Lachlan attends her funeral.
He’s mentioned in the eulogy just once.
‘…whose son serves overseas.’
That’s all he got.Not even named.
She hated him right up until the end, he thinks.
But he goes anyway.Wears black, stands by the ground they commit her to and holds Margot’s hand.
At the wake, he checks in with Danya constantly, but everything is running fine.His mother wasn’t killed to create a distraction.
She just died.
Her heart gave out in the night.
Lachlan hides in the kitchen during the wake, counting down the seconds until he can leave.Margot’s kids run around having fun, too young to understand.Margot finds him leaning against the countertops.He’d bet he still knows where everything is.Spoons, glasses, thelittle bowlsshe loved and favoured.Milk.Eggs.Cold cuts.
He fucking hates it here, cannot wait to leave.
‘There you are,’ Margot declares.‘Hiding?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘Want a drink?Real one?’she offers, cracking a bottle of Jack and pouring two fingers, drowning it in cola.
‘I’m driving.’
‘Suit yourself.’Margot takes a healthy swig and then settles opposite him, looking him over.‘I haven’t seen you in a year, man.’
‘Yeah, I’m sorry.It’s very full on.’
‘But it’s going well?’
‘Yeah.’
‘How are those kids?’
‘They’re fine.’
‘Aunt Jocelyn talked about them all the time, especially the little girl.’
Lachlan looks away.‘She didn’t even know her name.’
‘Didn’t stop her.’
‘No, nothing ever did.’
‘Except death.’
‘Jeeze, morbid much,’ he says, determined to lighten the mood before he leaves.‘Drink up, already.By the time they start playingABBAyou’d better be good and drunk so you can dance.’
Margot pours another, refuses his attempts.‘Contract held up?’
Lachlan rolls his eyes.‘That contract is titanium.’
‘I warned you not to sign unless they made amendments.’
