on and handbag, making a big fuss about looking for my ticket, saying goodbye to Wolf, keeping my head averted. The last thing I wanted was a fight but Sean and Robbie being mates was really doing my head in.

He put his hand on my arm. ‘Hey, Di. Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, fine,’ I lied. ‘Thanks for the lift. And Wolf. Thanks.’ I opened the car door.

‘Move in with me,’ he said. I was gobsmacked but he repeated the offer as if I’d spoken. ‘When you come back from Auckland. Move in with me.’ He nodded in the direction of Wolf. ‘You can bring your funny-looking kid too, if you like.’ Wolf had his head out the window, tongue lolling, one ear up, one down. ‘And then, when you’ve sold your house, we could buy a place together.’ I suspect my mouth was hanging open. ‘In the city,’ he added, perhaps misinterpreting my look of dismay. I stuttered and stammered a non-reply, something stupid about needing a coffee before my flight. ‘Just tell me you’ll think about it,’ he said.

‘Okay. I’ll think about it,’ I said. I kissed that lovely mouth of his and walked towards the terminal. When I glanced back, he was whistling as he climbed back into the car. Wolf was leaning forward, trying to sneak a surreptitious neck lick. Neither of them was looking in my direction. They appeared blissfully happy. In the glass entrance doors I caught sight of my reflection. I looked pretty much like I always do. Then the doors slid open, splitting me in two.