Stuart had been all about the overindulgence at Christmas, the extravagance. He’d never been the sort of man to sit back and leave it to the women. And he always wanted to shower his family not with gifts but with excitement and the feeling of the season that had never been quite the same after he was gone.
‘Your dad loved Christmas.’ After she hung the penguin, she picked up the fireman ornament Kyle had bought the other day and that she hadn’t probed him about at the time. ‘Here, put it somewhere we can see it.’
He lifted the decoration and hung it just above eye level for him, above a light to show it off. ‘I made my own fireman decoration once.’
‘I remember,’ Amelia smiled. ‘The silver bauble with the red ribbon. You painted a fire truck onto it.’
‘That’s the one. Mum must’ve thrown it out.’
‘No way, she wouldn’t.’
‘Wanna bet? It would’ve gone around the time she decided to do designer trees. I never saw it again once she got going with those arrangements, saying annoying phrases like “less is more” and “don’t forget the theme”.’
‘Why don’t you text her, ask if she still has the decoration?’
He grunted. ‘Maybe.’
‘Have you spoken to her since we got here?’
‘I told her we arrived at the apartment.’
‘Since then?’
‘I texted her to tell her I worked at the market. Thought it might make her happy to know I wasn’t being too annoying for you.’
‘I’m glad you’re keeping in touch while we’re here.’ As soon as communication dwindled, it would only get worse. Some kids needed distance from their parent or parents to get some perspective, to order things in their mind, but not Kyle. He needed people in his corner, he needed to be reminded he still mattered to them. And quite why Connie wasn’t doing that right now was anyone’s guess.
‘Looking good,’ Kyle declared as he stood back to admire their handiwork. ‘But you’re too much of a short arse to put the angel on top.’
‘Cheek! I’m not that short.’
‘Go on then, put the angel up there.’ He nodded to the top of the tree.
Even standing on tiptoes she had no hope but she gave it her best shot until an amused Kyle stood as tall as he could and popped the angel, sparkling peach skirt and all, at the top so she could look over the room.
‘Now it feels like Christmas,’ Amelia smiled.
They ordered Chinese takeaway and, over noodles and a sensational beef dish with rich red peppers, Amelia decided to tackle what had happened at the inn the night of the party.
‘Nathan was out of order,’ she said to Kyle and by his reaction he knew exactly what she meant.
‘I’m used to it, don’t stress.’ He gave up using the chopsticks and picked up a fork.
‘I don’t blame you for being angry.’ At least they’d come back to the apartment that night and he hadn’t stomped off into the city without her. She was relieved licensing laws were so strict too, he’d have no hope of getting into a bar, because given past performance, it wasn’t completely outside the realms of possibility he’d turn to a bottle to drown his sorrows. Like many kids, he’d learnt a way to escape reality, fast.
‘I’m not angry.’
‘You are.’
‘Are you trying to make it worse?’ He was agitated, maybe she’d pushed it too far.
‘Don’t shout, you’ll have the neighbours complaining at us, you and I will get thrown out, and we’ll have to sleep in Central Park in sleeping bags.’
A hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. ‘Don’t joke, if Mum gets her way that’s what I’ll be doing sooner than you think.’
‘She won’t throw you out, she just wants to see you sorted.’ Although Amelia had an uneasy feeling coursing through her because Connie had been vacant lately, as though she was disinterested, as though she had finally decided she’d had enough and she couldn’t handle Kyle any longer. She may as well have shouted “Your turn!” to Amelia when she’d dropped her own son off for this trip.
‘And don’t change the subject,’ Amelia went on. ‘We’re focusing on Nathan and Scarlett and what happened at the inn.’ And she wondered whether Nathan had any idea Kyle had been seeing Scarlett ever since.
