‘If you’re sure,’ he said, and immediately felt guilty. She was just being polite. Celine must want to sit and talk to her friends, not play host to a friend of her boss. But if she was disappointed that he’d said yes, she didn’t show it. She just led the way to the blankets, then introduced him to the other women. Lucia was Italian and Beata was from Lithuania. They were friendly enough.
‘Would you like something to eat?’ Celine pushed a large plastic container towards him. It was a neat thing, with a separate section on the bottom for ice blocks, to keep food cool, and a top section that was subdivided into little compartments. The compartments were filled with grapes cut neatly in half, strawberries in quarters, Jatz crackers and pieces of chicken and cheese—the kind of food you put together for small kids.
‘Not that, Celine,’ Beata said, rolling her eyes. She reached into her bag and took out a cardboard box. She opened it to display half-baguette rolls stuffed with chicken salad.
Jack’s stomach growled again, this time loudly enough to be heard. Beata grinned at him. He smiled back, a little awkwardly.
‘Thanks,’ he said, taking one. ‘This is great.’
‘I didn’t make them,’ Beata said, shrugging. ‘They are from the patisserie. My boss pay for them.’
‘Well thanks,’ Jack said, trying to smile around a mouthful of sandwich.
‘Something to drink?’ Celine asked. She had a paper cup in her hand.
‘I have water, thanks.’
Beata exchanged glances with Lucia. ‘Well, we might have something a little better.’ She opened her bag just enough for Jack to spot the bottle of wine inside. ‘If you promise not to tell.’
Jack laughed. Every second person in the park had a stubby in their hand. But he supposed it was different when you were looking after someone else’s kids.
‘Your secret’s safe with me,’ he said.
* * *
Two hours later, Jack was feeling lightly buzzed. They’d finished Beata’s bottle, and Lucia had produced a second one.
It was nicer than he expected, to sit in the park and listen to them talk. Celine was new to Australia, a recent arrival. She was desperate to see a kangaroo but was less keen on the spiders and the snakes.
‘I’ve been here for two years, and so far no snakes,’ Beata said. She was lying on the blanket, leaning on her left elbow, eating dissected grapes. She looked up at Jack through long eyelashes. ‘You have a nanny?’
Jack shook his head. He didn’t know how to explain, without sounding like a sad sack, that he and Elsa might be friends, but that they moved in very different worlds. ‘No nanny,’ he said.
‘So your wife, she stays at home?’ Lucia asked.
Jack shook his head. ‘No wife.’
Lucia raised an eyebrow, and Beata gave a very small smile. There was an awkward silence. There was always an awkward silence. Jack knew from experience that it was better to explain things quickly and simply and move on.
‘Cam’s mother died when he was a baby,’ he said. ‘So there’s just me.’
Beata’s eyes softened. She leaned closer. ‘I’m sorry. That must be very hard.’
Jack shifted his position on the rug, putting a bit of distance between them.
‘But you are a very good father, yes? You bring your boy to the park. You play with him. This is good.’
‘All dads do that,’ Jack said.
Celine and Lucia exchanged glances. Beata laughed.
He straightened his legs, wanting, suddenly, to leave. Cam must be hungry. They could visit the food truck on their way out.
‘Cam is lucky that you are his father,’ Beata said.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Jack.
‘No?’
